Chapter 49
Chapter 49
[Nutrient Point Bonus Update]
The little red panda is just too clever—no wonder it's a protected species.
【Aaaah! The chubby baby that “got scared” and rolled over!】
【It’s seriously trying to comfort Lin Lin, aoo aoo, it’s unbearably cute!】
【Mystery solved, that’s just a panda costume—there’s a person inside. This has to be another one of Su Yuxing’s scripts.】
【Let me in! I want to squish it flat and roll it round—I want to rua it until it cries!!!】
Lin Qianyu laughed so hard she fell back. This was the first time a panda had played along so earnestly. She couldn’t help but rua its ears and say, “You’re too cute.”
The giant panda didn’t react much to having its ears grabbed. It sat up, patted its belly, walked back to where it had been, sat down again, and picked up the half-eaten bamboo to take a few more bites.
Watching the panda eat bite after bite, Lin Qianyu whispered to the camera, “It has such a good temper.”
Despite having the digestive system of a carnivore and the bite force of a powerful predator, the giant panda acted like it had no temper at all, and its diet was mostly vegetarian.
The panda, engrossed in its meal, noticed Lin Qianyu watching. It looked up. Its eyes, hidden within its large black circles, blinked blankly—curious about something.
Lin Qianyu chuckled, “Hehe, wait a second, I’ll get you some fruit.”
Back over by the little red panda, the full little one was running and hopping nearby, adjusting to its new leg.
She picked out some fruit that giant pandas love, including watermelon, and ran back to the car to grab a fresh batch.
Giant pandas had much bigger appetites than red pandas—that much was obvious from their size alone.
When Lin Qianyu came back with an armful of fruit, the giant panda was still sitting where she left it.
In the wild, giant pandas only occasionally feel the urge to hunt. With a bamboo forest nearby, they’ll usually just find a comfy spot and eat like this.
“Look! Watermelon.” Lin Qianyu patted the fruit. The thin-skinned, crisp watermelon cracked open just from a light smack.
The giant panda, mid-bite on a bamboo stalk, froze. It even forgot to blink, staring fixedly at Lin Qianyu, then decisively let go of the bamboo in its arms.
Clearly, it still remembered the watermelon from last time.
Lin Qianyu’s eyes curved in a smile as she handed over an apple first. “Eat this while I cut the watermelon.”
Apples were also on the panda’s approved diet list. A big chilled red apple—crisp, sweet, and juicy with every bite.
A person might get brain freeze from such a big bite, but the panda chomped away without a care, taking bite after bite, totally unbothered.
Besides apples, her backpack held a variety of other fruits, plus cucumbers and carrots.
She had chosen those two on purpose.
They were listed in the dietary guidelines she looked up, and she thought the panda might like them. If it didn’t, she could take them back and make a cold dish—nothing would go to waste.
“Your teeth are amazing,” Lin Qianyu said, sitting beside it. As she cut the watermelon, she reminded it, “Don’t eat the apple seeds.”
Though a few apple seeds were no match for the panda’s powerful digestive system, the best-tasting part was the fruit flesh anyway.
If you’ve got sweet, juicy fruit to eat, why bother with the seeds?The giant panda bit into something and let out a soft “hng,” the nasal sound muffled with a slightly rising tone at the end—almost like a soft “mm.”
Lin Qianyu pointed at the half-eaten apple in its paw, tapping the center and saying, “That’s the apple core. You can just toss that part.”
The giant panda nodded heavily. “Aow!”
Watching small animals eat is a very healing experience.
Or rather, watching small animals—no matter what they’re doing—can soothe the heart.
Otherwise, people wouldn’t pay to go to zoos just to catch a glimpse and take a picture.
Lin Qianyu also picked up a piece of bamboo and leaned back like the giant panda. “Don’t you guys think the white fur on its back looks whiter than the front?”
Maybe it was because of food juices staining its chest while eating.
Though it was still whiter than most pandas, viewed from the side, the contrast between the two kinds of white was pretty noticeable.
Lin Qianyu said, “It seems like wild white animals always have a hard time staying clean.”
Because white gets dirty so easily.
And white is so conspicuous—even in dim light at night, prey can easily spot them during a hunt.
Of course, there are predators that don’t care about being spotted and rely purely on brute strength.
“I’ve only seen giant pandas online and in zoos before. When they’re little, the keepers take care of them closely and keep them super clean, but once they grow up—even if they don’t mean to hurt the keepers—roughhousing could injure someone, so they don’t get cleaned as often.”
Out here, clearly no one is showing up with a water bucket on schedule to wipe them down.
Comparing the panda in front of her with those in her memory, Lin Qianyu chuckled, “It looks like something straight out of a comic—so unreal.”
Crunch. The sound of chewing paused.
The panda, holding an apple in each paw and happily eating, turned its head to look at her, apple still hanging from its mouth, forgotten mid-bite.
Lin Qianyu: “?”
Meeting the panda’s gaze, she blinked and quickly corrected herself: “Real! Super real.”
Only then did the panda bite into the apple again, chewing contentedly.
【Pfft hahaha, you’re the one who’s not real. Your whole family’s not real.】
【Calling it fake right to its face now, huh?! How bold!】
【Sister Lin! Quick, call it fat! I want to see if it’ll puff up in anger.】
【Nice, if it puffs up, it’ll look even rounder—definitely more fun to rua!!!】
...
It wasn’t Lin Qianyu’s imagination—the panda was really friendly toward people.
From the moment they met, it had never bared its teeth or shown aggression. It had been shy and bashful.
—Though maybe it just felt a bit embarrassed after eating her watermelon.
In any case, the panda in front of her definitely had a good temper.And it's very frugal—not wasteful at all.
“Look at the watermelon the giant panda ate.” Lin Qianyu held the discarded rind up to the livestream camera. Not only was the red flesh completely cleaned off, even some of the white part was eaten.
Only a thin green outer layer was left.
She shook the edge of the eaten rind up and down—so soft it bent easily without breaking.
Despite having so many watermelons and fruits in front of it,
the giant panda didn’t go around taking a bite from each one. Instead, it picked whichever was closest, and finished it cleanly. Even with apples, it ate all the flesh, carefully avoiding the part Lin Qianyu had said not to eat.
Lin Qianyu said, “This giant panda really feels so well-behaved.”
“Wuu!” The giant panda put the finished apple core on the ground and patted it with its fluffy paw.
“Right, that part’s not for eating.” Lin Qianyu repeated what the panda meant, smiling brightly.
Leaning against the bamboo, the giant panda stretched out its short legs. When it ate happily, it even kicked its feet a little—its paw pads radiating joy.
Just watching it made Lin Qianyu’s lips curl into a smile.
She couldn’t help but laugh and said, “I think I could do nothing all day but watch fluffballs eat.”
The giant panda, holding a carrot in both paws, tilted its head when it heard her speak.
“You’re a fluffball too.” Lin Qianyu gave the panda’s arm a little scratch. “Fluffy!”
“Aow!” The giant panda mimicked her, placing its paw on Lin Qianyu’s wrist. Though it couldn’t curl its paw, it bent it slightly to rest it there.
Holding onto Lin Qianyu, the giant panda also smiled.
A visibly cheerful expression spread across its face.
Lin Qianyu leaned in a bit and poked its paw pad. “What are you smiling about?”
The giant panda looked a little goofy, opening its mouth even wider.
Clearly, it didn’t know why it was smiling—just that it was happy.
From not far away, sounds like “ah” and “woo” could be heard from time to time. They didn’t mean much, but Lin Qianyu guessed the two red pandas were cheering each other on.
When they got tired from running, they’d go back to eat more fruit.
At some point, they noticed Lin Qianyu and the giant panda over here.
The two of them slowly crept up from behind the bamboo, curiously peeking over.
Lin Qianyu waved at the red pandas. “Yangyang, Nuannuan? Come over here. Why are you standing so far away?”
Both red pandas had definitely seen the giant panda before—that was without question.
After all, the bamboo grove wasn’t that big. Even if they’d somehow managed to avoid seeing the panda, they’d have smelled its scent.
Also, giant pandas have strong territorial instincts. If it allowed red pandas to live in its territory, then it obviously wouldn’t harm them.
The red pandas not far off looked surprised, probably wondering how Lin Qianyu got so close to the giant panda.
Now, facing Lin Qianyu’s call, they hesitated, unsure whether to come closer.The giant panda didn’t react much—maybe it had gone too long without eating these kinds of fruits and vegetables. It even ate two cucumbers in a row, too busy to bother with the red pandas.
