Chapter 30
Chapter 30
"A tiger? In the rainforest, it’s probably only the Timobas tiger."
The leopard moved extremely fast—viewers watching the livestream barely had time to blink before the leopard had already come back, carrying the little chevrotain in its mouth.
The crocodile might have smelled the scent of the leopard, black bear, and red-tailed crested eagle on the chevrotain. Its wooden brain may have felt puzzled, but out of an animal’s instinct for self-preservation, it didn’t open its mouth.
Now free from the chevrotain’s pursuit, the crocodile scrambled to the riverbank, buried its head underwater, and with its tail dragging a curve across the shore, disappeared in a flash.
Held in the leopard’s jaws, the little chevrotain no longer had the arrogant attitude it had just displayed in front of the crocodile.
Maybe because it was bitten by the scruff of the neck, the little thing shrank its neck like a kitten and didn’t dare move a muscle.
Lin Qianyu: “……”
Completely different deer from the one charging around earlier.
Well, at least it knows to be scared of a leopard.
The director laughed too upon seeing the change. “This little chevrotain is too funny.”
Lin Qianyu helplessly reached out and lifted it over. “How could you chase a crocodile? That’s way too dangerous.”
The chevrotain blinked its big wet eyes innocently. “Yo!”
This little troublemaker.
Lin Qianyu stuffed a piece of watermelon into its mouth, tapped its ear, and said, “Be good and eat your watermelon here. No running around.”
The little chevrotain wagged its short tail behind it. It had just won a glorious victory—its enemy had fled in defeat, and it was in a great mood.
【Help—baby, do you remember you’re an herbivore?】
【So cute, chasing a crocodile while wagging its tail. With that tiny body, the croc could swallow it whole without even choking.】
【A house full of apex predators raised a little bully.】
【Huahua’s such a tsundere—pretending not to care about the streamer, but as soon as Sister Lin speaks, the chevrotain gets carried back immediately.】
…
The black bear was holding its watermelon, eating it rind and all. Naturally, the juice got all over its chest fur, soaking a large patch.
Lin Qianyu wiped it down a couple of times, but there was too much juice to clean off, so she gave up. She’d take the bear for a wash once it was full.
The leopard, after eating one slice of watermelon, refused any more. Its sharp eyes scanned the surroundings before it stood and began walking into the rainforest.
Lin Qianyu reached out and just managed to grab its tail. “Going hunting?”
She didn’t use any force—her fingers just curled loosely. The leopard stopped on its own, and its tail tip circled once around her wrist. “Rrr…”
“Alright, be safe.”
The leopard turned and rubbed against the back of Lin Qianyu’s hand, twitched its ears, and left in the direction of a sound.
Lin Qianyu hadn’t eaten much herself. Only the first bite of cold watermelon was really good. She lay back in the director’s recliner, resting on a soft neck pillow.
The chair rocked gently. Next to her was chilled watermelon, above her a sunshade umbrella. The area had probably been sprayed with insect repellent—there wasn’t a single annoying bug in sight. Instead, the air was filled with the sweet scent of watermelon. She slowly closed her eyes, relaxed and content.
The black bear’s rhythmic crunching of watermelon—crunch crunch—was almost soothing enough to be turned into a sleep sound recording.Lin Qianyu waved the fan in her hand. “This kind of chair really is the most comfortable.”
She let out a long breath and mused, “I wonder if it’s possible to find a wild lounge chair.”
Director: “???”
Taking things and eating?
“I…” The director tried to reach out and salvage the situation, but as soon as he took a step, the black bear and red-tailed crested eagle both looked up at him—he didn’t dare move another inch.
The director tried reasoning with emotion, “Ahem, this won’t do, these belong to the production team, and the show still has to be fair, after all.”
Lin Qianyu turned to the side and waved her hand. “Understood, got it. I was just saying.”
The director wiped his sweat and let out a long, weak sigh. If he had known, he wouldn’t have set up something so fancy.
In the past, the rewards arranged mid-show were always bait laid out by the production team.
This time, the bait was set, the fish bit the hook—and in the end, forget the bait, even the fishing rod was gone.
“Sigh.” The director glanced over, his aggrieved expression screaming, outrage withheld by force.
【Hahahaha damn, I really want to @ the previous guests to come see how badly the director’s being schooled.】
【Director ah, take my advice, the world of wilderness survival shows is too treacherous—you can’t handle it.】
【Director during the test run of Wilderness: Arrogant and almighty. Director during the actual broadcast: small, pitiful, helpless, and afraid to cry, might get chased by animals.】
【This is gold, can’t get enough, bring on more!】
…
The director, who normally tortured guests with all kinds of rules and mini-games to the point even non-fans felt sorry for them, was now finally getting his comeuppance—and the livestream viewers were loving it.
