Chapter 47: The Rabbit’s SOS
Because of that extra late-juvenile Amur tiger, Lin Jiangye’s return to Yue City was forced to be delayed by three more days.
During those three days, he wasn’t helping the Forestry Bureau treat the juvenile tiger—he and Tiger Mama were taking turns beating it up, mother-and-cub style.
There was no helping it. That late-juvenile was like a human “little hellion”: not only mischievous, but also mouthy toward Tiger Mama. It even bragged that once it recovered, it would seize Tiger Mama’s territory and drive her out.
The moment Lin Jiangye heard that, he couldn’t hold back. He straight-up pulled out his belt—like disciplining a child—pinned the tiger’s head down with one hand, and whipped its butt with the other.
When the belt cracked across its backside, that bizarre, unfamiliar pain made the Amur tiger’s eyes fly wide open. The whole tiger froze, stunned.
When tigers fight or hunt, they use claws and teeth—when had it ever been beaten like this?
Especially when it saw the surrounding humans’ expressions—some meaningful, some trying not to laugh, some completely blank—it immediately realized this method of getting hit was… not normal.
It tried to resist, but Tiger Mama was watching. The instant it so much as twitched, it got slapped right back down.
A motherly slap (not really)!
And the human holding its head down was terrifyingly strong too. One punch from him was enough to make even a tiger go dazed for a second.
After getting beaten enough times, the juvenile finally learned to behave.
But Lin Jiangye watched its little eyes constantly spinning, and he didn’t need to guess—this thing definitely wasn’t being honest inside.
So before he left, Lin Jiangye sat down and had a proper one-on-one talk with the late-juvenile Amur tiger—a real talk, no hands.
Outsiders didn’t know what they said. They only knew that even after Lin Jiangye left, the juvenile obediently accepted human treatment, and after it healed, it didn’t cause trouble either.
Later, the Forestry Bureau released it back into the wild, and it never showed up in the mountain guardian’s territory again.
Once, someone finally couldn’t help asking Lin Jiangye what he’d said to it.
Over the phone came the young man’s mischievous laugh:
“Ah, nothing much—just threatened it. Told it if it kept acting up, next time we caught it, we’d neuter it. It didn’t know what ‘neuter’ meant, so I said we’d cut off its balls.”
Every male staff member on that call shuddered without thinking. They seriously suspected Lin Jiangye wasn’t joking…
“Come on, I really was joking. It’s still an Amur tiger—at most I can scare it with words. But judging by your reactions, looks like it really did behave better after I left.” Lin Jiangye sounded very satisfied.
On the other end, the Forestry Bureau wiped cold sweat off their foreheads. After hanging up, they exchanged dazed looks.
So you can threaten like that too…
“Though… it kind of makes sense. It’s a male, after all…” What man wouldn’t feel a chill in his soul hearing he might get castrated?
Besides, during the days the juvenile was with Lin Jiangye, he truly hit when he said he’d hit—no mercy. Just listening to those thud thud thud sounds made their heads hurt.
Back in Yue City, Lin Jiangye was hugging the kids at home and kissing them nonstop.
He’d been in Taibai Mountain for over half a month. The Maine Coon and the “Five-Red Native Pine” he’d brought back earlier almost didn’t recognize him anymore.
The Tibetan Mastiff and the Caucasian (yes, that one) immediately started meowing and howling the moment they saw him, accusing him of not coming home for so long.
And once he got home, he heard another piece of “good news”—Border Collie was pregnant.
“Huh???” He stared with eyes wide at the German Shepherd, who was wagging its tail smugly, then looked over at the Border Collie lounging lazily in the corner.
The German Shepherd stepped forward and nudged Lin Jiangye’s calf.
[When it gives birth, you help us raise the kids.]
“???” No—why?!
The German Shepherd lifted its head righteously.
[Its body isn’t good!]
“That’s why you, the dad, are here!”
[I have to take care of it!]
Lin Jiangye’s mouth twitched. He immediately called the pet hospital contact he had and told them to come over and custom-make a full-coverage prosthetic leg for the Border Collie.
