Chapter 39
Chapter 39
【Honestly, this little wolf is kind of cute】
Fingertips touched the cool feel of the jeweled chain. Lin Qianyu tilted her head and noticed the crown on the top shelf of the open cabinet was missing. She understood immediately.
Lin Qianyu raised her hand to straighten the crown; the tassels on both sides fell by her ears, and a small diamond hung perfectly on her forehead, like a jewel between the eyebrows. The silver-white crown was delicate but not too serious—rather, it had a bit of lively charm.
The production team of the show “Wilderness” was very generous, evident from the venue they chose.
Therefore, the decorative accessories enhancing the guests’ appearances were all carefully crafted—no simple, crude diamond-studded pieces, but designs with excellent aesthetic.
Lin Qianyu slightly tilted her head and saw the red-tailed hawk leaning forward, eyes blinking not once, staring at her.
The black eyes reflected sparkling diamonds.
Seeing its serious gaze, Lin Qianyu smiled softly, curling her fingertips to gently hook the little creature’s jaw. “Little Hawk likes this?”
“Chirp!”
【Woo woo, so pretty! Little Hawk’s taste is really on point.】
【Such a good baby, even picks accessories for Lin Qianyu. So sweet and thoughtful!】
【Used to seeing the host with no accessories at all, but once she wears the crown, the whole aura changes.】
【@Director! Hurry and change Sister Lin into an evening gown! I want to see her walk the red carpet in ten minutes!】
...
“Little Hawk really likes shiny things.” Lin Qianyu said thoughtfully as she picked up a forehead jewel. It was the same color as the crown she was wearing, and also sparkling.
She placed the forehead jewel slightly above the red-tailed hawk’s forehead. “How about this?”
The red-tailed hawk’s feathers were gorgeous and vivid. Accessories with too strong colors would dull the effect. The versatile silver-white neither overshadowed the feathers’ brilliance nor did it look plain—it added a bright, pure touch.
“Look, this is also sparkly.” Since the items were chosen for Little Hawk, it was naturally based on what it liked.
“Chirp!”
“Alright, then it’s this one.” Receiving the response, Lin Qianyu measured the chain behind the forehead jewel against Little Hawk’s head.
The accessory was made to adult head size, so on Little Hawk, the chain was too loose to fasten.
But the back chain consisted of several small rings linked together.
Lin Qianyu measured and cut off the excess chain, leaving just two small rings to allow size adjustments later.
She took the red-tailed hawk down from her shoulder, held it up with both hands, and looked at it from a short distance. “Little Hawk looks great wearing this, right?”
The forehead jewel was a small diamond; on a human, from afar, you would mostly notice the chain. On Little Hawk, it was just right.
The red-tailed hawk clearly liked it, turning its head less wide, as if afraid of accidentally knocking off the jewel.
Lin Qianyu put Little Hawk back on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I tied it tight. No matter how much you shake, it won’t fall off.”
‘Click’ — the sound of a phone shutter and flash went off simultaneously.
Lin Qianyu squinted. All the animals inside the room turned their heads in unison toward the direction of the flash.
The director stood at the door, holding a phone with a stiff wrist.Careless... I was only thinking about taking photos and didn’t notice the flash wasn’t off.
“Uh...” The director shrank back behind the door. Earlier, to let the big tiger in easily, both the left and right doors were opened, so now there was nowhere to hide. He simply pushed the door forward like covering his ears and pretending not to hear, “I think this shot is perfect to use as our show’s promotional clip.”
Besides live streaming, Wilderness would also release edited versions. Live streams only needed promotion at the start, but the edited versions required promo clips, guest promotional photos, and various video edits.
Su Yuxing held his phone, wanting to capture every moment Lin Qianyu spent with the animals.
But at this moment, with so many fierce beasts staring, Su Yuxing swallowed nervously. “I’ll turn off the flash and take a few more shots.”
Lin Qianyu nodded, gently turning the big tiger’s head, “Good boy, he’s just taking a few photos. Let’s pick your gift.”
With her drawing the big orange tiger’s attention, the tiger, who had little hostility toward Su Yuxing, obediently turned its head.
“Necktie or tail ring?” Lin Qianyu held these two items, feeling both suited the big orange tiger.
