Holy crap! Did she just bludgeon Sheng Yize to death?!
She knelt down and hastily checked Sheng Yize.
He looked very pale. With his damp hair sticking to his cheeks, that little mole beneath his eye had a sickly beauty to it.
"Mhm… Sheng Yize! Sheng Yize, you're scaring me! Wake up!" An Xiaxia almost burst into tears.
Her crying was only met with silence.
-
When Sheng Yize woke up again, he was somewhat disoriented.
Above his head was a dilapidated brick-and-tile roof. He could even make out a spider busily weaving its web in the corner.
The bed beneath him felt quite hard. The duvet on him was worn at the edges, but it was very clean — he could even smell the sun on it.
Sitting up, he looked around the room. Judging from what was on display, he was in a farmhouse in the mountains.
He slowly walked out of the room. Outside, the sun was setting and the sky looked beautiful under the evening glow. Smoke from cooking curled in the air. He then saw An Xiaxia in floral-patterned clothes — she was helping a woman cut vegetables for dinner. The smile on her face even dazed him a little.
An Xiaxia looked up at that moment, probably noticing his footsteps. She then looked at him in pleasant surprise. "Sheng Yize, you're awake!"
"Yes," he replied. An Xiaxia then plunged into his arms. "Great! I'm so happy you're all right!"
Sheng Yize froze on the spot at this hug, then cleared his throat and pushed An Xiaxia away. "Stay away from me, Daisy."
An Xiaxia fumed. "What did you just call me? Daisy? Are you calling me rustic?! Let's see how handsome you are, Buck!"
She almost wanted to take a picture of him. There was nothing glamorous about him now. With the loose undershirt, the short sweatpants, and the slippers, nothing about him suggested that he was a national idol.
Sheng Yize's face darkened and he was going to retort when the woman smiled warmly and interjected. She had the thick accent of someone who lived in the mountain area. "You two are such an affectionate brother and sister pair. There, go sit inside. Dinner will be ready soon!"
An Xiaxia replied with a sweet smile. "Thank you, Auntie."
The woman smiled, then took the vegetables into the kitchen and began to make dinner.
Sheng Yize raised an eyebrow. "You better explain what is going on here."
Seething, An Xiaxia said, "Are you questioning me now? Why didn't you tell me you were hurt? You just passed out like that! Do you have any idea how worried I was? Thank god my dad taught me some first-aid measures, or you would have died there!"
"Tch… why did you think I was injured? To save you! An Xiaxia, you better get your facts straight," retorted Sheng Yize indifferently.
An Xiaxia suddenly stood on her tiptoes and covered his mouth with her hand, then said in a whisper, "Shh. I was afraid they might try something behind our backs, so I told them we're brother and sister. I'm not An Xiaxia now, but Sheng Xiaxia. You're my older brother and I'm your younger sister. Got it?"
Sheng Yize almost smiled at how cautious she was.
"Genetically speaking, it's very unlikely that I could have a younger sister as dumb as you." Sheng Yize offered a sarcastic comment.
An Xiaxia looked hurt. "Don't talk to me! Do you have any idea how heavy you are? I dragged you for so long and it was sheer luck that I ran into an uncle coming out of the village to collect herbs! You…"
She didn't know what to accuse him of after that "you." Stomping the ground, she stormed off.
Sheng Yize stood there dazed for two second before An Xiaxia turned around and went up to him with an innocent smile. "Sheng Yize, you have to thank me. I washed your underwear for you! Oh, and there's more: you really don't have much to look at! Hmph!"
Sheng Yize was the dumbfounded one now.