Chapter 56

Chapter 56

[Bonus Chapter for Nutrient Solution Support]

Lin Qianyu reached out her hand toward the cheetah. “Do you want to come home with me?”

But just as the baby elephant took a step forward, it was spotted and stopped by the adult elephant.

The baby elephant stomped its foot, crunching the branches beneath with a loud crackle.

Lin Qianyu patted the adult elephant’s trunk. “Put me down.”

The elephant, upon hearing that, lifted her up and gave her a little shake before finally setting her down.

Watching the baby elephant itching to sneak past its mother’s watchful eyes and fulfill its wish, Lin Qianyu reached out to block its trunk. “Come back to wrap them up when you grow up.”

The baby elephant curled its trunk around her wrist. “Pwoh!”

“You two should go home now,” Lin Qianyu waved. “Goodbye.”

Watching the baby elephant leave with the adult elephant, Su Yuxing let out a sigh of relief.

That little guy wasn’t even as tall as him yet—if it lifted him up, he might really get dropped and break something.

“Are you heading back?” Su Yuxing turned to Lin Qianyu. “I can give you a ride.”

Lin Qianyu chuckled. “Not chasing treasure chests anymore?”

After such a delay, the other guests had probably already taken most of the treasure chests.

Su Yuxing froze. “My chest!” He slapped his thigh and hurried the driver to get moving.

Lin Qianyu stayed behind, surveying the surroundings. The large tree had snapped in two, one part thrust straight into the deep pit, with the top edge still attached.

From afar, it didn’t even look like a pit.

Other animals might still fall in.

After thinking about it, Lin Qianyu took a photo of the pit and sent it to Bai Zhao.

Leave professional matters to the professionals.

The zebra sneakily poked its head out from behind.

“Don’t stare, the elephants are gone.” Hearing the sound, Lin Qianyu turned around to see Zhuifeng hiding and sneaking about. She said with a laugh, “Why are you so afraid of elephants?”

Maybe it was some sort of dominance suppression among animals.

“Alright, let’s go too.” Lin Qianyu mounted the zebra and gave it a pat.

With her signal, the zebra turned and took off immediately—clearly not wanting to stay any longer. The lingering scent of the elephants made it uneasy.

While Lin Qianyu was helping the elephants, the other guests in the various livestreams had begun making progress—quite a few treasure chests had already been dug up.

The director hadn’t specified exactly how many chests there were, but since they were based on the number of guests, there surely weren’t too many.

With that in mind, Lin Qianyu decided not to continue searching. Instead, she rode the zebra back, glancing around as she went, looking for trees of a suitable size. “While the weather is good, let’s build the shelter first.”

The temporary palm-leaf structure she had been using was just a stopgap—it would be ruined by even a bit of rain.

But there were no caves around here, so building a shelter against one was out of the question.“The old shelter’s location is actually quite good—let’s build it over there,” Lin Qianyu patted the zebra and pulled a kitchen knife from her backpack. “Come on, Zhuifeng, let’s chop some trees. I’m counting on you to drag them.”

The zebra flicked its ears.

“Next up is a full guide to building a wooden cabin from scratch,” Lin Qianyu rubbed her hands together, ready to construct a shelter like the one in the rainforest—sturdy enough for long-term living, even after the variety show ended.

The kitchen knife had a solid feel when chopping trees—surprisingly easier to use than a machete.

With the zebra helping to drag the logs, Lin Qianyu cut down more at a time, stacked them up, and tied them with palm-leaf rope. As she strapped them to the zebra, she reminded, “Walk slowly. If you run too fast, the rope might come loose.”

“Neigh—!”

Lin Qianyu counted the logs from behind. The quantity seemed decent, but still not quite enough for a deluxe shelter.

So she turned back and continued chopping.

Bundling three trees together, Lin Qianyu measured the height. “For personal use, it doesn’t have to be too tall—as long as I can stand up inside, it’s fine.”

That height wouldn’t feel cramped, and it wouldn’t waste materials.

Lin Qianyu rubbed her fingertips along the tree bark. “This bark’s surface is pretty dry—if we peel it off, we can use it as kindling.”

In the past, she would’ve stripped the bark on the spot and only brought the bare trunk back.

With the zebra’s help dragging logs, Lin Qianyu saved a lot of effort and took the opportunity to collect moss along the way.

Just as she returned fully loaded, she halted at the sight of the shelter. “That steppe wolf…?”

