Why is This Clingy Snow Leopard Acting So Innocent? - Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Self-Deception — Insidious Fellow!

For some reason, something felt off.

Waking up early, Su Wen was still groggy. He habitually reached out to touch the space beside him, but his hand met only a cold pillow.

No one was there.

He sat stunned for over ten seconds until the “clink” of dishes colliding drifted in from outside the bedroom door. It seemed like an accidental bump; the sound rang for only an instant before silence returned.

Su Wen was fully awake now.

He sat there clutching his forehead for a moment before his phone dinged. He opened it to find a message: Eat.

Su Wen checked it repeatedly to confirm: it was indeed from the person living under the same roof, who had slept beside him last night, who had secretly held him tight in the middle of the night, and who was now outside—though whether that person was eating or waiting for him to eat, he didn’t know.

“…”

If not for that clinking sound just now, he might have thought Yun Shu had abandoned him and headed to the patrol station alone. He sighed, his head still feeling heavy even after brushing his teeth.

It would be a lie to say he didn’t regret it. In fact, he had been regretting it since yesterday, but he had been practicing self-deception, lying to himself that Yun Shu hadn’t heard his conversation with the director. Well, now it was clear—the guy had heard everything.

People who can’t watch their tongues really shouldn’t be in relationships. Holding the door handle, Su Wen rehearsed what he should say the moment he saw him. Should it be “Good morning” or “What’s for breakfast”?

Before his left and right brain could reach a consensus, his hand moved first.

The moment he looked up, his eyes met those of Yun Shu, who was sitting at the dining table with a bun—filling unknown—in his hand.

“Morn—” The word Su Wen had prepared was just about to leave his mouth.

In the next second, Yun Shu suddenly stuffed the entire bun into his mouth, stood up abruptly, and walked away. He headed straight for his original room in the corner and slammed the door with a sharp thud.

Su Wen silently withdrew his gaze and pulled out a chair to sit at the heated table where a charcoal fire glowed underneath. At the center of the table was a pot of warm milk and a few buns covered by a piece of intricately patterned cloth. The buns were folded into delicate leaf shapes—very exquisite.

Not the kind of shape Yun Shu could produce.

And indeed, they weren’t. Su Wen picked one up and bit into it. As the beef juices exploded in his mouth, he remembered. When they had first gone out together, Yun Shu had gone way out of his way to a homestay in the village’s tourist area specifically to buy these for him. It was a thirty-minute trip from the house to the tourist area—an hour round trip.

Usually, they cooked for themselves—pancakes or noodles took thirty minutes, saved time, and tasted good. Now, Yun Shu wasn’t cooking; he’d rather spend all that time running out to buy buns.

By the time the first bun was finished, Su Wen still hadn’t figured out Yun Shu’s logic. He decided to stop thinking about it and poured himself a glass of milk, making a mental vow to stuff all eight or nine of those fist-sized buns into his stomach.

The ambition lasted exactly one second. Su Wen pulled another bun from under the cloth and bit down.

A strong, gamey scent of mutton hit his nostrils instantly. Su Wen spat out the bite and dry-heaved instinctively.

Mutton buns…

He had to drink two glasses of milk to suppress the gamey aftertaste. He finally understood why that guy had spent an hour traveling—even walking to the patrol station to get a car—just to buy these buns.

So this was what he was waiting for.

Insidious fellow!

Click. A very soft sound of a door opening. The person opening the door had minimized the movement as much as possible, but Su Wen caught it.

“…”

He thought about it and decided not to be angry. He accepted this small act of revenge from the childish Yun Shu.

“Alright,” Su Wen said. “Come out. It’s time to work.”

Yun Shu shuffled out. He didn’t say a word, but he walked straight to the table, picked up the mutton bun Su Wen had tossed aside, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Su Wen: “…” Fine, eat it if you love it that much.

Su Wen thought the morning’s drama was over and that his little revenge would keep Yun Shu’s mood stable for at least a day. But he underestimated the depth of this guy’s grudge-holding.

Su Wen had gotten one thing wrong: Yun Shu hadn’t gone to the patrol station for a car this morning; he had gone to his uncle’s house. An old, battered pickup truck was parked in the yard. Before heading to the station, Yun Shu carried bundles of hay from the corner of the yard and stacked them into the back of the truck, one by one.

The wind was still biting, yet he was moving things in just a thin shirt, seemingly oblivious to the cold. Su Wen tried several times to get him to put on a coat, but failed every time. The last time he handed over the jacket, Yun Shu reached back and yanked it over Su Wen’s head, tying the sleeves into a knot on top of his crown.

Su Wen endured it.

Thinking he might as well let the guy freeze to death, Su Wen turned and climbed into the truck, pulled the coat off his head, and tossed it onto the driver’s seat. Once the truck was loaded, they drove to the patrol station.

A younger man, looking mature for his age, was waiting at the gate. The two spoke in a dialect Su Wen couldn’t understand. Before he could react, they were swapping places; the young man got into the driver’s seat, and soon only the exhaust of the little pickup remained in sight.

“Who was that?”

