An Xiao was furious, nearly breaking out into a military boxing routine right then and there for the Handsome Guy to enjoy.
The Handsome Guy was completely oblivious to his anger. He even pushed the bamboo basket forward, eagerly inviting him to pick.
An Xiao: "…"
If it weren't for the language barrier!!
Damn it!
He turned and walked away, but after two steps, he found the Handsome Guy still chasing after him, carrying a basket of fruit.
An Xiao: "…"
Fine.
He led the Handsome Guy to his room and gestured for him to set the bamboo basket down—
They wouldn't finish eating all this anytime soon. Might as well use it as an air freshener.
The Handsome Guy understood this time. He hugged the fruit basket tightly, then pulled out one fruit and handed it to him.
An Xiao glared at him, pointing at the bedside, and said, "[Put it down!]"
The Handsome Guy: "…"
His face fell. He set the basket down dejectedly.
An Xiao gave a light snort, walked over to the table, picked up the bamboo strips, and shoved them into the arms of the Handsome Guy who had followed him over.
The Handsome Guy: "?"
An Xiao didn't say anything. He just walked out the door.
Sure enough, the Handsome Guy obediently followed him out, holding the bamboo strips.
An Xiao drew pictures on the ground one by one: a bamboo basket, a round drying tray, then a strainer ladle. He asked, "[Can you make these?]"
The Handsome Guy nodded.
An Xiao let out a sigh of relief. After gesturing the sizes of these items, he turned to check the meat that was about to finish smoking. He added a few small twigs, then went to look at the small animal.
The small animal had long gray fur all over and long ears. It looked a bit like a rabbit, but was a size bigger than a rabbit.
An Xiao picked it up and estimated its weight. He decided to stir-fry half and stew the other half, just like before.
For the stew, he'd add more bamboo shoots. The Handsome Guy probably thought it tasted good—otherwise, he wouldn't have dug up a whole basket of them.
For the stir-fry, he could pick through the fruit and find something sour with thick flesh to add to the pot.
As for the extra bamboo shoots, he'd blanch them and dry them in the sun to make dried bamboo shoots.
He picked up the small animal and headed toward the water basin. He'd barely taken a step when someone blocked his path.
The Handsome Guy snatched the trembling little animal and said, "[I'll do it.]"
An Xiao remembered that the beasts from the past two days had been skinned cleanly and thoroughly. He didn't try to show off and readily handed it over. He even pinched a tuft of the animal's fur and reminded him, "[This is useful. I want it.]"
The Handsome Guy hesitated, nodded, but didn't move.
An Xiao was still watching him. He urged, "Hurry up."
He'd only ever killed chickens, ducks, and geese—never anything with four hooves. He needed to learn. Just because the Handsome Guy was willing to do it didn't mean he could take being taken care of for granted.
The Handsome Guy gestured for him to go do something else.
An Xiao said impatiently, "Stop dawdling. Get to it."
The Handsome Guy confirmed he wasn't leaving, hesitated a moment, then picked up the dagger—
With a clean slash, he slit the animal's throat and pressed its head into the drainage ditch.
Bright red blood instantly stained the ditch, spreading along the water's flow. The small animal thrashed violently, struggling, but with the Handsome Guy pressing it down, it only spilled more blood.
The Handsome Guy licked his lips and glanced cautiously at An Xiao.
But An Xiao frowned.
The Handsome Guy paused, his fingers tightening—
A soft "crack" sounded.
"Easy! You're crushing its bones!" An Xiao couldn't help but complain. Then he switched languages, speaking one word at a time: "[No. Bones. Broken.]"
The Handsome Guy: "…"
He quickly released his fingers and stared at him nervously.
An Xiao didn't notice. He just stood up, stretched, and said, "[You clean up. When done, put in basket. I go kitchen.]"
The Handsome Guy nodded slowly.
An Xiao then strolled away at a leisurely pace.
The Handsome Guy's gaze followed him until he entered the kitchen.
An Xiao went to deal with that whole basket of bamboo shoots.
A whole basketful needed to be sliced and blanched… By the time he finished, the hand gripping the cleaver was nearly numb from exhaustion.
He shook his hand as he walked out of the kitchen, only to find that Handsome Guy had somehow gone and brought back several bamboo stalks, and was now sitting in the sunset, splitting bamboo tubes and shaving bamboo strips.
His movements were incredibly smooth—clearly someone who had done this plenty of times.
An Xiao instinctively glanced back at the bamboo curtain in the room—that curtain was probably woven by Handsome Guy himself!
