Chapter 109

Chapter 109: Lin Qianyu held her tail out in front of the little snow leopard’s mouth. “Here, bite it yourself.”

“Don’t be shy.” Seeing this, Lin Qianyu pushed the meat a little closer. “It’s cold outside. If it sits out any longer, it’ll freeze again.”

With just a nudge of the stick, the meat was almost right in front of the little snow leopard.

Animals often act busy when they don’t know what to do. The little snow leopard awkwardly flicked its tail, though its paws were pressing it down, so only the tip moved slightly. It sniffed at the meat just a breath away.

It hadn’t been boiled, but it was fresh. After thawing, the scent of blood had started to rise.

Under Lin Qianyu’s gentle gaze, the little snow leopard slowly opened its mouth and took a bite from the edge of the meat.

Soft meat was leagues better than frozen in terms of taste.

After the first bite, it swallowed whole, then immediately took a bigger one. Compared to the hesitant try at first, it was now eating noticeably faster.

Lin Qianyu pushed over some warm water. “Eat slowly. Don’t choke.”

With sharp teeth, the little snow leopard easily shredded the meat. It gnawed away with determination, tilting its head to bite with the side teeth.

After all, the snow leopard was called the “King of the Snowy Mountains.”

Though this one was still an underdeveloped cub, maybe it could end up like the Arctic fox—trailing behind a large predator like the polar bear, scavenging whatever meat was left behind.

But with a snow leopard’s temperament, that seemed unlikely.

Fresh, tender seal meat wasn’t something a stray little snow leopard could easily get. If lucky, it might find some, but it would be frozen solid.

The little snow leopard devoured a whole chunk of meat, seeming to choke a bit at the end. It swallowed hard twice, then lowered its head to drink some water.

【It’s eating so well.】

【Is seal meat really that good? I kinda want to try a bite too.】

【I don’t know why, but watching fluffballs eat is super soothing. I could literally watch them eat all day long.】

【At this rate, the little snow leopard might actually grow up before the show ends. Felines put on weight fast.】

It already knew how to look for food and could eat on its own when it saw it—that was good enough.

Lin Qianyu stood at the door a little longer. Her hand gripping the zipper of her parka was stiff with cold. Frostbite was still a real danger. She kept a close eye on the condition of her hands. Just as she was about to head inside, she paused and turned back. “You keep eating. I’m just going to get something.”

She was only speaking to inform it, not expecting a response. Yet, just as she stood up, the snow leopard swallowed its mouthful of meat and let out a soft “Aow…”

Lin Qianyu’s eyes curved as she smiled and coaxed gently, “Good.”

She warmed herself by the fire pit.

Holding a cup of hot water, she blew on it gently and took a couple of sips from the rim. She also grabbed the remaining half of a compressed biscuit and a can of meat.

She had waited at home all morning—it was nearly noon now.

Her breakfast had been thrown together, so now she cooked herself some meat soup too—not in the house, but at the old fire pit outside.

She sat out there, facing the little snow leopard. Though there was some distance between them, it still more or less felt like they were eating together.

The meat soup made from canned meat still tasted just the same. While eating lunch, Lin Qianyu said, “The food here is really a bit plain.”

It was always fish or meat. If she wanted vegetables, she had to dig for wild greens or hunt down algae.Lin Qianyu was thinking about finding some different food to add variety to the menu.

The fluffballs were used to eating meat and could eat it every meal.

But humans couldn’t—eating just meat every day would get tiring.

She was only halfway through her meat soup when the little snow leopard had already finished eating. It had eaten the fish and one piece of meat, but left a large chunk untouched.

It probably couldn’t eat anymore.

The little snow leopard was sitting not far away, grooming itself. Felines always cleaned their fur like this after eating.

Lin Qianyu took a bite of a compressed biscuit. “Next time you come by, I’ll make you some formula.”

The milk powder she requested from the rescue center had arrived. Strictly speaking... it wasn’t really a formal request.

She had just casually mentioned it in a livestream, and afterward received a message from a rescue worker confirming the delivery time.

Lin Qianyu cleared her throat. The frozen compressed biscuit had no wheat aroma at all, and swallowing it scratched her throat. The only difference between it and eating sand was that the biscuit’s packaging was labeled “edible supply.”

The meat soup helped wash down the taste, so it wasn’t too bad.

