Chapter 29

Lu Yu’s hand, holding the twig with sparks still burning, snapped as it fell to the ground. Startled, he took a step back, but ended up tripping over his own feet and falling straight backward.

“Ah—” Before Lu Yu could even cry out in surprise, his arm was forcefully grabbed by a large hand with bulging veins, and not only that, a strong arm wrapped around his waist.

Looking up, Lu Yu dumbfoundedly stared at the face half-hidden in the darkness above him.

Wait, what’s going on?!

Something’s not quite right!

How did they both end up like this…?

Tai Lie frowned, “You…”

Before Tai Lie could say anything, Lu Yu, without waiting for him to speak, exerted force upward with his waist and stood up stiffly like a zombie.

He patted the ashes that had fallen on his animal skin skirt, feeling a bit embarrassed, “Um, I didn’t stand steadily.”

Tai Lie nodded.

Lu Yu turned his head away and scratched his face.

Tai Lie said, “So, about what I asked you, your answer is?”

Lu Yu: …

This guy, why keep asking this!

He didn’t know how to answer properly!

Aren’t all of you Matai people heterosexuals, all straight men, what’s up with this Chief of yours!

Thinking of this, Lu Yu wanted to ask him again what he had just said, wondering if he had misheard.

Obviously, his male hormones were exploding, how come it turned out to be… Well, this kind of person might still be a gay.

If Tai Lie was gay, he would most likely be the top…

Wait, Lu Yu, stop your wandering mind, what are you thinking about, does he have any connection to you at all!

Lu Yu slowly exhaled and tried to maintain a calm demeanor on the surface, “Um, I don’t know, haha.”

Finally, he tried to explain, “Actually, although I’m a broken man, I’ve never liked men, so I’m not very clear about your situation…”

In fact, Lu Yu had never had any special feelings for anyone. Even in sixth grade, he only had a crush on a girl who sat next to him, but that didn’t count as liking someone.

It was just that during that time, not long after his grandfather passed away, Lu Yu’s young life was very gloomy.

This girl had a cheerful personality and was particularly kind, always actively seeking to play with him, which was like a ray of sunshine in his dark life.

Later, Lu Yu never had any special feelings for anyone again, not even a flutter of the heart, remaining single for twenty-four years.

Tai Lie narrowed his eyes, looking him up and down, “Then how do you know you’re a broken man?”

“Uh?” Lu Yu was taken aback for a moment, cursing himself for being confused, how could he suddenly speak so carelessly.

He racked his brains and fabricated, “Well, it’s probably just a vague feeling deep down, and then not having any feelings for women, not wanting to marry a woman…”

Tai Lie looked at his somewhat helpless face, “Is that so.”

Lu Yu nodded quickly, looked around, and chuckled, “Um, it’s getting late, should we go to sleep?”

He gestured towards the wooden shed, slowly backing away, “I’m a little tired, so I’ll go first…”

However, Tai Lie didn’t intend to let him go like this, “Don’t you want to know who the person I mentioned, the one I liked, is?”

Lu Yu’s footsteps halted.

The thoughts he had deliberately ignored just now surged up again.

Actually, Tai Lie had been with his tribesmen all along. If there was really someone he liked, with his personality, he wouldn’t hide it. Well, even if there were various concerns preventing him from speaking, then why bring it up now…

And there were those feelings he had sensed before…

He wasn’t a blockhead, nor was he dull.

But he wasn’t really gay, nor was he a primitive man. He couldn’t reciprocate Tai Lie’s feelings. And he still wanted to continue growing and developing with the Matai people.

In that case, it was better not to stir up certain matters. Maybe Tai Lie just felt that he was different from others, a moment of novelty, and having had no experience interacting with others before, he mistook this emotion.

Yes, that must be it.

Lu Yu tried to convince himself that as long as he didn’t bring it up, as long as he maintained an appropriate distance from Tai Lie, Tai Lie would gradually understand.

After considering for a while, Lu Yu said softly, “I think it’s better if I don’t know.”

Tai Lie’s face tensed, his fist clenched slightly, “Are you deliberately avoiding wanting to know?”

He emphasized the word ‘deliberately.’

He guessed his intentions, but rejected them, huh.

Lu Yu’s heart suddenly felt a twinge, somewhat aching. He slowly exhaled a breath, with a tone that couldn’t be misunderstood, clear and firm, “Yes.”

“I understand.”

Tai Lie loosened his fist, brushed past Lu Yu’s shoulder, and walked towards the wooden shed.

—

Lu Yu couldn’t sleep. He lay on his side, staring blankly at the moonlight outside the wooden hut.

If you ask what he was thinking about, there wasn’t really anything.

Just before he drifted off to sleep, he muttered softly.

But I’m straight…

The next morning, Lu Yu rubbed his slightly dry eyes and woke up.

As soon as he sat up, Shan Pu ran in with a thud.

“Lu Yu, you’re finally awake,” Shan Pu was excited at first, then his brows furrowed, “But, no one has brought any game yet.”

Yesterday evening, after Lu Yu grilled the meat, attracting Yin He and a few others, they were amazed by Wicth Lu Yu’s barbecue. Later, when Lu Yu saw that it was almost enough, he stopped “selling” and shared the remaining meat with everyone.

He had also explained his plan to Shan Pu and the others.