It wasn’t the little wolf.

It was a stranger—a steppe wolf lying very close to her shelter.

Huh?

Lin Qianyu paused, arms still wrapped around her backpack. Growing suspicious, she slowed her pace. “This steppe wolf… seems like one from the pack?”

Although she hadn’t interacted with the whole pack much, the wolf’s appearance looked familiar.

The dozing steppe wolf also noticed her and stood up, giving its fur a shake before turning to leave.

“Hey—!” Lin Qianyu quickly called out, “Wait, are you from the pack?”

She hesitated, realizing the question was a bit off. “I mean… are you from Little Wolf’s pack?”

“Awooo!”

Lin Qianyu nodded. So it was.

But then she frowned slightly. “What are you doing here?”

Little Wolf had left the pack to stay with her. For a strange steppe wolf not to follow the rest of the pack and instead linger here—it was a bit odd.

The steppe wolf sat down, tail flicking behind it. “Awoo!”

Standing guard.

Lin Qianyu was momentarily stunned before she immediately understood. “Little Wolf asked you to stay and watch over this place?”

“Whimper!”She received a definite answer.

Lin Qianyu couldn't help but laugh, “So that’s what it is. It’s because of what happened with Shi Jingyuan yesterday, isn’t it?”

Shi Jingyuan had tried to take over her shelter, which made Little Wolf worry that an unguarded base could be taken away. So even when he left, he arranged for another steppe wolf to stay behind and keep watch.

【Aaaah?! Little Wolf is too considerate!】

【He even knew to assign someone—wait no, assign a steppe wolf—to stand guard. Good, I dare any fool to come close now.】

【I was also worried Shi Jingyuan might return. Didn’t expect Little Wolf to be such a man of action.】

With a wolf standing guard, Shi Jingyuan—who only dares to talk trash online—would never have the guts to actually come close.

“Thanks for your hard work.” Lin Qianyu patted the steppe wolf on the head, smoothing its fur, then unwrapped the grilled stingray she had on her. It was the only food she had with her.

The best reward for animals was food.

She placed the stingray, still wrapped in leaves, on the ground. “Here, this is for you.”

The steppe wolf’s wagging tail paused for a moment. It looked a little unsure, but still stepped forward, sniffing the unfamiliar food. It couldn’t resist rubbing its head against her hand.

Lin Qianyu cupped its furry head and ruffled it gently. “Good boy. You eat now—I have work to do.”

The shelter still wasn’t built, and she had a lot left to handle.

The zebra stood at the lakeside drinking water, occasionally glancing her way—only to quickly avert its eyes whenever it saw the steppe wolf.

Traumatized by being chased by a pack of wolves before, the zebra had no desire to greet any steppe wolf again.

Lin Qianyu stacked a few stones to sit on, lifted a log diagonally, and began peeling the bark off with her kitchen knife. She didn’t care about thickness—just needed it clean. Even while working, she chatted with fans in the livestream, “Actually, you don’t have to peel these logs for the shelter. You could use them directly.”

But… peeled logs just looked tidier.

Once she finished peeling the logs, she laid them out on the ground to dry.

Lin Qianyu then marked out the size of the shelter on the ground and began digging out the soil inside. “This extra area here can be the courtyard—so the wolf pack can lie down there too.”

With a bigger space, there’d be plenty of room for all the fluffy ones.

Who could resist living in a pile of fluff?

Scoop up anywhere, and it’s a ball of fur—it’s practically paradise for animal lovers.

Plus, with the courtyard expanded, the lake was just beyond it—great view too.

Because she didn’t have professional tools, digging was even more troublesome than chopping trees. Lin Qianyu sighed, “If I’d known earlier, I would’ve borrowed the director’s shovel.”

A comment silently floated through the livestream:

Su Yuxing: 【You sure you mean borrow?】

【Hahaha damn, this comment is 10% funny. If it’s from the director himself, it’s 1000% funny!】

【Director: You clearly wanted to rob me. Don’t think I didn’t know.】

Lin Qianyu’s arms were sore from digging barehanded. She had just casually made a comment, but Su Yuxing caught it right away.

She found it hilarious too and cheerfully said, “Of course I meant borrow—no one gives advance notice before a robbery, right?”

A very reasonable explanation indeed.The pit began to take shape.

Lin Qianyu went inside and used flat stones to push the soil upward, temporarily piling it on the side. “This soil can be diluted with water and spread on the wooden walls, but without a scraper, it probably won’t be very smooth.”

