An Xiao looked back at the path they had come from.
The trees were lush and dense, and he couldn't even see the cliff where the stone house had been carved—because they had circled around to the top of the cliff.
It wasn't far, but… it was uphill.
How on earth had Handsome Guy managed to run uphill at a hundred-meter sprint pace while carrying a full-grown man?
He looked at Handsome Guy suspiciously.
Handsome Guy looked back at him.
His dark eyes stared without moving—the kind of intense, focused stare.
An Xiao felt uncomfortable under that gaze and looked away, thinking to himself that someone with a guilty conscience wouldn't dare stare at people like that.
Besides, in this primitive environment, having great strength and stamina was a valuable asset.
Having reasoned that out, he cast aside his thoughts, pulled up the hem of his clothes, and crouched down to scoop up some stream water.
It was cool, clear, and very clean.
Looking further upstream, the stream wound and twisted, babbling gently as it flowed down.
He pointed at the stream and asked Handsome Guy: "Water?"
Handsome Guy understood instantly: "[Water]."
An Xiao repeated it twice, nodded, then surveyed the surroundings.
He was looking for bamboo.
But all around were trees—no bamboo in sight.
He took a few steps outward—and was pulled back by Handsome Guy.
He turned around and met Handsome Guy's deep, dark eyes.
He froze for a moment, then broke into a smile, drawing a circle with his finger, and said: "I'm just looking around nearby."
Handsome Guy probably didn't understand. He shook his head, bent down, and scooped An Xiao up.
An Xiao was startled and quickly wrapped his arms around his shoulders, exasperated: "Can you stop picking me up every chance you get?"
Every time it was a princess carry with a hand under his butt… how embarrassing. Good thing there was no one around to see.
Handsome Guy couldn't understand a word, but he carefully tucked An Xiao's long hair under his arm, then sprinted back with him.
An Xiao: "…"
Once is a stranger, twice is familiar—this time he was much calmer. He held onto Handsome Guy and looked around.
Handsome Guy's black hair whipped in the wind as the trees on both sides flew past, so fast they nearly left afterimages.
Branches jutted out everywhere in the mountains, yet despite the breakneck speed, Handsome Guy never collided with any of them. Each time he narrowly grazed past a branch, which was especially thrilling.
It wasn't until they landed that An Xiao realized he had been holding his breath from tension.
Handsome Guy seemed to notice and looked down at him.
An Xiao let out a long breath, pushed his head away, and clenched his fist: "Alright, starting today, we're going to live well!"
Handsome Guy: "?"
An Xiao didn't explain. He started wandering around—he needed to figure out what could be improved about this place.
Wait.
An Xiao stopped, turned back, and walked over to stand in front of Handsome Guy, who was tinkering with wood again. He tugged at his sleeve.
Handsome Guy looked up.
An Xiao pointed at the residential area with houses clustered at the foot of the mountain, gesturing: "[Me], [you], move there to live. Move. Move house. Understand?"
But Handsome Guy's face darkened. He put down the wood and stood up, staring straight at him.
An Xiao thought he didn't understand, so he continued gesturing wildly: "Move down there! Living on the mountain is so inconvenient, and dangerous too. What if there's a landslide or something? We'd be gone in an instant."
Handsome Guy pointed at the room.
An Xiao didn't get it and started rambling with his reasoning: "You mean we should stay in the cave house? The rock does look sturdy, sure, but look around—the vegetation is so lush, clearly there's plenty of rain. In this kind of environment, living in there year after year, the dampness would be really heavy."
He gestured wildly, pointing at the cave room one moment, then down the mountain the next. Who knew how much Handsome Guy actually understood.
Handsome Guy indeed frowned.
Then he scooped An Xiao up in one motion.
An Xiao: "…?"
With a dazed expression, he was carried by Handsome Guy into the room and set down on the bed.
The Handsome Guy pointed at the bed, stared at him, and said a single sentence: “[No] ***.”
…No what? An Xiao wore a bewildered expression.
But the Handsome Guy didn’t explain. After speaking, he turned cold-faced and walked out.
An Xiao scratched his cheek, jumped off the bed, and followed.