The warm brownish-orange tail wearing a silver tail ring — probably a pure silver carved hollow bracelet — fit perfectly as a tail ring, covering a ring of black stripes, like adding a splash of color to that tail spot.
As for the necktie...
The big tiger wearing the necktie sat in front of her, eyes slightly squinting with a more serious, majestic aura—like a refined king fighting in the rainforest.
“Which should I choose?” Lin Qianyu couldn’t decide. Raising her hand to pick up the necktie, she noticed the seam had come undone at the edge where it was stitched.
The big orange growled low.
Touching its ear, Lin Qianyu muttered, “Do I like it? The necktie’s broken. Let’s take the tail ring first.”
【Only kids make choices! I want them all!】
【Please, buy this villa so I can watch you all living here, changing accessories every day for me to see.】
【No more nonsense, I’m just sending gifts to top the list. Sister Lin, come and wield your sword against him!】
【Su Yuxing: He’s probably not talking about me, right? Right...?】
Still taking photos, Su Yuxing felt a chill at the back of his neck. His finger on the shutter trembled and pressed a couple more times.
The director gave Lin Qianyu a suggestion: “Why don’t you take the tail ring first? I’ll get someone to send a new necktie. You can exchange for it next time.”
Neckties were complicated to make; it wasn’t just sewing a line. To replace it, they had to wait for a new one from outside.
In fact, if it weren’t for him telling Lin Qianyu she didn’t have to worry about using up exchange chances and could take freely—otherwise, the audience might think it was unfair—Su Yuxing wanted her not to pick and just take everything back.
Otherwise, these things left here would be useless to the guests.
The guests who had already dropped out were not counted. Hang Sisi barely had enough to eat, Feng Jingye didn’t care about these things, and for a wilderness survival show, if you can wash your face and brush your teeth on time, that’s already good enough. No guests would bother with makeup or styling on the show.
When you’re about to run out of food, who still has the mood to dress up?
The director even thought all his preparation was wasted.
The main point was, Lin Qianyu was decorating for the little animals!
Tiger and leopard wore accessories, red-tailed hawk and black bear dressed up—wasn’t this a walking advertisement?
Investors must be waking up laughing in their dreams late at night.
But the game rules were set. No matter how much Su Yuxing felt it was a pity, he had to follow the process.Lin Qianyu thought for a moment and said, "Alright."
Holding the fluffy tail, the tip of the tail seemed to wag even more happily.
The tail can reflect the mood of the big cat, and it looked like the tail ring pleased the big orange tiger as well.
Lin Qianyu then picked up a simple gold ring and asked, "Director, how many exchange chances do I have left after these?"
Su Yuxing took out his small notebook and marked it, "One more."
"Then I'll exchange for a bag of rice," she said, since there wasn’t much else to choose, she just picked a staple food.
Su Yuxing: "Okay."
The little black snake curled up in Lin Qianyu’s arms was lazily picked up. Its eyes were still closed as its body stretched out. Something seemed wrapped around its tail. After the simple ring was slipped onto the tail outside the pocket, it was pulled back out.
The little black snake hadn’t yet realized what was happening before it was put back.
It blinked its sleepy eyes, looking a bit confused like “Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?”
The faint weight on its tail made it lift its tail up to its eyes, slowly shaking its little head side to side as if thinking.
After a moment, it raised the tip of its tail again, curled back up, and hid the tail with the simple ring inside.
On this trip to the villa, Lin Qianyu truly returned fully loaded.
On the way back, the sound of the crown’s tassels brushing overhead could still be heard.
The leopard and black bear, along with the red-tailed hawk, were deeply engrossed in hunting to feed the family, and halfway back, they went off chasing prey.
The big tiger escorted Lin Qianyu home, then turned and plunged back into the rainforest.
Lin Qianyu twirled the tassel between her fingers and quietly said, watching the big orange’s departing figure, "I guess big orange must have gone off to catch water buffalo again."
【Hahaha, water buffalo killer.】
【You can tell the kid really loves eating water buffalo. Big orange is so picky but still loves water buffalo. I can’t believe how delicious that buffalo must be for him.】
【Coward, I dare to imagine. It must be super tasty.】
Having eaten water buffalo meat before, Lin Qianyu seemed to have the most say on this matter, but after thinking, she only said, "It’s really quite tasty."
Just a bit tiring of eating it all the time.
