When Su Yanke threw herself at that person, she had already cast aside all concerns about life and death, so she had no misgivings.
However, when the gunshot rang out, her body was suddenly flung to one side by a force, and the bullet that was originally aimed at her deviated from its trajectory.
There was a loud thud as if a huge object had fallen to the ground. Su Yanke stiffly turned to look in the direction of the sound, and a familiar figure came into view.
It was the elephant that had given her the watermelon!
Su Yanke's head buzzed, and all the surrounding sounds faded away.
She watched as the elephant slumped to the ground weakly, struggling to get up.
But it was obviously very difficult. Su Yanke didn't care about the danger anymore and rushed straight to the elephant's side.
"Are... are you okay?" Su Yanke choked out.
Although they couldn't communicate with words, Su Yanke could sense its emotions. It wanted to get up and do something more.
After receiving this message, Su Yanke used all her strength to support it. She didn't know if it was because she was really strong or if someone was helping, or if it had rekindled its hope, but the elephant stood up!
The other animals around were gradually controlled by those people. Watching Su Yanke and the elephant, they also quieted down, as if they could feel the sadness.
Su Yanke barely managed to support the elephant and slowly moved forward following its steps.
Those people weren't worried that the elephant would pose a threat in this situation, but seeing that Su Yanke still had some strength, they were afraid of any more trouble. So they shot her in the leg.
Yuan Hexiao was being held back by several people and could only watch helplessly as the bullet hit Su Yanke's left leg.
The pain in Yuan Hexiao's heart was more intense than the pain in his body.
Su Yanke staggered from the impact. Her body, which had been abused for many years, couldn't bear such pain and she fell to the ground.
As soon as Su Yanke fell, the elephant also collapsed.
Su Yanke tried to support it up again, but looking at the elephant's closed eyes, she knew it was gone.
At the last moment of its life, it had used all its strength to break out of the cage that had confined it for a lifetime. When it finally lay down on the ground to rest, there was a smile on its lips.
"Quick, go and check if there are any left."
When those people saw the elephant die, they just frowned slightly and muttered that they had lost another cash - cow. There was no other emotion on their faces.
In their eyes, life was just an exchange item that could be equated with money.
The coldness in Su Yanke's heart was far greater than the coldness on her body.
Those people were very shocked and angry when they saw on the monitor that it was Su Yanke and Yuan Hexiao who had organized this action. Because of the big trouble they had caused, they were whipped severely more than a dozen times.
They would have been subjected to even more severe torture, but they didn't want to lose money. Since the show was coming soon, they could only let Su Yanke and the others suffer some physical pain as a lesson.
It was late at night. Everything was falling asleep. Su Yanke and Yuan Hexiao, covered in whip marks, were lying in the dark and damp basement.
The smell of rust from the blood and the musty odor filled Su Yanke's nostrils.
Normally, Su Yanke would have started complaining, but now she didn't have the mood. They weren't the only animals being punished this time; there were others too.
Just as Su Yanke was worried, she suddenly felt a strange sensation on her body.
It was slippery, soft, and wet.
Su Yanke turned to look and saw Yuan Hexiao licking her wounds with his tongue.
"Yuan Hexiao, what... what are you doing!"
"To heal the wounds."
Only then did Su Yanke realize that, yes, animal saliva had a certain healing effect. But this was so embarrassing!
"If we go on stage in our current physical condition, your body won't be able to take it. Don't move. It'll be over soon."
Su Yanke thought about it and felt it made sense. She said to Yuan Hexiao,
"Then I'll help you later!"
"No need."
Su Yanke thought Yuan Hexiao would accept, but unexpectedly, he quickly refused.
"Why... why?" Su Yanke asked in surprise.
"I've already taken care of my own wounds."
Yuan Hexiao would never say that he didn't want Su Yanke to lick someone else's body, even if it was his own body at the moment.
"Oh, I see." Seeing that he didn't need her help, Su Yanke didn't say anything else and just lay there obediently to let her wounds heal.
Just as it was getting quiet, a rustling sound came, which was especially prominent in the room.
"Your wounds aren't healed yet. I'll go and check."
Yuan Hexiao let out a low growl, warning the unknown object.
After Yuan Hexiao spoke, the noise suddenly stopped.
Just as Su Yanke was feeling puzzled, she suddenly felt a gust of wind behind her. Wait, wind?
There were no windows in this basement. Where did the wind come from?
Unless it was caused by something else moving the air. Su Yanke's body stiffened. She held her breath and suddenly turned around, while also lashing out with her claws.
A black, furry object came into view. When Su Yanke lashed out, it nimbly shrank its body and easily dodged.
After this dodge, Su Yanke could clearly see what it was. It seemed to be a little black - haired orangutan.