“When your wife’s prosthetic is done, she won’t need you. You go take care of the puppies.” What kind of father doesn’t raise his own kids and tries to dump them on a human?
Off to the side, Jiang Xin and the others watched Lin Jiangye arguing with the German Shepherd hands-on-hips, and their faces softened into relieved smiles.
When Lin Jiangye wasn’t around, everything felt like it was missing something.
Sure, they took care of the kids every day, but whenever they heard all the howling and chirping and didn’t know what anyone was saying, they still felt a little empty.
Now Lin Jiangye was back. The house was lively again.
When word spread that Lin Jiangye had finally returned, Shang Fuyan also came by and handed him the “good Samaritan” bonus and the case reward money.
“You were way too reckless. Even with the mountain guardian helping, you shouldn’t have gone in barehanded.” What he meant was the livestream incident—Lin Jiangye coordinating with the female Amur tiger to pin down the late-juvenile male.
That livestream had caused a massive stir. People online saw with their own eyes how Lin Jiangye “commanded” the female Amur tiger into pressing the male down.
If it weren’t for the fact you couldn’t see any AI warning labels, everyone would’ve thought it was fake.
And because of that video, more and more people got curious about Lin Jiangye. They dug up his identity, learned about his “track record,” and a lot of Forestry and police departments started itching.
“Actually, not just them. A bunch of zoos want you too.” Shang Fuyan knew because those people had gone straight to the Wen’an District station to ask.
Lin Jiangye’s head slowly sprouted a big question mark. “Why are they going to the station?”
Shang Fuyan’s mouth twitched. “Why? Because they all think you belong to Wen’an’s police. They’re asking if we’ll ‘loan you out.’”
Lin Jiangye clicked his tongue in disgust and waved them off. “No. Not going. Not interested.”
Then he paused and added, “The Forestry Bureau ones, though… maybe.”
If he had a good relationship with local Forestry, he could pet river porpoises whenever he wanted. If he had a good relationship with Taibai’s Forestry, they’d let him touch a golden eagle. If he built relationships with Forestry in different places…
He could pet protected animals wherever he went.
Hearing the unmistakable longing in his voice, Shang Fuyan’s internal alarm sirens went off.
Others didn’t know, but they did: Lin Jiangye wasn’t actually controlled by the bureau. “Special consultant” was more like a partnership.
If it was just a partnership, then partnering with who wasn’t any different.
Captain Li and the others didn’t dare “steal” him. They were relying on the fact that as long as Lin Jiangye stayed in Yue City, borrowing him for a case was always possible.
But outsiders? That was another story.
If Forestry invited him, he might actually leave on the spot.
But then Lin Jiangye said something that made Shang Fuyan’s heart burst with surprise:
“Hey… if I want to open a wildlife park, how do I do it?”
Shang Fuyan turned and met the youth’s sincere gaze.
His heart softened instantly, and he leaned close, speaking quietly into Lin Jiangye’s ear as he explained the materials he’d prepared earlier.
When Jiang Xin came in carrying tea and snacks, he froze on the spot.
The tall man had one hand braced on the floor behind the young man. The two were extremely close. With that smile on the man’s face, it looked exactly like a couple whispering sweet nothings.
But! Jiang Xin knew very clearly these two weren’t “that” kind of relationship!
So… he narrowed his eyes and sized Shang Fuyan up. Ever since the last visit, he’d felt something was off. Now it looked like this guy really did have ulterior motives toward Mr. Lin.
He was grateful Shang Fuyan had saved him—but Lin Jiangye was his lifesaver too, had even moved for his safety, and had given him a cushy, well-paid job.
Jiang Xin had already started seeing himself as the house steward. Besides feeding the kids, he took on other work proactively.
Lin Jiangye even quietly gave him a raise after returning—basically approving what he was doing.
So now, in Jiang Xin’s eyes, Shang Fuyan was… a little irritating.
“Sir!” he suddenly called out loudly.
When both men looked over, he immediately smiled sweetly and carried the tea over.
After that, every half hour, he wandered over again.
