“Plop…”
A crystal-clear dewdrop dangled twice on the tip of a bamboo leaf before falling onto a rock with a soft sound.
Birdsong surrounded the ears, crisp and pleasant. A beam of light pierced through the leaves, appearing bright and dazzling in the silent dust of the morning after the rain.
Ji Yuchen lay on a soft Simmons bed, feeling light as a feather. A gentle breeze brushed past his ears, and the bamboo leaves hanging in mid-air lightly swept across his eyelids…
Ji Yuchen turned over, and with a “thud,” he fell off the bed…
…
The sound was so real that Ji Yuchen, still in his sleep, rubbed his waist, which felt like it was about to break in two, his expression instantly turning into a mask of pain.
After a good while of grimacing, he slowly opened his eyes, focusing, and saw in his vision a pair of glass-like pupils, eyelashes fluttering as if they were eyes…
?!
Ji Yuchen jolted awake, scrambling backward until he was half a meter away, finally able to make out the scene before him:
It was probably a deer, or maybe a horse? Because it was young, it was hard to tell, looking a bit like a mix of both.
He stared blankly at the creature opposite him, and the little one stared back at him.
In the distance, a long call seemed to summon the young one home. The “mix” perked up its ears, listened for a few seconds, then turned and disappeared into the grass.
Ji Yuchen let out a sigh of relief, and once his breathing calmed, he came to his senses and went to find his Simmons bed.
He was pretty sure he was dreaming, just wanted to confirm…
…
Alright, alright, it was indeed a dream…
Before him was an endless forest, his senses returning, transforming into a fine, dull pain.
Ji Yuchen rubbed his waist and got up from the ground, his palms full of the original texture of the post-rain soil, exuding a rustic fragrance that wasn’t particularly pleasant.
He shook the mud off his hands, trying to recall what had happened…
His thoughts swirled in his mind, unable to find any clues. Ji Yuchen wanted to ask: Who am I? How did I get here? Where is this place?
The answers to these questions weren’t as clear as he imagined, even a blank slate. Ji Yuchen hesitated for a moment, still unable to recover from such a huge shock.
He remembered falling from a height, possibly a car accident or traffic incident, the fall was high, and he might have been seriously injured.
He felt his primary task was to leave here, find a place with people, and then report the incident to seek help.
The surrounding vegetation was lush, like a wild mountain forest, the direction unknown. Ji Yuchen had no compass or guide, so he could only follow the direction of the light, using the sunlight to determine his bearings.
In fact, with his limited wilderness survival knowledge, even if he knew north, south, east, and west, he wouldn’t know which way to go, but looking for clues was better than doing nothing.
He forced himself up from the ground, his joints transmitting pain like old, worn-out parts.
Before standing straight, Ji Yuchen almost knelt down, but at the last moment, he grabbed a tree trunk. In a flash, a sharp arrow flew from the depths of the dense forest, piercing the tree bark beside his hand with precision…
!!!
…
What kind of disaster script is this!!!
Ji Yuchen’s mind went blank, his eyes wide open, holding his breath, not daring to take a single breath.
His first thought was that he might have traveled through time? Ended up in an ancient hunting ground, and if that arrow had been a few centimeters off, his hand would be gone.
He heard his heartbeat pounding in his ears, standing motionless, not daring to make a move.
In the distance, footsteps seemed to approach, rustling through the grass. Ji Yuchen instinctively raised his hands, his voice trembling: “There’s someone here… don’t come over…”
The footsteps stopped abruptly, then suddenly quickened, passing through the forest and grass to reach him.
Ji Yuchen’s hands trembled by his ears, closing his eyes tightly out of fear.
He had already thought of what to say: at least first clarify that he wasn’t an assassin, otherwise, his life might be in danger.
The imagined stern questioning didn’t come as expected. Instead, a male voice came from above: “Who are you? How did you get here?”
Ji Yuchen’s ears twitched, cautiously opening his eyes to take a look: the sunlight filtering through the treetops cast a golden edge on the figure, and he vaguely saw the person was tall and muscular, rising and falling with each breath.
Ji Yuchen moved his gaze upward, the person’s face hidden in shadow, the expression unclear, but the features were deep and defined, the jawline sharp as if carved by a knife.
Such a scene was fit for a dream, and Ji Yuchen, detached from reality, had thoughts piling up in his mind: What kind of earthly treasure is this?
He suddenly realized that his name, background, and experiences were all forgotten, but one thing he hadn’t forgotten at all—the innate human instinct to appreciate beauty.
Besides, he liked men, and this person was exactly his type.
The person squatted down to ask, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Ji Yuchen blinked, being pulled up from the ground by his arm.