"…How do you know how to do everything?" he couldn't help but marvel.
Handsome Guy didn't understand, looking at him blankly.
An Xiao waved his hand and headed over to the water pool.
After flowing all afternoon, the thin trickle of water had finally filled the small pool, spilling out along the diversion channel.
The little furry animal from earlier had already been skinned and tossed into a basket, its pelt piled intact beside it.
An Xiao rummaged through it and gasped. It was truly skinned in one piece—not even a single hole… People with strength really do have an easier time with everything.
After the marveling, there was still work to do.
He hauled out the cutting board and cleaver, gathered up the hem of his clothes and tied it into a knot, then crouched by the pool to chop the meat into chunks and rinse off the blood.
Once cleaned, he carried it back inside, put half of it in the pot, and started stewing.
Then he came back out, grabbed Handsome Guy, and dragged him into the room to pick fruits.
Handsome Guy's eyes immediately lit up, barely containing his excitement as he looked at An Xiao.
An Xiao: "…"
At his wit's end, he slapped a hand over the guy's face. "Can you think about something proper for once?!"
Handsome Guy couldn't understand.
But with his face covered, he knew licking was off the table.
He was dejected, listless, melancholic… He pulled An Xiao's hand away and stared at him with pleading eyes.
An Xiao couldn't be bothered with him, so he just started tasting the fruits one by one himself.
He picked one up, took a bite—crisp and sweet.
Stuffed it into Handsome Guy's mouth.
Handsome Guy: "?"
Obediently ate it in two bites.
An Xiao picked another, took a bite—wow, cloyingly sweet.
Stuffed it to Handsome Guy.
Handsome Guy: "…"
Each bite came with a frown.
An Xiao secretly grinned, quickly turned his head away, picked another, and opened his mouth—
Handsome Guy covered his mouth.
An Xiao understood, and handed the fruit over.
Handsome Guy was still chewing on the last one, but took the fruit with one hand, squeezed it open, and passed it back.
It was pulp similar to passion fruit, except this fruit was red.
An Xiao tasted it—tangy-sweet!
This was the one!
He picked out five or six of the same kind from the basket, hurried back to the kitchen, and continued working on dinner.
Passing the smoked meat, he remembered to toss in a fresh branch of fuel.
That little animal, after being skinned and cleaned, weighed about twenty pounds, and was mostly bone with little meat.
Thinking of Handsome Guy's appetite, An Xiao added two more Muddle-fruits to the stew pot.
By the time dinner was done, the sky was pitch black, and Handsome Guy had rekindled the campfire.
This time An Xiao wasn't in a rush. He cleared half of the long table in the kitchen, and the two of them sat across from each other on the only two stools they had, finishing dinner face to face.
Handsome Guy had already finished a winnowing basket, which An Xiao used to hold the blanched bamboo shoots, setting it by the wall outside the door to dry tomorrow.
The smoked meat was done too.
An Xiao cleared away the smoky fire and had Handsome Guy move the meat rack into the storeroom.
Before storing it, he hesitated, then asked Handsome Guy, "[Will any wild animals eat it?]"
He still didn't know how to say "steal."
Handsome Guy shook his head. "[No, they won't.]"
An Xiao was skeptical.
Handsome Guy brought back prey every single day, which meant there were definitely animals nearby.
But he hadn't seen a single one in two days, and Handsome Guy was so certain…
Thinking of how that little animal had trembled in fear that evening, An Xiao mused—maybe the people here had some special way of warding off beasts?
Seeing how confident the Handsome Guy was, he could only suppress his worries and prepare to wash up.
There were no buckets or basins in the house, and the big clay pot was only twenty or thirty liters—plus it was needed for stewing meat and vegetables, so he didn't want to use it.
Fortunately, the weather was warm now. Even if mornings and evenings were a bit chilly, wiping himself down should still be fine.
So An Xiao was currently staring worriedly at the two newly built crates in the warehouse.
His clothes were all made of soft fabric, many with embroidery, and all of them were new.
Wasting them on wiping himself down would be a shame.
The Handsome Guy's clothes were coarse cloth, but he only had three sets in total.
The Handsome Guy stood beside him holding a torch, and when he saw An Xiao hadn't moved for a long time, he looked down at him.
An Xiao looked up and asked, "[Clothes…]" then pointed at the gold and silver tossed aside, "[Will there be more?]"
He didn't know how to say the word "expensive."