The orangutan tilted its head and looked at Su Yanke and Yuan Hexiao. It didn't know where they came from. Obviously, it had never seen other animals before.
There was full of curiosity in its big eyes. Su Yanke just stared at it.
The little orangutan blinked its big eyes and looked around Su Yanke and Yuan Hexiao. Suddenly, it threw a few things in front of Su Yanke.
Su Yanke took a look and was surprised to find that they were apples and a few bananas. Was it here to bring them food?
Looking at this scene, Su Yanke's eyes became a bit blurry. She thought of the elephant, which had also selflessly offered its food to others.
What a bunch of fools.
Seeing that she didn't eat, the little orangutan got anxious and made a noise, as if saying, "Hurry up and eat. It's delicious. You won't hurt after eating!"
Su Yanke choked back her sobs and took a bite of the apple. The fresh and sweet taste of the apple exploded in her mouth. Su Yanke handed the other food to Yuan Hexiao, and they ate together.
Seeing them eat, the little orangutan was extremely happy, even happier than if it had eaten itself.
Suddenly, Yuan Hexiao leaned close to Su Yanke and said, "Look over there."
Su Yanke looked over. In this basement, besides them and the little orangutan, there was a lion tied up with chains in the corner.
Its eyes were dull and lifeless. There was something that looked like excrement around it, and it was standing blankly in the middle of it.
Not far away, there were a few half - eaten apples that had rotted. It seemed that they were given by the little orangutan, but the lion hadn't eaten them. That's why it was so happy to see them eat the food it had given!
In front of this deformed animal hierarchy, they even felt it was a luxury to live like an animal.
Su Yanke and the others were locked up in this basement. It turned out that this was where the lion was kept. The little orangutan could just slip back and forth through the ventilation duct because of its small size.
Su Yanke didn't know what the little orangutan's original place was like, but every time it came back, it would bring some food, sometimes apples and sometimes peaches.
Su Yanke and the others had very little food these two days, mostly just water. Maybe those people wanted to punish them by making them hungry. The little orangutan really provided them with very important help here.
But Su Yanke wasn't worried because she thought that since they hadn't been severely punished this time, those people must have some ulterior motives and wouldn't let them die so easily.
Sure enough, on the evening of the third day, those people brought a rather sumptuous dinner, with several large pieces of meat.
Su Yanke calculated the time. It was almost time. The show would start tomorrow.
Maybe because she had been too tired these days, when Su Yanke opened her eyes, she had already been taken out of the basement. The light around was dim, and she only knew that she was in a narrow box.
Yuan Hexiao wasn't there, but she thought his situation should be similar to hers.
Suddenly, a burst of cheers rang out, accompanied by music.
"Welcome everyone to the Happy Grand Theater. Next, we will introduce you to our big family. First, let's welcome Little Q!"
As soon as the voice fell, a black - and - white puppy rolled onto the stage on a drum. The kids in the front row began to cheer.
"Next, our double kings, Bai Bai and Huang Huang, are coming on stage!"
A pure - white lamb slid onto the stage on a skateboard, with a little golden monkey on its shoulder.
Then a big black bear riding a bicycle came on stage. As one animal after another came on stage, the atmosphere got more and more lively.
"Finally, it's the long - awaited model couple that the audience has been looking forward to. Let's welcome the Peerless Twin Heroes!"
The cheers of the audience reached a climax. Obviously, most of them were here for Su Yanke and Yuan Hexiao's rare animal love story.
After hearing an especially noisy sound, the cage Su Yanke was in started to move. The wooden board in front slowly lowered, and a blinding light shone in.
A familiar shadow appeared in front of Su Yanke. It was Yuan Hexiao. He was locked in the box opposite hers. They looked at each other, and they both understood what the other was thinking.
They turned to look at the center of the stage. In front of them was an obstacle jump. Su Yanke and Yuan Hexiao had been trained before and easily jumped over it. The moment they jumped over, there was another burst of loud cheers.
Next was a proper show, including ball - balancing, getting on a horse's back, and crossing a bridge - like slide.
Seeing that the show was going so well, the program team wanted to add more excitement. The last item was one they hadn't trained for: jumping through a ring of fire.
Animals were naturally afraid of fire. Yuan Hexiao naturally didn't want Su Yanke to go first. He wanted to go first like before to make sure there was no danger.
But Su Yanke also wouldn't agree because they were both injured. If they didn't perform well and got burned by the fire, it wouldn't be a joke!
The animal trainer was also a bit panicked, but there was no other way. They could only brace themselves. Then the trainer waved the whip and ordered them to go.
But Su Yanke didn't move. The audience began to complain, saying things like "Can they do it?" and "I want a refund. The show is terrible!"