The furry ones all went out working hard to hunt, and Lin Qianyu didn’t rest at home either.
She rolled up her sleeves and took out the leftover yarn from last time in the cave.
"Big orange is now part of our family too, so the family-exclusive flower garland can’t be missing," Lin Qianyu said as she took out the two bamboo sticks made last time, watching the young birds peck at food while skillfully hooking the yarn with her fingers.
Lin Qianyu gathered the yarn flowers and said, "If we do a live variety show in the Arctic in the future, I can knit my own sweater."
【Director: Remember, next time when going to the Arctic, don’t provide clothes for the guests.】
【Sister Lin, did you get calls from other guests on your phone? I think I heard them cursing.】
"Just kidding." Although sweaters keep warm, they’d still be a bit insufficient in the polar regions.
A beautiful, delicate yarn-woven flower garland gradually took shape in Lin Qianyu’s hands.Lin Qianyu placed the flower garland on the stone where the big tiger usually liked to lie down. "Alright, when big orange comes back and sees this, he’ll know it’s for him."
Strangely, these casually piled stones weren’t specially assigned—this one for the tiger or that one for the leopard.
They all found their own spots to lie down without overlapping or taking someone else’s place.
Maybe the stones were marked as territory?
However, no disputes arose over the ownership of the stones, and Lin Qianyu truly breathed a sigh of relief.
Turning around, she tidied up the yarn on the table, twisting strands between her fingers. "Only this little bit of yarn left."
Not enough to wind into a ball.
No need to bother this time.
"Right, sew that thing for the little bear," Lin Qianyu said and immediately got to work. An idea came to her mind, and she began hooking the yarn.
She gave a little riddle, and the live chat started guessing what she was going to knit.
But when knitting an item, the first shape that appears is usually a somewhat square prototype, making it hard to guess what it would become.
Only later, when Lin Qianyu finished the prototype, twisting the yarn with two fingers, she rolled most of the remaining yarn into a cord and tied it to the two pointed ends of the square scarf.
Lin Qianyu held it under her neck to measure, "It looks a bit big, but it has to be for the little bear."
Honestly, the little bear was one of the more well-mannered wild black bears when it came to eating.
Some wild black bears smelled unpleasant when close, but the little bear was clean from the first meeting. If it hadn’t been for the injured leg caused by being stepped on, it wouldn’t have chased after people.
A good-tempered and tidy little black bear.
It was just that when eating juicy foods like watermelon, getting the fur collar dirty was inevitable.
Next time during meals, putting on the little scarf would prevent the fur collar from getting dirty.
With the last few black yarn strands, Lin Qianyu poked out a simple little bear head shape in the corner.
Simple poking: a round head with two semicircle ears and it was done.
Lin Qianyu held up the little scarf in front of the camera and shook it. "How is it? Pretty practical, right?"
【Even though I’m not the little bear, I’m moved to tears!】
【Honestly, Sister Lin cares so much for every furry one, really treats these precious fur babies very seriously.】
【So love is mutual, right? The little animals know better than anyone who treats them well.】
【I’m immediately placing an order! Bought my ticket; if no island invite, I’ll parachute down. Sister Lin, bring the little bear to pick me up!】
...
Lin Qianyu went to the river to fish out the watermelon she had thrown in early this morning. This time, she found a shaded spot, and the ice was better than last time.
The sliced iced watermelon filled the entire table. Lin Qianyu looked at the chat and smiled, biting a piece of watermelon while chatting with fans.
The big spotted leopard cat came on time to deliver the little birds. Even if Lin Qianyu didn’t eat them, the birds it brought would always end up in her mouth, but the big spotted leopard cat came every day.
Noticing the big spotted leopard cat eating over there, Lin Qianyu swallowed her watermelon and said, "Little cat, come here."The big spotted leopard cat’s ears twitched as it buried its head in the bowl, but its chewing slowed down—unsure if it was being called.
It cautiously lifted its eyes, unexpectedly meeting Lin Qianyu’s gaze directly. It froze for a moment, then turned its head to look beside itself, but only saw empty grass and trees—no other animals.
—Is it calling me?
The big spotted leopard cat let out a soft call.
“Yes, it’s calling you,” Lin Qianyu smiled, beckoning, “Come on, I have something tasty for you.”
The big spotted leopard cat’s tail rose high, and it took a few steps over, eventually almost running.
