"But... it's so high. Let me go up instead. Qiqi, find somewhere to hide, and be careful."
Xiu Yuan still couldn't bear to let Qiqi climb up. Although he knew she was a zombie and couldn't be judged by ordinary human standards, she was still so tiny...
"Qiqi... is a zombie... not afraid... Qiqi is afraid of Hu Tao..."
Clearly, what Hu Tao had just done had frightened her.
Xiu Yuan wanted to say more, but suddenly remembered that his task was to help Qiqi learn to survive on her own...
In the future, she might still encounter situations like this. Climbing mountains and the like would be unavoidable.
At that thought, Xiu Yuan sighed and agreed. "All right. Be careful, Qiqi. I'll be down here to catch you."
"Okay... Qiqi... is going up..."
With that, she reached out her little hands, gripped the rocks, and slowly, carefully climbed up.
Violetgrass grew fairly high up, and with Qiqi's tiny body, reaching it would take some time.
Xiu Yuan watched Qiqi intently from below, terrified that she might fall.
But...
The very thing you feared most always seemed to happen.
Halfway up the cliff, Qiqi's foot slipped. Her eyes widened as she fell.
Xiu Yuan's face drained of color. Already prepared, he instantly hurled his spear, then used Flame Flash Body Flicker to flash over to where it struck, barely managing to catch Qiqi's clothes in the nick of time.
He kicked hard against the rock face, pulled out his spear, and leaped down.
Qiqi immediately clung tightly to Xiu Yuan.
She looked utterly terrified.
But because she was a zombie, she hadn't even screamed despite the danger. She had simply fallen without a sound.
"Don't be scared. Don't be scared. I'm here."
Holding the tiny Qiqi in his arms, Xiu Yuan gently patted her back and comforted her in a soft voice.
"Sorry... Qiqi... is so stupid..."
"You don't need to apologize, Qiqi. You've already done wonderfully."
"Really..."
"Really, Qiqi. Don't blame yourself. You're my favorite."
Hearing that, Qiqi froze for a moment, then hugged Xiu Yuan even tighter.
"Don't be scared. Don't be scared."
"C-can we... always stay together... forever..."
At the longing in Qiqi's eyes, Xiu Yuan went briefly blank.
He didn't want to lie to Qiqi, this innocent, pitiful child.
But...
Her eyes were full of hope.
"Yes." His smile was stiff as he answered.
"Can we really..."
"Of course. We'll be together forever."
"Mm... I'll protect you..."
"I'm supposed to be the one protecting you," Xiu Yuan corrected her.
"Then let's... pinky promise." Qiqi held out her little finger expectantly.
"Okay." Xiu Yuan hooked his little finger around hers.
"Pinky swear, cross our hearts, no changing for a hundred years," they said together.
Qiqi gave a faint smile, happiness filling her heart.
Then she turned her gaze back to the violetgrass.
This time.
Qiqi was full of confidence.
She looked at the violetgrass halfway up the cliff, then at Xiu Yuan.
"Not scared... not scared..."
She reassured herself, then climbed up again.
This time, she was much steadier. Although she moved a little slowly, she managed to pick the violetgrass without mishap.
Afterward, they gathered enough violetgrass from the surrounding cliffs.
"Next... what were we supposed to do..."
Once they finished, Qiqi seemed to have forgotten their plans. She tilted her head in distress, thinking hard.
"Checking your notes is the most important thing."
Xiu Yuan gave Qiqi a very important command.
Most of Qiqi's affairs would depend on this notebook in the future. If she forgot even to check her notes, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"Checking my notes... is the most important thing..."
Qiqi repeated it once, seemingly committing the command firmly to memory.
Then she opened her notebook. Written inside was: "Do Soft Gymnastics with Xiu Yuan."
"Right... next, we do Soft Gymnastics..."
As though waking from a dream, Qiqi looked at Xiu Yuan with her big eyes.
"Let's go. We'll do them at home."
Xiu Yuan brought Qiqi back to the forest cabin. After a simple round of Soft Gymnastics, they went to sleep.
It was worth mentioning that Xiu Yuan didn't hold Qiqi as he slept. Instead, he stayed far away, as though he disliked her.
That assumption couldn't have been more wrong. Xiu Yuan always remembered that Qiqi was afraid of heat. There was a considerable difference between a zombie's body temperature and a human's. If he held her while sleeping, it would probably feel to her like wearing a down jacket and sleeping under a thick quilt in the middle of summer.
Of course, that was only Xiu Yuan's guess...
Qiqi, however, saw things differently. Looking at Xiu Yuan keeping his distance, then remembering that she was a zombie, she seemed to realize something.
"Qiqi... is too cold... Xiu Yuan doesn't like it..."
After Xiu Yuan fell asleep, Qiqi quietly got up.
She left the house, went outside, and began doing Soft Gymnastics alone.
"Exercise... can warm the body up... Qiqi has to work hard..."
"One, two, seven, seven... two, two, seven, seven..."
Not wanting Xiu Yuan to dislike her, Qiqi threw herself into her Soft Gymnastics, taking every movement especially seriously.
But even after exercising for a long time, she didn't feel any sweat on her body.
She knew that when a body grew hot, it would sweat.
So Qiqi worked even harder, exercising nonstop in front of the cabin.
Even when the morning sunlight spilled down, Qiqi was still brimming with determination.
"Why... won't my body get warm... I don't want to be ice-cold... Xiu Yuan will dislike Qiqi..."
"I don't want Xiu Yuan to dislike me..."
"I must... not be working hard enough..."
As the sun gradually rose, Qiqi deliberately moved into its light. Enduring the sweltering heat, she put all her strength into her Soft Gymnastics.
"Qiqi... has to work hard..."
As her body grew hotter, she became increasingly uncomfortable. But only her body suffered; deep inside, Qiqi was still very happy.
She knew she was warming up.
If she just worked a little harder, she would be able to sleep beside Xiu Yuan.
I just need to sweat...
With that thought, Qiqi stood beneath the unbearably harsh sun. Even though her body felt awful, she gritted her teeth and persevered, never stopping, as though she knew no fatigue.
Just then, a ray of sunlight shone through a gap in the wooden wall, and Xiu Yuan slowly sat up.
After stretching, he suddenly realized that Qiqi wasn't in the house!
"Fuck! Did Hu Tao catch her again?!"
Alarmed, Xiu Yuan hurried outside and immediately spotted Qiqi exercising nonstop beneath the blazing sun.
But the moment Qiqi saw Xiu Yuan, she froze in place as though struck by an electric shock.
Her raised hands slowly dropped, and tears shimmered in her large pink eyes.
Xiu Yuan had been about to say he was glad she was all right, only to discover that Qiqi had started crying.
"What's wrong, Qiqi? Who bullied you?" Completely unaware of what had happened, Xiu Yuan looked lost.
Before you continue