Chapter 13
Qian Hui stared blankly at Nan Tingjin, her expression confused and bewildered.
He didn't know how to answer that question.
He seems... to not really understand Nan Tingjin.
In the past, in the small courtyard of plants, they could only spend one day out of seven. When they were together, Nan Tingjin would teach him to read and write, and accompany him to bask in the sun.
He knew nothing about Nan Tingjin's origins or his past.
But... he didn't know his own either.
The carnivorous plant sensed something was wrong and slowly moved closer, staring intently at Nan Tingjin's neck, its presence utterly intimidating.
Nan Tingjin met its gaze for a moment, then gently stroked Qian Hui's cheek with his fingertips before slowly releasing his grip.
He still held Qianhui in his arms, waiting for an answer.
Qian Hui was still trying to think. He used to not have to think about these things, nor did he need to know too much.
However, after arriving here, too many things happened in a short period of time.
Nan Tingjin's words left Qian Hui's mind in a state of confusion.
He remained silent for a long time, unconsciously clutching Nan Tingjin's sleeve, his thick eyelashes trembling from time to time.
Nan Tingjin was not in a hurry; he rarely showed such patience.
Finally, Qianhui yawned and started to feel sleepy.
He rubbed his eyes, as if he had forgotten what he was saying earlier, looking quiet and obedient.
Nan Tingjin lowered his eyes: "Go to sleep."
Qian Hui nodded, and the man-eating flower tugged at his clothes, signaling him to come back to sleep under the tree with him.
He picked up the man-eating flower and was about to leave when Nan Tingjin stopped him again.
“And,” Nan Tingjin asked, “where did you get the clothes?”
Besides clothes, there was also his new backpack, and a constant supply of food and clean water.
Qian Hui stammered, "I...I bought it."
Nan Tingjin didn't ask any further questions, only saying, "Don't let anyone else see this."
Qian Hui nodded obediently, hummed in agreement, and turned to leave.
Nan Tingjin remained where he was, quietly watching Qian Hui return to the tree and lie down, then yawned and closed her eyes wearily.
A night breeze swept through, making the woods even darker. Nan Tingjin was shrouded in shadow, lost in thought.
After a long while, he stood up and turned on the communicator in his hand.
Over the past two days, the four members of the team have sent many messages inquiring about the progress of Nan Tingjin.
Their injuries have almost healed, and they can come and help.
If Nan Tingjin agrees, all that is needed is to send a specific coordinate.
The team also reported the situation on Liang Jie's side in detail to Nan Tingjin, and Liang Jie also came over here.
Liang Jie's target was the two mutated plants; he was unaware of Qian Hui's existence.
Nan Tingjin looked at the message but did not reply.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the woods...
Liang Jie instructed his subordinates to clear away and drive away the mutated plants in the surrounding area.
The mimosa plant hadn't had a proper rest for several days and was in very poor condition, but it forced itself to continue its search.
However, the dense vegetation in the forest harbors many mutated plants, which can constantly interfere with the identification of the mimosa.
Liang Jie didn't care about all that. The "hunting dogs" could be tamed again, but if the man-eating flowers and chili peppers couldn't be found, it would be even harder to capture them alive if this opportunity was missed.
We must act quickly while the man-eating flower is severely injured and the chili pepper's abilities have not yet recovered.
He took out a bottle of medicine and poured it on the mimosa plant, forcibly restoring it some vitality.
The mimosa plant trembled a few times, then raised its leaves again, carefully searching for any remaining clues in the air.
The communicator beeped, and Liang Jie looked down to check; it was a message from Wen Jue.
"How's it going?"
Liang Jie immediately handed the mimosa to his subordinate and walked aside alone.
After much deliberation, he finally reported that the chili peppers had helped the man-eating flowers, and assured them, "Don't worry, sir, they won't get too far."
—
Under the tree, Qianhui was breathing evenly and calmly; she had fallen asleep.
He had a dream in a daze, a dream about the day he first met Nan Tingjin when he was in the small garden.
It must have been a little after 2 p.m. when Carrot secretly took him out to play, and they walked all the way to the vicinity of the woods.
Qianhui had never been to a forest before and was very curious, wondering if she would see other plants inside.
