Effeminate?
I am a woman, after all. If I’m not effeminate, who is?
Isn't it my right to be so? If I were to act tough...
Forget it, I can't act tough.
In front of Tang Fei, Phoenix had no confidence whatsoever.
Phoenix felt indignant; she hadn't expected Tang Fei to criticize her words and demeanor with that reason.
What was even more humiliating was that she had actually spoken to Tang Fei in that kind of tone.
She subconsciously wanted to refute Tang Fei, but those three words, combined with a certain expression and mannerism, resembled a young girl acting spoiled towards her boyfriend on the New Star.
So many TV shows and movies portrayed it that way, and she had even secretly experienced it through the Brain-Computer Interface.
It truly was humiliating!
"Why did I speak to him in that tone?"
Phoenix asked herself internally, yearning for a definitive answer.
Liking him? Impossible.
Ambiguous? Not really.
Gratitude? That was the closest to the truth.
In the cold, endless night, if someone lights a match for you, that is the warmth and light you have long desired.
For Phoenix, the actions of Tang Fei and Little Fatty held exactly that kind of Meaning.
An eagerly anticipated exploration journey was betrayed by the closest person beside her, forcing a desperate escape protected by Death Warriors, only for the Escape Pod to crash-land in a human settlement full of peril due to severe damage.
Luckily, she met Tang Fei, luckily, she met the Tang Fei family.
It was hard to imagine that if Tang Fei hadn't taken her in, she would surely be living a fate worse than death at the hands of the Predators, the Flame Shrine, or other ill-intentioned people?
She was filled with gratitude for all of it!
And she was grateful for meeting Tang Fei!
Through their brief time together, she felt that although Tang Fei was dangerous, he wasn't inherently bad.
His danger was for self-preservation, but his danger was only ever to protect his family.
It wasn't contradictory at all.
Therefore, naturally, she began to accept Tang Fei and Little Fatty, treating them as her anchor and reliance on this land.
"Yes, that's it."
Having sorted out her emotional state, Phoenix finally felt relieved.
She glanced towards Tang Fei, noticing he was staring straight ahead, walking briskly with his eyes on his nose and his nose on his mouth, but his messy hair couldn't quite hide the crimson in his ears, exposing that his inner state was not as calm and casual as he appeared.
"He's just a shy little boy!" Phoenix secretly chuckled to herself.
Little Fatty, bare-chested, carried the rabbit; his exposed belly was even fairer than the rabbit's. He looked bold and imposing, completely unaware of what had happened behind him.
Of course, he wouldn't have cared even if he knew.
A woman who wouldn't throw Stones held no appeal for him.
"Brother Tang Fei..."
A young girl, about thirteen or fourteen, rushed out from the adjacent Small Courtyard and called out sweetly to Tang Fei.
The girl was slender with clear eyes, dressed in simple, drab coarse cloth, yet the unique lightness and freshness belonging to a Young Girl were still radiating unrestrainedly.
The only flaw was a long scar on her face, running from her eyebrow to the corner of her mouth, making her look somewhat fierce and frightening.
Tang Fei had once gathered some medicinal herbs, hoping to help her remove the scar, but the young girl herself had refused.
That cut ruined her, but it also saved her.
"An Ning..."
Tang Fei's face broke into a smile, and he waved at the girl.
An Ning was Aunt Cheng's daughter. Her Father, An Xin, had his leg bitten off by a wild wolf while hunting. Due to the scarcity of medicine, he died not long after the rescue because the wound festered. The Orphan and widow struggled immensely, so Tang Fei would often help out, tossing over one or two hunted animals for them to make soup.
The Old Man often mocked Tang Fei for being a soft-hearted fool, but he never truly stopped him from doing these things; sometimes, he would secretly carry over a bag of Cassava or other Grain himself to give them.
Aunt Cheng also knew the three men lived roughly, so she often came over to help mend their clothes or clean the house.
Many people suspected Aunt Cheng and the Old Man were involved, and Tang Fei was one of those 'many people.'
Of course, the Old Man vehemently denied it and warned Tang Fei not to ruin his reputation.
Reputation? Tsk tsk...
Tang Fei knew the Old Man certainly had no reputation, but Aunt Cheng might be pregnant.
Her Father had passed away when the young girl was seven or eight. For the past few years, she had relied heavily on the care and support of Tang Fei and the others, so she was very close to Tang Fei and Little Fatty, always overjoyed to see them.
Tang Fei looked at An Ning's Smiling Face and asked, "What are you doing at home?"
"Drawing," An Ning replied proudly, holding up the branch in her hand.
Children in the ruins had few means of entertainment, and because the survival environment was extremely harsh, they couldn't go out, forced to stay within their own Small Courtyard.
