Chapter 124: Chapter 124: Forcibly Waking Up the Sleeping Big-eared Hedgehog

Feng Qingdai was intrigued by Jeff’s words, “What script?”

“I heard from a friend in the Desert Area that Xu Ying fainted in the desert, and it was an ear fox that helped her find water and some fruit, but the netizens are unaware of this story.”

Jeff stroked his chin, “I just had a burst of inspiration, and a script came to my mind. Imagine you are lost while photographing material in the desert, short of water and food, exposed under the sun, and you faint on the road. Then, a Big-eared Hedgehog appears right in front of you, carrying water-supplying sea buckthorn berries and desert dates on its back.”

“You are successfully rescued and take a series of photos of the Big-eared Hedgehog. The accompanying text tells a story about how the Big-eared Hedgehog saved you while you were lost in the desert.”

Jeff spoke animatedly, “By then, with promotion from our Spiritual Photography official account, it’s bound to go viral!”

Feng Qingdai showed genuine interest on her face after hearing it, “This script is not bad. Let’s give it a try!”

Seeing that his idea satisfied Feng Qingdai, Jeff was jubilant, “I read on my phone browser that Big-eared Hedgehogs are melon thieves and like to steal watermelons to eat.”

He turned to Wang Hao, “Big-eared Hedgehogs are quite interested in fruits, right?”

Wang Hao nodded, “Yes, but there are no watermelons in this part of the desert.”

“No worries, we have watermelons in the car.” Jeff waved his hand, indicating it wasn’t a big deal, “Brother Hao, go find the Big-eared Hedgehog, and bring some desert fruit to stick onto its quills.”

Wang Hao showed a difficult expression, “Big-eared Hedgehogs are active at night and rest during the day; right now, they are sleeping inside. They only have energy to come out at night.”

——”But by night, the lighting won’t be good!”

“And how can we depict the plot where I collapse from heatstroke in the desert and it comes to the rescue?”

Feng Qingdai crossed her arms over her chest and slightly lifted her chin, “That Big-eared Hedgehog is just sleeping, not dead; just wake it up!”

“And we have watermelons. It hasn’t had watermelons in the desert; it will definitely be interested in something so fresh and delicious!”

She stared at Wang Hao, “Do you still want the ten thousand yuan bonus or not?”

——”Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

Wang Hao nodded reluctantly, feeling it wasn’t quite right, but the desire for ten thousand yuan quickly replaced the feeling with excitement and anticipation.

“Big-eared Hedgehogs usually live in crevices between rocks or places rich in vegetation and insects. Let’s start looking around here.”

Jeff began arranging, “Let two people stay here, and let’s go find it with the guide. Miss Feng, see if you can take some publishable photos during the search for the Big-eared Hedgehog.”

Feng Qingdai glanced at the increasingly larger sun and, reluctantly, nodded, urging Wang Hao, “Let’s go, let’s go! See if we can finish before noon, the UV rays are too strong.”

After approximately an hour of searching, Feng Qingdai grew impatient and asked Vivian to hold an umbrella for her as she sat in the shade to rest.

——”I found it, come quickly!”

After another ten minutes or so, just as Feng Qingdai was extremely impatient, Wang Hao, squatting between two desert rocks, exclaimed excitedly.

Feng Qingdai hurriedly asked Jeff to hold her big camera and joined him.

In the cool shade of the rock crevice, the Big-eared Hedgehog lay curled up, sleeping soundly.

Its body was tightly coiled into a furry little ball, with short quills covering its back.

The soft belly lay gently against the ground, rising and falling slightly with each breath.

Its slightly pink long ears drooped relaxedly, with their tips occasionally twitching lightly as if catching slight noises in its dreams.

Observing the Big-eared Hedgehog’s front paws lightly resting by its face, as if it had found a comfortable pillow, and its hind legs curled beneath it with its tail tightly against its body, nearly invisible.

Sunlight filtered through the crevices, casting a faint halo over it, making it seem particularly lazy and carefree.

She couldn’t help but remark, “It’s actually quite cute, let’s photograph this!”

Feng Qingdai first carried her camera and adjusted the equipment parameters, snapping a few shots of the rock crevice.

Finding that the lighting inside the crevice was too dark to fully highlight the Big-eared Hedgehog’s cuteness, she turned on the flash.

“Click—”

The flash kept going off, lighting up the entire rock crevice repeatedly, irritating Wang Hao, who was squatting nearby.

Sensing the changing environment, the Big-eared Hedgehog barely opened its eyes to slits only to close them again against the strobes, its small body grew agitated, and the quills on its back stood fully erected in defense.

The Big-eared Hedgehog curled into a spiky ball, encasing itself in its little world, trying to shield from these humans interrupting its sleep.

But these annoying humans were utterly insistent.

Feng Qingdai found it fun, asking Wang Hao for a long, retractable stick, which she used to poke at the Big-eared Hedgehog’s ears and nose.

The Big-eared Hedgehog hurriedly buried its face in the sand, while Feng Qingdai poked its body harder, enjoying the prickly ball even more.

Being poked incessantly exhausted the already sleep-deprived Big-eared Hedgehog, and it tried to escape, scurrying hectically between rock crevices and banging its head into hard pebbles, making a “squeaky” noise.

Typically, hedgehogs don’t make noises. They communicate by sniffing, making sounds akin to coughing, but sharp squeals indicate discomfort.

“Hahahahaha!”

Feng Qingdai laughed heartily, relishing the sense of controlling a weaker creature.

“It squeals a bit like a rubber chicken, but more entertaining.”

Jeff and Vivian laughed along, seeing the heiress was happy.

“If Miss Feng truly likes it, you can take it back to raise.”

“No need.” Feng Qingdai shook her head, putting down the stick, showing a distasteful expression, “It’s only amusing now; what if it pricks me when I raise it? Wild things surely carry germs.”

“Okay, get it out for shots so we can wrap up sooner.”

Wang Hao and Jeff worked together to extract the hedgehog from the rock crevice using a special clamp.

The Big-eared Hedgehog was still balled up in fuzziness, defiant yet despairing.

Feng Qingdai asked Vivian to retrieve a watermelon from the car, cutting a small piece and placing it before the Big-eared Hedgehog.

The Big-eared Hedgehog remained motionless, feigning death.

Wang Hao had fresh sea buckthorn berries and desert dates in the car, no need to fetch them from the desert. He used the opportune time when it was curled up to press these fruits onto its quills.

Feng Qingdai frowned, “What should we do? Why isn’t it eating the watermelon?”

Wang Hao poked the Big-eared Hedgehog with a stick, finding it soft and not very tough, perhaps due to fatigue and lack of defense energy. “Maybe it’s too tired, no energy to eat something.”

Feng Qingdai turned to her photography assistant Vivian, “Didn’t you bring amphetamine? Give this Big-eared Hedgehog a shot!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep