Chapter 57

Chapter 57

As Lin Qianyu turned around, she heard a faint sound like a cat meowing.

"Let's go. After delivering the clothes, how about we head to the seaside?" Lin Qianyu stroked the grassland wolf from its chest upwards. The fur was all clumped together, fluffing out under its jaw like a soft plush; she couldn’t help but pet it a couple more times.

Leaning down to kiss the furball, she said, "Let’s pick some more coconuts, maybe catch some crabs or something."

The grassland wolf licked its nose and sat upright, allowing Lin Qianyu to handle it, responding appropriately, "Woof..."

Lin Qianyu said, "Alright, it’s settled then."

The location the livestream fans gave was inaccurate; Feng Jingye was constantly moving.

Lin Qianyu had the idea to find Feng Jingye at his shelter, so she walked toward the direction indicated by the chat.

After all, the place where the shelter was built wouldn’t change.

She didn’t hurry straight there since Feng Jingye wasn’t at the shelter now. She wandered here and there along the way, estimating that by now Feng Jingye should be heading back, so she went toward that area.

Whenever she came across wild fruit on the road, she stopped to pick some. Before long, her backpack was filled with various fruits.

When tired, she randomly picked a wild fruit and bit into it, scrunching her brow at the sour taste, "This wild fruit doesn’t taste good."

Maybe it wasn’t the season yet, so it was unripe, sour and hard — could be used as vinegar.

Though unpleasant, in the wild, if there was nothing else to eat, it could be eaten in emergencies.

Lin Qianyu finished the remaining wild fruit in two bites, then fumbled to take out another kind of wild fruit. "This one’s sweet. Maybe it’s because the last one was too sour. Xiaolang, come here."

Eating the sweet wild fruit, Lin Qianyu handed one of the same kind to the grassland wolf.

The wild fruits were small; the grassland wolf bit half of one at once, chewed a couple of times, and swallowed it. After two bites, only a very short fruit stem was left in Lin Qianyu’s hand.

“Lin Qianyu.”

The suddenly appearing voice made her stop in her tracks. The grassland wolf, still chewing its fruit which nearly fell, slowly finished the remaining half without reacting to the voice, obviously sensing someone in the tree.

Lin Qianyu looked up and saw Feng Jingye lying on a branch, turning his head down to look at her. When their eyes met, she smiled softly, “You’re here. I was looking for you. Here’s your jacket.”

“I saw it in the chat,” Feng Jingye said, pushing off the tree trunk and leaping down. “It’s just a jacket. I don’t really need it, no rush to return it.”

“There are only two sets of clothes to change into, how could you not need it?” Lin Qianyu handed him the clothes. “Thanks for your jacket.”

“You’re always so polite.” Feng Jingye shrugged, seeming a little helpless at Lin Qianyu’s politeness. “Alright, didn’t you say you wanted to go to the seaside? I should go back to sleep.”

Looking at the still bright sky, Lin Qianyu asked, “Sleep? So early?”

Feng Jingye explained, “Most animals here in the grassland are active at night. I changed my schedule so I can observe more animals at night.”

Lin Qianyu nodded, thinking to herself that Feng Jingye really liked these animals. Then she reconsidered—if he didn’t like animals, why would he buy the island and spend money to raise these wild animals?

How confusing.

Feng Jingye had already taken a nap in the tree. Now he was yawning as he walked back to the shelter.

The grassland wolf stared at his retreating figure.

Feng Jingye, walking ahead, seemed to notice and glanced back.

The grassland wolf turned its face away.Being disliked by animals was no longer a one-time thing; Feng Jingye smiled wryly and shook his head.

---Today, the wind at the seaside was stronger than yesterday, with waves crashing onto the shore.

Lin Qianyu had come here on a whim without bringing anything, facing the vast ocean but saw no sign of the orca.

She had promised to bring food to the orca on land before.

But on second thought, she didn’t know where to find the orca. Large marine creatures have vast ranges, and this island has many places connected to the sea. She wasn’t sure if the orca that appeared last time on this beach would come again.

After standing at the shore for a while, Lin Qianyu turned around to start gathering supplies.

Coconuts can be preserved for about half a month if their husks and shells remain unopened, so she collected extra to drink slowly.

“Xiaolang, can you help me find Zhuifeng?” Lin Qianyu dropped the coconuts hooked from the tree and said, “Let Zhuifeng come carry the coconuts.”