The red pandas were very cautious, and Lin Qianyu didn’t rush them. Instead, she started chatting with the giant panda. “Do you know these two little red pandas? You probably do, right?”
“Wuu!”
Lin Qianyu nodded. “They count as your companions here in the rainforest.”
But judging by how cautious the red pandas were, they were probably companions in name only—never having actually met.
Watching the giant panda eat so happily, Lin Qianyu found herself getting hungry too. She’d had some fruit earlier, but it obviously wasn’t filling.
Lin Qianyu dug into a compartment of her backpack and pulled out a palm-sized meat bun. “This morning I made bamboo rice—it’s been steaming for so long, it should be ready. I’ll just make do for lunch. We’ll have a proper meal tonight after we get back.”
Saying that, she took a bite of the bun. Thin skin, lots of filling—the first bite already reached the meat.
It was a pork and scallion filling.
But there was hardly any scallion to be seen—just a solid meatball inside.
The seasoning was just right too. Even eating it plain without congee, it didn’t feel salty.
The meat was a balanced mix of fat and lean. It had been quite a while since they left the rescue station, so the bun was already cold. But even so, eaten together with the soft skin, it didn’t feel greasy at all.
“This bun is really good. The rescue station’s chef is amazing,” Lin Qianyu thought while chewing. Not just the food—the overall management, the careful and cautious approach to animals, and their willingness to lose money to treat injured creatures.
Plus, they gave the best benefits to their staff—comfortable lodging and a supportive environment. In the current climate, their company was wonderful in every way the more she thought about it.
Most importantly, she got to cuddle fluffballs every day! Falling asleep hugging a big, good-tempered cat—she could hardly tell whether paradise was in her dreams or her waking life. Thinking of this, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but promote the company: “If you love animals, you should come work with us.”
【Lin-jie, come on, do you think I’m not going to Tsinghua just because I don’t want to?!】
【Alright then, Lin-jie gave the word! Everyone saw it! If I send in my resume and your company rejects me, that’s just rude!】
【What?! Lin-jie’s writing me an internal referral? Everybody say thank you, Lin-jie!】
Lin Qianyu blinked, stunned: “…Huh?”
The barrage of comments had completely gone off track.
The next moment, a new comment popped up:
【Forget the job—Jie, look at the giant panda! It’s practically drooling!】
Still reading the livestream comments, Lin Qianyu hadn’t noticed what was happening with the giant panda.
After seeing that message, she turned her head for a look.
Although the panda still had food in its paws, it was just holding it. That mouth, which had been munching away non-stop a moment ago, was now slightly open, staring fixedly at the bun in Lin Qianyu’s hand.
Clearly, it was very interested in the big, steaming, meaty bun.
But despite its interest, it didn’t come over or try to snatch it. It just sat there with hopeful eyes, occasionally licking its lips, even stopping the usual swinging of its little feet.
Its round, dark eyes were full of the words “I want to eat that.”
It sniffled slightly, sitting perfectly still—but to a person watching, it just looked pitiful.
【Give it some!】
【Wuuuu our sweet baby is such a good baby. My cat just claws at me when it wants food, but this one can hold back!】【Who can relate? Watching this makes me want to wrap myself into a bun and feed myself to it.】
Although Lin Qianyu also wanted to let the panda try the bun, giant pandas couldn’t eat heavily seasoned food.
She remembered seeing pandas eat corn buns and biscuits before—they could handle coarse grains, and naturally other flour-based foods—but the meat filling was definitely a no-go.
It was probably just the aroma of the meat that attracted it.
Lin Qianyu put the bun back into the plastic bag. The moment she did, the panda’s head drooped, looking extremely wronged—even the fruits in front of it lost their appeal.
“Here, eat this instead.” Lin Qianyu pulled out a big handful of jerky. It was all unseasoned—though not as fragrant as the bun’s filling, it still tasted pretty good.
She unwrapped the jerky and placed it in the panda’s paws. Since it couldn’t hold much, Lin Qianyu even took away the half-eaten fruit it was holding and stacked the jerky high in its two paws.
She tried to negotiate with the panda: “Next time I’ll make you some unseasoned buns, how about that?”
“Wuu!” The panda was easy to coax, hugging its big pile of jerky and humming contentedly.
That kind of sound was hard to describe—a bit childish, laced with delight, like a spoiled kid. It had no specific meaning, but it was one of the panda’s ways of expressing happiness and friendliness.
Lin Qianyu patted its furry head. “Good.”
The panda held the jerky in its mouth, tilted its head, and rubbed against her palm—then rubbed again.
Larger animals often gave off the impression of being clumsy, but the panda’s movements right now were unexpectedly nimble. Even its short, white tail behind it gave a happy little wag.
“A panda’s tail is white,” Lin Qianyu adjusted the camera angle.
Maybe because in cartoons the panda's black, round tail was so iconic, people instinctively imagined a black fuzzy ball when thinking of a panda's tail.
But in reality, a panda’s tail was like a puppy’s—short and white.
If you didn’t look closely, it blended right into the white fur on its body, making it hard to notice.
Lin Qianyu took out the bun again and resumed eating.
Even with jerky in its paws, the panda was still tempted by the bun’s aroma. But it continued chewing on the jerky seriously—maybe because it tasted good too, or maybe because it remembered Lin Qianyu’s promise to make it a bun later.
After all, despite eating bamboo most of the time, pandas were still classified as carnivores.
They just needed less meat compared to predators like leopards or tigers, who relied heavily on it.
As Lin Qianyu ate, the red pandas hiding behind the bamboo slowly crept closer to her.
Their sneaky approach wasn’t exactly subtle—both Lin Qianyu and the panda had already noticed them—but the red pandas seemed to think they were doing a great job staying hidden, even shielding themselves with bamboo leaves as they came closer.
Lin Qianyu took a sip of water and watched the bamboo leaves with pale hairs on the edges inching forward. She thought… well, this is kind of stealthy, in its own way.
What’s more, even while sitting, she was still much taller than the red pandas standing up. Once they were near the surrounding bamboo, all she had to do was look down to see their little furry heads.
The red pandas were completely unaware.
Lin Qianyu brushed aside the bamboo leaves with her fingertips, bent down a little, and tilted her head to meet the red panda’s eyes. “Hi.”
Red panda: “!!!”
They’d been discovered!
【Awooo awooo! Damn it, I was being so careful—!】【Forget about Lin-jie, even I saw that big bamboo leaf walking over.】
【It’s okay, baby. You’ve already made progress. Next time, remember to pick a bamboo leaf bigger than yourself to hide behind, okay?】
Lin Qianyu laughed as she read the last comment aloud to the red panda, “This bamboo leaf can’t hide you, it’s too small.”
However, upon hearing this, the red panda hugged the leaf with a serious expression, “Ah!”
“???”
As the meaning sank in, Lin Qianyu was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, “Haha, is that so? That actually makes sense—cough, cough!”
She choked on water at the end of her sentence, coughing twice, her face flushed red but she still couldn’t stop smiling.
The comment feed filled with question marks, all asking what the red panda said.
Lin Qianyu finally caught her breath and forced down the smile tugging at her lips. Her voice was hoarse from the coughing, but she still couldn’t hide her amusement. “Nuannuan said, if the bamboo leaf is too big, it’ll be easier to get noticed.”
【?—Hahaha! Damn, that actually makes sense!】
【I’m dying laughing, this red panda baby is way too smart. Even I didn’t think of that. No wonder you're a protected species.】
The idea that the bigger something is, the easier it is to spot—wasn’t wrong.
But only if there’s a smaller, more suitable cover to hide behind.
Clearly, the little bamboo leaf Nuannuan picked didn’t meet that requirement.
It made sense, but also kind of didn’t.
The thoughts of small animals were always this simple and adorable.
Facing the serious expression on red panda Nuannuan’s face, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but reach out and—suddenly start ruffling its head.
The red panda shifted its little paws in confusion, not knowing what was happening, and hugged the bamboo leaf tightly.
Its head fur was completely messed up, but it remained dazed. A few seconds later, it seemed to realize something and took a big bite out of the bamboo leaf.
Completely ignoring its ruffled fur, it ate with full concentration.
Perhaps it was complete trust—Nuannuan didn’t resist at all, just let Lin Qianyu ruffle away freely.
It gave off a kind of vibe like: you ruffle me, I eat my leaf—totally detached from the world.
It was just missing a tiny cape on its back to complete the wise hermit image.
Lin Qianyu wanted to laugh again. Ever since she stepped into this rainforest and met so many adorable fluffy creatures, the smile on her face hadn’t left once.
