Jiang Nian stared at Huang Junwen with a pained expression, wondering just how much of a red envelope he should give the guy after such a grand bow.
“Wee-woo—wee-woo—”
Just then, the blare of sirens cut through the air as police cars rushed to the scene.
The Jinyun Police Station had received a report that a tiger was on the loose and had injured someone in the scenic area, so they’d wasted no time getting there.
Upon arrival, the sight of Jiang Nian riding on the tiger’s back caught them completely off guard.
Instinctively, they drew their sidearms and aimed at the tiger, while shouting at the crowd, who were less than twenty meters away:
“Spread out! Everyone, spread out!”
“Sir, don’t be afraid! Stay calm! We’re coming to get you!”
With that, they cautiously advanced toward Jiang Nian.
Feeling the lethal threat emanating from those dark gun barrels, the tigress immediately went on high alert. Her fur bristled, and she began backing away.
“Growl!”
“Growl!”
She issued frantic warnings, her voice fierce and aggressive.
Jiang Nian could tell she was scared, so he quickly soothed her and called out to the officers: “Everyone, relax! She’s already been subdued—she’s harmless now!”
The police officers furrowed their brows. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely, positively sure. Otherwise, would I be sitting on her back without a scratch?”
Jiang Nian defended the tigress.
Sure, this tigress had a nasty temper and had hurt Chen Qiao’en. But still, she’d been subdued and had carried him and Chen Qiao’en all the way here. If they killed her now, wouldn’t that make him a heartless jerk who toyed with a tiger’s feelings only to abandon her?
The officers frowned, about to say something else.
But then—
“Spare the tiger! Please, spare the tiger!”
An excited voice came from not far away.
Jiang Nian and the officers turned to look.
They saw a middle-aged man in glasses, followed by several young people, scrambling and crawling their way to the scene.
“You are…?” an officer asked with a light grunt.
The man, panting heavily, pulled out an ID from his pocket. “I—we’re from the Jinyun Forestry Bureau. My surname is Zhou—Zhou Ke. Officer, please listen to me: this tiger cannot be killed! It absolutely cannot be killed!”
“Why not?”
Hearing his grave tone, the officer couldn’t help but ask.
Though they hadn’t actually planned on shooting the tiger, the fact that both Jiang Nian and this forestry official were so adamant about protecting it piqued their curiosity.
What kind of magic did this tiger possess to warrant such serious treatment?
Zhou Ke swallowed hard. “Because this is a wild South China tiger!”
“Wild?”
The officer let out a surprised hum.
Zhou Ke nodded earnestly. “Yes! And chances are, it’s completely pure wild—meaning neither it nor its parents have ever had contact with humans. You might not fully grasp this, but just know that pure wild South China tigers like this number fewer than twenty across the entire country. They’re on the brink of extinction! They’re a first-class protected species in China!”
Everyone present was stunned.
They turned to look at the tigress beneath Jiang Nian, their eyes filled with shock.
Fewer than twenty wild South China tigers in the entire country?
Holy crap—she’s that big of a deal?
“What are you all standing around for? Put your guns away!”
Snapping out of it, the police captain quickly ordered.
If this were just an ordinary man-eating tiger, injuring it to subdue it might have been acceptable. But now that they knew its true status, and it didn’t seem to pose any immediate threat, accidentally shooting it—or worse, killing it—would mean facing some serious consequences back at the station.
The other officers came to their senses and hastily holstered their weapons.
As for Jiang Nian, he looked down at the tigress in surprise, then grinned and patted her head. “Well, well, little one. Didn’t know you were so rare.”
The tigress didn’t understand his words, but she enjoyed his touch. She raised her head, squinted her eyes, and let out a rumbling purr from her throat, almost like a cat.
Seeing this, Zhou Ke was dumbfounded.
He was certain this South China tiger was wild and unregistered. So why was she acting like this under Jiang Nian’s hand?
Zhou Ke didn’t understand, but he didn’t overthink it—he just assumed the tigress naturally had this kind of temperament.
He turned to Jiang Nian. “Um, sir, this South China tiger is extremely rare. Could you please get off her back so we can examine her?”
“Of course.”
Jiang Nian nodded, indicating he had no problem with that.
Zhou Ke shot him a grateful look and stepped forward to inspect the tiger.
