The sun was enthusiastically splashing its light over the glistening snow. Upon hearing those words, Xiao Yi, who had just thrown out his back, slipped and fell into a snow pit nearby.
A hard lump of dog poop made intimate contact with his face.
A few dog barks echoed from outside the forestry station.
Five or six armed soldiers walked in and asked the educated youths who were working, “Which of you knows how to use a gun?”
Gu Zhouye raised his hand. Xiao Yi hurriedly scrambled out of the pit, then realized he didn’t know how to use a gun.
“We need two more people to collect the prey.”
Shen Qiuqiu quickly grabbed Ding Rui’s hand.
“We’ll go!”
Wang Lixia, who had been beaten to it, was absolutely furious. Shen Qiuqiu made a face at her. Just as Shen Qiuqiu was about to follow the group, the stinking Xiao Yi grabbed her sleeve.
Shen Qiuqiu let out an explosive shriek!
“Eww! You stinking piece of dog crap — let go of me!”
Before Xiao Yi could even react, Shen Qiu grabbed Ding Rui’s hand and caught up with Gu Zhouye.
Xiao Yi glared viciously at Gu Zhouye, his fists clenched tight. Wang Lixia walked over to Xiao Yi.
“Captain, I feel like something’s off about Shen Qiu.”
Bai Xueying had wanted to spread the news about Gu Zhouye and Shen Qiu, but Xiao Yi had stopped her. Security captain Wang Dayong was Xiao Yi’s good friend, so the incident hadn’t leaked out. Xiao Yi wanted to find another chance to manipulate Shen Qiu once more — to make her admit that Gu Zhouye had forced her. But judging by how things were going now, Shen Qiu seemed determined to cut ties with him.
“Actually, there’s something I’ve been keeping to myself because I didn’t want Qiuqiu to do anything rash. Maybe right now she feels guilty toward me… that’s why she’s acting this way…”
Wang Lixia’s eyes went wide. Wang Dahua, who had been hovering around to stir up trouble, also came running over.
…
The two girls, Shen Qiu and Ding Rui, were walking a bit slowly, so the lead soldier left them a dog. The dog was very handsome — a standard German shepherd with intelligent eyes.
They reached a riverbank, where the lead soldier signaled for them to stop. Several dogs let out soft whines.
The lead soldier motioned for Shen Qiuqiu and Ding Rui to stay put. The rest of the men followed the dogs deeper into the woods. They left a gun with Shen Qiu and Ding Rui.
Earlier, they had already killed quite a few small animals here. Shen Qiuqiu and Ding Rui’s job was to process the prey, keep watch, and wait for someone to drive over and pick everything up.
They were at a spot with flowing water. After gathering the prey, Shen Qiuqiu went curiously to the riverbank and saw live fish swimming around.
“Ding Rui, look — so many fish!”
“Those are just fry — you can’t eat them. Compared to other places where people get sent to the countryside, we’re actually pretty well off here. It’s just that there’s nothing to eat in winter.”
Ding Rui was as thin as a bean sprout, yet she called this place “well off.”
Shen Qiuqiu was about to say something else when she heard a familiar sound not too far away. Wasn’t that the roar of a tiger — like the ones she used to hear in cartoons?
Ding Rui suddenly noticed that her friend had frozen in place, not moving at all. She quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”
Shen Qiuqiu hurriedly grabbed the gun, clicked off the safety, and swept her gaze across the depths of the forest.
“Didn’t you hear that? The sound of a tiger roaring.”
“It sounds like an ox to me…”
The moment Ding Rui heard the word “tiger,” she got so scared she hid behind Shen Qiuqiu.
“Do you know how to shoot?”
The original host had learned how to shoot but had never really used it. As for Shen Qiuqiu — she was a veteran RPG sniper in her own right — yet her legs were still trembling.
Not far away, a half-grown tiger was advancing toward them. Behind them were the prey the soldiers had shot earlier.
“Let’s run!”
“Run my ass. The moment you run, the tiger will chase you. We’ve got a gun in our hands — what’s there to be afraid of?”
Actually, Shen Qiuqiu was terrified too. Her legs were so weak she could barely move.
The half-grown tiger looked around as it continued to move forward. It even looked kind of cute. But Shen Qiuqiu knew — this was exactly how felines hunted. Acting like nothing was wrong, then lunging straight for your throat.
Shen Qiuqiu pulled the trigger, firing in the direction of the tiger.
It was an old-fashioned shotgun. The recoil was so strong it pushed Shen Qiuqiu two steps back. The shot landed just in front of the tiger.
The half-grown tiger froze for three seconds at the sound of the gunshot, then turned and scampered away.
Seeing the tiger leave, Ding Rui collapsed limp with fear. Shen Qiuqiu quickly pulled her back to her feet.
“The ground is cold. You’ll get the runs.”
Ding Rui couldn’t recover for a long time. Her voice was still shaking.
“Qiuqiu… you didn’t hit it just now. It’s not coming back, is it?”
Shen Qiuqiu quickly loaded another shell and said with righteous conviction, “What do you know? Tigers are nationally protected animals. Besides, that tiger clearly wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Heaven has mercy on all living creatures.”
The truth was — she had just missed.
The hunting party heard the gunshot from a distance and quickly sent two people to check on them. Among them was Gu Zhouye, his face etched with anxiety.
Gu Zhouye looked at Shen Qiuqiu, who was holding the gun with an air of solemn righteousness. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
The person who came with him was a young soldier with high-altitude rosy cheeks. He wasn’t tall, but he had incredibly white teeth. How did Shen Qiuqiu know his teeth were white?
Because the young comrade was smiling brilliantly.
“Comrade Shen, you scared us to death! We heard the tiger roar and came running this way. Are you two female comrades okay?”
Shen Qiuqiu immediately struck a righteous pose. “Female comrades must defend the people’s property with their lives! Besides, that was just a cub that hasn’t even been weaned yet. This is probably the mother tiger’s territory. We need to be careful.”
The young comrade nodded emphatically.
“It’s about mealtime. Which of you will come back with me to get the food and bring the truck? We caught something big.”
Ding Rui volunteered to go get the food. By following them to work today, she was guaranteed to get some meat.
After Ding Rui and the young comrade left, only Gu Zhouye and Shen Qiuqiu remained.
Gu Zhouye looked at Shen Qiuqiu with an awkward expression. Shen Qiuqiu walked up to him, smiling.
“Look at you — getting all shy again. You were so worried about me that you came running all this way, and now you won’t even say a word?”
Gu Zhouye turned his cold face away, but his earlobes — red as crystals — betrayed him. Shen Qiuqiu couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
Feeling embarrassed, Gu Zhouye finally spoke. “When did you learn to shoot?”
Shen Qiuqiu suddenly remembered the candy Ding Rui had given her. She tore open the wrapper and popped it into her mouth, then mumbled, “Don’t underestimate me. My aim is really good.”
Gu Zhouye let out a soft laugh. He turned to look at Shen Qiuqiu.
“Is that so?”
Seeing him like this, Shen Qiuqiu felt a mischievous impulse. She grabbed the collar of Gu Zhouye’s army greatcoat and pressed her mouth to his.
Gu Zhouye felt an infinite warmth on his lips. A sweet taste exploded on his tongue.
At that moment, a gentle breeze brushed through the birch forest, sending down snowflakes as fine as salt.
Gu Zhouye’s heart was pounding wildly. Shen Qiuqiu pulled back from the stunned Gu Zhouye and said with a smile, “See? A perfect sniper shot — straight to a young man’s heart.”