TSMITB Chapter7

By the time Gang Zi finished treating Ah Chao’s leg injury and turned back, Old Qiu had already set up a simple rack by the fire and hung the wet clothes on it to dry.

Shen Que had also taken off his jacket and thrown it to Old Qiu, leaving only a thin, white half-turtleneck undershirt, which was completely soaked and clinging wetly to his skin; a gust of wind caused him to break out in goosebumps from the cold.

But he absolutely refused to take everything off to dry, not because he was worried about his figure being seen.

On the contrary, Shen Que was very well-built, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, his muscles were symmetrical and shapely, substantial without being overly exaggerated. His standard eight-pack abs were neatly hidden beneath the fabric, feeling excellent to the touch; none of his past lovers disliked them, and he never hesitated to display them as well.

It was just that he consistently believed that revealing too much from the beginning would diminish the sense of mystery and aesthetic appeal.

“To put it bluntly, isn’t that just a peacock fanning its tail, wanting to show off yet still covering up, trying to seduce people?” Gang Zi squinted at the youth sitting quietly not far away, thinking he instantly saw through the twists and turns of Shen Que’s mind.

“……” Those with a dirty mind see everything as dirty.

Shen Que temporarily shut off his ears to block out all sounds he didn’t want to hear.

He reached down and rolled his trousers up to his calves, the bandage on his ankle was also ripped off and tossed aside. The wound from last night had already formed a scab, with slightly pale edges and wasn’t too severe. However, his entire ankle, along with the instep and lower leg, remained badly swollen, making walking difficult.

Shen Que stretched out his leg, secretly observing the deep blue figure not far away while warming himself by the fire.

His unbraided hair clung to his side face with water dripping down constantly. The clothing, unique to the Miao region, was also soaked; its already deep and slightly subdued color became even darker. The silver chains and ornaments, originally neatly arranged, were tangled messily, while the forehead ornament slid crookedly to one side.

The youth lowered his head, water droplets still clinging to the tips of his eyelashes, which fluttered lightly like raven feathers. A pair of porcelain-white hands were loosely clenched into fists resting on his knees; Shen Que still remembered those hands—they had been so strong on his waist, effortlessly pulling him out of danger.

Shen Que watched with interest as he raised his hand, seemingly trying to straighten his hair, but the silver ornaments and braids were too tightly and messily entangled, making half an hour of his effort in vain. His originally relaxed brow imperceptibly furrowed slightly, while his clear, shallow eyes showed a hint of impatience.

Wearing such intricate and heavy clothing when it’s wet must be uncomfortable.

Shen Que inexplicably recalled those clear eyes; the flash of genuine cherishment and affection when their eyes met unexpectedly didn’t seem feigned. He had seen too many such glances, perhaps… he could really make good use of it.

Shen Que chuckled softly, added some wood to the fire, then clapped his hands to shake off the sawdust stuck to them, and then slowly stood up by supporting himself with a hand on Old Qiu’s shoulder while limping towards the woods.

Before he could get close, the youth, who was still annoyed by his tangled hair, quickly noticed the uninvited guest encroaching on his territory.

The youth slowly looked up, his eyes carrying a hint of annoyance that hadn’t fully dissipated.

After all, he was young and simply didn’t know how to hide his emotions, Shen Que assessed internally.

When he saw that it was Shen Que, the youth’s eyebrows lifted with a flash of joy crossing his face. However, quickly suppressed it, perhaps recalling something, he swept over Shen Que from head to toe with his gaze before hastily looking away. But faint blush crept up to the tips of his ears.

The white undershirt clung tightly to his skin, subtly revealing a hint of flesh color, making it almost possible to see all the muscle contours beneath the fabric.

Before Shen Que could react, the youth suddenly stood up and turned to walk toward the dense forest.

Shen Que was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

The youth’s soaking wet, wide sleeve hung over the back of Shen Que’s hand and felt slightly cool. He lowered his head and moved his fingers so that his fingertips brushed the warm, soft and delicate to the touch, palm.

Shen Que instinctively let go, his arm falling naturally to his side, his palm still tingling as if scratched by a kitten.

“Just now, thank you for saving me. Your clothes are wet, do you want to come and dry them by the fire with us?”

Shen Que extended the invitation with a normal expression, and fearing the youth wouldn’t understand, he pointed to the bonfire not far away and gestured the action of warming by the fire.

The youth did not reply, he just slightly raised his eyes and met Shen Que’s gaze, seeming to be questioning as well as confirming something.

After a moment, he nodded slightly, the corners of his lips lifting as a smile spread across his face, as if all his defenses against strangers had vanished.

In an instant, without Shen Que noticing, the youth straightened up. His gaze lingered, meaningfully directed at the people by the fire who pretended to be casual but were actually watching the situation closely.

Shen Que mercilessly drove Old Qiu to the other side and enthusiastically pulled the youth to sit beside him. Then he draped the youth’s removed outer garment onto the wooden rack next to his own clothes.

The youth sat calmly, leaning slightly forward with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting in his palm. His index finger played with the silver chain by his cheek as he quietly watched Shen Que fumble about. He neither stopped him nor offered help. His mood seemed to brighten from within, and he even flashed an innocent, radiant smile, nodding to the others in greeting as well.

Old Qiu pretended not to notice, gazing up at the sky in silent disbelief. He felt like a neglected first wife, watching her usually idle husband busy himself for the mistress, who took all the benefits while still feigning innocence.

