If he hadn't been holding a bowl in his hands, An Xiao's fist would have definitely flown out.
All he could do now was glare furiously at the man who still had his face cupped in his hands: "What are you doing?! Let go!!"
The Handsome Guy clearly couldn't understand a word.
His gaze drifted downward, landing on An Xiao's lips, and with a dazed expression he said something.
An Xiao: "What—"
The Handsome Guy lowered his head and gave a quick "smack" kiss, then stared suspiciously at his lips for a few seconds before giving another "smack," then stared again.
An Xiao: "…"
Before he could even react, he'd been pecked over a dozen times.
It wasn't until he awkwardly twisted sideways and drove an elbow into the man that the woodpecker behavior finally stopped.
"No!" An Xiao snapped. "Hands! Off!"
The Handsome Guy blinked, looked at him hesitantly, and finally released his face.
An Xiao immediately backed away several steps, shot him a glare, walked around him out of the kitchen, hooked a wooden stool over, sat down against the wall, and began eating breakfast at a leisurely pace.
The Handsome Guy followed him eagerly, crouching beside him to stare—at his lips—with a look of confusion and longing.
An Xiao: "…"
Ignoring the woodpecker, he ate slowly and deliberately.
The meat was fresh, with a mild gamey aroma that was acceptable, mixed with the creamy sweetness of the fruit—it was actually quite tasty.
Probably even better stir-fried.
An Xiao looked at the beast carcass from which he'd only cut a small piece of meat, pondering whether he could render some fat from it.
He had fruit for carbs, and meat didn't seem to be in short supply either. What he lacked now was vegetables—he'd need to go look in the mountains later, or have the Handsome Guy trade for some in the residential area.
And meat too. He didn't know whether the Handsome Guy hunted it or bought it, but slaughtering and skinning one beast every day was troublesome. He needed to stock up on something that would keep.
Having planned out what he needed to do today, An Xiao sped up, finished the entire bowl of shredded meat stewed with fruit, and stood up—
Only to be blocked by a wall of a man who stood up with him.
An Xiao walked around him expressionlessly and went into the kitchen.
There was still a lot left in the pot.
An Xiao scooped all the remaining stew into the big bowl the Handsome Guy had eaten from earlier, and gestured to him: "Eat."
The Handsome Guy's gaze finally left his lips, glanced at the big bowl, and frowned.
An Xiao ignored him and went to wash the pot—hmm, he'd need to make a washbasin.
Before he could start, a pair of chopsticks appeared at his mouth.
The Handsome Guy held up the bowl and brought it to his lips: "You eat, you eat."
He even gently poked An Xiao's lips with the chopsticks, his eyes unblinking.
An Xiao: "…"
He understood. The Handsome Guy thought he hadn't eaten enough.
But was the guy poking him because he was genuinely worried he wasn't full, or because he coveted his mouth?
An Xiao pushed his hand away and shook his head. "I'm full." He patted his stomach. "This amount for breakfast is plenty."
He hadn't done anything since waking up—why would he be hungry?
The Handsome Guy had done a ton of work and should eat more… Besides, judging by how much he'd eaten last night, even these two bowls might not be enough for him.
The Handsome Guy still frowned, even trying to shove food into his mouth.
An Xiao got angry: "I told you, I'm full!"
The Handsome Guy withdrew his hand, looking disgruntled.
An Xiao jerked his chin toward the bowl: "Eat."
Then he watched the bowl go bottom-up again: the stew, now cooled to lukewarm, disappeared into the Handsome Guy's stomach in the blink of an eye.
An Xiao pressed a hand to his forehead. He'd need to get used to this… wait, no—wouldn't that really cause indigestion?
He pushed the Handsome Guy out, then drew diagrams for him to make some kitchen utensils and furniture, while An Xiao went to clean up the kitchen, scrubbing the bowls, chopsticks, and pot.
There was no detergent, so he boiled another pot of hot water to wash the dishes.
For convenience, he planned to carry them over to the newly installed railing outside their house to wash them.
But just as he stepped out of the kitchen, Handsome Guy took them from him.
An Xiao followed behind holding the bowls and chopsticks, utterly exasperated—he really needed to learn the language quickly, otherwise he couldn't even curse properly. It was too frustrating.
Fortunately, he could use his hands.
Shoving and kicking Handsome Guy away, An Xiao grimaced as he scrubbed the greasy dishes with hot water, then rinsed them with cold water before putting them back in the kitchen.
While he was busy washing the dishes back and forth, Handsome Guy had already set up a long table, perfect for laying out the dripping wet utensils.