It might not look great, but once dry, the waterproof effect would be good.

Everything prepared for building the house was useful; nothing was wasted.

“Alright, this pit is about done.” Lin Qianyu measured—it reached her knees—then grabbed the wood she had prepared earlier and said, “Next, we’ll use short logs to insert inside.”

The bed had four legs, on the condition that the bed board was a whole piece; scattered wood piled side by side couldn’t hold the weight. So the legs were made in two rows without gaps.

When digging a pit shelter, sleeping directly on the ground is convenient, but if it rains, it’s all ruined.

So at the start, it’s best to build an elevated resting area to avoid flooding.

“You can put things under the bed.” Lin Qianyu pushed the treasure box from the production team inside; this served as a small storage space.

After finishing the bed, Lin Qianyu used wood to partition off the front and back parts of the shallow pit—one-third of the yard was open space, while the remaining two-thirds was the shelter house.

“Here’s a little trick for everyone: when you don’t have professional tools or materials, and want to line up logs to make a wall, cut a stick about this size, then lean three or four sticks diagonally against the logs and ground. After fixing, try to twist the short sticks. If they’re stuck tight and won’t move when you let go, the logs are secured and won’t easily fall.”

Using this method, Lin Qianyu stood other logs up and fixed them in order, lining them up.

The logs surrounded the edge of the low pit. The wooden house was made square; with the pit’s height, the logs didn’t need to be too tall. Lin Qianyu could stand upright inside the shelter.

【She really seems serious about teaching us.】

【I’m clumsy and tearing up; she trusts me more than my own teacher.】

【Watching this makes me pumped up. It makes me want to parachute into the wild and try surviving there myself.】

This feeling of building a home from nothing, piece by piece with your own hands, makes anyone want to test their DIY skills.

After working hard for a long time, she finally fixed all three walls in place.

The gaps could be filled with mud, but Lin Qianyu had collected a lot of moss, so she didn’t use mud. Instead, she stuffed moss into the gaps little by little from bottom to top.

Hang Sisi came over carrying a treasure, eyes wide as she looked at the newly raised wooden house, mouth opening in a shape that seemed to say “Huh?” Before heading out to dig for treasure, this had just been an empty field, at most a palm-leaf shelter. Now there was even a house.

Although the house still had no roof, these wooden walls alone were enough to leave her dumbfounded.

“Looking for me?” Lin Qianyu was braiding rope to tie a wooden door. Seeing Hang Sisi, she stood up from the bed, casually brushed off some dirt from her clothes, and gave up trying to clean the dirt stuck on the fabric.

“Oh right.” Hang Sisi snapped back to reality after hearing the voice, “We found a lot of treasure and were thinking of giving you some supplies as payment for teaching me how to make fishing nets. Otherwise, I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”

In the wild, everyone fends for themselves. If you teach someone a method, it increases their chances of survival.

Even though Lin Qianyu didn’t care about such things, Hang Sisi still felt a bit embarrassed.

“No need.” Lin Qianyu turned back and took out the unfinished rope. “Didn’t we agree you’d give me fish as payment after you catch them?”

“That’s different. What if I don’t catch any?” Hang Sisi thought: giving fish after catching them is payment for the fish, not payment for teaching her to make fishing nets.

Afraid of being rejected, Hang Sisi put the box down on the ground. “Ah, Sister Qianyu, please just accept it. You’ve helped me so much, I feel embarrassed. It’s not much—just some daily supplies.”

After putting it down, she turned and ran off. “See you next time, Sister Qianyu!”

“… I haven’t even taught you how to make fishing nets yet.” Lin Qianyu glanced at the half-braided rope in her hands, originally planning to take this opportunity to teach Hang Sisi how to braid rope first.Hang Sisi’s voice came from afar: “Next time! Ling Yu found treasure again and called me over.”

Lin Qianyu didn’t have time to say anything before she had already run out of sight.

She glanced at the nearby box but didn’t rush to open it. Instead, she finished making the surroundings of the house first, planning to take a shower afterward—otherwise, feeling covered in dust was uncomfortable.

The grassland wolf ate the roasted devil fish meat and left.

Perhaps the little wolf’s task was to watch over the shelter when no one was there; when people were present, it could leave.

“Phew…” After finally tying the door, Lin Qianyu sat on the wooden bed and exhaled deeply. “Let’s leave it like this for today; I’ll build the roof tomorrow.”