“It tasted okay last time,” Lin Qianyu said, flipping the packaging over with doubt. Sure enough, tucked in the folded part was a small line of text: “Original flavor.” “Original flavor isn’t as good as the one from last time.”

Saying that, she still took another bite of the biscuit. When she looked up, she saw the little snow leopard standing. “Leaving already?”

The little snow leopard flicked its ears and gave a soft “Aow...” before hurriedly running off.

It seemed like it was trying to sneak away but hadn’t expected to be noticed—its steps were even a bit clumsy as it ran.

The leftover meat was still there.

Lin Qianyu raised her voice. “I’ll keep the meat for you. Come back next time and finish it.”

The little snow leopard had already run far off.

Lin Qianyu set down her bowl and brushed off the snow on her clothes. She put the leftover meat from earlier into the freezer, then used the surrounding snow to cover the patch of blood on the ground, pressing it down firmly.

—After lunch.

Lin Qianyu sat inside playing with the fishing line on the floor.

The fishing rod and reel had been disassembled, and the line lay off to the side.

The production team had prepared a full fishing kit, with three types of line—varying in thickness and length—each suitable for different scenarios.

But Lin Qianyu didn’t plan to get that technical. As long as it was long enough, that was good enough. She held the three lines upright in her hand and aimed them at the camera. “This should be about enough. I’ll try making a fishing net.”

She added, “Fishing takes too much time. If I make a net and hang it in the water, I can just check it when I pass by. This weaving method is really practical and can be used in a lot of situations. Anyone interested can try it.”

She’d woven nets with palm-leaf rope before, and using fine fishing line followed a similar process.

This kind of fishing line was durable and hard to break. Braided rope couldn’t be left soaking in water for too long.

She disassembled every usable part from the fishing gear. Reassembling the rod wasn’t really an option. If she wanted fish, she’d have to rely on the fluffballs catching them or this net.

Once Lin Qianyu had finished part of the net, she held it up for everyone to see. “Once you weave it like this, you can create a layered trap. Place the bait inside—once the fish swims in, it’ll confuse itself trying to get out.”

【Alright, got it. I’m gonna go take apart my grandpa’s fishing rod right now.】【LOL, peak filial piety—you’re gonna kill your grandpa with that devotion.】

【I’ve already woven a small one. Gonna try it in my mom’s fish tank first—if it works, I’ll make a big one and take it to the river.】

...

The method of fishing with a rod wasn’t practical before. Plenty of fish took the bait, but by the time you went to retrieve it, either the fish had shaken the hook, or it was a tiny one—barely enough meat to bother with.

Eating fish required descaling and gutting, all that work for one bite—and then you still had to spit out the bones.

So those little fish were usually just thrown back.

By making the holes in the fishing net larger, small fish could come in, eat, and leave, while big fish would be trapped—avoiding the hassle of sorting after hauling in the net.

Lin Qianyu followed the steps methodically—pulling here, tightening there, stretching the line taut and looping it around. Before long, a rough net had taken shape.

With this as the base, she just needed to keep expanding outward.

“If you have the materials, it’s better to do more layers,” Lin Qianyu looked at the remaining fishing line and said helplessly, “This should be enough to expand the outer layer a bit more.”

She didn’t have enough to make multiple layers.

But if she checked the net every two or three days, it should still be usable.

It took her several hours to finish weaving the net. Her hands were covered in marks from the fishing line, nearly numb.

Lifting her sore fingers, she hooked the last end onto a curved ring disassembled from the fishing rod. “Done.”

Lin Qianyu stood up, held the net up in her hand—the hanging net nearly reached her knees.

After checking both sides to make sure it looked fine, she tugged at it and said, “I’ll go test how well this net works.”

After changing clothes, she grabbed the net and a piece of meat and headed toward the sea.

The ground was covered in snow, and she had to walk carefully to distinguish between solid ground and frozen surface.

Even though the ice was thick, there was always the risk of cracks.

Especially since some guests had been ice fishing lately. If someone had drilled a hole the day before and it hadn’t refrozen properly, stepping on it might break through the thin ice and plunge someone into the frigid sea—extremely dangerous.

Lin Qianyu folded up the lower layers of the net, clipping them to the ring. She had also added some fixed clips during the weaving process—all taken from the fishing rod.

Other than the uncertainty of its effectiveness, the net looked no different from the ones sold outside.

