Wearing cloth shoes, walking through the overgrown weeds was very difficult. Song Yueying walked with uneven steps, trying her best, but still couldn't keep up with Qi Yanjue's pace.

Since she couldn't keep up anyway, she simply stood still. She wanted to see when he would realize he hadn't caught up.

As it turns out, Qi Yanjue's vigilance was quite reliable.

Hearing the chaotic footsteps behind him cease, he stopped and turned to look. She stood in the weeds, her eyes fixed on him, her arched eyebrows raised high.

It was as if she were saying, "You finally noticed I hadn't kept up." Qi Yanjue coughed lightly, walked back to her side, and asked, "Why did you stop?"

"My feet hurt, I can't walk," Song Yueying replied.

Upon hearing this, Qi Yanjue looked down at her feet and saw that she was wearing cloth shoes. His expression turned serious. He looked around and his gaze swept over the rocks not far away.

“There’s a rock over there. Let me take you to sit down there and then I’ll take a look at your feet,” Qi Yanjue said to Song Yueying, pointing to the rock.

"No need to look, my feet just hurt and I can't walk." Song Yueying felt there was no need to look.

"That's why I need to see a doctor, it's because your foot hurts." Without giving her a chance to refuse, Qi Yanjue picked her up and carried her toward the stone.

Suddenly lifted into the air, Song Yueying was startled. She quickly grabbed his clothes and questioned, "Why didn't you tell me before picking me up?"

"Your foot hurts. If I don't carry you, do you expect me to walk there by myself and make the injury worse?" Qi Yanjue glanced down at her, completely baffled as to what she was thinking.

No, she was questioning him about why he suddenly hugged her, but he said something about adding insult to injury. Who was injured? Song Yueying was full of questions.

Reaching the rock, Qi Yanjue helped her sit on it. He squatted down, looked at her feet, and asked, "Which foot is injured?"

"Neither of my feet is injured," Song Yueying said irritably, shifting her foot that was dangling by the stone back a little.

"Don't be stubborn, a foot injury is no small matter." Qi Yanjue thought she was being stubborn with him, so he said gently, "Sweetie, let me see your foot."

“My foot is not injured,” Song Yueying emphasized again.

Unfortunately, Qi Yanjue didn't believe him. He grabbed one of her feet and directly took off her cloth shoes and socks. Her smooth, fair feet came into view, arousing his imagination.

He was too fast; Song Yueying had no time to stop him. Not noticing him staring blankly at her feet, she wiggled her feet and said, "I told you I wasn't hurt, but you wouldn't believe me."

"Now that we've looked at this foot, do we need to look at the other foot?"

Her feet were so small and white, like exquisite porcelain. Qi Yanjue's mind was completely absorbed by what he had seen, and he didn't hear a word she said.

So I went along with her and said, "I want to see it."

He… he actually said he wanted to see it! Song Yueying was so shocked she couldn't speak. She had only asked him if she wanted to see his other foot out of spite, and he had actually answered that he wanted to see it.

Qi Yanjue also came to his senses at this moment, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his eyes, and forced himself to look away.

Seeing his gaze fixed on her other foot, and his expression serious, Song Yueying was furious. She simply took off her other shoe and sock herself.

If Qi Yanjue were to take off her shoes and socks again, she would want to crawl into a hole in the ground.

"Look, look, you're not hurt, you're not hurt." She waved her feet in front of him. Actually, Song Yueying wanted to kick him, but she didn't dare.

Looking at the two small feet in front of him, Qi Yanjue's Adam's apple bobbed. They were indeed uninjured. Only the soles were a little red, probably from walking through the undergrowth.

Qi Yanjue coughed lightly and said, "Sorry, I didn't remind you to change your shoes when we went out."

Seeing him take the blame upon himself, Song Yueying's anger suddenly dissipated, and she was at a loss for words. She simply pretended not to hear him and lowered her head to put on her shoes and socks.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Qi Yanjue suggested, "I'll carry you from here on out."

"No need." Song Yueying refused without even thinking. She wasn't familiar with him, and it would be so awkward for him to carry her!

As it turns out, as long as you're not embarrassed, it's others who are embarrassed. Lying on Qi Yanjue's broad back, Song Yueying inwardly berated herself for her lack of willpower.

She gave in because he said he could walk faster if he carried her.

After a while, Song Yueying had to admit that her compromise was a very wise move.

Soon they arrived at the place where they picked wild peaches, and Qi Yanjue placed her on an open ground free of weeds.

The peach tree is located near the river, where there is plenty of water. Its trunk is tall and strong, and its branches and leaves are lush. The wild peaches hanging on the tree are not large, but each one is juicy and plump.

"There are still so many peaches, we're rich!" Looking at the peaches on the tree, Song Yueying was so happy that she forgot the hardships she had endured on the way there.

Qi Yanjue told her not to wander off, and then he climbed the tree to pick peaches.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I definitely won't wander off." Song Yueying nodded emphatically. Looking at the surrounding weeds and trees, she really didn't know where she could go.

Watching Qi Yanjue nimbly climb the peach tree, Song Yueying realized a very serious problem: "Qi Yanjue, we forgot to bring something to put the peaches in."

There's nothing to put the peaches in, so even if we pick too many, we can't take them back with us.

The cloth bag she was carrying was so small; it clearly couldn't hold many items. She could put them in the space experiment vehicle, but how could she explain where the peaches were?

"I brought it." With that, Qi Yanjue took out a cloth bag from his pocket. It wasn't very big, but it could easily hold five or six pounds.

"You're so thoughtful." Song Yueying praised him with a beaming smile, gave him a thumbs up from under the tree, and then looked up at him picking peaches from the tree.

Every now and then, I have to give instructions: "This peach is bigger, pick this one," or "That peach looks nice, pick that one."

After a while, her neck ached from looking up, so she found a place to sit down and started chatting with Qi Yanjue in the tree.

"Qi Yanjue, do you think there are wolves in these mountains?" Song Yueying asked lazily, noticing a foxtail grass nearby, and casually picked it up to play with it.

"No," Qi Yanjue answered her question while picking peaches. He also gave her a quick lesson: "Wolves are social animals and usually appear in packs."

"Even if one or more wolves get separated, they will quickly find their way back to the pack."

Hearing him say that, Song Yueying immediately perked up, tossing aside the foxtail grass in her hand, "You know so much about this, have you encountered it before?"

"I've encountered it before during missions," Qi Yanjue replied. It wasn't a secret; he could share it.

"I've really encountered them before!" Song Yueying asked excitedly, "You don't go on missions alone, right? What did you do when you encountered a pack of wolves?"

"Should we kill all the wolves, or turn around and run?"

"Turn and run," Qi Yanjue replied calmly. Wiping out the entire wolf pack? What a pipe dream.

"Why didn't you kill all the wolves? Wolf pelts are useful, and wolf meat is edible!" Song Yueying sighed regretfully, picking up the foxtail grass she had thrown away.

Qi Yanjue glanced back at her, saw her sitting on the ground playing with the grass, and his lips twitched.

Song Yueying paused in her stroking of the foxtail grass, then looked up at Qi Yanjue in the tree. "By the way, how could the wolves let you get away when they encountered you?"

"You are their food."

"So I still think we should kill all the wolves and eat their meat."

"You think killing a pack of wolves is easy?" Qi Yanjue said. "A typical wolf pack has at least dozens or hundreds of wolves, and some even have thousands. How can you kill them all?"

Song Yueying was stunned. She had heard that wolves were social animals, but she didn't know there were so many of them.

How embarrassing!

She quickly forgot her embarrassment and continued, "Where are the tigers? Are there tigers in these mountains?"

"No."

“Wild boars, there must be wild boars. When we left, Qianqian said that she had heard from the villagers that there are wild boars in the mountains, and that wild boars come down the mountain to look for food.”

"There are wild boars."

"After we pick some peaches, do you want to go up the mountain and try your luck?" Song Yueying asked with great interest. She had never seen a wild boar, or even a domesticated pig.

Knowing that she was being unrealistic, Qi Yanjue did not directly refuse, but instead said truthfully, "The road up the mountain is more difficult to walk than the thicket of weeds."

Song Yueying instantly deflated; she couldn't even walk through the weeds, let alone the mountain path.

The two chatted idly for a while, which didn't stop Qi Yanjue from picking peaches. He quickly climbed down from the peach tree.

"There are still so many peaches on the tree, you..." Song Yueying ran over and saw that the bag was already full. Her eyes lit up as she looked at the full bag of peaches.

"Wow, so many peaches! Let me pack some for you."

As Song Yueying spoke, she filled her small cloth bag with peaches. Qi Yanjue did not stop her and turned to find vines to tie the bag's opening.

When he returned, the bag was nearly empty of peaches. Song Yueying stood by the bag, her smile a little guilty. She had unintentionally put in too many; how could she not feel guilty?

Seeing her guilty expression, and then looking at the peaches in the bag, Qi Yanjue said nothing, but went over and tied the bag tightly with vines.