Then An Xiao asked Handsome Guy if there was anything else that needed to be done.
Handsome Guy pointed to the series of pictures of kitchenware and furniture he had drawn earlier.
An Xiao: "…"
That meant nothing to do.
He immediately made the decision, pointing toward the back mountain, and said, "[Stream, look.]"
Handsome Guy: "?"
An Xiao simply went back to his room to grab a few things, and when he came out, he had Handsome Guy bring a knife as well, then led him straight toward the back mountain.
After a few steps, Handsome Guy understood, and took his wrist, walking ahead of him.
An Xiao had never experienced how terrifying a desolate mountain could be, but he wasn't about to act tough, so he didn't say anything and just obediently let himself be pulled along.
They rounded the cliffside gravel platform and walked up the slope for several dozen meters. The ground beneath their feet changed from stone to moss and lichen, then to grass blades, with vegetation gradually becoming more lush.
As they walked, the grass went from brushing their shoe soles to covering their feet, then rising past their knees.
Some wild grass was even taller than his head.
Thankfully, he had already tied his sleeves with arm straps earlier for cooking and washing dishes, or else it would have been a hassle now.
Even so, his calves were pricked with both itch and pain.
Tsk. Yesterday when Handsome Guy carried him up the mountain, it hadn't been this uncomfortable.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have come into the mountain so unprepared—he really thought this place wasn't that wild yet.
His wandering gaze swept past the back of Handsome Guy's head as he led the way, and An Xiao suddenly realized—Handsome Guy was taller than him, and if he carried him again, he really wouldn't touch the grass.
Wait, with grass this tall, weren't there snakes and insects?
Handsome Guy had even tucked the knife into his back waistband instead of holding it in his hand!!
An Xiao quickly tugged at Handsome Guy.
Handsome Guy turned around, looking at him with confusion.
An Xiao pointed at the grass, then made a motion mimicking a snake.
Handsome Guy tilted his head, seeming even more puzzled.
An Xiao was dumbfounded too. How could anyone not understand a snake motion?
He gave up on gesturing, looked around, let go of Handsome Guy's hand, took two steps away, and picked up a dead branch as thick as two fingers.
Then he prepared to head back to regroup. The moment he turned around, Handsome Guy was standing right behind him.
An Xiao paused for a moment, then curved his eyes and showed his "weapon" to the other: "Beat the grass to scare the snakes!"
Handsome Guy didn't understand, and simply took his wrist again.
An Xiao didn't expect him to understand either. He let himself be pulled along, taking big strides to keep pace with him, while swinging the dead branch and forcefully whipping the grass on both sides.
Handsome Guy watched him beat the grass, blinked slowly, then turned his head to stare at him.
An Xiao thought to himself, this guy was all brute force and probably had never tried being this cautious.
He wondered if everyone in this world was like that.
If so, then Handsome Guy taking care of him was just helping the weak.
…Oh, not just helping the weak—this guy also coveted his body.
An Xiao thought about how he'd been randomly kissed several times today, and felt stifled.
This guy didn't care at all about what problems he had, only cared about carnal desire!!
Jerk!
…Although he really was quite good to him.
"No—it hasn't even been two days yet! He needed to observe more!"
After a mental tug-of-war between his left and right brain, An Xiao finally set aside his thoughts and focused on surveying his surroundings.
There was a lot of weeds, but not many varieties.
Both annuals and perennials were present, and he couldn't tell if any were poisonous.
Although he was an agriculture student, his major was nature conservation and environmental ecology, so he wasn't that professional when it came to the characteristics of various plants.
Now, walking through the wilderness, he felt a sense of helplessness and frustration.
In this confusion and helplessness, they kept walking diagonally up the slope, on and on, until they finally reached the stream from yesterday.
Compared to other places where the vegetation was too lush to pass through, this spot was relatively gentle, with a water puddle less than two square meters carved out by the stream, surrounded by a large area of gravel.
An Xiao guessed that during the rainy season, this puddle would be several times larger.
He looked at the sun's position through the small grove and estimated the time—definitely less than an hour.
With Handsome Guy's carrying speed, going back and forth to fetch water wouldn't be a problem.
Speaking of which, before, there was only one large bowl at home. Did Handsome Guy really use that bowl to fill the water vat?
That would be so silly.
But not anymore.
An Xiao pulled out the thing tucked into his belt and asked Handsome Guy, "[This?]"
Handsome Guy looked down.
It was the bamboo strip left on the table in the room.
He nodded: "[Bamboo strip.]"
An Xiao repeated after him, then said, "[Want bamboo strip.]"