“Try this,” Lin Qianyu handed it a piece of watermelon. “This is cold; you should like it.”
“Woo…” The big spotted leopard cat looked up as if wanting to rub against Lin Qianyu’s hand, but before it could, it shyly pulled back and lowered its head to sniff the unfamiliar watermelon scent.
The young birds huddled together sharing the same piece of watermelon, not even lifting their heads when they noticed the big spotted leopard cat approaching.
The little mouse deer glanced once but had no reaction; after finishing the watermelon, it ran off to eat deer feed, munching nonstop and clearly enjoying it.
The hot weather tends to kill appetite; eating some cold watermelon feels much better.
Although the watermelon didn’t look special, its texture was crisp, and the flesh near the rind was sweet.
“The rind can be saved to make watermelon candy or mixed into cold dishes—it tastes like cucumber,” Lin Qianyu said, holding the watermelon with one hand, thinking about the health benefits of eating cold watermelon rind.
After hesitating, she still thought eating wild vegetables was better.
The rind needs to be washed and peeled, which requires delicate knife work—using a machete for such fine work is like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito.
Lin Qianyu didn’t want to bother.
While chatting with the live chat, the big spotted leopard cat had already finished a piece of watermelon.
From cautiously tasting a bite at first to eating in big mouthfuls after liking the flavor, it even bit several rows of teeth marks into the rind.
“So you really love this, huh?” Lin Qianyu gave it several more pieces. “No one can refuse a chilled watermelon in this scorching heat. Little animals are no exception.”
【Who understands, family? Stayed up until five in the morning, woke up and checked the stream, hadn’t eaten yet but went downstairs to grab a watermelon.】
【I get it now—whatever the streamer eats, I want to eat too.】
【Hey sisters, first time here, can I ask if this is Lin Qianyu’s eating stream?】
The big spotted leopard cat ate watermelon seriously beside Lin Qianyu.
Lin Qianyu ate two pieces and stopped, wiped her hands, and looking at the small furry head bobbing up and down, her hands itched and she couldn’t resist reaching out to pet it.
The big spotted leopard cat shrank its neck and instinctively took half a step back to run, but as if realizing something, it quietly withdrew the retreat, its tucked tail looking a bit pitiful.
A very timid little fellow.
When Lin Qianyu first met the big spotted leopard cat, spraying medicine made it run away immediately. At that time, she thought it was because the big spotted leopard cat was afraid of the fierce beasts around her. Now that she’s familiar, she realized that although some fierce beasts exist, it’s mostly because the leopard cat itself is very timid.
But she wasn’t in a hurry—taking it slow.
Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, a gentle touch came from her palm; the tip of its ear brushed her hand.
Lin Qianyu raised her eyebrows, lips moving slightly toward the camera but without making a sound. “The little cat just seemed to rub against me.”The “purring” sound didn’t seem like guarding food; it sounded more like acting spoiled.
“Qianyu jie!” Even before seeing her, Hang Sisi’s voice came from far away.
Running over and stepping onto the platform, Hang Sisi was still breathing heavily, “Qianyu jie, I have good news!”
“What good news?” Lin Qianyu pointed to an empty stone beside her, “Sit down first, eat some watermelon, and tell me slowly. No rush.”
Hang Sisi couldn’t wait to sit and smiled, “Guo Yanpeng stepped forward and identified An Lanqing as the one who pushed him.”
Lin Qianyu: “Stepped forward?” This news was a bit unexpected but somehow made sense.
Anyone with eyes knew it was An Lanqing who pushed him; Guo Yanpeng refusing to admit it would definitely come at a high price.
“It seems the director pressured him, then he was called back to his family, and even his whole family was summoned. I think he got scolded and immediately issued a statement, but bystanders didn’t buy it, and some fans are still defending his foolishness—don’t know if they’re real fans or paid trolls.”
Hang Sisi shook her head; she was pleased with this outcome.
For the latter part of the variety show, she had been with Yin Youlin; they had a good relationship. Now that Yin Youlin had been harmed like this, both Guo Yanpeng and An Lanqing should pay the price.
Lin Qianyu nodded, understanding.
Su Yuxing was actually the one with the strongest backing on the show.
Guo Yanpeng’s backers dared not offend Director Su, and gambling the future and reputation of a popular star like Guo Yanpeng to protect An Lanqing was definitely a losing bet for the capital behind them.
