Chapter 51
Chapter 51
[Extra Update from Nutrient Solution]
From the middle of the dirt mound, one, two… several small furry heads popped out.
【Ahhh! Even helping with the work and passing things—what kind of divine tiger is this?!】
【Even tigers know how to help out with work, but your boyfriend…】
【Say no more, sis. Bury him, bury him.】
With the big tiger's help, a lot of trouble was saved.
Lin Qianyu shook out the folded waterproof cloth. After fully unfolding it, she gave it a strong flick, spreading it out like casting a fishing net.
Once the waterproof cloth landed, she adjusted the angle to make sure the edge of the roof was covered. The edges of the cloth were folded inward and fixed in place with nails.
That way, when it rained, water would slide down the slope and not leak into the house.
The big tiger carried her on its back around the bamboo hut to fix the nails properly.
The waterproof cloth was indeed useful, but it didn’t really match the bamboo forest.
Especially the color—it didn’t blend well with the overall look of the bamboo hut.
So Lin Qianyu grabbed a bunch of bamboo leaves nearby and stuck them on as decoration. Just piling them on randomly would do, but for the sake of appearance, it seemed nicer that way—even though one gust of wind would blow it all away.
It took quite a lot of bamboo leaves to cover the whole roof. Lin Qianyu had almost plucked all the ones nearby. After thinking for a moment, she bent down and peeked through the gaps in the bamboo wall. Even with the roof sealed, the two red pandas inside were still trying their best to peek out through any spot they could see through, staring at her without blinking.
More precisely… it looked like they were staring at the big tiger.
Lin Qianyu curled her fingertips and knocked on the bamboo wall like knocking on a door. She greeted, “Yangyang, Nuannuan, could you help me collect some bamboo leaves?”
When it came to collecting bamboo leaves, red pandas could be considered pros.
The giant panda was also quite experienced. When eating bamboo, it could strip all the leaves off an entire stalk with one swipe, eating the bamboo first.
Only after finishing the bamboo would it start eating the leaves.
After Lin Qianyu finished speaking, she vaguely heard a soft “ah” from the red panda, but the sound was so light that someone might think they were imagining it.
The next moment, the red pandas walked out one after the other through the gap in the door.
Only then did Lin Qianyu confirm that she had indeed heard the red panda respond.
She continued working with the materials at hand, applying glue on them and sticking them one by one in order like tiling bricks or shingles.
“Most of the things I use are provided by the rescue station—they’re all harmless to small animals. Ordinary glue shouldn’t be used casually, so please don’t imitate me,” Lin Qianyu reminded everyone while working, just in case someone tried to copy her.
Using hot glue guns and random adhesives to build shelters for animals could be dangerous. Some glues have strong odors; if that’s detected, it’s okay, but if unnoticed, prolonged exposure could make the animals sick.
“This brand is actually pretty good. Let me see…” She originally wanted to recommend it, but after turning the glue bucket over several times to check, she even picked up the lid to look at it again.
There was no label—just the logo of the rescue station.
However, all the stamps indicating compliance with international inspection standards were there.
Lin Qianyu said, “It must be another one of the rescue station’s self-manufactured products.”
Ever since learning that the company behind the rescue station could produce their own rainforest vehicles, it no longer seemed surprising that they could also make specialized supplies for animals.Holding a leaf in her hand, she brushed on glue—press, stick, repeat several times.
Long bamboo leaves were overlapped, with shorter ones interwoven in between to add a layered and intricate aesthetic.
Even so, it still looked a bit stiff and monotonous.
“Ah!” The red panda came running with a big armful of bamboo leaves, eagerly holding them up to give to Lin Qianyu.
Lin Qianyu, who was lying on the roof adjusting the position of the bamboo leaves, heard the sound and took half a step back.
But the big tiger noticed the red panda before she did, lowering its head and moving in closer.
Nuannuan’s ears immediately tilted backward on top of her head, but since only one ear could move, she didn’t seem scared—rather, there was a hint of curiosity and alertness.
The red panda instinctively wanted to raise her arms in a warning gesture.
But having missed the window to act first, she now found herself frozen and unable to move, just staring wide-eyed as the tiger approached.
The moment the big tiger opened its mouth, the red panda squeezed her eyes shut with a “whoosh.”
Out of sight, out of mind—if she couldn’t see it, maybe it wouldn’t be scary.
However, the pain she expected from being bitten never came.
Nuannuan opened her eyes cautiously and blankly, only to see the big tiger opening and closing its mouth a few times before gently biting down on a single bamboo leaf. With a slight lift of its head, it pulled the leaf out, then raised its head to pass the leaf up to Lin Qianyu.
The red panda blinked, arms full of bamboo leaves, unsure what to think.
When the big tiger lowered its head again, she reflexively took two steps back, then hurriedly stumbled forward again to close the gap. Clutching the bamboo leaves with her paws, she carefully handed them over.
The big tiger tilted its head and gently bit down on them, this way avoiding contact with the red panda, and making the handoff much easier.
When Lin Qianyu first saw the red panda had returned, she had wanted to lie down and take the leaves directly.
But after noticing the interaction between the big tiger and the red panda, she pulled her outstretched hand back, rolled the unused bamboo leaves around her fingertips, and lay at the edge of the roof watching closely, paying attention to the red panda's condition at all times.
Overcoming fear is something only the red panda can do herself.
Words alone—no matter how many times Lin Qianyu says them, even shouting them from the rooftops—telling the red panda that Big Orange wouldn’t hurt them… won’t stop the fear when they meet the tiger again.
Only when the red panda figures it out for herself, truly understands and accepts from the bottom of her heart that the big tiger is very friendly and truly won’t harm them—
Only then can she relax.
Relaxed, like… the giant panda.
Gun Gun was still inside eating watermelon, completely unbothered, not the slightest sense of alarm over a fierce predator invading the territory.
With the bamboo leaves delivered by the red panda, Lin Qianyu found the work much easier.
The red panda passed the leaves to Big Orange, and Big Orange passed them to her. While she was gluing the ones in her arms, the tiger already had several more held gently in its mouth for her.
When Yangyang came back, he saw Nuannuan bent over, working hard to scoop up fallen bamboo leaves and hand them up, coordinating seamlessly with the big tiger.
Though red pandas are naturally timid, Yangyang’s situation was a little better than Nuannuan’s.
Maybe, for the two red pandas who had relied on each other for survival, sometimes one just needed to be the one to take that first step.
And so, Yangyang’s ability to adapt and accept was stronger than Nuannuan’s.At this moment, seeing that not only did Nuannuan not back away from the big tiger, but actually took the initiative to move closer and even accidentally brushed against its whiskers with her paw without panicking or running away—
It was a little unbelievable.
“Ah...?” Yangyang softly called out. Holding bamboo leaves in his arms, he didn’t dare reach out to support himself on a bamboo stalk, and simply walked toward them one small step at a time.
It had been a while since he first started wearing a prosthetic, and he still needed time to get used to walking with it.
Even for humans, there's an adjustment period—let alone for a small animal.
Yangyang walked very slowly.
Nuannuan had nearly finished handing over all her bamboo leaves. When she heard the sound, she turned around and ran over, stretching out her forearms to take the bamboo leaves from Yangyang’s arms.
But Yangyang had gathered quite a lot, so Nuannuan changed her approach. Instead of taking them all, she helped carry half and reached out her paw to hold Yangyang’s.
For red pandas, there probably isn’t really a concept of “holding hands,” but this way of holding on just happened to look like hand-holding.
【?! They’re holding hands! So cute, ahhhh!】
【I don’t know why, but my brain suddenly started playing that children’s show song about best friends… sob, it’s like something from a childhood cartoon.】
【Too cute, too cute! I’m so excited I jumped three feet in place and hit my head on the wall.】
…
After repairing the roof, Lin Qianyu got down from the big tiger and patted its head. “Good job, Big Orange.”
Then she bent down and gave the two red pandas a rub. “You two as well—tired, huh? We’ve got enough bamboo leaves now. Save the rest for when you get hungry, okay?”
With a roof added, the bamboo hut now looked like a real home.
Especially with the irregularly placed bamboo leaves on top—it looked just like leaves that had fallen naturally from the nearby bamboo and landed there.
Combined with the bare bamboo stalks nearby that had nothing left but smooth, naked poles, there was a certain aesthetic to it.
“My house-building skills are getting better and better,” Lin Qianyu said as she circled the hut twice, rubbing her chin and pondering whether to paste some bamboo leaves onto the bamboo walls too.
But the two rows of bamboo had waterproof cloth sandwiched in between. Adding bamboo leaf decoration to bamboo walls already made of bamboo seemed redundant, and visually, it would clash with the bamboo-covered roof.
