The First Night

Feeling Xiang Wan's small hand clutching his fingers, Huo Xiao's face turned embarrassingly red again.

"Coo, coo, coo—"

Xiang Wan felt a bit embarrassed as she covered her stomach, but there was no way around it. She hadn't eaten anything since getting off the train, and she had been forced to run for quite a distance. Her energy was completely depleted

"Wait here for me, I'll bring you something to eat," He couldn't bear to see her hungry. He gave her some instructions and then left to borrow some food from the neighbor.

After Grandpa Huo passed away, he had been living alone in the countryside. Being a man, he had very few demands – as long as he didn't starve, it was fine. Consequently, there was hardly any food at his home.

But now that she was here, he couldn't bear to let her make do with what little he had.

Though he said it was the neighboring house, in reality, it wasn't very close. There were only two or three families at the foot of the mountain, and none of them were particularly close by.

While he was out, she took the opportunity to take some snacks from her bag and placed them on the table.

She was famished. Xiang Wan quickly grabbed a piece of chocolate mousse and savored it, letting out a satisfied sigh.

She had also bought some snacks from the Shop and pretended to take them out from her bag, placing them alongside the others.

Soon, Huo Xiao returned, carrying a food container in his hands.

"Eat while it's hot, see if it suits your taste," Huo Xiao placed the meal next to the snacks.

"These are the snacks I brought in my bag. You should try some too." She said while picking up her chopsticks to eat.

She was truly famished, and the scent of the food made her stomach grumble uncontrollably.

The meal was just simple home-cooked dishes, even lacking any meat. However, she was enjoying it immensely.

After eating half a bowl of rice, she put down her chopsticks with a satisfied expression.

She regretted having that small piece of cake earlier. Now, she couldn't eat much of the food.

"Aren't you eating more? Why so little?" Huo Xiao quickly finished a bowl of rice and looked at her, thinking that the food might not suit her taste.

"I'm full! I have a small appetite, so I can't eat much." She explained.

Huo Xiao made a mental note to learn from Auntie Wu in the future. He needed to find ways to get Xiang Wan to eat more.

Auntie Wu was Huo Xiao's neighbor and was known in the village for her excellent cooking skills. She had previously worked as a cook in the commune.

Drinking orange juice she had just bought from the Shop, Xiang Wan looked at him, who was still eating, and said, "If you don't mind, you can finish my half bowl of rice too."

She knew that in this era, getting rice and flour in the countryside wasn't easy. He would probably feel bad about it if the food was wasted like this.

He agreed with a nod, took the bowl from her, and began to eat the remaining rice. But his ears turned as red as if they were about to bleed.

Huo Xiao, who was devouring his meal, suddenly started chewing and swallowing slowly, taking small mouthfuls of the rice.

Unaware of his peculiar behavior, Xiang Wan was still contemplating how to arrange a reasonable and comfortable place to stay for the night

With nothing available at the moment, meeting her usual requirements was out of the question!

After finishing his meal, Huo Xiao cleaned up the dishes and tidied the table. He then placed a kettle on the stove to boil water.

"I only have one bed here. You can sleep on the bed tonight, and I'll make do with the area near the cabinet."

"Okay. Let's tidy up now; it's getting dark outside." She said quickly.

He removed his bedding and laid out a new one on the bed for her.

The new bedding was slightly thicker, indicating that it was recently purchased. His family had always kept this spare bedding for emergencies.

As she touched the quality of the bedding, she felt like she was about to break down.

It was impossible to sleep on this! The fabric was so rough that her skin would quickly turn red from lying on it.

She did not care if it was practical or not. While he was packing, she bought the most expensive four-piece bedding set from the Shop and pretended to take it out from her bag.

"Help me lay out this one. I think it's better." She handed the set to him and the two of them worked together to make the bed.

"Can I take a shower? I've had such a rough day!"

"Please wait a moment, the water isn't ready yet, but it will be soon," Huo Xiao said, running out to check on the water.

Looking at her clothes, she realized that she wouldn't be able to wear them after taking a shower. Taking advantage of his absence, she quickly entered the Shop and bought a pair of pajamas.