Chapter 75

Chapter 75

[Bonus Chapter from Nutrient Solution Votes]

【Wolf cub: Auntie, look how happily I'm eating...】

Yin Youlin: "???"

Hang Sisi looked completely dumbfounded. “Qianyu-jie, are you… raising giraffes now?”

“No, just ran into them on the way,” Lin Qianyu jumped down from the giraffe’s back and turned to gently pat its neck. “Alright, just drop me off here.”

The giraffe lowered its head to nuzzle her cheek. The little giraffe, now recovered, shook its fur and circled around Lin Qianyu, before being urged to move on by the adult giraffe.

They had crossed the river because they were heading this way. It wasn’t yet migration season—they had simply come for the fresher, tenderer leaves on this side.

Lin Qianyu curved her eyes in a smile. “Come find me to play sometime if you can.”

The big giraffe lifted its head. “Moo-ooh!”

The giraffe herd slowly moved away. Lin Qianyu raised the rope in her hand and handed it to Gong Xinming. “Your rope.”

“Huh?” Gong Xinming was stunned. “What rope of mine?”

Just looking at the rope, it didn’t feel familiar at all. He had no memory of this thing.

Lin Qianyu said, “Last time when your tent got dragged away by the wild horse, this was the one tangled around its leg.”

“Oh, I’d completely forgotten about that thing.” Honestly, Gong Xinming had never expected to get it back. He had only collected what was nearby, and didn’t even know what was missing.

Gong Xinming quickly clapped his hands and stood up. “Thanks for going out of your way to return it.”

“It’s a bit wet—got soaked just now and hasn’t dried yet.”

Getting the rope back was already an unexpected surprise. Who cared if it was a little wet? “No worries at all. Thanks.”

“What are you all doing here?” Lin Qianyu only knew Gong Xinming was here, but seeing that more than half the guests were gathered was surprising. Other than Hang Sisi being in a group, the rest of the guests had all been moving solo.

Gong Xinming sat back down under the tree, rolling up the rope. “I came here to hunt. Saw them resting here, so I joined them. Lin-jie, you should take a break too—this spot catches the breeze. It’s blazing hot, but sitting here is insanely comfortable.”

There was still time, so Lin Qianyu didn’t rush back and simply sat down.

With such a large stretch of grassland, Zhuifeng was already eating with his head buried, not caring at all about the sun. When he felt he’d wandered too far, he came back and then switched to another patch to graze.

The grassland wolf lay across Lin Qianyu’s lap, paw pressing on the hole in her pants.

When Lin Qianyu held its paw pad and gave it a gentle squeeze, she noticed the tear. “Probably got snagged on a branch while running. No big deal, I’ll stitch it up later.”

She hadn’t paid attention earlier, but now that she was sitting down, she realized her clothes were full of rips and tears—small and large. Even without a mirror, she could feel she looked a bit rough right now.

But aside from her hands, she hadn’t gotten injured. Only the clothes were damaged—nothing serious.

Hang Sisi scooted over to sit next to her, constantly adjusting the distance. When the grassland wolf lifted its head, she immediately backed up a bit to stay in the safe zone. She casually asked, “Qianyu-jie, how are the two thylacines doing? Still going to the rescue station for IVs?”

Lin Qianyu nodded. “Yeah, we’ll monitor them for a few more days. If all’s well, they won’t need to go anymore.”

Hang Sisi sighed. “Ever since the director stopped letting us watch the guest livestreams, I don’t even know what to do after meals anymore.”

Before, once they’d sorted out shelter and stashed some food after each meal, they could just lie around and watch livestreams. But after they followed Lin Qianyu to find baobabs thanks to something they saw on the stream, the director stopped letting them watch.

Probably to preserve the show’s balance.【Hahaha, does Sisi even realize she’s on a show.】

【I’m dying, has the director started punishing them?】

Lin Qianyu rubbed the fur on the little wolf’s neck. “You can wander around and enjoy the scenery. There are still a lot of gentle little animals on the island.”

Some well-known grassland attractions in China are actually quite fun and attract tons of tourists every year.

Hang Sisi was still troubled. “Qianyu-jie, did you see the online voting? I feel like the rest of us are just here to make up the numbers.”

Aside from Feng Jingye, who really was just here to make up numbers, the other guests barely had any votes.

Well, it’s not like they had none—there were still dedicated fans following and voting.

But compared to Lin Qianyu’s votes, which had completely outpaced everyone else, even the highest among the rest had only a few million. On the bar chart, they looked like tiny dots, while Lin Qianyu’s vote bar shot up like a rocket.

Even casual passersby who caught a glimpse of her interactions with the animals would be drawn in and end up casting her a couple of votes.

“Just treat it like a government-funded vacation,” Lin Qianyu said, pinching the little wolf’s cheeks.

You get to play in a beautiful environment and make money at the same time. The island’s setting was way better than those brutal conditions survival experts usually face.

Like the famous African savannahs or the Amazon rainforest—those harsh environments were worlds apart from this.

Gong Xinming unknowingly lay down, using his folded jacket as a pillow. “Exactly. That’s what I thought too—it’s actually pretty fun.”

Aside from eating less and things being a bit rough, it still felt fulfilling, didn’t it?

“It’s just that I’ve been having insomnia,” Gong Xinming shook his head. After getting dragged in his tent last time, he was left with psychological trauma. He hadn’t been sleeping well since, always feeling exhausted but unable to fall asleep.

