“Is this for me to eat?” Yan Yu’an held the flower and looked it over again and again in confusion, while Xie Ji carried the thin mud and started building the house.
“Yes, yes!” A Xuan nodded like a pecking chicken.
Yan Yu’an was silent for a long while, then stuffed the flower into his mouth. In an instant a disgusting, foul stench rushed at him. He forced down the urge to gag and swallowed the flower.
A Xuan stared at him eagerly—this was a medicinal herb it had searched a long time to find, one that could restore its master’s spiritual power.
Seeing it like this, Yan Yu’an nodded silently.
A Xuan was delighted and started hopping around Yan Yu’an. Yan Yu’an noticed that the two big horns on A Xuan’s head seemed to have grown a little bigger.
Ning Bingque naturally noticed that Yan Yu’an’s expression wasn’t good. He thought for a moment and leaned close. “How about spitting it out?” He paused and pinched Yan Yu’an’s fair cheek. “If you don’t like eating it, don’t.”
Yan Yu’an shook his head. He didn’t tell Ning Bingque that in his heart he believed A Xuan wouldn’t lie to him—and besides, the moment he saw this flower, he felt it could help him restore his spiritual power.
Could it be that he really was the God-Slaying Grass they’d been looking for? The thought suddenly popped into Yan Yu’an’s mind.
Then he shook his head again. How could that be…
When Shen Yuanzhou came back, he saw Ning Bingque pinching his Snake Queen’s face, not knowing what he was saying.
He gave a cold glance at Xie Ji, who was working until drenched in sweat, and couldn’t help pursing his lips. He tossed the wood onto the ground and looked at Ning Bingque. “Aren’t you going to help?”
Ning Bingque raised an eyebrow—then he saw Yan Yu’an beside him shoot over with a whoosh, pick up the wood, and get ready to start working.
Shen Yuanzhou: “…” I didn’t mean you.
Shen Yuanzhou wanted to tell Yan Yu’an this, but he glanced at Ning Bingque again, and his expression wasn’t very good.
Then he wiped the sweat off his head and started working.
Ning Bingque raised an eyebrow and glanced somewhat smugly at Shen Yuanzhou, whose face was written all over with displeasure, then joined the work crew too.
Fortunately, Xie Ji was quite skilled at building houses in his tribe, and with the other three helping, a wooden house quickly took shape.
“Let’s leave it at this for today.” Xie Ji gathered some dry grass into a pile. “I think it’ll rain later. Good thing we were fast.”
This was just a very simple wooden house, but luckily it should be enough to shelter them from wind and rain. Yan Yu’an decided that tomorrow he’d find a way to fire some red bricks, so they wouldn’t have to worry about the roof leaking when it rained.
Just as Xie Ji had said, that night a torrential downpour began. Yan Yu’an wanted to find Shen Yuanzhou to talk but had no chance, so he could only be patient and wait to ask tomorrow.
“Leaking, leaking!” A Xuan, sitting in the basket, kept patting its head with both claws. It called loudly to Yan Yu’an.
Yan Yu’an froze and couldn’t help secretly laughing, then moved A Xuan to another spot.
“Drowned rat!” Xie Ji mocked. This was a phrase he’d learned from Yan Yu’an before—it roughly meant describing someone as very bedraggled.
Though he didn’t know why a person would be described as a chicken, seeing A Xuan like this, he still couldn’t help mocking it.
A Xuan: “…” If not for its master needing to protect him, it would definitely bite this annoying man to death.
The rain fell heavily, but the house Xie Ji had built was very sturdy. Apart from a few leaking spots, they were dry all over.
“I want to go back to the tribe.”
That night, no one had gone to sleep yet—the constant wind and rain were too noisy to sleep.
Xie Ji suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
Yan Yu’an looked at Xie Ji and couldn’t help pressing his lips together, wanting to step forward and comfort him.
He knew lions had always been social animals. Being away from the tribe this long, it was only natural to miss it.
Ning Bingque, on the other hand, only gave a scoffing laugh. “Are you a cub who hasn’t been weaned yet?”
“You!” Xie Ji was furious, but he couldn’t do anything to Ning Bingque—otherwise his An’an would definitely be unhappy.
But unexpectedly, Yan Yu’an gave Ning Bingque a light, measured smack, his tone a little displeased. “I want to go home too.”
Yes—Yan Yu’an actually missed home a little too.
Though that place had been ruined beyond recognition by the apocalypse, he still remembered that peaceful era, and he also remembered the good memories from his school days.
Ning Bingque didn’t dare make a sound. Shen Yuanzhou pulled Yan Yu’an over from Ning Bingque’s side, his voice muffled. “Sleep.”
Yan Yu’an nodded. By the firelight, he saw Xie Ji’s expression was a little lost. After thinking for a moment, he got up from Shen Yuanzhou’s arms and sat down beside Xie Ji.
He reached out and hugged Xie Ji, then gently patted his back. “Sleep.”
Shen Yuanzhou: “…”
Ning Bingque: “…” This little brat really has it good.
…
He didn’t know when the rain had stopped. Yan Yu’an blearily opened his eyes and saw Xie Ji’s long eyelashes.
Perhaps because Xie Ji’s whole body was too hot, Yan Yu’an felt himself sweating all over. He couldn’t help shifting outward a little.