The Handsome Guy, lifting the bamboo curtain, whipped his head around. Backlit by golden light, his dark eyes seemed tinged with flecks of gold. When they locked onto him, it was like a venomous snake targeting its prey—enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine.
An Xiao blinked.
This look was perfect for acting. With a darkened face, he’d nail the domineering CEO role with ease~~
He broke into a smile. “What’s wrong? [I]’m going out to help [you]~”
He gestured with his hands. “[You]’re busy making the [cabinet], so [I] can’t just sit around either!”
The Handsome Guy: “……”
He stared at him for two seconds, then stepped forward, holding the bamboo curtain aside as he turned sideways.
An Xiao’s smile grew even wider.
He wasn’t stupid—he’d certainly felt the Handsome Guy’s anger just now.
But the Handsome Guy had a truly good temper. Even if he couldn’t understand, he could still be appeased.
It seemed the days ahead wouldn’t be hard to get through.
He walked out of the room with a smile and stretched.
The Handsome Guy passed him, returned to the pile of wood, and continued tinkering.
An Xiao looked around, planning to find something to do. His gaze landed on the campfire—
Damn!
He dashed over.
…Fortunately, it was firewood. Once the wood burned out, the fire died with it.
He glanced at the Handsome Guy, who had started splitting wood again, then tentatively touched the pot lid. Confirming it was no longer hot, he lifted it—only half a pot of water remained.
That was fine. He’d just drink it as is for now.
He looked at the sun—after all, it was a star providing light and heat, so calling it the sun was perfectly reasonable.
It had already reached the door of the room.
When he’d woken up, the sunlight had come from behind the cliff wall. Now it had shifted to the right front of the cliff.
If he’d had the porridge in the morning, then it should be around afternoon by now.
So…
He was hungry.
That bowl of porridge, though thick, was still like congee. It was already impressive that it had held him off this long.
An Xiao patted his stomach.
The root vegetables in the kitchen were probably the ingredients for that morning’s bowl of porridge.
But porridge didn’t stave off hunger for long. The Handsome Guy had been working all day—how could he hold up on porridge alone? He needed protein.
There was also a small pouch of something like flour, but he wasn’t sure about the production capacity here, or whether it was precious.
Based on what he’d seen so far, he didn’t dare waste it carelessly.
His gaze shifted to the dried meat on the wooden rack by the campfire.
The temperature was around twenty degrees or so—a single layer of long sleeves and pants was just right, very comfortable. Which also meant bacteria and germs would thrive easily.
An Xiao made up his mind. He turned back into the room, picked up the dagger that had been knocked into the corner of the wall that morning, and came out ready to work.
He’d barely taken two steps out the door when his wrist was grabbed.
An Xiao blinked, meeting the Handsome Guy’s grim, water-like face.
His wrist was being squeezed a bit painfully.
He figured the Handsome Guy had misunderstood something.
He pointed at the meat on the wooden rack, then patted his stomach, and said, “[I]’m hungry.”
The Handsome Guy stared at him for two seconds, slowly released his grip, and also took the dagger away.
“Hey!” An Xiao chased after him.
But the Handsome Guy walked straight to the woodpile, picked out a few pieces, and carried them over to the campfire.
An Xiao followed him around the whole way, watching him carry the wood to the campfire and get to work.
Splitting wood, shaving wood—the Handsome Guy’s movements were fast and precise. In no time, he’d set up a tripod stand on each side of the campfire.
Then he walked over to the wooden rack where the meat hung, and with a swift motion, sliced off an entire leg of meat in one cut. He then threaded a sharpened wooden stick through the thigh meat, skewered it, and set it horizontally over the campfire.
An Xiao understood.
This was going to be roasted meat.
Just like that?
It looked like the blood had been drained, but… wasn't it going to be washed?
And what about seasonings?
The Handsome Guy fiddled with the flames for a moment and was adjusting the fire.
An Xiao patted him on the shoulder.
The Handsome Guy turned around.
An Xiao mimed grabbing something and sprinkling it over the meat, then asked, "Got any seasonings? Salt, pepper, chili?"
The Handsome Guy seemed to understand, realization dawning on his face, and got up to walk into the kitchen.