The Handsome Guy glanced at the gold and silver, then nodded: "[More.]"
An Xiao didn't dare move.
He thought of the cloth the older sister had brought yesterday, turned around and hurried back to the room, spreading out the colorful fabric on the table—it was about the same size as his mom's silk scarf. Though thicker and rougher than a towel, it would work.
An Xiao was satisfied and grabbed the fabric as he headed out.
The Handsome Guy followed closely.
An Xiao only realized it when he reached the pool, turning back to take the torch.
The Handsome Guy dodged: "[Hot.]"
An Xiao: "[I'm not—]"
No.
This guy still had designs on him—why leave the light for him?
He immediately changed his words: "[You go back to the room.]"
The Handsome Guy didn't move: "[What about you?]"
An Xiao struggled to form the sentence: "[I wash myself.]"
The Handsome Guy: "…"
The mountain breeze rustled, and the torch flickered.
An Xiao somehow heard the sound of swallowing amidst the noise.
An Xiao: "…"
He lifted his foot and gave a light kick: "[You, go back!]"
The Handsome Guy's tone was aggrieved: "[I *sleep.]"
Want? Or intend to?
An Xiao was wary: "[You sleep yours, I sleep mine.]"
The Handsome Guy fell silent.
…Damn, he'd guessed right. An Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "[You go back—]" then changed his mind, "[You go make bamboo baskets, tables, shelves.]"
Their home was severely lacking in furniture anyway, so making more couldn't hurt.
The Handsome Guy refused to leave.
An Xiao kicked him twice more before he reluctantly left with the torch.
The pool area quickly darkened.
An Xiao watched the Handsome Guy sit back down cross-legged in his usual spot, slowly whittling wood, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though they were more than ten meters apart and the firelight couldn't reach, An Xiao still felt uneasy.
He didn't dare take off all his clothes either. He untied his sash, pulled open his collar, used his wide garment as a screen, and wet the fabric to start wiping himself down.
After wiping his whole body and washing his hands and feet in the ditch, An Xiao slipped into the warehouse still wearing his damp clothes, grabbed whatever garment he could find by the faint starlight to change into, then returned to the pool with his dirty clothes.
Of course, washing them was out of the question—it was too dark to even see where the dirt was.
An Xiao called the Handsome Guy over.
A gust of wind passed.
One second the Handsome Guy was sitting cross-legged in the pile of wood, the next he was standing right in front of him, looking at him with barely concealed excitement.
An Xiao: "…"
He instinctively looked around—far from the torch, pitch black, so he probably couldn't see clearly.
He felt a bit reassured and handed the fabric to the Handsome Guy: "[Are you washing?]"
The Handsome Guy immediately took the fabric and answered loudly: "[Good!]"
An Xiao paused for a moment, then walked toward the room: "[I'm going to sleep.]"
"[Good!]" His tone was still a bit excited.
An Xiao looked at him suspiciously—but couldn't see clearly.
Left with no choice, he could only remind the Handsome Guy with a note of caution not to wash clothes. Only after confirming he understood did An Xiao feel his way back to the room and climb into bed.
Water splashed loudly outside. Who knew how the Handsome Guy was washing.
An Xiao thought to himself—tomorrow he'd rig up a simple water wheel by the pool to divert the water out, so it wouldn't pollute the pool.
He started mulling over how to tinker together a little water wheel.
Outside, the firelight gradually dimmed as the firewood in the campfire nearly burned out.
Deep in thought, An Xiao didn't notice that the sound of water outside had stopped.
Not until a tall, dark silhouette lifted the curtain and stepped inside, tossing cloth garments onto the chair.
An Xiao looked toward the newcomer: "[You're done? Let's sleep.]"
The blanket was lifted, and a body wrapped in chill lay down beside him, turning over—
An Xiao jolted from the cold: "Achoo!"
Then, belatedly, he realized—the Handsome Guy… wasn't wearing any clothes.
He was terrified, quickly shoving the man away. "[What are you]—Go away! Put on clothes!"
Handsome Guy: "…"
After more pushing and kicking, he finally managed to drive the Handsome Guy out, who at least came back with a pair of pants on.
An Xiao wrapped the blanket tightly around himself, staying on edge for a good while. Only after confirming the Handsome Guy wouldn't force himself on him did he slowly drift off to sleep.
The stream water was cold, the mountain wind chilly.
Having wiped himself down in the dark, An Xiao woke up the next morning to find something was wrong—he had a fever.
…Was he really that fragile?