Wang Lun awoke in complete darkness. He rubbed his eyes, slowly opened them, and found himself surrounded by darkness. He instinctively looked up at the sky, realizing that night had already fallen. This meant he had spent most of the day in darkness. However, what puzzled him was that no one had come looking for him during this time. Thinking of this, Wang Lun shook his head helplessly.
Wang Lun slowly crawled out of the haystack, squinting as he adjusted to the light. Using the firelight, moonlight, and his familiarity with the camp, he cautiously made his way forward. Finally, he found the door of the earthen hut. He knocked gently, several times, until he heard a response from inside, then he pushed the door open and went in.
When Wang Lun entered the earthen house, the scene before him startled him. He saw Liu Ruoxi and her younger sister, Liu Ruoling, sitting by the fire pit, both looking up at him as he entered. However, Wang Lun didn't see Li Ling, and a sense of worry welled up inside him. He hurriedly asked, "Where's Li Ling?"
Liu Ruoling gestured with her lips, indicating to the person lying on the kang (heated brick bed). Wang Lun followed her gaze and saw Li Ling lying quietly on the bed, motionless. Liu Ruoxi said softly, "Perhaps Sister Li Ling is sick; she's been lying down."
Upon hearing this, Wang Lun felt a little flustered, but then he remembered how she had chased after him and chopped him up before, so he said irritably, "Alright, you've been lying in bed all day. You're not that delicate. I'll go check on you. It's getting dark and you still haven't cooked. All you do is lie around."
Liu Ruoling actually wanted Wang Lun to go and see what was wrong with Li Ling, but she absolutely didn't want him to go in his current state, as he was clearly still angry and she was worried he might do something drastic. So she quickly got up to stop Wang Lun, and Liu Ruoxi also stood up to stop him, advising him to give up, perhaps Li Ling really wasn't feeling well.
Despite Liu Ruoxi and Liu Ruoling's repeated dissuasion, Wang Lun finally gave up the idea of going to find Li Ling. With a helpless sigh, he could only sit by the fire pit and quietly watch the two sisters busily preparing dinner.
Watching the two busy sisters, Wang Lun couldn't help but think of Li Ling. He turned to look at the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and found Li Ling still lying there quietly, motionless. Wang Lun frowned slightly, but he didn't go over to ask about or inquire about Li Ling's condition. Despite some inner turmoil and worry, he decided to restrain himself and avoid getting involved with Li Ling any further.
However, Wang Lun was unaware that Li Ling had already woken up. She simply didn't want to get up. Li Ling was conflicted, unsure how to face Wang Lun, Liu Ruoxi, and Liu Ruoling, especially Wang Lun, whom she felt particularly awkward around. Therefore, she chose to lie quietly in bed, pretending to be still asleep. This way, no one would easily disturb her, and she wouldn't be put in an awkward situation.
However, Li Ling overlooked an important issue: physical hunger is not so easily ignored. Skipping just one meal might be bearable, but going without food for several meals in a row, or even going an entire day hungry, is simply unbearable!
Soon, the Liu sisters finished cooking, again making stewed smoked fish. Looking at the steaming food, Liu Ruoxi asked, "Should we call Sister Li Ling?" Wang Lun frowned upon hearing this, his tone somewhat displeased, and said, "Why call her? Isn't she sleeping? She'll cook for herself when she wakes up."
Liu Ruoling stood to the side, feeling that what she was doing was not right, but she didn't know what to do. One was her older sister, and the other was the unofficial leader among the four, so she could only silently lower her head and wait for them to make a decision.
Liu Ruoxi thought for a moment, but still insisted, "Let's shout it out. After all, we haven't eaten for almost a whole day. How can our bodies take it?"
However, Wang Lun still refused, his attitude firm. Helpless, Liu Ruoxi could only persuade him again: "Call him! You haven't eaten all day, how can you stand it? Don't starve yourself."
Unable to resist Liu Ruoxi's persuasion and his own heartache, Wang Lun finally said stubbornly, "You can call her if you want, I'm not going to. Ruoling, let's eat."
After saying that, he picked up a bowl and began to scoop out the stewed smoked fish. Seeing this, Liu Ruoling tactfully arranged the chopsticks for the two of them.
Seeing this, Liu Ruoxi glared at Liu Ruoling and then walked towards the kang (heated brick bed). Liu Ruoling understood that this was a way of telling her to be mindful and not just focus on eating herself, but also to get food for Li Ling and herself as well.
Li Ling sensed someone approaching, so she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
Liu Ruoxi approached and softly called to Li Ling, while gently tugging at Li Ling's blanket. Li Ling pretended to be woken up and said groggily, "What is it?" Liu Ruoxi said, "Sister Li Ling, get up and eat."
Li Ling rubbed her eyes and looked out the window. It was really dark. She then said to Liu Ruoxi, "How long have I been asleep? It's already dark."
"I don't know, maybe you're just too tired," Liu Ruoxi replied.
"Hmm, maybe." Li Ling yawned, stretched, and then sat up.
"Come and eat, the food is getting cold," Liu Ruoxi urged.
"Okay, I'll be right there," Li Ling replied. Then she got off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on her shoes, washed her face briefly, and then came back to eat.
When Li Ling returned, Liu Ruoxi had already prepared her meal, so she just had to wait to eat.
"Wow, this looks delicious!" Li Ling exclaimed, looking at the food on the table.
"Then let's eat quickly," Liu Ruoxi said with a smile.
The four of them began to enjoy dinner together, and the atmosphere was very warm and harmonious.
After a whole day, none of the four of them had eaten properly, and they were all starving, including Li Ling.
Before long, the four of them finished dinner. Li Ling quickly stopped Liu Ruoxi and the other girl, and went to wash the dishes by herself. Seeing this, Wang Lun grabbed a burning piece of firewood and followed closely behind her. He told Liu Ruoxi and the other girl to come along and wash up by the firelight. After they finished washing up, they could go back to rest.
Wang Lun and Li Ling had already taken a nap, so they weren't sleepy. Liu Ruoxi and the others didn't refuse either, because the reason was perfectly reasonable, leaving no room for refusal.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com