But he couldn't help but suspect that his bag was full when he came down from the tree. He had deliberately filled it, thinking that it would hold some of her little cloth bag.

Now it seems her little bag contains more than a little bit. Qi Yanjue glanced at Song Yueying's little bag.

Song Yueying felt she needed to explain, so she stammered, "Um... I... I accidentally dropped some peaches while I was packing them."

"It rolled into the river."

After saying that, Song Yueying applauded herself in her heart; this excuse was truly impeccable.

Qi Yanjue nodded slightly, "It's okay, pick them first and take them home to eat. If you still want to eat peaches, and there are still some on the tree, I'll come and pick some for you."

"Okay!" Song Yueying answered quickly, then felt a little embarrassed, "How could I always trouble you like this!"

"No trouble at all." Qi Yanjue wanted to reach out and pat her head, but then remembered that his hands were covered in peach fuzz, so he took her hand instead. "I'll take you to the river to wash the peach fuzz off your hands."

“Okay.” Song Yueying let him lead her by the hand. “Let’s wash a few more peaches and eat them as we walk.”

"Okay," Qi Yanjue replied softly.

Song Yueying looked at the hand he was holding, then at his tall, straight back. He didn't blame her for dropping the peaches he had painstakingly picked from the tree into the river.

Did he believe her or not?

She was in such a hurry that she made up the excuse of rolling a peach in the river, which she thought was flawless. Now that she's calmed down, she realizes it wasn't flawless at all.

Unable to understand, she stopped thinking about it and obediently followed Qi Yanjue to the river to wash her hands. She then took the peaches out of her bag and washed them clean, washing the bag along with them.

Carrying her soaking wet little cloth bag, Song Yueying felt like crying but had no tears left.

Seeing her like this, Qi Yanjue took away her small cloth bag. "The bag contained unwashed peaches that were covered in peach fuzz. Putting washed peaches in there is like washing them for nothing."

"Moreover, peach fuzz can cause itching if it gets on your skin."

"Your skin is so sensitive, getting peach fuzz on it will make it even itchier."

Song Yueying agreed with the first part, but disagreed with the last. She retorted angrily, "How is my skin stingy? Your skin is the stingy one."

"Your skin is quite sensitive; a single mosquito bite from the mountains leaves a welt." Qi Yanjue was simply stating the facts, without any ulterior motive.

Song Yueying, however, felt that he was implying something, snatched the small cloth bag he was carrying, and walked away angrily.

He knew he was telling the truth, but he didn't know how he had upset her. Qi Yanjue touched his nose. He followed her back to where the peaches were and picked up the bag.

Seeing that she was still walking forward, Qi Yanjue said, "The way down the mountain is on the left, but you are walking on the right. If you continue on the right, you will go deeper into the mountains."

Song Yueying stopped, looking left and then right; both seemed to lead to the way she had come. She turned to Qi Yanjue, "Why do you know so much about this? Have you been to this mountain before?"

"I came here this morning to catch pheasants," Qi Yanjue replied, meaning he hadn't been here before.

Okay, her sense of direction wasn't good to begin with, so listening to him should be fine. Song Yueying stopped asking and followed his directions to the left.

Seeing how obedient she was, Qi Yanjue quickened his pace and walked almost side by side with her. "Yueying, don't come to the mountains alone when I'm not here."

Song Yueying glanced at him in surprise, not only because of his reminder, but also because of the seriousness in his tone.

Without saying a word, he continued walking.

“There are many dangers in the mountains. If you go the wrong way, it’s easy to get lost.” Qi Yanjue continued, “Even if there are people from the village going up the mountain with you, don’t come.”

Song Yueying stopped and looked at Qi Yanjue, unsure if he meant that she had a bad sense of direction.

"What's wrong?" Qi Yanjue asked.

"It's nothing." Song Yueying continued walking.

Qi Yanjue lagged half a step behind her, sometimes pointing her in the right direction, sometimes staring at her thoughtfully.

The two went down the mountain one after the other. When they were about to enter the village, they encountered several people carrying grain.

One of them was an acquaintance, so Qi Yanjue didn't pay much attention to him at first. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the person deliberately approached Song Yueying, twisted his ankle, and lunged at Song Yueying.

Song Yueying didn't notice any of this; she only heard a "ouch" from the side.

She instinctively turned to look, but suddenly her waist tightened, and she was pulled into a familiar embrace. He still smelled of peaches; it was Qi Yanjue.

Before Song Yueying could react, she was choked by the rising dust. When she finally saw the person lying on the ground and the rice scattered everywhere, her eyes widened…