Chapter 96

Chapter 96

The leopard narrowed its eyes and lowered its head to lick her cheek, saying nothing.

"Alright, alright." Lin Qianyu held the little bear’s forearm. “Isn’t it hot hugging like this?”

“Wuu!”

Clearly, it wasn’t enough.

The red-tailed mountain hawk eagle fluffed its feathers and came over to perch on Lin Qianyu’s shoulder, rubbing against her along with the black bear.

Lin Qianyu half-heartedly patted the black bear and hugged the little eagle. “I know you missed me. Good babies.”

The little bear leaned softly against her shoulder like a boneless plush toy, eyes half closed.

Everything on the platform was just as it had been.

Lin Qianyu snuggled the fluff for a while, then got up to open the fridge and grabbed a bottle of milk. “When are Huahua and the others coming back?”

“Aww…” The black bear sniffed the milk in her hand, not very interested, and laid down again.

Pretending to be a backpack, the black bear clung to Lin Qianyu’s back and followed her step by step.

Lin Qianyu reached back to pat the little bear’s head, then turned on the livestream equipment, holding the camera directly at the black bear. “Look! A black bear backpack—cool, right?”

【?! The stream—she’s live!】

【Ahhh my chubby baby I haven’t seen in so long! Auntie needs kisses!】

【It’s like New Year, folks! All that waiting in the stream finally paid off.】

【Did the little eagle get even more beautiful?! Wuwu... those feathers are divine. If I had a fan made of little eagle feathers, I can’t imagine how cheerful I’d become.】

...

Before boarding the plane, Lin Qianyu hadn’t streamed for a while.

Many in the chat were asking about the other fluffballs.

Lin Qianyu explained, “Huahua and Big Orange went out hunting and haven’t come back yet. Only the little eagle and the little bear are at home.”

There were also a few rabbits on the ground—round and plump.

With no predators around, always having fresh greens to eat, and no fear of being snatched away and eaten, the rabbits were relaxed both in body and mind. It would be strange if they didn’t grow well.

Though it’s not exactly that they had no predators... more like they were surrounded by predators. Even on Little Black Snake’s menu, rabbits were listed. It was just too small right now to swallow one whole like other snakes do.

Still, one couldn’t ignore the fact that Little Black Snake was venomous.

Lin Qianyu squatted in front of the rabbits. “These few are really living the good life under the fluffballs’ protection.”

Except for one rabbit of a different color, brought back by the red-tailed eagle as a playmate, the others had originally been raised as emergency food supply.

Now, they looked more like pets raised by the fluffballs.

Kinda cute, actually.

Just... the smell of rabbits...

Back when Lin Qianyu was around, she used to leave extra hay for them and clean frequently.Even though the fluffballs could groom themselves, it was unlikely they'd lick the rabbits clean.

Fortunately, Lin Qianyu had the foresight to move the rabbits outside the cave; otherwise, after being gone for a while, even if the fluffballs kept the cave tidy, the smell of rabbits would still linger.

Now, the current rabbit nest couldn’t be salvaged—best to just toss it and build a new one.

Lin Qianyu finished off the small bottle of milk in a few gulps. The cold drink cooled her down a bit. “You all watch the little animals. I’ll go tidy up the house.”

Having been away for some time, the table inside had gathered a thin layer of dust. It didn’t look like much, but the moment you touched it—your hand came away gray.

The mats inside the cave also needed to be taken out and aired; they hadn’t seen sunlight in ages.

No matter how clean the fat and meat were scraped off, if it stayed packed long enough, it’d still get stuffy.

Before leaving, Lin Qianyu had considered packing everything up in vacuum bags just in case the place would smell moldy when she returned. That way, she could open the bags as needed and lay things out easily.

But without the furs, the cave would be too bare to live in. Thinking the fluffballs at home might occasionally come here to stay, she didn’t put them away.

Now stepping into the cave, Lin Qianyu had mentally prepared herself, but upon opening the door, there was no strange smell—just the furs on the floor were a bit messy.

Lin Qianyu tidied the furs and raised an eyebrow. “Looks like they took the furs out to sun themselves.”

When laying things down, Lin Qianyu had a little habit: long-haired pieces next to long-haired, short-haired to short-haired, edges sealed neatly.

Now what was laid inside clearly wasn’t like that.

At best, the furs were packed in just to fill the gaps, covering the floor fully.

“My fluffballs are really well-behaved and smart,” Lin Qianyu praised generously, patting the fur mats. They were dry and clean—not the slightest bit damp.

No need to re-dry them.

【What?! I’m still getting nagged by my mom to hang the bedsheets, and they’re already sunning the mats themselves?!】

【I’m dying of laughter. Did you think I wouldn’t be jealous if you said that? I am, wuwuwu... crying from envy.】

【Animals, please act a bit more like animals. What kind of behavior is this? I’ll buy you a train ticket and you come to my house—I’ll explain it all in detail.】

Lin Qianyu pressed down the corners and edges of the mats to make everything neater, then turned to clean the table.

Earlier she had turned on the livestream’s auto-follow mode—probably tracking the little bear—but since both the little bear and the little eagle were sticking to her, the camera had followed them right into the cave.

As Lin Qianyu turned around, she tripped a little.

The black bear, stepping closely behind, paused, then silently drew its hind legs back... and back again.

Lin Qianyu tilted her head. The little bear blinked. “Wuu!”

She chuckled. “Take a break, you guys. Why isn’t the little bear sunbathing today?”

Compared to sunbathing, the black bear preferred sticking close to her.

The little eagle also chirped once from her shoulder.

Thankfully, there was air conditioning inside—otherwise, with her surrounded like this, Lin Qianyu would’ve been drenched in sweat.

