Chapter 31 [Silas spying on the crow couple...]
Silas returned dejectedly.
It first crept stealthily onto the windowsill, poked half its head out, and scanned the room to make sure Mela and Lex weren't in the cabin before confidently swaggering inside.
However, the next second, Silas was grabbed by the back of his neck and lifted up.
What are you doing, sneaking around like that?
Mela's voice came from behind Silas.
This startled it, causing it to instinctively shrink its neck and remain silent.
Silas quickly realized that doing so would only make him seem more suspicious, so he stammered, "N-nothing, I just wanted to play hide-and-seek with you."
?
Why play hide-and-seek when you have nothing better to do?
Mela pulled Silas in front of her, turned him around, and looked him over closely. "Speaking of which, why were you covering your stomach with your wings?"
"What stomach? Oh! The wind was too strong just now, and it seems to have chilled my stomach a bit. I'm afraid I'll catch a cold, haha..." Silas was still restless even with the back of his neck being held. He mumbled incoherently and was also trying to break free from Mela's grip.
Unfortunately, whether Silas was a child back then or now, it's always been easy for Mela to control him.
"Move your wings aside so I can see them."
As Mela spoke, she immediately reached out and started shoving.
Terrified, Silas struggled even more fiercely. His claws flapped wildly in mid-air, his body swaying from side to side like a swing, while his wings tightly covered his belly, constantly dodging Mel's outstretched hand.
"No, no! Let me go!" Realizing his tone was too harsh and meeting Mela's increasingly suspicious gaze, Silas gradually softened his stance. "Haha, I misspoke. What I meant was, put me down first..."
"Is it possible that you flew away the moment I put you down?" Mela wasn't about to fall into such a stupid trap.
It was obvious that Silas was hiding something from her.
"I'll count to three, and you'd better confess what you're trying to hide, or else—"
Mela deliberately left her sentence unfinished, only letting out two hums, letting Silas weigh the consequences himself.
She believed that Silas, after being threatened like that, would definitely not dare to keep it a secret any longer.
"Alright, since you insist on watching, then watch!"
As expected, Silas surrendered.
It spread its wings as if facing death, revealing its soft belly underneath and the feathers on top that had been pecked out, with some clumps lighter and some darker.
It's like someone's hair suddenly turning into a patchy, uneven meadow; it looks not only ugly but also hilarious.
"Pfft." Mela tried to hold back her laughter, but couldn't help bursting out. "W-what's going on with you?"
It was rare to see Mela stutter, but Silas not only lost his mood to laugh at her, but also became extremely frustrated because he himself was the joke.
It was precisely because it knew Mela would react this way that it didn't want her to see it!
Unfortunately, Mela still managed to catch them.
Silas wished he could turn back time and not even return to the cabin until he was fully recovered.
"Alright, tell me who bullied you, and I'll have Lex get revenge for you." Melak suppressed the smile on her face and said seriously.
Unfortunately, Silas wasn't blind; he could see the smile in her eyes, like the melting ice and snow in the river during early spring, flowing anew.
She clearly wanted to hear the story of how it was bullied. Silas thought dejectedly.
But its mouth opened on its own, allowing the answer that was stuck in its throat to find an outlet and come out on its own.
"It's all because of Lex's suggestion..."
To help Sylas win over his beloved Lily, Lex suggests that Sylas find a successful courtship role model to learn from, and maybe that will enlighten him.
Silas thought it was a good idea and immediately put it into action, flying all over the woods near the cabin and finding a pair of crows who were always very affectionate.
There was no other way; it was almost the height of summer, and the mating season was long over. Silas had no choice but to make do and learn from this couple how the male bird wins the female's heart.
Silas silently perched on a branch, not far from the nest built by the young crow couple, and could secretly observe their lives through the cover of the branches and leaves.
As Silas watched the male bird gently preen the female bird's feathers with its beak, he thought of how Mela had once gently stroked its body with her hand.
Mela's nails are usually trimmed into rounded shapes, like tiny white and pink seashells, nestled in Silas's feathers, tidying up any stray feathers that accidentally flutter away.
Feeling so comfortable, Silas couldn't help but turn around and gesture to Mela to want the other side too.
Suddenly, the rooster in his line of sight flew out of the nest. Silas quickly snapped back to reality, trying to figure out why it did this.
After a while, it returned, carrying a shiny stone in its mouth.
It turns out they were looking for pretty little stones to give as gifts.
Silas scrutinized the stone he had handed to the female bird with a critical eye. One part was too sharp and could easily scratch her beak; the pattern wasn't vibrant enough, and the area wasn't large enough; the color wasn't clear enough, and so on. He felt that it couldn't compare to any of the stones he had collected over the years.
Back then, the first stone Silas gave to Mela was one he had carefully selected for a long time, flying up and down mountains hundreds of times before finally deciding to bring back the most perfect one.
Silas still remembers the surprise in Mela's eyes when she received the stone it placed in her palm. She couldn't hide it at all, and was so happy that she clasped her hands together and hugged Silas tightly.
“It’s a really beautiful stone, I love it, thank you, Silas.”
At this moment, Silas didn't know how to hide his proud little emotions. He laughed out loud and excitedly promised to find more and prettier stones for Mela later.
Unfortunately, those beautiful stones, along with the house in Baisong Town, ended up in the hands of someone unknown.
Perhaps it was that greedy and annoying tax collector who always came to Mela's door to ask for small favors, and in the end, he would also ask Mela to give him free herbs.
Pah, how shameless.
Or perhaps it was Mrs. Jensen next door, who was always up to no good. She was jealous that Mela, a young girl, lived alone in such a big house, while her family of more than ten had to squeeze into every room of the house.
But it wasn't Mela who made her have seven or eight children in quick succession; Mela had even advised her that having too many children was bad for her health. I remember her face growing paler and paler, almost like a dead person about to lie in a coffin.
It was best that it ended up in the hands of kind-hearted Susan.
She would bake delicious bread and sausages, and even knit a soft, warm cushion for Silas. Of all the people in Whitepine Town, besides Mela, Silas loved her the most.
Unfortunately, her parents always tried to force her to get married.
If she could live in Mela's house, she would have a place to stay even without getting married.
Silas was so engrossed in his thoughts that he forgot to hold his breath and inadvertently revealed his presence.
Noticing that he was being spied on, the male bird took notice of Silas not far away and immediately took flight with great pride, flapping its wings and flying straight toward the enemy bird, Silas, and fiercely pecked out several feathers from Silas's neck and below with its beak.
Slow to react, Silas watched helplessly as his cherished feathers were pecked away. Enraged, he abandoned his plan to escape and stayed to fight the male bird, biting it back and forth.
Silas relentlessly stung the male bird's head, determined to make it pay for its actions.
So, did you win or lose?
Mela was already sitting in the rocking chair, holding the gauze and medicine powder, carefully pouring it onto Silas, who was lying on her lap.
"Hiss—" Silas gasped.
As soon as the powder touched the wound, it immediately felt a stinging pain, as if it had been soaked in salt water.
"Don't move." Mela didn't have a free hand to restrain Silas at the moment, so she could only use her eyes to signal it to be awkward and carefully shake off the powder that had been sprinkled on it.
Silas obediently held back.
Only after Mela examined every wound on its body, making sure they were all thoroughly covered with medicinal powder and then wrapped in gauze, was Silas finally able to move freely.
However, the gauze on its body restricts its wings, so Silas will probably have to walk on two legs like a free-range chicken for quite some time.
"Dear Mela, could you trim this bandage on my body with scissors? I don't want to be unable to fly." Silas tried to move Mela with his pitiful eyes and get her to agree to his request.
However, the heartless Mela refused Silas. Her smiling gaze swept over Silas, "Isn't it well wrapped? Round and plump, it's a black sesame pie."
"I think you're the one who wants black sesame pancakes," Silas thought to himself, but he didn't dare to actually go against Mela.
"Oh well, if it can't fly for now, it can't fly. It just means it won't be able to fly to Miss Lily for quite a while." Silas couldn't help but feel a little depressed.
And then there's Lex, who offered some useless advice; it only believed him in its haste.
Don't they realize that at Lex's age, and with him constantly chasing after Mela, he doesn't even have a crush on anyone. How could he possibly come up with any effective solutions for his pursuit of love?
Indeed, relying on oneself is better than relying on others. Silas thought to himself, "After making a decision, I still have to rely on my own methods."
"So when you finally stood up for yourself and fought with another bird, did you win or lose?"
Mela was still bothered by the question and insisted that Silas answer her.
"It's barely a draw," Silas said, whether to save face or because there was a real reason behind it, giving a very reluctant answer.
"Really?" Sure enough, Mela didn't believe it at all.
"Of course it's true! I even pecked off a lot of feathers from its head. Now it's half bald, I bet it's going to be disliked." Silas let out a wicked chuckle.
Despite being kept as a pet for so many years and having almost no wild instincts, Silas will not rest until it gets its revenge if you really anger it!
Yes, just like its owner, Mela. They are truly a loving couple who have been together for many years.
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