“This ice hole’s been with me for several days now.” Lin Qianyu, already familiar with the spot, knocked open the surface and carefully lowered the net into the hole. Both the top and bottom ends were weighted with meat. She even melted the meat a bit with fire to let the blood seep out—the smell of blood could attract fish.

Once the net was in, she fastened the ring at the edge of the hole to secure it.

With everything done, she let out a long breath by the ice hole. “That’s it. Once the surface refreezes, the net will be even more stable.”

If it freezes too tightly, though, taking it out later might be difficult.

A spotted seal slowly crawled over and glanced into the ice hole.

“Hey, looking for Huihui?” Lin Qianyu had gotten familiar with this group of spotted seals. Though she couldn’t remember every individual one, this particular seal was very close to the little spotted seal—she’d seen it enough times to recognize it.

Lin Qianyu patted the seal’s tail. “It went hunting with Xue Tuan and Xue Qiu. Still not back yet.”

The forked tail of the spotted seal was pretty amusing—when she touched it, the seal didn’t react much, but its tail would lift slightly, like a knee-jerk reflex.In the past, the spotted seal always came over carrying the little spotted seal in its mouth, but this time, its attention seemed entirely focused on the fishing net.

Lin Qianyu lifted a bit of the net. “Remember this—if you come across it underwater, be careful not to crash into it.”

The bait inside the fishing net didn’t appeal to the spotted seal, but if fish got trapped inside, the seal might not notice the thin net while trying to catch the fish and end up getting tangled—that would be a problem.

The spotted seal cried out, “Aow!”

【Adult spotted seals are so cute too. Sister Lin, aren’t you thinking of taking one home?】

【LOL, have you seen how many of them are sunbathing over there? She’d need to build two more shelters the size of the current one.】

【Adult spotted seals probably wouldn't coexist as peacefully with the polar bears.】

【Right! Huihui is different though, super easy to fool. Just wave some food and it follows Xue Tuan around like a tail.】

Lin Qianyu rubbed the seal’s tail thoughtfully. “I should go look for a treasure too.”

If there were fresh fruits, maybe there were vegetables as well.

Before, when the director was watching the livestream, she could ask questions directly if anything came up. Now that Su Yuxing was a participant in this season, there wasn’t really a way to get answers to small questions like that.

Stomping her feet a little, Lin Qianyu said, “I’ll take a loop around here first, see if there’s anything.”

No map, no clear direction.

She just picked a path and started walking to explore.

It had been a while since the treasures were dropped. The areas closer to the base and spots where guests often fished or foraged had probably already been searched.

If she wanted to find a treasure, she’d have to go farther—someplace untouched.

But on Polar Island, there was always the risk of hypothermia. It wasn’t safe to stray too far.

Lin Qianyu looked up at the sun and began walking southwest.

Polar Island was different from the other two islands. This one seemed ring-shaped—not a perfect circle, but the middle was hollow. A lonely island surrounded by sea, with its center made up of frozen ocean and scattered ice floes.

With global warming, glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic had been melting.

But Polar Island didn’t seem as affected.

Gazing out at the endless snowfields, Lin Qianyu murmured, “I heard you can see auroras on Polar Island.”

That was something the staff had told her during her first few days here.

But auroras were rare, and she hadn’t seen one yet.

She raised a hand to shield her eyes and thought: if she ever saw one, the first thing she’d do was take off her goggles. Just one look without them—then put them back on.

But she hadn’t seen an aurora yet—what she did see was a snow leopard standing on the cliffside.

“?!!”

That figure was unmistakable.

The thin frame entered Lin Qianyu’s line of sight, and she recognized it almost instantly.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, she saw the little snow leopard perched carefully on a protruding ledge, hiding its body, eyes locked sharply on a bharal in the distance.Was it hunting?

【No way! Is the little snow leopard really this badass?! Looks like I underestimated it.】

【Wait, huh… If it can hunt bharal, how could it possibly have starved like that?】

【Exactly, that doesn’t make sense. And hunting bharal from a cliff? All I can say is… get down from there, ahhh!】

Bharal move in herds, and even a typical snow leopard would only hunt them when they gather on flat ground. Hunting from such a narrow cliff edge, with almost nowhere to stand, is incredibly dangerous.

One wrong step and it could fall to its death.

Some snow leopards can hunt from cliffs—but that’s something only skilled adults can do.

For a snow leopard that struggles just to feed itself, cliffside hunting definitely isn’t the best choice.