“Awwooo!”

The grassland wolf responded and ran off.

Lin Qianyu continued picking coconuts. “If it rains and you don’t want to go out, stockpile more coconuts. Drinking coconut water saves the trouble of boiling water.”

Although the house was right next to the lake, on rainy days the dampness made it troublesome to light a fire for boiling water. Drinking fresh coconut water was more convenient.

【What was that thing that just swam by in the sea?】

【A fish? It looked huge, thicker than my arm.】

【Damn, I didn’t see it. Don’t scare me.】

【It’s a tuna! I just rewatched the livestream. I’m sure that’s a tuna, a bluefin tuna!】

【Hold on, sis, I know you’re excited, but wait. This is just a small island in the sea. Where would bluefin tuna come from? Pay attention to the location, okay?】

...

While Lin Qianyu picked coconuts, the chat room was already heated up. Some fans believed the fish that flashed briefly on the camera was a bluefin tuna, while others argued that the geography made it impossible for bluefin tuna to appear here.

Both sides presented evidence. If the chat room allowed images, Lin Qianyu felt it might have already been flooded with screenshots.

“Looks like…?” Lin Qianyu herself took a look. While picking coconuts, the livestream equipment rose and captured the sea near the shore. The fish was hidden beneath the waves and appeared only briefly.

From that angle, it did look somewhat like it.

Lin Qianyu took off her straw hat. “Why not go check it out? I can also catch some more abalone.”

The grassland wolf ate a lot of abalone yesterday, so it probably liked them.

As for that fish, since it appeared in the shallow sea, swimming around would clear things up.

The livestream device hung suspended in the air. Lin Qianyu held her breath as the waves rolled in and dived underwater.

Opening her eyes underwater, in her field of vision she did not see any bluefin tuna—probably just a matter of camera angle.

Thinking this, Lin Qianyu didn’t worry too much and went to pick abalone. To carry more, she specially brought a bag woven from rope.

One by one, she gently pried abalone off the rocks and tossed them into the bag, shaking it so they wouldn’t slip out.

Below the surface, it was quiet and beautiful; her ears seemed to hear nothing. Schools of brightly colored fish swam by; the colors of the sea fish were vivid and eye-catching.The clownfish swam through the coral, much more lively and active than in an artificial aquarium.

Lin Qianyu curved her eyes slightly, blew a bubble, and reached out her hand toward the clownfish.

This clownfish wasn’t very afraid of people; maybe it was lucky to meet someone bold. It didn’t flee but instead swam up along her fingertip.

Underwater, the clownfish’s tail brushing her fingertip didn’t cause much sensation. After swimming around once, the clownfish slipped back into the coral.

If conditions allowed, Lin Qianyu could communicate with the clownfish, but right now, she couldn’t make any sound, so she gave up on greeting it verbally and waved her hand before swimming to the other side.

The natural ocean environment around had no farming or breeding; the sea was a thriving upside-down world.

Although it was shallow water, it was much deeper than most snorkeling bays.

Because no one ventured there, the deeper she went, the larger the abalone she saw.

Last time, the equipment wasn’t enough, so she only picked the ones at the top, already filling a big pile. Swimming downward, she saw abalones but couldn’t catch them.

This time she had a bag. Lin Qianyu compared with her hand and found some abalones bigger than her hand—measured with fingers spread wide.

The abalones were big but bit down tight. Lin Qianyu pried for a long time but couldn’t budge them even a bit.

Feeling she had tried enough, she swam back up. This wasn’t quite her breath-holding limit, but since she was out here alone, it was better to be careful. If she reached her limit and something tripped her while swimming up, that would be dangerous.

Surfacing, she jumped strongly with the waves, riding the swell so she wouldn’t be pushed back down.

Noticing the livestream equipment overhead, Lin Qianyu said, “I didn’t see any bluefin tuna down there. You all keep chatting, I’m logging off.”

After saying that, she dived down again.

However, in the livestream chatroom, only a few messages still discussed the bluefin tuna. Most fans flooded the chat with exclamation marks.

【Lin Jie, run! There’s a shark!】

【Is that a shark fin? Does anyone here know how to identify shark species by the fin? Will it eat people?】

【Help — Lin Jie, you can’t get into trouble! What would Xiaolang do if something happened to you?】

【I don’t think it’s a shark… looks like an orca.】

No matter how fast the chat scrolled, only the watch left onshore was recording; Lin Qianyu remained underwater and out of sight.

