The day before Jun Qi took Xu Qiaoqiao up the tree, he had already filled his stomach, and he expected that he wouldn't feel hungry for the next few days without eating.

When the floodwaters arrived and gradually submerged the land and bushes, Xu Qiaoqiao finally understood Jun Qi's intention. That very night, a torrential downpour began, with the sound of rain pattering continuously.

Xu Qiaoqiao looked up uneasily. The night sky looked like it had been splashed with ink. She slowly moved a little further away from Jun Qi. Jun Qi looked up at her, reached out his paw, and patted the little one's head.

Sensing Jun Qi's safety, Xu Qiaoqiao felt much better. She affectionately rubbed Jun Qi's paw against her, then moved a little closer to him, hovering around his head and nuzzling her forehead against his neck.

It let out a sticky meow, feeling much more at ease. Then, it rested its head on his paw, yawned, meowed at Jun Qi, said goodnight, and fell asleep.

Although it was still raining, the leaves overhead kept them dry. Jun Qi looked at Xu Qiaoqiao sleeping soundly, nuzzled his head slightly forward, and kissed the little one's head with a tender gesture.

"Chirp chirp".

Goodnight, little one.

This was the first time Jun Qi had taken Xu Qiaoqiao to climb a tree. As the river level began to drop, the water level under the big tree where they were standing also gradually decreased. Soon, when the water level receded, Jun Qi and Xu Qiaoqiao jumped down from the tree.

"Ouch!" Xu Qiaoqiao was once again being held by the back of her neck by Jun Qi. When her feet touched the ground, the soil was a bit soft because it had been washed by water. She accidentally stumbled and fell to the ground.

Then its clean fur instantly became filthy, and a large clump of dirt stuck to its head.

"Waaah." What's wrong with me?

At the moment of falling, she was clearly not in a state of shock. She slowly sat up, still looking dazed. She blinked, looked up at Jun Qi, and pouted.

Junjun, I'm dirty.

Seeing Xu Qiaoqiao like this, Jun Qi found it quite adorable. He called out to her a few times, then lowered his head and rubbed the little one's soft belly before carrying her in his mouth and walking towards the riverbank.

Let the little one get a wash first.

...

The feeling of hiding in the tree didn't make Xu Qiaoqiao very comfortable. Perhaps she hadn't found a comfortable position for herself. Anyway, she only showed a little dislike for climbing trees after that, so Jun Qi didn't take her up the tree much anymore.

Then, in June, Jun Qi spent his days teaching Xu Qiaoqiao hunting skills. However, neither the teacher nor the student grasped the essentials; the teacher couldn't teach well, and the student couldn't learn well either.

At the very beginning, the atmosphere between the two sides was particularly good.

Later on, the students started to slack off.

Seeing Jun Qi's serious expression once again, Xu Qiaoqiao fell silent. She swallowed hard. Actually, otters can eat leaves and bark, so even if they can't find prey, they won't starve.

Xu Qiaoqiao really wanted to say this to Jun Qi, but since they couldn't understand each other's language, even if she did, Jun Qi probably wouldn't understand her. Besides, your methods really aren't suitable for her.

Xu Qiaoqiao was clearly unwilling; she looked rather dejected.

"Chirp chirp".

Jun Qi licked Xu Qiaoqiao's eyes to help her wake up a little. He stopped when Xu Qiaoqiao made some whimpering sounds. He then raised his paw and rubbed the little one's belly.

It called out again.

—Keep up.

Then he turned around and started walking in one direction.

Watching Jun Qi's resolute back and his fluffy tail, Xu Qiaoqiao stared for several seconds, then sighed helplessly, got up from the ground, and followed in the direction Jun Qi had left.

Ahead was a fork in the road. Jun Qi paused for a few seconds, sniffing the air. Something seemed off, so he sniffed a few more times, his expression turning stern.

"Waaaaah?" What's wrong?

When Xu Qiaoqiao caught up, she saw Jun Qi stop there. Her heart skipped a beat. She didn't understand why Jun Qi had suddenly stopped. She quickly ran up, jumped up and hugged Jun Qi's front legs tightly.

What's wrong? What happened? Or is there an intruder?

This guess immediately popped into Xu Qiaoqiao's mind. After all, the biggest threat to them right now was the intruders, whether human or animal. For Junjun right now, the issue of territory was the top priority.

"Chirp chirp." Jun Qi let out a deep chirp, feeling somewhat uncertain, since the aura was very faint, and it seemed that the other party was also a jaguar.

so……

Are they here to seize territory?

A few seconds later, Jun Qi almost immediately made up his mind. He looked down and saw the little guy hugging his front paws. It was fluffy and round, like a sloth, with a lot of doubt in its bright eyes.

Upon noticing that Jun Qi was looking at her, Xu Qiaoqiao hurriedly whimpered a few times, her voice quite loud. This was the first time she had ever seen Jun Qi like this; to be precise, this was the first time she had ever seen Jun Qi show such an expression in this world.

I'm quite curious.

Jun Qi licked Xu Qiaoqiao's back, then bit the back of her neck, pulled her off his forelegs, and flung her slightly into the air, where she landed accurately on his back.

"..." Xu Qiaoqiao was a little happy because Jun Qi's action meant that today's teaching activities could be skipped, but when she thought about Jun Qi's actions and expression just now, she became a little worried.

What exactly happened?

She crawled forward, and when she was almost riding on the big cat's neck, she reached out her paw and rubbed its furry ear, making a strange whimpering sound.

Jun Qi determined a direction and walked in that direction. He felt the little guy stroking his ear. He blinked, clearly not quite used to it. He wanted to shake his head and break free from the little guy's paws, but he quickly suppressed the thought.

But I still felt a little awkward.

When Xu Qiaoqiao saw Junjun like this, she moved her paw again and pinched the ear. Then she felt the big cat shudder and stop walking forward.

"Chirp chirp." Jun Qi turned his head, his green eyes staring at Xu Qiaoqiao without any emotion. Xu Qiaoqiao guiltily withdrew her paws and gave him a fawning smile.

"..." Don't do that again next time.

—Okay.