An Xiao sensed something was off and forcibly changed the subject: "So you're saying you know I'm not that 'An Xiao'—why didn't you—" he made a throat-slitting gesture, "do this to me?"
Lin Zhuoyuan frowned, lowered his head, and gave another peck: "You are my ***, why would I * you."
An Xiao: "…"
Great, he'd learned the pronunciation of one word, "kill," but it wasn't a commonly used character, so no rush.
Expressionless, he grabbed the Handsome Guy's face and pushed it away. "Talk properly—how do you write ***—no drawing, tell me the meaning. I want to learn."
The dirty picture couldn't withstand it.
Lin Zhuoyuan was speechless, then lowered his head and wrote on the sandboard.
Two characters. No drawing.
Lin Zhuoyuan carefully explained it to him.
An Xiao roughly understood—it meant an intimate relationship blessed by everyone… something like a partner?
But the two of them were both men.
He asked directly: "We're both men—can we still be partners?"
Lin Zhuoyuan looked puzzled: "Why not?"
An Xiao: "…"
He hadn't expected this place to be so open.
That was a good thing.
He pulled Lin Zhuoyuan to sit down, first reviewed the words and phrases from today, confirmed there were no problems, then continued learning.
This time he chose to learn kinship terms and forms of address—although Lin Zhuoyuan didn't mind, others might not be the same, so he needed to be prepared.
Using stick figures to draw a relationship chart, An Xiao learned all the terms like "father, mother, older brother, older sister" in one go.
Lin Zhuoyuan didn't go out either, just sat nearby watching him mumble and write, occasionally correcting a thing or two.
The mountain was quiet, the chirping of insects rising and falling in waves. The light inside the hut wasn't particularly bright, but the atmosphere was peaceful.
"…Uncle, mother, older brother—"
Lin Zhuoyuan, who had been sitting quietly beside him, suddenly stood up.
An Xiao paused and looked up at him.
Lin Zhuoyuan patted his head: "Someone's coming. I'll go check."
With that, he strode out.
An Xiao was startled and quickly followed.
Stepping past the bamboo curtain, the thick night air rushed at him.
His eyes, not yet adjusted to the darkness, couldn't see where Lin Zhuoyuan was at all.
An Xiao felt a bit nervous: "Lin Zhuoyuan!"
A voice came from the direction of the small grove: "Don't *."
With a whoosh, a flame lit up in the direction of the voice—Lin Zhuoyuan had ignited a tree branch.
…He actually carried a fire-starter tube on him.
An Xiao felt slightly reassured and said, "Don't go far. At night—[the wild is very dangerous]."
He hadn't learned the words for "wild" or "dangerous" yet.
Lin Zhuoyuan tilted his head, seeming a little puzzled.
But he didn't say anything, turned toward the small grove, and even took two more steps forward.
An Xiao also stared at the small grove.
A few seconds later, a tall, thin figure emerged from the trees. Seeing Lin Zhuoyuan holding the torch outside the grove, he paused briefly, then looked at An Xiao, who was backlit against the faint glow, and hurried forward.
It was a somewhat familiar-looking young man.
"***," the young man bowed deeply to the Handsome Guy, then took off the basket from his back and said cautiously, "I heard my brother is sick, so my family sent me to bring some *** fruit… When my brother was sick, he liked eating these. *** said eating these when sick helps you recover faster!"
…His brother? The original body's younger brother?
An Xiao instinctively ducked back into the doorway. Good heavens, he couldn't even speak properly right now—if he was exposed, it would be over. Not everyone was Lin Zhuoyuan!
On the other side, Lin Zhuoyuan refused directly: "No need. That's my partner. He—"
"Cough."
Lin Zhuoyuan paused, then continued: "If he likes them, I'll—"
"Cough, cough."
Both speakers looked over.
An Xiao hid behind the door opening and waved at Lin Zhuoyuan—this guy could find fruit and hunt prey even in the middle of the night, so he would definitely see.
Lin Zhuoyuan did indeed see him. He said "wait" to the young man and turned back.
"What's wrong?" He walked to the door and asked An Xiao in a low voice.
