“It’s all my fault for leaving you alone at home for so long.”
Xia Xianxian, sitting on the edge of the bed, said nothing, her back turned to him in a gesture that made it clear she refused to communicate.
Meng Wenzhou looked cautiously at Xia Xianxian’s back and asked, “Have you eaten yet? Shall I go make you something?”
Hearing this, Xia Xianxian’s anger could no longer be contained. She turned around abruptly and stood up, her twin tails whipping through the air as she pivoted.
“Tell me! What did you do this afternoon?”
Seeing that he couldn’t fool his way out of this, Meng Wenzhou gave an answer that minimized the reality of the situation.
“I went up the mountain with Dazhu and the others this afternoon.”
Meng Wenzhou touched the tip of his nose and said in a low voice, “Cough, I’m not familiar with the mountain paths yet, so I accidentally got covered in mud.”
Seeing that Meng Wenzhou still wouldn’t tell her the truth, Xia Xianxian decided not to ask him at all. She turned directly to the air and shouted at the system.
“Tong-zi, get out here!”
Facing this situation, the system felt like it just wanted to watch the drama rather than be the target of it, but confronted with an exceptionally explosive Xia Xianxian, it didn’t dare to stay silent. It could only issue a pathetic, buzzing electrical sound, hoping to use the noise to dispel Xia Xianxian’s resolve to find it.
But clearly, that was completely useless.
“If he won’t tell me, you tell me!”
Xia Xianxian’s rage was reaching its peak, far more volatile than her irritability during the sewing session that afternoon.
…bzzz…
【According to the system’s logs, the host Meng Wenzhou was hunting on the mountain this afternoon.】
Hunting? Why is this system acting so guilty too? It’s hiding things by only saying that one sentence!
Is it involved in this too? Does Meng Wenzhou ending up like this have the system’s fingerprints on it?
Thinking of this, Xia Xianxian opened fire directly on the system!
“Hunting? Why on earth would you go hunting? What kind of mission did you give Meng Wenzhou?”
Meng Wenzhou actually wanted to kiss the system; what an angel, what a perfect lightning rod for the heat!
“It’s nothing, the system just asked me to collect a pair of wild boar tusks.”
Meng Wenzhou kept his head lowered. The orange-yellow light shone on his face, casting long shadows from his lowered eyelashes. He blinked and gave Xia Xianxian a smile. His complexion was deathly pale, and paired with the mud covering him, he looked truly pathetic.
“It really is nothing. Look, didn’t I come back safe and sound? I’m just a little dirty, that’s all.”
Even the simple-minded system could hear that something was wrong with that statement.
Sure enough.
“Tong-zi, so your points were enough, and now you want to unbind, huh?”
Xia Xianxian’s voice wasn’t loud, but every sentence was harsher than the last.
“If you wanted to unbind, you should have told me earlier so we could both understand what’s happening, rather than letting me be a confused fool until the very end.”
【This… is not…】
Rarely, the system actually stuttered. After a burst of static, the system re-explained itself.
【This mission was not assigned arbitrarily. According to monitoring, the host had already entered the wild boar’s activity range. Calculations showed an 80% probability of a direct confrontation. The boar was in a sub-adult state, the host was with two companions, there was a high degree of familiarity with the forest, and you had tools on hand. The probability of completing the mission was extremely high; therefore, the task was issued.】
Meng Wenzhou’s heart finally settled back into his chest.
“Ha, that’s just ridiculous. ‘High probability of completion’? Meng Wenzhou can’t lift or carry anything—what were you going to do if something went wrong?”
“Oh, I forgot. Whether he gets hurt or not isn’t important to you. If he’s gone, you can just assign me an impossible task one day. That would be perfect, wouldn’t it? You could just swap hosts, losing nothing but a few points.”
【×&%￥#@……】
The system didn’t know what to say!
【The host Meng Wenzhou completed the mission very well.】
It squeezed out that dry, emotionless statement.
“That’s right, the mission is already complete, and the reward is the blueprint for the water-pumping system.”
Meng Wenzhou stood hunched before Xia Xianxian, looking into her eyes, and said gently, “It’s alright. See, I’m perfectly fine, not even injured. I’m now a man who has successfully fought a wild boar.”
“We’ve got the blueprint, too. In a while, we can build a shower room and a bathroom. I’ve never quite gotten used to the toilets in the countryside.”
Xia Xianxian glared at him with red eyes.
“That’s because you’re you!”
Meng Wenzhou said with a good temper, “Yes, yes, it’s me. I’m just a fussy, picky person who wants to build a clean bathroom. Just humor me, and don’t be angry with me anymore.”
“You haven’t eaten anything all night, have you? I’ll go to the kitchen and make you something; it’ll be ready in no time.”
Xia Xianxian pulled Meng Wenzhou back just as he was rushing out the door. Still looking unhappy and fierce, she snapped at him, “You’re filthy! I don’t want food made by you—you sit right there!”
After saying this, she hurried to the kitchen next door to pour hot water, mixed it into a basin of warm water, and brought it to Meng Wenzhou so he could wash up. As soon as she set the basin down, she rushed back to the kitchen to tend the fire.
“I’ll do it. This isn’t tiring work; I just need to watch the fire and stir the wood occasionally.”
Seeing Xia Xianxian open her mouth to say something, Meng Wenzhou continued, “My clothes are dirty anyway; I might as well stay here and watch the fire.”
Xia Xianxian said nothing more.
Creak~
Meng Wenzhou was the only one left in the kitchen. He looked at the dancing flames, and his thoughts drifted away.
The afternoon hadn’t been so smooth.
He had aimed for the boar’s eye and swung the hoe with all his might, but he only managed to slash its ear. Blood streamed down, and the boar was successfully enraged. It started spinning madly, trying to attack its enemies with its tusks.
That was when Meng Yang saw his chance. He lunged from the side, and the sickle in his hand plunged deep into the boar’s neck.
The wounded boar let out roars, shaking its head violently, and in a single moment, Meng Yang was thrown aside.
Meng Wenzhou looked at Meng Dazhu, who was curled up under a tree, and he knew they had no possibility of retreat. His hoe had flown out of his hand when he slashed the boar’s ear.
Meng Wenzhou picked up a sharp rock from the ground, waiting for the boar’s next rampage.
The boar’s tusks tore through his clothes and his body.
Meng Wenzhou lay on his side, half-mounted on the boar. The rock in his hand smashed down once, twice, three times… with all his force into the boar’s head and eyes.
Meng Yang climbed up from the ground, pinned the other side of the boar down, and the two of them pressed the boar into the dirt, their sickle and rock never stopping.
Meng Dazhu, curled up on the ground, struggled to stand, picked up the hoe from nearby, and smashed it down onto the boar’s head.
He used every ounce of his remaining strength!
BANG!
That sound was so beautiful in Meng Wenzhou’s ears.
The boar let out a wail of pain, and after only a moment, it finally stopped moving.
“Here, I made this with the water from the bottle in the room. It’s not very hot anymore, but just make do and drink it.”
A cup of brewed malted milk appeared before him.
A spark burst from the stove, illuminating a corner of the kitchen.
Xia Xianxian stood facing the light before Meng Wenzhou, holding the cup, her stray hairs radiating a warm glow.