Thinking this through, Lin Qianyu gave up on the idea.
She measured the gaps between the inner row of bamboo walls and chose rope of a suitable thickness to weave through. “Just need to secure it with rope now.”
Technically, it would be livable even without this step—but tying it down would help extend its lifespan.
The bamboo hut was built to fit a giant panda’s size. The big tiger couldn’t fit inside.
To be precise, with the big tiger’s size, unless it was something like the rescue station’s rainforest-simulation rooms—those had special doors accessible from the terrace—
Those doors were about the size of roll-up garage doors.
“Big Orange, wait for me outside, okay?” Lin Qianyu gave its thick furry neck ruff a rub—it felt solid and satisfying to touch.
This time, when she opened the door to go inside the bamboo hut, it was no problem at all to leave the two red pandas and the big tiger outside.
The big tiger was licking its paw, and the two red pandas were huddled together whispering to each other, stealing glances at Big Orange from time to time.
“Gun Gun, how much did you eat? Your fur’s all wet.” Lin Qianyu wiped him down with a towel. “Next time I’ll bring you a little bib too.”Protecting the white fur on its chest—maybe after a while, the back and front will both be equally white.
With how often it rains in the rainforest, the giant panda always lies on its back with its face covered to hide from the rain. Sooner or later, it’s going to get rinsed clean and bright all over.
Seeing the giant panda sniffing the rope in her hand, Lin Qianyu pulled it back and swapped in a piece of jerky for it. “This isn’t for eating—here, eat this.”
Giant pandas rarely go out to hunt. Even if they leave the bamboo forest and wander around, most of the time they’re picking berries and wild fruits.
And previously, she had seen the giant panda picking berries skillfully from shrubs—clearly a veteran forager.
The panda chomped down on the jerky in two bites, then slowly stood up and wandered over to Lin Qianyu’s side, poking its head around curiously to see what she was doing.
“Awrrr…”
“We wrap this part here—it’ll be more stable.” Lin Qianyu pointed at the gap she had deliberately left. “Next time it rains, you can come in here to hide. Once the door is closed, no rain will touch you.”
As she sealed the gap, she freed one hand to pat the bamboo wall—very sturdy. As long as the giant panda didn’t suddenly get the idea to eat the hut, it should last a good while.
The panda seemed full. When it has nothing to do, it can eat nonstop, but now that it wasn’t holding any fruit, it simply followed Lin Qianyu closely step by step.
The space inside the hut seemed much smaller now because Gun Gun was trailing her so closely.
Afraid of stepping on him, Lin Qianyu decided to assign him a task and handed one end of the rope to the panda. “Here, help me hold this end.”
The panda, accustomed to holding bamboo for years, gripped the rope steadily with its paw.
With one side pulled taut, the rope stayed tight while Lin Qianyu wrapped it around, instead of going loose and saggy.
She wrapped part of it around and fixed it with nails, then looped the rope around the nails once before continuing upward.
But going any higher…
Lin Qianyu stood on tiptoe and tried reaching—her fingertips just touched the top, but she couldn’t apply any force.
The space inside the hut was too tight, and she didn’t think the giant panda could support her either.
Thinking it over, Lin Qianyu pushed open the door. “Nuannuan, Yangyang?”
Outside, Yangyang turned his head. Nuannuan, lying on the big tiger’s tail, reacted a bit slower. “Ah?”
They’d only been apart a short while, and little Nuannuan was already bold enough to lie that close to Big Orange?
It was a good thing that the red pandas were getting close to Big Orange—on one hand, it meant they were getting to know more animals. On the other hand… if the red pandas carried the big tiger’s scent, then even if real predators came to the bamboo forest while the giant panda wasn’t around, they might think twice before targeting the red pandas.
Even so, Lin Qianyu’s expression froze momentarily. Seeing Big Orange’s face completely blank, she couldn’t help but smile with her eyes. “Then you all play for a while—Yangyang, can you come help me?”
Yangyang immediately stood up when he heard her and walked over.
He walked very slowly—but also very steadily.
Lin Qianyu reached out to scoop him up into her arms. When they went inside the hut, the giant panda was still gripping the end of the rope she had given him earlier.
Handing the half-wrapped other end of the rope to the red panda’s paw, she said, “Wrap it like this, just around the very top layer.”
“Ah!”
Lin Qianyu continued wrapping the lower part herself. As for the higher section, she lifted Yangyang up. The red panda bit and kicked at the rope, bracing his prosthetic leg against the bamboo wall, and forcefully threaded the rope through.
【Damn, you really figured out how to make the best use of your helpers.】【Last time a bug got into my house and landed on the ceiling, I did the same thing—held up my cat, and with one cat punch, the bug was swatted down.】
【Yangyang is working so hard, hahaha—even his tail is tense with effort.】
...
Once the three bamboo walls were secured, along with the two extended bamboo poles beside the bamboo door—
Lin Qianyu hugged the red panda in her arms, gave it a few pets, then lifted the little fluffball up and spun around. “All done!”
The red panda flicked its tail. “Ah!”
“This will be your shelter for resting and hiding from the rain from now on.” Lin Qianyu pointed to the corner. “I’m thinking of putting a small low table here. Giant pandas are super clean—they never put half-eaten food on the ground. Next time I’ll just put food on the table, so it’s easier for them to reach.”
There were still many areas inside the hut that could be better organized.
But it was already getting late, and before she knew it, the sun had set.
The bamboo roof provided solid coverage, and with the rope wrapped around the walls and gaps filled in, even the last bits of light had been blocked out.
It wasn’t until she stepped outside that she realized it was already dark.
Lin Qianyu picked up her backpack and pulled out the leftover fruit inside. “Here, these are for you all to eat. I’m heading home.”
She never measured out exact amounts of fruit—giant pandas and red pandas both stop eating once they’re full. If they keep eating, it just means they’re still hungry. So there was no need to ration during feeding.
That’s why Lin Qianyu always brought a huge batch. Better to have leftovers for the next meal than not bring enough.
The giant panda had just picked up a carrot, but when he heard Lin Qianyu’s words, he suddenly lost interest in biting it. “Mmm…”
“Good boy. I’ll come back next time to decorate your house some more.” Lin Qianyu poked the slightly disappointed giant panda, lifted his wrist, and brought the carrot to his mouth. “Hurry and eat it—while it’s still fresh.”
“Awrr!”
...
After carrying Nuannuan, who was outside, back into the hut, Lin Qianyu slung the now-empty backpack over her shoulder. “Let’s go, Big Orange. Time to head home.”
The big tiger didn’t get up. He just shifted to a different lounging position.
“What’s wrong? You don’t want to go home?” Lin Qianyu squatted halfway down, tilted her head to meet his gaze—and before she could even study his expression, the big tiger leaned in and licked her.
Then he let out a low urging growl. “Hrrr…”
“You want to carry me back, right?” Lin Qianyu understood what Big Orange meant. She pointed toward the bamboo forest’s edge where her car was parked and explained helplessly, “But my car’s still outside. If you carry me home, what’ll I do with the car?”
After all, it’s not like the rainforest has any chauffeur services.
—Not even a towing company.
If she didn’t drive it back today, she’d have to walk back out next time just to retrieve it.
Hearing this, the big tiger got up and shook out his fur.
Seeing him head off in the opposite direction from home, Lin Qianyu quickly reached out to stop him. “It’s really late—no hunting tonight. There’s still plenty of meat at home. Let’s just eat that for now.”
Though fresh buffalo offal was something she didn’t have at home.
Since she knew Big Orange liked it, every time he caught a buffalo, the offal would be eaten that same day.Although the freezer could preserve freshness, the taste was still definitely best when eaten fresh right after being caught.
And it wasn’t like there was so much that it couldn’t be finished—there was no need to deliberately store it for the next meal.
In contrast, it was the meat that was truly too much to finish.
Lin Qianyu drove the car, following behind the big tiger.
The big tiger ran ahead to lead the way—far faster than the rainforest vehicle.
When it ran too far, it would circle back to wait for her, but later it simply slowed down, walking a few steps, then trotting a few more.
And just like that, they slowly made their way home.
The little brown rabbit was in a death match with the young red-tailed crested eagle. The little eagle stood on the table while the two white rabbits next to it trembled in fear.
The black bear was munching on the giant meat jerky lollipop Lin Qianyu had left before heading out—it looked quite content.
“Hua Hua?” Lin Qianyu parked the car and stepped down, reaching out to grab the fluffy tail that dangled from the tree—but the moment her fingertips brushed it, the soft fluff slipped away.
Lin Qianyu raised her brows. The tail dodged, then drooped again, flicking teasingly at the tip like it was provoking her on purpose.