Thus, everyone had to find entertainment methods suitable for themselves. An Ning particularly loved drawing, and she was quite good at it.
However, due to the lack of paper and pens, she could only use branches to draw on the ground.
"Ning Ning is great," Tang Fei praised.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver writing pen, saying, "Here, I'll give this to you."
Phoenix's eyes narrowed; this was something from the Escape Pod, and she wondered when he had 'swiped' it.
Of course, Phoenix chose to ignore this trivial little matter.
Tang Fei fumbled in his embrace for a while longer, then found a few wrinkled sheets of paper folded together, saying, "I'll give these to you too... You can draw on these from now on. If you draw something good, you can keep it forever."
"Thank you, Brother Tang Fei," An Ning was overjoyed. On Old Earth, paper and pens were scarce items; you couldn't buy them even if you had money, let alone the fact that they had no money.
Clutching the gifts she just received, she said, "Brother Tang Fei, I'll give you my drawing once I finish it."
"Okay, I'll wait," Tang Fei smiled very happily.
Phoenix looked at Tang Fei's Smiling Face; it was different from his usual smile—brilliant, pure, seeming to come from genuine happiness.
The weather was nice today; a rare, gentle Sun had appeared. Golden light reflected on his delicate face, making his skin look even thinner and fairer, and his eyes shone with the same light as the Sun.
Huh, he washed his face today!
Yes, Tang Fei had washed his face today.
The Old Man said they had guests, so everyone should wash their faces to show respect...
For some unknown reason, he made Tang Fei wash first, the Old Man second, while Little Fatty still enjoyed a basin of 'rich soup' full of mineral content.
"He's actually quite kind!" Phoenix thought to herself.
Soon, however, she banished that absurd thought from her mind.
An illusion, all of it an illusion.
She absolutely could not be fooled by his act; she had witnessed the way he could turn hostile without warning.
An Ning’s gaze fell upon Phoenix. In truth, she had noticed Phoenix the moment she arrived because her appearance was too outstanding, and the clothes she wore were different from those on Old Earth—exquisite and luxurious, perfectly outlining her figure. It was hard to ignore her.
"Who is this older sister?" An Ning Asked curiously.
"Oh, her name is Phoenix," Tang Fei said with a smile. "A guest from the New Star."
"Wow?" An Ning said with envy, "No wonder she's so beautiful; she must be the honored guest Sister Phoenix from the New Star. Is the New Star very beautiful?"
"It's alright," Phoenix replied reservedly.
She didn't know the relationship between this girl and Tang Fei, but her caution made her maintain a certain distance from every stranger.
Moreover, she could sense the girl's probing and scrutiny from the moment she first saw her...
Even if she hid it well, how could it escape her Fiery Golden Eyes? What kind of social arena had she been polished in?
"I really hope I get the chance to go up and see someday," An Ning said, looking up at the sky with expectant eyes.
"You definitely will have the chance," Phoenix nodded.
She worried secretly, *She isn't going to ask me for a ticket, is she? Like Tang Fei did?*
It turned out that not everyone was as shameless as Tang Fei; An Ning didn't ask Phoenix for help, nor did she chat with Phoenix further, instead looking at Tang Fei and asking, "Brother Tang Fei, where did you go?"
"Hunting," Tang Fei replied, not wanting to mention the Escape Pod or the Flame Shrine, as that would only cause trouble for both sides.
He pointed to the rabbit Little Fatty was carrying on his shoulder and said, "We caught a Red-eyed Rabbit. Let's see how fat it is?"
"Fat," An Ning said with a smile.
"Little Fatty," Tang Fei called out, "Leave two rabbit legs for An Ning."
"No, no need," An Ning refused, saying, "We haven't finished the mutton you gave us last time; it'll go bad if we don't eat it soon."
"How could that little bit of mutton not be finished? Tell Aunt Cheng to stew a bit more tonight; don't wait until the meat spoils to eat it. You're growing, you need to keep up your Nutrition..."
"I really don't need to..." As An Ning refused, her eyes involuntarily glanced towards Phoenix's Chest.
Indeed, Nutrition needed to keep up.
"Listen to me," Tang Fei said forcefully.
Little Fatty was efficient; he had already carried the rabbit into the courtyard, found the cleaver in the kitchen, and with one swift stroke, two plump rabbit legs were separated.
Tang Fei waved his hand and said, "Alright, we're heading back. If you need anything, come find me at home."
"Okay, goodbye Brother Tang Fei," An Ning said with a smile.
After Tang Fei and his group walked far away, An Ning looked at Phoenix's graceful back, softly chewing on her name: "Phoenix..."
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