As the red panda chewed the bamboo leaf bite by bite, she gently smoothed its ruffled fur back into place with her fingertips.
If only she had brought a comb.
To pack more food, Lin Qianyu had emptied everything from her backpack before the trip.
Even her own buns had been stuffed in by squeezing them into any available space.
So of course she didn’t bring a comb—she’d just have to brush them next time.
Red panda Yangyang walked slowly, and when he saw Nuannuan’s head puffed up from all the ruffling, he shrank his neck back and took two steps back while hugging his bamboo."Yangyang?" Lin Qianyu freed up a hand. "Come here."
Yangyang: "!!!"
【Haha, Yangyang’s like: if she’s petting him, she can’t pet me anymore.】
【Come on, it’s just a quick pet.】
Seeing Yangyang not coming over, Nuannuan even turned around and swung an arm forward.
That gesture could be roughly interpreted as—Come on, bro!
Such a human-like motion, with that expressive little face—Lin Qianyu wanted to laugh again.
But after choking earlier, she held her stomach with one hand and couldn’t stop laughing, “Too cute, haha… my stomach hurts from laughing.”
She was practically out of breath from laughing at herself.
Such a fairy-like adorable little creature.
Yangyang gave Nuannuan a disdainful glance, then slowly walked over.
Nuannuan, ever carefree, held up the bamboo leaf she’d half eaten and offered it to him. Yangyang took one bite, then didn’t eat anymore.
Lin Qianyu reached out and picked up Yangyang.
Familiarity breeds comfort—she had just held him once not long ago. Though the red panda was still a bit stiff, it was clear he wasn’t nearly as conflicted as before.
When placed on her lap, Yangyang clearly caught on. He moved his hind legs a bit on his own, found a good spot, and lay down with his chin resting right on Lin Qianyu’s knee.
His body curled up—it was a safe and comfortable place, surrounded on all sides.
Seeing this, Nuannuan immediately dropped the bamboo leaf in her arms and put her front paws on Lin Qianyu’s leg, raising her hind legs, trying hard to climb up.
But there was nowhere to step—after a few attempts, she was about to step on Yangyang.
“Ah!”
Nuannuan had no place to go up.
Lin Qianyu supported her from behind with a hand, helping the red panda up. “Alright, squeeze in, there’ll be space.”
Red pandas weren’t very big, though both were adults.
They curled up on her left and right, their fluffy tails swinging around, struggling to find a place to settle.
Lin Qianyu grabbed Nuannuan’s tail and gently helped it wrap around by her side.
Nuannuan had just adjusted her position when she looked down and saw her own tail—she paused for a second, then reached out and hugged it, giving it a lick.
The giant panda looked at the two red pandas on Lin Qianyu’s lap, then looked at itself. Without hesitation, it placed the meat jerky in its arms on top of the fruit pile. “Awo!”
Me!
Lin Qianyu: “???”
Wait, wait a minute!
【?!!】【The giant panda baby wants cuddles too! Who isn’t a baby that wants hugs!】
【I can’t stand this, seriously can’t! Never thought the streamer would be this biased—hugging two red pandas and not even sparing a spot for the giant panda. I’m hurt, outraged! What kind of world is this!】
【Hahahaha help… there's only one Lin-jie, I really don’t want her to get crushed.】
The giant panda didn’t know what was going on. It patted off the fruit crumbs on itself and innocently tried to sit down.
Lin Qianyu said with a mix of laughter and tears, “This… this really won’t do.”
The giant panda was taller than her when standing up. Never mind sitting on her—she couldn’t even lift it.
It circled around Lin Qianyu twice. Perhaps it realized something itself, and then stopped behind her, resting its chin on her and rubbing its head against hers.
This was a gesture of affection.
Lin Qianyu simply leaned back, her upper body resting on the giant panda.
The panda seemed momentarily confused, then probably thought Lin Qianyu had slipped, so it stepped forward and used its paw to gently push her shoulder.
Maybe that strength was already restrained for a panda—it was a very light push.
But Lin Qianyu still ended up pushed down. It was a bit unexpected, but fortunately she reacted quickly and caught herself with her hands on the ground.
Otherwise, falling face-first would’ve been the least of her worries—she could’ve ended up folding over and squashing the red pandas underneath her.
The light changed in front of her eyes. The red panda, still lying comfortably, didn’t seem to notice anything wrong. Its big fluffy tail was still swaying.
That moving tail in front of its face caught its attention. Its eyes changed, it pawed at Lin Qianyu’s leg, then suddenly opened its paw and pinned the tail down to bite it.
Lin Qianyu held her waist. “Good thing I’ve been working out recently. If this were before, I would’ve definitely thrown my back out.”
【…Wait, you weren’t working out before???】
【Well damn, even without training you sent a poacher’s teeth flying. Train a bit more and next time it’ll be their skull.】
As Lin Qianyu sat back upright, the giant panda seemed to realize what had just happened. It urgently pawed at her, as if asking her to turn around and check what happened.
Lin Qianyu turned her face and let it nervously inspect her. “It’s okay, just wobbled a bit.”
At that moment, Lin Qianyu also understood why the giant panda cubs she raised had to be distanced after growing up.
The keepers would get hurt, and the pandas would feel guilty if they accidentally injured someone they were close to.
Turning like that was a bit awkward, so Lin Qianyu simply raised her arm to hug the panda’s neck, leaning it against her shoulder and patting its head gently, comforting it, “I’m really fine. See? I’m totally okay.”
“Wuu!”
After checking thoroughly and confirming she was alright, the giant panda rubbed its cheek against hers, its damp nose brushing her face like an affectionate animal kiss.
Then it slowly ambled back to where it had been sitting and resumed eating.
It glanced up at the sky, eyes wide open, and only after a long moment did it slowly blink.
Lin Qianyu, curious, kept lightly petting the red panda and looked up too—realizing that at some point, dark clouds had gathered. The sun wasn’t fully covered yet, but there were signs of both sunlight and impending rain.
She had vaguely sensed the light shift earlier, but she’d been too focused on the panda to pay attention.
She had just thought it was the sun naturally setting, since it was getting late anyway.Lin Qianyu frowned slightly. “Looks like it’s going to rain.”
She instinctively reached for her backpack—no umbrella.
There wasn’t one in the car either.
She figured the sunshower wouldn’t last long—just a few drops under the sunlight before it stopped.
Lin Qianyu sat up straighter and glanced around, trying to see if there was any shelter from the rain.
The red pandas could hide inside tree hollows—as long as it wasn’t a low-lying area and there was no water pooling into the hollow, they’d be safe.
She picked up the red pandas and placed them on either side of the mat’s edge, then stood up and said, “You two play here, I’ve got something to do.”
She had to go find the little wolf.
It was fine to let it roam and hunt while the weather was good, but now that it was raining and it wasn’t nearby, she felt uneasy.
The other fluffy animals were native to this environment—they could sense and cope with sudden rain on their own.
But the steppe wolf was different. It wasn’t used to this habitat, and on top of that, it was still recovering from illness. Naturally, it needed more careful attention.
As she walked out of the bamboo grove, Lin Qianyu was still thinking about how to call the steppe wolf back.
But the next moment, her steps suddenly stopped.
Not far away by the rainforest vehicle—when she got out earlier, she hadn’t closed the door, only shut the trunk that held the fruit.
At that moment, the steppe wolf was placing a stack of rabbits onto the car. Inside, there were already quite a few.
By the wolf’s feet—there was also a zebra.
Lin Qianyu: “???”
【Damn! That’s impressive, seriously impressive! So this is the strength of a steppe wolf!】
【And this is when the little wolf’s not even used to hunting in this environment—if you put him back on the steppe, he’d rule the whole region.】
【Give him a bit more time and he could provide for the whole family with no problem.】
【Absolutely legit—he even knows to switch up the menu. Tell us, when are you inviting auntie over? Auntie already bought her plane ticket.】
The steppe wolf noticed Lin Qianyu approaching. It had been dragging the zebra toward the car, but upon seeing her, it turned and ran over with the zebra in its mouth. “Awooo!”
It was an adult male zebra. From its muscular build, it was clearly a strong one—but unfortunately, it had run into a steppe overlord.
The zebra left a long trail across the ground. The steppe wolf, having hunted such a large prey, was clearly thrilled, circling around Lin Qianyu and rubbing its head against her waist.
“Good boy. You caught all of these?” Lin Qianyu petted the steppe wolf’s ear, her fingertips brushing over it. “You’re amazing, little wolf.”
She couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you suddenly decide to go after a zebra?”
“Woo awooo!”
Saw it.
Lin Qianyu nodded. He probably came across the zebra while hunting rabbits and decided to give chase.
Once he figured he had enough food, he brought both the rabbits and the zebra back.In fact, just one zebra would be enough to feed the steppe wolf.
Although steppe wolves are pack animals, the little wolf probably already understood that it had no kind here, no pack of its own.
And yet it still brought all the food back—this could only mean that the little wolf regarded Lin Qianyu, along with the tiger, leopard, black bear, red-tailed hawk, and everyone in the cave, as those it needed to care for.
That was the responsibility of an alpha.
Lin Qianyu squatted down and cupped its cheeks in her hands, rubbing them. “You’ve worked hard.”
The steppe wolf wagged its tail nonstop, though its expression remained serious and calm.
“Come on, let’s pack things up.” Lin Qianyu patted the little wolf’s belly, opened the passenger door to let it in, and as she spoke, the rain had already started falling.
Fortunately, it was just a few scattered drops, not too heavy.
Lin Qianyu shut the passenger door, then emptied the trunk—what could fit went into her backpack, and what couldn’t she placed in the driver’s seat for now.
The cleared trunk was used for the steppe wolf’s prey. The rabbits were easy enough to load in, but the zebra was a problem.
She barely managed to squeeze it in, but the trunk door wouldn’t close.
She had to pull out the waterproof mat from the bottom of the trunk and drape it over the back to prevent rain from getting in and making a mess.
Seeing Lin Qianyu moving things, the steppe wolf stood up and pawed at the door handle, wanting to come help.
Worried that it would get soaked, Lin Qianyu opened the door on the other side. “Don’t get out, little wolf. It’s raining. Wait for me, okay? I’m just taking the fruit over to the pandas.”
As she closed the door, she didn’t forget to remind it, “Just sit here and wait for me, okay? Little wolf is the best and most obedient, right?”
Although it still really wanted to get out, after hearing Lin Qianyu’s words, the steppe wolf obediently sat down and tilted its head back with a howl: “Awooo——!”
【Okay, no animal can resist that from Sister Lin.】
【Who doesn’t want to be the most obedient good baby? It’s seriously impossible to say no!】
【Awooo awoo! Little wolf baby is the best behaved—no room for debate!】
...
Closing the car door, Lin Qianyu carried the fruit back into the bamboo grove.
As she walked, she was already thinking about cleaning up the uneaten fruit on the ground as well.
She didn’t know if the giant panda had anywhere to stash food, or if the red pandas’ tree hollow could hold this much.
Originally, she had planned to stay a little longer, but this rain messed up all of Lin Qianyu’s plans.
Taking advantage of the light drizzle, she rolled up the picnic mat and placed the fruit from her backpack onto it as well.
That would be enough to feed them for two days.
“Ah!” The red panda had a bamboo leaf on its head and lifted its paw high, trying to offer Lin Qianyu a leaf too. As it raised its head, the leaf slid down its furry head.
Lin Qianyu reached out and caught the leaf, tugged it back slightly, and once it was steady, accepted the bamboo leaf the red panda gave her.
“Thank you, Nuannuan.” The bamboo leaf was just the right size—enough to cover the red panda, though it was a bit small for Lin Qianyu.
Even so, she still placed the bamboo leaf on her own head, just like the red panda."Where do you all store your food? Is it okay to put this fruit with the other food? Later, you can share it with the giant panda." Lin Qianyu shook the bundle in her hand. "But remember to eat it in time, don’t try to save it. Fruit goes bad quickly—if you want to eat it, just eat it, alright?"
The red panda clutched the edge of the bamboo leaf, seeming to ponder Lin Qianyu’s words. Then it simply lifted its head and let out a long, soft cry: "Wuuu aoo!"
The red panda led the way.
Normally, red pandas wouldn’t easily reveal their food storage spots to others.
Clearly, Lin Qianyu’s importance in the red panda’s heart was gradually growing—perhaps not just a little.
As they got closer, she discovered that besides the red panda’s tree hollow, there was also a high pile of rocks nearby.
It seemed even more suitable than the hollow.
So she decided to place the food beneath the rock pile instead.
The space was large enough to fit everything, even the picnic mat.
The top side of the mat was soft and plush, the underside waterproof and smooth. Even if rainwater got in, it wouldn’t soak the fruit.
After placing everything in, just to be safe, Lin Qianyu moved a stone over and leaned it gently at an angle against the opening.
"All done." Lin Qianyu stood up and clapped her hands.
Today's rain didn’t seem like it would get heavy. Earlier it was just scattered drops, and now it was a fine drizzle—light and gentle on the skin.
The red panda was peeking curiously inside, poking its head through a gap in the rocks.
Lin Qianyu reached out and picked it up. "Let’s go hide from the rain first—don’t catch a cold."
As she spoke, she pushed the food inside the tree hollow aside and placed Nuannuan inside.
The hollow wasn’t packed with food—maybe this wasn’t their only storage spot.
So there was still plenty of room for them to settle in.
When Yangyang came back carrying bamboo with a bamboo leaf on its head, Lin Qianyu picked it up too. "It’s raining now, so no need to rush storing food. Don’t worry, this rain won’t last long, and there’s food right nearby. Why don’t you rest for a bit?"
Her voice was especially gentle as she placed Yangyang next to Nuannuan.
"Alright, you two play by yourselves. I’m going to check on the giant panda."
After settling the red pandas, Lin Qianyu got up to go find Gun Gun.
She hadn’t seen it earlier and was starting to wonder if the giant panda had gone off to find its own shelter.
"Ao!"
Before she could figure it out, the giant panda’s voice came from behind her.
Lin Qianyu was startled and just about to turn around when she felt her clothes being tugged—Gun Gun seemed to be trying to pull her somewhere.
"Where are we going?" Lin Qianyu turned around and stumbled a few steps. "Are you taking me to shelter from the rain?"
The giant panda didn’t answer and seemed quite anxious, tugging her along even faster.
Seeing this, Lin Qianyu could only guess, "The giant panda has been living here for a while—it probably has its own usual spot for hiding from the rain."
Since it wanted to take her along, she decided to follow and see."It's just that..." Lin Qianyu was a bit curious—there didn’t seem to be any place nearby that could actually accommodate a giant panda.
Lost in thought, she hadn’t noticed when the giant panda stopped, and walked straight into it.
Luckily, what she hit was a furry wall—otherwise, she would’ve really gotten hurt. Even if her nose didn’t break, it would’ve hurt for a long while.
Lin Qianyu asked, “What is it?”
There was no time to say more. The giant panda motioned for her to crouch down.
In front of them was a cluster of bamboo with some gaps. Compared to earlier, the bamboo here was denser. The overlapping bamboo leaves held rainwater, which slanted and slid off.
But since it was near the edge of a slope, there were rocks jutting out horizontally.
Sheltering from the rain here?
Lin Qianyu was full of doubt. Then she saw the giant panda, familiar with the process, lie down and tuck its head into the bamboo. The protruding stone just happened to shield its head.
Could there be a hole in there?
Would a giant panda dig its own hole?
She didn’t really know, so she simply imitated the panda—knelt down on one knee and leaned in to take a look.
—There was nothing.
It was just a corner with a jutting stone.
Still, with the bamboo leaves and rocks providing cover, and being in a corner, it was clean and dry inside—no rainwater had seeped in.
Lin Qianyu: "……"
The soft drizzle couldn’t block the livestream camera, so this scene was all captured and broadcast.
【I think I know why Gun Gun’s back is whiter than its belly now.】
【Oh my, chubby baby, who taught you to hide from rain like this—head dry, butt soaked.】
【Hahahaha and it's even teaching Lin-jie how to take cover!】
【The method might not be great, but the heart is in the right place. Lin-jie, you’d better just stay there for a bit, don’t waste Gun Gun’s kind intentions.】
The giant panda clearly treated this place as a perfect rain shelter. Seeing that Lin Qianyu hadn’t moved, it even scooted over to make more room for her.
"Ao!" The panda’s eyes lit up, as if saying, ‘Pretty good spot, right?’
Not wanting to hurt the fluffy one’s confidence—despite feeling her back had already been soaked—Lin Qianyu still nodded without a change in expression, “This place really is nice.”
Just now, when the panda had urgently dragged her over, she thought something serious had happened.
Now that she thought about it, it was probably just because it saw her walking in the rain and got anxious, rushing to pull her somewhere dry.
Actually, this method of sheltering wasn’t bad—provided you had fur that didn’t easily get wet.