An Xiao glanced at the young man in the distance who was craning his neck to look, and lowered his voice: "Is that… my younger brother?"
Lin Zhuoyuan: "Yes, I think his name is An Yang."
They were all characters he had learned before, so An Xiao nodded to indicate he remembered.
He took another look at the young man, thought for a moment, and said, "It's already dark and he still climbed up here, that's also…"
How do you say "thoughtfulness"?
Forget it.
"Is the thing hard to come by?"
Lin Zhuoyuan shook his head.
An Xiao: "Accept the thing. We have meat in our warehouse, cut him a piece—"
He wanted to say as a return gift, but didn't know how to say it.
Lin Zhuoyuan: "If you want to eat, I'll get you some—"
"It's not that I want to eat." An Xiao pushed him and said quietly, "I'll tell you later. Go cut the meat and let him head down the mountain early. Make it a big piece."
Lin Zhuoyuan hesitated for a moment, then obediently took the torch and went to cut the meat.
After a while, he indeed cut out an entire animal leg and showed it to An Xiao.
An Xiao gave him a thumbs up and pushed him over to where An Yang was.
Only then did Lin Zhuoyuan carry the leg meat toward An Yang and toss it over: "Take it."
An Yang fumbled to catch it, bewildered: "What—no, no, I can't take this!!"
Lin Zhuoyuan was impatient. He picked up the things from the basket on the ground and tossed out a line: "Hurry up and leave."
An Yang: "…"
He hesitated and looked toward the door.
An Xiao held onto the doorframe and waved at him.
An Yang seemed to see it and got very excited: "Brother—"
"Go!" Lin Zhuoyuan barked.
An Yang was startled. Clutching the animal leg, he backed up several steps, then suddenly called out loudly: "Brother, I'm heading back, take good care of your—ahhhh I'm leaving right now!!"
He didn't even dare to take the basket, and scrambled away, tumbling as he ran.
An Xiao: "…"
Quite lively.
Only after the figure disappeared into the small grove did Lin Zhuoyuan turn around and walk back with the things in hand.
An Xiao called out to remind him: "The basket!"
Lin Zhuoyuan paused mid-step, obediently went back to pick up the basket, and hurried back.
An Xiao walked up to meet him.
Lin Zhuoyuan tossed the burnt-out wooden stick onto the gravel ground and stamped it out with two steps.
The light instantly dimmed.
An Xiao used the light from the room to examine the string of things he was carrying—it was the milky-scented Muddle-fruit they had eaten for several meals.
An Xiao nodded: "Good, we were just about to run out at home."
Lin Zhuoyuan: "You like eating it?"
An Xiao: "The taste is pretty good. Mainly it's high in starch, good for the body."
Lin Zhuoyuan understood "good for the body" and nodded: "I understand."
An Xiao: "…"
Understand what?
Huh?!
He wasn't going to go down the mountain to snatch more again, was he?
An Xiao frowned and walked with Lin Zhuoyuan to put the Muddle-fruit in the kitchen, then returned to the room and pressed the man down onto a stool.
"An Yang brought the fruit over, why didn't you accept it?" he asked.
Lin Zhuoyuan: "You are my partner."
An Xiao: "…Huh? What does that mean?"
Lin Zhuoyuan looked at him: "I will take care of you. I don't need them."
An Xiao: "…Isn't that—my younger brother?"
Lin Zhuoyuan: "Same thing."
An Xiao: "…"
He didn't get it.
He frowned, thought for a moment, and asked, "Then yesterday you took other people's medicine and sugar without paying."
Lin Zhuoyuan: "I paid."
An Xiao was taken aback. "When? How much? Did you really give it?"
Lin Zhuoyuan said, "They'll go to ** to collect it. I don't need to give it to them."
An Xiao blinked. "You mean, you left something at **, and he helped you pass it on to the others?"
Lin Zhuoyuan nodded.
"Who is **? A relative of yours?"
Lin Zhuoyuan said, "Someone from the village at **. Not a relative."
…Manager? An Xiao half-understood, but this wasn't the time to learn. He remembered another question. "Why do we live on the mountain?"
