These words were so direct. Caught off guard by a straight pitch, the long-haired young man’s creamy white face rapidly flushed with a faint crimson hue. Embarrassed, he lowered his eyes and pressed his lips together tightly, remaining silent.
He knew Ye Qisheng wasn’t lying. When she spoke just now, the gaze she fixed on him was exceptionally passionate, filled with admiration and delight—she truly liked this face of his.
This made him feel flattered and overwhelmingly favored.
Ever since he lost his memory and landed in this place, aside from Physician Xu, she was the very first person who didn’t reject him.
In the culture of this land, blue eyes were regarded as an ominous symbol unique to demons and evil spirits. Usually, whenever he accidentally bumped into the villagers, they would treat him with either cold neglect or disgust, and some would even hurl vile words or stones at him.
Such forthright affection and praise allowed him to experience a long-lost sense of respect. His heart pounded wildly, and his hands trembled with excitement.
He suddenly regretted his previous decision.
Had he known that she didn’t mind his exotic features, he wouldn’t have handed her over to Physician Xu for care.
Keeping her in the cave while he guarded and looked after her would have been infinitely better than letting her be bullied by that mother and daughter of the Liu family. Now she had even been driven out, suffering so much hardship for nothing.
Seeing that he had no intention of running away again, Ye Qisheng breathed a quiet sigh of relief and turned to ask, “What’s your name? Are you also from Liuye Village?”
The long-haired young man’s eyes moved slightly as he gently shook his head. “I am not from this village. As for my name… I don’t remember either.”
Ye Qisheng froze for a moment and instinctively asked, “How could you not remember? …Do you have amnesia?”
A trace of gloom flashed across the bottom of the young man’s eyes as he said softly, “Yes. A year ago, for reasons unknown, I fainted on the road Physician Xu took back to the village, and Physician Xu rescued me.
Because I lost my memory and bore this ominous appearance, the villagers worried I would bring disaster to the village and wanted to drive me away. But I had nowhere to go and didn’t want to put Physician Xu in a difficult position, so I found a cave in the mountains to make my home.”
If he hadn’t been worried about her this time, he wouldn’t have entered the village so recklessly. If the villagers caught sight of him, it would inevitably spark another round of trouble.
Ye Qisheng understood everything now. No wonder he had asked her that question earlier; so that was why.
This little angel brother was truly pitiful. Clearly blessed with such a dazzlingly stunning appearance, he was instead treated as an ominous existence.
However, racial discrimination was something that had existed since ancient times, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.
Even in the era she originally came from—where openness, tolerance, and the flags of freedom, democracy, and equality were waved so vigorously—news of racial discrimination still broke out from time to time, let alone in this ancient world with a relatively lower level of education.
In a village full of typical yellow-skinned Easterners, his cool white skin, deep-set eyes, high nose bridge, and exquisitely luxurious, Western-leaning features确实 stood out as extremely alien. It was only normal for it to draw prejudice.
Thinking of her own current situation, Ye Qisheng suddenly felt a wave of emotion, unable to help feeling a bit of shared empathy for the person before her.
Although she hadn’t lost her memory, she too had inexplicably transmigrated here.
Equally homeless, miserable, and desolate.
No, wait—she was even more miserable than this little angel brother! At least he could catch chickens and pick wild fruit, possessing the ability to be self-reliant. She was just a useless slacker who couldn’t even slaughter a chicken, so there was simply no comparison!
The more she thought about it, the more discouraged she felt; and the more discouraged she felt, the hungrier she became. “Gurgle~~”, her stomach betrayed her again with a loud rumble.
The little angel brother caught the sound with his sharp ears. Blinking gently, he asked cautiously, “Are you… hungry?”
Ye Qisheng stroked her stomach, closed her eyes tightly, and nodded her head in utter embarrassment.
Perhaps because her distressed yet embarrassed expression was truly adorable, the corners of the little angel brother’s lips curved slightly into a soft smile as he said gently, “If you don’t mind, how about I roast the chicken for you to eat?”
Ye Qisheng snapped her head up to look at him, her eyes shining brilliantly, as enthusiastic as if she had spotted a generous provider. “Really?! You know how to roast chicken?!”
The little angel brother gave a soft hum and said shyly, “I’ve been living in a cave all along and don’t have cooking utensils on hand. On normal days, I only know how to build a fire and roast food. It can’t be called delicious, but it’ll be cooked through. As long as you don’t dislike it, it’s fine.”
How could Ye Qisheng afford to be picky right now? She hurriedly said, “I don’t dislike it at all! As long as it’s edible, it’s fine!”
She immediately brought him into the kitchen, handing over the chicken she had dumped on the floor earlier for him to process, while she happily grabbed the pots, bowls, ladles, and basins to go down to the river for a thorough scrubbing.
The rust on the iron pot was stubborn to clean. She gathered some dried weeds nearby and rubbed the surface forcefully against the river water for a good half-hour. Only with great effort did she manage to get it reasonably clean, carrying the pot full of bowls, ladles, and basins back into the kitchen.
While she had been sweating profusely outside scrubbing away, the little angel brother had already cleaned the chicken. Using firewood to build a rack over the stove, he speared the chicken with a wooden stick and suspended it over the fire to roast and turn.
Ye Qisheng walked over with the pot and stole a glance—not bad at all! This little brother was capable! The chicken had been plucked squeaky clean, and the offal like the chicken heart and intestines were all gutted, washed, and placed on a banana leaf to the side.
A tantalizing aroma of roast chicken drifted through the air. Ye Qisheng stretched her nose out and couldn’t help taking a deep breath—fragrant! Truly fragrant! So delicious!
The little angel brother was focused on turning the chicken on the rack. Noticing her return and turning to see her greedy gaze fixed squarely on the chicken, he couldn’t help chuckling softly.
He walked over, took the pot from her hands, and set it on the other empty stove burner. Stoking a bundle of firewood into the hearth below, he prepared to start the fire.
Noticing his actions, Ye Qisheng realized there were two bundles of dry firewood on the ground that hadn’t been there before. She asked in confusion, “Did you bring this firewood?”
The straw Liu Shiting had brought was only enough for the roof and bed. She had been thinking about going to the foot of the mountain later to gather some firewood, never expecting that he had already brought some over.
The little angel brother nodded and explained, “You don’t have many tools here, so I took a trip back to my home in the mountains, processed the chicken over there, and brought some timber along while I was at it.”
Ye Qisheng was instantly moved beyond words. This little brother not only had good looks and a good temper, but also a good heart! Even after she tore his clothes, he didn’t get angry, treating her with such gentleness and thoughtfulness.
Compared to Liu Yuexia and Aunt Fan, he was practically an angel incarnate!
Filled with this touched sentiment, she leaned over and asked excitedly, “Is there anything I can do? Anything at all—just give me orders!”
The little angel brother originally wanted to say there was no need, but seeing her expectant expression that practically screamed “Hurry up and use me,” he pointed to a bundle of leafy wild vegetables sitting over there and said, “Go wash the wild vegetables, and fetch some water while you’re at it. I picked these on the way here just now. Later, we can boil a soup using the offal and wild vegetables. Having some soup alongside the roast chicken will keep it from being too greasy.”
His voice was very gentle, like a light breeze brushing across the surface of a spring river. Ye Qisheng’s heart was melted, and her nose felt a bit prickly—she only felt that all the grievances and depression she had suffered at the Liu family over the past two days were completely healed at this moment.
Without saying anything, she nodded vigorously, put the wild vegetables into a wooden basin, and ran swiftly to the riverbank.
Compared to the rusty iron pot earlier, washing vegetables was much easier. Ye Qisheng quickly returned carrying the washed vegetables and water.
During her busy stint, the little angel brother hadn’t been idle either. While continuously turning the wild pheasant, he lit the fire under the other stove burner. Once Ye Qisheng brought back the water, he poured half a pot in, tossed in the chicken heart, intestines, and other offal, added a bit of coarse salt, and finally threw in the wild vegetables once the water came to a boil.
After staying busy like this for nearly half an hour, the fragrance in the kitchen grew increasingly rich, making Ye Qisheng drool so much that embarrassing tears almost leaked from the corners of her mouth.
Seeing her staring fixedly at the boiling soup like a little dog waiting to be fed, the little angel brother scooped out half a bowl and handed it to her, reminding her thoughtfully, “Taste it first, but be careful not to burn yourself.”
Ye Qisheng hurriedly took it over, blew on it heavily a few times to cool it down, and took a impatient gulp.
The thoroughly cleaned offal wasn’t fishy or gamey at all, blending perfectly with the fresh, sweet fragrance of the wild vegetables. The soup was savory and delicious; though only a bit of coarse salt was added, it was already a divine delicacy! After drinking half a bowl, her entire body warmed up!
In the few days since transmigrating over, this was the first time Ye Qisheng had eaten proper, decent food. She was so moved she wanted to wipe away a tear of hardship.
Seeing her gulping it down noisily, a trace of a smile drifted into the little angel brother’s beautiful blue eyes as he reminded her, “Go sit over at the table. I’ll bring the wild vegetables over so you can drink slowly.”
Ye Qisheng immediately sat down obediently on a stone block beside the stone table—this was left behind by the previous owner, and it was quite convenient to use as a low stool.
After downing two bowls of hot soup in a row, Ye Qisheng’s stomach was completely conquered.
She declared that this was the most delicious delicacy she had ever tasted to date, and she would never forget it in her entire life!
With her belly half-full, she was in the mood to think about other things. Glancing at that busy figure by the stove, a whim struck her: “By the way, you should give yourself a name, otherwise it’s hard for me to call you!”
The little angel brother’s form paused slightly. After a brief pause, he said softly, “Give me a name that you like. You can call me whatever you want… Anyway, besides you, probably no one else will be willing to call my name.”
Ye Qisheng froze for a moment, feeling a wave of soreness in her nose.
Humans are social creatures. It was already pitiful enough that he had forgotten his identity, yet he was further ostracized by the villagers and forced to live in the mountains, lacking even a single person to talk to on normal days.
A life like that was probably not much different from a savage, right?
Unable to integrate into the animal community in the mountains, nor able to get along amicably with his fellow humans, he could only live in solitude.
So, his approaching her was because she too was an outsider, right?
After all, except for Physician Xu who had saved him, no one else in this village was willing to accept him.
Thinking this way, Ye Qisheng felt even more pity for him. After pondering for a moment, she suggested, “From now on, I’ll call you Raphael! That’s the name of an archangel in the Bible. He is the embodiment of love and compassion, with a friendly and gentle nature, and he’s also my favorite angel. I think it suits you very well!”
“Raphael?” The little angel brother repeated the name, a soft glow gradually seeping into his blue eyes as he nodded gently. “Mm. Then from now on, I shall be called Raphael.”
Although he couldn’t understand the allusion she cited, since she used the words “favorite,” this name surely represented her acceptance of him, and it must be very, very good.