Chapter 6 I don't film animal mating.

Sleep is indeed the best way to replenish energy.

Su Cheng stretched lazily in bed, her silk nightgown sliding up to her thighs as she moved, revealing a pair of slender, fair legs.

After the rainy season, the air becomes unbearably hot and humid.

She lowered the air conditioner temperature by a few degrees.

Who understands the bliss of having the air conditioning on and a blanket covering you in the summer?

It would be even better if we could have some iced watermelon.

She turned over, reached for her phone on the pillow, and skillfully unlocked the screen.

The first thing I do when I wake up is check out the big news on my WeChat Moments.

The latest video features Papi, a Ragdoll cat who previously underwent behavioral correction by Su Cheng due to food aggression issues.

With a graceful leap, it landed nimbly on the cabinet shelf. But its round body suddenly seemed cramped in the narrow space, its chubby frame stuck between the shelves, unable to move forward or backward. It could only awkwardly reverse, its short leg flailing futilely in the air for a while before finally being rescued by its owner.

She laughed out loud and posted a comment: "[Beep beep beep, please be careful when backing up!]"

Scroll down the screen, and you'll see a nine-grid photo of exquisite food that my best friend Xu Zhisui just posted.

Further down is a "boyfriend's perspective" post by Xu Zhisui's boyfriend, Chen Siqi. In the video, Xu Zhisui is facing a table full of delicious food, showing a happy smile.

She was bombarded with PDA the moment she woke up this morning.

The three of them were classmates.

Xu Zhisui and Shen Siqi, this pair of bickering lovers, have been arguing like two sparrows ever since they entered high school. Just last week, the two even quarreled in a karaoke bar about "who fell in love first back then".

But hidden within the noise and commotion was the purest stirring of young hearts. Su Cheng felt that perhaps what she was witnessing was the most beautiful form of love.

Sending a little heart, Su Cheng didn't forget to speak up for herself.

[This is suspected of animal abuse (referring to me, a single person)]

Swipe your fingertip across the screen, and real little animals appear.

An orange and white cat squinted its eyes, proudly raised its little head, and smiled at the camera.

Isn't this the young British gentleman from next door?

Unlike the previous well-composed portraits, this is a live photo taken from a selfie perspective.

She looked again and noticed that the ingot seemed to be on Jiang Muzhou's stomach.

Jiang Muzhou casually threw on a black tank top, revealing sharp lines of his collarbone. As he bent down to tease the cat, the fabric of the tank top tightened slightly, vaguely showing the outline of his firm chest muscles.

Su Cheng's pupils dilated slightly.

If it were anyone else, she would definitely give them a thumbs up and praise the man as a bodhisattva.

But since the object of her affections was Jiang Muzhou, she inexplicably thought of the phrase "the collapse of social order and morality."

The abstinent academic genius who used to button his shirts all the way to the top and wear a T-shirt under his basketball jersey while playing basketball has now openly shown off his great physique on social media.

Su Cheng stared at the photo in a daze, two possibilities flashing through her mind: either Jiang Muzhou lost a game of truth or dare, or he accidentally forgot to set the visibility to a specific group.

I zoomed in and out on the photo with my index and middle fingers on the screen, repeatedly taking in the image of the well-defined muscles. The image of the firm abdominal muscles I touched when I accidentally fell that day came back to mind.

Su Cheng smiled foolishly, but reason ultimately failed to overcome impulse, and her hand trembled as she pressed save.

Living next to a handsome guy is definitely a great perk.

-

In the afternoon, sunlight filtered through the white gauze and slanted across the wooden floor.

The coolness of the air conditioner contrasted sharply with the chirping of cicadas outside the window.

Yuanbao's behavior correction training session has been extended to twenty minutes, and Jiang Muzhou arrived as scheduled.

He unusually brought a camera and a laptop with him; this was the first time she had ever seen him do anything work-related.

Watching him casually work around the clock, Su Cheng couldn't help but sigh. Documentary filmmakers have a tough job. Not only do they have to carry equipment and endure wind and sun, but after work they also have to deal with mountains of footage and edit it frame by frame.

Su Cheng bypassed his busy figure and went into the isolation room to get to know Tyrant Tiger better.

She meticulously modified a cardboard box, sealing five sides tightly and hanging a soft blackout curtain on the remaining side as a door. She laid her old pajamas at the bottom of the box so that the Decepticons could slowly become familiar with her scent in a private space.

Sure enough, the Decepticons preferred the cardboard box to the original open cat bed.

Su Cheng poured cat food into the food bowl. Hearing the noise, Tyrant Tiger quietly peeked out from behind the curtain, secretly observing the two-legged creature's every move.

Stray cats that have experienced trauma are more wary and hostile towards humans, so rescuers need to spend twice as much time and patience.

Feeding at regular times is the first step in building trust. This way, the animal will feel that humans are reliable long-term meal tickets and will gradually lower its guard.