Under pressure from multiple sides, Guo Yanpeng had no choice but to identify An Lanqing, whether he wanted to or not.
No choice.
Hang Sisi had been excited since hearing the news, “With this happening, An Lanqing definitely can’t participate in the next episode.”
“Mm.” Lin Qianyu picked up a piece of watermelon and fed it to her.
“Uh… thanks, Qianyu jie.”
Lin Qianyu asked, “Did you come to tell me just this?”
Hang Sisi shook her head, “The director assigned a task: help clean an animal’s room at the rescue station. The more rooms cleaned, the more chances to exchange for supplies. Cleaning poorly will deduct points. Qianyu jie, do you want to go see?”
Lin Qianyu had just used up many chances to exchange supplies and naturally didn’t plan to join the fun. “I won’t go…”
“I heard there’s a steppe wolf at the rescue station. I’ve never seen a live steppe wolf.”
After a pause, Lin Qianyu asked suspiciously, “Steppe wolf?”
“Yes, it was brought from elsewhere.” Hang Sisi opened her watch and showed her the red text from the director warning not to get close to the steppe wolf, “It seems it’s not to be kept here permanently, it’s sick and just in transition.”
Hang Sisi only heard about it and wasn’t sure about the details.
Lin Qianyu hadn’t planned to go, but hearing about the steppe wolf piqued her interest, “Shall we go see?”
“Let’s go!” Hang Sisi clapped her hands, “The rescue station’s vehicle is just below; it’s only a short walk.”
“Mm.” Lin Qianyu got up, looked at the table full of watermelon, hesitated, “Wait a moment.”
Then she ran back inside, took an empty basket, and put all the watermelon pieces in it.
Then she said to the big spotted leopard cat, “Little cat, I’m going out for a bit. When Huahua and the others come back, please tell them I’ll be back soon.”The big spotted leopard cat twitched its ears at Lin Qianyu’s words and softly let out a “woo” sound.
—Inside the rescue station.
The person in charge of this mission was an unfamiliar forest ranger.
Lin Qianyu and Hang Sisi walked in, and before they could speak, the ranger was stunned when he saw her. He tapped the microphone to say something, but there was no response from the other side, so he put down the microphone and said, “Sorry, please wait a moment.”
Before finishing, he hurriedly ran inside.
After a while, the unfamiliar ranger came out following Pei Feng.
“Miss Lin.” Pei Feng walked over while putting on a jacket, clearly busy and rushing. “Is there something you need?”
“Nothing much. I’m here for the program’s mission.” After a pause, Lin Qianyu said, “Also came to see the steppe wolf.”
Pei Feng understood, “What a coincidence. I was just thinking of asking if you had time to come see the steppe wolf. You came just in time.”
Lin Qianyu asked with some puzzlement, “Is the steppe wolf brought here to be released on the island? Can it survive in this environment?”
The rainforest environment did not suit the steppe wolf’s natural habitat. Moreover, the dense trees and overlapping branches would hinder the wolf’s running and hunting.
Was this a decision from higher-ups?
Pei Feng explained, “Of course not. The steppe wolf is to be sent to another island — the area I mentioned before. It’s temporarily kept here to transition because the transportation time is too long, and the wolf’s health isn’t good enough to endure the journey. It can’t wait to get there.”
“Let’s talk while walking.” After briefly explaining, Pei Feng led the way and glanced at Hang Sisi, “Miss Hang, are you also here for the mission?”
Hang Sisi replied, “Yes.”
Pei Feng pointed to the ranger nearby, “Xiao Wu, you take Miss Hang to those mission rooms.”
“Okay.”
Hang Sisi glanced at Lin Qianyu. Although she was curious to see the steppe wolf, the mission had a time limit. The wolf could be seen anytime, but if she missed the mission, there’d be no chance. “I… Qianyu jie, I’ll go complete the mission first. After I finish, I’ll come find you.”
Unlike Lin Qianyu, Hang Sisi needed the chances to exchange supplies quite badly.
...
Pei Feng led Lin Qianyu in the opposite direction from Hang Sisi.
Walking side by side, Lin Qianyu thought about what Pei Feng said earlier, “You said the steppe wolf isn’t in good condition. Was it injured?”