This time, as she moved her arm, the tail dodged away again with a whoosh.
“Not letting me touch it?” Lin Qianyu rolled up her sleeves. The leopard lay lazily on the branch above, looking down at her.
However, Lin Qianyu didn’t reach out again. Instead, she took a step back and let the leaves cover her, hiding her figure.
The leopard paused, then parted the leaves with its paw and poked its head out to look down.
The branch swayed.
Lin Qianyu had already climbed up the tree from behind, moving toward the leopard’s position.
“Roar!”
The leopard was already at the edge of the branch—any further and it would have to jump off.
Lin Qianyu smiled as she approached. “Nowhere to run, huh?”
The leopard flicked its tail. Lin Qianyu caught it in one quick grab, then leaned down, burying her face into the leopard’s fur. “Mmm... so soft.”
“ROAR—!” The leopard growled back fiercely, but its tail lightly rested on the back of Lin Qianyu’s neck, swaying gently like it was patting her.
Lin Qianyu nuzzled forward again. Luckily, the tree trunk was thick, and even the branches were denser than those of ordinary trees—interwoven enough to support both her and the leopard’s weight.
Since she was already up here, she wasn’t in a hurry to get down.
Bit by bit, she shifted forward, taking advantage of her light weight and practically sprawled across the leopard.
The leopard didn’t even need to turn its head. Just a slight tilt brought its nose almost touching Lin Qianyu’s.
Curled sideways on the branch, the leopard squinted its eyes slightly.
Lin Qianyu didn’t pull away. Holding the leopard’s tail in her hand, she tried rubbing it against its nose. Unfortunately, the tail wasn’t quite long enough, but the fluffy fur seemed to tickle its sensitive nose.
The leopard sneezed. Its eyes blinked open again, and those clear, glassy beast eyes were filled with confusion.
“Hahaha...” Lin Qianyu laughed loudly—only for her hand to suddenly press into empty air and slip straight through a gap hidden by overlapping leaves. “Ah!”In a moment of panic, the leopard bit down on the collar of her shirt.
Luckily, it was just a small gap—not enough for someone to fall through. Lin Qianyu steadied herself lying across it, pulled her hand back, and flipped over to lean against the leopard again.
She let out a soft sigh and, still in a decent mood, comforted the leopard, “Whew... it’s fine, it’s fine, don’t worry. Even if I fell from this height, I’d be okay.”
The leopard released her collar and lowered its head to lick its paw.
The commotion up in the tree had already caught the attention of the fluffballs below.
The black bear paused mid-chew of its meat lollipop, slowly finished the last bite of jerky, and ambled over beneath the tree, looking up.
By then, the battle between the young eagle and the little brown rabbit had also come to an end. If the fledgling eagle hadn’t stopped it, the chick was already prepared to join the rabbit for a grass feast.
In the end, the little brown rabbit and the other two rabbits went off with the tiny chevrotain to graze by the side.
The red-tailed crested eagle spread its wings and shook out its feathers, flying straight up toward the tree.
Due to the many crisscrossing branches, the eagle couldn’t land steadily on Lin Qianyu’s shoulder as usual. Instead, it found a stable perch first and then carefully hopped from branch to branch.
As a raptor, its size made maneuvering in such a tree full of obstructions rather difficult.
Seeing this, Lin Qianyu made a fist and cheered it on, “Come on, little eagle! Just a few more steps to go!”
“Chirp!”
The fledgling eagle called back mid-flight while squeezing through.
Once it got close enough for her to reach, Lin Qianyu scooped it up in one smooth motion and gently adjusted her position to cradle the eagle in front of her.
Since it couldn’t perch on her shoulder, they’d just stack like a tower and lie down together.
For a bird, the eagle was considered heavy—but compared to the beasts, its weight was nothing. Different species, after all.
So resting in her arms didn’t feel heavy at all—at least lighter than when it perched on her shoulder.
Having finished its jerky, the black bear stood at the base of the tree, looking up and spotting many of its companions above.
“Hey!” Lin Qianyu leaned against the leopard while holding the eagle, and greeted the bear with a smile. “Little bear, done eating?”
“Woo!”
The bear responded enthusiastically, hugged the tree, and lifted its leg to try and climb.
Lin Qianyu: “???”
“Wait—wait, little bear!”
There was no doubt the bear could climb trees.
In fact, when it came down to it, its tree-climbing skills were quite good.
The problem was... could this tree really hold the weight of so many large predators—plus her?
Lin Qianyu pressed her hand to the branch, suddenly uncertain.
Especially since the leopard had chosen one of the trickiest spots on the tree to lie down—right on the thinnest, weakest branches.There was no issue with the black bear climbing the tree—the trunk could easily support its weight. But the branches? Not so much.
If a branch snapped in the middle, that would be one thing. But if the branch was too flexible, it might just bend downward from the weight and fling everyone off all at once.
【What’s going on! Let the bear climb! Chubby baby, charge for Auntie!】
【Nooo, that tree already looks like it’s barely holding on (come on come on hurry up)!!!】
【Where’s Big Orange? Hurry up and join in! Everyone else is here, don’t be the odd one out!】
【Tree: You think you’re so special? So pure? Your “group bonding” is gonna be the death of me.】
…
Hearing Lin Qianyu’s voice, the black bear didn’t climb up right away. It tilted its head and looked up curiously, as if waiting to hear what she would say next.
But before Lin Qianyu could speak—
Crack—a faint, splintering sound, like something breaking. In the quiet wilderness, it rang out loud and clear.
Lin Qianyu froze.
Ah—?!
The two potential disaster scenarios she had imagined if the little bear climbed up—both instantly went out the window.
Because whether the little bear climbed up or not, she was going to fall anyway!
That thought had just flashed through Lin Qianyu’s mind. She hadn’t even had time to get up and climb down when that one cracking sound became the beginning. One after another, the branches beneath them, under pressure, started snapping with a chorus of crackling noises.
It was loud. Chaotic.
Thankfully, not all their weight had been on a single branch—they had been spread out. So even though the breaks came rapidly, it hadn’t yet caused them to fall completely.
Lin Qianyu let out a barely audible sigh of relief.
Just then, a gust of wind swept past. Very light—only enough to lift the loose strands of hair at her forehead.
In the next instant, Lin Qianyu and the leopard, along with the red-tailed crested eagle, dropped straight down.
“!!!”
【?!?】
【AAHH I WAS JUST JOKING!!】
【HELP——!】
Unfortunately, at this moment, no one watching the livestream could actually do anything.
The height wasn’t terribly high. The leopard quickly adjusted midair and bit onto Lin Qianyu’s clothes the moment they began to fall. The red-tailed crested eagle spread its wings, gripping her shoulder, claws hooked into her clothes, flapping hard in an attempt to slow the fall.
But—it was nearly impossible to actually lift her.
Lin Qianyu grabbed the branch they’d just fallen from and flung it aside, trying to steady herself. At the same time, she caught hold of a hanging willow vine.
Riiiiip.
Her clothing tore under the combined strain of the leopard’s jaws and the eagle’s claws.
The leopard twisted midair and landed gracefully on the ground. The red-tailed crested eagle shot upward from the momentum. When it turned to look back, Lin Qianyu was hanging midair, gripping the willow vine.Lin Qianyu looked down, then let go and dropped straight down—this height didn’t seem like much anyway.
Just as she was about to release the willow vine, the big tiger that had been lying indifferently on a rock watching them suddenly walked over.
Lin Qianyu blinked, let go of the vine, and fell straight down. She used the tree trunk to push off for leverage, landed on the tiger’s side, and plop—sank right into its thick fur.
“Woo—!”
She popped her head up from the tiger’s furry belly and gave Big Orange a smile.
The black bear, who hadn’t even started climbing the tree yet, looked utterly confused, not understanding what had just happened. The shaking branches sent down a flurry of leaves, denser than a rainstorm.
It almost buried the black bear below.
It shook its head, flinging off a heap of leaves, then fixed its gaze on Lin Qianyu lying on the ground.
Without hesitation, the black bear abandoned the tree and waddled over.
“Cough, cough…” Lin Qianyu choked a couple times from the surprise and reached back to grab the bear’s ears for a good rub.
Seeing she was fine, the leopard let go of the torn cloth in its mouth and lay down not far from her.
“What should we eat tonight?” Lin Qianyu waved for the red-tailed crested eagle to come down, her fingers gently stroking its feathers. “I think we still have zebra meat and wild boar meat at home.”
The little animals probably weren’t picky about what kind of meat.
Aside from that, there were some pre-cut meat chunks prepared by the rescue center—they didn’t specify what animal it came from.
Hugging a ball of fluff, Lin Qianyu rubbed its neck a few times before sitting up. “I remember we still have powdered milk. Let’s make that first.”
