Without a moment to lose, Ye Qisheng wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and walked toward the struggling wild pheasant on the ground with a sinister grin on her face.
The pheasant flapped its wings even more frantically, its tiny eyes glaring at her in utter horror: *Don’t you come over here!!!* ([○?｀Д′?○])
Yet, no matter how unwilling it was, Ye Qisheng grabbed its neck with absolute precision, hauled it up, and strode straight toward the kitchen.
Then, a whole new set of problems cropped up.
Now that she had the ingredient, she didn’t have a knife. How on earth was she supposed to slaughter this wild pheasant?
Even if she could crush the chicken to death with a stone, how was she supposed to pluck its feathers?
This pheasant’s plumage was ridiculously thick. Would she end up plucking feathers until sundown without getting a single bite of chicken meat?
Endless problems surged forth all at once, nearly causing Ye Qisheng’s brain to crash. In her frustration, she wanted to sigh all over again.
There was no helping it—she was just a useless rich second-generation who only knew how to eat, drink, and play. As a complete novice in the kitchen with zero practical experience or theoretical knowledge, asking her to slaughter a chicken with her bare hands was truly pushing her beyond her limits.
Her ever-mounting hunger didn’t let Ye Qisheng deliberate for too long. She tossed the chicken to the side, picked up the iron pot, and walked out of the kitchen, intending to go down to the river first to scrub off the blackish-yellow rust on the pot.
Even if she didn’t know how to process the ingredients, she still knew that the very first step in cooking was scrubbing the pot, building a fire, and boiling water. Perhaps while the water was heating up, she might suddenly gain an epiphany on some clever trick for slaughtering chickens and plucking feathers.
Not far outside the courtyard, a winding river flowed past. The water was crystal clear; as the morning breeze brushed over it, ripples formed, sparkling and glistening under the morning sun.
This was also a major reason why Ye Qisheng chose to settle in this house. There was no well dug in the courtyard, so all daily water had to rely on this river. Choosing a closer spot would make it convenient for her to fetch water later.
Pushing open the rickety wooden fence gate, Ye Qisheng was just about to head toward the river ahead when a shadow caught the corner of her eye, darting behind a tree with a “swish.”
Again!
Ye Qisheng set down the pot in her hands, turned around to face the tree, rested her hands on her slender waist, and shouted exasperatedly in a loud voice, “Hey! Who are you anyway, and why are you always sneaking around hiding behind trees? I know you mean no harm toward me, so why not step out openly to meet, and we can be friends!”
Perhaps sensing that she wasn’t angry, the person hiding behind the tree poked out half of a fluffy head. Unexpectedly, his gaze locked directly onto hers; startled, he instantly retracted back. After a brief pause, he poked out again, cautiously peeking at her.
Because of the distance, Ye Qisheng couldn’t see very clearly. She only felt that the person was quite tall, likely a young man. The thick, sturdy trunk of the tree blocked most of his form, a mane of long hair draped messily behind his back, and long, drooping bangs covered half of his face.
Fortunately, it was daytime right now. If this were nighttime, Ye Qisheng would have thought she was seeing something unholy again.
After a standoff like this for a short while, her patience gradually ran out. Bothering with no more nonsense, she simply strode right over.
As the distance closed, the long-haired young man shrank back in panic, his hand propping against the tree trunk nervously clenching into a fist, trembling slightly.
When she was just a few steps away, he finally couldn’t take the pressure any longer. Turning around, he attempted to turn tail and run, but Ye Qisheng hastily beat him to it and shouted, “Wait a moment! Don’t go! I need your help with something!”
The long-haired young man instantly froze, completely motionless for a moment.
Taking advantage of his dazed state, Ye Qisheng covered the distance in two short strides, reached out, and grabbed his arm.
The warmth of her palm transmitted rapidly through the fabric. The long-haired young man froze completely, standing there stiff as a board, as if petrified and unable to move.
Just then, a gust of wind blew past them, rustling the leaves. The young man’s long bangs were also swept up by the wind, revealing an exquisitely stunning beauty beneath.
Ye Qisheng’s breathing hitched; she suddenly lost the capacity to think.
The person before her shouldn’t be very old, somewhere between a youth and a young man, like a piece of fruit on the verge of ripening—possessing both the youthful innocence of a boy and the charm of a young man.
A mane of deep brown long hair fell to his waist. His facial features were exceptionally exquisite, his skin fairer than snow, with deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and naturally red lips without any rouge. Especially those azure eyes, which seemed filled with starlight—pure, bright, and moist like the blue sea under a clear sky.
The morning light filtered through the treetops, plating him with a divine golden glow. Even dressed in clothes so filthy that their original color was unrecognizable, it could not conceal his innate noble elegance.
Ye Qisheng had thought she would see a savage; she never expected such a breathtaking beauty. Aside from lacking a pair of pure white wings, he was practically an archangel stepped straight out of a biblical illustration!
Before transmigrating, she was a seasoned doll enthusiast who loved collecting all kinds of Super Dollfie dolls. For this purpose, she had even dedicated a thousand-square-meter room at home as a display hall, buying whenever she saw something she liked without ever holding back, accumulating a vast collection over time.
She had thought it was impossible for a real human in reality to be more beautiful than the dolls she raised, but compared to the person in front of her, her entire hall of expensive dolls instantly paled in comparison.
Seeing her staring at him intently without making a sound, the long-haired young man assumed she was frightened by his appearance. His heart sank heavily; pulling his arm away stiffly, he turned around, wanting to leave.
Snapping out of her astonishment, Ye Qisheng reactively grabbed his arm again with quick hands, shouting anxiously, “Wait a moment! Don’t go!”
She grabbed too forcefully, and because the long-haired young man couldn’t stop his momentum in time, a loud tear echoed between the pull and tug—a long rip opened up on his sleeve.
Both of them lowered their heads simultaneously to look at the torn sleeve, rendered speechless for a moment.
The air suddenly went dead quiet.
Ye Qisheng cursed herself inwardly a few times, sheepishly withdrew her two paws, and offered an awkward self-criticism and apology, “I’m so sorry! I… I didn’t mean to…”
The long-haired young man hadn’t expected her to possess such strength either, actually tearing his only piece of clothing.
Lowering his head to quietly observe the hanging torn sleeve for a moment, he said nothing, shook his head gently, and turned, wanting to leave once again.
Having finally met the kind-hearted person who fed her, how could Ye Qisheng let him leave? Taking a step forward to block his way, she put on the warmest smile possible and asked, “Was that fruit yesterday given by you? And that chicken just now—you were the one who dropped it into my courtyard, right?”
The long-haired young man lifted his head to glance at her fleetingly, remaining silent. Only after a good while did he gently nod his head.
Ye Qisheng was a complete sucker for looks, and this beauty’s appearance landed squarely on her aesthetic preferences. Casting aside her previous vigilance, her smile grew much more passionate and welcoming. “Thank you! If not for you, I definitely would have fainted from hunger yesterday! My name is Ye Qisheng—you can call me Qisheng. What about you? What’s your name?”
Her smile was bright and radiant, her voice cheerful and sweet, devoid of any disgust toward him. The long-haired young man gradually showed a bewildered expression. Hesitating for a long while, he asked tentatively, “Are you… not afraid of me?”
His voice was very light, bearing a faint raspicities from going long periods without speaking—timid, soft, and laced with disbelief and anticipation.
“Afraid of you? Why?” Ye Qisheng looked at him in surprise, speaking briskly, “You’re so gorgeous! I wish I could look at you every single second—how could I possibly be afraid?”