A luxurious shelter couldn’t be completed in one day.

Lin Qianyu took a sip from the ostrich egg water bottle, brought the coconut and ostrich egg over, tossed the coconut in a corner of the yard, and made a small hole in the ostrich egg to eat from.

Three cups made from eggshells could be used simultaneously to boil water and store it once cooled.

Lin Qianyu patted the ostrich egg with a hole, “It would be even better if it had a lid.”

While eating scrambled eggs, she observed the layout and felt the house was somewhat empty—with only one bed for now—planning to chop more wood later to make a table.

In the afternoon, the little wolf who had gone hunting returned.

Looking at the zebra the grassland wolf brought back, Lin Qianyu blinked and glanced at Zhuifeng drinking water by the lake.

But Zhuifeng showed no reaction—likely because zebras sometimes kill their own kind, and after witnessing many hunted peers, Zhuifeng was probably used to it.

Lin Qianyu poked the prey and said, “This hide is perfect to collect and lay on the bed.”

Hearing this, the grassland wolf seemed to remember something, stretched lazily, rubbed against Lin Qianyu like greeting her, then turned and left.

“Hey? Little wolf, where are you going?” Having just eaten, it was unlikely to go hunting again.

“Woo!”

The little wolf didn’t answer; this sound was just a response, with no particular meaning.

“Maybe something came up.” Lin Qianyu couldn’t figure it out and decided to carefully cut the meat off, waiting for the little wolf to return for the meal.

She cut cautiously, peeling the skin little by little. More than for eating, she needed the fur padding.

“Actually, sheep’s fleece is best for making mats, but…” Lin Qianyu thought about the animals she’d seen since arriving on the grassland, “I haven’t seen any sheep. Maybe I’m not in their range.”

She considered exploring farther next time—maybe there’d be new, unseen animals.

The rainforest island had many world-class protected animals; the grassland island surely wouldn’t have fewer.

After sorting the meat, Lin Qianyu cut a fattier piece to roast.

While she was cleaning the hunted animal’s hide, the grassland wolf came running over excitedly.

“You went hunting again?” From afar, she thought the thing in its mouth was prey, but approaching closer she realized it wasn’t an animal—it was… fur.

A lot of animal fur.

Some of the bloody fur was already dry and unrecognizable.

But on the clean small pieces, the fluffiness was still faintly visible.Among these, there were also sheep hides—thicker and more solid compared to the other furs.

“Where did you get so many?” Lin Qianyu asked in surprise as she unfolded the furs, noticing the edges were uneven and jagged—not neatly cut but rather bitten off. Some parts still had flesh attached, though it had long since dried.

Luckily it wasn’t the rainy season; otherwise, the damp environment would have caused the flesh stuck to the fur to rot and spoil.

Now it was dry and crumbly, easily torn away from the fur.

Lin Qianyu seemed to realize something. She sat down face to face with the little wolf, “Did you collect all these?”

The little wolf lifted its head and “woofed!”

This was a “yes,” and also a gesture asking for affection.

Lin Qianyu grabbed a handful of fur but couldn’t shake off her amazement. Smiling broadly, she lowered her head, hugged the little wolf tightly, and kissed it twice, “How are you so smart?”

It was clear the grassland wolf had imitated how she had cut meat and separated fur back in the rainforest when collecting prey skins.

But using teeth instead of hands was different—it could only tear and peel the fur and flesh bit by bit.

During the tearing, it had to ensure the fur remained intact, which was extremely difficult.

“What?! Seriously!?”

“My CPU just fried. A wild grassland wolf collects skins after hunting?!”

“Come to think of it… Before Lin Jie sent the little wolf away, she said she would come find it later. Could it be that the little wolf has been preparing for Lin Jie’s arrival since it came to the grassland?”

“Oh my god, little wolf really… I’m crying.”

“I haven’t even learned how to separate fur from flesh properly, but the grassland wolf already knows, sob.”

…

The amount of fur the grassland wolf collected really exceeded Lin Qianyu’s expectations.

Her heart warmed, and she showered the wolf with affectionate pets, unsure what to do with her joy, “How are you so good? Such a smart little wolf.”

Who would believe a grassland wolf that peels skins off prey?

Lin Qianyu said, “With so much fur, I could even cover the whole yard.”

“Awooo!”

Cover it!