Materials needed to be collected, but treasures also had to be obtained, earning a potful and then going back. If all went well, they could treat this place as a base and come occasionally.

Originally, Lu Yu had arranged everything well, feeling particularly excited and motivated.

But now Lu Yu felt a little disappointed.

Because just now he suddenly thought, if he wanted to keep his distance from Tai Lie, he couldn’t get close to him anymore, let alone do anything intimate, so he wouldn’t be able to increase his favorability rating, and the panel couldn’t be upgraded.

Wait a minute, Lu Yu’s heart skipped a beat. Wouldn’t Tai Lie misunderstand because of those things he had done…

Lu Yu wanted to smack himself.

“What’s wrong with you, witch?” Shan Pu saw Lu Yu suddenly looking troubled and asked in confusion.

Lu Yu suppressed the restlessness in his heart, stabilized his mind, “I’m fine. No one has come probably because they’re out hunting. Other tribes aren’t allowed to hunt around here, so they’ll probably come late.”

Shan Pu suddenly realized, “Oh, I see.”

He and Shan Pu walked out, seeing Tai Lie with his back to them, lighting a fire.

Lu Yu pursed his lips, briefly explained to Shan Pu, and then went to the side to use the clear water brought from the small river next to the stone city by Shan Pu and the others to wash up a bit. Then, he took out some colored grass and prepared to touch up his face.

With his fingers pinching the grass, he lightly swept it across the red mole at the end of his brow.

Lu Yu hesitated for a moment, put down his hand, kneaded the grass in his hand, squeezing out all the juice, and then casually smeared it on his face.

He returned to the bonfire and greeted everyone first.

Then, pretending to be casual, he forced himself to stay calm and said, “Good morning, Chief.”

Unexpectedly, Tai Lie was even calmer than him, responding as usual with a faint acknowledgment.

Lu Yu was momentarily stunned, but then he relaxed and smiled.

It seems Tai Lie had indeed misunderstood for a moment. Maybe he had realized it last night.

That’s great.

Really great.

Lu Yu thought happily, trying hard to ignore the hint of sadness in his heart.

He sat down, took out the meat to grill, not only to make breakfast for Tai Lie and the others but also to continue attracting others.

Coincidentally, the wind direction was favorable today, and the aroma of grilled meat wafted further away.

This morning, Lu Yu received about twenty “guests.” Each person was given a small bite of meat to taste, and when they couldn’t stop wanting more, Lu Yu proposed his “processing” suggestion.

Everyone agreed to go back and prepare for hunting.

Since those who could live here had some status, catching a live animal wasn’t too difficult for them.

After tasting Lu Yu’s grilled meat, no one could eat the original food anymore.

In the afternoon, Lu Yu and the others left Mao Pu and two Matai people to guard the wooden hut and went to the designated area. They found a slave who knew the way and had him lead them to the seaside.

Due to the Great Drift activity and other considerations, the stone city of beast plain was not far from the beach. It would take an ordinary person a little over an hour to walk there.

Passing through a forest, the scenery suddenly opened up.

Clear sky, blue sea, golden sand.

Although the beach wasn’t very large and was flanked by mountains on both sides, the scenery was beautiful enough to make people marvel.

The Matai people who had only seen rivers and lakes inland were astonished. They thought the so-called sea was just a larger lake.

Lu Yu took a deep breath, turned around, took out a piece of meat from his backpack, and handed it to the slave who had brought them here, “Thank you, you can go back now.”

The path they had taken was obviously cleared by the people of the stone city, so there were no dangerous wild beasts. There was no danger for this slave to walk back alone.

The slave was pleasantly surprised, took the meat, and kept thanking Lu Yu.

After the man left, Lu Yu and the others began to work.

Seeing Shan Pu and the others curious, Lu Yu let them play first. Anyway, he had to find the shells and sea clay first.

Shan Pu cheered and ran to the water’s edge, even Le Shui, who was always calm and indifferent, couldn’t help but walk over.

Lu Yu didn’t pay any more attention to them and walked to the shore alone to find what they needed.

The shells were easy to find; they were just shells, a bit harder than modern ones.

Lu Yu quickly found them. After verifying with the game panel, he found that he had found the right ones. He found a few more and prepared to show them to Shan Pu and the others later.

With a bunch of shells in his arms, Lu Yu stood up with a slightly sore back.

“Shan Pu, are you done playing?” Lu Yu turned around, but his voice abruptly stopped.

Tai Lie was standing right behind him.

Lu Yu tightened his arms around the shells and asked, “Is there something you need?”

From morning till now, he hadn’t spoken to Tai Lie except for saying good morning. Now, facing each other, the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

Tai Lie reached out towards Lu Yu, palm facing up, holding a small object in his large palm.

“Is this a shell?” Tai Lie asked somewhat stiffly.

So that’s what he’s asking.

Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief, leaned forward, and looked, smiling, “Yes—”

Huh? Wait a minute!

Lu Yu’s words stopped abruptly.

How come this… shell is heart-shaped?

—

Early in the morning, Lu Yu was still asleep.

Tai Lie found Le Shui, who was married, and asked with a serious expression, “How did you get Xia Hua to agree to marry you?”

Le Shui was taken aback for a moment, thought for a moment, and drew a “heart” on the ground.

The meaning was, to make someone marry you, you must first win their heart.

Le Shui felt relieved. He wasn’t good with words, but surely, the clever Chief would understand now.