RYEY -Chapter 495 Fatal Attraction

“Brother, we’re smart kids.”

Ye Jing smiled. He was introverted and not good at expressing feelings. Luckily, his lively little sister brought laughter to the home every day.

“Little sister, boldly do what you like. No matter what happens, I’ll have your back.”

Xiao Nuan felt warm inside. She loved flashy clothes and quirky art pieces. Teachers and classmates said she had overly capitalist ideas, but her family supported her. Mom even entrusted her with her grandmother’s dowry.

The dowry was beautiful: glittering headdresses, brooches, various gemstones and jade. She loved them all and also had brightly colored silk, unsure what clothes to make.

Mom said that when she grew up, she could study fashion design—then she could wear or make whatever she wanted.

But she was careful; all these treasures were kept in her room, never taken outside. She knew they were precious, heirlooms left by the Zhao family.

Li Huan came back carrying a small wild sheep. A sharp dagger was stuck straight into its head. Only then did the twins realize their dad had gone off alone to hunt the sheep.

“Dad, that’s unfair!”

“Unfair? I didn’t even make a bet with you.”

Ye Jing: “…”

“Dad, you took us up the mountain to hunt, but you left us alone. What if something had happened? Doesn’t your conscience hurt?”

Seeing her brother shut down with one sentence, Xiao Nuan immediately crossed her hands and scolded Li Huan. He raised his hands in surrender, admitting his mistake.

Ye Jing shot Xiao Nuan a “well said” look. Xiao Nuan proudly lifted her delicate chin. Li Huan had no choice but to put the sheep down.

“Dad, this dagger is so sharp!”

Seeing the dagger in the sheep’s head, Ye Jing was envious. Dad was amazing.

“Practice more, and you’ll get better.”

“Dad, how did you practice?”

“This skill was taught to me by your grandfather. Too bad you hide at home reading books—you don’t know how important a strong body is.”

Ye Jing suddenly remembered a target, bows, and daggers in the yard. Hitting every shot wasn’t luck; it was practice. Tomorrow, he would revise his training schedule, adding at least an hour of exercise daily.

“Dad, can I practice too?”

Xiao Nuan’s starry eyes looked at Li Huan. She wanted to hit every shot too—to hunt tigers and wild bears someday. Last time, the steamed bear paw was just too delicious.

“Of course. My little princess can practice too, but only with grandpa’s guidance. Otherwise, you might get hurt.”

Xiao Nuan nodded repeatedly. Li Huan pulled the dagger out from the wild sheep’s head and dragged it to the nearby creek to clean it, with Ye Jing and Xiao Nuan following behind.

Ye Jing took the dagger, quickly grabbed a rabbit from the basket, and skillfully skinned and gutted it. His grandfather had always given him small animals to practice on, so he already knew how to make his cuts faster.

By the time they returned, Cheng Qiao had already boiled water and brought out many bamboo skewers—preparing to skewer the wild game meat. Whenever Li Huan went up the mountain, he certainly wouldn’t come back empty-handed.

Skewers of rabbit meat and sheep head were threaded onto the bamboo sticks. Li Huan also brought a pot and cooked a bowl of mutton soup. Ye Jing looked at the pot curiously—he didn’t remember there being a pot in the car.

Xiao Nuan’s eyes flickered slightly. This had to have been conjured by her mother. What kind of divine mother did she have? To be born a daughter of such a mother was pure luck in life.

As dusk fell, the six of them gathered around the campfire, roasting rabbit and lamb skewers, occasionally sprinkling some salt and cumin over the meat.

The aroma grew richer, and drops of fat from the meat fell onto the fire, sizzling as they met the flames.

Once the meat was cooked, it released an enticing smell. Hantong kept rubbing her hands together—she was so eager to eat, but with both the elders and children present, how could a woman of her age go first?

Seeing her impatience, Cheng Qiao first handed two lamb skewers to Ye Jun, then offered the rabbit skewers to her. Hantong, looking at the twins’ eager faces, couldn’t bring herself to take them and gave the skewers away instead.

“Aunt Hantong, you eat first. We’re not in a hurry.”

Ye Jing shook his hand, and Xiao Nuan did the same. She wanted to eat the lamb skewers, but she would get her turn soon. Hantong couldn’t help but admire Cheng Qiao’s children—far surpassing Meili’s son in every way.

Li Huan went to the car at the foot of the mountain to fetch bowls and spoons. Each of them sipped the hot mutton soup and nibbled on the fragrant grilled meat—it was invigorating.

“Ye Jing, Nuan Nuan, tonight we’ll stay here. Tomorrow we’ll go home. In a few days, your parents will return to Hexi. You two must love each other, be filial to Grandpa, and study hard, understood?”

“Mom, I don’t want you to leave. Can I go with you?”

“Even if you don’t want to, you have to leave. In the capital, resources are far richer than in Hexi. You’re the only little princess of our family. Mom can’t bear to have you go there to suffer in the wind and sand.”

Xiao Nuan recalled the two months in Hexi; her skin had indeed roughened a bit. Fortunately, her mother had the best skincare, preserving her soft, fair face.

“Brother Cheng Li is so pitiful. He’s so good-looking, yet lives on the edge of the desert. Strangely, his skin isn’t tanned at all. Look at Grandpa—he’s practically black.”

Cheng Qiao smiled. Cheng Li was a special existence; Heaven had indeed favored him. She wondered whether Wu Hongxin’s granddaughter had won his heart—otherwise, all her hardships over the years would have been in vain.

That night, the four of them hid in a tent. While the twins weren’t paying attention, Cheng Qiao sprinkled some medicinal powder around them—powder to keep insects away. Even Little Redhead wouldn’t dare come close.

But around midnight, Hantong suddenly sat up, holding the already asleep Xiao Nuan, and went to Cheng Qiao’s tent:

“Cheng Qiao, something’s happening! Wake up!”

Cheng Qiao was speaking with the Qilin Resurrection Tree in the space when she heard Hantong’s voice outside. The Resurrection Tree twisted its branches—wolves were coming.

“Wolves? Here?”

“Your little princess used the spatial water to put out the fire. Wolves coming isn’t so bad; if she had attracted tigers or bears, you’d be done for.”

Cheng Qiao shook her head. She had forgotten to tell the children not to pour out the water—they didn’t realize how deadly it could be to animals.