“You eat first, leave these furs to me,” Lin Qianyu said, dragging the food wrapped in leaves over while carrying the furs to the lake to soak and clean off the remaining flesh stuck to them.

Perhaps worried about damaging the furs during tearing, the wolf left quite a bit of meat attached on some pieces.

Just tearing off the meat took Lin Qianyu quite some effort.

Soaked furs were easier to clean, rubbed like washing a fur blanket.

There was no drying rack built yet, so after washing, she laid the furs on the ground. The sun wasn’t as harsh as at noon, and after two days and nights, they would dry.

The furs covered the ground, and the clothes Lin Qianyu had washed earlier had dried, so she took off her current outfit to wash it as well.

Seeing Feng Jingye’s jacket, Lin Qianyu suddenly remembered, “By the way, can your livestream see where Mr. Feng is right now?”Guests cannot see each other’s locations; they can only rely on the livestream fans.

When Lin Qianyu asked, the livestream viewers began reporting positions, updating in real time as they moved.

The barrage of comments was too fast to keep up with.

“All right, all right, I got it,” Lin Qianyu said, roughly knowing where to find them was enough.

After eating, the grassland wolf lay beside Lin Qianyu basking in the sun. Lin Qianyu dragged the little wolf’s upper body onto her lap and rubbed it, “Little wolf, I’m going to deliver something to Mr. Feng. You rest at home.”

The grassland wolf paused licking its paw and stood up as Lin Qianyu rose.

“Hm? You want to come with me?” Without needing to ask, the little wolf took a few steps forward, glancing back as if asking why she wasn’t leaving yet.

Lin Qianyu picked up her clothes, emptied her backpack, and caught up with the little wolf, “Coming! Let’s go.”

She wasn’t very close to Feng Jingye; on such a long road, there would definitely be many things to collect if seen.

Lin Qianyu walked while checking the barrage, flipping through previous fan-reported locations.

That day she wore a jacket on the way back, and only when she took it off did she realize it was damp from her clothes underneath.

It was impolite to return borrowed things without cleaning them, so Lin Qianyu deliberately washed it before returning.

She wished she had let the little wolf smell it before washing; then the wolf could have just led the way, no need for her to look through the barrage.

Walking on the outer side, she heard “woo woo” sounds. Lin Qianyu tipped the brim of her straw hat and, as expected, saw a pack of hyenas. “Look, there are hyenas over there.”

Although called hyenas, they’re not canines but belong to the hyena family. They are named so because they look like dogs.

At this moment, three hyenas were prowling with their heads down on the grass.

“What are they doing? Hyenas don’t eat grass.” Lin Qianyu wasn’t eager to encounter these notoriously scavenging animals of the grassland and prepared to detour with the little wolf.

But in the next moment, she saw the hyenas digging out an orange-yellow cub from the grass.

Lin Qianyu stopped. Visually, the ground looked flat in a line, but there was actually a seam beneath, and the hyenas were digging something out.

“It’s a leopard.”

The unweaned cub trembled and wailed weakly, surrounded by three hyenas.

Even adult leopards risk being killed by hyenas; this was just a tiny cub, barely bigger than a kitten.

If she hadn’t seen it, she would have let nature take its course, but now that she had, Lin Qianyu could not stand by idly.

“Go away, leave it alone!” Lin Qianyu broke off a branch and swung it at the hyenas.

“Roar—!” The grassland wolf acted decisively, rushing up and biting the neck of one hyena. With a crack, the hyena instantly went limp, killed in one bite.

The other two hyenas intended to fight back, but the wolf’s sudden charge disrupted their formation.

The leopard cub on the ground continued to cry out. The hyenas glared at the cub and then at the wolf holding their dead companion, finally tucking their tails and fleeing.

Hyenas move in groups; rarely is only one out. Usually, three or four hunt together.

A large hyena pack can number as many as eighty.

Sometimes, hyenas dare to attack even a lone lion.The little leopard’s cries on the ground grew weaker and weaker, from the earlier wails to now only faint whimpering.

It wasn’t clear if it had been bitten somewhere—there was a pool of blood where the little leopard lay.

Lin Qianyu looked around but saw no sign of the leopard’s parents. After hesitating for a moment, she said, “I’ll take it to the rescue station first.”

If left here, the severely injured cub would have no chance of survival, and the two hyenas that left might come back for revenge.

Leaving the cub here was almost a death sentence.

But taking it away directly... was also problematic.

