Chapter 8

Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Trending

【Put away that ugly face of yours. If you keep drooling over this, I’m going to cry! And I cry loud!】

【Tch, so she got to rua (cuddle) a red-tailed crested hawk chick, big deal? You think I’d be jealous? Hmph… sob sob sob I am jealous. Jealous to death. Is your variety show still accepting guests? Is it too late for me to enter the entertainment industry now?】

【So well-behaved, so sweet, so cute! Let auntie give you a kiss—I’m seriously dying from how adorable this little thing is.】

Humans are naturally defenseless against such small, cute, obedient creatures.

The adult red-tailed crested hawk, carrying bones and skin, had flown off to an unknown location.

Lin Qianyu guessed it had gone to find a proper place to dispose of them. The smell of blood in the wild could easily attract other carnivores. If they couldn't climb trees, it was fine—but if they could, even if the hawk could fight them off, protecting the chick would be troublesome.

“No wonder you ran to me—you knew your mom was heading out, didn’t you?” Lin Qianyu tapped the little bird’s tender beak. “Then I’ll stay with you a bit longer.”

The chick fluffed its feathers and looked more relaxed in Lin Qianyu’s hands than in the nest. From time to time it flapped its wings to groom itself, pecking randomly with no clear target. Occasionally it even nipped her finger by mistake.

But a peck from the chick felt more like a tickle than anything painful.

Realizing it had pecked wrong, the chick would nuzzle her hand to apologize, then roll back to the center of her palm and continue preening its wings.

After playing with the chick for a while, once the adult red-tailed crested hawk returned, Lin Qianyu placed the little one back into the nest. “Alright, the temporary daycare teacher is clocking out. Here’s your kid back.”

The chick had just flopped into the nest when it tried to get up and crawl back out, but the adult hawk pressed it down.

“Cheep…”

The basket full of wild berries was covered with her jacket. Since she had used the jacket earlier to gather berries, it had inevitably picked up some dirt, so Lin Qianyu had tossed it in the basket and didn’t put it back on.

Noticing the tiny head peeking out from the tree, Lin Qianyu waved, “I’m heading off now.”

“Cheep!”

【W-Wait a minute!!! Don’t you feel like you’re forgetting something?!】

【You forgot to take us with you ahhhh!】

【Is it even legal for a streamer to just abandon the livestream like this?!】

If the barrage of comments in the stream had a voice, it would be shouting itself hoarse right now.

The livestream device, stuck in a tree nearby, had been completely forgotten by Lin Qianyu.

The director finally arrived late with the rescue team, only to run into Lin Qianyu, who was calmly sorting her wild berries. “Why did you come down?”

Seeing Lin Qianyu completely unscathed left the director a little dumbfounded. “Are you injured? Are you feeling unwell… Did the red-tailed crested hawk peck your eyes? Your face? Your arms?”

The director was flustered, circling her while chattering nonstop. They’d even brought a stretcher. “Quick, quick, lie down on it.”"Ah? I'm not injured." Lin Qianyu pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why did so many of you come?"

Lin Qianyu had no idea that the livestream viewers had sent out SOS messages on her behalf.

The director didn’t believe her. Judging by her complexion, he was sure she was seriously hurt. "Not injured? How could that be? Don’t force yourself. Getting injured by a wild animal just means you’ll temporarily withdraw from the recording—it doesn’t count as being eliminated. You still have a chance in the next round. Don’t risk your life by holding on."

"Really, I’m fine." Lin Qianyu spread her arms and turned in a circle in front of him. "See? My clothes aren’t even torn."

Anyone attacked by a red-tailed crested hawk would, to some extent, be bleeding. Lin Qianyu, however, was completely clean, aside from the jacket she’d tossed in the berry basket—which was dirty, but had nothing to do with the hawk.

The director had only seen the early part of the stream. As soon as he saw the red-tailed crested hawk chick appear, he’d rushed to gather the team. Then when they spotted the adult hawk on the way, he’d ordered them to speed up. He hadn’t had time to reopen the stream and didn’t know what had happened since.

By now, several rescue personnel in protective suits were panting from exhaustion behind them.

Hearing the noise, Lin Qianyu turned her head and said, “You guys should take your helmets off. It's too hot out—you’ll get heatstroke.”