He let out an “ouch,” his joints creaking all over, like old, worn-out parts.
Once standing, the distance between their eyes was forced closer. Ji Yuchen carefully observed, the man had a quiver on his back, a short knife at his waist, a typical hunter’s attire; he wore coarse cloth shoes, not exactly modern, but not ancient either.
Ji Yuchen wanted some reassurance, cautiously probing, “Is it… the 21st century now?”
The man seemed a bit puzzled, blinking at him before nodding.
He stood silently to the side, and Ji Yuchen, for the first time, observed the man’s appearance up close: a high nose bridge, sharp contours, deep double eyelid folds pressing the upper eyelid into a straight line. He looked a bit like a mixed-race, with naturally curly hair hanging by his face, adding an exotic touch.
Ji Yuchen’s mind wandered, thinking that the heavens hadn’t treated him too badly, perhaps this was the proverbial blessing in disguise, a free husband.
He twisted his wrist to free himself from the man’s grip, perhaps realizing he had used too much force, the expression opposite was somewhat at a loss.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Let me check for you?”
He sought Ji Yuchen’s opinion, who felt that from head to toe, there wasn’t a good place, but it wasn’t his fault, so it seemed a bit unscrupulous to blame him.
But he had no choice, as he needed this person to lead him down the mountain. If he said he was fine and the person turned and left, with his bad arm and leg, he wouldn’t be able to catch up.
He suddenly clutched his waist, feigning weakness, leaning half his body against the tree trunk, startled by the arrow still embedded above.
The man quickly pulled out the arrow and put it back in the quiver, his palms running from Ji Yuchen’s shoulder and neck down his arm joints to his wrist, then checking his knees and ankles from the waist down.
Ji Yuchen yelped in pain, partly due to shock and also because it tickled. He hadn’t expected this person to be so hands-on, he had just pretended a little, and the man was quick to act.
The man’s technique was quite professional, pinching around and returning to the starting point, holding his left arm and asking, “Does it hurt like this?”
Ji Yuchen hissed, unable to say if it hurt or not.
The man frowned, “It might be fractured. I’ll take you down the mountain to see a doctor.”
He swung the quiver to his front, squatting at Ji Yuchen’s feet, indicating for him to climb on.
Ji Yuchen hesitated for a second, just a second, realizing he had no choice, obediently climbing on.
He had no qualms, thinking he wasn’t at a loss. How did that saying go? “To die under the peony flower, even as a ghost, one would be amorous.”
The sun in the sky was setting, igniting a red blaze of clouds.
Ji Yuchen lay on the man’s broad back, passing a fork in the road, watching as the man bent down to pull two rabbits from a tree hole, tying them with a string and hooking them on his wrist, then reaching for Ji Yuchen’s knee.
He buried his face in the man’s neck, mumbling, “Are they dead? Did you catch them?”
The man grunted, “We’ll roast them for dinner.”
Ji Yuchen didn’t consider himself an animal rights activist, nor did he have an overflowing sense of sympathy, but watching hunting still made him uncomfortable, so he turned his face away to avoid seeing it.
He rested on the man’s shoulder, asking, “What’s your name? Where is this place? Are you a hunter here?”
The man adjusted Ji Yuchen’s legs, indicating for him to stay still, his tone straightforward, “My name is Xu Chuang, this is Huai’an County, the back of Funiu Mountain. I’m not a hunter, just come up the mountain when I have time to try my luck, if I catch something good, I sell it in town for some money.”
“Something good?”
Ji Yuchen was curious, climbing up the man’s neck to prevent himself from falling.
Xu Chuang said, “Like wild boars, pheasants, things like that.”
He spoke casually, as if not taking these things seriously.
Ji Yuchen’s nerves tightened, thinking there were wild boars on this mountain? Luckily, he didn’t have to spend the night here.
He discreetly held on tighter, Xu Chuang didn’t mind, steadily walking forward.
He had a scent of soap mixed with a faint body fragrance, giving a sense of security.
The two chatted intermittently, Xu Chuang asked his name? How did he end up here alone?
Ji Yuchen felt a wave of confusion, he initially thought he was just dazed from the fall, that he’d regain his memory once he woke up, but even now he had no clue, not even a fragment.
He mumbled on the back, shaking his head, “I can’t remember…”
The man probably didn’t understand, continuing to ask, “Can’t remember?”
“Yeah, I can’t remember…”
Ji Yuchen tried hard to search through all his memories, finding that his knowledge of life, understanding, and cognition were intact, but he had no memory of past experiences, like a person born at ten or twenty years old, able to think and live independently, but without any memory of accumulating this knowledge, a very fragmented state.