Lin Jiangye didn’t think anything of it. But Shang Fuyan saw it instantly—on purpose. Watching him. Annoying him, too. ^_^
Shang Fuyan’s feelings were complicated. Jiang Xin’s behavior was a thorn in his side, sure—but when he saw Jiang Xin’s gaze toward Lin Jiangye was still clear and sincere, he also felt that it was… good.
Having someone genuinely looking out for Lin Jiangye nearby could protect him from outside people with bad intentions.
Even though Shang Fuyan himself was, technically, one of those “bad intentions.”
“Oh right, Captain Shang—this. I almost forgot to give you.” Before Shang Fuyan left, Lin Jiangye suddenly remembered there was a gift still in his car.
Shang Fuyan blinked—and the moment he saw it, his face visibly lit up with joy.
Jiang Xin leaned in and saw it was a braided bracelet, with two tiny little round charms hanging below, stuffed with what looked like fur.
“The bracelet has whiskers from that late-juvenile Amur tiger. I picked them up, braided them into a five-color cord. One fur ball is Tiger Mama’s fur, the other is the little white deer’s.” Lin Jiangye had made two when he left—one for himself, one specifically for Shang Fuyan.
“You took leave to come with me, and I didn’t even get to properly show you around. I didn’t buy you any local specialties either… so I could only make something by hand.” He even sounded a bit guilty.
But Shang Fuyan didn’t care about “specialties” at all. Receiving a gift like this was already an enormous surprise.
Besides, only two existed—wasn’t this basically a couple’s bracelet (…maybe)?
“This counts as a specialty, doesn’t it?” His smile was dazzling, his heart burning hot.
Tiger Mama, in Lin Jiangye’s words, was the Taibai mountain guardian. Using her fur had an obvious “protection” meaning.
And the little white deer—ancient people called it a good omen.
Honestly, this bracelet was more precious than any souvenir Taibai could sell.
Shang Fuyan tucked it close to his body and looked at Lin Jiangye with eyes bright and shining. “Thank you. I really like it.”
His pupils were very dark, but in that moment they looked like the finest black jade—warm, soft, and luminous.
Lin Jiangye suddenly felt heat creep up behind his ears. Only after the man left did he scratch at his ear and mutter to himself.
Weird… was the room too hot?
—
After returning to Yue City, Lin Jiangye could be called both leisurely and “kind of busy.”
Besides researching the wildlife park, he also wanted to open a pet hospital, and visit Qingze District to see the seagulls and the river porpoise again.
The pet hospital part got solved quickly. By sheer coincidence, the clinic he’d frequented had shut down—owner bankrupt and fled, the whole place being used to pay debts.
Lin Jiangye simply bought it, kept the original vets, and also bought the neighboring unit as a special space for strays.
Same job, but a bigger, better workplace, newer equipment, and—most importantly—higher salaries. The vets couldn’t bear to leave.
And now there were no sales KPIs. They could just focus on treating animals.
He also contacted the wildlife rescue station vets at the wetland park: if they ran into strays or other problems, they could come to him anytime.
A month passed in a busy blur.
Then one day, while Lin Jiangye was home looking after the very pregnant Border Collie, a crow arrived.
[Help! Human—help that rabbit! It’s about to freeze to death!]
This crow also wore a lace collar around its neck, set with a one-carat sapphire—clearly one of his old helpers from earlier cases.
Lin Jiangye froze for a second, then strode outside. “Rabbit? A stray rabbit?”
How did there end up being every kind of stray animal these days? Last time a crow even helped pick up a hamster that was nearly frozen.
[Not a stray, not a stray! It’s here to ask you to save a human!] The crow cawed anxiously—it sounded genuinely urgent.
Lin Jiangye hurriedly changed clothes and drove out. The Border Collie licked the German Shepherd’s nose, signaling it to follow.
The German Shepherd looked reluctant, but under the Border Collie’s firm gaze, it jumped into the back compartment.
Seeing him leave, the Tibetan Mastiff and the Caucasian also hopped in. Then came Opal and Bixie. Only Diamond stayed behind to keep the Border Collie company.