But the moment he approached—
“Growl!”
The tigress, who’d just been purring under Jiang Nian’s hand, suddenly bared her fangs and lunged forward a step.
Luckily, Jiang Nian was right there. He immediately scolded, “Stop!”
At his command, the tigress halted with a grumble, but her eyes remained fixed on Zhou Ke, her wariness undiminished.
Clearly, if Jiang Nian hadn’t stopped her in time, she wouldn’t have let it slide so easily.
As for Zhou Ke, he stumbled backward, pale-faced, startled by the sudden outburst.
“She’s still highly wary of strangers. I really wouldn’t recommend getting any closer. If you do, even I might not be able to stop her in time.”
Jiang Nian said calmly.
“But why are you fine?” Zhou Ke asked, confused.
Jiang Nian rolled his eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? Does your own dog bite you?”
Zhou Ke caught the key point. “You raised her?”
“What are you thinking? Of course not. I just beat her into submission.”
“Be—beat her into submission?”
“Yeah. How else do you think I tamed her? You didn’t actually think a wild South China tiger would have a gentle temperament, did you?”
Jiang Nian looked at Zhou Ke with a strange expression.
Zhou Ke was speechless. Because, honestly, that had crossed his mind.
“Um, sir… could you help us out?”
“She’s too resistant—we can’t examine her, let alone release her back into the wild.”
Realizing how difficult the tigress was to handle, Zhou Ke shot Jiang Nian a pleading look.
Jiang Nian had no objection to that.
After all, the whole reason he’d brought the tiger back was so someone else could take her deeper into the mountains. It wasn’t like he planned to keep her by his side—even if he wanted to, the state wouldn’t allow it.
So, over the next while, Jiang Nian worked closely with the police and the forestry bureau (represented by Zhou Ke) to handle the tigress.
Jiang Nian was undoubtedly the key player. He kept the tigress calm and prevented her from rampaging, while Zhou Ke and his team took the chance to examine and take samples. The police, meanwhile, focused on calming the crowd and taking statements.
Under their coordinated efforts—
Ten minutes later, an ambulance arrived and took the injured Chen Qiao’en away.
Two hours later, the tigress’s examination results came back. Thanks to Jiang Nian having pulled his punches, she only had some superficial injuries. Finding nothing serious, she was released back into the mountains.
And with that, everything seemed to have been settled.
Except for…
“Can anyone tell me where the hell I am?”
“Is this even part of the scenic area anymore?”
“Bro Jiang? Director Huang?”
“Someone—anyone—save me!”
Deep in a dense forest, Zhang Linyu stared at his dead phone and let out a despairing wail.
Don’t just leave him here alone!
People often say that time heals all wounds.
Whether it’s a sweet romance or a heart-wrenching past, under the relentless passage of time, everything eventually fades to calm.
Now, two days had passed since Chen Qiao’en was carried off by the tiger.
Over those two days, she’d been actively receiving treatment. Though her injuries hadn’t fully healed, they were now well under control.
“Sister Qiao’en, how are you feeling now?”
In the hospital room, Yuan Shanshan sat by the bed, handing Chen Qiao’en a peeled apple, her face full of concern.
Chen Qiao’en took a small bite. “Not bad. At least I’m out of danger now.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Yuan Shanshan let out a relieved breath. “What happened that day really scared me. Even now, thinking about it gives me chills.”
Chen Qiao’en sighed. “Yeah. I really thought I was going to die back then.”
Deng Sha immediately sensed something off and shot Yuan Shanshan a reproachful look. “Shanshan, what are you saying? Sister Qiao’en just barely got past it—now you’re dragging her right back.”
Yuan Shanshan looked embarrassed. “Sister Qiao’en, I’m so sorry. I got carried away and said the wrong thing. Please don’t mind me.”
Chen Qiao’en smiled and shook her head. “It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. I just mentioned it because it came to mind.”
“Sister Qiao’en, what are your plans now? Are you going to focus on recovery, or…?”
Yang Rong asked tentatively.
Even as she asked, she already had a pretty good idea. After all, with something like this happening—and Chen Qiao’en getting injured in the process—under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t continue with the show. If she told the director she was quitting, no one could really blame her.