She took out all the meat from the fridge and placed it into a big basin.
In this summer heat, cold food is always more refreshing—same goes for animals.
There were no ice crystals on the meat, but since it had just come out of the fridge, it was best not to serve it directly. Letting it sit in the basin for a while helped.
She dissolved a small amount of hot water into the milk powder first, stirring it with chopsticks until there wasn’t a single lump left, then added cold water.
This way, the flavor of the milk stayed the same, and it could be drunk immediately without waiting for it to cool.
For the picky Big Orange, she also prepared a fully cleaned whole rabbit.
After sorting out the animals’ food, Lin Qianyu washed her hands and took out the bamboo tube rice she hadn’t finished earlier, reheating two tubes.
One tube of sticky rice, one of sticky rice dumpling.
Dipping it in white sugar—honestly, the bamboo sticky rice dumpling tasted better.
Lin Qianyu took a bite of the dumpling. The soft, chewy texture combined with the sugar was delightful. “These bamboo dumplings… I think the ones with black rice taste better than the plain ones.”
As she spoke, she thought about trying the black rice version next time.
Having already eaten that huge meat stick and lollipop earlier, the black bear now had no appetite for the big bowl of meat in front of it.
Instead, it stared at Lin Qianyu’s sugar-dipped dumpling and went “Aw!”
It bypassed the basin of meat, didn’t even glance at the milk she’d prepared—just walked over with eyes locked on her.
“This is glutinous rice… Can black bears eat it?” Lin Qianyu didn’t dare give it right away and first sought advice.【Who are you even asking?】
【Do you hear what you're asking? Why not ask if black bears can eat potato chips too.】
【That's it, a single question summoned a whole panel of experts.】
…Well, it was kind of a fair question.
But black bears are omnivores by nature and not picky eaters. It feels like as long as they want to eat it, they probably can.
Lin Qianyu thought it over, then scooped out a small bite, rolled it in white sugar, and said, “Here, try it. Just a little. If you don’t like it, you can spit it out.”
The bamboo-wrapped sticky rice dumpling itself had no seasoning—at most, it carried a light bamboo fragrance from being boiled.
Most of the flavor came from the white sugar it was dipped in.
Sweet from the first bite—of course the little bear liked it. As it slowly chewed, its eyes even lit up a bit.
After swallowing, the black bear opened its mouth: “Aw!”
Clearly asking for more.
“This stuff’s hard to digest if you eat too much.” Lin Qianyu divided the whole dumpling into several smaller pieces, coating them with sugar as she said, “We each get half. No more than that.”
“Mm!” The little bear obediently sat beside her, eyes fixed on the spoon in Lin Qianyu’s hand. As soon as she scooped up another piece, it opened its mouth without hesitation.
She fed a bite to the bear and took one for herself.
A single bamboo dumpling didn’t amount to much. And since it was chopped down based on the size of each bamboo joint, they were never very big to begin with.
Split with the little bear, it felt even smaller.
Though the dumpling was tasty, too much would feel cloying.
The sweet-toothed bear munched happily.
Lin Qianyu gave most of the dumpling to the black bear and ate more of the bamboo rice herself.
“That’s it, no more. You can have more next time,” she said, patting its belly. “Now eat your meat. I’ll grill you some honey meat in a bit.”
Ever since the variety show ended—with all those quick and easy ready meals in the tent—
Lin Qianyu hadn’t grilled meat in a while.
“Aw!”
Back then, she always made a separate honey meat portion for the little bear whenever she grilled, so now just hearing the words made it excited.
“You eat sugar so often, yet your teeth are still in great shape,” Lin Qianyu said as she gave it some water. “Don’t forget to drink your milk later.”
The milk had been prepared based on how many furry ones lived in the house.
Leftover milk powder didn’t keep well once mixed—she’d have to dump it.
The black bear smacked its lips. “Mm!”
After eating, Lin Qianyu wasn’t feeling sleepy.
She swept up the tree branches that had fallen earlier and found one relatively intact cluster. The way the branch broke on an angle—it actually looked kind of nice.She simply picked it up and stuck it into a crack in the rocks.
There was no way it would stay alive, of course—but as a little decoration, she could leave it there, and just pull it out and toss it once it wilted.
Bzz bzz Bzz bzz “Chirp!”
The red-tailed mountain eagle came over holding her constantly vibrating phone—despite the short flight, the screen was still flashing with new messages.
There were notifications popping up.
“Thanks, Little Eagle.” Lin Qianyu reached out to take the phone, and in one smooth motion, guided the eagle back onto her shoulder.
Since it was just a message and not a call, it probably wasn’t anything urgent.
Lin Qianyu set the broom aside and, while opening her phone, walked back into the tent.
Su Yuxing: 【The first episode will premiere simultaneously on online streaming platforms and primetime TV. Don’t forget to repost the official Weibo.】
That was the first message, followed by several more—covering view counts, the number of live comments timed by minute, and estimated popularity based on how far into the episode people watched.
All the data pointed to one thing: Wilderness was a hit.
To be precise, the variety show had already been wildly popular during the live broadcasts.
But now, after a long hiatus—and with viewers who were interested having already watched live, and new viewers still able to watch replays—it was a gamble to release the edited version. Even the director had been anxious.
But this had always been the plan. The unexpected success of the live broadcast forced them to push through with the edited cut anyway.
The result? Far better than expected.
Weibo was filled with discussion about the edited version.
Even the super topics for Guo Yanpeng and An Lanqing had seen a surge in traffic.
Lin Qianyu typed back to the director: 【Congratulations.】
Then she exited the app and opened Weibo.
【Sister Lin, aren’t you going to watch the first episode? What if there’s malicious editing? Some shows twist things just to stir up drama and get views.】
【Director Su practically worships Sister Lin—malicious editing? That’s hilarious.】
【As long as Director Su edits it normally and broadcasts it as-is, that alone could secure him a lifetime of glory and wealth. He’d have to be crazy to sabotage it.】
…
Lin Qianyu didn’t look at the live comments. Her focus was on the trending Weibo topics.
All the guests on the show were trending this time. Compared to before—when Lin Qianyu alone dominated the rankings—this time was clearly much livelier.
The funniest part was that even Xie Yifei had a trending topic just for himself—though once clicked, it was all people bashing him.
Even though An Lanqing and Xie Yifei hadn’t appeared in the first edited episode of Wilderness, both of them were still being criticized.
After all, An Lanqing had hurt another guest during the show just for rankings, and later, Guo Yanpeng revealed that An Lanqing and Xie Yifei had tried to connect with poachers for profit.She was both a walking legal scandal and vicious at heart—even if she didn’t appear in the edited footage, just mentioning her name was enough to deserve a round of cursing.
As for Xie Yifei, it was even worse—his connection to poachers was nailed down for good. This variety show had basically turned into a full-blown exposé hell for Xie Yifei. Besides the things he had admitted to on camera during the livestream, even more despicable deeds—some likely long forgotten even by himself—had been dug up.
They even traced it all the way back to school bullying incidents over a decade ago.
Xie Yifei was being torn apart by the public.
Even the phrase “respect the dead” held no weight for him.
People were only upset that he died too easily—being swallowed whole by the green anaconda without much suffering.
Compared to the two of them, Guo Yanpeng’s issues were milder. But since he had been closely associated with them, he didn’t escape unscathed.
Today’s internet users are well aware of the saying, “those who mix with ink will be stained.” Plus, in both the edited version and the livestream, Guo Yanpeng constantly carried himself with arrogant bravado, acting like he was the most amazing and untouchable guy. Naturally, that rubbed many viewers the wrong way.
In the past, if Guo Yanpeng were dragged like this online, PR teams and hired fans would’ve rushed in to do damage control and defend him.
A highly publicized donation or two would’ve been enough to smooth things over.
But this time, even the people backing him didn’t dare step in. They let Guo Yanpeng get roasted alive by online commenters. His follower count was plummeting.
In his super-topic community, there were barely any fans left defending him.
The incident where Guo Yanpeng nearly got Hang Sisi attacked by a black bear was brought back into the spotlight. The director likely thought the footage was compelling, so they kept it in the edited cut—showing it from multiple camera angles.
It clearly displayed what Guo Yanpeng did to endanger her, and his indifferent, even annoyed expression afterward, as if she was just being dramatic.
They also kept in several scenes where he challenged Lin Qianyu and ended up getting utterly shut down.
If someone claimed this wasn’t personal, Lin Qianyu wouldn’t believe it.
It was clear that Su Yuxing had gotten very fed up with Guo Yanpeng.
Lin Qianyu clicked on a video clip posted on Weibo. The night-vision footage was even clearer than what she saw in person.