Trying to find some complaints about Lin Qianyu being a bully, the director opened the live chat, only to be met with a screen full of “hahahaha.” Furious, he slammed the chat shut.
Lin Qianyu flexed her wrist. Even with the shade overhead, it was too hot to fall asleep, so she decided to chat. “Director, what’s the reward for first place?”
The director replied, “A long-term contract with Zhiyu Tianyu. I won’t say the company will promote you heavily, but after signing, you’ll be able to compete for any major film or TV project.”
Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow. Zhiyu Tianyu was the name of an entertainment agency, said to be backed by a powerful corporation. They had produced many award-winning actors and actresses, and there was an endless stream of trending young stars under their wing.
Basically, if you entered the industry and signed with this company, fame was just a matter of time.
No wonder An Lanqing was so desperate. She debuted in a girl group, and her current contract had loopholes—breaking it would cost her millions in penalties. She obviously couldn’t afford that, but if Zhiyu Tianyu intervened or paid it off for her, that burden would be lifted considerably.
Her future path in the entertainment industry would also be much smoother.
Also, on the show, she could ride Lin Qianyu’s popularity to build a good public image. After switching agencies, with momentum and good reviews, picking a solid script could easily catapult her to stardom.
That said… with An Lanqing’s current fame and her performance on the show, forget first place—it was questionable whether she’d even make it to the top three.
Lin Qianyu pressed her lips together. “Is the first place reward just that contract?”
Director: “???”
Why did it sound like you weren’t very interested?
He was stunned. “That’s not good enough? Do you have any idea how many people signed up for my show just to win that first-place prize?”If it weren’t for the fact that some celebrities held considerable status in the industry, and their agencies were unwilling to let them go—due to the entangled interests—they’d all be privately contacting him, asking to join the show.
In the director’s view, Lin Qianyu taking first place was already a sure thing. That’s why he picked the most popular part of the first-place reward to tell her about.
Lin Qianyu sat up. “Is there more?”
“In addition to that, there’s also a three million yuan cash prize.” Though that contract was essentially priceless—if one really had to put a number on it, it would easily be worth tens of millions.
He could confidently say that in the entire entertainment industry, he, Su Yuxing, was the only one who could offer that kind of contract as a prize.
Lin Qianyu nodded. “That’s not bad.”
Compared to a contract, she preferred things that were direct and straightforward.
Conditions while filming were limited, but once the show ended, she wanted to buy a bunch of stuff for the little animals here to try out.
Feeding animals was something that brought her genuine happiness.
The director took a sip of water and suddenly asked, “By the way, have you checked the trending topics recently?”
“No.” With so many furry creatures at home, Lin Qianyu didn’t have time to follow online news. But judging from what the director said, something must’ve happened. She asked, “What’s up? Something happened again?”
“It’s nothing serious. You know how it is—whenever a variety show gets popular, similar ones quickly start popping up.”
At this point, the director chuckled. “Our show has one too now.”
This season wasn’t even over yet, and already several wilderness survival-type shows had been officially announced online.
Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow. “And you’re happy about that?”
Shows of the same genre would inevitably divert some attention and hype.
The director said, “Oh, some local station copied our format and invited a pretty well-known ‘top traffic’ actress. Her persona is that of a fairy girl who can communicate with animals.”
There were plenty of similar shows, but outright copying the entire structure—and even assigning character personas—made that show feel extremely forced.
Lin Qianyu: “……”
Huh?
“Their animals were obviously released from the zoo. The actress was so scared her face went white, but she had to pretend like she was totally fine and close to the animals—and then got bitten by a tiger.”
The director smacked his lips. Honestly, he shouldn’t be laughing at something like that. But… he really couldn’t help it. Hahaha!
【When Qianyu’s stream went dark one night, I switched over to that show. That tiger didn’t even have muscle tone—it was pudgy, obviously well-fed at the zoo.】
【Exactly. Just look at Huabao and you can immediately tell the difference between wild and captive animals.】
【That actress was still cuddling the tiger’s head, trash-talking Lin-jie one moment, then got bitten the next. Heard she’s filing a lawsuit now. The show’s been canceled.】
After hearing that, Lin Qianyu didn’t know what to say. “Add a ‘Do Not Imitate’ warning in the lower right corner of my livestream.”
“It’s been there. Ever since the red-tailed crested eagle appeared, I contacted the relevant authorities. Don’t worry. That other show was just trying to ride the hype. Their planners were brainless—really thought I personally found all these animals.” The director scoffed, “Where would I get that kind of power?”
Bullet comments: 【???】
You sound kinda proud of that?
【But seriously, how come when the animals get aggressive, they stop immediately the moment Lin Qianyu speaks? Even if she can communicate with animals, it’s not like just saying ‘stop’ would make them back off instantly, right?】【Think about it like this—you’re about to kill a rabbit, you raise the knife, and the rabbit suddenly says: “Bro, don’t kill me, let me tell you a story.” Would you still kill it?】
【…Well damn, who could still go through with it then.】
The director pinched his fan, clearly holding something back. He hesitated for a while before finally giving in and asking, “Have you run into any tigers on this island?”
The neighboring show was faking it, using zoo tigers to pass off as wild ones, and still got plenty of attention.
If Lin Qianyu could find a tiger, the popularity of her livestream would definitely blow past its current ceiling.
Any director would hope the guests on their show gain more popularity.
“Let’s leave it to fate.” It was already hard enough to keep the little bear and Huahua from fighting. If a tiger joined in and they got into a brawl, that’d be a huge mess.
Lin Qianyu said, “There’s supposedly only Dimo-Ba’s tiger in the rainforest. I’m afraid it’ll get into a fight with the leopard and end up getting beaten.”
The director shook his head, then leaned in toward Lin Qianyu with a mysterious air, lowering his voice deliberately: “The owner of this island told me there are hybrid descendants of Caspian tigers and Siberian tigers here. But when I applied for show approval, he didn’t give me any photos, so I don’t know what they look like.”
Honestly, Director Su was quite curious. One species was already extinct, the other was the king of the forest with a bite force nearing half a ton. If the two were crossbred… wouldn’t their offspring be a king among kings?
“Really?” Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but grow interested at that. She had a strong fascination with large predators—especially ones she hadn’t seen before.
The director didn’t dare confirm it definitively and just vaguely replied, “That’s what the island owner said.”
Lin Qianyu nodded thoughtfully.
As they talked, the little bear had already eaten its fill of watermelon and was now sitting there licking its paw pads.
Lin Qianyu rubbed its round ears. “Go swim a couple laps in the river, then we’ll head home.”
“Awooo!”
The little chevrotain saw the black bear jump into the water and hurried over with little splashes, itching to follow.
It even backed up a few steps, gave itself a running start, and leapt toward the river.
Lin Qianyu had been watching this bold little herbivore closely. She immediately called out calmly, “Little eagle.”
“Chirp!” The red-tailed crested eagle spread its wings.
The little chevrotain, mid-air with eyes closed, was bracing for a splashdown—
But its stubby legs flailed in the air, unable to reach the water.
The red-tailed eagle caught the little chevrotain mid-jump and dropped it gently by Lin Qianyu’s leg before perching on her shoulder to watch it.
The little chevrotain looked totally dumbfounded, as if it still hadn’t processed what just happened.
【Help I’m dying—are all deer this bold now?】
【Caught mid-air by a bird, what even is this.】
【Also, can we talk about how insanely responsive Lin Qianyu’s fur babies are? The moment she gives a command, they spring into action. If I hadn’t been watching on slow-mo, I wouldn’t even know how the chevrotain made it back.】
The little chevrotain stared blankly for a while but couldn’t figure it out. Then it lowered its head, saw the grass was fresh and tender, and just started munching.
After chewing a few bites, it got distracted by some flowers nearby and happily trotted over to nibble on those.
Lin Qianyu propped her chin up with one hand, her gaze following the energetic little deer. She couldn’t help feeling a headache coming on—how could she ever feel at ease letting it live on its own in the rainforest?No wonder it's an endangered species—with a personality like that, it's hard not to be endangered.
It’s just like a roe deer. That saying “silly roe deer” was basically made for this kind of animal.
No real aggression, but an overwhelming sense of curiosity.
When they encounter people trying to catch them, they’ll turn and run—but then stop midway to look back. Sometimes if they’ve run too far and can’t see clearly, they’ll even turn around and go back to take a closer look.
The little bear climbed ashore after its bath, still holding a fish in its mouth. It shook out its fur, flinging off the water, then handed the fish to Lin Qianyu.
“This is in exchange for the watermelons.” Lin Qianyu hung the fish on the edge of the table. “Thanks for your hospitality, Director.”
Waving a hand, Lin Qianyu picked out two more watermelons from the vehicle. “We’re taking the prize now.”
Director: “?!!”
Eh? Wait… hold on, I—!
The director had something to say.
