No Way to Repay You, So I'll Give You Myself

"Meow, meow, meow, meow!"

Kitten nestled in Jiang Fang's arms, its eyes gleaming, pupils narrowing into slits as its tail wagged excitedly.

Jiang Fang looked closely.

A wild rabbit!

The two stopped in their tracks.

All at once, aside from the wind, birdsong, and insect chirping, the forest seemed to fall completely silent.

The rabbit gradually stopped running as well. It cautiously looked around, seemingly checking whether it was safe.

Jiang Fang and Qin Yan barely dared to breathe, afraid of scaring off the prey that had delivered itself right to them.

The two exchanged a glance.

Great. Their lunch was settled.

Carefully placing the little one poking its head about from his arms into Qin Yan's, Jiang Fang calmly took out his slingshot and pulled several small, sharp stones he had polished earlier from his pocket.

Loaded, drawn!

Jiang Fang aimed at the rabbit grazing in the grass.

Release!

"Whoosh—" A sharp sound split the air at the same time.

The rabbit fell in response.

He hit it!

Just then, Kitten, which had been obediently staying in Qin Yan's arms, excitedly leaped down. In two or three steps, it ran over to the rabbit and picked up the prey in its mouth.

Kitten was so tiny, yet it stubbornly dragged along a rabbit more than twice its size, struggling across the ground without letting go.

The sight left the two of them both amused and helpless.

Kitten was already weak, and after taking only a few steps with such a large prey, it could not move anymore. Anxiously, it meowed at Jiang Fang.

Big Kitty! Hurry and put the prey away!

Jiang Fang walked over, lifted Kitten by the scruff of its neck, put the wild rabbit into Qin Yan's game bag, and continued onward.

Perhaps the noise from their hunt had startled the nearby prey. After wandering around for a while, the two found nothing else.

Still, while the prey had hidden away, the forest was full of wild fruits and mushrooms.

After walking around, Jiang Fang and Qin Yan picked plenty of fruit. Some were familiar, such as raspberries, while others were unfamiliar but had been carefully identified by the two as edible.

As for how they identified them?

Just taste them and find out.

That was what Jiang Fang said.

The livestream viewers were stunned by the two's method of identification.

[Jiang Fang, you really are reckless! Who told you that the way to tell whether something is edible is to taste it first? Tell me, how did you even grow up?]

[I'm dying laughing. Jiang Fang suggested this method, and Qin Yan, not only did you not stop him, you even joined in?]

[Are you two cosplaying Shennong tasting a hundred herbs?]

[Qin Yan: (takes a look) Seems edible? (hesitant.jpg)

Jiang Fang: Take a bite. If you don't feel unwell after a while, it's edible. (confident face.jpg)]

Outside the livestream.

Jiang Fang took a bite of the fruit.

Pretty sweet.

Edible.

Then he saw the camera and remembered that he was livestreaming.

"Dangerous behavior. Kids watching the livestream, don't copy this!"

Though he had said that tasting it would tell them, that was based on the fact that many fruits on the trees had been pecked at by birds.

[You know this is dangerous behavior too?!]

[Today it's tasting fruit. Next time, are you going to taste wild vegetables and mushrooms too?]

Who knew? Perhaps there really were prophets in the world.

As Jiang Fang ate the wild fruit, his gaze suddenly shifted to the wild mushrooms growing beside the tree roots.

The camera captured every bit of it.

Everyone in front of the livestream: ...

[Holy shit! Those are wild mushrooms. Jiang Fang, what are you trying to do?]

[Where's that prophet from earlier? Kill them!]

Seeing Jiang Fang walk toward the wild mushrooms, the livestream erupted in howls and frantic outstretched hands.

[Holy shit, kitty, don't go over there! Those are mushrooms! Eat them and you'll get poisoned and see little people!]

[Brother Qin, stop him! Wild mushrooms aren't like wild fruit. They can kill people!]

[White stalks, red caps, eat them and lie on planks together~]

As soon as Jiang Fang moved, Qin Yan instinctively looked over and saw the guy staring eagerly at the mushrooms beneath the tree.

Qin Yan: ...Brat!

Wild fruit that had been pecked by birds was generally edible. That was why he had not stopped Jiang Fang and had even tasted it with him.

But could wild mushrooms just be eaten casually?

"You can't eat that."

Like he was dragging away a disobedient little brat from the village entrance, Qin Yan grabbed Jiang Fang by the collar and pulled him away from the mushrooms.

Jiang Fang, who had not actually planned to taste them on the spot: ...

Fine.

Stir-fried mushrooms were temporarily crossed off his menu.

Only after seeing that Jiang Fang had abandoned that dangerous idea did Qin Yan release his collar.

The two walked around for quite a while longer, but after making another circuit, they returned empty-handed.

One rabbit, though not small, was still not enough to feed two grown men.

They exchanged a glance and decided to catch a few fish by the stream, then head to the beach for some free seafood.

Just as Jiang Fang turned to head back, something caught under his foot. He lost his balance and was about to fall.

Qin Yan reacted swiftly, reaching out to catch him. His long, strong arm wrapped around Jiang Fang's waist.

Burning hot, smooth, slender yet not lacking in strength, covered by a thin layer of muscle that seemed ready to burst forth with power at any moment.

Qin Yan's heart skipped a beat.

His fingers could not help but stroke it. Once he realized what he was doing, he immediately let go of Jiang Fang as though he had touched a hot potato.

Yet Jiang Fang was carefree and did not notice the twists and turns in Qin Yan's heart during that brief moment.

At that moment, he had only one thought.

He had hit the jackpot!

Jiang Fang crouched down and looked at the familiar green leaves, delight rising in his heart. Without another word, he began digging into the soil.

Kitten sat beside him, tilted its head, and carefully watched Big Kitty's movements. It gave a soft, sweet "meow," then stretched out its little paws and started digging too.

The scene completely melted the livestream viewers, who screamed at their screens.

[Aaaaaah, Big Kitty and Little Kitty! What kind of heavenly variety show is this?!]

[So adorable! So adorable! Jiang Fang, Kitten, come here and let Auntie kiss you!]

[What bad intentions could a little kitty possibly have? It just wants to help Big Kitty, that's all.]

[A question: in Little Kitty's eyes, is Jiang Fang Big Kitty or its poop-scooping servant?]

After Qin Yan calmed down, Jiang Fang and Kitten had already dug up what was underneath.

They were actually potatoes!

There were at least seven or eight potatoes of varying sizes. They were not particularly large, but they looked decent, their surfaces fairly clean and free of dense spots.

"What a huge harvest!"

Jiang Fang sighed in satisfaction.

He turned to look at Qin Yan, a little smug. "My luck is pretty good, right?"

Qin Yan chuckled, then slightly furrowed his brows and said with an expression of distress,

"Looks like I have to live off Master Jiang again today. I wonder... will Master Jiang allow it?"

As expected of an award-winning actor, his acting was truly good. Jiang Fang almost believed he really was Master Jiang.

His eyes rolled, and he flirtatiously lifted Qin Yan's chin.

"That depends on what Ah Yan is capable of."

"With no way to repay you, it seems I can only give myself to you."