The captions added by post-production weren’t just lacking in kindness—they were downright malicious. It was like Su Yuxing had climbed into the video himself to yell at Guo Yanpeng.
Hang Sisi’s fans had already started scolding Guo Yanpeng on Weibo when the incident first happened, but at the time his own fans had aggressively clapped back, even raiding Hang Sisi’s personal super-topic in an over-the-top show of force.
In short, the resentment had been simmering for a long time.
Now that Guo Yanpeng was being thoroughly trashed, Hang Sisi’s fans were leading the charge. Hang Sisi herself even used her main account to repost a creator’s video criticizing Guo Yanpeng.
Lin Qianyu backed out of the trending tab and clicked on her mentions, intending to find the director’s @ so she could repost. But when she opened it, she saw a screen full of 99+ mentions stretching endlessly into the distance.
Her private messages, comments, likes, and reposts were also all maxed out at 99+.
Even when she refreshed, they’d be replaced by others—which meant that as she was refreshing, fans were still leaving her messages.
She couldn’t keep up at all—absolutely impossible.
And this was on an account she had just registered. The only Weibo she’d posted so far was a giveaway repost.
Following the director’s instructions, Lin Qianyu reposted the promotion for the first episode, and after thinking for a moment, added a video clip of the prairie wolf running the obstacle course.
“There are too many messages—I won’t be able to open them all one by one. Thank you all for your support.” Lin Qianyu leaned back, grabbing the big tiger’s paw and waving it.
As she spoke, she turned to the black bear. The bear, happily chewing on sweet honey-glazed meat, blinked and waved along with her.“Huahua?”
“Roar…” The leopard flicked its tail—that counted as a wave.
The red-tailed crested eagle lay half-asleep in front of Lin Qianyu. She gently shook its wing. It kept its eyes tightly shut, its head resting under her chin as it slept peacefully.
【Spread the word: Sister Lin said she’s very grateful to me and invited me to live in the cave with the fluffballs.】
【Huahua flicked its tail twice—I’m sure that’s a form of Morse code. Translated, it means: ‘It wants to go home with me.’ Family, we made it!!!】
【LMAO, well in that case, little bear here can also make meat-jerky lollipops. Let me follow Auntie too.】
After greeting them, Lin Qianyu tucked the little eagle’s wing back in place, smoothing out its tail feathers and letting them fan out completely over herself.
The gorgeous, dazzling feathers didn’t even feel real—prettier than any mythical beast ever described.
After posting on Weibo, Lin Qianyu didn’t look again and continued browsing the trending topics.
People were now flaming Guo Yanpeng with impressive creativity.
Although Xie Yifei and An Lanqing were still getting heavily scolded, their absence from the edited show meant that the heat had somewhat died down.
It was only thanks to fans who had watched the livestream that clips of Xie Yifei and An Lanqing’s misdeeds were cut and shared, letting curious new viewers join in the outrage.
But Guo Yanpeng was a different story. Every ten minutes of screen time gave viewers a new reason to curse him out.
Many fans were beginning to wonder how they had ever supported someone like this in the first place.
Guo Yanpeng might have been trying to do some damage control. Lin Qianyu noticed some Weibo posts defending him—oddly conspicuous amid the flood of criticism, so she clicked in out of curiosity.
After checking five or six of them, she found all the IPs came from the same place.
That alone wasn’t enough to prove he had hired bots, but the accounts didn’t seem like genuine hardcore fans either.
These posts all focused on condemning the show’s editing, accusing it of framing Guo Yanpeng:
【Su Yuxing has gone too far. Anyone who watched the livestream knows the truth. Editing like this is clearly guiding uninformed viewers into online bullying!】
【Boycott Wildlands, boycott Su Yuxing! A director who manipulates malicious edits isn’t fit to be human.】
【Why lump Pengpeng in with two actual criminals like Xie Yifei and An Lanqing? What unforgivable thing did Guo Yanpeng do, exactly?】
…
Most of the accounts using Guo Yanpeng fan tags began attacking the production team.
What was unexpected, though, was that these accounts insulted every other officially ranked guest—except Lin Qianyu.
Feng Jingye had joined late and had a unique status, so it made sense for Guo Yanpeng to avoid targeting him.
But Lin Qianyu had assumed that if Guo Yanpeng were trying to clear his name, she’d be the first one he lashed out at.
Then again… after being humiliated a few times, it seemed he’d learned his lesson.
Those bot accounts didn’t last long. The other guests’ fans teamed up to expose them, revealing that all the defenders were posting from the same IP.
They even mocked how down-and-out Guo Yanpeng had become—resorting to hiring the cheapest, lowest-grade bots.
Lin Qianyu rested one arm behind her head, held the phone above her face, and refreshed the page occasionally.
Each time she did, the trending tab had already changed again.A skilled editor combined three clips: the first showing the prairie wolf’s initial appearance on camera, the second being the video of the wolf running freely on the obstacle course posted by Lin Qianyu, and the third being the full livestreamed process of Lin Qianyu filming that video.
There was no caption—just a simple merge of footage.
Yet even this simple video easily soared to the top of the trending list in a short time.
Second on the trending list was a clip of Lin Qianyu standing on a tiger building a bamboo hut, with the red panda cooperating by handing her bamboo leaves.
Third was a video of a giant panda helping to pull a rope, while the red panda was lifted up to wrap the rope around something.
For a while, everything trending on Weibo was either related to Wildlands, or to Lin Qianyu’s interactions with the animals.
It turned the entire trending page into a Wildlands celebration.
Su Yuxing:
【The edited version of Episode 1 airing has far exceeded my expectations.】
【Sister Lin, sob… Lin-jie, can I call you jie too? I’ll even give you a bonus, I just don’t feel secure otherwise.】
【You will continue filming the next two episodes according to the contract, right? Please give me a solid answer, or I won’t be able to sleep tonight.】
It could be said that while this show started out strong thanks to a powerful post-production team, an appealing location, and the guests’ combined popularity, now it was being carried entirely by Lin Qianyu.
If she didn’t join the next episodes, Su Yuxing could already picture fans flooding his inbox with angry messages.
“…”
Thinking of the director’s nearly bald head, Lin Qianyu went silent for a moment. She really didn’t know how to respond to being called "jie" like that.
Still, she calmly typed:
【Mn. I’ll film.】
Su Yuxing:
【Great. You’re still on the island, right? I’ll book a private jet to pick you up for the next shoot.】
Speaking of that…
Lin Qianyu remembered the message Feng Jingye had sent her earlier. Her fingers tapped on the screen absentmindedly as she typed:
【I’ll head out with Mr. Feng when the time comes.】
Su Yuxing:
【Alright, then we’ll be in touch later.】
After putting down her phone, Lin Qianyu did a quick mental calculation of the time and considered the upcoming schedule.
Hearing the sound of her typing, the red-tailed crested eagle let out a soft cheep, nuzzling at her neck. It blinked open its sleepy eyes, as if asking what was going on.
Lin Qianyu set her phone aside and gently gathered the eagle into her arms.
“Nothing’s wrong. Go back to sleep. Good boy.”
“Cheep…”
The eagle replied in a low voice and curled itself up at her neck again.
Rainforest weather was unpredictable.
One moment the skies were clear, the next came a torrential downpour.
The heat and humidity had become trademarks of the place.
For the next while, Lin Qianyu didn’t start any new livestreams.The buzz on Weibo was overwhelming. The variety show's full livestream was split into several edited episodes, released weekly—one per week.
The director’s plan was to use the edited versions to keep up the show’s popularity during the gap between the end of one livestream and the start of the next. So the update pace for the edited version was deliberately slow.
Impatient casual viewers would then be drawn into the livestream room.
With the trending topics blowing up, Lin Qianyu’s livestream room was completely flooded with viewers. At this point, it wasn’t just her stream crashing—the entire livestream platform went down.
And since she had a lot of other things to do, even after the platform was fixed, she didn’t resume streaming.
Seasonal temperature changes outside didn’t seem to affect this island at all.
On the edge of a platform, Lin Qianyu lazily waved around an oversized cat teaser wand.
Huahua occasionally raised a paw to swat at it, but seemed listless and disinterested.
Maybe compared to a red dot, the furry feathered teaser just wasn’t exciting enough for the big cat.
Come to think of it, Lin Qianyu realized she rarely saw her big cats at home pounce at birds.
“You really don’t like it?” she asked as the bell on the teaser jingled with her movement. “I feel like this is more fun than the red dot.”
Strictly speaking, that red dot wasn’t even a real laser pointer.
It was just a flashlight adjusted to a red light mode with a narrowed beam—at best, a red glow.