The fin sliced through the water’s surface, and under the waves’ cover and ocean shadows, a patch of black body was faintly visible but not the whole shape.

No one knew how big the shark was or whether it posed a threat to Lin Qianyu in the sea.

It just lingered around, still some distance from her.

But knowing a shark is nearby—even only a dozen meters away—is enough to cause panic.

For sharks, this distance is just a flick of the tail.

Especially now, Lin Qianyu didn’t realize this and kept swimming.

Unbeknownst to her, the fin visible in the livestream was swaying closer to the spot where she had surfaced.

Many in the chat had already started tagging the director.Su Yuxing knew in his heart that every time Lin Qianyu encountered this kind of situation, she could turn danger into safety. But seeing this intensely oppressive scene, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Lin Qianyu’s advantage was that she could communicate with animals, but obviously she couldn’t speak underwater. Without being able to talk, Lin Qianyu very likely would be attacked by the shark.

Su Yuxing watched the livestream while messaging the rescue team and rushing to the scene.

In the sea.

Lin Qianyu focused on tackling a large abalone. Bringing this back, the leftover abalone shells could be used as soup plates—put some lightly souped dishes inside, and this half-arc shell wouldn’t leak.

Besides, the color was very beautiful. This was in the relatively dim sea light; if it were on the shore under the sun, it would surely be colorful and dazzling.

Even if not practical, it could be taken back as decoration.

Unable to pry it open, Lin Qianyu’s patience ran out. She planted her foot on a reef rock and tried pulling the abalone backward—but as expected, the abalone didn’t move an inch.

At that moment, Lin Qianyu sensed something rapidly approaching behind her. There was no sound, but the change in water flow was very obvious.

She kicked off the reef rock and flipped backward in the water, using it to gain momentum.

The orca that had rushed behind her suddenly braked sharply, stopping without touching the spot where Lin Qianyu had just stood. Noticing the person above, the orca even lifted its head to look.

Lin Qianyu dropped the small sharp piece of reef she had just pried off, and in the water reached out to touch the orca.

“Ying—!” Underwater, the orca’s voice sounded even more ethereal and lingering.

Last time they met, one was in the water and the other on the shore. Now seeing Lin Qianyu in the water, the orca was clearly happy.

Lin Qianyu patted the orca and then pointed to the abalone she had failed to pull free.

She gave a thumbs-up underwater.

“Rely on you now.”

Without saying it aloud, the orca immediately understood, opened its mouth without hesitation, and bit down.

However, its mouth was too big. Though it bit down, when it loosened its grip, the abalone was still stuck to the reef.

—A chunk of reef had been bitten off.

Lin Qianyu: “...?”

Actually, this counted as success.

Who cared? It was a bit heavy, but bringing it ashore, the abalone could easily be pried off the reef.

Thinking so, Lin Qianyu stuffed the abalone and reef together into her bag. Underwater, she hugged the orca and kissed it on the spot above its eyes.

The kiss was very gentle—still underwater—kissing elsewhere the orca might not have felt it.

Although the orca might not realize the kiss was praise.

But obviously, the orca was very happy; its huge body rolled around in the sea.

Lin Qianyu curved her eyes, then in the next moment, the swirling water carried her inward.

“?!!”In the rush, Lin Qianyu only managed to blow out a bubble.

Her vision flipped upside down. She pressed one hand on the bag hanging from her body and grabbed the orca’s dorsal fin with the other.

But she couldn’t hold on—her fingertips only brushed past it briefly, and Lin Qianyu was momentarily unsure if she had really touched it.

Fortunately, the orca quickly realized something was wrong—the person who had just been right under its nose was gone.

After stopping, Lin Qianyu brought her fingers together, hooked her fingertips on the dorsal fin for leverage, and sat on the orca’s back.

She patted the orca’s back, slid sideways but didn’t fully fall off, then stretched out her index finger in a place where the orca could see and pointed upward.

The orca swung its tail.

The water swept past Lin Qianyu’s cheek, and in an instant, she was sent to the surface.

“Whew... cough cough!” Lin Qianyu took a deep breath but was caught off guard as air suddenly rushed into her nose, making her cough nonstop with her hands braced on the orca’s back.

“Ying—?”

The orca swam slowly near the surface, its call sounding a little anxious, as if asking what was wrong.