Lin Qianyu clearly didn’t.
“I’ll come play with you again next time. I need to head home now.” Lin Qianyu reached out to touch the panda’s ear. The cramped space made even that movement a bit difficult.
The giant panda blinked. “Wuu?”"It's fine, I drove here, I won't get soaked by the rain." As she spoke, Lin Qianyu backed out from between the rocks. "Next time I come, I’ll see if I can set up a rain shelter or something."
If there wasn't a proper place for the giant panda to shelter from the rain, then she'd just build one using materials.
The thought had only just occurred, but Lin Qianyu was already pondering what materials to use.
"Alright, see you next time."
Waving at the giant panda, Lin Qianyu turned and ran into the rain.
Just from spending a short while in the bamboo grove, her clothes were already thoroughly soaked. She’d have to change once she got back.
Inside the rainforest vehicle.
From a distance, she could already see the side of the prairie wolf’s face through the car window.
It seemed to have noticed Lin Qianyu walking back in the rain too. The prairie wolf stood up, but the space was too cramped, so it had to lower its head slightly and pawed at the car door, seemingly trying to open it.
Lin Qianyu guessed it was trying to figure out how to open the door.
“Don’t come out! The ground’s all wet!” Lin Qianyu shouted while waving at the prairie wolf and quickened her pace toward it.
Walking didn’t make the rain feel all that strong, but once she started running, the fine rain hit her face directly, and she vaguely felt that the rain had gotten heavier.
Hearing her words, the prairie wolf put its paw down but still paced back and forth anxiously, letting out low “wuu, wuu” sounds from its throat.
Reaching the rainforest vehicle, Lin Qianyu opened the door, got in, and shut it in one smooth motion without hesitation.
She had been in the rain too long, and her whole body was wet.
Fortunately, the vehicle’s interior had been designed with this in mind, using mostly waterproof materials.
Once the rain stopped, she could open the doors to air it out, or just activate the self-drying and cleaning function in the car.
Lin Qianyu pulled the towel hanging by the window, wiped her face, then draped it over her hair. “Thanks for waiting.”
“Wuu...” The prairie wolf stepped onto the center console, leaned over, and licked the rainwater from the back of her hand.
“Good boy, I’m fine.” Lin Qianyu wiped her hand before petting the little wolf’s head.
Running in the rain wasn’t really a good idea—the ground was slippery, and visibility was affected.
But if the rain was just like this, Lin Qianyu actually enjoyed walking or running in it.
After a quick wipe down—though one towel wasn’t very useful—she hung the damp towel back where it was. “Sit tight, seatbelt on, we’re heading home now.”
“Ao!”
This time, the rainforest vehicle drove very slowly.
It wasn’t because of the rain, but because the trunk wouldn’t close completely. Even though the waterproof tarp covering it was tucked in very securely at the edges, if she drove too fast, the wind could catch it and blow it away—and she wouldn’t even know when it happened.
So she deliberately slowed down.
---She had always walked up this path before.
She’d hiked it many times already.
Driving it for the first time on the way back felt pretty novel.As the vehicle climbed the slope, the sound of the engine stirred the furry ones at home to peek out from their caves and tents.
Lin Qianyu drove the rainforest vehicle up and steadily parked it in the middle. “I’m back.”
“Ao!”
“Jiu!”
“Roar...”
Even the big tiger, still half-asleep, gave an enthusiastic response.
Lin Qianyu opened the passenger side where the prairie wolf sat. “Come on, little wolf. Head into the tent and wait for me.”
The tent was large, but only a small portion of it remained unoccupied—just enough now to park the rainforest vehicle.
The prairie wolf obediently leapt out. With the shelter overhead, it didn’t get a drop of water on its body.
Lin Qianyu shut the door and went around to the trunk to drag out the zebra and the rabbits.
Entering the tent, she didn’t see any prey inside. She asked, “Have you all eaten already?”
She had felt earlier that the prairie wolf’s belly was full, likely from eating during the hunt.
“Ao!” The black bear, munching on the meat jerky lollipop Lin Qianyu had left for it, let out a response.
Lin Qianyu nodded. “Alright then, we’ll save these for dinner.”
The tent was packed with furballs, nearly no room left to step.
If someone walked in blind right now, they’d probably end up stepping on every last fluff inside just to get through.
The rabbits were small enough to place anywhere, but the zebra was another matter.
Since she hadn’t changed clothes yet, Lin Qianyu brought the zebra over to the cave on the opposite side.
Only after entering the cave did she realize—it was full of prey from end to end.
Perhaps the furballs thought she still lived in the inner chamber of the cave, so they’d stacked the prey outside.
Following Lin Qianyu’s previous method, they had piled it up to save space.
She hesitated for a moment and decided not to add the zebra to the pile—it was too tall, hard to place, and might fall over if stacked.
The young bird was chirping and playing atop the stove, and the little mouse-deer was circling below.
She had no idea what kind of game they were playing, and she didn’t disturb them either. Instead, she picked out a clean set of clothes and went into the inner room to change.
When she came out, the livestream chat had suddenly become lively, filled with a flood of comments that had nothing to do with the little animals.
[Did you see Weibo?! Y’all, who else understands this feeling? It’s literally karma!]
[Exactly! Serves him right! Anyone who harms animals deserves to be eaten by one.]
[I used to feel sad that he only got 20 years. But after today, this is perfect. He deserved to die.]
...
Lin Qianyu was puzzled, but she didn’t rush to check. Instead, she grabbed an umbrella and headed into the tent.She had set her phone by the pillow earlier while moving prey, worried it might fall.
Dead?
The only person Lin Qianyu could think of who would be hated enough to cause this kind of reaction in the livestream chat was someone like Xie Yifei.
She tapped into the livestream and scrolled through a couple of comments before noticing someone mentioned Weibo.
So Lin Qianyu switched apps and opened Weibo.
Leaning against the big tiger, one arm wrapped around the leopard, her fingers idly tapped the screen.
She barely needed to read the full context of the comments—just opening Weibo, the top trending search and all the posts pushed to her homepage were related to Xie Yifei.
Because he had admitted to poaching during a livestream and due to other filthy things he had done in private, Xie Yifei had drawn a lot of online attention.
Many people were waiting to see his downfall.
Although everyone hated him to the core, wishing they could personally end him, killing was illegal.
After being taken back and prosecuted, twenty years in prison seemed to be his final fate.
But no one expected—Xie Yifei didn’t make it back.
Before the police could even reach him, he had already sealed his own fate.
Lin Qianyu opened the most viewed video on the trending list. The angle looked like it was captured from a high-mounted surveillance camera and wasn’t very clear.
But Xie Yifei was slowly crawling forward, his desperate, contorted face occasionally appearing in the footage.
Lin Qianyu frowned. “Is this environment the island? He looks like he escaped... so disheveled.”
[Yeah, he ran away from the rescue station. He must've been scared the police would catch him, so he bolted while supervision was lax.]
[The director invited back all the guests except An Lanqing, including Xie Yifei.]
Reading the explanation in the comments, Lin Qianyu paused but didn’t bother explaining why Xie Yifei returned to the island.
Continuing to watch, Xie Yifei, after escaping the rescue station, crawled for who knows how long. The footage was pieced together from various surveillance cameras.
There was no sound—Xie Yifei silently crawled forward the whole time, until the silhouette of a large animal passed through the frame.
He didn’t seem to notice a thing, until the animal fully appeared and rapidly approached, jaws wide open toward him.
“Ahhh!”
Xie Yifei shrieked. The sudden sound was sharp and grating. The next moment, he was dragged backward in the beast’s jaws.
The video cut off abruptly there.
Paired with the police report, the outcome was self-evident.
Though it looked brutal, the livestream chat was full of celebration.
[Karma!]
[Can someone check on the anaconda? Hope it doesn’t get sick from eating Xie Yifei. Would hate for any innocent animals to suffer because of him.]
[Satisfying. For the first time, I’m not scared—I actually feel like justice was served. If that guy had only gotten 20 years and then early release, I’d have been furious enough to get hypertension.]…
There were also a few scattered comments curiously asking why Xie Yifei tried to escape from the rescue station—after all, he was on an island, and even if he got out of the station, he couldn’t escape the island itself.
These curious comments were drowned out by all the others filled with exclamation marks.
No one paid much attention or started a discussion about it.
At some point, Lin Qianyu’s hand stopped stroking the leopard. Holding her phone, she looked thoughtful.
After a moment of hesitation, she typed out a message and sent it to Feng Jingye: [Is he dead?]
