“Bro, what’s going on between you and Comrade Yu?” Song Yujie still couldn’t believe it. His older brother was such a cold and aloof person who had never gotten close to any girl. How had he ended up involved with one so soon after arriving in Yushui Village?
“It was an accident.”
Ling Yuan didn’t want to explain too much and answered briefly.
“What kind of accident would make you take the initiative to hold her? It’s not as if girls haven’t thrown themselves at you before, but you’ve always avoided them.”
As he spoke, Song Yujie suddenly turned serious and stared at Ling Yuan.
“Bro, are you really my brother? You haven’t been replaced by someone else, have you?”
Ling Yuan simply gave him a cold look.
Recognizing that familiar expression, Song Yujie patted his chest in relief.
“You scared me! I thought you really had been replaced.”
Ling Yuan withdrew his gaze and ignored his foolish behavior. Just looking at him was giving him a headache.
“But, bro, you’re really different when it comes to Comrade Yu. Don’t tell me you actually…”
Song Yujie voiced the most unbelievable possibility he could think of.
“Work is over. Aren’t you leaving?”
Ling Yuan didn’t answer the question.
Looking at his brother’s reaction, Song Yujie couldn’t tell whether his guess was correct. But if it really was true, then…
It was an early summer afternoon. The sky was clear, the sun shone brightly, and even the occasional breeze carried a hint of warmth.
Yu Huan didn’t have to work that afternoon, so she stayed in her space to cultivate.
She continued until she was close to reaching the middle stage of the second layer. When those strange sensations began faintly returning to her body, she stopped.
Then she left her space.
Yu Huan assessed her physical condition. She felt as light as a swallow, full of energy, and her five senses had become sharper. She was practically like a martial arts expert with internal energy.
She raced all the way to the back mountain. Her breathing remained steady, and when she concentrated on listening, she could hear even the faintest sounds within a one-kilometer radius.
As she ventured deeper into the mountains, she carefully avoided large wild animals. Along the way, small creatures occasionally startled by her presence scurried away, while birds of all colors flapped their wings and flew off.
Following the sound of water, she eventually arrived at a waterfall. There, she spotted several spotted deer drinking.
After watching for a while and confirming that no predators were nearby, Yu Huan hurried forward and knocked one of the deer unconscious with a single punch.
The other deer quickly fled, but she didn’t mind. She had only wanted one in the first place.
When she returned home, Yu Huan took the deer out of her space and began preparing it. She collected the blood, set aside the antlers, deer penis, and some of the internal organs, then cut off one hind leg and started stewing the meat.
When her mother returned and saw all that meat, her heart ached.
“How are we supposed to finish eating all this? There’s so much!”
Yu Huan’s father knew that his daughter often brought home wild game, but it was usually just pheasants or rabbits. A whole deer like this was a rare sight.
Since the weather was so hot and the meat wouldn’t keep for long, he gave most of it to the village cadres and several families they were close to. He rubbed salt over the remaining meat to preserve it, which would be enough for their own family to eat for several days.
Yu Huan didn’t concern herself with what her parents decided to do with the remaining meat. If they ran out, she could simply go deeper into the mountains and hunt more. At this point, entering and leaving the deep mountains was as easy for her as walking around her own backyard.
Once the meat was cooked, she filled a lunchbox to the brim, told her parents where she was going, and headed out.
By then, the sky was growing increasingly dark.
When Yu Huan arrived at the educated youth compound, the others were having dinner in the courtyard.
Her sudden appearance brought a variety of expressions to their faces.
Lin Zhiyu looked the most displeased. Her usually gentle expression twisted with anger.
How dare this shameless village girl come straight to the educated youth compound in broad daylight!
Noticing Su Qing glancing at her from beside her, Lin Zhiyu quickly lowered her head and pretended to drink her porridge.
Song Yujie’s expression was equally complicated. His brother really had gotten himself entangled with this girl, and, more importantly, his brother seemed to be allowing it.
Ah, there’s nothing I can do about it.
Yu Huan couldn’t care less what anyone else thought. Her eyes lit up as soon as she spotted Ling Yuan. It was obvious that she had come specifically to see him.
Everyone’s gazes moved back and forth between her and Ling Yuan.
Ling Yuan calmly walked outside the courtyard gate, turning his back to the others and blocking their curious stares.
