Chapter 174
by Need_More_SleepChapter 174: Wow, So Cute
[Process omitted.]
Long story short—because Yiwen had unwittingly drunk Mi Xiaoliu’s foot-washed water, she flew into a rage and beat the girl up right there in the stream. Now both of them were soaked.
“Watch closely, little brat. Do it like this.” Down to just her underwear, Yiwen dipped her shirt into the water, flipped it inside out, and twisted it over her mouth to wring out the moisture.
Did this filter out bacteria? Hell no. At best, it just removed the gritty texture of sand—though now it tasted faintly salty…
Totally normal. Even a beauty like her would sweat in this scorching heat.
For real hygiene, they’d need a proper filter and a container to boil the water.
If only we could find some edible berries. But every wild fruit they’d come across so far had been too risky to eat.
Ever since Yiwen hit her, Mi Xiaoliu had kept her distance.
She stared at Yiwen like a feral kitten still wary of humans—backing away pitifully whenever Yiwen approached. Even Yiwen, who hated her, couldn’t help but glance sideways.
This little stray knows exactly how to weaponize her cuteness.
As night fell, staying by the stream was out of the question—it was a hotspot for every animal in the forest.
Yiwen spent half the day building a makeshift tent. Surprisingly, it was easier than expected: gather suitable sticks, arrange them into shape, tie the joints with grass rope, then layer leaves on top and bottom.
Simple, but flimsy—a few taps would collapse it. Still, for someone with zero survival skills, Yiwen had done decently.
What’s it even good for? It wouldn’t stop rain or fool sharp-nosed predators. But if sealed tightly enough, it might keep some bugs out.
The heat made starting a fire for sleeping pointless, but they still needed it for food.
Without tools, small animals were the easiest to handle. Yiwen had spotted a porcupine earlier but wisely avoided it.
Fish it is. Her powers could just yoink them straight out of the water. No knife? A sharpened rock worked fine after some grinding.
Fish were annoying to prep—way worse than chickens or ducks. Why? Because Yiwen had never butchered one. Gutting and removing organs was as far as she got. Scaling a palm-sized fish? Too lazy. The “mud vein”? No clue.
She skewered the fish on cleaned twigs, then moved on to fire-making. The classic drill method—just spin a thin stick against a thicker one at high speed.
Note: Clear flammable debris first, unless you fancy starting a forest fire.
But the moment flames rose, Mi Xiaoliu backed even farther away.
Probably too hot. Honestly, Yiwen didn’t feel like cooking in this weather either.
She shot the girl with an irritated look. I’m doing all the work here.
Whatever. Just pretend she’s a kid.
“Come here.” Yiwen beckoned Mi Xiaoliu over to eat.
The girl glanced at the fire, then cautiously approached—only to rest her chin on Yiwen’s hand.
Yiwen: “??”
She couldn’t resist giving those soft cheeks a little pinch…
Wait, no!
“Who said I wanted to pet you?! Eat.” She shoved the grilled fish at her, exasperated.
Gotta admit, she’s cute. If only they didn’t have history.
No seasoning. No oil. Sloppy prep. Of course it tasted awful—the fishy stench made Yiwen gag.
But when she looked over, Mi Xiaoliu was nibbling away without flinching. How?!
Against her will, Yiwen felt a flicker of respect.
Fishing had inevitably attracted dangerous animals—like the bear now very dead by the stream, courtesy of Yiwen’s fists.
Mi Xiaoliu had moped for ages, convinced “Brother Bear” (From some cartoon) would never appear again.
But butchering a bear was way harder than a fish—impossible with just a stone knife—so Yiwen shelved the idea of bear meat for now.
After a meager meal, Yiwen propped her pants and shirt on sticks to dry by the fire.
The buzzing had already started. Mosquitoes. Great. All thanks to this little b*tch.
She glanced at Mi Xiaoliu, who was squatting nearby in a daze, then down at her own near-naked state. Unfair.
“Aren’t you gonna dry your clothes? Must be uncomfortable, all wet like that.”
“Master, keep your coat zipped. Don’t let this white-haired brat take advantage!” Sasha warned.
“Mm.”
Mi Xiaoliu scampered off.
Just as Yiwen thought she had left in displeasure, Mi Xiaoliu came running back.
Her trench coat was still neatly worn, but now she held two pieces of fabric hanging from a branch, carefully extending them toward the fire from a distance.
Heli said good, hygienic children should wash their underwear often.
It took Yiwen a full two seconds to realize what those two pieces of fabric were—and then a wicked grin spread across her face.
She walked over, crouched down, and lifted Mi Xiaoliu’s trench coat up to her belly. “Wow. So cute.”
Mi Xiaoliu looked down at her silently.
Meanwhile, Sasha in her mind was already cursing Raven and Riels with the vilest words imaginable.
They stayed like that for several seconds, but Mi Xiaoliu showed no reaction whatsoever. A strange sense of guilt suddenly washed over Yiwen, forcing her to quickly let go. She pretended nothing had happened and returned to the fire.
Let’s just pretend that didn’t happen.
Once the clothes were fully dry, she put out the fire, plunging everything into darkness. Only faint moonlight outlined the shapes of objects.
She had no idea what time it was, but it was definitely nowhere near her usual bedtime.
With limited time, she’d only made one large tent, so the two of them had to squeeze in together. The bed of leaves beneath them was cool enough, but covering the outside with more leaves for bug protection made the air stifling.
Keeping watch was pointless—if a wild animal came, it would knock the tent over, and at least one of them would wake up. Whoever it was could just beat the intruder to a pulp.
She couldn’t sleep at all, but she also had no intention of talking to the little brat. What’s her deal, anyway? She actually hadn’t said a single word to her all day.
Normally, she’d have her phone to kill time. Without it, the hours dragged, and her mind wandered uncontrollably.
Who knew how much time passed? Yiwen’s thoughts spiraled from “Will we even get rescued?” all the way back to “That time I peed the bed as a kid and tried to blame Dad.”
Then, suddenly, she felt Mi Xiaoliu wrap her arms around her, even throwing a leg over her.
Mi Xiaoliu likes hugging something when she sleeps.
But being held like this made Yiwen uncomfortable, so she pushed her away. Not long after, Mi Xiaoliu hugged her again.
Push. Hug. Push. Hug.
“If you hug me again, I’m gonna grope you.” To prove her point, Yiwen deliberately ran a hand along Mi Xiaoliu’s thigh.
The texture was honestly great. She let her hand wander higher.
Mi Xiaoliu turned away.
Yiwen was very satisfied.
But then, when she actually fell asleep, it was Yiwen who ended up clinging to Mi Xiaoliu in her sleep—which, as it turned out, was the real reason her face had ended up pressed against “that filthy fabric” earlier.
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
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