There was no need to specify who “he” referred to. Feng Jingye would know.
The reply came quickly.
Feng Jingye: [He will atone for his sins where he belongs.]
Lin Qianyu raised her brows slightly. That answer... she was quite satisfied with it.
At first, she thought it was just a light rain that wouldn’t last long.
But unexpectedly, it kept raining for several days in a row. Although it never turned into a downpour, the constant drizzle made everything damp and gloomy.
Lin Qianyu stayed inside the tent and didn’t go out. She had left enough food for the giant panda and red panda—enough to last a week without foraging.
First, they could eat the bamboo from the grove. Second, the fruits—thanks to the lower temperature—had a longer shelf life. As long as they didn’t rot, even if they shriveled and dried up, they were still edible, just not as juicy as when fresh.
Even though she stayed in the tent, Lin Qianyu’s days were full.
There were so many fluffballs at home, she couldn’t even finish petting them all in one round!
The large spotted civet also came to eat during the rain, and Lin Qianyu brought it back to the cave.
Since it was timid and there were so many predators around, she worried it might get stressed. The cave was currently full of cubs, so she let it stay with them.
“Let’s see what flavor of instant noodles we’re having today…” Lin Qianyu rummaged through the box of noodles. The big bowls were all mixed up, and the packaging colors didn’t indicate the flavors clearly. After digging a bit, she pulled out a seafood-flavored one from the bottom.
“Guess I’ll have this one.” She tore off the plastic wrap, chatting idly with her livestream viewers. “The little wolf’s health report came back—all the indicators look great.”
The report had arrived on the third rainy morning.
Knowing that the steppe wolf was perfectly healthy made Lin Qianyu genuinely happy. Compared to the previous report, which had almost every result in red, the improvement was remarkable.
But—if the steppe wolf had recovered, it also meant it would be leaving here for a more suitable environment.
It was a good thing.
Still, as the wolf’s caretaker all this time, the thought of it leaving made Lin Qianyu feel much less calm than she had seemed when talking to Pei Feng.
She just didn’t want to burden Pei Feng with her feelings.
Pouring in hot water, Lin Qianyu pressed down the edges of the noodle bowl and sighed softly. “Once the rain stops, I’ll take the little wolf back for a few more tests. If everything checks out…”
She paused, then said, “It can go back to the grasslands.”
Taking a bite of a strawberry, she gently rubbed the side of the noodle bowl. “So I might be a bit busy these days. I won’t be livestreaming for a while.”
【??? I was getting ready to cry and this is what you drop on me?!】【Can’t you livestream the trip to send the little wolf to the grasslands? We can crowdfund the internet fees.】
【You guys hold off on being sad—let @Su Yuxing be the first one to grieve, okay?】
If Lin Qianyu stopped livestreaming, fans would naturally be upset about not seeing the fluffballs anymore. But if you had to say who would be the saddest, it would definitely be Su Yuxing.
Normally, after a variety show ends, its relevance fades quickly. Some shows even plummet in popularity right after the final episode airs.
Su Yuxing was relatively lucky—there was still a lot of discussion online after the first episode.
The fact that Lin Qianyu continued livestreaming was an unexpected bonus.
Each of her streams was basically giving extra life to a show with no ongoing promotion.
With both giant pandas and red pandas making appearances, she’d been trending for days. Some even compared the life quality of pandas leased abroad to this fluffy one on the island.
As a result, there were always trending topics involving Lin Qianyu and animals. If she kept streaming regularly, Su Yuxing had no doubt the hype could easily carry over to the premiere of the second season.
This kind of logic was obvious enough that even the entertainment-savvy fans in the livestream chat grasped it completely.
So naturally, a new wave of teasing swept through the barrage aimed at Su Yuxing.
Su Yuxing didn’t mind—in fact, he even joined in: 【Please look forward to my upcoming edited content.】
Even off the show, the director's account still had the moderator tag, making his messages more visible in the barrage.
Lin Qianyu curved her eyes in a smile as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. “Director Su, not taking a break during your time off?”
Su Yuxing: 【Keeping an eye on the editing, and still have to plan the next episode. A lot of things aren’t ready yet, how could I dare to rest? You make sure to rest well. Livestreaming should be done within your limits.】
The director's concern was genuine. Lin Qianyu could stream during leisurely times, but if she forced herself to go live on a strict schedule and got exhausted, it just wouldn’t be worth it.
【???】
【What kind of nonsense are you saying, Su Yuxing? Don’t make me slap you while I’m at my happiest.】
【How could you even say something like that?!】
【Oh I get it—you want Sister Lin to cut back on her off-show streaming so she doesn’t get too tired and can still make it to Season Two, huh.】
The director’s message came off as rather callous to the feelings of the fans in the livestream.
If it weren’t for the fact that he had mod privileges and could ban people, fans would’ve already hit him with a full combo attack.
The barrage even started crowdfunding to buy the director some shut-up pills.
Lin Qianyu nodded. “Alright, I’ll be mindful.”
The big tiger was still asleep, but upon hearing some movement, it stretched lazily.
Before it could fully extend, its paw already brushed against the nearby table.
With just a casual touch, the table shook violently like it had taken a heavy blow.
On top of the table was a roly-poly doll-like ornament, which began swaying wildly from side to side due to the tremor.
It teetered closer and closer to the edge—just as it was about to fall, the tiger calmly lifted its paw and effortlessly blocked the falling doll.
The big tiger stared at it for a few seconds.Three, two, one.
Then, with a casual swipe, it knocked the roly-poly doll it had just steadied off the table.
Watching the doll roll away with a rumble, the big tiger showed a satisfied expression.
As if it had accomplished something impressive, even its tail perked up.
Although there were still occasional snippets of Lin Qianyu chatting with the livestream audience, overall, the inside of the tent was quite quiet. At some point, Lin Qianyu’s voice had gone silent.
The big tiger’s gaze followed the roly-poly doll until it rolled to a stop by Lin Qianyu’s feet. Then, following the direction of the doll, it looked up.
And suddenly locked eyes with Lin Qianyu.
The big tiger twitched its ears, raised a paw to scratch its ear, then rubbed its face, sneaking glances at Lin Qianyu while licking its paw pad, clearly distracted.
【Hahahaha! First time seeing what a tiger looks like when it's embarrassed.】
【Quit pretending, Big Orange, everyone’s watching.】
【My cat also loves pushing things off the table—speaking as someone who used to use glass cups and now uses plastic ones.】
From the moment the big tiger stretched, Lin Qianyu’s attention had already shifted to it—let alone all the little movements afterward.
Not a single one escaped her gaze.
When people get caught doing something, they often don’t know where to put their hands. Now it seemed like animals were the same.
The big tiger, under the intensity of her gaze, was about to puff up—slapping the ground with its paw, it let out a “Roar—!”
It looked fierce, but in truth, it was just a paper tiger.
“Hahaha…” Lin Qianyu tried to hold it in but still burst out laughing.
The big tiger gave a low growl and started rolling around in frustration, but the tent wasn’t big enough. It could only flop back and forth in one spot, its front paws curled and crossed over its chest.
Lin Qianyu moved over and patted its belly. “Good boy, Big Orange.”
The past few rainy days, the furry residents had taken turns going out to hunt.
Later, when the rain paused, they’d all go out together, and as soon as it started again, they’d rush back.
Now that they had a tent, the big tiger didn’t even return to its cave anymore.
When Lin Qianyu woke up this morning, the other fluffballs had all gone out to hunt—only Big Orange stayed behind.
Each time the others went hunting, there would always be one who stayed behind. Lin Qianyu felt it was to protect her.
Before, because the grassland wolf was sick, it had been staying by her side most of the time.
But the zebras and rabbits had already proven the grassland wolf’s hunting prowess. It could fend for itself and survive on its own.
Lin Qianyu used to worry about letting it go out to hunt alone. Now, with time available, it was a good opportunity for more practice.
So, today, the one who stayed to protect her was Big Orange.
Lin Qianyu leaned against the big tiger’s belly, holding her cup of freshly made instant noodles, and couldn’t help sighing, “I’ve gotten used to leaning against Big Orange and Huahua—feels like no brand of sofa could beat them.”
【I don’t believe you. Get up and let me try.】【Isn’t it obvious? Just looking at it feels comforting, especially when you're buried in it, cuddling a cat while rubbing its soft, furry belly.】
【Ahem, it sounds really tempting—as long as the tiger doesn’t smack me, I could cuddle it for life.】
【Pro tip: when cuddling a tiger, bring the island host along to draw aggro. The big tiger won’t have time to bite you then.】
“Haha!” Seeing the last comment, Lin Qianyu nearly spilled her instant noodles. She quickly steadied her hands, and the soup in the big bowl sloshed dangerously close to spilling over.