Lin Qianyu tapped her chest to steady herself and forced down the cough, “It’s nothing, cough cough... just got choked a bit, don’t worry.”

[!!! Riding an orca now?!]

[First a zebra, now an orca. Lin Jie, next time you go back to the rainforest, you don’t even need a plane—let the orca take you.]

[Hahaha, you’re too clever for your own good.]

[Hehe, I told you it wasn’t a shark. Clearly the orca is just playing tricks and having fun with Lin Jie.]

...

The ocean’s friendly apex predator sometimes appears near beaches where humans swim, lurking underwater with only its dorsal fin visible.

Taking advantage of humans’ limited underwater field of view, which prevents seeing the orca’s full body from above.

Seeing the fin approaching, people instinctively think it’s a shark.

It scares people away but then flips over and laughs in the water.

Some foreign news even reported on this; viewers watching the news found it quite amusing—probably only those scared were emotionally hurt.

Lin Qianyu sat cross-legged on the orca’s back, untied her hair, wrung out some water, and tied it up again.

Unexpectedly meeting the orca today, even though she hadn’t brought it any prey, she patted its smooth back and sighed softly, “I’ll come find you tomorrow and bring you something tasty, okay?”

“Ying—!”

Something tasty.

Lin Qianyu curved her eyes in a smile, “Yes.”

The orca swished its tail, swimming with her back and forth in the sea.

“Look at this abalone.” Once settled, Lin Qianyu casually showed the livestream fans her hard work in the sea, holding it up. The abalone seemed even bigger.

“It bit into the reef too tightly—I tried twice to get it off but couldn’t. Luckily, the orca helped me.”Lin Qianyu tapped the reef attached to the front of the abalone with her fingertip. “It just bit down a little too hard.”

[Who understands, sisters? The reef is crunchy like teeth—perfect for Lin Jie to catch abalones.]

[I really like this orca. Lin Jie, you should get down; this is my orca now.]

Lin Qianyu thought the orca would carry her up for a breath of fresh air and then take her back down soon.

But instead, it swam two circles around here without any sign of diving down, and actually went farther and farther into the deep sea.

Saying it swam isn’t quite accurate; the orca hardly moved its tail at all... Lin Qianyu couldn’t feel any tail movement.

Quietly heading deeper into the ocean.

Lin Qianyu: “...Don’t go deeper into the sea anymore, I still have to go back later.”

“Ying—” The same sound, but this time more plaintive, anyone could hear the faint hint of grievance inside.

Lin Qianyu laughed and cried at the same time.

Luckily, the orca was obedient—if it didn’t want to take her anywhere, it didn’t, but it also didn’t take her back to shore, just circled around in the water.

Large in size but agile.

Riding an orca is much faster than riding a small boat.

Just have to keep control, or else you might get thrown off.

If you fall into the deep sea, you’ll have to swim yourself.

When Su Yuxing arrived with the rescue team, he saw Lin Qianyu sitting cross-legged on the water’s surface, sliding at a steady speed.

Clearly, she wasn’t moving at all.

Su Yuxing: “???”

Are you… cultivating immortality?

Su Yuxing opened his mouth, rubbed his eyes twice before realizing Lin Qianyu was sitting on the orca.

He relaxed, “Phew... so she’s riding the orca.”

Wait, riding an orca!?

“Lin—!”

“Hi! Nice to see you again, Director Su.” Lin Qianyu waved at Su Yuxing. “Look at this huge abalone the orca caught for me. It’s really big.”

“You didn’t run into any danger, right?” Su Yuxing drove himself and hadn’t had time to watch the livestream. But now, hearing this, he felt he had been overthinking.

With an orca in the water, who would dare to attack Lin Qianyu in front of it?

Not to mention no sharks, but even if there were, the orca wouldn’t let Lin Qianyu get bitten.

“I’m fine. I’ll play a bit longer then go up.” As she spoke, the orca suddenly sped up, Lin Qianyu swayed, both hands hanging on the orca’s dorsal fin.

She couldn’t really grab it firmly, but hanging on like this kept her from being thrown off.

Provided the orca didn’t brake suddenly.“What did you see?” Lin Qianyu couldn’t see clearly, so she took the chance to let go and jumped into the sea herself.

Things invisible on the surface were perfectly clear underwater; the orca was chasing a fish.

That fish...?