Lin Qianyu hesitated on how to handle it, then took off her jacket and wrapped the little leopard, sending a message to Bai Zhao: “I don’t know when the leopard’s parents will return.”

Leopards hunt during the day; those hyenas likely had been watching and sneaked over to eat the cub while the parents were away.

[“Ah, take it away for treatment first. Leave the mom your phone number so she can call when she’s back.”]

[“Seriously? Do you have a brain? Leave the phone first; otherwise, having a number doesn’t help if there’s no phone to call from.”]

[“Hyenas are really annoying—infamous on the grasslands, they top the list for being ugly and disgusting.”]

[“No worries, Sister Lin, take the cub away first. I’ll put the livestream number in the chat so the leopard mom can see it.”]

Unsure what to do, Lin Qianyu glanced at the barrage of comments: “...”

Fortunately, not long after, an adult leopard dashed over, carrying a hyena in its mouth.

Perhaps it smelled the cub’s blood on the hyena, as the leopard looked very urgent.

When it saw Lin Qianyu, it dropped the hyena and growled warily at her, “Ha—!”

The grassland wolf stepped over the hyena’s corpse and stood coldly in front of Lin Qianyu.

The leopard’s slow approach halted; it lowered its body, and its shoulder blades protruded sharply from its back with the movement.

“It’s injured,” Lin Qianyu took the opportunity to say to the leopard, “The hyenas found it, and it’s badly hurt. I want to take it to the hospital for treatment, is that okay? It will die if it stays here.”

The leopard’s snarling didn’t stop, its pale yellow translucent eyes stared unblinking at her, its pupils changing size, seeming to mirror its tense thoughts.

Lin Qianyu gently put down the little leopard in her arms, carefully unwrapped the jacket around it, and patted the little wolf, “See? It’s really badly injured.”

The grassland wolf understood but remained alert, slowly retreating to Lin Qianyu’s side.

The leopard sniffed the cub, licking the blood on its body.

Lin Qianyu guessed it was probably bitten by the hyenas. They caught the defenseless cub and weren’t in a hurry to eat it. The three hyenas had bit and carried it around; she didn’t know exactly where it was injured, but there must be many small wounds. Hyena teeth are sharp; even if they don’t pierce deeply, it’s still bad.

The leopard couldn’t judge precisely like humans but could sense the cub’s weakening breath.

It kept licking the cub repeatedly, letting out urgent low growls.

Bai Zhao rushed over with a doctor. When they got out of the car, the leopard froze in place.

Hearing the noise, the leopard looked up, narrowed its eyes, and stepped forward, shielding the cub beneath its body.

Lin Qianyu said, “Come quickly, this leopard cub seems badly injured.”

Noticing the leopard’s glance, Lin Qianyu explained, “They are doctors; they can save your baby.”“You…” Bai Zhao whispered in disbelief, “You took its cub right in front of the leopard?”

He deliberately lowered his voice as if afraid the leopard would hear.

But then he paused, realizing the leopard wouldn’t understand him, and added, “Leopards with cubs are very protective.”

As he spoke, he stepped forward, but as he got closer, the leopard growled lowly again, baring its teeth with a fierce glare, “Ha—!”

Clearly, it wouldn’t even let humans get close.

Usually, rescue stations encountering this situation sneak over when the leopard goes hunting. If the injury isn’t serious, they wait for it to heal naturally; only if the injury is life-threatening do they take the cub away for treatment.

Lin Qianyu was relatively close. She softened her voice and said to the leopard, “They can help treat your cub. You can see it’s very weak now, right? It still has a chance.”

The leopard glanced at the humans not far away, then looked back at Lin Qianyu.

Under so many eyes, it lowered its head and gently took the dying little leopard in its mouth.

Lin Qianyu pressed her lips together, wondering, did she fail?

[“Ahhh, although leopard mom doing this makes sense—can’t just trust humans—knowing this little leopard will surely die if taken back, it’s so hard to bear.”]

[“Sob… it’s like a little kitten, so pitiful.”]

[“Is there really no other way? Try harder. It’s still a little life.”]

…

The leopard’s alertness was very high, which was a good sign.

Lin Qianyu half-squatted, curling her hand resting on the grassland wolf’s back, thinking about what else to say.

Before she could speak again, the leopard turned and walked toward her.