An Xiao followed behind him, then watched as he pulled a palm-sized pouch from a bamboo basket and handed it over.
He took it, glanced at the Handsome Guy, and opened it: it was a small pouch of coarse-grained crystals.
He immediately pinched two grains and tossed them into his mouth.
Salty as hell!
An Xiao's eyes lit up, then he snapped back to reality and glared at the Handsome Guy—if he hadn't asked, was this guy just planning to roast it without caring about saltiness or texture?
The Handsome Guy just looked at him, showing no reaction to his glare.
An Xiao sheepishly averted his gaze, hugged the pouch, and started walking out. After a few steps, he stopped and turned back, reaching out his hand toward him.
The Handsome Guy: "?"
An Xiao pointed at his hand: "The dagger, the knife. Give it to me."
The Handsome Guy hesitated.
An Xiao simply reached over and grabbed it.
The Handsome Guy hesitated for a moment before letting go, furrowing his brows.
But An Xiao ignored him, took the dagger, grabbed a plate from the cabinet, and dashed out of the kitchen with quick footsteps.
This time, it was the Handsome Guy who followed closely behind him.
An Xiao didn't pay him any mind, ran to the campfire… looked around, carefully set down his things, then dashed off to the room—
Dragging out the only wooden stool.
He had barely stepped out of the room when the Handsome Guy took it from his hands.
He: "…"
Was this really necessary?
Still, someone with good awareness was always likable, especially a handsome guy.
The Handsome Guy set the stool by the campfire and turned to look at him.
An Xiao couldn't help but smile, walked over, and waved at him: "Go do your thing."
But the Handsome Guy didn't move.
An Xiao saw his gaze sweep over the dagger and felt speechless.
He didn't say anything more, bent down to grab the dagger—sneaking a glance, and sure enough, he saw the Handsome Guy's fingers twitch in the air as if grabbing at nothing.
He secretly chuckled, wiped the smile off his face, and stood up, spinning the dagger between his fingers.
Spun it once more.
Only when he noticed the Handsome Guy take a step forward did he slowly stop.
The Handsome Guy stared at the dagger in his hand.
An Xiao was thoroughly amused, stopped teasing him, turned around, and held the dagger over the campfire to sear it.
He seared both sides a few times, confirmed it was sterilized, then set it on the plate.
Next, he rubbed on the salt.
The coarse salt grains were large and looked precious, so he didn't dare waste any. He pinched a small bit and slowly spread it.
As he was doing this, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye—the Handsome Guy crouched down, pulled out two sticks of firewood, and lowered the flames.
An Xiao, standing by the campfire and roasting, blinked and couldn't help but smile: "Thanks."
The Handsome Guy looked up at the sound.
An Xiao flashed him a row of teeth and, counting on the fact that he couldn't understand, teased: "If you keep being this considerate, I might actually end up falling for you—"
He caught himself mid-sentence and shut his mouth.
Given the depth of their… interactions, it really was that kind of relationship… the handsome guy was probably treating him like a lover already.
He gave the Handsome Guy a speechless glare and continued rubbing on the salt.
The Handsome Guy, not understanding what was going on, watched him fuss around for a while, then silently walked away.
An Xiao ignored him, focusing on coating the leg meat with salt all over. He wiped his hands with the ashes he'd scooped out of the bonfire, then went to wash them with water. After that, he sat back down, turned up the fire, and slowly rotated the wooden spit so the leg meat roasted evenly.
Before long, the outer layer of meat was cooked through, with a nice golden-brown char—the perfect state for roasted meat.
An Xiao quickly sliced off the outer layer of meat, plated it, and continued salting and roasting the rest.
By the time Handsome Guy had finished making their second stool and started on the next cabinet, the entire leg had been roasted down to just a bone.
An Xiao moved the wooden rack aside to save for the next day, added some firewood to the bonfire, then got up and called out to Handsome Guy: "Come eat!"
It was almost dark, and this guy was still working—didn't he know to take a break?
Handsome Guy looked up at him, set down his tools, and came over.
An Xiao had filled a large bowl with water and placed it nearby. As soon as he came over, An Xiao grabbed his hand and poured water over it: "Wash your hands."
