An Xiao had no idea what was happening. He simply stood up and watched from a distance.
The group of people crowded around Handsome Guy, all talking at once—excited and nervous, as if something major had occurred. But they were all very restrained, keeping a wide distance even while speaking to him.
In the midst of this, several of them pointed at An Xiao.
An Xiao: "?"
Someone suddenly shouted, pointing at their house, finger trembling uncontrollably, looking as if they'd seen a ghost.
An Xiao followed the person's finger and turned around, seeing the newly installed "running water" at his place.
He turned back and realized the entire group was staring at the water, their expressions strange and wary.
He blinked.
Handsome Guy said something, and the group seemed startled. They all stepped back in unison, then nodded and bowed repeatedly before scurrying away.
An Xiao: "??"
Aren't they going to come check out their newly finished "running water"?
Handsome Guy waited until the group was completely out of sight before turning back.
An Xiao was curious: "[They?]"
Handsome Guy pointed at the thick smoke billowing from the campfire and said a word: "[Smoke.]"
An Xiao understood: "[Smoke, they see?]"
Though the phrasing was incomplete, Handsome Guy should get it.
Sure enough, Handsome Guy nodded.
An Xiao: "Haha~ They're pretty safety-conscious, then."
Handsome Guy looked confused.
An Xiao gave a concise summary, giving a thumbs up: "[They, good.]"
Handsome Guy frowned slightly.
An Xiao looked at him, puzzled.
But Handsome Guy just turned and sat back down by the wood, continuing his carpentry work.
An Xiao didn't press further. He reminded him to make two buckets and a basin, then focused on smoking the meat.
Once the lower half of the animal meat was half-dried, An Xiao called the guy over to adjust the meat's position for even smoking.
Smoking the meat took time. An Xiao had already scrubbed most of the rust off the wok. He relit last night's campfire, placed the wok on it, and began the seasoning process.
Once the wok was glowing red-hot, he cut a thin slice of fatty meat and tossed it in, pressing it around to season the surface.
Handsome Guy didn't understand what he was doing, but he didn't question it or stop him.
After the wok was properly seasoned, An Xiao had Handsome Guy cut a thick wooden board to use as a cutting board. He handed the campfire over to him and went into the kitchen to cook.
He stripped the meat from both hind legs, tossing all the bones into the clay pot. One chunk of leg meat was cut into pieces and thrown in, along with half of the bamboo shoots and water, then set to simmer.
Then he started cutting the remaining meat, planning to stir-fry it with bamboo shoots later.
In the short time it took him to slice meat and chop bones, Handsome Guy hadn't been idle—he kept coming in and out of the kitchen.
One moment he was carrying firewood in;
The next he wandered in, grabbed a bowl, and went back out;
Then he came in again, picked a piece of wood from the pile he'd brought in, and left;
A moment later he returned, placing a hoe against the wall…
An Xiao: "…"
When Handsome Guy came in yet again, An Xiao couldn't take it anymore. He called him over, pointed at the wall, and said, "[Wood, come in, you sit here. Outside, fire, watch.]"
The words were fragmented. Normally, he'd need to gesture and translate for ages.
But Handsome Guy's eyes lit up, and he immediately dashed out.
Within seconds, he came back carrying a big armful of wood, sat down cross-legged in the corner—facing An Xiao.
An Xiao laughed in exasperation.
He rolled his eyes, went out to check the smoking fire, confirmed that fresh branches had just been added, and came back shaking his head, continuing to cut the meat.
This time, Handsome Guy finally settled down. Aside from occasionally going out to check the fire and add branches, he stopped wandering around—just fixed his eyes on An Xiao.
An Xiao went out with him once, and after confirming that he would tend to the campfire, didn't bother with it anymore. He sliced the meat, his fingers going numb from the effort—the leg meat was too large a piece.
He flexed his fingers, took the cleaver outside to cut off a piece of fat, and came back to start the pan.
Low heat to render the fat, then in went the meat slices for a quick stir-fry, add bamboo shoots, add salt, crank up the heat and stir-fry fast.
A rich meaty aroma filled the kitchen—the ventilation system really wasn't up to par.
An Xiao waved away the oil smoke in front of his face, checked that the heat was about right, and pinched up a piece of meat to taste.
Not bad, a little gamey—the kind that naturally comes with wild meat—but acceptable.
He killed the fire and scooped the meat onto plates—precariously filling three large plates, piled so high they'd spill at the slightest touch.
The meat in the clay pot still needed to simmer a while longer.
He called out to Handsome Guy: "**."
The moment the words left his mouth, Handsome Guy was already standing in front of him, staring at him with eager eyes.