But before he could open his mouth, the black bear also imitated Lin Qianyu’s movements, tucking a watermelon under each arm.
The moment their eyes met, the director quickly averted his gaze. He didn’t dare look—absolutely didn’t dare—and even added politely, “Take care on your way back.”
Whether the bear understood or not, no one could say.
—After returning, Lin Qianyu filled two baskets with watermelons.
Before eating them, she’d go to the river and soak the melons for a bit. While the chill didn’t quite match that of a fridge or freezer, they’d still come out pleasantly cool.
Back in her hometown, Lin Qianyu used to place watermelons in a well to soak all day. By dinnertime, they’d be perfect.
“Little Bear?” Lin Qianyu took out a few soap pods. “How about I give you a bath?”
It had been a hot day, and the walk back had dried out the little bear’s fur.
After eating watermelon, it went for another swim. Though the fur on its chest wasn’t completely matted, it was still a little tangled.
“Woof?” The black bear tilted its head.
Lin Qianyu said, “Come on, let’s head downstream.”
“Awoo!”
Bathing downstream meant using the soap pods wouldn’t affect others’ water supply.
The red-tailed crested eagle didn’t like water—at most, it would tolerate getting its talons wet while fishing, but wet feathers were a hard no!
So when it saw Lin Qianyu rolling up her pants to step into the river, its eyes went wide. It flapped its wings several times, clearly looking like it wanted to fly over and drag her back.
As if Lin Qianyu wasn’t entering a river, but stepping into some bottomless pit.
【The little eagle’s expression… yeah, it definitely looked terrified.】
【Calm down, sweetie. She’s going into the river, not the underworld.】
【Little eagle: She actually went in?! She really went in?!】
【To a water-averse bird, this river is naturally a dangerous and hateful place.】Lin Qianyu used a wooden bowl to pour water from top to bottom, gently saying, “Don’t move, okay? Be careful not to get soap pod in your eyes.”
She rubbed the broken soap pods, spreading the foam over the bear’s chest. Kneading the thick fur a couple times, the foam quickly multiplied—there was no need for a lathering tool.
Since she said not to move, Little Bear really didn’t move at all. The flowing river water made its fur ripple under the surface.
Because a black bear’s coat is quite thick, Lin Qianyu scrubbed it twice for good measure.
She scooped up a large handful of foam, and Little Bear leaned over to sniff it, then shrank its neck back.
Lin Qianyu rubbed the foam between her palms, trying to shape it—though it didn’t really take form—and gently placed it on Little Bear’s head.
—Right between its two ears.
The white foam slowly formed a half-sphere, looking like a little white cap perched on the bear’s head. With the wind blowing, it wobbled slightly. It was absurdly cute.
The foam was light and weightless, but Little Bear still seemed to sense something and craned its eyes upward, trying hard to see it—but couldn’t.
So it tried even harder, gradually tilting its head all the way back.
Lin Qianyu had just finished rinsing the foam off its chest when she looked up—Little Bear almost bent itself into a full backbend.
“Eh?” To prevent the bear from tipping over completely, Lin Qianyu reached out to grab its paw. Then suddenly, Little Bear sprang up and stumbled toward her, teetering—
“?!!”
“Awoo!”
Sploosh! The water near the riverbank was only knee-deep, but Lin Qianyu got dragged right in by the bear.
“Jiu!” The red-tailed crested eagle on shore flapped over in a panic. Seeing her fall in, it circled anxiously over the river, claws flailing in the air but unable to latch onto the black bear.
Splash— Lin Qianyu stood up on her own, wiping water from her face.
She hadn’t intended to get her clothes wet—they were freshly washed, and now she’d have to wash them all over again.
Now she was completely soaked through.
The red-tailed crested eagle saw her stand and quickly flew over. When Little Bear tried to approach her, the eagle fanned its wings to push him back.
“Awoo…”
【!!! Why does Little Eagle act like my cat? It hates water too, but still insists on guarding the bathroom door when I shower.】
【Yes yes yes, even if it faced a flood or beast, it’d stand firmly in front of me.】
【Ugh Little Eagle is really such a sweetheart.】
Lin Qianyu also felt the little eagle was very sweet. But her hands were soaked, so she leaned her head over to it. When the eagle curiously came close, she kissed its forehead lightly. “Good boy, don’t fight.”
The red-tailed crested eagle chirped softly, but didn’t leave. It just perched properly on her shoulder.
Lin Qianyu wrung out her shirt, which was dripping wet. She gave up. “Come, I’ll finish washing you first.”
Now that her clothes were wet, it was easier—she didn’t have to worry about splashing anymore.
