Xu Yuanzhou was unwilling to admit that he felt timid.
Although he was indeed scared.
Somehow, even someone as slow-witted as him could vaguely sense that Longzhao Village was a strange place.
This time he came out with Jiang Chuyan, and Bai Ke also joined the team.
Xu Yuanzhou's pride was too much for him to show any fear. If not, he would have probably already been planning to run away.
"I really didn't have a sleepwalking problem before..."
In the hall, Liu Tianyu, who was besieged by Xu Yuanzhou and Bai Ke, was still trying to defend himself.
"Besides, even if I didn't sleep well last night, I'm not the only one talking in my sleep, right?"
A layer of greasy sweat beads appeared on the forehead of the slightly plump boy, and he stammered.
"Weren't you two talking in your sleep last night?"
"Huh? We were talking in our sleep? Liu Tianyu, haven't you fucking dreamed enough?"
Xu Yuanzhou became furious.
"I, I wasn't dreaming. Didn't you guys keep making those weird noises last night—"
"Fuck, Liu Tianyu, you're addicted to talking nonsense here, right?"
When Xu Yuanzhou heard Liu Tianyu say this, the veins on his forehead popped out.
It was true that he and Bai Ke had slept in the same bed last night, but nothing had happened between them. However, Liu Tianyu's words made it seem as if there was something ambiguous between him and Bai Ke.
What if Jiang Chuyan beside him misunderstood this...
Xu Yuanzhou clenched his fists, his eyes slightly bulged, and glared at Liu Tianyu fiercely.
"Hey, is this necessary?"
At the critical moment, it was He Yuan who interrupted the quarrel between Xu Yuanzhou and Liu Tianyu.
The tall boy, arms folded across his chest, leaned against the stair railing, looking at the other two with nothing but annoyance. "...You act like you've never lived in a dorm before. I've accumulated these stinky, flabby socks for three semesters, and you haven't even seen me complain about them. And now you can't stand someone talking in their sleep? Do you really have to be so precious?"
The last complaint coming out of He Yuan's mouth was particularly ironic.
The three people in the hall who were originally blaming each other changed their expressions.
Jiang Chuyan couldn't help but sigh secretly.
To be honest, it is true that even if the four of them were added together, they were not as "precious" as He Yuan alone. However, when He Yuan said this, he took everyone's dissatisfaction onto himself, but He Yuan still looked indifferent.
Arrogance is real arrogance.
...but there is also a kind of youthful, reckless innocence.
Although the word "naive" does not fit He Yuan at all, Jiang Chuyan feels that way.
"Liu Tianyu, you should go back to the second floor today."
In order to prevent the early morning study group from turning into a fighting group, Jiang Chuyan said with a wry smile.
Finally, he turned to Xu Yuanzhou and Bai Ke and said, "Listen again tonight to see if anyone is talking in their sleep. If it's still noisy, roll up some toilet paper and plug your ears. We're all classmates, and this is our first time in this remote mountain village, so please be tolerant of each other."
"Well, Chu Yan is right."
He Yuan immediately agreed, and the rebellious air in his body suddenly disappeared, and he looked well-behaved.
"Tsk."
When Xu Yuanzhou saw He Yuan's artificially obedient appearance, he couldn't help but snort coldly.
"Oh."
He Yuan's sneer seemed to ring in his ears.
As soon as he raised his eyes, Xu Yuanzhou met He Yuan's gaze. The two looked at each other, then turned their heads away at the same time, with extreme disgust for each other in their eyes.
"Oh, that's right. If the young master doesn't care, then there's nothing for us to worry about."
Xu Yuanzhou responded sarcastically.
"Well, the second floor might actually be more comfortable anyway. Look, He Yuan and Chu Yan, they look like they slept very well. Old Liu, we're not excluding you or anything. It's just that you were too restless last night. We didn't sleep well either, didn't you? You should go back."
Bai Ke had already vented his emotions at this time. Seeing the gratitude on Liu Tianyu's face after being comforted by Jiang Chuyan, his eyes flickered, and when he spoke to Liu Tianyu again, he immediately became gentle.
"But speaking of which, Mr. He, you and Brother Chu Yan's living habits are surprisingly compatible. Even though this building has poor sound insulation, it didn't bother you at all."
Then Bai Ke looked at He Yuan and Jiang Chuyan meaningfully and added.
Hearing that Bai Ke had put Jiang Chuyan and He Yuan together again, Xu Yuanzhou curled his lips: "Chuyan sleeps very well. When I slept on the floor at his house, I was worried that he might have fainted in the middle of the night, and I always wanted to get up and check his breath..."
As expected, as soon as Xu Yuanzhou finished speaking, he saw He Yuan's expression instantly become gloomy.
A sense of pleasure flashed through his mind, and a smile appeared on Xu Yuanzhou's lips. Unconsciously, he looked at Jiang Chuyan.
"…"
Jiang Chuyan inadvertently met Xu Yuanzhou's eyes.