Even wearing something that thin, she felt hot.

"Tch, something’s not right. How could you not be hurt?" The director was baffled. "How is this possible? You got close to the chick, and the red-tailed crested hawk came back and didn’t attack you?"

Lin Qianyu pursed her lips, not sure how to explain something that, to her, felt completely ordinary—but to others, was totally impossible.

"Um..." Lin Qianyu cautiously said, "If I told you… that I reached a mutual understanding with the red-tailed crested hawk through peaceful communication…?" She paused intentionally to gauge the director's reaction.

The director: "..."

Expressionless.

The words "Do I look like an idiot?" were practically engraved across his face.

"Cough cough, obviously that would be nonsense," Lin Qianyu said seriously, finishing her sentence with a straight face.

But then again, how was she supposed to explain it...

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Qianyu decided to just go all in. "Maybe I was lucky. This red-tailed crested hawk might just be more docile toward humans. Plus, I wasn’t that close to the nest at the time, and I didn’t try to touch the chick. So the adult hawk didn’t attack me."

"The red-tailed crested hawk has a good temper?" The director laughed. "If you say that out loud, animal researchers will rip you apart."

Lin Qianyu didn’t care—one round at a time, she’d deal with it as it came. "They can’t be worse than the people in my comment section."

Ever since the original Lin Qianyu debuted, she’d been bombarded with insults and ridicule. To make it in the entertainment industry despite that, the original owner had been quite tough.

The director rubbed his chin. He still felt her explanation was sketchy, but couldn't think of a more reasonable one.

That was the end of the conversation. The director said, "Alright, let’s head back and talk later."

Lin Qianyu picked up her basket of wild berries and followed the large group back, marching in grand procession.The stretcher was carried back the same way it came.

But the fact that no one was injured was considered a stroke of luck for the production team.

For the wild berry collecting task, Lin Qianyu had gone deeper into the area, while most of the other guests had stayed closer to the outside.

By the time they came out, a few other groups were still picking berries. The director told the rescue team to head back first, while he stayed behind to tally the results of the current task.

Seeing this, Lin Qianyu lifted her shirt and pulled out two wild berries, handing one to the director and keeping one for herself. “They’ll probably need a while longer.”

Hmm… she was getting a little hungry.

What should she eat in a bit?

As she thought, Lin Qianyu casually looked around while checking under the roots of a large tree for mushrooms.

The director clapped his loudspeaker and called out, “Everyone pick up the pace! The last group to finish will have ten berries deducted. The second-to-last loses five, and so on.”

Out in the wild, fancy mics, wireless transmitters, or PA systems were no match for a good old loudspeaker—simple and effective.

And he didn’t forget to apply pressure: “Lin Qianyu, as a solo group, has already turned hers in. The rest of you better move!”

Since the task had been assigned the night before, there wasn’t a set collection time—but obviously, the longer one delayed, the more berries could be collected.

To prevent teams from dragging their feet for that reason, the director had specifically designed a penalty system for the last teams. That way, if anyone delayed, they’d still end up with fewer berries, wasting time for nothing.

Sure enough, once he announced that, everyone visibly started to panic.

“Group Two: An Lanqing and Jing Zhun.”

“Group Three…”

Each time a guest came to hand in their berries, the director made a point to announce it with the loudspeaker.

Eventually, the last group arrived—Hang Sisi stumbled over, dragging her basket, and sighed. “Director, these are from our group.”

It was only then that Lin Qianyu realized Guo Yanpeng wasn’t with her.

She reached out to steady Hang Sisi and asked in confusion, “Why are you picking by yourself?”

Hang Sisi waved it off, clearly annoyed. “While we were picking berries, Guo Yanpeng spotted a duck. He said since no one had eaten breakfast, as team leader he had to go get lunch ready early for everyone—so he ran off to chase the duck.”

After a whole morning of berry-picking, Hang Sisi’s head was foggy. She didn’t even know when exactly Guo Yanpeng had left.

【Sounds like an excuse to me. Guo Yanpeng went off to help An Lanqing from the very start of the task.】

【Right! I saw him in An Lanqing’s livestream too.】【What the heck, ignoring his own team’s task to help someone else?】

【Is that really necessary? It’s just picking wild berries, how delicate can you be? So many people want to team up with Pengpeng—Hang Sisi just got lucky.】

Lin Qianyu, seeing the barrage of comments: “…”

Seriously?

