Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Smooth the Fur

Seeing the director return to the tent,

Lin Qianyu took a sip of beer, slowly chewing on peanuts, and whispered to the red-tailed hawk, “Honestly, this beer tastes so-so.”

She actually didn’t like drinking much; compared to the beer itself, she preferred the cold, refreshing sensation.

The chicken stewed with beer and mushrooms in the pot was cooked with the lid off on high heat, and the barely noticeable alcohol smell quickly evaporated. Maybe it was just her imagination, but the chicken seemed more tender after adding beer.

Lin Qianyu bit into a chicken leg and said, “Next time, see if there’s any cola or Sprite, orange juice would be fine too.”

“Preferably chilled as well.” Lin Qianyu still felt it wasn’t enough and vividly described to the red-tailed hawk, “Something about this size can, with a red bottle. Can you tell colors apart? You should be able to.”

After the director left, the red-tailed hawk folded its wings. It was now lowering its head to eat meat, but upon hearing Lin Qianyu, it raised its head, swallowing a piece of meat it held in its beak.

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as your agreement.” Lin Qianyu said cheerfully, “And peanuts, next time only bring the pink bags.”

The red-tailed hawk narrowed its eyes and nodded slightly up and down as if agreeing.

【Hahaha damn, you two really do get along well.】

【No way, you even ordered food, right?!】

【Director: No joke, my show just got two bandits.】

Lin Qianyu used to be in infinite-loop missions, where eating good food was a luxury and even eating on time was a wish. Since coming out, she joined this wilderness survival reality show; without the threat to life, her thoughts naturally turned to living well and... good food.

Not knowing what delicious stuff the production team had brought, Lin Qianyu talked about many tasty things, “I wonder if there are chips, probably hard to bring though. Oh, when’s the next airdrop? Maybe you can go ahead early…”

‘Zzzzt’

A harsh electric buzzing interrupted Lin Qianyu’s words.

Lin Qianyu and the red-tailed hawk both looked up.

A white megaphone poked out laboriously through the tent zipper gap.

The next moment, the director’s powerful voice came through: “I can hear you talking!!!”

Lin Qianyu: “...”

【Hahaha conspiring with the red-tailed hawk to steal supplies and you don’t even backstab me!】

【The director sadly pulls out the megaphone thinking: I’ll fight you all.】

The red-tailed hawk was startled by this sudden unfamiliar voice; its feathers puffed up.

Seeing this, Lin Qianyu put down her bowl and chopsticks and reached out to smooth its feathers, “Don’t be afraid, it’s just a... huh?!”

As soon as her fingertips touched the red-tailed hawk’s tail feathers, the silky sensation flashed briefly, then the red-tailed hawk flapped its wings and flew straight at the tent, pulling the megaphone out.

“Hey, me!” The director held on tight, but with the hawk’s tug, he was slammed straight onto the tent’s door flap.

The zipper, which had only been slightly open, suddenly zipped down with a ‘zzzz’ sound.

The director lay against the thin tent flap, barely managing to block his face from hitting the ground with his hand. When he looked up, the red-tailed hawk turned leisurely and calmly walked over to Lin Qianyu, dropping the megaphone beside her.

— Trophy +1.

The fans in the livestream were stunned by this sudden scene.

Lin Qianyu blinked and hurriedly stood up. “Director? Are you okay?”

The director pushed himself up with his arms, swiftly rising from the ground, brushing dirt off his legs, and waving his hand. “I’m fine.”

His eyes brightened quite a bit as he thought about the series of events that just happened, and he couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration: “That’s a red-tailed hawk.”

Lin Qianyu: “???”

The red-tailed hawk shook its feathers and elegantly paced around the iron can in front of Lin Qianyu.

【Wtf, what just happened? Even watching the replay in slow motion, I can’t see how the red-tailed hawk pinned the director down.】

【That height and force—was there a dive attack too? This bird is seriously fierce, a delicate yet ruthless red-tailed hawk… love it!!!】

【Still protective, standing in front of you when danger comes, bringing you food, what a precious bird! Damn, I love it even more now.】

The director didn’t rush to retrieve his megaphone but instead picked up the tent flap and rehung it. Seeing Lin Qianyu move to help, he waved her off, signaling her to go back to her livestream.

Lin Qianyu didn’t understand but seeing he was fine, she returned to her previous spot and sat down.

Seeing her return, the red-tailed hawk also stood opposite the pot.

“You can’t eat this.” Lin Qianyu explained, “There’s a lot of seasoning and alcohol in it.”

If all went as expected, the bird wouldn’t drink alcohol.

“Chiu!”

“Really no.” Lin Qianyu said earnestly, “Soup with so much seasoning is like poison to a little bird. If it eats it, it’ll definitely die.”

The red-tailed hawk didn’t believe her and poked its head toward Lin Qianyu’s bowl.

“Hey, no…” She hurriedly lifted the bowl higher, “It’ll definitely die, hey!”

“Chiu—!”

“I’ll make you something else, okay? Chicken soup or rabbit soup, without any seasoning. Is that alright?”

Lin Qianyu really didn’t dare let the red-tailed hawk eat randomly, so she gently negotiated with it, offering more meat broth in exchange.