Besides, even when the bharal are on the ground, catching them is no easy feat. Maybe it chose the cliff on purpose, where the herd is more scattered and easier to ambush?

Whatever the case… right now, the little snow leopard just isn’t capable of hunting bharal.

Lin Qianyu opened her mouth, wanting to say something—but was afraid of startling the snow leopard, or worse, scaring the bharal. If they rammed it, they could knock the little snow leopard right off the ledge.

She slowed her steps, carefully inching closer, hugging the edge of the cliff as she moved.

The bharal seemed to sense something was wrong too. Instead of climbing higher, they chewed slowly on some grass sprouting from a crevice and started moving downward.

The bharal herd was just below.

Lin Qianyu hadn’t been noticed by the snow leopard or the bharal above—but the herd below couldn’t help noticing her.

There was some distance between them, and Lin Qianyu made no threatening moves, just quietly stood to the side.

Seeing she wasn’t doing anything, a few bharal lowered their heads again.

But some remained alert, keeping an eye on her.

That made it harder for Lin Qianyu to move any closer.

Just then, a bharal above suddenly let out a startled cry—“Whinny!”

Lin Qianyu’s head shot up. The little snow leopard was clinging to a bharal nearly twice its size, jaws locked on its neck.

It seemed to know it couldn’t kill the bharal in one bite, so instead, it ripped out a chunk of flesh. Blood soaked its white fur. After taking that one bite, it let go—but the panicked bharal kicked it hard.

At the same time, the bharal tumbled from the cliff, rolling nearly vertically down the slope. Within three seconds, it hit the ground.

The herd panicked and scattered in all directions.

The little snow leopard clung to a protruding rock, its body hanging mid-air, claws scrabbling for grip but unable to pull itself up. “Mew!” it let out a sharp, desperate cry—then it, too, fell.

It looked to be about the height of a three-story building.

Lin Qianyu forgot all about the bharal. Without hesitation, she yanked off her down jacket, folded it hastily, and rushed forward to catch the falling snow leopard. Her wrists ached from the impact as it landed belly-up, sinking into the softness of the coat, its outstretched paws looking a bit dazed.

Felines often instinctively try to land on their forepaws, using their paw pads to absorb the shock.

But the little snow leopard hadn’t even had time to react—it just dropped straight into the jacket.

As soon as she caught it, Lin Qianyu let out a long breath. “Scared me to death.”【Sister Lin is awesome! That whole move sequence gets full marks from me.】

【So cool, ahhh!】

【The little snow leopard looks totally stunned—I swear this was its first time hunting bharal, you believe it? Looked like it had zero experience and just charged in on pure adrenaline.】

Lin Qianyu held the little snow leopard in her arms, her hand gently feeling along its belly. “Are you okay? Where did it get you?”

“Awuu…” The little snow leopard still seemed shaken, ears folded back, its whole body trembling.

Maybe it was only now realizing just how dangerous that had been.

Lin Qianyu softly patted its back as she held it. “Alright, alright, it’s okay now. Next time, don’t—”

She paused, thinking that might sound too harsh, then corrected herself: “Until you’ve got enough hunting experience, you’re not allowed to go after bharal again, alright?”

Once it grew up, the king of the snowy mountains could take down bharal with ease—but now wasn’t the time.

The snow leopard’s fur was stained with blood—it should be the bharal’s.

Still, Lin Qianyu had seen it get kicked earlier, and she couldn’t quite relax. She gently pressed with her fingertips. “Does this hurt?”

The little snow leopard rested its front paws in front of itself and blinked. “Mew…”

She tried another spot. “Here?”

Still no sign of pain.

“Then it should be nothing serious.” Lin Qianyu opened its mouth slightly to check—no blood, and the fur under its jaw was stained with the bharal’s blood, not its own.

She shook out her down jacket and put it back on, then tucked the little snow leopard inside before zipping it up.

The little snow leopard was still in shock, letting her move it however she wanted.

It was like a lifelike plush toy, ridiculously cute.

When the zipper stopped at its neck, the little snow leopard blinked, and its trembling body slowly stilled—maybe that position made it feel very safe.

Lin Qianyu supported it from underneath with one hand. The jacket had only been off for a short while, but her back was already freezing, and it would take time to warm up again.

The little snow leopard in her arms was like a mini space heater.

She looked down and asked, “Are you hungry?”