Of course, Yang Rong wasn’t saying this out of jealousy for Chen Qiao’en’s role. It was more out of a sense of reluctant attachment.
But to her surprise, Chen Qiao’en smiled. “I’m going to rest for a while, then keep filming.”
“Keep filming?”
The other women were stunned. “Why?”
“Because I want to, of course.” Chen Qiao’en said matter-of-factly.
The others didn’t buy it.
Especially Deng Sha. She practically had a lightbulb moment and shot Chen Qiao’en a teasing look. “Sister Qiao’en, let’s put work aside for a second. Be honest with us—are you starting to like Teacher Jiang?”
“Huh?”
The other women, still processing Chen Qiao’en’s previous answer, now turned their attention to her.
What kind of question was this?
Why bring Jiang Nian into it?
They thought Deng Sha was just being cheeky and that Chen Qiao’en would brush it off.
But instead, Chen Qiao’en nodded seriously. “Actually, yes. Teacher Jiang saved my life. How could I not have feelings for him?”
“Whoa?!”
The others all turned to look at her again.
They felt like they were becoming human pendulums—swinging back and forth in shock.
“Really?” Yuan Shanshan asked, genuinely curious. “Is the ‘hero saves the damsel’ trope really that effective?”
“Of course.” Chen Qiao’en nodded, her eyes lighting up as she recalled what had happened. “You guys weren’t there, so you don’t know.”
“Teacher Jiang was incredible. His fight with that tiger wasn’t a close match like he made it sound—it was a total curb-stomp. A curb-stomp, you understand?”
“Let me tell you what really happened…”
Chen Qiao’en launched into the story.
Her version wasn’t as exaggerated or dramatic as Jiang Nian’s, but it was more detailed and authentic. Listening to her, the other women almost felt like they were back on that mountain two days ago, with the tiger looming over them, jaws wide open.
“So that’s what really happened? That’s insane!”
“Right?! Trading blows with a tiger and forcing it to retreat? I was wondering earlier—if the fight was really that close, how could such a wild animal become so obedient to Teacher Jiang? Now it all makes sense!”
“So Teacher Jiang was actually holding back for our sake and downplaying it.”
“Am I the only one who caught that detail? He only used his full strength at the very end to subdue it—meaning before that, he was basically just playing around with it?”
“No wonder Sister Qiao’en has feelings for him! Showing up out of nowhere in a crisis, calm and effortless the whole time—just hearing about it makes me feel like I’m falling for him, let alone actually experiencing it!”
“Does Teacher Jiang even know how cool he is?”
“I bet he does!”
“…”
The women chattered excitedly.
And as the center of their conversation…
Jiang Nian was staring blankly at Zhang Linyu, who’d been found by patrolling security guards in the middle of the night, looking utterly terrified. “Say that again? The tiger came back?”
Zhang Linyu nodded. “Yeah, Brother Jiang. Not only did she come back, but she’s just squatting outside our door. You’ve gotta go see!”
Jiang Nian: “??? Is she stalking me now?”
He pushed open the door and saw the tigress—the very one he’d sent away just two days ago—now back again, sitting obediently at his doorstep, tilting her head at him.
Jiang Nian fell silent.
He was thinking. Thinking about whether the people at Jinyun Xiandu Scenic Area were just that incompetent, or if this tiger was just that clever.
It would be one thing if she’d slipped past patrols once—that could be chalked up to an oversight. But now, barely two days had passed, and here she was again?
What is she, a jailbreaker?
Jiang Nian twitched at the corner of his mouth, unsure what to say to the tigress. Meanwhile, she let out a soft, almost childish growl, as if greeting him.
“Alright, alright, sweetheart, I know you’re saying hi. But why did you come looking for me?”
Jiang Nian quickly covered her mouth.
Thankfully, his apartment was inside the scenic area and isolated from other residents. Otherwise, that single roar would have caused absolute chaos.
The tigress didn’t understand. She just saw Jiang Nian covering her mouth and assumed it was some kind of human greeting, so she licked his palm.
Her tongue, covered in barbs, scraped across his palm with a rough sensation. If Jiang Nian weren’t already a first-rate martial artist who’d started tempering his skin, she might have taken a layer of flesh with her.
“Whoa—are you a dog or what?”
Feeling the wetness on his palm, Jiang Nian grimaced in disgust.