“You’ve got insomnia?” Hang Sisi rummaged through her backpack. “I had the same problem last time, so I brought a couple of books. I checked with the director—books don’t count as supplies as long as you don’t use them for firewood. Just reading is allowed. Want to borrow one?”

【...Who brings a book on a wilderness survival show?】

【What’s the point of pushing this hardworking bookworm image? So awkward.】

“Books help with insomnia?” Gong Xinming was doubtful, but still reached out to take it. “I actually like reading. Maybe I’ll just get more awake though. What book is this? It’s huge.”

“Senior high school physics, first volume.”

Gong Xinming: “?”

Hang Sisi said gravely, “People’s Education Press edition.”

“……”

Gong Xinming yawned. “Don’t even say anything. Just hearing the title made me sleepy.”

As he spoke, he lay back down again—and the next moment, he was snoring.

Lin Qianyu was stunned. “...It worked that fast?”

Bullet comments: 【???】

【Even sleeping pills take time to kick in.】

【Seriously? He didn’t even open the book!】

Hang Sisi looked at the dark circles under his eyes. “He probably hasn’t slept well in days. Now that there are more people around, he feels safer. I noticed earlier he was already dozing off while sitting there quietly.”Lin Qianyu nodded. This spot really was nice—walking on the grassland, the wind carried waves of heat, like it was boiling in the air.

After sitting here for a while, she even started feeling a bit sleepy.

“I’m heading back,” Lin Qianyu stretched lazily, stood up, and called for Zhuifeng.

Hang Sisi: “Ah? You’re leaving already?”

“Yeah.”

Zhuifeng trotted over. It wasn’t particularly afraid of people, and didn’t react much even with so many around.

Hang Sisi shrank her neck back slightly. When Zhuifeng noticed her, it lowered its head and leaned forward, curling its mouth to the side.

“Ah!” Hang Sisi jumped up in alarm.

“Whinny—!” Seeing its prank had worked, Zhuifeng grinned wide in delight.

Lin Qianyu smacked it on the head. “Get over here.”

Zhuifeng froze at the hit, turning its head stiffly—getting hit right off the bat, really?! A zebra that roams the grasslands, when has it ever suffered such an injustice!

But catching sight of who hit it—and noticing the grassland wolf beside her, mouth already open—

Zhuifeng shrank its neck back. A zebra knows when to yield. This little thing wasn’t even worth being upset over!

Watching Zhuifeng grovel and nuzzle up to her, Lin Qianyu sighed and reached out her hand toward Hang Sisi. “You okay?”

Hang Sisi waved her hand. She had just lost her balance and fallen over, but the grass was soft, so it didn’t hurt. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Lin Qianyu pulled Zhuifeng back behind her, grabbed a few jia-gu fruits from its side pouch, and said, “These are Zhuifeng’s apology gift.”

The jia-gu fruits had been stored with some plants earlier, so their skins were covered in soil and looked a bit rough. Hang Sisi hesitated to accept them, but Lin Qianyu placed them by her hand and mounted Zhuifeng.

Those fruits were actually meant for Zhuifeng to eat. Seeing Lin Qianyu give them away, Zhuifeng stomped its foot and snorted, turning its head with a sulky hum.

—They weren’t far from Lin Qianyu’s shelter.

When she got home, Lin Qianyu casually tossed her backpack aside, sliced a piece of wild aloe, and sat by the lake to wipe her hands.

The light here was good—she could clearly see how many scratches were on her hands. At first, she applied the gel one by one, but soon gave up and just covered her whole hand.

The small wounds on her hand had already started to heal, but she still applied a thin layer. Wild aloe has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. It dried quickly. Tilting her hand in the sunlight, she could see a translucent film had formed on her palm.

Once it dried completely, Lin Qianyu put down the leftover aloe and bit off a piece of baobab fruit.

She tidied up the area, burying the discarded aloe peels in the dirt.

“Whine, ahwooo!”

“Hm?” Lin Qianyu saw the little wolf cub pawing at her side. She turned to the shallow pit—there were still other pups trying to jump out, but only this one had made it to her. “How did you get out?”

The wolf pup wagged its tail, full of excitement: “Awoo!”

Alright, then.

Maybe it had been squeezed into a corner by the others, no room to put its paws down, and got pushed out.

“You want to eat this?” Wolf pups are curious about all food—especially when they see you eating something. No matter what it is, they’ll think it must taste good.Lin Qianyu, worried it might choke, offered only a small piece. “Here.”

However…

The little wolf cub sniffed the baobab fruit. The smell probably didn’t suit a wolf’s taste—it squinted its eyes.

Lin Qianyu smiled slightly. She knew it wouldn’t like it.

But the little wolf cub, noticing she was watching, opened its mouth and bit down on the baobab fruit. It tilted its head back and chewed hard twice, but the small piece flew right out of its mouth.

The wolf cub lay down again, tilting its head to the side, stretching its neck to eat. After two chews, the fruit still didn’t touch its teeth.

Its black eyes sparkled mischievously. Seeing Lin Qianyu still watching, it crawled forward and bit the baobab fruit again.

It tried very seriously—shaking its head and biting. The piece flew out in an arc, but the wolf cub reacted quickly and pinned it down with its paw.

Lin Qianyu: “?”

Realizing what the little wolf cub was doing, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but burst out laughing, then suddenly choked on the baobab fruit. “Cough cough—hahaha…”

[Barely starts eating and already doing eight hundred fake moves.]

[Wolf cub: Auntie, look how happy I am eating this—ugh, this is just too delicious, ugh…]

[Hahaha, is it really that bad? My poor baby.]

Author's Note: Good night, sleep early, love you all.