Following that crow, Lin Jiangye quickly found the rabbit—
And the moment he saw it, he knew it wasn’t going to freeze to death.
Because it was a Chinese big white rabbit—muscular, tough, and sturdy. Right now it was crouched in a corner, staring with red eyes.
Cold? Yes, cold was real. But freezing to death? Probably not… it was even wearing a little sweater!
When Lin Jiangye got out, the white rabbit opened its mouth and cried out urgently:
[Are you the human the black bird talked about? Please save a human cub! She’s always being bullied—she has so many, so many injuries!]
It was so frantic it actually stood up, pressed its front paws together, and bowed at Lin Jiangye.
That gesture—
[Rabbit saw other humans bow like this. Rabbit bows too—please, I’m begging you.]
Lin Jiangye frowned slightly. He picked the big white rabbit up first—then his mouth twitched. He had no idea where it came from, but it was absurdly well-fed.
He weighed it with one hand, roughly. This rabbit was over ten jin—heavier than the Tibetan Mastiff.
“Tell me the details first,” Lin Jiangye said as he put it in the car. “Where did you come from?”
Now that it wasn’t shivering anymore, the rabbit’s nose twitched, and it said sadly:
[Rabbit doesn’t know what the place is called. Rabbit only knows there are many human cubs there.]
Many human cubs? Then it wasn’t a private home. Was it a school?
Lin Jiangye stared at the rabbit. Schools that keep rabbits… was it an elementary school? A university?
University seemed unlikely. White rabbits there were usually lab rabbits, and it would be hard for one to get this bulky.
So maybe a kindergarten or elementary school raised it—so children could pet it?
“Do you remember the way back?” Lin Jiangye asked.
The rabbit looked at him with completely blank red eyes.
Alright. It didn’t.
Then the big question was: how did it even get here?
The rabbit looked troubled too.
It had been kept in a large grassy enclosure. One time, it overheard two birds gossiping and learned about Lin Jiangye.
[They said if you’re wronged—whether animal or human—you can find you to ‘call the police.’ But what does ‘call the police’ mean?]
Rabbit didn’t understand. Rabbit only heard the word “wronged.”
So late at night, it broke out of jail. In the bitter winter, it asked birds along the way and traveled from very, very far until it reached here.
[That little human cub is good to rabbit. She always finds rabbit yummy things. Rabbit likes her.]
So when the cub kept crying to the rabbit, the rabbit decided to help.
But how? It was only a soft, pitiful rabbit!
[Then rabbit came here!] The “soft, pitiful” (crossed out) muscle-packed rabbit lifted its head proudly, red eyes full of hope.
Lin Jiangye was touched by its desire to help.
But the problem was still the same: the rabbit didn’t know where it came from, didn’t know how to get back, and even if he wanted to help, he didn’t know who the victim was.
No solution.
The rabbit hadn’t expected that answer. It instantly wilted, shrinking into a ball.
Lin Jiangye sighed, scratched his head, then asked:
“Do you remember who you asked for directions along the way?”
The only method now was to find the animals it had asked, then trace the rabbit’s trail back to its origin.
But that would take a long time.
The rabbit said nothing. This was the only way the human could offer.
Lin Jiangye rubbed its head. Feeling the rock-hard muscle beneath his hand, he couldn’t help blurting out in curiosity:
“Why are you so jacked?”
The white rabbit lifted its head, its eyes full of confusion. [Huh? Rabbit doesn’t know either. Rabbit just often plays with the little cubs, and then it turned out like this.]
“…” Lin Jiangye fell silent for a moment.
Luckily, he had brought plenty of his own kids out today. Cats, dogs, and birds all scattered to ask around. Before long, they found another sparrow that had been asked for directions.
This little black puffball had an outrageously chatty mouth. After chirping on and on, it finally got to the point: [Sparrow saw it at the riverbank up ahead!]
“Riverbank?” Lin Jiangye looked at the white rabbit crouched in the back compartment. It was scratching its head with a hind leg. Hearing that, it paused—then suddenly yelled, [Rabbit does think rabbit passed a big river! So big, so big!]