He held Xu Chuang’s neck, turning to look at him, the man slightly frowned, probably not fully understanding.
Ji Yuchen said, “It’s like amnesia, do you understand?”
The slightly furrowed brows relaxed, then tightened again, Xu Chuang turned back, “Are you that badly hurt?…”
He stopped walking, the accompanying wind also came to a halt, the two of them nose to nose, separated by a fingertip.
Ji Yuchen smiled, “Maybe…”
On the way down the mountain, after being questioned, Ji Yuchen did another comprehensive memory search, finding no clue about his name, age, where he lived, or why he was here.
Xu Chuang’s expression was very concerned, “It seems you’re really badly hurt, I’ll take you to the town to see a doctor tomorrow.”
Ji Yuchen felt this person wasn’t as cold and hard as he looked, actually warm and kind-hearted, a good Samaritan. He hadn’t expected a one-time encounter to be worth his concern, especially since his current state wasn’t Xu Chuang’s fault, it seemed “beautiful and kind-hearted” had its origins.
He lay on the man’s back, swinging his feet, feeling much better. In the distance, smoke rose from the foot of the mountain, Ji Yuchen asked, “Are we down the mountain? Do you live there?”
Xu Chuang held his thigh, telling him not to move. Ji Yuchen, in his excitement, forgot the pain, only settling down after being patted on the butt.
Actually, Xu Chuang didn’t know where he patted, his hands full, not knowing his own strength, thinking the person was just patted painfully, wondering why there was no movement from the previously cheerful person.
He quickly apologized, “Sorry, I was too rough, did I hurt you?…”
The person on his back blushed like the clouds in the sky, hiding behind Xu Chuang’s neck, shaking his head, mumbling “It doesn’t hurt.”
The two of them swayed down the mountain, passing a village entrance plaque, Ji Yuchen discovered the place was called Qiantang Village, built by the mountain, with large fields at the foot, now green and full of vegetables.
He wanted to ask about the origin of the village name, why it was called Qiantang? Was there a Houtang? And what was the story behind Funiu Mountain that Xu Chuang mentioned?
Having lost his memory, everything seemed fresh to him, clinging to the man’s neck, looking around.
A voice from an elder came from the front, loudly calling, “Dali! You’re back!~”
Ji Yuchen, like a little mouse just out of its hole, instantly shrank back, not knowing who was being called, just wanting to hide and not draw attention.
Xu Chuang responded, “Uncle Zhou, I’m back, how’s business?”
The elder replied cheerfully, pulling out two ears of corn from the basket behind him, “Business was good today, sold almost everything, just a few left, take these two back to eat!”
He stuffed the corn into Xu Chuang’s arms, suddenly noticing the two legs hanging from his waist, and a white arm draped over his shoulder, realizing he was carrying someone.
“Oh! Whose child is this? What happened?”
Xu Chuang turned his face to look at the person on his back, a small face buried somewhere, not even showing an eye.
He turned back, “A child lost on the mountain, I brought him back, tomorrow I’ll take him to the police station to find someone.”
Uncle Zhou sighed, asking if he was from a nearby village? What’s his name? Maybe they could ask around.
Ji Yuchen lay on the back, not speaking, Xu Chuang didn’t force him, explaining, “Probably not, this child is a bit shy, hit his head and can’t remember much, tomorrow I’ll take him to the police station, maybe there’ll be clues.”
He gently rubbed Ji Yuchen’s knee with his thumb to comfort him, the elder patted Ji Yuchen’s arm, “Hey, child!”
He handed over two ears of corn, stuffing them into Ji Yuchen’s hands without a word.
The latter peeked out half his head from Xu Chuang’s shoulder, stunned to be handed a full load.
Uncle Zhou said, “Dali’s hands are full, you take them, let him cook them for you, they’re sweet!”
The smile was kind and amiable, Ji Yuchen stared for a couple of seconds, hearing Xu Chuang say, “Take them if they’re given to you.”
He held the corn in his hands, Uncle Zhou looked pleased, urging them to hurry home, as it would be dark soon.
Bidding farewell to the elder, Xu Chuang carried Ji Yuchen up a few steps, arriving at a small brick courtyard.
The courtyard door was open, footsteps came from inside, and as they entered, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl greeted them, cheerfully calling, “Brother Dali! You’re back!”
[Author’s Note]
New story! Recently, I’ve been really into rugged seme x pretty uke, with a big size difference! I’m a sucker for this kind of thing.
The whole story is pre-written for stable updates, feel free to follow! Please collect, like, and feed me! More, more!