So, while Carrot was catching shrimp in the stream outside the woods, Chihiro went in alone.
The woods were quiet. He wandered aimlessly, occasionally reaching out to touch the leaves around him.
Without the company of plants, Qianhui dared not go too far. Just as she was about to return, she saw a stone hut in the woods and Nantingjin sitting in front of it.
Nan Tingjin also saw him and stood up.
Qian Hui had never seen a human before and thought there was a zombie there. She hurriedly turned and ran away, but was suddenly called back.
"Qian Hui?"
Qian Hui stopped and turned her head in confusion.
Nan Tingjin stared at him, as if afraid of frightening him again, and called out in a gentler tone, as if coaxing, "Qian Hui, come here."
Qianhui hesitated, wondering if she should go outside to find carrots first.
In the end, curiosity prevailed over reason, and he slowly walked towards the cabin.
As she got closer, Qianhui realized that it didn't seem to be a zombie.
It's not a plant; it can talk and even knows its own name.
Could it be... a human from a picture book?
Nan Tingjin looked over and said, "Come closer, come to me."
He stood at the bottom of the steps of the hut, seemingly unable to take another step forward, his expression one that Qian Hui had never seen or understood before.
But Qianhui had only been awakened in the plant courtyard for a short time and was curious about everything.
This was the first time he had seen a human. Nan Tingjin looked friendly and was much better looking than the zombies he worked with.
Qian Hui felt a strange sense of goodwill towards him and mustered her courage to move forward. She stopped when she was half a step away from Nan Tingjin, and then her wrist was grabbed.
The warm touch made Qian Hui feel both curious and a little timid.
"Don't be afraid," Nan Tingjin said softly, slowly pulling him closer.
He checked Qian Hui's body, as if to make sure he was not injured, and then hugged Qian Hui in his arms.
The hug lasted a while, and Qian Hui wasn't used to it. She almost couldn't breathe and pushed him away.
Nan Tingjin then loosened his grip slightly and stroked his silver hair in a comforting manner.
“It really is you,” Nan Tingjin whispered, as if talking to himself, “It’s not an illusion.”
Qian Hui, bewildered, raised her red eyes and slowly stammered, "You...you are..."
He could barely speak, retaining only a faint memory of language, and wanted to ask who Nan Tingjin was and why he knew his name.
Nan Tingjin lowered his dark eyes, looked at Qian Hui for a while, took her slightly cool hand in his, and replied, "We are lovers, I am your boyfriend."
Qian Hui seemed to understand, but nodded obediently: "Mm."
—
In the morning, the thin sunlight shines on the woods.
Chili climbed up a tree, hung her backpack on a branch, and sat down to eat a biscuit.
It looked up from time to time and found that Qianhui was still asleep.
Just to be on the safe side, the chili pepper was placed quite far away. Otherwise, if Nan Tingjin and the man-eating flower saw it and told Qian Hui that it had said goodbye and was still not leaving, that would be too embarrassing.
But why he didn't leave, Chili himself couldn't explain.
Perhaps... it's worried because Nan Tingjin is here, and besides, why hasn't Little Cabbage woken up yet? Could she be sick...?
Chili pretended to be worried and was unwilling to admit that it just wanted to see Qianhui's reaction again.
Are you sad? Try to find yourself, or... just sleep it off and forget about it.
Chili took a big bite of the biscuit and heard a faint noise below.
It looked down and saw a morning glory climbing up, probably attracted by the aroma of the biscuits.
The chili pepper bared its teeth, scaring away the morning glory, which stuffed the biscuit back into its small backpack.
After a while, Qianhui finally woke up.
He got up, washed up, and cleaned the man-eating plant's sharp teeth before delivering breakfast to Nan Tingjin.
Nan Tingjin was under a tree not far away. Qian Hui walked over and put down half a piece of bread.
“Um…” He moved closer and gently tugged at Nan Tingjin’s sleeve, “I remember now.”
Nan Tingjin looked up: "What?"
Qian Hui said earnestly, "I remember now, it's you who likes me."
Nan Tingjin paused slightly, then slowly said, "Me?"
“Yes,” Qian Hui leaned closer, her beautiful red eyes wide open, “you’re the one who’s going to be my boyfriend.”