Lin Qianyu instinctively swam aside, away from the dense bubbles left by the orca, focusing on the fish in front of the orca.

A bluefin tuna?

At that moment, even Lin Qianyu was stunned.

She had searched around earlier and saw nothing, thinking she had been mistaken—but it really was there.

Maybe it had hidden too well just now, but after being discovered by the orca, it started to flee.

However, in front of the orca, the bluefin tuna’s desperate struggles were like mere trifles; soon the orca carried it back, mouth holding the bluefin tuna.

Faint blood dispersed in the sea where the orca bit, fleeting quickly.

At first, the bluefin tuna was still thrashing its tail, but the orca bit tighter and carefully swam to Lin Qianyu’s side.

...

When Lin Qianyu resurfaced again, supported by the orca, she held in her arms a bluefin tuna over a meter long.

[Ah?]

[What did I say! It’s definitely a bluefin tuna, no mistake!]

[Wait, where did it come from?]

[Orcas can get lost too. Maybe this bluefin tuna got separated from its school.]

[Such a big one, sashimi would be delicious. The tail’s still moving... sob, let me take a bite, please. I’ll take a billion bites.]

“Ying—” The orca holding the bluefin tuna raised its tail high, then gently slapped it down.

Lin Qianyu felt this fish didn’t belong in this sea area; at least it should be found in deeper waters. “Where did this fish come from?”

The orca opened its mouth and made several light ‘ying’ sounds.

Found it.

Chased it.

Lin Qianyu paused, “You found it, then chased it all the way here?”

“Ying!”

That explained it to Lin Qianyu, but the livestream viewers were still confused. She explained, “This bluefin tuna was likely chased all the way here by the orca from another place.”

Bluefin tuna prefer to gather in schools; they rarely stray alone.

This bluefin tuna was clearly pursued relentlessly by the orca, forced to swim here.

Moreover... the orca didn’t kill it outright then bring it here; it chased it so that before the bluefin tuna reached Lin Qianyu’s hands, it was still alive and able to swim freely in the sea.

That way, even if Lin Qianyu didn’t come looking for the orca the next day, the bluefin tuna would still be alive.Lin Qianyu could even decide when to come, and the orca would catch the fish at that time.

When the bluefin tuna was delivered to Lin Qianyu’s hands, it would be in the freshest condition.

The orca is an extremely intelligent animal. Feeling the tail of the bluefin tuna still wagging, Lin Qianyu truly experienced what “extremely high intelligence” meant.

Grabbing the tail, Lin Qianyu lifted the bluefin tuna; the thrashing fish splashed seawater. She squinted slightly but did not let go. “The orca’s treating us today, we can have sashimi tonight.”

[Such a big one, it would sell for tens of thousands at the seafood market below my building.]

[Sashimi lovers are already jealous. Is that sea really so rich? Can anyone just dive in and catch fish? I really need to take action.]

Feng Jingye: [The surrounding sea areas of the island are closed to the public. Radar detected the bluefin tuna was chased here by the orca. You won’t find bluefin tuna entering these surrounding waters.]

The island owner appeared directly in Lin Qianyu’s livestream to explain.

Then… everyone wanted to go even more.

Lin Qianyu’s body couldn’t support her wearing thin wet clothes on the orca’s back for too long. “I should head back now.”

She cleared her throat, feeling her body warning her—if she stayed longer, something bad might happen.

The orca swung its tail and swam straight toward the shore with her.

Judging by the momentum, it was like saying, “Hold on tight, I’ll bring you rushing to shore.”

“Wait, wait, wait…” The orca’s landing could be gentle or harsh. If it rushed too deep, it might not be able to come back by itself. Lin Qianyu repeatedly stopped it, “I’ll get up on my own.”

“Ying!”

The orca was restless, lingering in the shallow waters until Lin Qianyu stepped ashore; only then did it stop wandering.

Lin Qianyu turned and waved at the orca with a smile, “Thank you for the fish.”

“—Ying!” The orca called loudly, rolled over in the sea, exposing its white belly.

Lin Qianyu placed the tuna on the ground and wrung the water out of her clothes. The cotton fabric absorbed water well; she wrung for a long time.

Turning, she saw Su Yuxing still standing there and asked, “Director Su, why did you come?”

Su Yuxing explained, “Earlier the orca only showed its fin, the lens was blurry from water, fans thought it was a shark and called me to come rescue you.”

