"It's alright now."
Cotton Candy stared at the outline of the exhibition hall behind him, her nose twitching, her pupils still narrowed to slits.
Su Wei reached out and scooped it up from the steps.
The white fluffy ball trembled twice in his arms, then buried its head inside the collar of his windbreaker and wouldn't come out.
"Coward."
"Eek."
Su Wei carried the Cotton Candy into the wooden house.
The fireplace was about to go out, so he added two more pieces of firewood with one hand.
When the flames reignited, Cotton Candy finally poked half her head out from her collar, her pink nose twitching a few times in the warmth of the heater.
Su Wei placed it on the blanket in front of the fireplace and went to the kitchen to chop a small bowl of venison for it.
The food bowl was placed down, Cotton Candy hesitated for two seconds before leaning over to eat.
When it eats, it tucks its tail between its legs and occasionally turns its ears toward the window.
Su Wei leaned against the kitchen door frame, watching it.
This eight-month-old fox cub was lively and energetic when he last came to the exhibition hall with him, splashing water with its paws by the tide pool.
Now that the Bear King has come in, he's so scared.
That's normal, though.
No matter how affectionate Cotton Candy may seem, it's still a fox at heart.
Foxes are completely outmatched by brown bears in the food chain.
The Dragon's Fury's eyes can send chills down your spine; for an animal, that's a death knell staring at you.
It needs to adapt gradually.
Su Wei took out her phone.
I turned on my camera and walked to the window of the cabin.
The side of the exhibition hall is visible from the window, with the dark gray insulation panels clearly outlined in the gloomy light.
He went outside again, pushed open the exhibition hall door, stood at the entrance, and took a photo with his phone.
The composition of the photo is a view from the entrance inwards.
The foreground features the granite floor of the hall, the midground shows the massive silhouette of the Bear King's skeleton, and the background features the flames of the fireplace and the antlers of the Deer King above it.
The two Dragon's Fury appeared as tiny dots on the phone screen, but the sense of being watched still permeated the screen.
Su Wei sent it to Old Hope.
There was no accompanying text.
Thirty seconds later, Old Hope replied with a single word.
"Good."
Su Wei put the phone back in his pocket.
Just as he was about to close the museum door, his phone vibrated again in his pocket.
Not Old Hope.
Emily.
Su Wei took out his phone.
The screen displays a message followed by a ski emoji and a fox emoji.
"Don't forget tomorrow, Pyramid Mountain, bring Cotton Candy. I've rented the ski equipment, and I remember your size. Meet at the gas station at the town entrance at nine in the morning."
Su Wei leaned against the door frame of the exhibition hall, with the King's Courtyard behind him.
The scent of the Woodland's Call wafted from the crack in the door, brushing against his back and drifting outwards, merging into the cold air by Emerald Lake.
His thumb hovered above the input box, and he typed two words.
"No problem."
send.
Emily replied instantly.
"That's good. Don't forget."
And then another one came along.
See you tomorrow. Goodnight, Su Wei.
Su Wei locked the screen.
Behind him, deep within the exhibition hall, the Dragon's Fury on the Bear King's head faced the entrance.
The dark red threads continued to stir tirelessly in the darkness, unnoticed by anyone.
He pulled the door shut, the bolt slamming shut with a dull metallic clang.
From the direction of the wooden house, the Cotton Candy bowl was being pushed around with a clattering sound.
Su Wei walked towards the wooden house.
A gust of wind blew across the frozen surface of Emerald Lake, swirling up fine snowflakes that pelted his down jacket.
Su Wei walked through the snow to the door of the wooden house and pulled the doorknob.
The Cotton Candy peeked half its head out from under the door.
Her blue eyes lit up briefly in the fireplace light.
Su Wei looked down at it.
Come skiing with me tomorrow.
"Eek?"
"Yes, it's the one you're most afraid of—it's fast, windy, and hurts your butt if you fall."
The white fluffy ball of fur shrank its head back inside the doorway.
Su Wei stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him.
The birchwood in the fireplace popped behind him, sparks flying onto the stone surface before going out.
Chapter 208 The Physical Accumulation of Wealth
The Cotton Candy, which had been squatting by the door, had now shrunk into a white ball of flesh.
It frantically thrashed about on the wooden floor, then quickly burrowed deep into the leather sofa.
Her entire body was wedged tightly into the gap of the cushion, with only a pair of bright blue eyes showing, staring blankly out the window at the direction of the exhibition hall.
Su Wei locked the wooden door with his backhand.
The cold air was kept out.
The warmth returned to the room.
He took off his chilly windproof coat and hung it on the brass hook by the door.
Then he took off his leather gloves, which were covered in fine snowflakes, and walked to the center of the hall.
He bent down and reached his hand inside the brick fireplace.
Even with my fingertips separated by ten centimeters, I could clearly feel the residual warmth beneath the ashes.
The temperature is still there, but the fire hasn't penetrated to the bottom.
He picked up the iron tongs, brushed aside the top layer of white ash, and added two pieces of dried spruce wood.
The flames climbed upwards along the oily veins of the bark, quickly leaping up another foot high.
The light in the room brightened up a bit.
Su Wei turned and walked to the island counter to the side, opening the laptop lying there.
The screen glowed, illuminating his sharply defined profile.
Move the mouse cursor and open the platform's creator backend.
The large backend data is scrolling rapidly.
The video of the exhibition hall lighting up after the power was turned on had already surpassed three million views in less than four hours.
The number in the follower count column on the left jumped rapidly, then settled at 921,000, just one step away from the million mark.
The red dot in the upper right corner of my private message inbox has consistently shown 99+.
Su Wei ignored the fans' comments, opened her email, and found a pinned business email.
It was a final confirmation letter from Catherine, the Business Director of the Polaris Outdoors brand.
The email body was brief, confirming a base cooperation fee of $100,000, plus tiered incentive clauses.
The attachment is a seven-page electronic contract.