Why is This Clingy Snow Leopard Acting So Innocent? - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Desire—Playing What… Hard to Get?

This was Su Wen’s first confession. He had prepared nothing—including the possibility of “failure.”

He would sooner doubt his acting skills, his intellect, or his sanity before he would ever doubt his own charm.

One thing was certain: Yun Shu absolutely liked him.

But the guy also couldn’t seem to let go of the person he loved in the past.

This jerk… he isn’t hoping for some kind of three-way dynamic, is he?

At the thought, an inexplicable fire surged in Su Wen’s chest. He sat bolt upright, nearly flinging his phone across the room.

The snow leopard in his arms gave a small “wu-wu” cry, looking startled. He soothingly rubbed its head, and it settled back down onto his stomach. It didn’t go back to sleep, though; it stared up at him with wide, round eyes.

Su Wen rested his hand on its head, absentmindedly playing with its small ears.

The flare of anger subsided, replaced by curiosity. Exactly what kind of person was this past love?

He began to mutter to himself, “What kind of god-tier man has this guy so hung up that he’s acting like this?”

The snow leopard blinked, tilting its head to lick his wrist gently. Su Wen rubbed its head and moved to scratch its chin; it looked blissfully comfortable, purring incessantly.

What that man looked like, Su Wen didn’t know, but he was convinced Yun Shu was a total bastard.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He cupped the leopard’s head firmly, lowering his voice to a hiss: “Yun Shu!!”

The leopard’s body stiffened visibly. Its eyes went wide, and its ears flattened into “airplane mode,” but Su Wen didn’t notice. He continued to shake the large leopard head: “You idiot!!”

“You’re a bad kid!!”

“Clearly having someone you like, yet out here seducing an innocent young man.”

Su Wen spoke every word with a sense of profound grievance, as if his blood were weeping. He felt like storming into Yun Shu’s room right now to drag him out for a beating.

“And once you’ve seduced me, you put on this act of being reserved!”

“Act, act, act! What are you acting for?!”

“Playing hard to get, are we?!”

Actually, that wasn’t quite right, because Su Wen had already taken the bait.

Hard to do? Get what? Ungrateful brat.

But speaking of playing hard to get…

Su Wen arched an eyebrow, holding the leopard’s face. A slow smirk spread across his lips.

…

The next morning…

Two off-road vehicles were parked outside the courtyard. In the lead car, Song Nan rolled down the window: “Hurry up, we’re waiting on you two!”

The second car belonged to the film crew. Cheng Daozhi rolled down his window to wave hello.

Before Yun Shu could respond, Su Wen strode past him to speak with Song Nan. Then, bypassing Yun Shu entirely, he walked to the second vehicle.

After a brief exchange, one of the crew members in the back of the second car got out, smiling sheepishly at his phone as he hopped into the lead car. Su Wen climbed into the second car.

Just as Yun Shu moved toward the back car, a girl inside rolled down the window, a hidden smile on her face. “No more room back here, Yun Shu. Only the first car has a seat left.”

Helpless, he retracted his step and got into the lead vehicle.

Since early morning, Su Wen had been behaving strangely. It was as if he had reverted to the days when he treated Yun Shu like a stranger—politely thanking him, but no longer joking or laughing.

Yun Shu sat quietly with his arms crossed, not joining the conversation. He merely pressed a hand against his aching heart, forcing himself not to overthink.

…

Because they were changing to a more distant observation point, they drove to the open ground near Dawa’s pasture, planning to hike up from there.

Dawa’s family was out in the pasture. Dawa’s wife, Deji, was the first to spot them. Her Mandarin wasn’t very fluent, but her joy was evident. She nudged the children beside her, signaling them to wave.

The photographers hopped out with their gear. Dawa and his family were used to the cameras by now. Two little girls, their cheeks reddened by the mountain wind, flashed “V” signs at the lens before quickly hiding behind their mother, peeking out shyly.

Su Wen was charmed by them. He crouched down to greet them. Perhaps because it was daylight, he looked even friendlier than at night. The two children didn’t run; instead, they stepped forward one by one to shake his hand with solemn, “little adult” expressions.

“Brother,” one of the girls whispered, shielding the wind with her hand to speak in his ear. She had clearly just started learning Mandarin: “Brother is very pretty.”

Having said that, she bolted back to Deji, hugging her mother’s leg and refusing to come out.

It is human nature to be delighted by a child’s praise. Su Wen pulled off his gloves and took two pink strawberry chocolates from the side pocket of his backpack. He held them out, but the girls were too shy to take them.

Deji gently patted her two “little princesses,” speaking to them in the Luxi dialect: “The brother gave them to you, so take them. But you must give him gratitude and blessings from the heart, understood?”

With their mother’s permission, they were no longer shy. They each took a chocolate and gave Su Wen a light hug, murmuring blessings he couldn’t understand before running off to play.

Su Wen chatted briefly with Deji before turning to leave. He hadn’t gone two steps when Dawa’s youngest son, Pujiong, came running over, ignoring the small calf he was carrying on his shoulders.