The leopard returned from a hunt, following the scent trail, and arrived just in time to see Lin Qianyu standing in the river.
Plop—the prey it was carrying in its mouth fell to the ground.The leopard’s pupils contracted in shock, and it instinctively stepped forward two paces.
“Hua Hua?” Lin Qianyu raised her foam-covered hands and waved at it. “Wait for me a bit, okay?”
“Roar—” Even the leopard’s tail drooped.
If there were a ranking for animals that hate water, the leopard and the red-tailed crested eagle would probably tie for first place.
Especially seeing Lin Qianyu in the river—without even glancing at the prey it dropped, the leopard ran to the shore, pacing back and forth, letting out low growls from time to time, stretching its paw out as if trying to pull Lin Qianyu out.
“It’s okay, I’m just bathing Little Bear, don’t worry.” Lin Qianyu didn’t have a free hand, so she could only try to reassure the leopard. “I’ll be done soon.”
But the leopard wouldn’t listen. It tried to dip its paw in the water, as if to step in—but the moment it touched the water, it immediately jerked its paw back and shook it vigorously.
“Awoo!”
“Be good, just one more rinse.” Lin Qianyu coaxed the leopard while brushing the bear’s fur with a comb. She planned to smooth the fur while it was still wet, and then again once it dried.
The water, warmed by the sun, rinsed away all the foam.
Lin Qianyu rubbed the bear’s head gently. “Alright, go up and shake off the water—just let yourself dry in the sun.”
Little Bear licked its nose. “Mmm!”
Seeing her approaching the shore, the leopard grabbed her sleeve with its mouth and pulled her up.
Bathing a bear didn’t seem like such a big deal—especially one so cooperative—it sounded easy.
But in reality, after washing twice, Lin Qianyu’s arms were so sore she could barely lift them. That weak, exhausted feeling…
She couldn’t even care that her clothes were still wet. She sat right down on the spot, wiped her hands roughly on her shirt, and then reached to pet the leopard. “Hua Hua, want a bath? The weather’s so nice today—it’ll dry really fast.”
The leopard’s ears twitched, its dislike plain as day.
“Bathing feels really good.” Lin Qianyu started counting on her fingers all the benefits of bathing for the leopard—and mentioned soap pods, too.
She held an unopened pod up to the leopard’s nose. “Well? Does it smell nice?”
The benefit of bathing with soap pods was that it acted like natural floral water, repelling annoying insects that didn’t bite but were still a nuisance.
The leopard licked its lips, still showing no interest.
But it did sniff the soap pod, then leaned in and sniffed around Lin Qianyu’s neck.
Maybe it noticed the scent was the same.
Little Bear was nearby licking its fur, and the red-tailed crested eagle flew over to find it.
Lin Qianyu felt her shoulder lighten and called out without even turning her head, “No fighting.”
“Jiu!”
She rolled her wrist a little—after holding her arm up so long earlier, the soreness had eased quite a bit.
“Come on, Hua Hua, just take a quick bath.”
“Hah…” The leopard bared its teeth.
Lin Qianyu lunged over and hugged its neck. “C’mon~ Even the little deer took a bath. I’ll comb your fur afterward, how’s that?”“Roar.”
Hua Hua wasn’t cooperating, but Lin Qianyu still held onto it and led it toward the river.
Half-reluctantly, its paw touched the water.
The water was shallow—even with the leopard stepping in, it couldn’t submerge its back. Only by lowering its head could it barely touch its chin to the surface.
Once it was in the water, the leopard actually stopped moving.
It uncomfortably licked its lips.
Lin Qianyu kissed its furry head. “Good kitty. Let’s get this done quickly, okay?”
She rubbed open the soap pod and started lathering the leopard’s belly, which was already submerged. Bit by bit, she worked her way up, scooping water with the wooden bowl to pour over its back.
【Heaven knows how scared I was just now when the streamer dragged the leopard into the water by the neck.】
【My cat also hates water—every time we give it a bath, the whole family has to pitch in, and we still end up scratched. Is Hua Hua really not going to fight back at all?】
【Hua Hua on the surface: Not a chance, dream on. Hua Hua inside: Fine, fine, whatever, I really can’t say no to you.】
【Hahahahahaha damn! You must be majoring in veterinary psychology—your analysis is spot on.】
...
After finishing the leopard’s bath, Lin Qianyu put her hands on her hips and let out a heavy breath. “This is definitely the most exhausting day since I joined the program.”
But personally scrubbing all the fluffballs at home until they smelled nice still felt like an achievement.