It was a bit mean, sure—but it actually sounded kind of useful.
Feng Jingye really had sky-high aggro.
As Lin Qianyu steadied her noodles, the big tiger behind her leaned in and sniffed.
“Want some?” Lin Qianyu took a sip of the broth, then bit into the tiger-skin chicken claw soaked in the noodles, analyzing seriously: “This is way too salty, and it's full of additives—not suitable for big tigers.”
As the big tiger came closer, Lin Qianyu took the noodle bowl away. The tiger simply rested its head on her shoulder. “Roar!”
“Okay, okay, just a little then.” No one can refuse a big tiger begging for food.
No one!
Not even Lin Qianyu.
It looked fierce, but in her eyes, it was clearly just acting cute.
She twirled her fork in the bowl, wrapped it around several times, but when she lifted it, only a few strands of noodles clung to it—looking utterly pitiful.
Lin Qianyu: “Ah—” The big tiger opened its mouth. It chewed the noodles twice but didn’t feel much and swallowed them whole.
It licked its nose suspiciously and tilted its head at the now-empty fork in Lin Qianyu’s hand.
Clearly, it hadn’t tasted anything.
“No more.” Lin Qianyu turned her back to it, holding the noodle bowl. “Too much would be hard on your organs—not good for your health.”
Also, it was just too oily for a tiger. She didn’t dare give it more.
The big tiger moved its mouth again—maybe realizing it had tasted something after all. It didn’t keep pestering Lin Qianyu but turned to glance at the stacked boxes of instant noodles.
【Watch the big tiger get up at night and boil water to make itself a deluxe bowl of noodles.】
【Braised beef noodles—add a water buffalo’s innards, toss in a zebra, a few skinned rabbits, and serve with a side of cassava.】
【Now that’s a real bowl of noodles! Balanced nutrition, healthy, and delicious.】
...
Lin Qianyu preferred lighter flavors, so she hadn’t added much water. The noodles had absorbed most of the broth as they sat. By the time she finished the noodles, there wasn’t much soup left.
After drinking the last sip, she crushed the big noodle bowl flat and stacked it into the trash.
As compensation for not getting to eat many noodles, Lin Qianyu washed a whole bowl of strawberries for the big tiger.
Fresh fruit? Eat as much as you want.
This wasn’t something you had to be delicate about—she just grabbed a handful and tossed them right into the tiger’s mouth.
“I always thought those refrigerated storage boxes were just a scam, but turns out they work really well.” Lin Qianyu ate a strawberry herself as a post-meal dessert. “These were actually sent over last time I went to the rescue center—Bo Shushu had someone deliver them.”It’s been several days, and they’re still fresh.
Not the slightest sign of softening.
If this thing weren’t so overpowered, she’d have wanted to bring it on the variety show.
With this, the meat the fluffballs couldn’t finish from hunting could be stored here, so they wouldn’t have to go out hunting every single day and could spend more time on other things.
She had only eaten a few strawberries when the fluffballs that went out hunting came back.
The leopard often doesn’t use the platform to return home, instead coming from the trees above and leaping down, able to jump straight from its own territory into the black bear’s area.
But now that everyone lives together, territorial boundaries don’t seem as clear anymore.
After spending so much time here, Lin Qianyu had grown calm when it came to whatever prey the fluffballs brought back.
As long as it wasn’t their own kind, it was all fine.
Though come to think of it, they did sometimes turn on their own—those leopards who fought over territory before were examples.
If they were lucky, they’d run after losing, and Huahua wouldn’t give chase.
The leopard dragged its prey into the cave, only coming over to Lin Qianyu after dropping it off.
“Huahua, you must be tired and hungry. Come have some strawberries. I just washed them, and they’re nice and cool.” Lin Qianyu wiped the blood from its mouth—it was from biting into the prey, not from an injury.
Carnivores aren’t really into sweet and sour fruits, but Lin Qianyu believed eating more fruit was good for the body and could replenish various vitamins, so whenever she ate, she’d wash a portion for them too.
“You all eat—I’m going back to work.” Lin Qianyu put the fruit down, picked up the bag with the knives, and went to butcher the meat.
Huahua came back at just the right time—rested enough for some wrist exercises.
As she sliced along the limbs, Lin Qianyu suddenly asked, “I’m not currently filming the show, so am I considered a regular streamer now? Scenes like this, cutting meat with blood—should I censor them or something?”
On the actual show, Wilderness wanted to showcase the most primal, raw side of life, so things like butchering or hunting didn’t need censoring.
But streamers registered on the platform were apparently under strict review for anything bloody—one careless slip and the account could be banned.
Su Yuxing: 【No, this account is still linked under our show. Stream however you like. No need to avoid anything on purpose.】
With the director’s reply, Lin Qianyu nodded with relief and cleanly cut off the thigh.
【Alright, I was halfway through typing when the director’s message popped up. Just how closely are you watching Lin-jie?】
【Of course I’m watching—if something happens to Lin Qianyu, we lose a key player right away.】
【Honestly, if she’s not in the next episode, the show’s popularity would drop by half.】
【Half? That’s being too modest. Just look at the other survival variety shows—there’s only one Lin-jie, and she’s impossible to replicate.】
Many shows had tried to artificially create a character like Lin Qianyu.
But either the acting was too obvious, or the animals brought in had no ferocity.
Though, it’s understandable—last time, a wild animal bit a guest, and they’re still in a lawsuit over it.
Production teams want hype, attention, and money—not court summons and lawsuits.
Lin Qianyu, on the other hand, was pretty chill about all this. She’d only paid attention when the director mentioned it once; she hadn’t really looked into it afterward.Seeing the bullet comments veer off-topic, Lin Qianyu thought for a moment and changed the subject to steer the conversation back. “This buffalo meat is really tender.”
She poked the meat with the tip of her knife and scraped the foreleg and hind leg meat into a pile. Then she added, “All the fluffballs at home eat offal, but Da Ju seems to only like buffalo offal. When it’s other animals’ organs, it eats them just to eat—doesn’t really seem to enjoy them.”
The chick listened to her ramble, very curious, walking closer and gradually being drawn in by the smell of blood.
Maybe because Diandian had only ever eaten meat and had never seen what prey looked like whole, it didn’t rush forward to peck at it.
Lin Qianyu was afraid of hurting it while swinging the knife, so she only chopped when Diandian stepped back.
Since it was curious, Lin Qianyu put down the knife first and pulled all the offal out, letting Diandian play with it.
In the end, she filled a whole basin with offal, but Diandian kept circling around, only able to nibble off tiny bits of tender meat with its beak.
It kept getting close to Lin Qianyu’s knife.
She recalled a video she once saw online—someone was cooking with a knife, and their puppy came over to beg for food. The owner jokingly held the knife against the puppy’s neck like they were going to slit it, scaring the poor thing into howling in fear.
Lin Qianyu wiped the blood from her knife and jokingly reached out toward the dazed Diandian, smiling, “Chop you up, chop you up! Today’s a bonus meal!”
The chick didn’t resist at all after being grabbed—just hung loosely from her hand, completely relaxed.
Even when she pressed the knife against its neck and dragged the back of the blade back and forth.
Diandian still wore that same curious expression. “Chirp!”
It even stretched its neck forward, making it easier for Lin Qianyu to slice.
Lin Qianyu: “???”
Something’s off here.
What’s wrong with Diandian—shouldn’t it be struggling hard to escape?
Just then, the red-tailed mountain eagle flew back in from outside, casually dropped its prey, then leaned against Lin Qianyu’s shoulder affectionately. After rubbing against her for a while, it finally noticed something familiar in her hand.
Looked like… its own chick.
Getting caught playing this kind of game by the chick’s own mom was a little awkward.
“Ah…” Lin Qianyu smiled at the red-tailed eagle, eyes crinkling, a beat late to react. Once she came to her senses, she quickly put the knife down.
【Hahaha she’s using the knife! Don’t chicken out!】
【I’m dying—Diandian, don’t be scared! You’re a nationally protected species, she won’t dare touch you!】
【Diandian: Go ahead! Chop right here.】
【If you think about it, every single animal in this house is a protected species, really.】
…
Lin Qianyu petted the chick’s feathers and was about to say something when the red-tailed eagle suddenly flew toward the inner room.
“Huh?” She looked over in confusion. What was the chick’s mom up to?