The only major river in Yue City was the Tongji River. Following the sparrow’s directions, they successfully found the second animal by the river who had pointed the rabbit the right way.
Soon came the third, the fourth… and Lin Jiangye gradually realized they were leaving Yue City.
So this white rabbit had crossed into another city just to find him? Lin Jiangye was genuinely stunned.
Back then, the little white deer could cross more than a thousand kilometers because it was a wild animal raised in Taibai Mountain—running and leaping through forests every day, able to hit eighty or ninety kilometers an hour.
But this rabbit wasn’t like that. Especially since it was kept by humans. For it to cross an entire city to reach him… that wasn’t speed. That was sheer willpower.
Which also meant one thing: the rabbit’s feelings for that human cub had to be deep. Otherwise, why risk something like this?
As they kept asking for directions, Lin Jiangye patiently asked about the rabbit and the cub.
[She’s just an ordinary human cub—just way too easy to bully. She gets bullied and cries every day. Rabbit tells her to rush in and punch them, and she still won’t listen! Rabbit gets so mad!]
The moment it thought of the cub crying, the white rabbit instantly got agitated, thumping its hind legs thud thud thud against the floor of the compartment.
By the time they found the eighth animal that had been asked for directions, Lin Jiangye had reached near the city center of Gao City. And once they were here, the white rabbit finally started to recognize things.
[Yes, yes, yes! It’s around here! Rabbit remembers this place!]
Lin Jiangye opened the map and searched for nearby schools. Two results popped up: a kindergarten and a high school.
At first he assumed it was a rabbit kept at the kindergarten. But when they reached the kindergarten, the rabbit shook its head, saying it didn’t recognize it.
If it wasn’t the kindergarten, then it could only be the high school.
Lin Jiangye was surprised. He hadn’t expected a high school to be keeping small animals. For what—stress relief for seniors?
But when he arrived at the high school, he found the whole area already sealed off, and a huge crowd had gathered.
From the look of it… something had happened.
Thinking of what the rabbit had said about the cub being bullied, Lin Jiangye’s heart sank hard.
“Don’t tell me it’s that kind of coincidence.” The rabbit had spent days finding him, begging him to come help.
Now that they’d finally reached the destination… don’t tell him the cub who needed help had already gotten into trouble.
The white rabbit also went stiff, its red eyes locked tightly on the crowd.
Even a rabbit could feel the anxious, scorching tension in the air.
It shifted uneasily and cautiously leaned against the German Shepherd, asking in a small voice, [They… what are they doing?]
Lin Jiangye pressed his lips together and didn’t answer. He got out of the car and slipped into the crowd to listen quietly.
When he learned a high school student was about to jump, his breathing stopped dead.
Whether it was the same cub or not, his mood turned heavy.
A high schooler—about the same age he’d been when he died.
He tried to move forward, but the surrounding officers quickly waved him back.
Lin Jiangye’s worry only deepened—until he spotted a familiar figure among the police.
He circled around, came up behind him, and lightly tapped his shoulder. That officer was already in a terrible mood; he whipped around sharply.
“Who—… oh. It’s you, Consultant Lin.”
The moment he saw Lin Jiangye, he blanked out.
“Why are you here?” Wasn’t he from Yue City? Why had he suddenly appeared on Gao City’s turf—passing through, or…?
That cautious, careful manner clearly came from a lesson so painfully unforgettable that even now, seeing Lin Jiangye made him shrink back a little.
Lin Jiangye didn’t care about his attitude. He went straight to the point: a rabbit had dragged him here.
“That white rabbit said there’s a cub here who gets bullied a lot by other cubs. I suspect school bullying, so I came to take a look.”
And then the moment he arrived—he heard a student was about to jump.
But when the detective heard him, his face changed instantly.
“Covered in injuries? School bullying? Then… did the rabbit mean a thin, tiny girl?”
The two locked eyes.
Both their hearts sank at the exact same time.
Don’t tell them… it was really the same person.
