Why is This Clingy Snow Leopard Acting So Innocent? - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Passion — What’s the Deal with Them?

On the fourth day of sick leave, Yun Shu’s cold had completely cleared up.

Naturally more robust than most, he hadn’t really been sick since childhood; a common cold was merely a brief nuisance for him. However, just as Su Wen was about to call Song Nan to ask for two more days of rest for him, Yun Shu’s phone rang first.

The summary: The station is shorthanded, get to work.

There were only a handful of rangers at the station. They had to measure the snow line, survey vegetation coverage, look after the snow leopards and blue sheep, and manage all sorts of animals. Most importantly, since the Mountain God Festival had just ended, many tourists were still lingering. To prevent them from trekking up the mountain unauthorized, the patrol station had teamed up with local police to set up checkpoints. Since the station was closest to most checkpoints, they had to inspect them frequently.

It was manageable a couple of months ago, but with spring arriving, they were being worked like draft animals, and the work was never-ending.

Su Wen dropped his backpack casually on the floor and turned to Yun Shu. “How are you feeling now?”

Yun Shu had already told him last night that his throat didn’t hurt, his head wasn’t dizzy, and even his cough had subsided—he was perfectly fine. But Su Wen insisted on feeling that the cold hadn’t fully passed.

In response, Yun Shu let out a soft chuckle, his voice taking on a deliberate, high-pitched “baby” tone: “Brother~ my head feels a little dizzy~”

Su Wen’s heart gave a little thump. It was hard to describe the feeling, but if he had to put a label on it… It would be: The Honeymoon Phase.

The door was closed. They were currently in the duty room, and no one else was around. Su Wen shifted over and pretentiously felt Yun Shu’s forehead with his hand, calling it a “temperature check.”

“It does feel a bit warm. Are you still running a fever?”

“I don’t think so,” Yun Shu said, leaning in as his restless hands circled Su Wen’s waist. “Just dizzy…”

Before he could finish, Su Wen pulled Yun Shu’s head toward him and pressed his own forehead against the younger man’s, tilting his head back and forth.

“How is it?” Su Wen whispered, as if coaxing a child. “Does it still hurt? Baby Shu~?”

Click. The door to the duty room was pushed open.

Cheng Daozhi walked in carrying her laptop. She looked up and saw the two of them standing there like they were being punished. One was gripping the curtain, while the other was holding a blank piece of paper, pretending to study it intensely.

“You two,” she said, her eyes circling them. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh,” Su Wen replied quickly. “We just got here. Are we leaving now?”

Cheng Daozhi shook her head, pulled out a chair, and set her laptop down. “Deputy Captain Shao hasn’t arrived yet. He’s with Yun Shu today.”

“Leading us up the mountain?”

Cheng Daozhi’s attention was fixed on the raw footage on her screen. She replied absentmindedly, “Mm.”

The duty room fell silent, save for the sound of her mouse clicking. The silence was incredibly awkward. Su Wen didn’t hesitate for a second; he turned and walked out. Yun Shu followed immediately, closing the door behind him.

The soft click caught Cheng Daozhi’s attention. She stood up and leaned across the desk to peer through the curtain. She froze for a moment.

Su Wen was holding Yun Shu’s hand. Like a pair of newly official lovers, they were walking toward the backyard with smiles on their faces. Cheng Daozhi stared at their retreating backs, silent.

“Sister Zhi,” a female voice sounded from behind. Cheng Daozhi turned to see her assistant, Chen Zhou, pushing the door open. “Everything is ready.”

“Good,” she let go of the curtain and sat back down. “Go get some rest. We move out when the Deputy Captain arrives.”

Chen Zhou stood there, hand still on the doorknob, looking hesitant.

Cheng Daozhi raised an eyebrow. “Something to say?”

Chen Zhou closed the door and lowered her voice, assuming a gossiping stance. “Sister Yun Shu and Brother Su Wen… what’s the deal with them?”

Cheng Daozhi’s hand paused. Her mind flashed back to their joined hands. Finally, she chose not to say much. “They’re partners.”

Chen Zhou wanted to press further, but Cheng Daozhi cut her off with a hand wave. “Enough. They’re two men; there’s nothing to speculate about. Don’t gossip behind their backs.”

Chen Zhou shut her mouth, but her expression didn’t change—if anything, it turned more profound, as if she’d discovered a secret. Before leaving, she whispered back: “It’s because they’re two men that it’s worth speculating.”

Before Cheng Daozhi could react, Chen Zhou yanked the door shut and scurried away.

Cheng Daozhi sat there, ignoring the discomfort of the chair against her back. The video on her screen had reached the third clip, but she wasn’t watching it. Her mind was filled with the image of those two hands.

After a long while, she picked up her phone, scrolled through her chats, and found Su Jiyan: Your brother… is he normal?

She typed it, but after two seconds changed it to: Is your brother normal right now?

Two seconds later, it became: The accident didn’t cause any… ‘other’ side effects for your brother, did it?