“Good thing nothing happened.” Su Yuxing looked at the big orca acting coquettishly in the shallow sea toward Lin Qianyu and laughed, “This orca has a really good temper.”

Lin Qianyu nodded deeply in agreement, “Indeed.”

But it was too lonely.

Separated from its whale pod, bored here, it could only play with humans. Meeting someone who could understand its ‘speech,’ the orca couldn’t help but get close.

Like a clingy feline, if conditions allowed, it might have stuck to Lin Qianyu forever.

Lin Qianyu had long planned to come to the seaside today, specifically bringing a spare jacket, which she now draped over herself.

Su Yuxing said, “You’re not well. The sea breeze can easily make you sick. Go back first.”

“Mm, I’ll pack up and then leave.” Lin Qianyu adjusted her jacket, not rushing to go.

The zebra shark hadn’t arrived yet.The coconuts on the ground were piled up. Lin Qianyu touched the abalone at her waist and began thinking about how to bring this tuna back.

The fish was really too big. But the longest recorded length for this type of tuna seemed to be over three meters. Whether they could get bigger, no one knew—at least humans hadn’t discovered any.

She came out to gather supplies, but now with so many supplies, it was actually harder to carry them back.

Facing the sea breeze, her speech was a bit unclear. Lin Qianyu cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted loudly, “It’s getting late, I’m going home now, you should go back too.”

“Ying!”

The orca responded crisply but definitely had no intention to leave.

Lin Qianyu was helpless, so she sat down on the beach first. Since the zebra and the little wolf hadn’t returned yet, she decided to stay with the orca a little longer.

One person and one orca, one on the shore and one in the shallow sea, just quietly listening to the sound of the waves from afar.

The sun slowly set, the orange-yellow afterglow pouring over the sea surface and both Lin Qianyu and the orca, as if casting a warm filter over the scene.

Su Yuxing stood nearby but didn’t disturb, his gestures to wave goodbye were very light, and he quietly left together with the rescue team.

...

Lin Qianyu didn’t wait long before she heard hoofbeats.

But the rhythm was a bit irregular, vaguely reminding her of when the zebra was chased by the wolf pack and its four legs scrambled wildly—that seemed to be the kind of sound.

She turned her head to see the zebra running ahead. The bag on its back had been flipped by the running, but luckily it was tied tight and still hung on its back.

Compared to that, the prairie wolf following behind looked very relaxed.

“Howl—!” The prairie wolf sped up as soon as it saw Lin Qianyu, rushing forward. The zebra, scared, was about to speed up as well, but the prairie wolf had already passed it and pounced toward Lin Qianyu.

Lin Qianyu opened her arms, and when the prairie wolf charged, she embraced it, easing its force and rolled once on the beach.

The prairie wolf’s tail wagged nonstop, making soft ‘woo, woo’ sounds from its throat, licking her cheek.

“All right, all right, good boy. Let’s pack up and go home now.” Lin Qianyu raised her hand to call Zhuifeng over.

The zebra’s ears pinned back nervously, looking back in fear, “Whu!”

A long nose.

Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow, “An elephant? You saw an elephant?”

Thinking of how flustered the zebra looked earlier, she asked, “Did the elephant chase you?”

The zebra nodded and then shook its head, pacing back and forth on the ground with its hooves. Obviously, even now, it still felt uneasy thinking about the elephant.

It must have seen the elephant, but the elephant didn’t mean to chase it.

Lin Qianyu didn’t pry into any grudges between the zebra and the elephant. She stood up and dusted off the sand, “It’s getting cold, let’s go back first.”

She put the coconuts into the bag on the zebra’s back, handed the abalone bag to the little wolf, and carried the bluefin tuna herself.

“I’m leaving!” Lin Qianyu waved toward the sea.

“Ying!”

The orca’s voice was still full of energy, as if no matter when Lin Qianyu called, it would always respond enthusiastically.The sea breeze blew past, and Lin Qianyu shivered, pulling her clothes tighter as she walked toward the shelter.

The wooden house under construction wasn’t finished yet, so today she could only make do in the palm leaf shelter.

Her clothes were still wet, so she walked quickly on the way back.

The lakeside was quiet. Compared to the ocean, the lake’s surface only occasionally rippled, without any sound.

Lin Qianyu went to change clothes first. Seeing a fallen tree by the ground, she paused for a moment, then took a compressed towel and stepped over it, squatting by the lake to wash her hair.