Handsome Guy blinked, looked around, and pointed to the other side of the puddle.
There really was some?! An Xiao exclaimed joyfully, "[I want it.]"
Handsome Guy didn't hesitate at all. He immediately led him around the puddle and walked downstream along the water for over ten minutes.
Then An Xiao saw a large bamboo grove on the steep slope downstream.
A bamboo grove!!
It was the familiar mountain green bamboo—a species used for both shoots and timber!!
Bamboo shoots! Bamboo rats! Bamboo!
An Xiao's eyes lit up, and he vigorously shook Handsome Guy's hand: "Bamboo!!"
Handsome Guy thought he was asking about the pronunciation and said, "[Bamboo.]"
An Xiao: "…"
He still repeated it twice, memorized it, then pulled Handsome Guy to rush over, trampling through grass and over rocks, and started poking around everywhere with a dead branch.
The bamboo grove was large, with a thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground.
An Xiao rummaged around for a long time and finally found a bamboo shoot that hadn't sprouted yet.
He simply threw aside the dead branch and started digging with his hands.
He had barely dug twice when he was grabbed.
An Xiao met Handsome Guy's disapproving gaze and said excitedly, "Ah, I forgot about you as a laborer—hurry, dig it out."
Handsome Guy seemed to know what bamboo shoots were too. Without needing An Xiao to gesture or translate, he stepped forward, quickly brushed aside the fallen leaves, grabbed the bamboo shoot, and gave it a gentle pull—
Really gentle.
This guy even did it with one hand.
An Xiao was extremely envious.
…Forget it, he was someone who lived by his brains, not by comparing strength with others.
Taking the bamboo shoot Handsome Guy handed over, An Xiao peeled off the outer sheath, carefully examined it, sniffed it, and finally confirmed with Handsome Guy: "[Eat?]"
Handsome Guy nodded, then shook his head: "[Not tasty.]"
An Xiao knew what that meant and said excitedly, "[More.]"
Handsome Guy seemed a bit helpless, but he still looked around and started digging through the fallen leaves.
One dig, one shoot, without a single mistake.
An Xiao was amazed and muttered as he followed behind: "How are you so skilled? I thought you were just strong. Do you have some other special ability? Are all the people here like this… If so, wouldn't it be really hard for me to survive?"
He muttered a lot but didn't bother with hand gestures to translate, which made Handsome Guy glance at him several times.
An Xiao noticed and shut his mouth.
After wolfing down five bamboo shoots in a row, An Xiao finally let Handsome Guy stop, then hugged a bamboo pole thicker than his own arm, pointing at the puddle they'd passed earlier. "[Bamboo, stream water.]"
Handsome Guy understood.
An Xiao: "[Knife—]"
A dull thud.
Handsome Guy had ripped the green bamboo out of the ground with his bare hands, looking at him. "[Need more?]"
An Xiao: "…"
With such efficient labor, several thick bamboo poles were acquired in no time.
Handsome Guy somehow produced a vine from who-knows-where, tied the bamboo up in a few quick moves, and dragged it back.
An Xiao crouched to the side, peeling the bamboo shoots they'd just dug up to lighten the load.
Then he wrapped them in the hem of his long robe and followed Handsome Guy back to the puddle.
He cleared a patch of muddy ground by the water, and through gestures, hand signals, and broken vocabulary, finally got Handsome Guy to understand—he wanted to channel water over to the cliff face.
The puddle was on the back slope; the cliff was lower down on the side.
With a powerhouse like Handsome Guy, setting up wooden frames along the way was a breeze, then using bamboo to support and guide the stream water—that way, they wouldn't have to come haul water anymore.
Of course, before channeling the water, they'd need to renovate the front of their home first.
Once Handsome Guy got it, he nodded to show it was feasible.
An Xiao let out a huge sigh of relief.
He wanted to make the house more comfortable, and a water source was essential.
There was still a lot of work ahead.
He'd been prepared to grind it out slowly with Handsome Guy, but surprisingly, Handsome Guy didn't waste a single word.
He flashed Handsome Guy a big smile. "[You, good! I—]"
How did you say "admire"?
He gave Handsome Guy a thumbs up.
Handsome Guy's dark eyes lit up again—they practically sparkled even in the woods!
An Xiao was even more delighted. So in this world, a thumbs up meant praise too.
He patted Handsome Guy's arm, eyes curving into crescents with a laugh. "Looking forward to working together—"
His lips went warm.
Handsome Guy pulled back slightly, staring intently at him.
An Xiao: "…"
He pressed a hand to his forehead. "Before that, I think we need to discuss the issue of personal boundaries."