His goal was clear: he wasn’t running toward Deji, but straight for Su Wen.

Just as Pujiong reached him, his expression suddenly shifted. A hand landed on Su Wen’s shoulder.

Su Wen tilted his head. Yun Shu stood there, his mask hanging off one ear, his jaw set in a hard line, glaring coldly at Pujiong.

Pujiong was exasperated. This guy had been hostile toward him since childhood, and though the feeling was mutual, he hadn’t come to fight. He raised one hand in a gesture of surrender.

“Fine, Yun Shu, I’m not here to talk trash about you.”

He fumbled in his pocket for a long time before pulling out a business card and handing it to Su Wen. Perhaps he had been scolded by his family, as his face now held a hint of honest simplicity.

“Um, Mr. Su, I’m not trying to bother you. I just want to expand my network. Remember me; in the future, if your celebrity friends need cordyceps, call me. I guarantee the highest quality.”

He glanced meaningfully at Yun Shu, almost provokingly, before looking back at Su Wen. “And if you have anything you want to ask—little secrets, local customs—I know everything. I’ll definitely tell you.”

As soon as he finished, the hand on Su Wen’s shoulder visibly tightened. Though the man beside him remained silent, Su Wen knew Yun Shu definitely didn’t want him to take it.

Su Wen took the card, flicked it between his fingers, and then, right in front of both of them, tucked it into his jacket pocket and pointedly zipped it shut.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll definitely call you if I need anything.”

In contrast to the smugness on Pujiong’s face, Yun Shu’s expression grew darker. He said nothing, simply dropping his hand, his voice low:

“Time to go.”

Su Wen watched his dejected back and wanted to laugh, but he held it in.

…

When Dawa greeted him, Su Wen remembered something important. He pointed to the calf with closed eyes on Pujiong’s shoulders. “Is that a calf you’re going to sell?”

Dawa sighed. “That is a little yak that froze to death.”

Su Wen was silent for a second. “I’m sorry. Are you going to bury it?”

“No, no,” Dawa waved his hand. “That is for the mother snow leopard. Didn’t they say she had babies? There’s no food in this weather; they won’t survive.”

Su Wen was stunned. It was hard to imagine a herder, whose sheepfold had been attacked twice by the same leopard, giving a yak to it.

Dawa didn’t think much of it. “A frozen yak won’t fetch much money anyway. She’s giving birth now; without food, where would the milk come from?”

“Does your family… have any objections?” Su Wen looked toward Deji.

Sensing his gaze, Deji looked up and smiled, the wrinkles on her face forming a beautiful pattern. After acknowledging him, she bent down to gently comfort the mother cow who had lost her calf.

…

The protection team took a different route from Dawa’s family. The rangers were heading to an observation point on another ridge several hundred meters away from the leopard. Dawa and his family climbed the slopes of the main peak, which was now the mother leopard’s territory.

Su Wen gripped Yun Shu’s arm, taking one step and one breath of oxygen at a time through the snow. Having not been up the mountain for a few days, he needed to re-acclimatize, but fortunately, he had rested well and wasn’t panting too heavily.

Once he adjusted, he let go of Yun Shu’s hand and moved ahead to walk with Lin Zhiheng and the others.

Lin Zhiheng raised an eyebrow. “Had a fight?”

Su Wen played dumb. “What fight?”

Lin Zhiheng peeked back at Yun Shu, who was silently climbing with his head down. “Weren’t you two always glued together?”

Su Wen smiled. His voice wasn’t loud, but the others could hear: “If I can walk on my own, I shouldn’t trouble others.”

Yun Shu said nothing. The observation point was fifty meters away; he climbed up in a few strides, taking the lead to set up the equipment and data sync.

There wasn’t much special data. These past few days, the rescue center had issued a long-distance care order—essentially, supplementary feeding. Dawa’s family had clearly coordinated with the center; they would leave a sheep or yak near the leopard’s territory every few days to ensure she didn’t starve and the cubs got enough nutrition.

The two cubs didn’t disappoint. On the monitor, they were huddled together for warmth, waiting for their mother to return from hunting. They looked healthier than expected; aside from the smaller one appearing a bit weak, they were essentially two healthy cubs.

In fact, it was almost a miracle. Even with human intervention, the survival rate in this season was questionable, yet under their mother’s protection, they had truly survived and were growing.

Once the data transfer was complete, Cheng Daozhi tapped Su Wen’s shoulder. “Do you have any more of that chocolate?”

Su Wen unzipped his jacket. As he reached for the chocolate, the business card fell out.

Cheng Daozhi took the chocolate and handed it to a resting photographer. After accepting the photographer’s thanks, Su Wen bent down to pick up the card.

He noticed the spot where the phone number had been was now a jagged, torn edge.

It had been ripped off.

He picked up the mutilated card and waved it at Yun Shu, who was busy pretending to be occupied nearby.

Yun Shu guiltily tried to avoid his gaze but couldn’t help stealing a look.

He saw Su Wen arching an eyebrow, his lips silently mouthing three words:

Bad. Boy.