Chapter 64 – Washing Hands

In the darkness, Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai sat side by side on the bed, their knees together, cheeks resting on their hands, their postures surprisingly uniform.

Shen Fubai: “I’m scared to sleep.”

Jiang Heng: “I’m also scared to sleep.”

“I once read a sentence,” Shen Fubai murmured. “When you find a cockroach in your room, it means there are ten thousand cockroaches in your room.”

Regardless of whether it was exaggerated, just thinking about such terrifying creatures lurking in unknown corners of the room sent shivers down his spine.

“You stop talking! I don’t want to hear it!” Jiang Heng had no interest in discussing anything related to cockroaches.

Shen Fubai: “Could there be… under the bed…”

Unable to bear it anymore, Jiang Heng turned and grabbed the collar of Shen Fubai’s pajamas, silencing him with a kiss.

As their heads hit the soft pillow, Shen Fubai’s pupils dilated slightly, feeling Jiang Heng’s breath close at hand.

His breathing was becoming unsteady.

They began kissing, having done this many times before, they were quite skilled at it. But as their relationship deepened and emotions grew warmer, they always wanted to do something more.

Perhaps due to the lack of air conditioning in the house, the indoor atmosphere felt stiflingly hot. The windows, covered with gauze, struggled to let in a few wisps of breeze, accompanied by the cicadas’ cries from the trees. Both of them were sweating.

It seemed like a long time had passed.

Shen Fubai bit his lip, a restrained moan escaping his throat, his beautiful face flushed. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Go wash your hands. There’s still water in the bucket.”

Jiang Heng didn’t move, his tone low and husky: “Hm?”

Shen Fubai added, “I don’t want to do it in this room, where there are ten thousand cockroaches.”

“…Jiang Heng, utterly defeated, got out of bed to wash his hands.

The bucket was outside the house. Jiang Heng walked out and squatted down, pouring some water over his hands to wash away the lingering scent of orchid and musk.

Outside was desolate and quiet. A cat’s cry echoed from somewhere in the mountains. It was quite eerie.

Jiang Heng wasn’t afraid of the dark; he was only afraid of tomatoes and cockroaches.

After washing his hands clean, just as he was getting up to turn around, he saw a pale-faced youth standing quietly at the door under the moonlight. Half of his face was hidden in the shadows, only his snow-white skin and blood-red lips stood out vividly.

Jiang Heng: “…” Ahhhhhhhhhhh, a ghost!!!

Before he could scream, Xie Chian said calmly, “Shut up.”

Jiang Heng: “…”

He was about to ask why the youth was out so late at night when Xie Chian continued indifferently, “Listen, I have no interest in why you’re washing your hands in the middle of the night, and you shouldn’t be curious about why I’m out so late either.”

Thus, Jiang Heng’s second question was left unspoken.

Finally, he simply nodded politely at the other person and returned to the house as if nothing had happened.

_

Shen Fubai leaned weakly against the headboard, feeling listless, as if in a state of post-coital ennui.

Just as Jiang Heng climbed onto the bed, Shen Fubai leaned over and sniffed at his neck. “Did you see someone just now?”

Jiang Heng was surprised that this woman-like, terrifying sixth sense would manifest in Shen Fubai. He remembered that the youth had no perfume scent on him.

Jiang Heng: “How can you tell?”

Shen Fubai lazily leaned back against the headboard. “I heard someone talking.” Although the voice wasn’t loud, the room’s sound insulation was even worse.

Jiang Heng: “…So what’s the point of sniffing then?”

Shen Fubai rested his chin on Jiang Heng’s shoulder, half-closing his eyes with a smile. “Look at you, reeking of sweat.”

Jiang Heng lowered his head and brushed his nose against Shen Fubai’s. “You’re the same, stinky little brat.”

Sweat was just sweat; there was no such thing as fragrant sweat. Even Shen Fubai, who looked like a fairy boy, wouldn’t smell good after sweating.

Shen Fubai complained, “It’s all your fault. How was it? Was the touch good? Do you want me to help you too?”

Jiang Heng caught his restless hand, his voice slightly hoarse. “Don’t tempt me. There’s no water here, and there are ten thousand cockroaches here.”

Compared to ten thousand cockroaches, Jiang Heng found dealing with Shen Fubai’s teasing more terrifying. He couldn’t undress and eat this chocolate-covered wine truffle here; he could only smell its cloying sweetness and lick his lips.

