Part-time Natural History Blogger

The old hunter led the way at the very front, trudging unevenly through the thick snow, but his neck seemed to be fitted with a spring. He looked back every three steps, his cloudy old eyes fixed on Ke Yujia, who was following closely beside Su Bai.

To be precise, he was staring at Ke Yujia's right foot, which just moments ago had been swollen like a steamed bun, but was now walking briskly.

"This... this is simply seeing a ghost in broad daylight!"

The old hunter muttered frantically in his heart, his old face flushed red from extreme shock. Having spent decades in these woods of the Changbai Mountains, what kind of bruises and injuries hadn't he seen? For a sprained ankle of that severity, even the most experienced bone-setting doctor in town would need to massage it with medicinal liquor for over half an hour, followed by applying herbal poultices and resting for the better part of a month.

But this excessively young top-tier billionaire right in front of him had just casually massaged it for a few minutes, without even using any medicine, and the girl was alive and kicking?

The exclusive driver, Lao Li, followed behind carrying a heavy mountaineering bag. Seeing the old hunter's shocked, unworldly expression, he sneered inwardly.

As the driver personally selected by Xia Lin, Lao Li knew well that for a divine tycoon of Su Bai's caliber, possessing any number of unbelievable abilities was completely normal. He quickly stepped forward, lowered his voice, and warned the old hunter, "Don't look at what you shouldn't look at, and just lead the way. How could an ordinary person like you possibly fathom Mr. Su's abilities?"

The old hunter shuddered all over in fright, hastily retracted his gaze, and quickened his pace while nodding and bowing. When he looked at Su Bai's back again, his eyes no longer just held the fawning look for a wealthy patron, but also a kind of fear akin to reverence.

The group continued to advance deeper into the shaded valley.

The further they went, the denser the surrounding primeval forest became, with towering cedars blotting out the sky and the sun.

"Mr. Su, we're here!"

The old hunter suddenly stopped in his tracks and pointed to a low-lying area ahead that was shielded from the wind and snow by massive rocks. His tone carried a hint of flattery, "Look under the roots of that dead tree, those little white umbrellas are the rarest winter snow mushrooms in these woods!"

Ke Yujia looked in the direction the old hunter was pointing, and her clear eyes instantly lit up.

Around the rotting wood covered in a thin layer of snow, there truly grew clusters of crystal-clear mushrooms with faint milky-white caps. They stood proudly in the severe cold of minus twenty degrees, exuding an extremely tenacious vitality.

"Wow! Brother Su Bai, there really are mushrooms!"

Ke Yujia cheered excitedly and pounced over like a happy little rabbit.

She squatted carefully in the snow, not even bothering to put on her thick gloves, and reached out her fair, slender fingers to gently brush away the snow around the mushrooms.

"Slow down, don't freeze your hands."

Su Bai walked over to her with his long legs, directly crouched down on one knee, and extremely naturally wrapped her entirely in his arms from behind.

Feeling the astonishing heat radiating from Su Bai's broad chest, a charming blush instantly appeared on Ke Yujia's face, which had been slightly red from the cold. She leaned back into Su Bai's embrace with utmost obedience, allowing Su Bai's large, warm hands to wrap around her icy little hands.

"Brother Su Bai, look, this mushroom is so cute." Ke Yujia pointed at the largest winter snow mushroom as if presenting a treasure, her voice so soft and sweet it could melt hearts.

"It is very cute, but not as cute as you."

Su Bai chuckled lightly and lowered his head to kiss her cold, flushed cheek.

This intimate interaction in the world of ice and snow made Ke Yujia's heart feel as sweet as honey. Her deep-seated, absolute reliance on Su Bai was fully ignited. She simply turned around, wrapped her arms around Su Bai's neck, and took the initiative to offer a fragrant kiss carrying the cool breath of the snow.

Lao Li and the old hunter tactfully turned their backs, pretending to study the surrounding tree bark.

After the two of them acted affectionately in the snow for a while, Ke Yujia finally remembered their actual business. She enthusiastically began picking those rare winter snow mushrooms, holding up every complete one she found to show off to Su Bai.

Su Bai stood to the side, a doting smile on his lips, watching this little wallflower who had grown up with him in the orphanage now blooming with the most carefree smile in front of him.

After picking half a small bag of mushrooms, Ke Yujia suddenly pulled out the latest top-spec Apple phone that Su Bai had bought for her from her down jacket pocket and tapped on the video recording function.

"Brother Su Bai, I want to record a video to document this!"