Such a large bluefin tuna—after removing the scales and pulling out the bones, slicing it into small pieces, it could be served directly with a couple of decorative green leaves at a high-end seafood restaurant.

Even a few scattered slices would sell for a very high price; in some places the high prices might even be questionable.

With her hair wrapped in a towel, she started a fire to roast the abalone.

Lin Qianyu tried a piece. She rarely ate raw food but had to admit the bluefin tuna’s texture was quite good. Maybe partly because she cut it thick, it didn’t have the oily texture typical of fish but was firm, without any strange smell, and very fresh and delicious.

“This fish tastes good even plain.” Lin Qianyu slowly chewed and picked up another slice, “Little Wolf, come.”

The prairie wolf lying on her legs opened its mouth.

Lin Qianyu gathered a small pile of sashimi and fed it to the little wolf. Small bites didn’t seem to have much taste, but the little wolf had good teeth and enjoyed it more when it ate a big bite.

“Is it tasty? This is from the orca, isn’t it great?”

“Woo!”

“I was thinking about catching land prey for the orca before,” Lin Qianyu said thoughtfully while eating the fish.

She had been busy with things since waking up this morning. Aside from fruit, the food she ate was all leftovers from yesterday; she hadn’t had time to hunt.

Lin Qianyu mused, “Tomorrow I’ll go out and see if I can catch a zebra or some antelope.”

The prairie wolf lifted its head, “Awoo!”

“Zhuifeng want a bite?” Lin Qianyu asked, holding out some sashimi.

The zebra sniffed but showed little interest and stepped back a few paces.

Since returning, the zebra seemed quite nervous, its eyes darting restlessly from side to side.

“What are you looking at?” Lin Qianyu asked, puzzled.

“Whu!”

A long nose.

“Elephant? Here?” The sky was dim; Lin Qianyu had no light source but didn’t seem to notice any elephant footprints nearby.

The grass was still soft; if an elephant had stepped here, it should have left marks.

Lin Qianyu took a sip of previously boiled and cooled water, “Do you mean an elephant came to the house, or was it the one with the baby elephant you saw during the day?”

The zebra’s front legs almost jumped as it stomped on the ground, “Whu…”

Listening to the zebra’s complaint, Lin Qianyu understood, “No wonder you’re so scared.”

Hearing a noise while sleeping at home, you open your eyes and see the elephant you’re afraid of right in front of you.“The elephant must have come looking for me,” Lin Qianyu asked, “Did something happen?”

The zebra shook its head, then looked toward the shelter, as if signaling something.

Lin Qianyu fiddled with the abalone on the stone slab, then got up and walked over to check.

“Just trees,” Lin Qianyu circled the shelter once—nothing but trees everywhere.

She paused, then put down her hand and checked with the faint light from her watch, only then realizing that there seemed to be wild fruits on those trees.

During the day when building the shelter, she had cut down many trees, because they were meant to be peeled and cleaned, peeling and using at the same time, so quite a few unpeeled trees were piled to one side.

She had originally planned to build the roof tomorrow.

Seeing trees near her home on returning, she hadn’t thought much of it, just assuming they were from the trees she had cut and brought back.

Now seeing the wild fruits, she realized those trees she cut wouldn’t have borne fruit.

“They are jia gu fruits,” Lin Qianyu picked one—about the size of a palm, at first glance it looked a bit like an apple, but its skin was soft, like a strawberry or peach’s skin; pressing it left a dent that wouldn’t recover.

This wild fruit was highly nutritious, able to supplement vitamin C, and tasted good.

Sweet and sour, with different textures when half-ripe versus fully ripe.

Jia gu fruit bore fruit all year round, regardless of season.

“The elephant brought me a fruit tree?” Lin Qianyu realized this, and a sudden sense of ‘incredible absurdity’ flashed through her mind.

She had received gifts before from small animals—zebras, rabbits, water buffalo, antelope, and today the bluefin tuna—but receiving a fruit tree as a gift was truly a first.

Maybe it was because when she helped the baby elephant, she fed it berries, so the elephant chose to repay her with the same tasty wild fruit.

One or two fruits wouldn’t suit an elephant’s character.

So it pulled out an entire tree.

