Liu Ye looked blankly at the man who had suddenly appeared. She couldn’t see his facial features clearly, but he was quite tall—visually estimated at about 1.85 meters. Under his tattered clothes, she could see well-defined muscles, especially his biceps.
Suddenly, fragments of memory appeared in her mind—images of this man carrying a bow and arrows up the mountain.
No clear front view, only a side profile: single eyelids, a high nose bridge, and lips neither thin nor thick, pressed tightly together. He looked decent, just a bit dark-skinned. It seemed this man was a hunter—no wonder he was so strong.
Bai Zilin saw that the person on the firewood stack was the foolish girl and immediately relaxed his guard. She used to come to this abandoned house often, and he had seen her many times.
He put his hands behind his back and asked, “Were you chased out again, or did they hit you again?”
Liu Ye blinked in confusion. This hunter was talking to her—should she respond? In the foolish girl’s memory, she didn’t recall her ever talking to anyone. Would it be okay if she suddenly spoke?
Fine, if she couldn’t speak, she would just nod.
She nodded.
Bai Zilin saw it and realized he had guessed correctly—she really had been beaten and driven out by the Liu family.
He sighed. “Don’t be sad. Your family treats you badly because you’re foolish. I’m not foolish either, and my family doesn’t treat me well either. We’re the same—poor unfortunate souls. Have you eaten?”
Liu Ye shook her head, feeling a burst of excitement inside.
Oh my god, he must feel sorry for her and wants to give her meat!
Meat! Meat! Meat!
Bai Zilin took an apple from his chest and casually threw it to her.
Liu Ye caught it quickly. Seeing it was an apple, she felt a little disappointed. Fine—not meat, but at least it was something. It was his kindness.
She took a small bite. The taste was actually pretty good—sweet and sour, better than supermarket apples. The skin was just thicker and rougher, probably a wild apple.
Right, she should thank him.
She looked at him and nodded again.
Her reaction shocked Bai Zilin. The foolish girl actually understood him? He had thought she was so stupid she couldn’t even understand human speech. There were even rumors in the village that she was so foolish she ate feces—clearly nonsense.
He tested her again. “You can understand what I’m saying?”
She nodded again while continuing to eat the apple.
Then he asked, “Can you speak?”
She nodded again.
Bai Zilin became even more confused. If she could understand and could speak, why didn’t she talk?
“If you can speak, then say something. Call me ‘Brother Bai,’ and I’ll give you another apple.”
Liu Ye swallowed the apple in her mouth—she really had to, or she’d laugh out loud.
Brother Bai… oh no, she was going to laugh.
She shook her head.
Bai Zilin frowned. “Why not? It won’t cost you anything. I’ll even give you apples. Come on, call me once. I’ll give you two apples.”
She still shook her head.
He held up three fingers. “I only have five apples total. I’ll give them all to you.”
Liu Ye grabbed the hem of her skirt and lifted it, signaling him to throw the apples into it so she could hold them.
Bai Zilin froze for a moment, then understood. “Alright, alright. So you’re not actually that foolish after all.”
He took out four apples and tossed them one by one into her skirt.
“There, all the apples are yours. Now call me ‘brother.’”
Liu Ye looked at the four apples in her skirt, very satisfied—they were even bigger than the one she had earlier.
She looked up at him without hesitation and softly called, “Brother Bai…”
After saying it, even she froze.
Oh my god—the foolish girl’s voice was unexpectedly sweet, soft and mellow like a nightingale.
Bai Zilin was also stunned.
Damn… how could a foolish girl have such a nice voice? That didn’t sound like something a fool could say at all.
Just from that one “Brother Bai,” he was certain she wasn’t truly foolish. But the Liu family…
Forget it. Every family had its troubles, just like his.
He said, “Foolish girl, don’t let others hear you. Just keep pretending to be foolish, and don’t talk to anyone. It’s late—I’m going to sleep. You should sleep too.”
Liu Ye nodded.
Bai Zilin jumped down from the wall and went back inside.
Liu Ye stored the four apples into her space to eat slowly later. She even kept the seeds so she could plant them in her black soil space—so she’d have endless apples in the future.
She ate the apple core and tossed it into her space. Then she lay back down on the straw pile and quickly fell asleep.
When she woke again, it was already bright daylight. The scorching sun burned her face, and she was sweating heavily.
So hot already in the morning…
She glanced at the neighboring yard—it was quiet, no one there.
She climbed down from the straw pile. That man was a hunter; he probably went up the mountain to hunt. Since he gave her apples, he must be named Bai.
Maybe she should also go up the mountain to find food. No matter the times, the mountains should always have something edible. Those apples were probably picked from there too.
She tried to walk through the village toward the back mountain, but just as she entered, village women laughed at her.
“Oh, isn’t this the foolish girl? Your mother is looking for you everywhere. Go home quickly.”
Liu Ye ignored them and walked past the Liu family house, heading toward the mountain.
But just as she reached the slope, she was stopped by a group of girls.
“Stop right there, fool! Where are you going? Come help me dig wild vegetables!”
It was the village chief’s daughter, Zhao Shuangshuang. She shoved a basket and a small knife into Liu Ye’s hands.
“Hurry up. There are plenty of wild vegetables over there on the hillside. Go dig some for me.”
After speaking, she went to sit under a tree in the shade. It was too hot—she didn’t want to suffer under the sun either. Her mother had forced her to come up the mountain to dig wild vegetables, and she was already getting tanned!
If not for wanting to see Brother Bai, she wouldn’t have come at all.
Liu Ye looked at the things in her hands and continued walking toward the mountain, quickly disappearing from sight.
When Zhao Shuangshuang finally realized it, it was already too late. Furious, she shouted into the mountain:
“You stupid girl! Come back! Who told you to go up there?! Bring back my basket and knife!”