“I give up. You’re not going to give it to me, are you?” Ning Jinyu clamped a hand over his mouth, not minding that he had just been eating it raw and still had egg yolk on his lips.
This youth was something else. Not only did he remain silent, but he also quietly licked the yolk that had smeared onto her hand until it was gone.
The two of them just stared at each other, wide-eyed.
Ning Jinyu tried using both carrot and stick. “Little brother, this big sister truly isn’t lying to you. Eating it like this isn’t tasty at all. There’s still rice over there. I’ll make a big pot for you, and I promise it’ll be delicious. Just give me the egg, okay?”
The youth looked at the shifting expressions on her beautiful face. What a duplicitous woman.
It wasn’t until Ning Jinyu leaned close to his ear and threatened in a low voice, “If you don’t want to stand here like this all day, give it to me now,” that he finally loosened his grip, allowing the young woman to take his food.
She had a sweet, fragrant scent that wafted over to him when she spoke so closely, stirring a strange sense of irritation within him.
With the ingredients in hand, Ning Jinyu started to grab a bowl to season them.
She didn’t forget to give orders. “Little brother, you sit and tend to the firewood.”
When she finished preparing the dish, she found the youth still standing motionless, staring at the beaten egg mixture she had prepared.
She was really at her wit’s end.
To think that back in university, she was a beautiful campus belle pursued by many, yet here, she only encountered abnormal weirdos.
Resigned to her fate, she walked over, grabbed the youth with one hand, and used the other to light the fire in the stove.
She had to hold onto him, afraid he would try to sneak a bite again.
“Alright, just sit here and watch the fire.”
Song Qingyan stared into the burning firewood, lost in thought. He had a withdrawn personality, and his family was poor. No one was willing to talk to him, and he had no desire to talk to others.
For some reason, he always felt like he didn’t belong here.
This young woman was truly annoying. She snatched his food and ordered him around bossily, but he couldn’t afford to cause trouble.
It wasn’t until the fragrant aroma of the stir-fry filled the air that he returned to his senses. A warm bowl and chopsticks were placed in his hands. The bowl was filled with a colorful mix of white, red, yellow, and green.
Seeing him dazed, Ning Jinyu took a bite of her own rice and swallowed before saying, “This is my own creation: tomato and egg fried rice with stir-fried lettuce. Hurry up and eat. See? I didn’t steal your food.”
Song Qingyan silently picked up his chopsticks and shoveled the rice into his mouth. In a moment, the bowl was empty.
It was the first time Ning Jinyu had seen someone eat so much, and so quickly at that.
Before she could finish her own portion, the rest of the food in the pot was also gone.
Then, he started staring at the food in her bowl.
“…How long has it been since you last ate?”
He didn’t speak, just stared at the food in her bowl.
After teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown countless times, Ning Jinyu chose the most acceptable explanation for herself: he must be a mute.
With that thought, she became much calmer.
Her temper subsided, and she said in a soft voice, “You’re a poor little thing, just like me. I can’t eat anymore, so you can have it. If you’re hungry in the future, just come here around this time. I’m leaving now.”
Before she left, she casually ruffled the youth’s hair.
It felt nice.
…
“Channel qi into the body, harmonize yin and yang…”
After her master had spoken, Luo Jingmin stopped coming to bother her, and Ning Jinyu began attending classes with the Inner Sect Disciples from the other peaks.
Speaking of cultivation, the idea sounded thrilling, but unfortunately, she didn’t seem to be cut out for it. She had received a standard Sword from the sect but couldn’t remember a single move.
In the past few days, though Luo Jingmin was gone, others had come looking for trouble. She had also become more familiar with the plainly dressed youth.
Actually, if no one was bothering her, she could have just gone to get her meals from the dining hall. However, the food she made herself was tastier. More importantly, she was too lonely in this strange world. She had come to see this mute youth with a huge appetite as her friend—her first friend.
“Doesn’t Speak, learning the sword is so hard,” Ning Jinyu lamented. The handsome youth’s name had been officially dubbed “Doesn’t Speak,” which she felt suited him perfectly.
Her current worry was that with no one deliberately picking on her, and her own reluctance to stir up trouble, she really didn’t know what she could do to get kicked out of the sect.
The reasons she was expelled in the original story included being bullied, antagonizing those people, and framing and slandering Su Qingyue.
She couldn’t bring herself to actively do bad things. Besides, after staying for a while, the Sword Sect seemed pretty good. If she were outside, she wouldn’t even be able to protect herself from demonic beasts.
The youth silently ate from a large basin of rice. After a few days of good food and drink, he looked much more energetic.
It was useless to ask him.
Ning Jinyu held the sect-issued Sword and went through the motions from the book one by one. She looked beautiful, but her movements were incredibly stiff.
Going to class, leaving class, eating, and resting—it almost felt like her university days again.
A three-point routine: dining hall, classroom, dormitory.
…
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocking sound late at night was particularly jarring. Ning Jinyu was a light sleeper to begin with.
“Who’s there?”
“Junior Sister, it’s me, your Second Senior Brother. I brought you something nice.”
“…”
Ning Jinyu was only sixteen at this time. In this era, mortals might already be engaged or married, but those who entered a sect and cultivated married late. She put on her clothes and opened the door.
Pan Zheng stood at the entrance, holding a snow-white rabbit with a sanctimonious look on his face.
Now that she had a friend, she felt that staying in the Sword Sect was an option, so it was best not to make enemies with these people.
She feigned a look of pleasant surprise. “Wow! Second Senior Brother, what an adorable little rabbit! Where did you get it? You’re amazing.”
Being praised by a junior sister who looked like a fairy, Pan Zheng’s smile nearly reached the back of his head.
He placed the rabbit in Ning Jinyu’s hands and said reservedly, “Ahem, I bought it when I went down the mountain yesterday. It’s a trivial matter. Junior Sister, you can just feed it some vegetable leaves. It’s chilly at night, so I’ll be going now.”
Cradling the rabbit, Ning Jinyu gazed at his back with admiration. “Senior Brother is so kind. There’s no man more courteous and gentle than you, and so dashing too.”
Pan Zheng was so excited that his feet and hands nearly moved in unison as he walked away. Junior Sister truly had good taste.
Ning Jinyu closed the door, holding the rabbit, feeling rather speechless.
This senior brother was no saint. Her original memories included an incident where he, unable to get what he wanted, tried to force himself on her at night.
She could only hope that for now, she could maintain this temporary harmony between them. She still had to cultivate; she needed the means to protect herself.
…
“Utter nonsense! Ning Jinyu, is that you? Everyone else can already fly on their swords, what have you been doing? Go back and copy the Swordplay incantation a hundred times.”
“…”
“Ah, Ning Jinyu, you have quite a talent for alchemy. Your control of the heat is perfect. Everyone, learn from her.”
As expected, no matter where she was, she was always a god of lopsided skills.
Spring passed and autumn came. She had somehow managed to stay peacefully in the Sword Sect for three months.
“Little white rabbit, white and bright, two long ears standing upright.”
The little white rabbit from before had grown up. It was now fat and no longer afraid of people. She prepared to take it to see her good friend, “Doesn’t Speak.”
The youth was still wearing his own thin clothes. He didn’t seem to feel the cold.
Ning Jinyu had a rough idea now. He was an Outer Sect Disciple, and one from the lowest-ranking logistics department of Elegant Bamboo Peak at that. He could only stay here to tend the fires and cook. Forget attending classes, even practicing with a sword was probably a long shot. He likely spent his days guarding a gate somewhere else.