That dark and sticky possessiveness made Jiang Chuyan frown.
No matter what, I have to find an opportunity to explain things to Xu Yuanzhou.
Jiang Chuyan sighed in his heart.
Sure enough, once he made up his mind, he found it increasingly difficult to tolerate Xu Yuanzhou looking at him with that kind of eyes.
*
With Jiang Chuyan's mediation, the quarrel finally stopped. However, no one could deny that the atmosphere between them was still very bad.
A dead silence hung between them, the air so heavy that it was hard to breathe.
At this moment, a strange noise came from far outside the small building.
"what happened?"
He Yuan's eyes rolled, and he immediately seized the opportunity to divert attention. He hooked Jiang Chuyan's sleeve, and then strode out of the small building with Jiang Chuyan.
The air, drenched in the dampness of morning mist, was filled with a strange yet familiar smell: the smell of burning trees.
The village, which seemed silent and secluded like an ancient relic yesterday, is now shrouded in the lively sound of firecrackers.
Looking down from the small building where Jiang Chuyan and the others were, one could see from afar many villagers gathered in the square in the center of the village, seemingly busy with something.
"Is this some kind of festival..."
Bai Ke squinted his eyes and moved closer to the platform, muttering something.
"Oh, right? There are a lot of local customs and activities going on all day long. We were asked to get up so early, but those country bumpkins haven't shown up yet. Are they kidding me?"
As he was speaking, Bai Ke caught a glimpse of the hunched figure under the platform. He immediately let out a scream and took several steps back.
A man was bending over, checking something below their platform, his movements neither human nor dog-like.
Not to mention Bai Ke, everyone else was also shocked when they saw Budacuocuo for the first time. After all, no one had ever thought that there would be a person lying downstairs of their house so early in the morning.
It was not until Budacuocuo stood up that everyone recognized him.
In fact, Budacuocuo also looked frightened. His smooth face was now wrinkled, his eyes were bulging, and his pupils were in the center of his eyeballs, becoming a pair of white eyes.
This made his eyes look particularly strange.
Moreover, he had been lying on the ground, digging at the mud with his hands. This behavior was very strange no matter how you looked at it.
The male college students stared at Budacuocuo for a few seconds.
He Yuan hesitated for a moment, and just as he was about to speak, Xu Yuanzhou coughed lightly and took the initiative to ask before He Yuan could, "Good morning... What are you doing?"
He asked.
Finally, he remembered the solemn instructions given by Budacuocuo before leaving yesterday, and couldn't help but laugh and joked: "Are you looking at the footprints of water monkeys?"
"…"
Budacuocuo tilted his head and was silent for a few seconds. Then he suddenly opened the corner of his mouth and revealed a warm smile.
"I'm just checking the situation."
He mumbled vaguely, and soon he returned to the enthusiastic and simple mountain man he was yesterday.
"Oh, I've been worried that you haven't woken up yet. It's great that you're all awake now. Hurry up, hurry up, we have prepared a sumptuous breakfast for our distinguished guests! It was too late yesterday, so we couldn't entertain you properly. However, today's breakfast will surely make our guests who have come from afar happy—"
Budacuocuo said with a smile, although his wording was a bit strange, everyone could hear his diligence.
"We should have just caught up with the village breakfast." He Yuan also explained at this time, "There are a few days every month when Longzhao will gather the villagers for breakfast, a bit like a buffet. Well, if it's the village breakfast, then we are really lucky, the food will be delicious."
It sounded like he was explaining to everyone, but the tall, dark-skinned boy's gaze stayed longest on Jiang Chuyan's face.
"Unlike breakfasts elsewhere, the village breakfasts are mostly big dishes. Specialties here include chicken with chili sauce, fried meatballs and mushroom soup with thin noodles, and sour steamed buns. Oh, and the chicken and dried tofu buns here are delicious too..."
After rushing to Longzhao yesterday and seeing so many things happen, everyone basically didn't eat anything at night. When they heard He Yuan talking about the hearty breakfast, everyone felt hungry at the same time.
No one thought about Budacuocuo's strange behavior anymore. Even the argument that had broken out in the small building not long ago was forgotten by the hungry male college students. He Yuan lowered the ladder, and everyone filed down, all following Budacuocuo expectantly towards the small square in the village.
The fog in the mountains had not yet completely dissipated, but compared to when I entered the village last night, the entire Longzhao Village was much more lively.
Along the roadside, beneath the eaves, and in the fields, villagers in traditional ethnic clothing were working. Walking along the village path, Jiang Chuyan was somewhat shocked by the number of people in Longzhao Village. You know, with the development of urbanization in recent years, the rural population has dwindled. Even many small towns are deserted until the Spring Festival. Yet, in such a remote, almost isolated village, there are surprisingly many permanent residents. And these people all look very young, unlike the aging, left-behind elderly in rural towns.
But the behavior of these people is completely different from the young people Jiang Chuyan is familiar with.