The next second, the red-tailed eagle came out with one chick in each talon, dropped them at Lin Qianyu’s feet, then adjusted its direction and landed steadily on her shoulder, fluffed its feathers, and happily continued to rub against her. “Chirp!”
Tuantuan and Qiuqiu hit the ground looking a bit stunned.Like a boneless furball, it shrank its neck and peeked left and right.
Lin Qianyu: “?”
Bullet comments: 【???】
【OK, fair treatment—if it’s a game, everyone has to play. No problem with that.】
【Hahaha damn, is that really how that phrase is used?】
Lin Qianyu grabbed the chicks one by one and gave each of them a rub, saying helplessly, “Looks like we’ll have to change the person for them to realize there’s danger.”
They were just too familiar and too trusting. They simply didn’t believe she could hurt them.
To be trusted like this by such cautious and sensitive little creatures—thinking about how the other fluffballs also roll over without any wariness and show their soft bellies to her—Lin Qianyu felt a surge of warmth in her heart.
Faced with the chirping chicks, she cut a few strips of meat for them. “Alright, alright, I’ve got to get back to work. Go eat on your own.”
“Chirp, chirp!” Diandian rubbed against her wrist, flapped its wings, and struggled to lift its round body, landing on the back of the knife in Lin Qianyu’s hand.
Good thing—it wasn’t too heavy.
Lin Qianyu weighed it in her hand, then just used it like that.
Around two or three in the afternoon.
Lin Qianyu finally finished cutting all the meat.
Whole cuts of meat aren’t easy to store in the freezer. It’s also hard to defrost a large chunk all at once.
She deliberately cut everything first before freezing it—it’s more convenient to eat that way.
The rescue station sent another message, asking what time would be good for the second checkup.
Technically, they were supposed to go yesterday, but just as she packed up and got ready to leave, it started raining, and Pei Feng suddenly received a rescue mission—so the health check had to be postponed.
They rescheduled it for today.
Lin Qianyu replied to the message, then got up and called, “Little Wolf, let’s go.”
“Wooh…”
The grassland wolf didn’t really know what was happening but still followed closely, leaping straight into the rainforest vehicle.
The drive was smooth.
Lin Qianyu felt like she drove way slower than a tiger could run. “If there’s ever anything urgent, I’ll have to ask Da Ju to take me. This rainforest car is just not reliable.”
After all, it was just a small electric car—no matter how hard she pressed the accelerator, there was a speed limit.
The big tiger was familiar with the rainforest terrain and could deftly avoid all the obstacles on the ground.
Also, when riding the rainforest car, she had to constantly watch the road ahead. But if the big tiger carried her, she could comfortably lie on its thick furry back, getting her big cat fix and rushing to the destination at the same time.
The slow little car eventually arrived at the rescue station.
Her lollipop hadn’t even fully melted yet. Lin Qianyu bit the rest of it into pieces in two bites. Pei Feng came over and opened the door for her. “So, how was it? The car drive okay?”
“It’s fine. Just a bit slow.” Lin Qianyu looked toward the building. It wasn’t the hospital this time, so she couldn’t help but ask, “We’re at a different place today?”Pei Feng nodded. “Yes, the physical exam results are all normal. Today’s for psychological evaluation.”
Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow. Psychological evaluation isn’t something machines can detect.
For humans, this kind of assessment involves answering certain questions as supporting evidence. Obviously, small animals can’t do that.
Hearing Pei Feng say that, Lin Qianyu was quite curious how they planned to carry it out.
“Awoo!”
“Ow awooo, awooo, awoo…”
“Awoo?”
Just as they stepped into the lobby, before even heading to the elevator, they heard loud howls.
The grassland wolf’s ears twitched and turned toward the sound, as if trying to distinguish something, but then quietly turned its head back.
“Is it the rusty-spotted leopard cat?” Lin Qianyu found the voice familiar. “Where’s Kaiwen?”
“Probably off getting food. The rusty-spotted leopard cat that helped him find his daughter came today. There wasn’t enough food in the room, so he went to the storeroom.” Pei Feng had run into Kaiwen on the way out and mused, “He should be back soon. Did you need something from him?”
Speak of the devil—Kaiwen came in carrying a big bag of animal feed over his arm. “Were you looking for me?”
As soon as he saw Lin Qianyu, Kaiwen’s face lit up with joy. “Lin! Are you here to see my daughter too?”
“Mm…” Lin Qianyu hesitated, but remembering the card Kaiwen had given her, she asked, “Has that rusty-spotted leopard cat always acted like this?”
Kaiwen shook his head. “Nope. After I got Greenland back, I’ve only seen the other leopard cat twice. Today’s just the second time.”
That grumpy leopard cat would occasionally show up, but rarely. Sometimes Kaiwen would leave food, and it’d come at night, eat, and leave.
No one knew when exactly it came—it showed up rarely, but the food always went down fast.
“Oh, that explains it.” Lin Qianyu had been wondering why Greenland suddenly snuck out again—it turns out she had a mentor.
Kaiwen scratched his head. “Huh? Are you quoting some old Chinese saying?”
The phrasing wasn’t stupid, but to a foreigner, it was a bit cryptic.
Kaiwen was in a good mood and chuckled. “Anyway, never mind that. Listen—don’t their voices sound intense? I think the leopard cat understood me and is helping tell Greenland about how dangerous the outside world is.”
Lin Qianyu blinked. “Huh?”
Kaiwen hefted the bag of food in his hands and continued excitedly, “When that leopard cat came today, I told it Greenland had run off again, and I hoped it could explain to her that the rainforest isn’t a place a domestic leopard cat should go to. And it really listened to me! It’s been talking to Greenland ever since!”
He laughed foolishly. “I even brought more food to reward it. Such a good leopard cat. Just a little bad-tempered.”
Lin Qianyu: “…I know your intentions are good, but maybe hold off on the intentions for now.”
Kaiwen looked confused. “Hold off?”
Lin Qianyu cleared her throat. “The leopard cat isn’t telling Greenland about rainforest dangers. The reason it’s talking so enthusiastically is because…”
Seeing Kaiwen’s delighted, oblivious grin, Lin Qianyu shrugged helplessly. “That leopard cat is teaching Greenland new escape routes.”
After a pause, she added, “And telling her how to shake you off and avoid the tiger’s surveillance.”
Kaiwen: “???”【“What a truly good leopard cat.”】
【Hahaha! Poor Kaiwen got totally duped.】
【I knew it—there’s no way that grumpy leopard cat would be so obedient. It was just waiting to fool Kaiwen.】
Between trusting his own assumptions and trusting Lin Qianyu’s words, Kaiwen didn’t hesitate for a second and chose the latter.
Kaiwen blinked, hugging the big bag of feed as he marched into the room, looking like he was ready to throw down.
Pei Feng saw this and said, “Let’s go have a look too. In case Kaiwen gets beat up, we can still rescue him.”
When dealing with Greenland, Kaiwen was always the one getting hit—let alone now, with a fierce leopard cat also in the room.
“Okay.” Lin Qianyu patted the little wolf on the head, then lowered her head and winked at it.
The grassland wolf received the signal and rubbed its nose against her palm in reply.
In the lounge, Kaiwen opened the door.
Hearing the sound, the two rusty-spotted leopard cats both looked up. Upon seeing Kaiwen, their expressions didn’t change at all. They lowered their heads and kept yowling.
Their conversation was clearly going strong.
Kaiwen: “……”
Pretend I’m not here.
But the next second, he saw Lin Qianyu slowly approaching behind him.
“Aw, awooo—?!”
The grumpy leopard cat immediately fell silent, blinking as it made eye contact with Lin Qianyu. Its call ended so abruptly that an awkward tension instantly filled the room.
Seeing that guilty expression, there was no need for Lin Qianyu to translate anything.
“Aw…” The grumpy leopard cat gave a fake yawn. Without even bothering to stretch, it flopped down on the table and shut its eyes.
A moment later, the sound of soft snoring started up.
【?】
【Pfft—hahaha, youth is a blessing. Halfway through a mouthful of cat food and just conks out like that.】
Author's Note: After reading the comments and talking with my bestie yesterday, I decided to compromise a bit—if the total update is 30,000 characters, I’ll split it into two chapters of 15,000 each. Anything under 30,000 will still be posted as a single chapter (since the platform caps one chapter at 30,000). Thanks for all your comments, love you all muah muah muah.
Tomorrow I’ll try updating two 15k chapters. And today’s already a lot~ muah~ keep sending me those nutrient fluids, please.
Goodnight, sleep early, love every one of you.