Seeing the furtive little cat's head peeking out from behind the curtain, Su Cheng didn't press her advantage by rushing to pet it. Instead, she turned her back to it and softly recalled the scene of their first meeting, letting the Tyrant Tiger gradually get used to her voice. This way, she could gradually win its trust.

For stray animals, maintaining a moderate level of vigilance is actually a form of self-protection. This innate defensiveness can effectively reduce the risk of them falling into the hands of animal abusers.

The rescue center provides behavioral correction and emotional therapy for the stray animals it takes in, firstly to help them overcome their psychological trauma, and secondly to create opportunities for adoption for animals that are willing to be close to humans.

But the core of all this is not to tame them into obedient and docile pets, but to help them rebuild their sense of security and return the choice of whether or not to establish a relationship with humans to their own hands.

Although the Decepticons' eyes still held a wary look, their erect ears were no longer pressed against the back of their heads with the same hostility they had shown when they first met.

A slight smile played on Su Cheng's lips, a look of relief on her face. She believed that given time, the Decepticon would gradually lower its guard, just like its other companions, and find its long-term meal ticket.

She was about to add some clean water to the Decepticon's water bowl when she turned around and was met with a camera with a red dot suddenly appearing behind her.

A cool and handsome face peeked out from behind the camera, with a pair of deep and bright peach blossom eyes beneath his wispy bangs.

Su Cheng glanced quickly at the Tyrant and noticed it was staring in the direction of the camera.

She pressed her hands against Jiang Muzhou's chest and pushed him toward the door without saying a word.

"Sorry, it's just my professional habit." Jiang Muzhou, holding the camera, looked a little awkward and gave an apologetic smile. "Last time I heard you talk about your experience with the Decepticons, and seeing the scenes of you two together, I couldn't help but want to record it."

“Look.” He turned the camera’s LCD screen around, took a step closer to Su Cheng, and showed her the footage he had just recorded. “If you mind, I’ll delete it now.”

“I don’t mind.” Su Cheng shook her head. Her gaze was not on the LCD screen, but on Jiang Muzhou’s lowered profile. “It’s just that at this stage, the Decepticons haven’t built trust with humans yet, and I’m afraid strangers will scare them.”

Jiang Muzhou looked up and met a pair of bright, black and white doe eyes.

His previously steady breathing became disordered the moment their eyes met, and his warm breath gently landed on the stray hairs on her forehead.

Her eyelashes fluttered twice, then she turned her head away and quickly walked to the sofa to sit down.

He stood there, head down, fiddling with the camera.

In a daze, his focused profile overlapped with the image of the boy in my memory who was engrossed in solving problems by the window in the innovation classroom.

All she knew about Jiang Muzhou was frozen in the summer when she was eighteen. Those titles like "first in the grade" and "competition champion" pieced together her entire understanding of him.

Even today, when 22-year-old Jiang Muzhou stands before her, his words and actions still automatically overlay the images of that year into her mind.

But what kind of person is the real Jiang Muzhou?

She seemed to have never known.

"Jiang Muzhou." She casually picked up a cushion and flicked her wrist.

These three simple words had rolled over her lips a thousand times, but she had never had the courage to utter them.

She never expected that the first time she called out his name, it would be so calm, like talking about everyday things, making her feel as if she had been through a lifetime.

The cushion traced an arc in the air before landing precisely in her hand. "Why did you choose to become a documentary photographer?"

Jiang Muzhou paused slightly, then walked over and sat down next to Su Cheng, maintaining a proper distance between them.

"Do you see the clouds drifting in the sky? They are changing every second. The world we live in is completely different from the one we live in every second."

He turned to look out the window and said in a clear, gentle voice, "The most wonderful thing about photography is that it can freeze the flow of time. Sunrise and sunset, clouds rolling and unfolding, can all become eternal treasures within the viewfinder."

"There are too many fleeting beauties in this world. If no one stops to record them, they may eventually be buried in the dust of time and remain unknown to anyone for a lifetime."

Time may smooth out the rough edges of a young man, but it has never extinguished the fire that dances in his eyes.

The man's unwavering and sincere gaze kept Su Cheng from looking away.

She still couldn't resist him at all.

A place long dormant in my heart has quietly awakened after many years.

"Did you also film animals before?" Su Cheng gazed at his face, pondering the past and future he pursued, and couldn't help but want to understand his world. "Was it like in 'Animal World,' where 'Spring has arrived, all things are reviving, and it's the mating season for animals'?"

The man's gaze held a hint of suspicion, and his brow furrowed slightly. "I don't film animal mating."

"..."

Su Cheng was speechless. Was the point about mating?

“There are many types of documentaries, and those that can be broadcast on TV are all big productions. I’m just a small-scale maker, making short videos to record intangible cultural heritage and local customs.”

"However, your interaction with the Decepticons just now gave me a new perspective."

"After all, this land does not belong to humans alone."

A note from the author: