Qi Shaorong continued to eat while listening to the girl narrating their miserable experience. When the girl saw Qi Shaorong eating happily, she couldn't help but feel a little wronged in her heart.
Qi Shaorong hiccuped and said to Zhuang Hao, "I'm going to take a rest, you can do whatever you want."
The girl who had been talking pitifully at the side looked at Qi Shaorong, her eyes full of resentment.
Qi Shaorong yawned and thought: There are so many poor and pitiful people in this world, towards this privileged young master and young lady, he didn't feel any pity at all.
"Wait a minute." Zhuang Hao quickly tidied up an empty space on the ground and took out a small cabin from the storage space in his earring. Although the cabin was small, it had all the necessary parts, and the furnishing inside was excellent.
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao and said with some surprise, "I didn't expect this, you're quite prepared!"
Zhuang Hao smiled and said, "I also put some incense inside that can repel insects, so you don't need to worry about any mosquitoes biting you at night."
Qi Shaorong: "…" This was the first time he's experienced this gentle and thoughtful side of Zhuang Hao.
Qi Shaorong tugged at the quilt on the bed, frowned, and as if deliberately trying to find fault [1], said, "This quilt is so light!"
"This quilt was woven from the silk of a thousand-year-old fire silkworm, the inside is padded with fleece and is very warm." Zhuang Hao said.
Chen Yuan heard Zhuang Hao's words and scratched his head. Who would've ever thought that one day, Zhuang Hao would become this much of a try-hard [2], he's really doing his best kissing up to Qi Shaorong.
Qi Shaorong weighed the quilt in his hand and said, "It's too light, is there a thicker one?"
Chen Yuan was stunned by Qi Shaorong's words. Zhuang Hao has already compromised this much for him, Qi Shaorong this guy, still wasn't willing to make things easier for him.
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "There is."
Qi Shaorong froze for a moment and said, "Take it out."
Zhuang Hao took out a colourful quilt and said, "This quilt was made from seven-coloured cotton and it can automatically adjust the temperature."
Qi Shaorong looked at the quilt that Zhuang Hao took out and said with satisfaction, "I like this one."
Zhuang Hao smiled and said, "That's good."
Qi Shaorong took the quilt and said, "I'm going to bed now." Qi Shaorong carried the quilt into the cabin and closed the door.
Chen Yuan walked towards Zhuang Hao, patted Zhuang Hao on the shoulder, and said, "A-Hao! You're very well prepared! Did you happen to get a cabin for yourself too?! If you didn't I'm afraid you're going to have to squeeze into a tent with me."
Zhuang Hao glanced at Chen Yuan and said, "Tonight we'll be keeping vigil, I'll keep watch until midnight, and it'll be your turn after midnight. You should take the time now to rest."
Chen Yuan: "…" Just why did he choose to open his mouth and meddle?
After Zhuang Hao finished speaking, he sat down by the fire, leaned against a tree, and began practising his magic.
As Zhuang Hao meditated by the fire, the young master and little lady who had been ignored by Qi Shaorong walked towards Zhuang Hao and sat down next to him.
"Gongzi, is the one in the cabin your husband!"
"He's my wife." Zhuang Hao felt that he was a pretty tolerant person, but the matter of who's top and bottom can't be mixed up.
[T/n: Bruhhh lol.]
"He doesn't seem to have a good temper!" The girl said.
Zhuang Hao nodded and said, "It's really not that good."
"He also seems to be a little petty."
Zhuang Hao nodded and said, "Right! It's more than just a little." Chen Yuan had offended Qi Shaorong in the past, and Qi Shaorong has held it against him for so long.
"Gongzi, this wife of yours seems to be a little biased against you!"
Zhuang Hao smiled bitterly and said, "Yes! He really doesn't like me that much."
When the girl heard Zhuang Hao's answer, she felt a little more confident in her heart, "Gongzi, such a noble and benevolent person like you, why are you so fixated on one person? You can definitely find someone better."
"I don't want to find anyone else." Zhuang Hao said lightly.
The girl choked and was unable to respond to Zhuang Hao's words, and her smile stiffened on her face.
"Gongzi, he has so many shortcomings, you don't mind that?"
"I like him, so no matter how many shortcomings he has, I can only bear with it." Zhuang Hao said.
The girl looked at Zhuang Hao sympathetically and said, "Gongzi, this must cause a lot of inconvenience for you."
Zhuang Hao turned his head to look at the girl and said solemnly, "When it comes to matters of the heart, one can only know best by personal experience [3]. The people I like, no matter how bad they are, I can put up with it, but for the people I don't like, no matter how good they might be, I wouldn't spare them a second glance. Miss, you don't need to be bothered with my business, you should probably go to sleep now."
The girl looked at Zhuang Hao a few times, and left, feeling a little wronged.
After sleeping for a while, Qi Shaorong came out.
"You haven't slept yet!" Qi Shaorong sat down beside Zhuang Hao.
Zhuang Hao glanced at Qi Shaorong and said, "I was waiting for Chen Yuan to come change shifts, but that guy seems to have overslept. Are you not going back to sleep? It's still early."
[T/n: Ok but why didn't Zhuang Hao just go and wake Chen Yuan up if that's the case lol.]
"Not anymore, I don't feel that sleepy right now." Qi Shaorong waved his hand in front of his nose, "What a strong stench of perfume! You weren't sitting alone! You had a beauty accompanying you! You must've been very happy."
"What a strong smell of vinegar! Tsk tsk…" Zhuang Hao laughed.
Qi Shaorong's face sank and he said unpleasantly, "Who did you just call jealous?"
Zhuang Hao smiled at the fire and said, "En, not you, you're not jealous."
[T/n: To eat vinegar means to feel jealous, so here they're using the phrase "eating vinegar.]
Qi Shaorong saw Zhuang Hao secretly smiling and felt a little out of sorts, "You haven't answered me yet, being in the company of a beauty, didn't you wish that the night could drag on for longer!"
"Beauty? She's… not nearly as good-looking as I am." Zhuang Hao said.
Qi Shaorong: "…"
Zhuang Hao leaned close to Qi Shaorong's ear and said, "Although she's not as good-looking as me, you are better-looking than me. With you accompanying me here, I really do feel that the longer the night is, the better."
Qi Shaorong: "…" Zhuang Hao, this guy, was he teasing him now?
"I'm good-looking? In the past, you didn't like me very much! I'm so handsome, yet you still didn't like me?" Qi Shaorong asked. Before his identity as the Ghost Doctor was exposed, Zhuang Hao, this jerk, really despised him!
Zhuang Hao smiled and said, "I'm someone who cares more about what's on the inside."
Qi Shaorong: "…" Zhuang Hao this guy, really isn't afraid of saying anything! Caring about what's on the inside, as if.
"That girl confessed to you?" Qi Shaorong glanced at Zhuang Hao.
Zhuang Hao nodded and said calmly, "Yes!"
"Aren't you happy!" Qi Shaorong asked.
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong with some puzzlement and asked, "Happy? Why should I be happy?"
"Someone confessed to you, why wouldn't you be happy?" Qi Shaorong asked, confused.
"I've gotten used to it already, I don't feel anything from it now." Zhuang Hao said.
Qi Shaorong twitched and said, "You've gotten used to it?"
Zhuang Hao nodded and said, "Yes, I'm used to it. When I was five years old, someone told me that she wanted to marry me no matter what. When I was seven, the first thing I'd do when I got to school every day was to clean out all the love letters left inside my desk. When I was twelve, I had already become the public enemy of all the youths in the Imperial Capital…"
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao and thought to himself: What's this guy doing, showing off?
Zhuang Hao turned his head, looked at Qi Shaorong, and said, "Shaorong, have you ever received a confession before?"
Qi Shaorong: "…" What's Zhuang Hao trying to do now! Was he looking down on him? "This Young Master is such a peerless talent, I've been confessed to by countless people."
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "Oh really! What kinds of people?!"
Qi Shaorong was annoyed and looked at Zhuang Hao, saying, "What are you asking all these questions for? What, do you suspect that this Young Master doesn't have any admirers? That I'm trying to trick you?"
"Of course not? You're so charming, how could you not have any admirers?" Zhuang Hao said.
Qi Shaorong nodded, feeling satisfied, and said, "It's good that you know."
"When I confessed to you before, how did you feel!" Zhuang Hao asked.
Qi Shaorong curled his mouth and said, "Confessed, when did you confess to me?"
Zhuang Hao glanced at Qi Shaorong and said, "Did you forget, I told you before that I liked the Ghost Doctor, aren't you the Ghost Doctor? Then doesn't that count as a confession? How did you feel at the time!"
Qi Shaorong turned his head and looked at Zhuang Hao, saying, "I only felt one thing at the time. Everyone said that Zhuang Hao, the young master of the Zhuang Family, was a peerless genius, but it's really too insulting to call you a genius. If even a blockhead can be called a genius, then there must be geniuses everywhere."
Zhuang Hao: "…"
In the tent, Chen Yuan was listening in on Zhuang Hao and Qi Shaorong's conversation.
Originally, Chen Yuan had been ready to go out to change shifts with Zhuang Hao. However, when Chen Yuan found out that Qi Shaorong had come out of the cabin, he withdrew back into the tent. Chen Yuan was certain that if he went out and disturbed the Zhuang Hao and Qi Shaorong two-person world [4], Zhuang Hao definitely wouldn't appreciate it.
Chen Yuan perked his ears and secretly eavesdropped on the conversation between Zhuang Hao and Qi Shaorong.
"So you're keeping watch tonight alone? I heard Yi Fan say that you'll be switching shifts with Chen Yuan tonight." Qi Shaorong asked.
Zhuang Hao nodded and said, "Yes! But Chen Yuan, this guy, isn't reliable at all, if he's the one keeping vigil here, and a monster beast comes charging here after a while, he probably wouldn't even realize. So, I'll just do it alone." Zhuang Hao said.
Chen Yuan: "…" Was he really that unreliable? When they had gone out traveling in the wild before, it's not like Zhuang Hao, that guy, cared that much about him either!
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao and said, "With such a bad helper, it must be very hard on you."
Zhuang Hao nodded and said, "It is very hard, but I'm used to it."
Chen Yuan rolled his eyes, yawned, and went back to sleep.
In the early morning, Zhuang Hao sat by the firepit lighting a fire. Chen Yuan stretched lazily and sat next to Zhuang Hao.
"Did you stay up all night yesterday?"
Zhuang Hao nodded and said, "Yeah, I kept waiting for you to come, but you never did."
Chen Yuan rolled his eyes and said, "I wanted to, but when I was about to go over, I found that you were busy, so I just went back to sleep."
"So that's what happened, you can continue to sleep then." Zhuang Hao said.
Chen Yuan: "…"
"Young Master Zhuang, I have some pastries here, would you like some?" The girl walked over holding some pastries.
Chen Yuan poked Zhuang Hao with his elbow and said, "You're so blessed! You won't go hungry no matter where you go."
Zhuang Hao glanced at Chen Yuan and said, "Miss, I've already eaten, so there's need."
Chen Yuan looked at her and said, "Miss, if Zhuang Hao doesn't want it, I'll eat it! I just so happen to feel a little hungry right now, how about you give some to me."
The girl glared at Chen Yuan and left angrily.
Footnotes:
Deliberately trying to find fault: To look for bones in an egg.
Try-hard: Not an exact translation, the original words mean something like "to lose money instead of being paid" (i.e. somebody should pay me, but is actually taking my money), or it can be used to describe a woman paying for the upkeep of her paramour (lover). I was very tempted to just call Zhuang Hao a simp here instead lol.
Personal experience: The person who drinks it knows best whether the water is hot or cold (Zen proverb); self-awareness comes from within.
Two-person world: "World with only two people" usually refers to a romantic couple.