After sending the message, she tossed the phone aside. A few minutes later, after the computer finished sorting the new videos, her phone dinged.

Su Jiyan: ?

…

“Achoo!”

Su Wen shook his head and turned to Yun Shu. “Were you just cursing me?”

Yun Shu spread his hands, looking perfectly innocent. He hadn’t even opened his mouth.

“Then what was that?” Su Wen pointed at him accusingly. “You must have been cursing me in your head.”

“No~” Yun Shu leaned in clingily, grabbing one of Su Wen’s hands. He took off his hat and bent down to nuzzle Su Wen’s neck. “I like you…”

Su Wen raised his other hand to rub his head, but a voice boomed from the front yard. It was so loud it felt like it would lift the roof off: “Shu—where’s my Shu? Yun Shu??”

The only person who could shout like that in such an oxygen-deprived high-altitude environment was the Deputy Captain, who was basically a walking battery. By all rights, he should have been at the Xiping Town Zoo last night, yet he had raced back today and was already prepared to head up the mountain.

Su Wen quickly withdrew his hand and pushed Yun Shu. “Go over there first.”

Yun Shu was dazed as he was pushed against the wall. Before he could react, he was called out: “Shu, why are you over there?”

“Brother Shao.”

Shao Han stepped forward and patted his shoulder. “Where’s Su Wen? Where did he go?”

The subject in question was trying to hide, but as soon as he turned around, a head popped over Yun Shu’s shoulder. “What are you doing standing by the wall, Movie Star Brother?”

He always called him that. If anyone else used such a weird nickname, Su Wen might be annoyed, but for some reason, coming from Shao Han, it didn’t feel out of place at all.

Su Wen turned around sheepishly. “Nothing, just resting.”

“Need more rest?” Shao Han pointed at the car behind him. “Or are we heading out?”

Su Wen didn’t want to be the decision-maker, so he replied, “Either is fine.”

“Either is fine” naturally meant leaving immediately. However, at Cheng Daozhi’s strong insistence, Shao Han went inside to lie down for an hour first.

An hour later, the seven-seater MPV was full. Shao Han was next to Cheng Daozhi; behind them were two young men, and the final three seats were occupied by two photographers and an assistant. Everyone was quiet, lost in their own thoughts.

This was Su Wen’s first time going up the mountain with Shao Han. Usually, Song Nan was in charge, but Song Nan had led a team to the main peak of Songcuo Mountain the day before and wouldn’t be back until tonight.

The silence didn’t last long. After checking the rearview mirror for the third time, Shao Han spoke up: “Hey, Su Wen, this isn’t your first time on a snow mountain, right?”

The three in the front seats were all intrigued. Yun Shu instinctively looked back.

Su Wen was stunned for a moment but replied, “Probably not.”

“It either is or it isn’t. What do you mean ‘probably’?”

Su Wen: “…” He countered with a question: “How do you know?”

Shao Han made a turn, let off the gas, and hit the brakes. “I was at Xiye (Western Wilderness) yesterday, and I saw your photo in Old Song’s office.” Fearing a misunderstanding, he added: “Not our Old Song, the Old Song at Xiye—the one with the messy hair he refuses to shave.”

Song Haicheng, the veterinarian.

Su Wen nodded. “I must have met Dr. Song before.”

Shao Han glanced in the rearview mirror. Seeing that Su Wen didn’t seem interested in continuing the conversation, he dropped it. Yun Shu, who hadn’t spoken, took over: “Brother Shao, why did you go to Xiye?”

“Oh,” Shao Han remembered. “A camera in the east caught a snow leopard a few days ago. It looked injured. We searched for two days and found it yesterday. It was supposed to go to the rescue station, but it looked like it had internal injuries, so we sent it straight to the zoo.”

Almost the instant the words left his mouth, Su Wen’s attention was hooked. Forgetting all etiquette, he blurted out: “What did the snow leopard look like?!”

Shao Han was taken aback by his urgency. “Just like an older snow leopard. Big eyes. An adult.”

“What’s wrong, Su Wen?”

“The ear,” Su Wen’s voice was anxious. “Its ear—was there a notch missing?”

Seeing him so worked up, Yun Shu instinctively reached up to touch his own ear.

Shao Han thought for a bit but couldn’t recall. “Maybe? It’s normal for wild snow leopards to have notches from fighting other animals.”

Su Wen’s spirit nearly soared, only to plummet a second later. It was injured. In a place he couldn’t see. He didn’t know how bad the injury was, but if it had been sent to a rescue station and then transferred to a zoo overnight…

He remained dejected until they got out of the car. He hadn’t walked two steps before he went thud and fell onto the ground. The snow splashed against his eyes, melting into water and seeping into his mask.

Before he could move, Yun Shu hoisted him up from the ground. Crystalline water remained at the corners of his eyes, already turning into frost. Yun Shu reached out, wiped the frost away, and leaned in to whisper:

“Do you want to go to the zoo to see him?”