Chapter 74: Embarrassment and Annoyance

Xiao Huai’an looked at Ye Xin Ran, who appeared intoxicated by the moment, and it seemed like there was a fire burning in his pupils.

His rational mind told him that the timing and location were all wrong.

But his body was being more honest.

He pulled Ye Xin Ran’s slender waist and with a forceful motion, pressed her firmly against him.

The curve of the woman’s body fit perfectly against his, and at that moment, Xiao Huai’an wished time would stop forever.

“Look, isn’t there a resting place ahead? If you hadn’t led us the wrong way yesterday, we wouldn’t have had to spend the night in a tree,” he said.

“You didn’t tell me to go this way yesterday. Besides, if it weren’t for you wasting time, we wouldn’t still be wandering the mountain so late last night!” came Ye Xin Ran’s retort.

The voices of people talking could be heard from outside the house.

Xiao Huai’an’s expression turned cold.

He grabbed a small flower that had fallen to the ground and wrapped it around Ye Xin Ran.

Her face turned as red as a ripened apple as she lay under the blanket, slowly calming her emotions, when she heard someone push the door open and enter.

“Looks like someone’s here!” It was a young voice.

“Isn’t this Brother Xiao? You stayed here last night?”

Xiao Huai’an glanced at the two men, “Yeah, arrived on the mountain yesterday!”

“Ah, it’s all Li Ge’s fault. If he hadn’t taken the wrong route, we would’ve been here and could’ve slept with you last night.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the man called Li Ge immediately tugged at his sleeve, nodding toward the small lump in the bed.

The young man quickly realized, “Brother Xiao, did you bring someone up the mountain this time?”

His voice was filled with surprise.

Xiao Huai’an turned and glanced at the unmoving figure on the bed, tucking the blanket around them. “She’s my wife, specially came to accompany me.”

“Wife? Brother Xiao, you got married?” The young man asked, quite a few questions in his tone.

The older man beside him, Old Li, grabbed the young man’s arm and began pulling him toward the door, saying, “Alright, alright, Xiao Chai, can’t you see that his wife is embarrassed? Let’s go stand outside.”

Without giving the young man a chance to argue, Old Li dragged him out.

Ye Xin Ran, hidden under the blanket, waited until she heard no more noise from outside. Then she parted the blanket slightly and asked Xiao Huai’an with her lips, “Have they gone?”

Xiao Huai’an saw her like this and couldn’t help but smile, his eyebrows softening.

“It’s fine. They’re just hunters passing by. You can get up now.”

Ye Xin Ran felt a surge of frustration with nowhere to vent.

She knew they were hunters.

But why did these two have to come at this moment, of all times? Didn’t this ruin her plans?

And also, why wasn’t Xiao Huai’an angry?

Ye Xin Ran slowly got out of bed and put the flower quilt back into the space.

Then, she got up to check the rice in the pot.

She ignored Xiao Huai’an the entire time.

Xiao Huai’an didn’t know what was wrong with Ye Xin Ran, so he just followed her around and did whatever she was doing.

When Ye Xin Ran washed her face, he handed her the towel.

When Ye Xin Ran washed the rice, he fetched the water for her.

The two of them moved around the room silently, as if they had completely forgotten that there were two people outside.

The two outside weren’t in a hurry either. It wasn’t until Ye Xin Ran came out with the washed rice that the young man, Xiao Chai, spoke up: “Sister-in-law, hello! Brother Xiao is really lucky to have such a beautiful wife!”

“You’re just full of sweet talk!” Old Li scolded Xiao Chai and smacked his head, telling him to behave properly.

Ye Xin Ran glanced over and saw that the young man was only about sixteen or seventeen years old, while Old Li looked to be in his thirties.

The two were squatting outside the house, with the baskets they brought placed next to them.

Ye Xin Ran nodded at them.

She had already mixed the rice with soy sauce and other seasonings inside the house.

Now, she was carrying it out to put the rice into the bamboo tubes.

Xiao Huai’an followed her outside.

He stood by and watched as Ye Xin Ran filled the first bamboo tube.

After she finished, he took the bamboo tube from her hands. “I’ll take care of the rest!”

Ye Xin Ran didn’t say anything, handing him the spoon, watching as he slowly filled each bamboo tube.

She reminded him, “Fill it up to seven-tenths, or the bamboo tube will split when the rice cooks.”

As Ye Xin Ran was teaching Xiao Huai’an how to make bamboo rice, Old Li and Xiao Chai were watching with great interest.

“See that? After marriage, even the coldest men turn into wives’ servants,” Xiao Chai said.

“You don’t understand!” Old Li glanced at Ye Xin Ran’s white wrists, then awkwardly looked away.

“This is what you call a tough man with a soft heart. A man’s strength is for the outside world, but at home, he needs to treat his woman with care!

You’re still young, you don’t understand these things. Take this chance to learn more, it’ll do you no harm.”

Xiao Chai wasn’t convinced, but seeing how well the couple worked together, he couldn’t help but feel envious.

The rice that was soaked yesterday filled up eight bamboo tubes in total.

Once everything was filled, Xiao Huai’an dug a shallow pit in the ground and placed the eight bamboo tubes next to each other in the hole.

After covering the pit with soil, he started a fire on top and added more firewood to make the flames burn hotter.

Once all the work was done, Ye Xin Ran went back inside, and only then did Xiao Huai’an have time to deal with the other two.

“Did you just come up the mountain as well?”

Xiao Huai’an asked.

Old Li quickly looked away and replied, “Yes, we came up yesterday. But after it got dark, we couldn’t find the way, so we had to rest in the forest for the night.

When you leave, we’ll rest here for a bit before continuing.”

Xiao Huai’an nodded. “We’ll leave after breakfast.”

“Alright, then we’ll roast our flat breads on your fire.”

Old Li took out two flat breads made from mixed grains.

He skewered them with a stick and placed them on the fire.

These were the best dry rations they had.

They hadn’t planned on eating now.

But the aroma of the bamboo tube rice from the fire was so tempting that Old Li couldn’t resist wanting a bite of something better.

The fire slowly began to die down.

Xiao Huai’an moved the still-hot embers to one side and used a stick to dig out the bamboo tubes that had been buried earlier.

The bamboo tubes were scalding hot, yet the outer skin remained a fresh green.

Ye Xin Ran brought over some cold water.

After cooling the bamboo tubes in the water, Xiao Huai’an carefully opened one.

As soon as the lid of the bamboo tube was lifted, the fragrance of the rice mixed with the scent of bamboo immediately wafted out.

Fresh and inviting!

Old Li instantly felt that the flat breads in his hand no longer smelled appetizing.

Not only did they no longer smell good, but they also felt somewhat dry and hard to swallow.

He gulped down the last bite of his flat bread, quickly grabbed his water pouch, and began drinking.

Xiao Chai, standing nearby, was so overwhelmed by the aroma that he was almost dazed.

In all his life, he had never smelled such fragrant rice.

“Brother Xiao, Sister-in-law, what’s this made of? Why does it smell so good?”

“It’s just plain rice, with a bit of salt and other seasonings.”

“Impossible, absolutely impossible! Rice can’t have this kind of fragrance!” Xiao Chai shook his head repeatedly.

“Don’t believe me?”

Ye Xin Ran smiled. “Do you need to try it yourself to believe?”

Ye Xin Ran had already seen through his thoughts.