When he asked, Yun Shu acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing and walked straight inside. Since they were less than a fist’s distance apart, Su Wen was certain he had heard him.

Before he could ask again, he saw several people standing in the yard. The “intellectual” in gold-rimmed glasses turned and smiled at them: “Long time no see.”

It was Lin Zhihuan.

“The zoo just rescued a new snow leopard,” Lin Zhihuan said, unable to wait to share the news once they sat down. After talking for a while, this was the only thing that piqued Su Wen’s interest.

Su Wen’s eyes lit up, his earlier annoyance vanishing. “What does it look like?”

Lin Zhihuan sighed with regret. “There were professional photographers there, so I didn’t take any pictures. Otherwise, I’d definitely show you.”

Which meant he couldn’t describe it well. Sensing Su Wen’s disappointment, Lin Zhihuan comforted him: “It’s fine. You guys are going there in two days anyway. You can see for yourself then.”

Su Wen shrugged as if he didn’t care, but in reality, rather than the leopard itself, he cared about whether it was his “Su Xiaobao.”

“Oh, right,” Lin Zhihuan remembered something. He turned to Yun Shu, who was helping pack equipment. “I saw a guy outside earlier saying he was waiting for you. He wouldn’t come in even when I opened the gate. That guy is your…?”

“My uncle’s son.”

As he answered, Yun Shu glanced toward Su Wen—it was unclear if it was guilt or something else. Su Wen was speechless and didn’t want to give him a second look.

However, there was a shoot that afternoon, and personal feelings couldn’t be brought into work. Thinking this way, Su Wen took advantage of the pre-departure lunch to whisper a warning:

“Behave yourself.”

…

Compared to the days right after the mother snow leopard gave birth, her condition was now much better. They took this opportunity to reenact the mountain feeding scene.

Cheng Daozhi originally wanted to invite Dawa’s family, whom they had met on the mountain before, to film them carrying a sheep up to feed the leopard again. But they missed them; only the wife and children were at the house. The plan was adjusted to have the patrol station staff fill in.

But just as they dropped the sheep at the feeding point and started down the mountain, they saw Dawa’s son, Sonam, carrying a sheep, with two others helping him nearby. Fate is strange like that.

Cheng Daozhi immediately turned the camera.

It was almost a one-take shoot. As one of the protagonists, Su Wen naturally had to stand with the other key figures. The formation became: Dawa’s family in the center, Su Wen as the “witness” beside them, followed by the rangers.

Based on the mother leopard’s hunting habits, she should be in the den with her cubs now. But just in case, Cheng Daozhi left all the interviews after they descended.

It wasn’t anything technical; the most important part was the connection between humans and nature. Even Cheng Daozhi hadn’t expected that Dawa’s family, despite having lost so many sheep, would choose to carry another sheep up the mountain during the leopard’s difficult time. The line between a saint and a commoner is sometimes just a single thought.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Dawa said, looking embarrassed. “We all live in the same place. If we’re short, we don’t send any; if we have extra, we share a little. Everyone would do the same.”

Compared to Dawa’s two sons—one too silent and the other too talkative—it was much more comfortable talking to Dawa himself. Su Wen never expected that someone, fully aware they were filming a program, would lead with: “Mr. Su, why haven’t you added me on WeChat yet? I gave you my card!”

The moment he said it, the whole place went silent. Dawa looked like he was ready to disown him and smacked the back of his son’s head. “You’re a father of two, stop being so unprofessional!”

That slap brought Puchung back to his senses, and the interview finally concluded normally.

Before parting, Puchung seemed to feel that not getting the contact info was a massive loss. He hurried over, insisting on adding Su Wen on WeChat.

Yun Shu stepped between them. His words were directed at Su Wen, but his eyes were glaring at Puchung: “It’s time to go.”

Puchung didn’t back down, looking at him with annoyance. “What does it matter to you if I add a celebrity’s contact?”

“Don’t lose your head just because you’ve been hanging around outsiders for a few years!”

“You little jinx!” (He used a dialect slur).

Su Wen didn’t understand the dialect, but seeing the tension between the two, he feared a fight was imminent. Other crew members were still filming another round nearby; a fight would be a huge problem.

So, Su Wen stepped in between them. “WeChat, right?”

Puchung nodded.

It was a small matter. He could just add him and set him to “Do Not Disturb.” That was his thought, but Yun Shu didn’t see it that way. His expression had been bad since the interview started. His furrowed brow deepened as the contact info was exchanged, looking as if he wanted to twist his forehead into a knot.

But Su Wen had been putting up with him all day; seeing him frustrated gave him a strange sense of satisfaction. Even if that satisfaction wasn’t strictly necessary.

On the way home, Yun Shu remained silent. If the morning was just childish revenge, this was a mood that had truly hit rock bottom.

Su Wen felt he might have gone too far. Yun Shu was washing dishes by the sink. The room was filled with a solidified silence, broken only by the rushing water.

After hesitating for a long time, Su Wen walked up. His voice was low. “Are you… alright?”

As if his emotions had finally found an outlet, Yun Shu blurted out without hesitation:

“Why did you say yes to him?!”