Because of the eight million-plus votes cast, Li Kong, who was initially an unknown entity at Xihong Zoo, instantly gained popularity.
However, after just one day, he was almost subjected to cyberbullying by netizens.
The incident stemmed from a video filmed by a tourist.
This tourist happened to be a postgraduate student majoring in animal-related fields, with his chosen research topic being the interaction patterns between animals and their mates.
He spent several consecutive days at Xihong Zoo for this project.
On the first day, he filmed Li Kong interacting with a female macaque.
Just as he thought this was Li Kong's mate, Li Kong proceeded to "flirt" with another female leaf monkey.
Of course, to him, this was quite normal.
After all, being the monkey king, having a harem was understandable.
However, when he returned the next day, he discovered Li Kong engaging in indecent acts with several other female monkeys.
Just when he thought that was the limit, on the third day, Li Kong changed partners again.
Over three consecutive days, he had filmed Li Kong interacting with no less than 10 female monkeys.
While shocked, he casually posted his findings online.
He also included a title that was extremely eye-catching.
"Shocking, a male leader at the zoo is actually using his position to maintain improper relationships with over ten female subordinates. This male leader has nearly ten million fans across the internet."
As soon as the video was released, it immediately attracted a large number of netizens.
There was no other way; the title was too sensational.
Netizens almost immediately thought of a particular person.
After all, there was only one person who could be described as a male leader at the zoo with nearly ten million fans on the entire internet.
Netizens were even ready to start scolding.
However, when they clicked in, they were immediately stunned.
"What the hell, you big liar, wasting my traffic."
"Editor, you're truly a genius. How did you come up with such a misleading title?"
"I thought someone had dug up dirt on the zoo director, but it turns out to be a monkey."
"It really is a male leader at the zoo."
"I knew it, how could the director have that kind of ability? Besides, there aren't many young females at Xihong Zoo."
"Before, there was a ticket seller and a few female zookeepers. I thought the director was a beast in human clothing and not picky."
"Editor, come out, I'll beat you to death."
"Good heavens, I almost went to the director's account to scold him."
"It's too late, I've already scolded him, and there's no time to take it back."
"I'm still too naive, being tricked by such a misleading title."
"No, I can't be the only one who was deceived, I have to share it."
"Yes, yes, share it."
...
Following a wave of shares from these netizens who felt deceived, the casually posted video was soon forwarded to various social platforms.
And when people saw the title of the video, their first thought was the same as the previous netizens.
"No way, has Director Yang's image collapsed?"
"He looks like a decent person, how could he do such a thing."
"More than ten, amazing!"
"Hahaha, this is hilarious. Please finish watching before commenting, I'm dying of laughter."
"Oh my god, so that's what the male leader at the zoo means."
"Isn't the monkey king a leader?"
"I voted for this Li Kong yesterday, and I didn't expect it to be such a monkey."
"A master of time management, this is, dating over ten in three days."
"The image has collapsed, the image has collapsed. The brother I followed is actually like this monkey."
"Your zoo is really chaotic. One monkey can do such a thing. Director, quickly revoke its monkey king title."
"Hahaha, can the votes be withdrawn? I suddenly don't want to vote for this monkey that messes around with relationships anymore."
"I also request a re-vote."
"Although it's just a monkey, Ningnan City absolutely cannot let a notorious 'artist monkey' be its mascot."
....
As the video continued to spread and ferment, the news of Li Kong's image collapse became known to more and more people.
Even when walking on the streets and alleys, one could hear related discussions.
However, the meaning of the news had changed somewhat during its transmission.
"I heard some male idol named Li Kong had his image collapse, do you know?"
"Really? But who is Li Kong? I haven't heard of him."
"Just that recently popular young male artist."
"Oh, oh, oh, I think I've heard of him, debuted from a talent show, right?"
"I heard he has millions of fans, and he's dating over ten women simultaneously."
"That's too much, he's truly a scumbag among scumbags."
......
"I heard that a house belonging to someone named Li Kong collapsed, killing over ten people, and they were all women."
"What kind of house can fit so many people?"
"A rental, probably."
"Then this Li Kong will likely be sentenced. There are too many unscrupulous landlords these days."
At this moment, those who were eager to gossip no longer cared where the gossip came from.
However, they also remembered one thing: they couldn't vote for Li Kong.
The reason most netizens voted for Li Kong was for fun and to join in the excitement.
Now that they knew his image had collapsed, they naturally changed their voting target immediately.
Before long, the voting rankings saw a new change. Li Hei, who was originally in third place, directly surged to second, and the gap between him and Shi Difu, who ranked first, became increasingly narrow.
It was clear that the final mascot role would be decided between these two.
One was the original internet celebrity of Xihong Zoo, known for his comical antics.
The other was the new "cute king" of Xihong Zoo, known for his adorably dull demeanor.
And just as all netizens were anticipating the final result, Yang Lin, inside his office, stared at his mobile phone screen with disbelief.
"Holy crap, what the hell is this? When did I have improper relationships with over a dozen female subordinates?"
"Slander, this is completely slander."
"I've never even dated a girlfriend, how did I suddenly become a playboy?"
It was only after he finished watching the video content that he let out a long sigh of relief.
"I was scared to death. I thought someone was making up scandals about me because I was too popular."
"This Li Kong almost ruined me. I'm revoking your monkey king title tomorrow. You're too young to learn bad habits, and now you've become the first animal at Xihong Zoo with a scandal."
"This is self-sabotage."
Just as Yang Lin was feeling speechless by this huge misunderstanding, news of Ningnan City's upcoming first special sports games began to heat up.
Perhaps because of the mascot voting this time, the news immediately attracted significant attention.
Especially when netizens saw the animal-related events listed.