No wonder An Lanqing managed to gather so many berries so quickly—turns out there were three people picking. That would definitely be way faster.

With so many wild berries, manually counting and sorting out the ones that don’t meet the size criteria to calculate the total is no small task.

The director called out to everyone, “Alright, everyone go about your own business. We’ll send out the final task results once we’ve finished tallying them.”

Lin Qianyu supported Hang Sisi. “Why don’t we go back and sit for a bit?”

Hang Sisi shook her head. “Let’s go to the river. I’m a little thirsty.”

A little? Hang Sisi was starving and parched—so much so that her vision was swimming.

“You two head over first. I’ll go grab something.” Lin Qianyu took out another wild berry from her basket. “Eat this first to get some fluids in you.”

“Huh? No, it’s yours—” Hang Sisi reached out to return it, but Lin Qianyu directly grabbed her wrist and popped the berry into her mouth.

“You’ve already eaten it. No returns.” With that, Lin Qianyu picked up her dirty clothes, dusted them off, and headed in the opposite direction of the group.

She packed up the iron pot, seasonings, and leftover waterproof cloth into her backpack.

Since the livestream equipment wasn’t following her, Lin Qianyu could still see the live chat pop-ups on her wrist, but the viewers couldn’t see her.

【Excuse me, when is the streamer going to realize the livestream device is missing?】

【Instead of waiting for her to notice, maybe just... @Director, please check on your people!】

The director was too busy, but some staff members noticed and messaged him.

So, by the time Lin Qianyu got to the river, a new livestream device had already been delivered.

The old one was too damaged and had to be sent back for repairs.

Lin Qianyu fiddled with the new device, smiling as she read the mock-angry messages in the chat, just about to say something when she heard Guo Yanpeng say, “Let’s have roast duck for lunch today.”

Everyone had arrived before Lin Qianyu. Guo Yanpeng was crouched by the river, washing the duck. He must’ve already told the others in their small group.

But now, the way he suddenly spoke made it sound less like he was talking to them and more like he was intentionally speaking for Lin Qianyu to hear.

Lin Qianyu couldn’t be bothered to respond to such childish and brainless provocation.She didn’t respond, and no one else picked up Guo Yanpeng’s words—everyone was too exhausted to move.

However, silence wouldn’t stop someone who was desperate for attention.

An Lanqing took the initiative to approach Lin Qianyu and immediately asked, “Qianyu, can we borrow your seasonings? In exchange, we can share the roast duck with you.”

As she spoke, An Lanqing glanced at Lin Qianyu’s backpack. She couldn’t see any food inside from the opening.

That reassured An Lanqing a lot. “You must be hungry too. It would take time to go find food now—why not make do with us for now?”

Lin Qianyu distanced herself politely and refused, “No thanks, I don’t like duck.”

Though it was said to reject them, Lin Qianyu genuinely meant it—she really didn’t like duck.

【What’s she acting all high and mighty for? Got full from a few berries? Lanqing-jie already gave her an out—why not just accept and join the group?】

【She was lucky catching a chicken last time, and now she thinks she’ll get lucky every time? In shows like this, having someone to rely on is definitely a good thing.】

【Did An Lanqing’s livestream explode or what? Why are her fans running into someone else’s chat stirring things up? Scram.】

【That said… Lin Qianyu’s rabbit got fed to the bird. She probably has no food now, right?】

Lin Qianyu didn’t bother listening to An Lanqing’s pestering. She spread out the waterproof cloth on the ground, sat at the edge, and set up the empty metal pot.

After she was done with her setup, she turned her head and saw An Lanqing still standing there. She couldn’t help but say, “Why are you still here? You’re blocking my sunlight.”

Hearing the open disdain in her tone, An Lanqing pursed her lips. “Can I trade supplies for your seasonings? I have rope.”

Lin Qianyu was actually amused and said flatly, “Water filter or tent. Otherwise, no deal.”

Both of those were premium items in her possession. And here An Lanqing was offering a lousy rope for seasonings.

“You’re being way too greedy.” An Lanqing’s expression changed. “I only wanted to borrow a bit, not take it all.”