But it had just eaten back at the shelter—not long ago at all. It should easily be full until evening.

So why would it suddenly take such a risk to hunt a bharal?

“Awuu…” The little snow leopard tilted its head up, tentatively raising a paw and reaching toward Lin Qianyu’s chin. Even with her head lowered, it could only just reach her neck.

Its little nose nuzzled her neck, and it gave a soft, low whimper.

“You caught that for me?” Lin Qianyu was caught off guard. Snow leopards eat bharal as a staple—it was a familiar, preferred prey.

The little snow leopard didn’t yet have the ability to hunt bharal, but maybe it had seen others do it. Maybe family members had hunted them before.

So it tried to bring her a tasty prey that snow leopards are fond of.

【Ahhh??? The little snow leopard is skin and bones from hunger, but it still risked its life to catch something good for Sister Lin??】【Wuuuah—it really made me cry.】

【Such a good snow leopard baby! A little snow leopard this sweet deserves endless auntie kisses.】

【“I can eat anything, but what I give you must be the best.”】

【Guys I’m seriously tearing up, people with low tear thresholds can’t handle this kind of thing.】

...

Lin Qianyu looked into the little snow leopard’s eyes—round beast-like pupils filled with her reflection, overflowing with trust and a timid, cautious hope.

“Thank you, I really like it.” Lin Qianyu rubbed the little snow leopard’s head. “Come on, let’s go home. I’ll make you something delicious.”

The bharal, having already died, couldn’t go to waste. She couldn’t eat it herself, but for the fluffballs, no one would mind.

Lin Qianyu grabbed the bharal by the hind leg and started walking home. Blood from its neck dragged a long trail through the snow.

The little snow leopard nestled quietly in her arms, looking up at her.

“Isn’t it tiring to keep your head tilted like that?” Lin Qianyu stopped, let go of the bharal, and gently rubbed its ear with her fingers.

The little snow leopard reached out with its paw to hug her wrist and nuzzled affectionately. “Awoo!”

No!

It just wanted to keep staring at her like that.

Didn’t even want to blink.

---The treasure hadn’t been found.

But Lin Qianyu had still returned with more than she could’ve hoped for.

The bharal was left outside for now. On the way back, most of the blood had already stopped flowing—either frozen or drained dry.

Lin Qianyu carried the little snow leopard inside.

It was the second time it had come here, but this was its first time actually entering the house.

The unfamiliar, enclosed space made the little one visibly nervous. It curled deeper into Lin Qianyu’s clothes, its nose tucked so low it disappeared inside, leaving only its eyes above the collar, darting around cautiously.

“Let’s give you a bath first—you’re all covered in blood.” The blood had dried. Some had gotten on Lin Qianyu’s clothes too. Out in the freezing cold earlier, the scent of blood hadn’t been so strong.

She took off her down jacket and set the little snow leopard down. “Wait a bit. I’ll get some water.”

The little snow leopard: “Wuuu…”

From leftover chunks of wood used to make the table and bed, Lin Qianyu had used an axe to chip out a hollowed, all-in-one wooden basin. It wasn’t very deep, but it was perfect for holding hot water and wiping down with a towel during bath time.

She filled it halfway with water, then added some snow to balance the temperature. Testing it with her fingers, it felt warm but not too hot. While boiling the water, steam had filled the air, wrapping the room in a gentle mist.

“Alright, little one.” Lin Qianyu placed her hand into the basin, palm up. “Come try the water.”

The little snow leopard didn’t know what “water temperature” meant, but when it saw her hand in the basin, it hesitantly stretched out a paw—only to touch the water before it could reach her palm.

Snow leopards don’t really like water. They live in high-altitude snowy mountains, where contact with water is rare.

And like most cats—except tigers—they generally dislike it.Snow leopards may not like water, but they aren’t exactly afraid of it either.

The moment its paw touched the water, the little snow leopard pulled it back, instinctively shaking it to flick off the droplets.

Lin Qianyu wasn’t in a rush—she smiled and comforted gently, “Good, take your time. Just go in little by little, we don’t need a long soak, just need to wash the blood off.”

Dried blood would take a lot of effort to clean even if it licked it off bit by bit, and this time the blood was on its neck—some spots it simply couldn’t reach with its tongue.

Using a wet towel would always leave a faint pinkish stain on the white fur—never fully clean.