Hearing this, the red-tailed hawk tilted its head, withdrew its claw from Lin Qianyu’s leg, and obediently crouched beside her.

The chicken caught this time was small, and after removing the innards, there wasn’t much left. Lin Qianyu mainly ate the mushrooms; the chicken was just for flavor.

Earlier, she had picked out most of the chicken meat to exchange for the plastic bag of peanuts and beer for the red-tailed hawk.

Now, there were only two small pieces of meat left in the pot, filled mostly with mushrooms, and it looked like there were quite a few other things inside.

The red-tailed hawk looked very docile, its feathers on top of its head bending gently backward.

Seeing it like this, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but feel a little itchy-handed. She moved her fingertips, as if still sensing the softness from the brief touch of its tail feathers.

She quietly raised her hand, lightly tapping the feathers on the red-tailed hawk’s head with her fingertips, without touching too directly.

However, the red-tailed hawk seemed to sense something, lifting its head to rub firmly against her palm.

Lin Qianyu was stunned for a moment, then smiled with a glint of warmth in her eyes. “So good.”

【!!!】

The livestream chat froze briefly due to the red-tailed hawk’s action.

Moments later, exclamation marks flooded the screen.

Many people in the livestream had come mainly for the red-tailed hawk, which was most famous in the animal kingdom for its aggressive temper that wouldn’t back down.

It would dive at passing tigers and pluck some tiger fur if it didn’t like them.

But now, the top raptor was soft and gentle by Lin Qianyu’s side, even actively rubbing against her hand!

【Case solved: The red-tailed hawk is a costume, and someone’s inside pretending.】

【Aww, so cute, so cute, I want to raise one.】

【Why?! Did I miss something? Lin Qianyu only just met the red-tailed hawk the second time, how did she get so close so quickly!】

The chat moved so fast that Lin Qianyu’s watch display briefly lagged.

Lin Qianyu hadn’t expected the red-tailed hawk to be so affectionate. Perhaps being able to communicate without barriers made the hawk see her as its own kind, expressing kind and friendly intentions.

Though she didn’t know if raptors felt such kinship, at least now Lin Qianyu thought this guess was reasonable.

Lin Qianyu gently stroked the red-tailed hawk, feeling completely soft inside. The big fluffy fur felt great to touch, and the red-tailed hawk obediently didn’t avoid her, showing a kind of indulgent tolerance.

Watching the red-tailed hawk comfortably squint its eyes, Lin Qianyu said to it, “How about we go hunting after I finish eating?”

“Chiu!”

“Qianyu-jie, what are you doing?” Hang Sisi came back exhausted and dirty, completely worn out. She immediately saw the big bird beside Lin Qianyu and, recalling its fierce look from last time, instinctively shrank her neck.

But... why is she getting so close now?

At that moment, the red-tailed hawk heard the noise and glanced over, seemingly assessing whether there was a threat.

Hang Sisi froze in place, her voice trembling as she said, “Q-Qianyu-jie...”

“Back?” Lin Qianyu stroked the red-tailed hawk’s neck, turning it gently around. “It’s okay. It won’t hurt anyone without reason. Right?”

The question was clearly not directed at Hang Sisi.

“Chiu!” The red-tailed hawk quickly responded.

Lin Qianyu ate absentmindedly, the mushrooms in the pot gradually disappearing. She finally poured a bowl of soup and sipped it slowly.

Guests who had gone out to pick mushrooms returned to the base one after another. Seeing the red-tailed hawk here, many couldn’t help but be surprised.

Only Guo Yanpeng and An Lanqing remained calm.

They had already learned what happened here from the livestream comments.

An Lanqing took a bag of packed mushrooms from her backpack. “Qianyu, thank you for telling us about the mushrooms on the mountain. These are the mushrooms Yanpeng and I picked; here’s half for you.”

“No need. I’ve already eaten.” Lin Qianyu finished the remaining soup, threw the bowl and chopsticks into the iron pot, planning to wash up by the river later. “The mushrooms on the mountain are marked on the map. No need to thank me.”

Whether good or bad, Lin Qianyu didn’t want any connection with An Lanqing. She didn’t care about popularity, but if An Lanqing tried to leech off her fame, she would feel annoyed.

An Lanqing opened her mouth, her face full of tenderness but faintly showing some grievance. She nervously rubbed the leaves wrapping the mushrooms, seeming a bit lost.

She said nothing more, but her expression was like someone wronged yet strong, unwilling to shed tears.

Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow, really wondering why An Lanqing was making such a big show over not getting a mushroom.

Not giving An Lanqing the stage to perform, Lin Qianyu rubbed the red-tailed hawk’s head and stood up, saying, “Let’s go! Time to hunt!”

“Chiu!”

The livestream equipment planted in the ground switched the screen to Lin Qianyu’s back as she slowly walked into the dense forest.

【Red-tailed hawk circling overhead, Lin Qianyu slowly stepping into the deep forest — wow\... the atmosphere is amazing.】

【Wait a moment before you say amazing, did the streamer forget to bring the livestream equipment?】

【……Lin Qianyu!!! You’ve left the livestream unattended again ahhh!】