Just then, from inside the room, Zhang Linyu heard his exclamation and asked, “Brother Jiang, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, the tiger just licked me.”
Jiang Nian turned around, looking for a tissue to wipe his hand.
“Huh? Then why is she pointing her butt at you?” Zhang Linyu asked.
“What?”
Jiang Nian was taken aback. He turned to look and saw that at some point, the tigress had turned around, lowered her front body, raised her tail, and was wiggling it at him.
“Whoa!”
Jiang Nian was utterly baffled.
What the hell was this?
It wasn’t even spring—why was the tiger acting like this?
“Wait!”
A thought struck him.
He shuddered.
A few days ago, he’d already found it odd—why would a tiger suddenly appear in the scenic area for no reason?
After all, top predators were extremely territorial. Under normal circumstances, they’d stay in their own domain until they died. This tigress, though not yet fully grown, was large and had a beautiful coat—clearly she had her own territory in the mountains.
So why had she come all this way?
And before her first appearance, her tracks had suspiciously shown up on the very mountain where Jiang Nian usually trained.
To say that was a coincidence felt like a stretch.
But what if she’d been drawn by something?
In that moment, countless clues came together:
The tiger-leopard thunder sounds he produced during intense training.
The feeling of being watched the night Zhang Linyu got lost and Jiang Nian guided him down the mountain.
The tiger paw prints that appeared on the mountain a few days later.
And now, this tigress, who’d been sent back, came trotting back to him and pointed her rear at him with such strange behavior.
“Wait a minute… you don’t mean you were attracted by the sounds I made while training, and thought I was another tiger, do you?”
Jiang Nian couldn’t believe it.
But at this point, he had no choice but to believe. Because after ruling out all the wrong answers, whatever remained—no matter how absurd—had to be the truth!
Realizing this, even Jiang Nian—smooth-talker and well-traveled as he was—was momentarily dumbfounded, unsure what to do.
And as he stared at the tiger in a daze—
“Mom, a tiger?!”
A startled cry came from the end of the hallway.
Jiang Nian and the tigress both turned to look, and saw a stranger fall flat on the ground in fright, then scramble away on all fours.
Jiang Nian twitched. He knew this was exactly what would happen.
“So… can someone explain to me how you managed to release the tiger back into the wild, tighten security, and still let her escape again within two days?”
Ten minutes later, standing at his doorstep with his arms crossed, Jiang Nian stared expressionlessly at the hurriedly assembled security guards.
The guards were sweating bullets.
They glanced at the tigress, who was acting all docile in front of Jiang Nian, and felt like they were being choked by a python.
“Well…” the security captain tried to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Fortunately, just then, Huang Junwen—the director of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer—rushed over after hearing the news.
Seeing Jiang Nian, the tiger, and the security guards, he felt surprisingly calm—maybe because he’d seen this scene so many times already. In fact, he almost wanted to laugh.
Huang Junwen stepped forward. “Teacher Jiang, this tiger really seems attached to you.”
“Yeah, I can see that. So what do we do now? Should she just hang around and act in the show?”
Jiang Nian glanced down at the tiger, looking a bit troubled.
“That could work! A real wild tiger on screen—that’s a huge gimmick. I wouldn’t mind, but I wonder if the other crews can handle it. What do you think?”
Huang Junwen turned to the security guards with a fake smile.
The guards immediately understood that Huang Junwen was subtly criticizing them. But they didn’t dare talk back.
Ever since the tiger attack two days ago, they’d already ramped up patrols significantly. Who could have predicted that even that wouldn’t keep the tiger from slipping out again?
If they made any more bold promises now and the tiger escaped a third time, they’d have no excuse left. So they chose to stay quiet and ride out the storm.
Seeing them clam up like oysters—not a peep out of them no matter what—Huang Junwen couldn’t be bothered to press further.
He turned to Jiang Nian. “By the way, Teacher Jiang, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”
“What is it?” Jiang Nian asked, then glanced at the security guards standing there like stone lions. “Want to step inside?”
“No, it’s just a small scheduling adjustment.”
Huang Junwen said it wasn’t a big deal, then continued:
“Teacher Jiang, as you know, Qiao’en is in the hospital now and won’t be able to film for a while. It doesn’t affect things much overall, but I’ve been thinking—with the New Year just around the corner—maybe we should take a holiday break. Let everyone go home, have a good New Year, and recharge.”