His hair, which had floated up, hadn't even had time to settle back down, and the whole person was inexplicably radiating a… buoyant energy?
What was there to be buoyant about over a meal?
An Xiao gave him a puzzled look or two before pointing at one of the plates of meat: "[Eat.]"
Handsome Guy immediately went to grab two pairs of chopsticks, handed one to him first, then slid one of the plates in front of him, watching him.
…He wanted him to eat first? An Xiao tentatively picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth.
Only then did Handsome Guy look away and lower his head to pick up meat.
An Xiao: "."
Complicated feelings.
Before he could even get sentimental, he saw Handsome Guy's eyes light up, then pick up a slice of bamboo shoot and pop it in his mouth, eyes going wide.
Then An Xiao watched him directly pick up the plate and shovel food into his mouth with his chopsticks.
Cleared in seconds.
An Xiao found it amusing and pushed the second plate toward him.
Handsome Guy didn't say anything, just picked it up and kept shoveling.
The second plate was cleared just as fast.
An Xiao thought for a moment, then scraped half of his own plate over to him.
Handsome Guy frowned, looking at him.
An Xiao pointed at the pot still bubbling away: "[There's more, eat up.]"
Handsome Guy hesitated for two seconds, then dug in.
An Xiao's half plate was still more than a full bowl's worth. Mixed with the bamboo shoots, it was refreshing and cut through the grease.
The two of them stood there by the stove and polished off the entire big pan of stir-fried meat, and only then did Handsome Guy slowly wander back to the corner to get back to work.
An Xiao put the plates in the pot and carried it out, setting it on the small platform by the sink that drained into the channel to wash them.
Dirty water went into the drain, saving the sink from getting greasy.
After tidying up and returning to the kitchen, the meat in the clay pot was about done too.
An Xiao adjusted the salt, gave it a stir, killed the fire, and ladled out a big sea-bowl for Handsome Guy, keeping only a small bowl for himself.
Handsome Guy frowned, scooped a bowl from his big one, and set it in front of An Xiao, staring at him to eat.
An Xiao: "…"
The stewed meat was fragrant too, but he was just about full after one bowl, and after eating half of the second, he truly couldn't manage another bite.
Only when Handsome Guy confirmed he was full did he pick up the big bowl and start shoveling.
After finishing his big bowl, he even cleaned up the half bowl An Xiao had left behind.
An Xiao: "…"
It wasn't like there wasn't enough to go around—did he have to?
Even as he thought this, he unconsciously curled his lips upward and carried the pot out again to wash.
He'd just crouched down to start scrubbing when Handsome Guy carried a log back to the woodpile outside the house and sat down to keep working.
An Xiao: "…"
Did he have to keep watching him?
With lunch done, he returned to the campfire and continued smoking the meat, not forgetting to gesture and mime to Handsome Guy that they'd only eat fruit and flour-based food for dinner, and that the remaining half of the beast would be kept for storage.
The process of communicating this was painfully difficult.
An Xiao wasn't in a hurry, though—he just treated it as practice for speaking.
Handsome Guy didn't know whether he understood or not, but his attention stayed fixed on him the whole time, and when he spoke, he deliberately slowed down so An Xiao could hear the pronunciation clearly.
An Xiao quickly picked up several new words and phrases, and his desire to chat grew even stronger.
The two went back and forth, the atmosphere relaxed and easy.
During their conversation, Handsome Guy finished making a new piece of furniture: a small stool about half a chi tall.
He handed the stool to An Xiao, who was crouching by the meat as he smoked it.
An Xiao froze for a moment, then said thanks.
The word "thanks" came out in his own language.
Handsome Guy didn't seem to mind. He said a couple of things to him, grabbed the bamboo basket that had been cleared out of the storage shed, and ran off.
An Xiao hadn't understood a word. Puzzled, he went back to smoking the meat, constantly glancing toward the back mountain.
The sun hung high overhead. The clearing, empty save for himself, was perfectly quiet—he could hear insects chirping and birds singing in the distance, and the only other sounds around him were the faint crackle of fresh branches burning and the murmur of the pool.
But An Xiao didn't care. Whether the surroundings were quiet or not didn't affect him in the slightest. He was just curious what Handsome Guy was doing with that bamboo basket.
It felt like he waited forever, though in truth only two loads of fresh branches had been added to the fire before Handsome Guy finally returned, basket on his back.
—He'd brought back a whole basket of bamboo shoots, all peeled.
He was also carrying a small animal about two chi long, all furry, still alive—not yet skinned or bled.
Handsome Guy tossed the animal to the ground first, about to set down the basket.