Gang Zi tsk-tsked twice, patted Old Qiu on the shoulder, and shook his head in a serious manner, “Lust blinds reason.”

Old Qiu shot him a glare, then secretly glanced at the youth’s reaction, only feeling relieved when he saw his expression was normal.

The youth fiddled with his sleeve, seemingly completely oblivious, and when Shen Que turned back, he offered a grateful smile.

Shen Que was briefly lost in thought, staring at the smile and seemingly unaware of the unusual atmosphere around him. He nodded slightly and sat down as if nothing had happened.

Gang Zi opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but was stopped by a look from Shen Que.

The surroundings quieted down again.

It was nearly noon when someone’s stomach growled, quickly setting off a chorus of rumbling stomachs.

Without waiting for others to ask, Shen Que proactively stood up and took on the task of distributing food, ostensibly saying that everyone had worked hard on the journey and he wanted to contribute.

The group’s backpacks were all stacked together on the empty space behind Gang Zi.

Shen Que rummaged for a good while before he managed to gather a few portions of food that hadn’t gotten wet, but it was only barely enough for one meal.

The remaining items, which he claimed were inedible, were efficiently stuffed back into the most damaged and tattered bag and tossed aside.

Gang Zi, who was close by, watched him picking and choosing for a long time, wanting to remind him that the things he threw away were fine, and that they had been tightly wrapped beforehand, so how could water get in?

However, before half a syllable could even leave his mouth, Old Qiu elbowed him from the side, forcing him to shut up.

Shen Que stood up, gave Gang Zi a casual glance, and handed out the only available food to everyone. He then split his own portion in two, giving one half to the youth resting with his eyes closed nearby.

“Only these are edible. Just eat a little, it’s better than starving.”

The youth paused for a moment, then looked up, staring intently at the small piece of bread Shen Que handed him, as if he hadn’t expected to get a share.

After a while, he reached out to take it, held it in his hand, and looked at it for a long time while gently pressing the bread with his fingertips, “So soft.” Then he somewhat bashfully lowered his head and softly added a ‘Thank you.’

The youth’s voice was as clear as the person himself, the ending tone carrying a unique soft inflection.

Shen Que secretly raised an eyebrow and asked with a slight surprise, “You can speak Mandarin?”

The youth paused, shook his head, and then nodded. “Mandarin? Do you mean, Han language? I know a little.”

“Then did you understand what we were saying earlier? You hadn’t spoken, and I thought you didn’t understand.”

The youth lowered his head, pursed his lips, and slowly spoke: “Understood, don’t want to speak, can’t speak well, and bad people, many, so didn’t speak.”

His pronunciation was relatively standard, but the pauses were very erratic, making it difficult to form a complete sentence.

“So you thought we were bad guys? Then why did you save a bad guy?” Shen Que teased him with interest, thinking that once he started talking, he wouldn’t be embarrassed to pretend to be mute anymore.

As expected, the youth hesitated for a moment. A faint blush returned to the tips of his ears, and he lowered his eyes to hide his feelings before speaking slowly: “You are good-looking, so you shouldn’t be a bad person.”

“Pfft.” The onlookers on the side burst out laughing.

Shen Que also chuckled softly, and when he looked up again, a touch of well-timed sorrow tinged his bright eyes: “The few of us are… wilderness exploration enthusiasts. Coincidentally, everyone hasn’t been busy with work lately, so we agreed to come out for a hike together. We didn’t expect to get lost on the very first day, winding up here and nearly losing our lives.”

The youth nodded, his eyes meaningfully locked on Shen Que’s, and asked softly, “Is that so?” Without waiting for an answer, he added, as if to clarify, “Mountain roads, hard to walk, fog is thick.”

“Did you get lost too? I saw you staying on that cliff for a long time just now.” Shen Que naturally picked up the bread and took a bite while raising his hand to motion for the youth to eat as well.

The youth obediently took a bite, chewing slowly and carefully, waiting until he had swallowed everything before organizing his language to reply.

“I live in the forest, but, further away. People in the stockaded village are very busy, busy with their own things, and rarely talk to me. I am bored, so I came out for a walk.”

While speaking, the youth kept his gaze lowered, his thick, dark eyelashes concealing the emotions in his eyes. Listeners only assumed he was sighing over his loneliness; no one saw the flash of cunning in his eyes.

Stockaded village…

Shen Que’s heart pounded uncontrollably. Stockaded village, how many stockaded villages could there be in this E’yun Mountain?

The others nearby also secretly adjusted their sitting posture while pricking up their ears, afraid of missing any useful information.

“Looking at your age, you must be in college, right? This isn’t the winter or summer break, why aren’t you at school?” Old Qiu furrowed his thick, dark brows, putting on an appearance of genuinely worrying about his education.

The youth shook his head, took another bite of the bread, and used the tip of his tongue to lightly lick off the exposed yogurt filling and roll it into his mouth.

“I have never been outside.” He paused after speaking, then raised his eyelids to look at the dense, lush mountain forest. “I cannot leave here.”

“Why?” Shen Que was puzzled.

The youth’s smile held a strange, unexplainable charm, while shallow dimples appeared on his cheeks. “Because this is, my home.”

T/N: I hope you all can at least get the gist of what he said. I tried to make it sound rougher, less polished, like the original. And he reminded me of Sheng Yanqing from Qing Gu so much :3