Shen Fubai suddenly lost interest. “Stop bringing up that gag. I don’t want to think about ten thousand cockroaches every time we do it.”

Jiang Heng reminded him, “You brought it up first.”

“…” Shen Fubai gritted his teeth. “Hasn’t anyone told you how men should talk to their partners in bed?”

Don’t talk logic, don’t discuss right and wrong, just go along with it.

Jiang Heng thought hard and hesitated. “You… naughty little seductress?”

That’s how it’s written in CEO novels.

Shen Fubai recoiled in horror. “You’re not Heng Heng. Who are you? Are you a mountain village zombie possessing a corpse?”

Wasn’t he supposed to be working with an entertainment romance script, but instead, he was dealing with a supernatural ghost husband script?

Jiang Heng, who was supposed to be performing alongside Shen Fubai, was putting on a show. “I am your husband from a past life. We have three lifetimes of love, and I’ve possessed this body tonight to continue our past connection. The original soul of this body has been devoured by me. Now, you belong to me.”

Shen Fubai was shocked, reciting a classic line. “Don’t come near me! I’ll scream!”

Jiang Heng pulled him closer. “Go ahead and scream. No one will come, no matter how loudly you shout. Now, either call me ‘husband’ obediently, or I’ll make you call me ‘husband.'”

Tears welled up in Shen Fubai’s eyes. “My lord, don’t scare your humble servant.”

Jiang Heng: “…”

Jiang Heng couldn’t hold back and laughed.

Jiang Heng: “Hahahahahahaha.”

He laughed heartily, laughing until tears streamed down his face, kissing the corner of Shen Fubai’s mouth. “Fubai, how adorable you are.”

He really didn’t know what was going through that small brain of his, but he sure had a lot of jokes.

Shen Fubai gave a cold snort. Could two gigabytes of shared literature be read in vain?

“Back to the topic, the one who went out just now was that high school student named Xie Chian, right?” Shen Fubai wondered. “Where could he have gone so late at night? It’s dangerous in the mountains.”

Recalling the expressionless face of the youth under the moonlight, Jiang Heng said, “Don’t worry. I don’t think there’s anything in the mountains more dangerous than him.”

Shen Fubai felt Jiang Heng was wrong. Although the youth seemed aloof, he was still just a high school student. How could he be associated with danger?

_

The next day, Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai appeared in the living room—assuming that less than two square meters of space could be called a living room—with faint dark circles under their eyes.

They hadn’t slept well last night. Mosquitoes wouldn’t disappear just because a cockroach died. Those shy young girls would lose their modesty as soon as night fell, making particularly loud noises.

Coupled with the fact that they hadn’t rested well in the previous few nights, Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai inevitably developed dark circles under their eyes.

On the contrary, Xie Chian, who had gone out last night and returned at an unknown hour, looked quite energetic. Seeing the dark circles under the eyes of the two, he said meaningfully, “You two had quite a good time last night.”

Jiang Heng leaned in, lowering his voice. “Didn’t we agree not to be curious about each other’s secrets?”

Xie Chian was surprised. “Killing mosquitoes is also a secret?”

“…” Jiang Heng retreated to his original position. “Excuse me, I’ll take my leave.”

_

Last night’s dinner was a communal potluck cooked by the village, but they couldn’t keep doing it that way. From then on, the crew members would have their meals at the homes of the families they were staying with. The crew wouldn’t eat for free; they would pay the price for their meals, often more than the food was worth.

After all, there weren’t many delicacies available in the mountains; last night’s meal was already considered a depletion of resources.

But Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai had a wonderful breakfast this morning. A bowl of fragrant chicken porridge, cooked to a thick consistency, tasted delicious.

Because they usually indulged in gourmet dishes, they hadn’t realized the level of this breakfast in the mountain village.

—Far above average. Even the village chief’s family couldn’t afford to kill a chicken daily for a dish; they kept chickens to lay eggs.

After finishing their breakfast, Wang Xiaoshu offered to wash the dishes. Afterward, he picked up his school bag and said, “I’m going to school now!”

Shen Fubai was surprised. “There’s a school in the village?”

They hadn’t seen any primary schools during their walk yesterday.

Xie Chian said, “It’s the fourth house from the entrance of the village.”