An Xiao jumped in surprise and hurried over to pin the animal down—only to find it wasn't running at all. It just lay there curled into a ball, trembling nonstop.
An Xiao was confused. He hesitated, then slowly let go.
Sure enough, the animal didn't run. It stayed huddled there, shaking and shaking.
Handsome Guy had already set down the basket full of bamboo shoots. He took a leaf-wrapped bundle from the top, unfolded it, broke off a piece of fruit, and held it to An Xiao's lips.
An Xiao: "…"
He was grateful for the fruit, but the hygiene habits were… not great. That hand had grabbed an animal, peeled bamboo shoots—and now it was going straight for the fruit?
He tried to take it himself, but Handsome Guy wouldn't let him.
An Xiao had no choice. He gestured wildly, directing with his hands until he at least got Handsome Guy to wash his hands and rinse the fruit… before coming back to feed him.
Last night's feeding had been a moment of surprise, in the dim light.
That alone had made An Xiao deeply uncomfortable.
Now, in such bright light, to be fed again… An Xiao's face wasn't thick enough for that.
But he couldn't outrun him, couldn't outfight him. When he tried to snatch the fruit, the result was both his hands being caught by Handsome Guy and pinned above his head.
And then Handsome Guy held that awkward, domineering CEO pose, pressing the fruit insistently against his lips.
An Xiao was mortified, embarrassed, and furious. He launched into a string of curses.
Handsome Guy heard the words but understood none of them. He just stared at him with burning eyes, then leaned in and went "mwah mwah mwah."
Mwah on the lips, then mwah on the cheek—left cheek, then right cheek.
There was simply no communicating with him.
An Xiao was furious. He knocked Handsome Guy's head away with his own forehead and angrily bit into the fruit.
Once he started eating, Handsome Guy stopped his mischief. He just stared straight at him, Adam's apple bobbing up and down, swallowing over and over, looking utterly ravenous.
As for what he was hungry for, An Xiao didn't dare think too deeply.
The fruit was smaller than a fist and was gone quickly.
An Xiao swallowed the last bite and said angrily, "Satisfied? Now let—"
Handsome Guy leaned in again.
This time it wasn't a "mwah."
Something soft and slick swept across the corner of An Xiao's lips.
An Xiao: "!!"
Before he could react, the hand that had been holding the fruit slid to the back of his head, pressing down to hold him still, and then—quickly, gently—swept across his entire mouth.
After sweeping, the Handsome Guy smacked his lips twice, his dark eyes fixed intently on… his lips.
An Xiao's face flushed red: "Why haven't you let go—"
A wet, soft object entered his mouth directly.
"!!!"
He struggled urgently: "Mmph—"
The wet, soft thing swept around wildly inside his mouth.
An Xiao couldn't break free from his grip, and instinctively stuck out his tongue to resist. The wet, soft thing paused for a second, then immediately curled up, wrapping around his tongue, writhing, rubbing, and sucking.
An Xiao: "…"
Help—
He thought the Handsome Guy was an honest man… Where was the honesty in this?!
Just before he suffocated, the Handsome Guy finally pulled back. Sunlight happened to spill over them, coating his dark eyes with a glimmering sheen.
An Xiao gasped for air desperately, clutching his arm, panting like a bellows.
The Handsome Guy seemed startled too, hugging him tightly while pressing a hand lightly against his chest to check on him.
Once An Xiao caught his breath, he shoved him away and snapped, "What are you doing? Did you get my permission?"
The Handsome Guy blinked, touched his cheek, and said something: "I want fruit."
An Xiao: "?"
The Handsome Guy didn't bother explaining at all. He dumped the bamboo shoots on the ground, grabbed his bamboo basket, and sprinted off, vanishing into the back mountain in the blink of an eye.
An Xiao: "??"
Wait—he'd just been molested, and before they could even hash out an agreement, the culprit had run off??
An Xiao paced in circles in fury, throwing punches and kicks in the air. Finally, he glared at the bamboo shoots scattered on the ground, then sat back down on the stool and resumed smoking the meat—after being kissed for that long, the fire had nearly gone out.
This time, the Handsome Guy was gone even longer. An Xiao tied up the small animals, added four branches to the campfire, and even rigged up the meat to hang crosswise for the middle stage of smoking… Still, the Handsome Guy hadn't returned.
He started to worry, constantly glancing toward the back mountain.
It wasn't until the sun slanted westward and the sky began to darken that the Handsome Guy finally came back carrying a basket full of things.
A whole basket of fruit.
Leaf-wrapped ones, bare ones, and ones with shells—all kinds.
An Xiao: "…"
His intentions are as clear as day!!