She rolled up her wet pant legs to keep from tripping as she walked. “You all go sun yourselves for a bit, I’m going to change clothes.”
Wet clothes sticking to her skin felt really uncomfortable—especially after leaving the water, it felt like water droplets were falling off her with every step.
Just as she said that, the leopard that had already sprawled on the grass stood up again.
With one glance over her shoulder, Lin Qianyu saw that all her furry companions were following her.
“Alright then, let’s all head back together. Sunbathing on the platform works too.”
When they were outdoors, Lin Qianyu didn’t dare let the baby birds out of the backpack.
They didn’t have any means of protecting themselves. While they could probably handle something like a small black snake, anything slightly bigger could easily kill them.
So when they were outside, the chicks always stayed in the backpack.
Just like wild red-tailed crested eagles that stay in their nest after hatching—the backpack was like a mobile version of that nest.
At home, on the platform, the surroundings had all been cleaned up and were relatively safe.
Lin Qianyu placed the baby birds on the ground. “Keep an eye on them for me. I’m just going to wash my hair and change, I’ll be right back.”
She leaned the backpack against the cave wall. As she walked inside, she untied her hair ribbon. Her hair had also gotten wet, so she just rinsed it casually with water from one of the home buckets.
The leopard and black bear each sprawled in their usual spots, while the red-tailed crested eagle perched directly on a stone weighing down the waterproof tarp in front of the door.
The three baby birds chirped and ran around the platform curiously.
The little musk deer, after surviving several intense events and walking all the way back on its own, was so tired it was nearly sticking out its tongue.It lay down directly in the shade, burying its head in the grass—chewing a bite when it felt like it, closing its eyes for a nap when tired of chewing. But usually, these naps only lasted a few seconds—eyes open to eat, eyes closed to sleep.
When Lin Qianyu came out after changing clothes, the animals looked like they were all about to doze off.
【Told you—can’t stay in one place in the wild for too long. Look, even the stones have grown fluffy now.】
【Honestly, if I opened the door and saw so many cuties, I’d probably faint from happiness.】
【Awooo I’m so jealous. We’re all human, yet Lin Qianyu is surrounded by fluffballs while I don’t even have one, sob sob sob...】
Lin Qianyu stood at the doorway for a while, frowning in slight distress. “They’re all lying down so far apart. Who should I snuggle with?”
Comments: 【???】
What kind of comment is that! What kind of problem is that!
Is this really something worth feeling troubled over!?
In the end, Lin Qianyu didn’t choose anyone and instead went to gather the dried meat.
As evening approached.
Lin Qianyu had taken a nap using the leopard as a pillow. In her dream, it felt like she was being crushed by a boulder. Struggling awake, she found the red-tailed crested eagle lying on her chest, the chicks squeezed by her left arm, and the black bear on her right side acting like a scorching furnace.
“……”
They must have come over one by one while she was asleep—otherwise, she’d have been woken by the heat long ago.
“Five o’clock?” Lin Qianyu squinted; she had slept through the entire afternoon.
“Tut, can’t sleep anymore.” She hugged the red-tailed crested eagle on her chest and sat up. “I’m going to look for some darker-colored flowers—we still need to dye the yarn.”
Yesterday she hadn’t used the yarn yet and had instead made some felt poking crafts, planning to find dye plants once she had spare time.
In ancient times, people dyed their nails with petal-based dyes like balsam flower (impatiens), but this rainforest wasn’t a suitable environment for those to grow.
Bottlebrush trees, however, were tropical plants—but since she hadn’t seen them around before, they likely weren’t nearby and would require a longer search.
Lin Qianyu placed the three chicks on the leopard’s belly. “Hua Hua, I’m heading out—help me watch over them.”
The leopard’s belly rose and fell with its breathing. The chicks shifted positions drowsily, retracting their necks. But the soft and warm spot felt even better than the nest, so without thinking much, they lay back down and continued sleeping.
Lin Qianyu gave the leopard a ruffle, scratched the bear’s chin, and said, “I’m off.”
“Oooh…”
She grabbed a basket, and the only one not asleep—the red-tailed crested eagle—rested on her shoulder.
She walked along the mountain, heading in a direction she’d never explored before.
Though the ground was hard to walk on after the rain, it was cushioned by fallen leaves and felt soft underfoot. Lin Qianyu tread carefully, afraid she might accidentally step into a swamp—especially if leaves covered it completely, hiding whether it was solid ground or marsh below.
The branches were all shattered and broken, leaving only bare stubs—like trees in late autumn after their leaves had fallen.
Lin Qianyu said, “There are actually quite a lot of flowers around here.”