【Wow, such a grand gesture! I’ve only seen money trees given as gifts before, never wild fruit trees.】

【Why have I never seen this fruit? It looks soft and delicious.】

【Haha, why do I picture an elephant using its trunk to pull out a tree? So mighty!】

【Am I the only one who wants to see an elephant pull out a tree? @Director, please arrange official footage.】

...

Lin Qianyu got up and stepped over the tree, intending to go inside the shelter to get the box and pick the wild fruit first, since this kind of fruit spoils easily.

However, just as she took a step, she felt like she stepped on something that clearly wasn’t grass.

She paused, then moved the faint light from her watch forward, shining it on another, smaller tree beside the big one.

Both were jia gu fruit trees, just one big and one small.

“Could this... have been pulled out by the baby elephant?” Compared to the big tree, the small one had many broken branches; obviously the baby elephant had less experience pulling trees, but for such a small creature to pull out a whole tree was impressive.

Lin Qianyu checked the roots. These fruit trees grew in soft soil, so when pulling them out, it only required digging around the edges and rocking the tree side to side to pull it out.

Therefore, the roots of both the big tree and the small tree pulled out by the elephant and baby elephant were still relatively intact.The overlong roots were naturally stuck in the soil and couldn’t be pulled out, but judging by the current condition of the roots, replanting them in the soil might still allow them to recover.

Lin Qianyu turned and called out, “Xiaolang, help me find a thinner stone.”

“Aw…” By the firelight not far away, the faint silhouette of the grassland wolf appeared.

The zebra stood by the creek, seeming to finally calm down at this moment, realizing it probably wouldn’t encounter the elephant again for now, so it relaxed and lowered its head to graze.

Behind the shelter was the spot for moving the wooden house; Lin Qianyu planned to plant the jia gu fruit trees there.

Farther from the wooden house, this would effectively prevent the fruit tree roots from growing into her house.

“Woo!” The grassland wolf trotted over carrying a stone, lifting its head to hand it to Lin Qianyu.

“Good boy. Thank you, Xiaolang.” Lin Qianyu rubbed the stone, found a relatively flat edge, and drew a spot on the ground, then loosened the soil there and started digging outward.

The grassland wolf tilted its head, seeing her begin digging, and stood beside her to help scratch the soil.

Xiaolang’s paws quickly scratched one scoop after another, and soon a small pit was dug.

Focused on digging, it didn’t even notice when dirt got on its nose. When it finally raised its head, there was some soil stuck on its nose.

Lin Qianyu was close by; the faint light from her watch just barely showed the little pile of dirt on Xiaolang’s nose. She smiled slightly, flicked her hand, and wiped off the dirt with her fingertips.

After digging two fairly deep pits, Lin Qianyu clapped her hands, “Alright, that’s good.”

Next was to carry the trees. Lin Qianyu said, “Xiaolang, help me bury them.”

“Woo!”

Whether these two trees could survive here depended on their own fate.

The holes were dug casually, without any professional measurement—just a hole to put the tree in and cover it up.

Wild fruit trees like these usually had quite strong vitality.

Lin Qianyu placed the tree inside, and Xiaolang worked hard to scratch the soil, circling around to push the dirt back into the pit.

The excess soil was piled around the tree, and Lin Qianyu stepped on it twice. “Done.”

“Aw woo!”

Done!

Hearing the grassland wolf repeat seriously, Lin Qianyu’s mouth twitched into a small smile. She took out a new compressed towel, “Come on, Xiaolang, let me wipe your paws.”

The wet compressed towel expanded; Lin Qianyu gently squeezed it twice, leaving a bit of moisture inside, and helped wipe Xiaolang.

Not just the paws—she wiped its face and body as well, finishing with the paws.

She separated the paw pads and carefully cleaned inside them.

“Woo…”

“Aw?” After cleaning Xiaolang’s paws, Lin Qianyu bent down and kissed the little furry head, “Alright, let’s eat.”

The abalone was already cooked; she scooped out just the meat on top, gathering the innards below to discard.

There was still a lot of tuna left. Such a big one couldn’t be finished in one meal, so Lin Qianyu could only find a shady spot to store it for now.The unfinished wooden house was a decent choice for now.

Just after putting down the tuna and turning around, Lin Qianyu suddenly heard a faint meow.

“Meow…”

Very soft, like a cat’s meow but not quite a cat’s.

It sounded like the voice of a young animal.

Author’s note: Good night, sleep early, love to each and every one.