Lin Qianyu gestured with her hand, “Take it or leave it. If not, get lost.”

There was no way An Lanqing would give up either of those two items. If she did, then all the effort and bargaining she went through to snatch them would be for nothing.

Back beside Guo Yanpeng, An Lanqing seemed to have said something.

As he washed the duck, Guo Yanpeng lifted his head and glanced toward Lin Qianyu. “Ignore her. Once it’s roasted, it’s all the same.”

“No matter how bad it tastes, it’s still meat. It gives you nutrients. Better than sitting there boiling water in an empty pot.”

An Lanqing softly tried to stop him. “Don’t say that.”

Guo Yanpeng laughed. “Alright, alright—then just dump extra salt in the pot to fill us up. If that doesn’t work, we’ll wait for food to fall from the sky.”——Pa!

Just as Guo Yanpeng finished speaking, a rabbit fell from above and landed straight in front of Lin Qianyu with a thud.

It kicked its legs a few times, then went completely still.

In an instant, everyone present—dozens of eyes—stared unblinkingly at the rabbit.

Barrage comments:

【Did… did his words actually come true?】

【Huh? Why did the rabbit fall from the sky and crash to its death?】

【Last time when Lin Qianyu picked up that chicken, it also suddenly stopped moving. Now it’s happening again. I seriously suspect the production crew is playing favorites. A wilderness survival variety show should be authentic and unscripted. @Director, I suggest a thorough investigation!】

【Wait, no—look up! There’s a huge red-tailed crested hawk flying overhead!】

Even before the barrage reminded her, Lin Qianyu had already looked up.

The red-tailed crested hawk that had been circling overhead now perched on a branch of the big tree behind her, staring at her. After locking eyes with her for a moment, it shifted a little awkwardly to the side.

Sensing that she was still watching it, the bird lowered its head and glared back.

That fierce raptor's gaze was sharp and intimidating.

Lin Qianyu grinned, not frightened in the least, and picked up the rabbit, holding it up. “Is this for me? Thanks!”

This rabbit was even bigger than the one she had previously caught for the little bird.

Red-tailed crested hawks only eat fresh prey—they won’t touch carrion, not even meat left overnight. The one it ate earlier must’ve filled it up, and now it had brought another one, clearly as a gift for her.

Was this a form of returning the favor?

Whatever it was, Lin Qianyu now had lunch secured.

The rabbit had a large gash on its belly, already cut open. Lin Qianyu didn’t even need to hack it open with a large knife—she could simply skin and gut it along the existing cut, much easier than doing it from scratch.

Just as Lin Qianyu started preparing her meal, someone finally snapped out of it and asked dazedly, “What… was that?”

Not everyone recognized a red-tailed crested hawk. And even if they did, just the fact that a bird had dropped a rabbit from the sky for Lin Qianyu was baffling enough.

Why… would a giant bird bring her food?

“Director! She’s cheating!” Guo Yanpeng was the first to jump up. “Director!”

At that moment, the director—having just finished reviewing Lin Qianyu’s recent livestream footage showing her interaction with the hawk—immediately patched into Guo Yanpeng’s stream to clarify.

“There’s no cheating involved. Lin Qianyu just… made a friend.” Even the director sounded unsure of himself trying to explain it, but having said this much, he could only power through. “The show’s theme is perseverance, effort, friendship, and unity. That ‘friendship’ has a wide scope—we encourage everyone to try befriending the rainforest creatures. Harmony between humans and nature!”"Just remember, the premise is to protect yourself—don’t recklessly approach dangerous animals.”

“The production team has verified that Lin Qianyu did not cheat. The show will continue.”

After saying that, the director quickly left the mic without lingering.

No joke—if he stayed a second longer, the barrage of questions from everyone would bury him alive.

One after another, they were asking what was going on. How would he know!

He was just the director!

Many people even speculated that this was scripted, and the director wiped his cold sweat with a smile.

You all dare to guess, but I wouldn’t dare to write that script.

That’s an endangered species! And some are suggesting the production trained it? That’s a death wish.

Barely managing to give an explanation, the director made a hasty retreat.

Anyway, no one was hurt, the show had a huge impact, and the audience loved it.