The little snow leopard nervously shook its fur. Encouraged by Lin Qianyu’s gaze, it lowered its head and tried again, stretching its paw into the water.

It still flinched a bit at contact, but this time only pulled back slightly before slowly pushing its paw in, cautiously pressing it against Lin Qianyu’s palm.

The little snow leopard lifted its head, light blue eyes clear and bright. “Awoo!”

Lin Qianyu praised, “Good job.”

She guided the little snow leopard to paddle and play in the water for a bit.

Then she picked it up and set it into the basin. It crouched down; the warm water barely reached its neck. But instinct was still instinct—once in the water, it froze up stiffly. It licked the surface of the water and, realizing it was drinkable, began drinking enthusiastically.

【Hahaha cub what are you doing.】

【Little snow leopard: if I drink fast enough, I won’t have to bathe.】

【Drink this whole basin and you won’t need to eat until tomorrow night—straight water full.】

【Conclusion: the little snow leopard loves warm water (confirmed)】

Lin Qianyu scooped up water to wet its neck, gently rubbing and loosening the blood-matted fur.

At that moment, the little snow leopard couldn’t lower its head to drink anymore. Instead, it tilted back, blinking up at Lin Qianyu while its tail, resting on the edge of the basin, flicked gently.

Seeing this, Lin Qianyu picked up the tail and laid it across the little snow leopard’s mouth. “Here, bite it yourself.”

The little snow leopard obediently opened its mouth.

The air inside was hot and steamy, so the water cooled slowly. Even so, Lin Qianyu didn’t dare drag the bath on for too long and squeezed some body wash onto the little snow leopard.

As she lathered it into foam, she couldn’t help but joke, “Did you guys predict I’d be giving animals baths? The body wash is all-natural.”

The ingredient list was impressively clean—plant-based extract, no fragrances.

You could say the difference between this and soapberry pods was that the pods took forever to foam, but this body wash lathered up with just a few scrubs.

By “you guys,” she naturally meant the rescue center staff.

On the island, any product without a brand label was likely made by the rescue center itself.

【Tsk… I remember Hang Sisi’s body wash was lavender scented.】

【Yeah, and Yin Youlin’s was lavender too. Damn, are they bullying Lin-jie for not having fans? Gave her an unscented one!】

【Hahaha damn, you’re a pro at stirring things up.】

Lin Qianyu had only made the comment jokingly, not expecting to be right.

Still, maybe it wasn’t that they predicted she’d bathe animals—but knowing her personality of always sharing everything with the fluffballs, they played it safe by only giving her the gentlest, safest stuff.She scrubbed the little snow leopard clean, and just one rinse with the all-natural body wash used it all up.

Lin Qianyu wrapped the little snow leopard tightly in a bath towel, then picked it up and set it on the table. The fire pit in the kitchen was still burning. The steam was kept in the bathroom by the curtain, so the kitchen wasn’t too stuffy.

She rubbed the little snow leopard dry in her arms, the dry towel absorbing the water from its fur.

She had soaked and wrung out the compressed towels in advance to dry them indoors. Otherwise, she’d have to soak one each time, and it would always stay damp.

She used two towels to soak up the moisture from the snow leopard. Once it was mostly dry, she lowered her head and kissed its forehead. “All done. Lick yourself a bit, and wait till your fur dries before going out to play.”

The little snow leopard tilted its head up and nuzzled her. “Awoo!”

Lin Qianyu took a change of clothes and hung them in the bathroom, then quickly tidied up the room. She poured the used water behind the house and leaned the wooden basin against the side of the igloo to dry. Wooden basins tend to grow mold, so it was better to sun them after each use.

She brought out the spare basin from indoors and mixed another batch of warm water for her own bath.

…

On Polar Island, unlike the other two islands, you couldn’t just go out with wet hair and expect the sun to dry it.

If you dared go out with wet hair, it would freeze into stiff sticks in minutes.

They’d snap like twigs if you pinched them.

When Lin Qianyu came out after her bath, the little snow leopard was still licking its fur, occasionally giving a shake, then switching positions to keep licking.

The streaming device had been left outside.

Fans had been watching the little snow leopard groom itself for nearly half an hour.

【Seriously... won’t you take a break?】

【I’m tired just watching.】

【Haha, with one word from Lin-jie, the snow leopard cub is diligently treating it like a mission.】

【Have you noticed? The snow leopard looks much rounder after the bath.】

Visually, fluffy fur made small animals look rounder, but it was just an illusion. Once the fur got pressed down, it was clearly still skinny underneath.