Whenever she came across flowers she could pick, she took a few.
If she was going to make a flower crown, the more variety in color, the better it would look.The green parts of the branches were still easy to work with. Lin Qianyu planned to take all these flowers back and crush them into juice—some might not even produce color, so she'd only picked a few to test out first.
“This color looks really nice.” Lin Qianyu shielded a flower with her palm, showing it to the camera. “This flower should work for nail dye, right? How about I make a few more bottles of koudan? I could give them away in a raffle.”
As she spoke, Lin Qianyu pinched a petal with her fingertips. It was full of juice, and when her nail brushed against it and she wiped off the surface, it left a faint, reddish-pink hue.
This one definitely would work for dyeing, so she picked a few more.
There were many fallen petals on the muddy ground, but they were covered in dirt and not really usable.
【Really?!】
【That’s a great idea, I love it—please make it happen ASAP.】
Even while picking flowers, Lin Qianyu had the mental bandwidth to chat with the viewers: “The koudan I make definitely won’t look as nice as store-bought nail polish. It’s just pure and natural—something fun to share, not for value.”
Koudan's colors all depended entirely on the flower’s own color.
Unlike nail polish, which came in every shade under the sun, plus glitter and highlighters, there was no comparison.
Lin Qianyu mused, “Could this count as official merchandise for our show?”
【!!! I love this kind of merch!】
【Who cares about value! You could raffle off your grill and I’d pay shipping just to get it!】
【Then I want the stove—give me the actual stones from the stove! It’s got sentimental value.】
【I didn’t care a bit when that dating show next door released official merch. But Lin Qianyu raffling off handmade koudan from wilderness survival? I want to place an order immediately!】
Selling them was definitely off the table.
There were too many people who’d want one, and Lin Qianyu couldn’t possibly make that many.
Even though the flowers looked plentiful here, just comparing that with the current livestream viewership numbers made it clear—no way she’d dare open up a shopping cart.
She picked two flowers and placed them in her basket—when her hand brushed against something furry.
The red-tailed crested eagle was lowering its head, placing a flower into the basket.
“Hm?” Lin Qianyu blinked, thinking it was pecking at the flowers, but on closer look, the flower it held in its beak wasn’t one of the local ones.
She immediately put on a smile and asked, “Where’d you pick that?”
There were actually purple flowers—it was mostly reds and yellows in this patch.
“Chirp!” The eagle gave a light call and turned to fly off again.
With the little eagle’s help, the basket was soon filled.
As she picked flowers, Lin Qianyu had roughly sorted them by color—placing similar shades together so that when it came time to crush them, she could just grab a handful and throw them in.
The lighting outside was good.
Lin Qianyu chose a flat, slanted stone near the entrance of the cave, placing a wooden bowl underneath.
“If you’re interested, you can also try picking some flowers and making it at home.” Lin Qianyu sat down in the shade, holding a smooth, round stone. She plucked the petals off and began pounding them onto the stone slab.
“Thud thud thud”—Lin Qianyu kept pounding until the petals were completely crushed and pulp-like. Only a small amount of juice trickled down the stone slab and into the wooden bowl beneath it."Any flower will do." She grabbed another handful of petals. "Just pick the color you like."
After pounding petals of the same color for a long time, only a small amount of juice collected at the bottom of the bowl.
Lin Qianyu gave it a shake. "I’ll dilute it with a bit of water later and soak the yarn in it—that should be enough."
Professionally dyeing yarn was a complicated process that involved adding all sorts of things.
Without those conditions, Lin Qianyu kept it as simple as possible.
The slanted surface of the stone was large. After finishing with one color, Lin Qianyu didn’t rinse it with water—she just moved to another spot to continue pounding.
The red-tailed crested eagle was still tirelessly picking flowers, returning each time with a full beak.
“Chirp?” It flew back and dropped the flowers, tilting its head as it noticed the smashed petals in front of Lin Qianyu.
“Good bird, you’re back?” Lin Qianyu pulled the little eagle into her arms, smoothed its feathers with one hand, and accepted the flowers with the other. “I’ll make you a flower crown that never withers.”
【!!! Help—Lin-jie, don’t smile like that!】
【Constantly discovering new wives in every setting.】
The words might not have fully registered with the red-tailed crested eagle, but it clearly picked up on the phrase “flower crown.”
The little eagle didn’t know what kind of crown she meant—but if it involved flowers, it was already happy. It chirped loudly and flapped its wings in delight: “Chirp!”
The black bear was still sleeping soundly where it had been, smacking its lips in its dreams.
The chicks stood next to its paw, pecking down at it, but the little bear didn’t even stir.