Flashlights were top-tier for illumination at night, but in daylight, the beam was too weak, and even the red dot looked pale under the sun. No wonder the leopard had no interest chasing it.
Da Ju and the others had gone out to hunt and wouldn’t be back anytime soon.
As she waved the teaser, it felt less like she was playing with the leopard and more like the leopard was keeping her company.
Putting the teaser aside, Lin Qianyu got up and said, “Let me see if there’s something else.”
There were many toys—oversized ones, too.
Under normal circumstances, people wouldn’t deliberately make toys like these, because playing with tigers and leopards using a cat teaser didn’t exactly sound sensible.
These must have been custom-made by the crew.
She opened a box and began rummaging through it.
The leopard jumped onto the platform and silently crouched behind her.
“Do you like this one?” Lin Qianyu waved each toy in front of the leopard as she pulled them out. If it didn’t react, she’d put it back and grab another. “What about this one? I think it’s supposed to be a mouse.”
But after being enlarged, it looked more like… a pig shaped vaguely like a mouse.
“Haha, this looks so stupid.” Lin Qianyu laughed as she brought the mouse-pig closer.
The leopard immediately bit down on it.
Squeeeak! Whatever was stuffed inside the mouse-pig made that sound when Huahua bit it—must’ve hit the squeaker.
Lin Qianyu paused.
…The thing was ugly enough already, now it had that ridiculous sound too.
The leopard then put the toy back into the box.Lin Qianyu wasn’t very interested in the silly-looking toy either, so she kept rummaging through the box.
Since the box was quite deep, she had to tiptoe, with half her body leaning in to search.
The leopard beside her bit at the hem of her shirt. After a pause—perhaps remembering the last time it tore her clothes—it changed its grip and bit a different spot.
“Huahua!”
Hearing her voice, the leopard opened its mouth wider and tugged at more fabric, pulling backward.
Following the force from the leopard, Lin Qianyu stuck her head out from the pile of toys. “Phew… next time I need a shallower box. Everything’s so hard to dig through.”
The box was nearly taller than she was.
“Look, how about this one?” Lin Qianyu held up a bottle of bubble solution. “This should be fun.”
The leopard still wasn’t very interested, but Lin Qianyu was clearly enjoying herself.
She opened the bubble bottle and took out the small wand with a loop on the end. Blowing through the center of the loop sent bubbles floating into the air.
The scent was different from typical bubble solution—just a faint whiff of soapnut.
Lin Qianyu checked the ingredient list; it seemed fairly clean.
Holding the wand in hand, she gave a gentle blow, and several bubbles floated out at once.
Under the sunlight, the edges of the bubbles shimmered with rainbow colors, and as they drifted, the reflected colors shifted with their movement.
They were quite pretty.
“Huahua?” Lin Qianyu looked over to see the leopard’s reaction, only to find it lowering its body, clearly about to pounce.
But just before it made its move, the bubble popped in the air and disappeared.
At the same time, the leopard froze mid-step, narrowing its eyes at the now-empty space where the bubble had been.
“I’ll make more.”
Lin Qianyu comforted it while dipping the wand into the bubble solution again and blowing even more bubbles this time.
She had hoped to see Huahua actually leap after them.
However… the leopard once again lowered its body in preparation.
The good news: it was interested in the bubbles.
The bad news: its prep time before pouncing was too long.
The bubbles couldn’t last that long.
And just by bad timing, every time the leopard got ready to pounce, the bubble burst.
After two failed attempts, the leopard sat in place, curled its tail around itself, and lowered its head to lick its paw.
“Haha, we really shouldn’t film it like this.” Lin Qianyu laughed so hard she couldn’t even blow bubbles anymore—she was lightheaded and short of breath from laughing.
Not every bubble burst immediately after being blown.
A few lasted a bit longer, popping one after another. One remaining bubble caught the breeze and floated even farther, drifting beyond the edge of the platform.The leopard appeared indifferent, but its gaze couldn’t help drifting in that direction. Its paw twitched slightly—a subtle sign it was thinking about pouncing.
However, at that moment, the big tiger leapt up from below, carrying a water buffalo in its mouth. The water buffalo’s body dangled over the edge, and one of its horns popped the last remaining bubble.
Pop. “……”
The leopard immediately flopped onto the ground.
Even though it wasn’t exactly a good time to laugh, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help herself.
“Hahaha!”
“Roar—!”
The leopard slapped the ground with its paw.
Still laughing, Lin Qianyu leaned closer and held out her arm. “Look.”
On the back of her hand sat a bubble larger than her entire hand, trembling slightly as if it would burst at any moment.
The leopard paused, carefully leaned in to sniff it, pawing lightly at the ground, body lowering again in preparation.
This time, the bubble didn’t burst right away. The leopard made a short-distance pounce, pressed its paw down, and only then did the bubble pop.
Having finally caught a bubble, the leopard flicked its tail—clearly in a good mood.
Lin Qianyu gave a fond rub to its furry ruff. The leopard didn’t look like it had thick fur, but the neck fluff still felt nice to the touch.
“Da Ju, come lie down and rest a bit.” Lin Qianyu sat down cross-legged and patted the space beside her, calling the big tiger over.
The water buffalo was too large to fit into the cave. With tents and the rainforest vehicle already on the platform and no other place to put it, they just left it by the platform’s edge, half-hanging off.
They’d already prepared some cold, refreshing watermelon at home.
Lin Qianyu held a slice and took a bite. “Later I’ll bring some fruit over to the giant panda and red panda. And some milk too.”
The giant panda really liked drinking its little basin of milk.
The decorative leaves on the bamboo house also needed another layer. When puffed up, it looked better.
The past few rains had proven the bamboo house to be sturdy and reliable—it didn’t leak a single drop inside.
The interior was raised with stones and layered with soft fur mats.
Living inside it, listening to the sound of rain hitting the bamboo leaves—it was beyond cozy.
Taking another bite of watermelon, Lin Qianyu glanced back at the cave. All the food she had gathered earlier was already gone. The supplies she’d snatched from the director were mostly vacuum-packed or sealed, with long shelf lives.
They were all fresh-dated and wouldn’t expire until May of next year.
So no rush to eat them.
And then there was the little chevrotain…
If she left, the chevrotain would have to be sent to the rescue center.
The chicks and the red-tailed hawk would stay here and no longer need to be moved around frequently.
Halfway through her watermelon, the black bear and red-tailed hawk returned together.The black bear looked at the water buffalo, then at the cave, and slowly dragged its prey to the edge of the platform to toss it alongside the buffalo.
Watermelon was the little bear’s favorite—it hugged one and gnawed away.
Lin Qianyu handed a slice to the red-tailed hawk, then waved toward the big tiger lounging on a distant rock. “Da Ju, come over here. I have something to tell you all.”
She wiped her hands and took a sip of tea with mock solemnity. “Now it’s time for a serious family meeting.”
None of the animals understood a single word of that string of terms.
The black bear crushed a mouthful of watermelon and raised its paw. “Awo!”
Okay!
“I have to go out tomorrow,” Lin Qianyu said, amused by its earnest and cooperative response despite clearly not understanding. She helped it wipe its mouth with a tissue and added, “This time I’ll be gone a while.”
The leopard gave a low growl. “Rrr…”
Leaving?
“To see the little wolf,” Lin Qianyu smiled. “You all still remember the little wolf, right?”
They’d spent time together before, and the fluffballs had pretty good memory.
At the mention of the little wolf, the big tiger tilted its head and glanced over.
“But since the place the little wolf went to is far away, I’ll need a long time to get there.” Lin Qianyu tried to explain what she was doing in terms the animals might understand.
“So this time I’ll be gone longer than usual.”
A few sunrises and sunsets wouldn’t be enough to describe how long she’d be away.
Lin Qianyu thought for a moment, then said, “Basically, you won’t see me for several days in a row. When I come back, I’ll bring you all some delicious food and gifts.”
“Da Ju, do you understand time? I might be gone for a month—about thirty days.” Lin Qianyu looked at the big tiger. If Da Ju could understand human-defined time, it could help explain things to the others who didn’t.
“Roar…”
That meant it understood.
Lin Qianyu clapped her hands. “Great, as long as you understand.”
“So, while I’m away, remember to take care of yourselves. Don’t delay eating your food too long. If you catch prey, eat it while it’s still fresh.”
She didn’t want them to develop the habit of waiting for her to cut the meat after bringing back prey.
If she wasn’t there, and the meat spoiled before they ate it, it would be both wasteful and unhealthy.
“That’s pretty much it.” Lin Qianyu took a bite of watermelon and said thoughtfully, “When I’m on the grasslands, I’ll look for some interesting new animals. If I can bring anything back, I’ll let you all try it.”
The fluffballs who stayed on the island never had a chance to taste prey from the grasslands.
They should experience some variety in their diet.
“Alright! That’s it for today’s meeting.” Lin Qianyu quickly finished the last of her watermelon slice, tossed the rind into the trash, and got up to tidy up.
She wasn’t bringing much with her.
Just wanted to get everything in the house cleaned and sorted before leaving.Things like a hiking backpack or machete weren’t necessary to bring.
Even if she brought them, they wouldn’t be allowed—any personal supplies for the second round of the show had to be handed over, even leftover items from the previous round weren’t permitted.
“Hm? How did you get in here?” Lin Qianyu was folding clothes when she stepped back and bumped into something furry. Turning around, she saw it was the big tiger peeking in.
The sight of the fluffball poking its head around the corner made Lin Qianyu smile uncontrollably.
She finished folding the clothes and put them in a box—not to be taken with her.
She pinched Da Ju’s cheeks, rubbing the big fuzzy head into all sorts of shapes. The tiger was so good-tempered, it didn’t move at all.
“Did you finish all the meat?” Lin Qianyu folded the rest of the clothes one by one, vacuum-sealing them to prevent the island’s damp, rainy weather from making them musty just a few days after she left.
The big tiger lowered its head and rested it fully on her shoulder, its ears twitching as they brushed across her forehead, twitching again as if tickled.
“Good boy.” Lin Qianyu turned to kiss it and gently patted its nose, “It’s just one month. It’ll go by fast.”
Strictly speaking, it might not even be a full month.
Unexpected things could always happen during the livestream.
It was entirely possible she might come back earlier than expected.
But of course, Lin Qianyu wouldn’t tell Da Ju that.
After all, if she didn’t mention it, then returning early would be a surprise.
If she said it but didn’t come back early, the big tiger would just end up disappointed, waiting for someone who never arrived.
So, better to keep it a secret and make the early return a hidden surprise.
The leopard squeezed in too, rubbing against her waist from the other side.
“You too, Hua Hua—come get a kiss.” In the middle of packing, Lin Qianyu began comforting the fluffballs who had only just started to realize she was going on a long trip.
The fledgling bird didn’t understand what was going on.
The red-tailed hawk perched briefly on Lin Qianyu’s shoulder before flopping into her arms.
Lin Qianyu kissed the little hawk too, then pulled the black bear over and kissed it on the head. “Alright, go play now.”
That’s what she said—but not a single fluffball that understood her words moved.
They usually didn’t cling to her this tightly.
Inside the tent, each of them would normally find their preferred spot to lie down, settle in whatever position felt most comfortable.
But now, they were all crowded around Lin Qianyu.
She could barely walk and had to carefully find her way through gaps between the fluffballs.
But since she’d be leaving tomorrow, she let them stay that way, occasionally reaching out to ruffle fur or rub a head while she continued packing.
She didn’t finish until well into the night.
Only then was everything inside the shelter mostly sorted.
Lin Qianyu stretched lazily. After several days of rain, tonight was a rare clear evening. Lying on the ground, she could see the stars twinkling above.The tent roof retracted automatically—she didn’t even need to step outside to enjoy the beautiful night view.
Lin Qianyu yawned, got up, and placed the little black snake from her wrist into the nest of the fledgling bird.
She then lay back down, surrounded by fluffballs—covered by the red-tailed hawk, using the big tiger as a pillow, one arm resting on the black bear, the other hand holding the leopard’s paw pad. In a soft voice, she said, “Goodnight.”
From the rainforest island to the grasslands.
Everything from the private plane to the flight arrangements had been handled by Feng Jingye.
Though most likely, he had simply given the orders and left the execution to his subordinates.
Seated in a booth, Lin Qianyu took a sip of red wine.
The private jet didn’t look that big from the outside, but inside, it was full of surprises.
It was practically a compact installation of a private restaurant, bar, billiards room, and other entertainment spaces all rolled into one.
Even with dozens more people, it wouldn’t feel crowded.
There were also flight attendants on board, but unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn't appear before Lin Qianyu.
So, in the spacious cabin, only Lin Qianyu and Feng Jingye were present.
She turned to look out the window—nothing but endless white clouds.
“Da Ju and the others should be out hunting by now.” She had gotten up early to explain everything to the fluffballs before they left for the hunt, so they wouldn’t be anxious if they came back and couldn’t find her.
Lin Qianyu muttered to herself, recalling the scene of the little chevrotain being taken to the rescue center—how it screamed hoarsely and was ready to fight the staff to the death. The memory made her stifle a laugh.
After all the leopard’s training, the little chevrotain had become pretty feisty.
“Every one of those around you could be king on their own. And you’re still worried about them?” Feng Jingye chuckled as he poured her a cup of sobering tea. “Don’t worry, I’ve asked Pei Feng to keep an eye on them. If anything happens, he’ll contact you directly.”
Knowing Lin Qianyu didn’t like to trouble others, Feng Jingye had arranged everything in advance.
“Thanks.” Lin Qianyu had been thinking the same thing but didn’t know how to ask Pei Feng. Hearing Feng Jingye say this made her eyes light up. “Thanks for the trouble.”
Feng Jingye waved it off casually. “Since you’ve had wine, make sure you drink the sobering tea before we land. Get some rest. We’re arriving right when the show starts. You might not have time to sleep afterward.”
Originally, like the first round, the second round of the show was supposed to allow the guests to arrive, rest for a night at a villa, and then start filming.
But since Lin Qianyu had stayed in the rainforest with the fluffballs an extra day, her schedule was now: get off the plane and go straight to the opening scene of the show.
She put down her half-finished wine and nodded.
Lin Qianyu normally didn’t drink much. Today she only did because time was tight, she wasn’t the least bit sleepy, and she was afraid of being in poor shape after landing—so she drank a little to help her sleep.
But even after drinking, she didn’t feel drowsy at all. Lin Qianyu gave up and began sipping the sobering tea slowly.
She drank leisurely, watching the ice melt bit by bit in the glass. Just before the plane landed, she finished the last sip, set the cup on the side rack, and fastened her seatbelt.
Once the plane had landed and come to a smooth stop, Lin Qianyu looked out the window again and immediately saw Su Yuxing in a bright red hat—the color stood out, and the show’s logo on it was even more eye-catching.
Not to mention, he was waving a little flag.
There was no way to miss him.
And so, Lin Qianyu watched as the little red hat came running—ran up to the plane—then disappeared into her blind spot.The airplane cabin door opened.
Su Yuxing beamed with a full, sincere smile, reaching out as if to assist—only to pause when he saw Feng Jingye disembarking first. “Hello, Mr. Feng.”
“Mm.” Feng Jingye stopped halfway down the steps and turned back to help Lin Qianyu.
The steps on this private jet were quite high and steep.
Lin Qianyu wasn’t wearing heels, so the height wasn’t a problem for her. Still, with Feng Jingye’s hand already extended, she thought for a moment and placed her hand in his.
“You finally made it—must’ve been a tiring trip.” Su Yuxing stuck the little flag into his waistband. “Come on, the other guests are all waiting outside.”
Knowing the show would confiscate everything they brought, Lin Qianyu didn’t bother bringing anything.
Feng Jingye didn’t either.
That saved them the trouble of having their luggage taken by the director.
【Awoo! Long time no see, Lin-jie looks even prettier now.】
【Can’t wait to see Lin-jie on the grasslands! The show hasn’t even started yet, but I’m betting fifty cents she’s taking first again.】
【Where’s the little wolf!? Bring out the little wolf, sob sob... I want to see the little wolf!】
【After watching the video Lin-jie posted, I hereby declare myself a hardcore fan of the little wolf.】
…
Lin Qianyu had brought livestream equipment but hadn’t turned it on yet.
They had to wait for the director’s unified announcement before going live. Meanwhile, the official livestream room had already launched the day before.
Many fans were camped out across the various livestreams. The moment the official one went live, people flooded in. Even without seeing anyone on screen, just watching the viewer counter in the top right corner of the stream skyrocket made the director grin ear to ear.
Normally, staff would handle greeting and guiding the guests.
But Su Yuxing, as the director, personally came down to lead them inside. “Same rules as before—pick three items. Since you arrived a bit late, the other guests have already made their picks.”
Everything had to follow the rules.
The time slot for selecting supplies had been shared in the guest group chat well in advance.
Lin Qianyu said, “Mm, I know.”
Su Yuxing had been wondering how to resolve the issue, but hearing her response, he let out a breath and chuckled softly.
It was rare for a celebrity to stay level-headed after a sudden rise in popularity.
If it had been someone else, they’d probably be throwing their weight around by now, using their popularity to demand better or extra supplies. But Lin Qianyu was calm, as if she didn’t care about such external things.
