Chapter 61 Chapter 61 Chapter 61
Qingqing was lost in thought. Looking into Yan Dibai's dark eyes, the smile on her face belatedly faded.
Yan Dibai's shifty gaze softened along with her averted look.
When Qingqing looked up again, her expression had returned to respect. Looking at the boy with his face covered in grime, she unconsciously furrowed her brow.
Yan Dibai took in all of Qingqing's expressions. Seeing her furrow her brow as if struck by something, his smile vanished, and without a word, he turned to leave. Qingqing hesitated, then quickly reached out to stop him: "Where is Your Majesty going?"
Yan Dibai remained silent, his trembling movements as he rose continuing unabated. Qingqing had just seen him come out and would never let him go back. Without a second thought, she chose to offend Yan Dibai, grabbing his rough wrist:
"Your Majesty, please stop joking."
Yan Dibai paused upon hearing this.
Taking the opportunity, Qingqing pinched his arm. Even without looking, it was shockingly thin. He was half again as thin as when she arrived. She unconsciously pinched it, and the furrowed brows she had just raised in surprise at his disheveled state tightened even more.
“You…” She paused, but refrained from asking the question. Qingqing changed the subject: “Would Your Majesty like some water? I filtered the rainwater from the other day; it’s barely drinkable, and it won’t cause stomach pain.”
Yan Dibai's body trembled slightly as he stared at Qingqing with an unreadable expression.
Seeing that he had rested, Qingqing took a moment to wipe the thin layer of sweat from her forehead, and smiled reassuringly at him with a slightly flushed face: "Your Majesty's complexion has been much better lately."
"Much better." Yan Dibai, however, kept a straight face and looked down. He didn't see himself being grabbed, but he did get a good look at her hand first.
The veins on his temples began to throb. He hadn't noticed it while indoors, but now that he could see it up close, he could clearly see not only the flesh covering the bone, but also the tiny hairs on the skin.
Further down... what she held was a half-buried, gruesome skeleton.
Yan Dibai pressed her two lips together.
Qingqing took out the earthenware pot that was placed aside and showed it to him. The sound of water flowing was clearly audible, and the old grime at the bottom of the pot was visible to the naked eye; it looked cleaner than the puddles on the ground. Yan Dibai didn't say anything, but his throat moved slightly; he was indeed thirsty.
Qingqing, understanding his frailty, held the jar up to Yan Dibai's lips: "This is the only way to drink. Your Majesty, rest assured, this jar is clean. I wiped it many times with filtered water."
The boy's gaze followed her words upwards, and when he saw her withered face reflected in the water, his eyes suddenly turned sinister.
Qingqing was confused: "What's wrong?"
Yan Dibai snapped out of her daze, her eyelashes falling.
Qingqing noticed that the boy's eyelids were drooping silently, as if he was thinking about something.
After a long pause, "Hmm."
As the sunlight streamed down, his throat tightened, but in the end, he gave in to the girl's wish. He obediently lowered his head and gently sipped the water.
The water rippled, reflecting a pair of motionless, sinister eyes. Yan Dibai stared intently, again and again.
There was a somber scent in the water. But at this moment, it tasted delicious. Yan Dibai was very thirsty, having not had a clean drink for days. His face grew increasingly somber, initially drinking silently, but gradually turning into impatient gulping. He resembled a traveler who had escaped death in the desert, or a thirsty dog.
They are no different from wild beasts.
Qingqing was initially relieved, but as she watched, she sensed something was amiss. Seeing the weight of his entire head resting on her hand, Qingqing used her sleeve to wipe the water from his chin and neck, then casually set down the earthenware pot. Unexpectedly, he grabbed her wrist.
Qingqing: "...?"
Beneath her disheveled hair, Yan Dibai's eyes were perfectly clear.
"I understand."
Without explaining what he had learned, he listlessly lay down on the spot. He released her wrist, grabbed her skirt with his other hand to use as a pillow, and closed his eyes, facing the blazing sun that was crowding in from all directions.
Perhaps I'm just too tired; I need to let my guard down and get a real night's sleep.
Qingqing knelt beside him, and after a brief silence, she quietly curved her lips into a smile.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-02-14 01:07:59 and 2024-03-12 23:26:17!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 1.
Thank you to the little angels who irrigated with nutrient solution: Pingpinger (14 bottles); Shuhujinyani, 49110111 (5 bottles); Qunzi, Luelulu, Yuesheng (3 bottles); asdfghjkl (2 bottles); Jiluwuyu (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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