Holding up the phone, Ke Yujia flashed a sweet and pure smile at the camera and began narrating seriously, "Hello everyone, I'm currently in the snowy mountains of the North. Look, these are the extremely rare winter snow mushrooms. They can only grow in environments of minus a dozen degrees!"

As she spoke, she pointed the camera at the mushrooms on the ground, then turned the lens back to herself, perfectly framing Su Bai's tall and straight figure in the background.

"The one who brought me to pick mushrooms today is the most, most, most amazing person in the whole world!" Ke Yujia made no secret of her adoration for Su Bai in the video, her voice sickeningly sweet.

Seeing her adoringly cute appearance, Su Bai strode right up, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, and forcefully entered the frame.

"What are you filming? Planning to become an internet celebrity?" Su Bai pinched her soft cheek and teased with a smile.

"No, I just want to shoot a vlog to keep for myself to watch." Ke Yujia leaned obediently against Su Bai's shoulder, letting him pinch her cheek. Instead of resisting, she actively rubbed against his palm.

Su Bai looked at her earnest little expression, a wicked smirk curling at the corner of his lips. "Seeing how well you were narrating just now, you could totally become a part-time nature vlogger in the future."

"A nature vlogger?" Ke Yujia paused for a moment.

"Yeah, someone who specifically goes into nature to find all sorts of weird and wonderful flora and fauna to film." Su Bai raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of banter. "Anyway, now that I've fully acquired the Xinghe Dance Troupe, Lin Qingyu leads the rehearsals, and we don't take on those messy commercial gigs anymore. As my exclusive little maid, holding a sinecure in the dance troupe, you aren't busy at all. You have plenty of time to start a side hustle."

Hearing Su Bai mention the dance troupe, Ke Yujia's eyes filled with gratitude.

Had it not been for Su Bai generously throwing down 1.8 million to pay off the troupe's debts and domineeringly taking them over, she might still be exploited by that unscrupulous boss, perhaps even forced to serve drinks as an escort. It was Su Bai who gave her the ultimate protection, allowing her to dance with peace of mind, dancing only for him.

"Okay!" Ke Yujia's eyes sparkled, showing great interest in Su Bai's proposal. "Actually, I've loved watching nature documentaries since I was little. Back in the orphanage, whenever 'Animal World' was on TV, I wouldn't even eat, just staring straight at the screen."

"Alright, then when we get back, I'll have Jia Lu register an account for you and buy a set of the most top-tier filming equipment. If my little maid wants to be a vlogger, we must use the best resources to pave the way." Su Bai domineeringly made the promise.

As the two were talking, the old hunter leading the way suddenly stopped and made a highly tense gesture for silence.

"Shh, Boss, there is movement ahead!" the old hunter lowered his voice, pointing to a patch of bushes on the right.

Su Bai immediately shielded Ke Yujia behind him, staring sharply in that direction.

Rustle, rustle...

The faint sound of snow being crunched underfoot drifted over.

Soon after, a furry head poked out from behind the bushes. It was a graceful little deer with white spots, looking at these uninvited guests with big, wet, curious eyes.

"Wow, it is a little deer!"

Ke Yujia was so excited she almost cried out. She quickly covered her mouth with both hands, terrified of scaring away the adorable little creature.

The little deer did not seem to sense any danger. It stood there for a moment, even lowering its head to nibble some moss off a nearby tree trunk, before taking light steps and slowly wandering deeper into the forest.

It was not until the deer's silhouette completely disappeared into the snowy wind that Ke Yujia snapped out of her daze. She hurriedly raised her phone and recorded a video of the direction the deer had gone.

"So cute! That is my first time seeing a real, living deer in the wild!" Ke Yujia excitedly shook Su Bai's arm, her small face flushed red.

But then, as if suddenly struck by a profoundly deep question, she furrowed her brows slightly, a trace of immense confusion flashing through her clear eyes.

She looked up at Su Bai and earnestly asked a soul-searching question: "Brother Su Bai, it is winter right now, and it is over minus twenty degrees outside. Why is that deer still running around out here? Why hasn't it gone into hibernation?"

Hearing this question, the old hunter and the driver, Lao Li, both froze. They wanted to laugh but did not dare, holding it in so hard that their shoulders twitched.

Su Bai looked at his childhood sweetheart in his arms, her face full of a thirst for knowledge and asking such a serious question. He was stunned for a full two seconds before he could not help but chuckle helplessly.

He reached out a long, slender finger and affectionately tapped Ke Yujia's cute, upturned nose.

"Deer do not hibernate at all."

Looking at her instantly dumbfounded little face, Su Bai said with a thick dose of teasing on his lips that it seemed the nature blogger still had to work hard and brush up on her basic knowledge.