Lin Qianyu wrapped her hair in a towel and came over to rub the little snow leopard. “That’s good. Let’s warm up by the fire.”

She gently pressed on the little snow leopard’s belly to check—this was a sensitive area for animals. Even familiar ones could react with a swift kick or bite when touched.

But when she touched the snow leopard, not only did it not resist, it even raised a paw, as if to make it easier for her.

After checking its belly, Lin Qianyu casually squeezed its paw pads. “Let’s save the ibex for tomorrow. You probably won’t be able to eat more today anyway.”

“Awoo!”

Still, the ibex outside needed to be dealt with.

Once it froze solid, breaking it down would be a hassle.

Thawing a few chunks at a time was easier than trying to thaw the whole thing.

And that sheep was huge—dragging it into the house and keeping it by the stove wouldn’t be practical.

Her hair was still a bit damp. Taking advantage of the moment, Lin Qianyu picked up her down jacket and brushed it clean, giving it a simple wipe. With no way to properly wash a down jacket, and since it only had a few drops of blood on it, wiping it off would do.After brushing it clean, she placed it by the fire to dry. In the flickering firelight, the water stains disappeared quickly.

Lin Qianyu finished dressing. “I’m stepping out for a bit—just by the door. Call me if you need anything.”

The little snow leopard, in the middle of licking its paw, paused as Lin Qianyu bent down and stepped through the arched doorway.

Hang Sisi was squatting by the fire, curled into a ball. She waved when she saw Lin Qianyu. “Qianyu-jie, is that ibex yours?”

“Kind of. The snow leopard caught it.” Lin Qianyu poked the ibex with her axe and found it had already started to freeze. “Why?”

Hang Sisi shook her head. “We were just betting on who caught it.”

Lin Qianyu adjusted her hat, sat down, and asked, “Then who did you all guess?”

Yin Youlin smiled and said, “You, of course. That’s an ibex we’re talking about.”

He raised two fingers in a “V” as he spoke. “That’s a Class II protected animal. If it were anyone else, Director Su would be yelling his head off by now.”

Su Yuxing: “…”

You’re the one yelling your head off.

It’s part of the food chain when animals eat other animals—humans can’t interfere. But if a human eats one, that’s a whole different matter.

That’d start at several years in prison, at least.

And no one really knew what country Feng Jingye’s island fell under. If someone really ate one and got investigated, they might be wanted the moment they stepped into that jurisdiction again.

Snow leopards eat ibexes by nature, so it was fine if it caught it.

“Qianyu-jie, wasn’t it said that the snow leopard cub wasn’t good at hunting? It already learned how to catch an ibex in such a short time?” Hang Sisi couldn’t watch the livestream and had to guess what was happening based on chat. “I heard from the fans that catching the ibex looked really dangerous. Once the show ends, I’m definitely going to watch that part over and over.”

Not being able to see Lin Qianyu’s livestream had already taken away most of the fun of being on the show.

While sipping hot water, she couldn’t help asking, “Did the little snow leopard just drop off the ibex and leave?”

She looked around but didn’t see the little snow leopard.

She was also very curious what it looked like.

Snow leopards were among the most mysterious big cats. They weren’t as commonly seen in zoos as lions or tigers, and most low-altitude zoos couldn’t support them.

So she’d only seen them in pictures or videos online—never in person.

“No, it didn’t leave. Just had a bath.” As Lin Qianyu spoke, she caught a glimpse of a small head peeking from the arched door of the igloo, paws inching forward tentatively.

As if it wanted to come out but was still wary.

Seeing this, Lin Qianyu set down her axe, unzipped her down jacket, and opened her arms in the direction of the igloo, saying nothing.

“Qianyu-jie…?” Hang Sisi looked puzzled, when suddenly a small white fluff ball shot over like a little cannonball. “Awoo!”

The voice was still youthful. Before Hang Sisi could even figure out what was going on, that fluff ball leapt straight into Lin Qianyu’s arms.

Lin Qianyu closed her arms around it and wrapped it up in her jacket.

The little snow leopard wiggled around inside her coat, then poked its head out from the collar and licked her chin. “Mrrp!”

Author’s note: Here it is~ Happy Mid-Autumn Festival~【All snow leopard info sourced from the internet】Good night, sleep early, love every one of you.