He spoke with great certainty, just as he had the same confidence in his judgment as last night when he confirmed he hadn't mistaken the person.
Moreover, Nan Tingjin's question last night was too sudden, and Qian Hui was unprepared.
In his dream, he recalled the past, although he was much slower back then than he is now. Carrot said he was clumsy and not very clever.
But he was sure he remembered correctly; that's exactly what Nan Tingjin said.
Qian Hui still remembers that later, when he stayed in the cabin for a while, Carrot came in looking for him, thinking that he had been bullied, and almost got into a fight with Nan Tingjin.
After that, Qian Hui always went to the woods to find Nan Tingjin. The plants couldn't stop her at all, and they were very afraid of Nan Tingjin, so they had no choice but to let her go.
Nan Tingjin was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
He leaned closer to Qian Hui and asked, "Do you have a name?"
Qian Hui pursed her lips unhappily, then nodded.
He took Nan Tingjin's left hand and slowly wrote the two characters "Qian Hui" in his palm.
The strokes are crooked and twisted; the character "回" is written like two circles, but it is still barely recognizable.
After finishing writing, Qian Hui lowered her head and touched Nan Tingjin's little finger: "Oh, is this a gift for you...?"
Nan Tingjin was wearing a crudely designed dark brown pinky ring. It was impossible to tell what material it was made of, but upon closer inspection, it looked very familiar.
But Qianhui remembered that the wooden ring he gave her should have been light-colored.
What was given as a gift? Nan Tingjin glanced at it but didn't pay attention for the time being.
“Qianhui,” he said, “come back to base with me.”
Nan Tingjin didn't care that Liang Jie might catch up at any time, nor about the special abilities of the chili pepper or the man-eating flower for which a bounty was offered.
The chili pepper has already left, but Qianhui is with the man-eating flower, so it's only a matter of time before she's discovered.
Once discovered, the news will surely spread, and even more people will covet him and want to capture him.
Therefore, what suits Nan Tingjin's wishes best right now is to take Qian Hui back directly and keep her by his side.
Whether he mistook someone for someone else is no longer important.
Nan Tingjin has always acted as he pleased, never thinking of seeking anyone's consent before doing what he wants; this is the first time.
Qian Hui was slightly taken aback, then shook her head: "No, no."
Upon hearing this, Nan Tingjin's expression darkened.
Qian Hui explained vaguely, "I need to find carrots, and other things..."
He has a mission to complete, which involves killing a total of thirty mid-level zombies.
Qian Hui suddenly realized what was happening, tightly gripped Nan Tingjin's hand, and looked at him expectantly: "Are you going back?"
Seeing Qian Hui's reluctant expression, Nan Tingjin's dark eyes deepened.
He did not answer, his suppressed gloomy emotions continuing to grow.
Qian Hui was completely unaware of this, and lowered her eyelashes: "Can you stay with me a little longer?"
He didn't understand human relationships and thought Nan Tingjin wanted to return to his companions.
Nan Tingjin did not answer, seemingly considering it, while Qian Hui's attention returned to his pinky ring.
He hadn't noticed it before, but now that he looked closely...
Qian Hui leaned closer and carefully touched it, finally confirming that the ring on her pinky was engraved with the familiar character "Hui".
But the pinky ring has changed a lot, especially the color; it looks like... it's dried out.
He was still wondering to himself when a presence drew closer.
Qian Hui raised her head, her nose almost brushing against Nan Tingjin's cheek.
His warm breath brushed against her skin, and Nan Tingjin's eyes revealed little emotion as he asked, "What do you think I'm doing here?"
Qian Hui felt a sudden tightness in her chest as her lower back was pressed down, and stammered, "N-wasn't I here to see Xiao Zi...?"
He always thought that Nan Tingjin had agreed because he had said he couldn't take Xiao Zi away.
Having suddenly arrived in a strange world, he already had so much to learn that he couldn't think of anything more.
Anyway, Nan Tingjin is her boyfriend, that's enough.
Qian Hui hesitated for a moment, then hugged Nan Tingjin: "Then let me think about it some more, okay?"
He didn't know exactly what to think, but Nan Tingjin seemed unhappy, so he decided to try to appease him first.
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