Lin Zhuoyuan said, "They * me."
An Xiao blinked. "What does * mean?"
Lin Zhuoyuan didn't answer. He stood up and led An Xiao to the bed.
An Xiao said, "Hey, I still have questions."
Lin Zhuoyuan said with a straight face, "You're still sick."
An Xiao: "…"
Fine.
He obediently lay down on the bed, watching Lin Zhuoyuan take down the torch from the wall, extinguish it, and toss it into the corner.
An Xiao asked in the dark, "How many hours do you sleep every day?"
The soft mattress shook as Lin Zhuoyuan lay down beside him.
"However long I want." he said.
An Xiao turned to his side. "Sleep well, stay healthy, don't be too…"
How do you say tired, hardworking?
"That." He tried to make Handsome Guy understand.
"I'm in good health." Lin Zhuoyuan didn't budge.
An Xiao reached out and tugged at him. "But you every day—"
His wrist was caught.
"I want to **. If you don't sleep, then we'll **." Lin Zhuoyuan said.
An Xiao said, "What?" His eyes, gradually adjusting to the dark, stared at the dark figure in front of him, bewildered. "It's dark. What else can we do?"
The dark figure sat up and leaned in.
An Xiao sensed it and instinctively backed away.
The next second, his wrist was pinned against the mattress.
"…What are you—"
He was "smooched."
"I want to **." Slightly scorching breath scattered on his lips. The dark figure, barely visible, pressed his shoulder. "You're my partner."
An Xiao: "…" He decisively closed his eyes. "Sleep. I'm still sick."
He didn't want to know what ** meant at all.
Lin Zhuoyuan: "…"
An Xiao held his breath and waited.
It felt like a long time before the sensation of being stared at faded.
His wrist was released. The restraint on his shoulder and neck also left. The mattress shifted slightly—Lin Zhuoyuan had lain back down.
With his eyes closed, An Xiao curled the corner of his mouth.
…
A dreamless night.
He woke again to the sound of birdsong.
An Xiao's stuffy nose and cough had improved considerably—those packets of medicine were quite effective.
Yawning, An Xiao walked out of the room and didn't see Handsome Guy—though there was a new catch on the wooden rack, another species he'd never seen before.
An Xiao walked around to confirm the man really wasn't there, then took his bamboo cup to wash up.
He had just finished tidying up and was lighting the fire in the kitchen to prepare breakfast when he saw Handsome Guy carrying a large basket of something back.
An Xiao hurried over. "What did you bring back?"
Lin Zhuoyuan said, "** fruit."
An Xiao: "…"
Because he traded with An Yang last night?
What a fool.
Once Lin Zhuoyuan was back, he wouldn't let An Xiao do any work.
He pulled over a stool, set the sandboard in front of An Xiao, and told him to continue studying. He himself took over the work of lighting the fire and stewing the meat.
An Xiao: "…"
Handsome and capable—wouldn't he drive a crowd of people crazy? How did the original body manage to snag him?
Curious, he asked.
But Lin Zhuoyuan didn't answer.
An Xiao thought of the day they went down the mountain, with a bunch of people secretly following and secretly watching, and he imagined a whole drama of "don't bully the youth for being poor."
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I want to go down the mountain—" and immediately received a cold, piercing glare from the man.
He paused before continuing, "for a stroll… I want to get a few things."
The chill vanished instantly.
An Xiao secretly wiped the sweat from his brow.
Lin Zhuoyuan stared at him and asked, "What do you want?"
An Xiao answered honestly, "I don't know. I'll have to see first… Can you come with me? I'm scared to go alone."
This was the truth—he couldn't speak the language, and since everyone in the village seemed afraid to get near Handsome Guy, he could use him as a shield.
…Of course, it was also to soothe him.
As soon as the words left his mouth, even the feeling of being watched by a wild beast disappeared.
Lin Zhuoyuan even tossed another piece of firewood into the stove and said, "Alright."
An Xiao's eyes curved into a smile. "Then, after we eat, shall we take a walk down the mountain?"
"Alright."