“Do you need something?”
“I came especially to thank you. Here, this is for you.”
Yu Huan held out the lunchbox.
“No need. I didn’t really help you with anything. You should go home.”
He didn’t even need to open it. The distinctive aroma told him it was meat.
Although he had been sent down to the countryside, he wasn’t short of food. In fact, compared with the villagers, he was much better off. Most rural families could only afford to eat meat a few times a year.
“That won’t do. You helped me, so I have to thank you. If you don’t accept it today, I’ll bring you three meals a day starting tomorrow.”
Ling Yuan looked at Yu Huan with dark, unreadable eyes.
Was that supposed to be a threat?
Seeing that he still wouldn’t take the lunchbox, Yu Huan simply grabbed his large hand and placed it in his palm.
The moment their hands touched, both of them felt a shiver run through their bodies.
Ling Yuan was just about to pull his hand away when he realized he couldn’t. His gaze immediately shifted to Yu Huan, filled with an unreadable expression.
At that moment, Yu Huan’s entire attention was focused on their joined hands.
That trembling sensation that seemed to shake her very soul had returned. It slowly traveled from her palm into the rest of her body.
It felt wonderful.
When she noticed Ling Yuan trying to pull away, she instinctively tightened her grip.
Only after realizing what she had done did she hurriedly place the lunchbox into his hand.
“I’ll come back for the lunchbox tomorrow!”
With her face bright red, she quickly ran away.
Ling Yuan stood there for a moment, caught off guard. He watched Yu Huan’s retreating figure for a while before turning around and returning to the educated youth courtyard.
When the others saw him come back, they quickly withdrew their curious gazes. Their bowls were already empty, so they got up and went to wash their own dishes and chopsticks.
Lin Zhiyu stood up as well. She seemed to want to say something, but Chen Meiling grabbed her and pulled her away.
In an instant, only Song Yujie remained seated, waiting for Ling Yuan.
“Bro, what’s that in your hand?”
Song Yujie sniffed the air and caught a distinctive aroma of meat. His eyes immediately lit up.
“Brother, it’s meat, isn’t it? Let me have some! I’m still hungry. I didn’t eat enough tonight.”
Song Yujie didn’t stand on ceremony. When he saw Ling Yuan place the lunchbox on the table, he immediately opened it, picked up his chopsticks, and stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth.
“Mmm… What kind of meat is this? It’s delicious!”
He swallowed the first piece and immediately reached for another.
Ling Yuan sat down and began eating his own dinner. Watching Song Yujie happily devour the meat, he noticed that nearly half the lunchbox had already been emptied in no time.
He pulled the lunchbox toward himself.
Song Yujie’s chopsticks, which had been reaching for another piece, came up empty.
When he met Ling Yuan’s calm gaze, he finally realized what he had done.
His brother hadn’t even eaten dinner yet, and he had almost finished all the meat!
“Bro, you can’t blame me! You have to blame the meat for being so delicious. Anyway… Take your time eating. I’ll go wash my bowl first.”
With that, he grabbed his bowl and hurried away.
Ling Yuan withdrew his gaze. His long, slender, fair fingers picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and brought it to his mouth.
He chewed slowly.
It really did taste wonderful. The meat was tender, fresh, and richly flavored. He had no idea how she had prepared it, but he couldn’t even tell what kind of meat it was.
Lost in thought, he reached out with his chopsticks again, only to realize that the lunchbox was already empty.
Without changing his expression, he quietly lowered his hand, stood up, gathered his dishes, and headed to the kitchen.
Meanwhile, when Yu Huan returned home, she found her parents waiting for her so they could eat dinner together.
She looked at them with slight exasperation.
“Dad, Mom, didn’t I tell you to eat first? You don’t have to wait for me.”
“We haven’t been waiting long. The food is still hot. Come sit down and eat.”
Her mother urged her to take her seat.
After dinner, Yu Huan’s father was lying on the bed in his room, but he hadn’t gone to sleep yet.
At that moment, he wasn’t sure whether it was because he had eaten too much venison, but his blood seemed to be boiling. His whole body felt as though he had suddenly become young again.
When his wife finished washing up and entered the room, he blew out the kerosene lamp.
The moment the room went dark, he pulled her straight into the blankets.
Yu Huan had already entered her personal space and didn’t hear any of the commotion.