Handsome Guy: "…"
He silently scrubbed his hands.
An Xiao poured water for him three times in a row, and only after confirming he was clean did he let go and lead him back to the bonfire.
He handed him a plate piled high with roasted meat.
Handsome Guy looked at the meat, then at him, a hint of suspicion on his face.
An Xiao handed him a pair of chopsticks: "Eat first. You need strength to work." Then he picked up the other plate, which had about a third less meat, and muttered, "We'll make do with this for today. Tomorrow I'll look around to see if I can find some wild greens or fruit. If not, I'll go down to the village and trade for some—hey!"
Handsome Guy was in the middle of scraping meat from his plate onto An Xiao's. Startled by his shout, he froze and looked at him blankly.
An Xiao pushed the meat back onto his plate and said helplessly, "I spent the whole day just roasting meat and did nothing else. You're the one who did all the work—you should eat more."
Handsome Guy pointed at the remaining half of the animal carcass.
An Xiao: "?"
Handsome Guy set down his plate, grabbed his knife, walked over, sliced off another large chunk of meat, skewered it onto the wooden rack, and started roasting it.
Then he came back and handed An Xiao a plate of meat.
An Xiao: "…"
He wasn't a pig!
The plate he'd kept for himself was already piled with nearly two pounds—how was he supposed to finish all that?!
He couldn't.
An Xiao managed to finish his own smaller portion and was done for—stuffed, greasy, and parched.
Thankfully, the salt made it taste decent, or he wouldn't have been able to choke it down—in times like these, he needed protein and calories, so he absolutely couldn't be picky.
Handsome Guy hadn't eaten at all. He'd been holding his plate, waiting nearby, and as soon as An Xiao finished, he pushed his plate over.
An Xiao shook his head helplessly, dodging: "I'm really full."
Handsome Guy tried three times, but each time An Xiao dodged, so he finally gave up and started shoveling food into his own mouth.
An Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and turned to salt the second piece of roasting meat.
He'd barely applied a few rubs when he saw Handsome Guy set down his plate—he was done.
An Xiao: "…"
Then he was picked up and set aside on a stool.
The one who'd moved him took his knife, roasted for a bit, sliced off a piece of meat into his mouth, roasted a bit more, sliced another piece…
No salt at all.
He just kept slicing and eating, until he'd polished off the second massive chunk of meat too.
An Xiao, who'd watched him eat the whole thing: "…"
That leg meat had to weigh at least ten pounds.
An Xiao's appetite wasn't small, and he'd barely managed to eat less than two pounds.
So that meant about half of it had gone into Handsome Guy's stomach…
And the second piece of roasted meat was a good seven or eight pounds…
How could he eat that much?!
An Xiao couldn't believe it. Subconsciously, she reached out to touch Handsome Guy's upper abdomen. It was flat and firm—and when she squeezed it, it—
Uh.
An Xiao looked up awkwardly, meeting Handsome Guy's direct gaze.
The last trace of light from the sky slipped behind the mountain ridge, plunging the world into darkness.
The warm glow of the campfire flickered gently in the breeze.
Handsome Guy's dark eyes shimmered with a golden gleam in the firelight.
An Xiao immediately withdrew her hand and let out a dry laugh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to!!"
Handsome Guy kept staring at her.
An Xiao was mortified, glancing left and right. "Um, it's getting dark—shouldn't we rest? It should be fine to skip a bath for one day, right? But since fetching water is such a hassle, how are we going to bathe in the future?"
She muttered on and on, and somehow, she forgot her embarrassment and actually started thinking about it.
Handsome Guy stared at her for a long moment, then went to cut another piece of meat and continued roasting it.
By the time An Xiao had worked out some ideas and looked up, Handsome Guy was still eating—but the half carcass hanging on the wooden rack was gone, reduced to a pile of bones stacked beside the campfire.
An Xiao was horrified.
The half carcass hanging on the rack had weighed at least a hundred pounds. Even after accounting for the bones, it was still fifty or sixty pounds of meat.
And now, all of it had gone into Handsome Guy's stomach…
Good heavens, was that even a human's appetite?