“No injury, but before we bought it, it was kept in a zoo. Its condition... wasn’t very good.” Pei Feng had helped submit Lin Qianyu’s application to become a ranger. Knowing it was only a matter of time before they worked together, he didn’t treat her like an outsider.
Also, buying lone wolves from zoos wasn’t unusual. Since the contract was formalized, there was nothing secret about it.
“Because the zoo was poorly managed, from food to environment, everything was subpar. Plus, it was the only wolf kept alone. Over time, it developed serious psychological problems, even showing repetitive circling and hair-pulling—stereotypic behaviors that harmed itself.”
Pei Feng said, “Originally, it was supposed to go directly to Area 1, but halfway, seeing things weren’t right, it was temporarily kept here to rest before being sent over.”
Hearing this, Lin Qianyu became curious and asked, “Are all the animals on the island bought?”
“Some were rescued from poachers, some like this wolf were bought from zoos, and some are originally from the island.” Pei Feng thought a moment and said, “A bit of everything.”
[“I completely disagree that the world’s top ten most touching people this year didn’t include the island owner!”]
[“Honestly, in this profit-driven era, donating to animals is already great. The island owner is really... quite a good person!”]【Some zoos really do nothing — animals starve to skin and bones while keepers and managers get fat and oily. If only the island owner could buy all the abused animals.】
【If I had money, I’d also buy islands and build shelters for the little animals!】
...
They arrived at the steppe wolf’s room.
The room’s temperature was strictly maintained at a constant temperature suitable for the steppe wolf’s survival.
Even the environment was simulated to resemble the original prairie.
At this moment, a gray-black steppe wolf was pacing back and forth inside, visibly agitated. It would occasionally stop and emit continuous “woo woo” sounds, twisting its head to bite its own hind legs.
Because this wasn’t the first time, both of the steppe wolf’s hind legs were already wrapped in bandages.
Pei Feng had been involved in rescuing this steppe wolf. “We tried using an Elizabeth collar before, but it was broken by it in all sorts of ways. Later inspections found the collar worsened the wolf’s condition, so we just wrapped its legs thickly with bandages — whatever protection we can provide.”
From the scattered bandage fragments on the floor, it was clear it had been torn many times.
The wolf bit the bandages and shook its head violently from side to side, trying to tear them off. This was no longer mere hair-pulling behavior; without the bandages, it might have torn off chunks of its own flesh.
Lin Qianyu frowned, “In this situation, how do you usually treat it?”
“Originally, we planned to send it to the prairie, prepare a piece of land, expand its activity range, and put some live animals inside to attract its attention. But we tried that before — see those rabbits and chickens in the corner? They’re doing fine.”
Talking about the steppe wolf, Pei Feng sighed. Even if external wounds or broken bones can be treated, stereotypic behaviors are mental illnesses. Animal mental illnesses are very difficult to cure. Although medication can help, recovery mostly depends on the animal itself.
Pei Feng said, “I brought you here also to ask if you have any ideas.”
After a pause, he covered the livestream equipment and whispered, “From what I found out, this steppe wolf was originally the alpha wolf of a pack. It wasn’t raised from a pup in the zoo; it was captured and smuggled into the zoo. The zoo owner is now in prison for life. I suspect the story about the alpha wolf is probably true.”
“Luckily Boss signed the contract early, or this wolf would have died in the zoo.”
Lin Qianyu’s frown deepened as she heard this. They were practically beasts.
Not even beasts.
The alpha wolf, who used to run freely on the prairie, was caged in a cramped zoo cell out of selfish greed, without even a larger room or proper care.
Seeing the steppe wolf so thin it looked like skin and bones, she couldn’t help but feel tightness in her chest.
Pei Feng put down the livestream equipment. The livestream chat was already exploding.
【???】
【Are you whispering? Not letting my precious SVIP hear?!】
【Stop chatting, look at the wolf’s legs! The bandages are almost torn off.】
...
Pei Feng looked through the glass inside and felt heavy at heart. “This kind of thing is hard to deal with. I thought since you can talk to animals, maybe…”
Lin Qianyu said, “I’ll give it a try.”
Communicating with an animal with stereotypic behaviors didn’t sound like an easy task.
“Pei Ge!” A red-haired boy rushed over anxiously from around the corner. “Lin jie came and something this big happened, and you didn’t tell me? I had to find out by watching the livestream myself!”Behind the boy, several people wearing white lab coats who were slower runners followed.
