Xie Yucheng barked, “Crying because you’re hungry, huh? Who told you to be such a pain? Go to sleep! If you sleep, you won’t be hungry.”
The girl widened her eyes at him, her beautiful eyes glistening with a hazy moisture.
Xie Yucheng ignored her, reached under the car seat for a small iron pot, gathered a few sticks nearby, and found an empty patch of ground to light a fire.
He boiled a pot of water and poured it into a cup to cool, then added another pot of water, bringing out eggs, noodles, and ham sausages.
Within half an hour, he had a steaming pot of noodles ready. As a long-distance truck driver, this was a basic skill he had to have.
Wen Shiqing sat in the car watching him bustle about and suddenly realized that her understanding of her brother wasn’t as complete as she thought—she hadn’t expected him to be able to cook noodles and prepare meals.
The car door was opened from outside by the man. He looked down at the girl in the car. “Put your shoes on properly.”
Wen Shiqing obediently did so. Then he reached out, his large hand wrapping around her soft waist, naturally lifting her down and setting her firmly on the ground.
“Does your foot still hurt?” he asked.
She nodded quietly, “Mm.”
It actually didn’t hurt much anymore.
“After we eat, we’ll put some ointment on it.”
“Okay.”
On this blissful spring night, the two of them sat around the fire on the ground, listening to the gentle flow of water nearby while sharing a pot of noodles.
Wen Shiqing held a handled iron lunchbox, inside were fried eggs and ham sausages. She smiled faintly, her eyes soft, feeling that this bowl of noodles was far better than any restaurant dish.
The cup of water he had set aside earlier was mixed with a little honey. Xie Yucheng handed it to her. “Honey water. Drink some.”
“Where did the honey come from?”
He snapped irritably, “If you’re not drinking it, just pour it out.”
Wen Shiqing took the cup and sipped. The sweet honey water slid down her throat, spreading a comforting warmth through her entire body.
After the meal, she sat on a wooden block, gazing at the wide-open sky above. The stars flowed like a river. Nearby by the creek, Xie Yucheng was bent over, washing the bowls and chopsticks.
Many men don’t know how to cook or do laundry, and even if they can, they’re too lazy.
But her brother seemed different—very independent, skilled at a bit of everything, and diligent.
The cab of the Jiefang 141 had undergone special professional modifications. The gear area could fold and retract, with a sponge pad on top, and the front seat could even convert into a single bed.
Wen Shiqing slept on the rear bunk, Xie Yucheng lay on the folded front seat, separated by the middle seat back.
She had never spent the night in a car before. Lying quietly now, she could smell a faint, unpleasant gasoline odor.
Beside the pillow was one of Xie Yucheng’s jackets. She pulled it over her face. The fresh soap scent mixed with a faint tobacco smell covered the gasoline.
But soon she felt it was hard to breathe and laid the jacket on the pillow, lying on her side and pressing her nose against the fabric.
That crisp scent reached deep into her lungs—it was uniquely Xie Yucheng’s. The strong masculine scent made her heart flutter, and a blush crept across her face.
Seeing her fidget in the back, Xie Yucheng asked, “Can’t sleep?”
“Yes,” she answered softly.
Suddenly he remembered something, sat up, and said, “Forgot to apply the ointment.”
She mumbled, “No need. We’ll do it tomorrow.”
“No, applying it now will heal faster. Do you want me to carry you in and out of the car every day?”
“I—no! I didn’t mean that!” she hurriedly explained, her cheeks red.
The night was as bright as day, the windows wide open. The cool river breeze flowed through the cabin.
Xie Yucheng pulled the ointment from the storage box. “Stretch your foot out.”
Wen Shiqing buried her head in the pillow and slowly extended her left foot toward him. He touched her slightly cool skin. “Cold?”
“No.”
He clicked his tongue. “In the middle of summer, and your foot is this cold. Did you just crawl out of an ice cave?”
“You don’t understand. Many girls are like this. It’s called ‘cold body.’”
Xie Yucheng didn’t understand—he hadn’t touched any other girls’ feet.
He lowered his head, concentrating as he rubbed the ointment onto her ankle in small circles with his rough palm.
Her ankle was slender and elegant, the small foot pale as jade with a faint pink hue. Her round, delicate toes were like neatly arranged pearls.
Xie Yucheng had seen many girls in sandals; some dyed their nails with orange from balsam flowers, but Wen Shiqing’s nails were bare and clean.
Perhaps due to the heat, her skin under his palm was cool and delicate, like touching an ice cube on a hot summer day—so comforting he didn’t want to let go.
His gaze traced up her foot to her slim, smooth calves, knees… finally resting on her black hair.
Wen Shiqing lifted her eyes slowly. Their gaze met, her glossy dark eyes like a pool of water—one more second, and it felt like she could be pulled in.
“All done,” he said, averting his eyes. He placed her foot back down. “Sleep.”
Wen Shiqing turned over, touched her flushed cheeks, and buried her head in his jacket.
The further north they traveled, the more mountainous the terrain, with only a small town every few hundred kilometers.
Wen Shiqing wore a small white dress with a square neckline and puffed sleeves, lace socks, and white canvas shoes. Her arms rested on the car window as her legs swung gently, watching the rushing mountain scenery outside.
On her head was a small handmade flower crown, the multicolored flowers woven with willow twigs. Two braids hung over her shoulders, playful and cute, matching her dress. She looked like a fairy who had wandered down from the mountains into the human world.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Brother, stop the car!”
“What’s wrong?” Xie Yucheng slowly pressed the brakes, looking at the little fairy beside him.
“Look! There’s a little lamb on the side of the road. It looks hurt.”
As soon as the car stopped, Wen Shiqing immediately jumped out and ran to the lamb.
Xie Yucheng’s gaze fell on her ankle. “Doesn’t hurt anymore?”
She chuckled awkwardly. Yesterday she had been pretending; today the act was broken. “No, thanks to you rubbing ointment for me these past few days,” she said sweetly.
Xie Yucheng realized belatedly, grinding his molars in frustration. She hid her real condition and treated him like a servant.
Well, impressive.
The little lamb seemed to have a broken hind leg, lying helplessly by the roadside.
Wen Shiqing crouched down, and it looked up at her with watery eyes, bleating softly.
“There’s no house nearby. I don’t know where this little lamb came from. If nobody helps it today, out here in the wilderness, it’ll probably be torn apart by wolves.”
Xie Yucheng watched the girl holding the lamb, his temple twitching. Hands on hips, he said, “You’re not thinking of putting it in my car, are you?”
Seeing Wen Shiqing stay silent, he rubbed his forehead and strode back to the car. “Don’t even think about it! Absolutely impossible!”
“Brother!”
“Calling me brother won’t help either!”