Noticing he’d moved away, Xie Ji muttered discontentedly, then scooped him back into his arms with one big hand.
Yan Yu’an had no choice but to stay quietly in his embrace.
The night passed. Crisp birdsong woke Yan Yu’an. He couldn’t help rubbing his eyes—there was no one beside him anymore.
Only A Xuan lay in the rattan basket, sleeping soundly.
He couldn’t help smiling, and when he walked out he saw Xie Ji, Shen Yuanzhou, and Ning Bingque already busy again.
For a moment, Yan Yu’an suddenly felt this feeling was wonderful—but it didn’t disgust him. On the contrary, he felt this feeling could be called happiness.
Time passed quickly. Tonight there was no rain. The moon hung high in the night sky, and the cries of cicadas could be heard by his ear.
Today the house had been built better than yesterday. A Xuan had also gone out and brought back some flowers and plants whose names he didn’t know for him to eat.
Miraculously, he could feel a wondrous sensation in his chest.
“Shen Yuanzhou.” He called Shen Yuanzhou’s name, then went out. Though Xie Ji and Ning Bingque were puzzled, they couldn’t bring themselves to eavesdrop, so they could only watch the two’s departing figures eagerly.
He didn’t know how long it had been before Yan Yu’an stopped walking. He turned to look at the tall man before him, his gaze landing on his firm muscles.
Shen Yuanzhou knew what Yan Yu’an had called him out for. He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then said: “I don’t know either.”
His words left Yan Yu’an utterly baffled. He looked at Shen Yuanzhou in disbelief, his mouth falling open to reveal a small flash of white teeth.
“Then why did you say I’m your Snake Queen?”
Shen Yuanzhou could see the disbelief written all over those pretty eyes. His heart couldn’t help stirring, and he tilted his head in thought. “I only know that when I was little, my parents told me I was the future Snake King.”
Shen Yuanzhou had bitten all his brothers and sisters to death the moment he was born, so he didn’t understand how Xie Ji felt.
He paused, a trace of confusion in his eyes. “My parents told me you were my Snake Queen.”
Yan Yu’an couldn’t help his eyes going wide again. He swallowed and continued listening to Shen Yuanzhou.
“But what’s strange is, last time I brought you home, my parents didn’t seem to recognize you. And I remember the first time I saw you, you didn’t seem to look like this either.” As Shen Yuanzhou spoke, he couldn’t help pulling Yan Yu’an into a hug, burying his head in Yan Yu’an’s shoulder.
Instinctively Yan Yu’an felt something was off, but he couldn’t put it into words. He only patted Shen Yuanzhou’s back lightly to comfort him.
“So I kept looking for you—looked for a long time, and finally found you.”
He spoke with a muffled, nasal tone, sounding a little different from his usual cold self. Like this, he actually seemed a bit cuter.
Yan Yu’an thought for a moment and said: “Then did I live with you before?”
Shen Yuanzhou nodded at once. “But that was a very long time ago. I was still a cub, and so were you.”
Yan Yu’an thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright, let’s head back first.” As he spoke, he wanted to pull Shen Yuanzhou away.
But unexpectedly, no matter how he pulled, he couldn’t move Shen Yuanzhou. So Yan Yu’an couldn’t help glancing back at him—but what he never expected was that the moment he turned back, Shen Yuanzhou’s lips came down.
Yan Yu’an was astonished. He wanted to push away this man holding him so tightly, but how could his strength compare to Shen Yuanzhou’s?
The scorching kiss made his legs a little weak. In the gap when Shen Yuanzhou released his lips, he heard Shen Yuanzhou’s voice, aggrieved and pitiful.
“My Snake Queen, I want to kiss you.”
Yan Yu’an thought: you’ve already kissed me.
But inexplicably, he always felt an unusual ache in his heart for this man before him. Seeing his attitude soften, Shen Yuanzhou was happy.
He didn’t know how long it was before Shen Yuanzhou released him. He earnestly wiped away the saliva that had flowed out, carefully looking at Yan Yu’an’s cheeks, flushed red in the moonlight.
“Snake Queen…”
He called Yan Yu’an’s name again, and then Yan Yu’an felt a big furry head rest against his shoulder. “You’re mine!”
Yan Yu’an silently patted Shen Yuanzhou, but waves surged in his heart. He could feel something deep inside him clamoring to be with Shen Yuanzhou.
But inexplicably, he thought of Xie Ji and Ning Bingque again.
He was a scumbag. For the first time, Yan Yu’an thought this.
His silence displeased Shen Yuanzhou somewhat, but he seemed to be wary of something, so he only lightly bit Yan Yu’an’s lips, then led the dazed Yan Yu’an back to their temporary home.
“Oh, you’re back?”
Xie Ji’s voice was full of resentment, and carried a deadly anger.
Yan Yu’an snapped back to his senses. He looked at Xie Ji, who was watching him and Shen Yuanzhou, then at Ning Bingque, who sat on the haystack sizing him up. He pressed his lips together, somewhat unable to speak.
He cautiously glanced at Shen Yuanzhou beside him, whose face was expressionless. Shen Yuanzhou only nodded faintly, as if he didn’t notice the resentful aura on Xie Ji.
“Mm.”
That one light, airy word instantly set Xie Ji alight. The expressions on his face were so rich they were a little frightening.
Yan Yu’an was just about to say something when he saw the furious lion turn his head and point his butt at him.
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