A girl lagged half a step behind and pushed the red-haired boy aside. "Hello, Lin jie, I’m Bo Shushu, the nutritionist at our rescue station."
Lin Qianyu’s mind was full of thoughts about the steppe wolf. She responded a bit slowly, "Hello."
Seeing Lin Qianyu seemed a little confused, Pei Feng took the initiative to speak. "Many of our rescue station staff watch your livestream when they have free time."
Bo Shushu also said, "Yes, that’s right. I’ve been personally taking care of the steppe wolf’s meals these days, and I’ve brought the nutritional meals along as well."
"The steppe wolf wouldn’t eat the meals we prepared before — not a single bite, only occasionally drinking some water. We tried force-feeding, but it would secretly vomit it out shortly after. Nutrient fluids were administered a few times just to barely keep it alive. But long-term use of nutrient fluids causes atrophy of the digestive organs, so it has to eat on its own."
They had tried both hard and soft methods.
You could say they had tried every idea they could think of.
If it weren’t truly difficult, Pei Feng wouldn’t have wanted to bother Lin Qianyu.
Lin Qianyu opened the meal box to take a look. "Should I feed this to it?"
It was a deep meal box filled with soaked meat.
Bo Shushu said, "Yes. Be careful inside. This wolf is very irritable now."
Lin Qianyu closed the lid. "Okay. I understand."
At the right entrance of the steppe wolf’s room, there was first a small disinfection chamber. After disinfecting inside, she pressed the inner door.
With a “click,” the door lock opened. The steppe wolf, biting its own thigh, raised its head, its deep green eyes staring fixedly at her. Its mouth still had fresh blood stains.
The glass was one-way visible, allowing staff to observe the steppe wolf’s condition.
It also prevented too many people gathering outside, which would increase the wolf’s anxiety.
"Hi." Lin Qianyu stood at the door without going inside, greeting first, "Hello."
After being alone for a long time in a narrow space under observation, with no interaction with the outside world, the noisy human voice suddenly speaking a sound it could understand caused the steppe wolf to freeze.
This was the kind of momentary daze visible in its expression.
Taking advantage of this, Lin Qianyu squatted down, trying to align her sight level with the steppe wolf, stretched out her hand with palm up, and smiled gently, "Let’s be friends."
The steppe wolf followed her hand and saw the familiar meal box. Its expression instantly darkened. It growled lowly and bared its teeth at her, "Awooo..."
Perhaps it was the box used when force-feeding meat before. The steppe wolf had a good memory and deeply hated this box.
Pei Feng had been relieved that the wolf hadn’t bared its teeth at first, but seeing this now, he clicked his tongue and said, "Let’s change the box."
If it were the box that caused Lin Qianyu and the steppe wolf to fail to communicate, that would be a big problem.
Bo Shushu frowned, "My fault, I was careless."
Lin Qianyu also realized the problem with the box, so she lifted the lid and took the meat out. "This meat smells quite fresh. Are you sure you don’t want to try it?"
The steppe wolf’s tail flicked restlessly behind it, as if all its fur was standing on end. But after being hungry for so many days and only surviving on nutrient fluids, it was unclear how much strength the wolf still had.
【Looks so skinny, the zoo director really deserves to die!】
【Even like this it can’t hide its handsomeness. If it were healthy, it would definitely be a fierce warrior galloping across the prairie.】【Wuwuwu... I hope it can be healed and restored to its original state.】
Lin Qianyu saw the steppe wolf continuously confronting her, but she was not anxious. She used tweezers to pick up the meat inside, shook off the soaked pieces, and placed them one by one into its bowl.
“Really not eating? Fresh rabbit leg, you know.”
Flipping further, there was a lot more unfamiliar meat.
This nutritional meal was quite comprehensive.
Taking advantage of speaking, Lin Qianyu gradually moved closer to the steppe wolf.
“Next year I’ll even make you some milk powder. Or do you not like rabbit meat?”
The distance closed little by little, but Lin Qianyu’s calmness seemed to anger the wolf, which suddenly leapt toward her.
“Roar—!”
Used to playing with small animals at home, Lin Qianyu was already accustomed to this feeling.
But the staff outside were not necessarily used to this scene.