Guo Yanpeng still couldn’t make sense of it. He stared fixedly at the red-tailed crested hawk above. Perhaps his burning gaze was too obvious—once the hawk noticed, it lowered its neck and looked back in his direction.

With just that glance, Guo Yanpeng felt goosebumps rise all over his body.

Many of the other contestants were curious too, but since they weren’t familiar with Lin Qianyu, they didn’t approach. Hang Sisi was the first to come over and ask, “What is that, Qianyu-jie?”

Lin Qianyu said, “Red-tailed crested hawk. It ranks first among raptors. If you see one in the wild, it’s best not to go near it.”

The livestream chat immediately flooded with full encyclopedic entries on the red-tailed crested hawk. No need for Lin Qianyu to say more—one glance was enough to understand.

Hang Sisi tilted her head, gave an “Oh,” half-understanding, and asked, “Why did it catch a rabbit for you?”

“Didn’t the director just say it’s because I became friends with it?” Lin Qianyu smiled, dragging the director back out as her scapegoat.

Hang Sisi: “Oh… oh…?”

Lin Qianyu carried the iron can to the river to fill it with water, getting ready to start the fire.

Many longtime fans in the livestream had seen her make fire by friction before, so it wasn’t a big deal to them. But newer viewers didn’t know and were pointing fingers at the wood she chose for the fire.

Guo Yanpeng had rinsed the duck in the river several times. Feeling the intimidating presence of the red-tailed crested hawk, he gripped the duck even tighter, afraid the hawk might snatch it.

Letting it soak longer had its perks anyway—over time, it could wash away some of the duck’s natural odor. Even a slightly milder smell would be better.

He was busy with his hands, but his gaze couldn’t help drifting toward Lin Qianyu.When he saw Lin Qianyu picking up wood and realized she was about to start a fire, Guo Yanpeng couldn’t help but scoff. His palms had been rubbed raw yesterday and he still couldn’t get a fire going—how could the random scraps of wood Lin Qianyu picked up possibly...

Just as he was thinking that, the pile of dry leaves by Lin Qianyu was already burning.

Guo Yanpeng’s breath caught, and he immediately turned his head to accuse Yin Youlin, “Did you give Lin Qianyu the lighter?”

...Huh?

Almost everyone was stunned by his sudden outburst.

Yin Youlin frowned, utterly confused. “No. Didn’t I tell you yesterday that the lighter fell by the river?”

Guo Yanpeng pressed further: “Then how did she get the fire started?”

“Fire by friction.” Before Yin Youlin could answer, Lin Qianyu did it for him. “Just rub the wood together a few times and you get fire. You didn’t… fail to do that, did you?”

There wasn’t a trace of a smile on Lin Qianyu’s pale face—she was serious yet innocent. Her beautiful eyes blinked. “It’s really simple.”

Guo Yanpeng gritted his teeth. “How could I not be able to? That kind of thing...”

Before he could brag, Lin Qianyu nodded, “Oh, then good luck. Try making a fire yourself to roast that duck.”

“……”

Guo Yanpeng was completely cornered.

He’d originally planned to ask Yin Youlin for the lighter after washing the duck, but after what Lin Qianyu said, he couldn’t exactly say that now.

One look at his expression was enough to tell what he was thinking. Yin Youlin rolled his eyes—Guo Yanpeng wanted to freeload again. Even saying the lighter was lost didn’t help shake him off. How persistent could one guy be?

【Tch, it’s over. If we wait on him, we’re going hungry again today.】

【He hasn’t even tried yet. How do you know he can’t? Haters get out.】

【Hahahaha, fans stop defending him. Guo Yanpeng is completely being led around by Lin Qianyu.】

The rabbit was way too big for Lin Qianyu to finish alone, so she simply split it down the middle. One half she grilled over a new fire, and the other half she cut into small pieces to stew.

Even as she cooked the meat, she took the time to blanch it to remove scum from the broth.

She had spices like star anise and Sichuan peppercorns, and with just a bit of seasoning in the pot, the aroma was already drifting out even though the color looked light.

Stirring the pot with simple wooden chopsticks, Lin Qianyu sighed, “If only I had mushrooms.”

But there weren’t any nearby, so she gave up. Flipping the rabbit over the open flame, she looked up and asked, “How done do you want your roast rabbit? To-go, or eat here?”