“Then after the Lantern Festival, we can resume shooting. What do you think?”
Huang Junwen asked tentatively.
Jiang Nian felt a bit dazed at the mention of going home for the New Year. It had been a long time since that had been part of his life—ever since he’d left his hometown for the capital.
Not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t dare.
Young and ambitious, he’d thought he could conquer the world. But the world was vast, full of extraordinary people, and his youthful flame had been nothing more than a firefly’s glow. Years passed in a blur, with little progress to show.
Looking back at those youthful dreams filled him with shame. How could he face his parents and elders now?
“But now… I think I can.”
Jiang Nian murmured.
He might not have reached the pinnacle of success, but at least he’d carved out a foothold in the entertainment industry—from the web drama Du Gao, to the movie Yu Huatian, and now his current role as Lin Pingzhi.
“It’s time to go home.”
Jiang Nian said to himself.
He was no longer the reluctant wanderer forced to leave home. Now, he was coming back in glory.
Jiang Nian looked at Huang Junwen. “Director Huang, arrange it however you see fit.”
“Great.”
Huang Junwen breathed a sigh of relief.
He’d been worried Jiang Nian might not agree. After all, in his eyes, Jiang Nian was a “divine envoy” sent from above to save him. Of course, he had to consult the envoy and seek his opinion on important matters.
Since the envoy had no objections…
“I’ll announce it in the group chat and make it official, then.” Huang Junwen said.
“OK.”
Jiang Nian nodded, then pulled out his phone to book tickets.
It was strange—over the past two years, he’d traveled all over the country, booking tickets to unfamiliar cities with ease. But now, booking a ticket to the place he knew best, he felt like an elderly person using a smartphone for the first time, triple-checking every detail before finally hitting “confirm.”
While he was booking his ticket—
The forestry bureau folks finally arrived.
Seeing the tigress curled up at Jiang Nian’s feet, they were exasperated but had no choice but to ask for his help once again in taking her deep into the mountains.
Jiang Nian didn’t refuse. After all, he’d attracted her here, so it was only right that he took responsibility.
After escorting the tiger back, Jiang Nian checked his phone and saw that his flight home had been booked.
Without delay, he went back to his room and started packing.
As he packed, he thought about what to bring back home.
Money?
Given his parents’ honest and frugal nature, even if he gave them money, they wouldn’t splurge—they’d probably save it for him, saying it was for his future marriage.
So instead, he’d focus on practical items.
“The washing machine at home has been around since I was a kid—it works on and off. Gotta buy a new one.”
“Need an air conditioner too, preferably one with fresh air circulation.”
“The bed is a traditional heated kang, but I should get a good mattress. Mom mentioned her back’s been hurting lately—a good mattress and maybe a therapy device would help.”
“Dad likes his drinks and smokes. This time, I’ll bring back ten cases of Moutai so he can have his fill, and a few dozen cartons of good cigarettes so he never has to worry about running out.”
“Also the kitchen…”
Jiang Nian mentally planned everything while quickly typing on his phone. In just a few minutes, he’d spent over 1.5 million yuan.
But he didn’t feel a hint of regret.
This was his first trip home in two years. He had to make sure his parents—and all his relatives—knew that the Jiang family’s kid had made it big!
After finishing his shopping list, Jiang Nian frowned—he felt like he was forgetting something. But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, so he let it go and handed the list to Zhang Linyu, asking him to handle the purchases.
Zhang Linyu stared at the list, dumbfounded.
“Brother Jiang… are you going home or stocking up for an apocalypse?”
“You’re gonna need a whole truck to haul all this stuff back!”
Jiang Nian froze, then smacked his forehead. “Right! A car! How the hell did I forget that? Quick, look up the nearest Land Rover dealership—I’m going to pick one up right now.”
Zhang Linyu: “???”
He stared at the excited Jiang Nian, his mouth twitching.
“I am so freaking jealous!”
“Money really is amazing!”
Zhang Linyu cursed under his breath, then quickly pulled out his phone to search, while also contacting friends to help buy everything on Jiang Nian’s list.
And so, the countdown to Jiang Nian’s homecoming officially began.