Especially since this wolf had injured no fewer than five staff members after coming to their rescue station.
Pei Feng immediately decided: “Anesthesia—!”
The next moment, his voice stopped abruptly upon seeing Lin Qianyu’s hand signal.
Lin Qianyu lay on the fake grass. It was called fake grass, but it wasn’t the plastic kind—it was more like actual grass dug up and transplanted from the prairie.
The steppe wolf looked fierce, but that was only in appearance.
Lin Qianyu raised her hand toward the glass, signaling those outside not to come in yet.
【Ahhh, wow, my sister is really calm.】
【If I stayed in this livestream room forever, even if a wild beast lunged at me, I wouldn’t be this calm, wuwuwu...】
【That’s a wolf! That wolf almost bit your neck!】
Lin Qianyu’s hand hovered lightly over the wolf’s chest. If it really attacked, she still had enough time to react.
However, as Lin Qianyu expected, the steppe wolf had no strength left. Now all its intimidation was just an empty show.
Meeting the steppe wolf’s gaze, Lin Qianyu curved her eyes and used the tweezers to pick up a piece of meat. “Want a bite?”
“Roar!”
The steppe wolf was frustrated and angry.
Lin Qianyu freed one hand to stroke its fur.
The wolf opened its mouth to bite, but Lin Qianyu quickly stuffed a chopstick of meat into its mouth.
The moment it took the meat, the steppe wolf hesitated and turned its head to spit it out onto the ground.
“Alright. Looks like you don’t like this meat.” Lin Qianyu stopped feeding it, casually putting down the tweezers. “How about we chat for a while? Nothing better to do anyway.”
The wolf bared its teeth at her but didn’t leave, seeming a bit helpless.At this moment, Lin Qianyu reached out to wrap her arms around its back, as if to lift and hug it.
The steppe wolf immediately pinned its ears back, bared its teeth at Lin Qianyu, and struggled hard to break free from her grasp. Limping, it ran to a corner and watched her warily.
Lin Qianyu brushed the grass off her clothes and sat cross-legged naturally. “Why don’t you ever talk? I’m always the one talking. Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“Hm?”
The steppe wolf pawed at the grass in the corner, ignoring Lin Qianyu, and settled down.
Lin Qianyu chattered on a bit more. She knew the wolf understood her but didn’t respond—maybe it simply didn’t know how.
After being lonely so long, hearing a voice it could understand from the outside world, some confusion was normal.
Besides, it was still sick.
It was a little sick wolf.
But it was okay. As long as the wolf listened when she spoke.
After being closed off so long, that door needed to be opened slowly—there was no rush.
Lin Qianyu sat not far from the steppe wolf, muttering to herself for a long while. Seeing the wolf close its eyes, she pretended to stand up.
The wolf, who had been tightly closing its eyes, suddenly opened them and looked at her.
…Hmm?
Lin Qianyu’s brow twitched slightly, realizing the wolf had been watching her the whole time, so she sat back down again.
Seeing this, the wolf closed its eyes once more.
Swish Lin Qianyu repeatedly stood up and sat down, her palms rubbing the grass to make intentional noises.
Each time, the wolf would raise its head, but Lin Qianyu showed no intention of approaching.
After several rounds, the wolf stopped paying attention, scratched the grass with its paws, and irritably lay down on its paws with its eyes closed.
Then, Lin Qianyu stood up openly, without any concealment, walked a few steps to the wolf, and petted its furry head.
“!!!”
The wolf instantly raised its head, its fur bristling all over as it stood in the corner, baring its teeth fiercely at Lin Qianyu.
【Ahhh, crafty human.】
【Honestly, this little wolf is kinda cute (the lone wolf is so easy to fool).】
The wolf growled angrily: “Roar!”
Looking at the ruffled but more lively wolf compared to before, Lin Qianyu felt this was the beginning of some progress.
Time was late. After sitting here nearly four hours, Lin Qianyu propped her chin with one hand. “Really not going to say a word to me?”
The wolf ignored her.
Lin Qianyu’s expression didn’t change. She still smiled gently and whispered, “I’m going back now.”
At this, the wolf, still baring its teeth, momentarily froze. Their eyes met for a long time before the wolf relaxed its expression, licked its lips, and softly called out, “Woo…”Oh.
Author's note: Good night, sleep early, love you all.