Suddenly, Lin Qianyu realized something, reached out her hand. The leopard lowered its head and placed the cub into her arms, then licked the cub again. It stepped back a few paces to give space, crouched down, wrapped its tail in front of itself, and looked up from the cub to the person holding it.

“Don’t worry, I will definitely heal it and give you back a healthy little leopard.”

Having gained the leopard’s consent, Lin Qianyu didn’t hesitate and ran holding the little leopard toward Bai Zhao.

The leopard’s gaze followed her the entire time. When Lin Qianyu moved, it shifted slightly but before standing up thought twice, sat back down, and quietly watched.

The doctor had already pulled out the ambulance — a vehicle prepared for animals, with various straps along the edges, though the weak little leopard didn’t need them.

Lin Qianyu placed the little leopard on the hospital bed. “It’s in your hands now.”

“Don’t worry,” the doctor said as they started the examination.

The bloody little cub looked very weak.

“The situation isn’t too bad, just too small. It needs to be observed for a few days,” the doctor said, then looked at Lin Qianyu, asking for her opinion.

Lin Qianyu relayed the doctor’s words exactly to the leopard, saying, “If you agree, just nod your head. Once it’s healed, they will bring the little leopard back.”

The leopard showed no reaction, but its tail flicked constantly on its paws, clearly very nervous.

It was likely torn between trust and perceived danger.

Lin Qianyu quietly watched it like that, neither urging nor asking too much.She just quietly watched.

After a long while, the leopard gently nodded.

Lin Qianyu said, “Okay, it agreed.”

“Alright,” the doctor said, then got into the car and closed the door.

Bai Zhao didn’t have time for further small talk and floored the accelerator—saving the little leopard was the priority.

Fearing that the leopard might get anxious if they took the cub away, Lin Qianyu deliberately turned her head and explained, “After they heal the little leopard, they will bring it back.”

The leopard blinked, showing little reaction but probably understood.

Lin Qianyu picked up the blood-stained dirty clothes from the ground, folded them, and put them under her backpack to wash later.

Feng Jingye’s jacket was still in her hands. Lin Qianyu stood up and negotiated with the leopard, “Well… we’ll leave first then.”

The leopard didn’t respond.

She took a step forward, then another… the leopard still didn’t move.

They must have reached an understanding.

Lin Qianyu called to the grassland wolf, “Let’s go, Xiaolang, we’ll go deliver the clothes first.”

“Woof!”

The leopard looked at the grassland wolf, then at Lin Qianyu, hesitating before stepping forward to follow.

But it kept a certain distance, trailing far behind Lin Qianyu.

When Lin Qianyu stopped, the leopard stopped simultaneously. After standing for a long time, it would even crouch and wait until she moved again, then continue following, keeping the distance.

Perhaps the leopard agreed to let the doctors take the cub because it trusted Lin Qianyu, not the rescue workers or doctors.

So, it followed the one it could communicate with—Lin Qianyu.

Realizing this, Lin Qianyu also reacted, squatted down, and reached out her hand to the leopard. “Do you want to come home with me?”

The leopard lowered its eyes, looking at the hand as if thinking, hesitated a long moment, then slowly raised its paw.

But it didn’t touch her hand. The next moment, it put its paw down and turned to run away.

Lin Qianyu: “???”

What’s going on?

It had been following closely just moments ago—why did it suddenly run off?

[“Obviously, the leopard doesn’t want to go home with Lin Jie.”]

[“Leopard, you’re confused! You’re missing out on three meals a day fed by someone, meat off the bone delivered to your mouth, and occasional midnight snacks and afternoon tea!”]

[“Exactly! Though the name is harsh, Lin Jie’s grooming skills are truly excellent—certified by the big tiger herself.”]

[“Hahaha, Lin Jie got rejected! Place your bets, let’s see how the leopard completely gives up.”]

…“Alright, it seems the leopard has other things to do.” Lin Qianyu first went to deliver the clothes with Xiaolang. As for the leopard, if it doesn’t trust the rescue staff, then after the little leopard recovers, it can be brought back to her first, and she will deliver it to the leopard.

The grassland wolf still stared in the direction the leopard had left.

Lin Qianyu waved her hand in front of its eyes, “Xiaolang? We should go now.”

“Woof…” The grassland wolf finally came to its senses, gently licking her cheek, then raised its paw to swipe at the hand waving in front of its eyes.

Lin Qianyu held its paw and squeezed its paw pad gently, “Good boy.”

Author’s note: Good night, sleep early, love every one of you.