The leopard lay sprawled across a tree branch, tail dangling right onto one of the chicks. Though it looked like it was sleeping, its eyes were alertly scanning the surroundings.
Whenever the pounding noises from Lin Qianyu’s direction stopped, the leopard would turn its head and look over.
“These flowers… could they be used to make flower pastries?” Lin Qianyu mused aloud. She hadn’t collected much juice, but there was a lot of crushed petal pulp.
The filling for flower pastries was usually made from mixing flowers with sugar—she had sugar, and could even add some honey.
But… making the dough for the pastry would be tricky.
Lin Qianyu hesitated, then decided to gather up the petals. “I’ll make flower candy instead.”
Wildflowers didn’t have the strong fragrance of roses. Without essential oils, their scent was mild, so the candy wouldn’t be too overpowering.
With all that floral pulp, it would be a waste not to use it.
With her plan set, Lin Qianyu quickly gathered several bowls full.
She passed the yarn through the diluted floral juice for color, then hung it on a drying rack to air-dry. “Let’s leave the yarn to dry. I’ll go make candy now. With how hot it is today, it should be done by the time it cools.”
The leftover flower juice wasn’t useful anymore. She hadn’t figured out how to dispose of it yet, and since it wasn’t ideal to just pour it on the ground, she set it aside in the meantime.
“Hmm?” As Lin Qianyu stood up, the sleeping little bear suddenly jerked awake with a sit-up, instantly picking up on the key word from her sentence.
Lin Qianyu laughed in exasperation. “I haven’t made it yet—go back to sleep, I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
“Raar!” The little bear shook out its fur. Just hearing the word “candy” was enough to perk it right up.
“Do you want the same lollipop as last time?” Lin Qianyu thought aloud. “But that had too much sugar—let’s wait a few more days before making that one again.”That lollipop had used over half a bowl of sugar—eating too much of that wasn’t a great idea either.
“Wuu…” The little bear visibly drooped.
Lin Qianyu patted the bear’s head, coaxing, “How about some honey water first?”
The little bear paused, then perked up. “Wuu!”
Alright!
The easily-pleased bear was rewarded with a big bowl of extra-sweet honey water.
Making flower candy was simple, not much different from lollipops, just with the added step of mixing in flower petals.
Commercial ones often had whole petals added so they’d look prettier once set.
But since this was just for eating at home, there was no need to be that particular.
Lin Qianyu directly stirred the petals into the syrup. The crushed petals slowly dispersed into the syrup, which looked quite soothing.
【Feels like the streamer knows how to do everything.】
【Same! If I joined a survival show, I’d probably eat roasted meat three times a day. No… I might not even find anything to eat.】
As the sweet scent from the pot spread, the black bear didn’t even bother licking the bottom of its own bowl—it followed the smell and leaned on Lin Qianyu’s shoulder, eyes glued to the syrup bubbling in the pot.
The petal scent wasn’t strong, but it toned down the sugary sweetness and made it less cloying.
Lin Qianyu dipped a piece of dried meat into the syrup, quickly dipped it in water, then pulled it out. A hard shell of flower candy instantly solidified on the meat’s surface.
Naturally, this went to the sweet-toothed little bear first. “Here.”
“Raar!” The bear didn’t even wait to take it properly—just chomped down on it in one bite.
The crisp candy shell shattered under its sharp teeth, along with the dried meat inside. The crunchy sound echoed—crack, crack.
It was only after finishing that Lin Qianyu realized she hadn’t prepared anything solid to pour the remaining syrup onto. It would stick to the stone slab, and she couldn’t grease it with lard this time.
So she decided to just coat all the remaining dried meat in syrup. The candy-coated dried meat would keep longer and also tasted different from the plain version.
As for the leftover syrup at the bottom, once it cooled and was half-set, she could use sticks to separate it into small portions.
“All done.” Lin Qianyu scooped out a small piece of flower candy. The taste was just about what she had expected—still a little hot, but once cooled into hard candy, it should taste even better.
Clunk “Yoo!”
The little chevrotain’s call made Lin Qianyu pause. She lifted the curtain, thinking to go out and see what was going on.
Maybe the little deer had chased after some predator again—but as soon as the curtain was lifted, the chevrotain was right there at the door, not having gone anywhere.
It looked well-behaved and calm, nothing like the kind of creature that caused trouble.
Except...
Lin Qianyu stared at the splotchy red and yellow all over the little deer’s body, falling into deep thought.
Uh… the dyeing effect is actually not bad?
Author's note: Goodnight. Sleep early. Love you all.