Easy to work with, popular, and good-tempered—Su Yuxing liked her more with each passing moment and wished he could sign her for all his future variety shows.
When they reached the table, there were more remaining supplies this time than in the previous round.
Probably because the director had increased the quantity of basic provisions, so even after the other guests made their selections, plenty was left.
Standing off to the side, Su Yuxing said, “Items like knives and insect repellents—we’ve prepared multiple sets of those.”These were all essentials. With the previous experience in the rainforest, the director’s team had also gained more knowledge and didn’t cut corners when it came to supplies.
“Okay.” Lin Qianyu took a kitchen knife, insect repellent, and salt.
There weren’t any seasonings, so she settled for salt as the next best option.
Feng Jingye picked the same items as Lin Qianyu, except instead of salt, he chose a tent.
After how popular the first season had been, the four new guests for the second season had all watched it.
Given the scene where tents were overturned by a rainstorm, no one wanted to choose a tent this time.
After all, they were here to join a variety show—not to get blown away while groggily sleeping in a tent.
“Alright. One hiking backpack each. Once you’ve packed your stuff, we can head out.” Su Yuxing checked his watch. “The car’s just outside. Ready to go?”
Lin Qianyu responded with a soft “Mm.” “Let’s go.”
Feng Jingye, carrying the tent, followed half a step behind Lin Qianyu out of the room.
…
“Awooo——!”
“Awo—awooo!”
“Oooh!”
Just as Lin Qianyu lifted her foot, she paused on the step when she heard the sound. “That’s… a wolf’s howl.”
But she was sure—it wasn’t her little wolf.
Even though humans couldn’t really distinguish between individual wolf howls.
Feng Jingye noticed and asked, “You recognize it?”
He had also assumed it was the little wolf.
Lin Qianyu shook her head, got into the vehicle, and casually found a seat. “Are there a lot of wolves around here?”
“Of course. Some aren’t even from the grasslands—rescued wolves without suitable habitats are often brought here too. As for grassland wolves, there are many. Just from what I know, there are six or seven packs.”
Feng Jingye didn’t come here often, but indeed, there were many wolf packs that kept each other in check.
“We meet again, Qianyu-jie!” Hang Sisi popped her head up from a seat behind and said cheerfully, “I knew you’d pick this seat, so I sat back here on purpose to wait for you.”
“Hey.” Noticing Yin Youlin sitting next to her, Lin Qianyu asked, “How’s your hand?”
“It’s fine now.” Yin Youlin waved the arm he’d previously injured, tilted his chin slightly, and teased, “I even did some extra training—your first place spot might be in danger this time.”
Lin Qianyu curled the corner of her mouth. “Mm, good luck.”
The bus started moving. The terrain here was flat, so the ride was smooth.
The four guests in front were returning ones who had been in season one and had appeared on camera to varying degrees.
The other four guests in the back were newcomers. Not long after the bus started moving, a round-faced girl with a bun hairstyle came over to greet Lin Qianyu. “Lin-jie, Lin-jie! I’m Yu Lingyu, I just joined this season.”
After the director added everyone to the group chat, the new cast members had all introduced themselves there.They just hadn’t met in person before.
Lin Qianyu recalled Yu Lingyu from memory—an up-and-coming star who had just won the Best Newcomer Award—and gave a small nod. “Hello.”
With the first person stepping forward,
The rest of the guests also stood up one after another and crowded over.
“Lin-jie! I’m Gong Xinming, the one who added you in the group chat to ask a few questions. Please take care of me during this time.”
“No way, when did you add her? Lin-jie, let’s add each other too, I’ve liked you for so long! I often watch your livestreams. I especially love Da Ju and Huahua, and Xiaoxiong and the Red-tailed Buzzard—there was even a time I dreamed about them.” Nie Lingyang, amidst the chaos, reached for his phone, then realized it had already been confiscated.
“I’ve been wanting to write a script for those fierce beasts, just to film their daily life.”
This person was also currently at the height of his career, a director who had recently won an international award. After four years of grinding, he released two films and shot to fame.
Lin Qianyu said, “I didn’t bring my phone. I’ll add you in the group chat.”
Nie Lingyang replied repeatedly, “Okay, okay, great!”
Su Yuxing slowly stood up and came over to manage the little impromptu fan meeting happening there. “Alright, alright, I know everyone’s excited, but let me have a moment to promote our show’s location, alright?”
“I’m sure you all learned something about the recording site before coming. This is a remote island in the sea, but it has lakes and grasslands. It’s quite similar to Yu Mountain Island in our country.”
“There are also wild predators roaming around. Everyone should avoid getting too close. If it’s determined you’re seriously injured, you will be forced to withdraw from the show.”
Su Yuxing made a grand sweeping gesture, pointing at the endless grasslands outside the window. “This season’s format is the same as season one. However, the production team will not provide any assistance, won’t release any missions, and won’t live at the base with the guests.”
“Once you get off the bus, you’re on your own. It’s every person for themselves.”
Lin Qianyu raised her hand and asked, “If there are no missions, can we still trade supplies?”
Su Yuxing shook his head. “We’re going minimal this time. We didn’t even bring tents. We’ll drop you off and return directly to the villa.”
After a pause, Su Yuxing asked with interest, “Can you guess why we didn’t bring tents this time?”
Lin Qianyu: “……”
No, I don’t want to guess.
【Because they’re scared of getting looted!】
【Hahaha, why say such painful truths.】
【The director’s a legend! I was thinking, once Lin-jie gets friendly with the wolves and leads a hundred of them to gang up on the crew, they’d have to hand over anything she wants. But Director Su went all in first.】
【I’m dying laughing, what a provoking question from the director.】
Su Yuxing puffed out his chest and asked: How do you avoid getting your supplies stolen? Answer: Don’t bring any. Not even a change of clothes. Nothing for them to take.
【Damn, and he’s even proud of it.】
…
Unlike the rainforest, there weren’t trees every few steps or dense canopies that blocked out the sky.
In contrast, the view was wide open.
You couldn’t see the end of it in any direction.Standing between the azure sky and the tender green earth, Lin Qianyu felt a fleeting moment of disorientation.
A kind of relaxation that came from deep within.
After getting off the bus, Lin Qianyu, carrying her backpack, looked around, intending to wait for the other guests to choose their directions first, then pick a path that no one else took and move on her own.
But...
No one moved after getting off; everyone just stood in place.
Even Su Yuxing was momentarily stunned. He glanced at the cue cards in his hand, then looked at them—there was nothing more he needed to say.
He scratched his head suspiciously. “What are you all doing? Get moving already.”
“Ahem, I’ll go first,” Lin Qianyu said, still thinking about finding the grassland wolf. She didn’t waste time and turned to walk off in a random direction.
Once she started moving, the other guests gradually followed suit, dispersing from the bus in various directions—but more or less, they all seemed to gravitate toward the direction Lin Qianyu had taken.
“I’ll go find Little Wolf first.” Lin Qianyu raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. “I don’t know if it’s just because it’s so open, but it visually feels much bigger than the rainforest.”
It was so vast that it made things harder to find.
Also, if she counted the days, it hadn’t quite been a full month since she had sent the grassland wolf here—but it wasn’t far off.
She didn’t know if Little Wolf still remembered her scent.
She needed to find a suitable spot to build shelter. This time, the director hadn’t provided any maps, so she’d also have to find a water source and prepare food.
There was quite a bit to do.
But what Lin Qianyu wanted most right now was to find Little Wolf.
She wandered without a fixed direction. “If any of you see Little Wolf in another guest’s livestream, be sure to let me know.”
She could see the general locations of the other guests—so if she knew who had the wolf, she could just go directly.
But the entire stream chat was giving the same message: 【Haven’t seen it】
Wild grassland wolves weren’t friendly toward humans. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t show up near where humans gathered—especially not in broad daylight.
Many viewers in the livestream were also eagerly waiting for Little Wolf to appear.
“What if Little Wolf’s actually coming to find me?” Lin Qianyu stopped walking. “If it’s on its way to find me and I keep walking forward, wouldn’t we miss each other?”
The best way to handle that was to stop in place.
But there was no way to be sure Little Wolf was actually coming to her.
As Lin Qianyu hesitated between stopping or continuing, a familiar sound suddenly rang out.
“Awoo——!”
Lin Qianyu’s eyes lit up. “Little Wolf!”
She turned around—and sure enough, saw a grassland wolf leap up onto a mound of earth.
In the next second, furry heads popped up in unison from the right, left, and top of the mound.
Lin Qianyu: “???”Huh?
Author's note: Begging for nutrient fluid, bop bop bop bop~ Good night, sleep early, love every one of you.