Shen Fubai recalled with his powerful memory and was astonished. “Isn’t that a toilet?”

All he remembered was a pile of broken stones and a cracked wall. The roof was even drafty. It was even shabbier than the thatched cottage described in Du Fu’s poem, “A Cottage Destroyed by Autumn Winds.” It resembled more the toilet behind the house—it was almost identical.

Xie Chian said, “Yes, but it’s also their school.”

Jiang Heng frowned. “This environment is too harsh. Although many people read while using the toilet, there aren’t many people who read inside a toilet.”

The latter “reading” referred to attending school, which was clear to everyone.

Xie Chian: “It’s just a metaphor, thank you.”

Although the school was as dilapidated as a toilet, it wouldn’t actually be located in a toilet. That would be too inhumane; the villagers wouldn’t allow it.

Jiang Heng: “We need to observe the children’s learning situation… Can we watch?”

Xie Chian nodded. “Please, feel free.”

_

What they called a school was a dilapidated little house, a blackboard, and a podium. The lighting inside was poor, and the children sat together on small stools, placing their homework on their laps.

It was much poorer than they had imagined.

Teacher Li Wenxiu was the only teacher, teaching all the children in the village. She taught the older ones first, then the younger ones, leaving the older children to work on their homework on the side. Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai stood outside the house, peering in through the window. They noticed that the room was filled entirely with boys, no girls.

“They believe girls don’t need to attend school,” Xie Chian explained calmly from the side.

Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai felt a mix of emotions. As city dwellers with higher education, they knew how absurd and ignorant this belief was, yet how firmly ingrained it was.

“But even these boys, despite attending school, mostly remain in the mountains. They admire educated individuals, so they send their children to school. But they still choose to live generation after generation in the mountains, believing in returning to their roots. The elders in the mountains have never left. Those who venture out to work elsewhere rarely return.”

Xie Chian looked at the earnest students inside, speaking softly and slowly, “Occasionally, there are college students who pass the town’s high school entrance exams and change their fate through the national college entrance examination. The prosperity outside broadens one’s horizons, but the imprint of inferiority breeds jealousy, leading to personality distortions and actions that disgrace their education… Perhaps I shouldn’t say it this way,” he paused, “after all, education has nothing to do with character.”

His words seemed more like self-reflection, yet they seemed to hint at something, reminding them of something.

Shen Fubai: “You arrived just two days earlier than us.” Yet, it was as if he had thoroughly understood the place.

Xie Chian: “Yes.”

Jiang Heng focused his gaze. “If you’ve discovered something, you can speak directly.” He would no longer view this youth as an ordinary high school student.

“You’ve noticed something amiss too. You don’t need two days…” Xie Chian whispered softly. “Two hours would be enough.”

To detect the abnormality within this mountain village, two hours would be enough.

Just as Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai were about to hear more from him, a voice calling “Fubai!” interrupted the somewhat heavy atmosphere between the three.

Fu Hengcheng came over with Ye Ziran. They had spent the night in the same room.

Upon arriving, they started complaining about today’s breakfast.

“It was really terrible, the rice grains were as hard as stones.” Ye Ziran grumbled. “My teeth are almost falling out.”

Fu Hengcheng agreed, “You can still grow new teeth, but if mine break, I’m finished. My image will be ruined. The rice here could serve as a murder weapon.”

A few actresses on the other side were also lamenting about the unpalatability of their breakfast. One said her pickles tasted like they had been sitting for several nights, and she still felt nauseous in her throat. Another mentioned that her expensive lipstick, which never smudged, had been rubbed off by her cornmeal bun, and she couldn’t imagine what it was made of.

More and more crew members gathered, while Xie Chian disappeared.

Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai exchanged glances.

“So, that bowl of chicken porridge we had this morning… Where did it come from?” They only now realized belatedly that Wang Xiaoshu’s family didn’t raise chickens.

At that moment, class ended, and Wang Xiaoshu, coming out, overheard their conversation. Immediately, he said, “Of course, Brother made it!”

Jiang Heng asked, “Then where did the chicken come from?”

Wang Xiaoshu: “Brother caught it in the mountains.”

Shen Fubai: “How did he catch it?”

Wang Xiaoshu: “He knocked it out with rice grains.”

Shen Fubai: “…”

Shen Fubai felt that Heng Heng was right. Xie Chian was the most dangerous creature in the mountains, damn terrifying.