Since they liked following her, Lin Qianyu just let them be.

They were pressed in tightly—so much so that even the red-tailed eagle chick couldn’t find a spot to squeeze into.By the time Lin Qianyu finished tidying up the house, the weather outside didn’t seem quite as hot anymore.

But nighttime cooling here still couldn’t compare to the drastic temperature drops of the grasslands. At this hour, the sunlight was just less intense.

“Awoo!” The little bear shook its fur—it was time to hunt.

Lin Qianyu wrung out the towel in her hand and hung it up. “I’ll go with you.”

Might as well look for Huahua and Big Orange too.

Since she didn’t know when they’d gone hunting, she couldn’t estimate when they’d return. With nothing to do at home, she might as well go stretch her legs and hunt with the little bear and the little eagle.

Lin Qianyu grabbed the hiking stick she hadn’t used in ages and poked at the weeds that had grown along the path.

The red-tailed mountain hawk eagle flew ahead, the chick flapping its wings hard to follow behind.

As they walked through their own territory, the little bear sniffed around, catching scents of prey in the air.

“The berries here are growing well—the fruit hasn’t dropped yet.” Lin Qianyu remembered picking berries here last time. Now, the shrubs were still covered in bunches of fruit.

She bit into a juicy berry and leisurely followed behind the little bear.

Suddenly, Lin Qianyu paused and glanced back. “Why do I feel like someone’s watching me?”

That scorching gaze behind her was hard to ignore.

But when she looked at the little bear again, the black bear didn’t react at all—still focused on tracking prey.

Something clicked in Lin Qianyu’s mind. She stopped scanning her surroundings and looked up.

A leopard was peeking down from the tree, but the next moment it quickly pulled its head back, its tail swaying gently among the thick leaves.

Lin Qianyu smiled with her eyes and softly called, “Xiao Xiong?”

She pointed upward. The black bear licked its nose and gave a grunt, “Awo!”

As the bear continued tracking the scent of prey, Lin Qianyu placed a hand on the tree trunk and began climbing.

The leopard was still lying motionless on the same branch. Lin Qianyu didn’t deliberately hide the sound of her climbing—at the leopard’s level of sensitivity, it had surely noticed her already. But the leopard didn’t respond at all.

It didn’t even turn its head, as if completely unaware of the person gradually approaching from behind.

Lin Qianyu reached out with a smile and touched the leopard’s tail. “Huahua?”

The tail instantly slipped from her hand with a flick and wrapped loosely around itself.

“Not going to acknowledge me?” Faced with the tsundere big cat ignoring her, Lin Qianyu only smiled wider. “Huahua, really not going to pay me any attention?”

Lin Qianyu slowly climbed closer, narrowing the distance between them.

The leopard still didn’t turn around, but its ears flicked from time to time, slightly tilted back—clearly listening to the sounds behind it.

All of Lin Qianyu’s attention was on the leopard before her. Her hand pressed down on a branch—but it was hollow.

With a crack, the branch gave way, and Lin Qianyu’s body tilted downward. “Ah!”

The leopard immediately rose and half-turned on the branch, just in time to see Lin Qianyu half-dangling off the tree, like she was lying sideways, one shoulder dropped down.

Using one hand to push herself back up, Lin Qianyu climbed back onto the tree and patted the leaves off her shoulder. “Hey, didn’t fall.”The leopard's paw paused, then it turned its head away and lay back down again.

"What are you staring at so intently?" Lin Qianyu leaned over and lay on the leopard.

The tree branch trembled slightly with her weight. The leopard turned its head away, not even glancing at her.

Clearly sulking.

Lin Qianyu rubbed the leopard’s head, her chin pressing against its ear—flattening it into airplane ears. The leopard stayed completely still. “You really not going to talk to me?”

【Haha, it’s over! Huahua is mad! Hurry up and coax it.】

【Mad but still letting her rub it. Its face is getting smooshed and it still won’t turn around.】

【Maybe in Huahua’s mind, the most brutal punishment for Linlin is... ignoring her!】

【Ahhhh! Thinking of it that way, Huahua is so cute.】

A big cat that throws tantrums but still has such a good temper.

“Huahua… pay attention to me.” Lin Qianyu hugged the leopard and rolled over on the narrow tree branch. Since it wouldn’t turn around, she rolled in front of it.

She teased its whiskers with her fingers. “Didn’t miss me? Didn’t even come looking for me.”

After a pause, she looked at the leopard and asked, “Why are you breathing so hard? Just came back from a hunt?”

It felt like the leopard’s breathing was unstable, as if it had just finished a long sprint—now lying on the branch, pretending to rest, but clearly hadn’t caught its breath yet.

But there was no prey in sight.

The leopard let go of the sleeve it had been biting, didn’t answer, and tried to turn its head away again.

Lin Qianyu quickly hugged its furry head with both hands to stop it.

The leopard bared its teeth in mock resistance. “Haa!”

But it didn’t try again.

Facing the fierce big cat so close to her face, Lin Qianyu only let out a soft laugh. She poked both sides of its cheeks with her index fingers, making its fangs show even more. “So fierce.”

The leopard paused, licked its lips, accidentally touched Lin Qianyu’s hand, then licked her fingertips again.

That counted as making up!

Lin Qianyu lay on her side, resting her head on the leopard’s paw, looking up at it. “Did you just run here from really far away?”

Leopards have explosive power, but they’re not built for long-distance running.

She touched its belly—it was still rising and falling rapidly. Clearly exhausted.

The leopard squinted its eyes and lowered its head, licking her cheek without saying a word.

Author's Note: Good night, sleep early, love every one of you.