Lu Liu wasn’t home?
Li Feng felt a bit disappointed.
By nature, he didn’t like to dwell on things.
He wanted to live a good life with Lu Liu. Though his mind was in turmoil, he hadn’t thought about how to deal with Lu Liu. Right now, he just wanted to see him.
But with him not at home, Li Feng’s mood soured.
He didn’t show much expression and sat down inside the house.
As soon as he entered the hall, he heard Lu Liu calling his name.
The voice was tinged with sobs. Without thinking, Li Feng quickly rushed into the room.
Inside, Lu Liu was the only one there. He had wrapped himself in the blanket and was tossing and turning. His delicate brows were tightly furrowed, and tears slid down the corners of his eyes. His pale red lips parted and closed as he called out, “Da Feng, save me, I’m so scared.”
Li Feng’s heart instantly softened.
He reached out to shake Lu Liu’s shoulder, opened his mouth to call his name, but seeing him so scared even in his dreams, Li Feng decided against using his real name. It would only make Lu Liu more frightened. So instead, he said, “Wake up, I’m back. Don’t be afraid, it’s just a dream.”
Lu Liu, startled, was in a semi-conscious state. Li Feng called his name a couple more times, and he truly woke up. Upon waking, he immediately reached out for a hug. His arms and legs were still trapped in the blanket, and the thought of it made him feel aggrieved. He wanted Li Feng to hold him.
Lu Liu’s eyes were very watery, always moist in their usual state, but after crying, they became even more moist. In the blink of an eye, tears formed and began to fall. Li Feng couldn’t resist that look.
The blanket was in the way, so Li Feng bent down and carefully lifted Lu Liu, sitting him up, wrapping the blanket around him, and pulling him into his arms.
It might seem like a long process to describe, but in reality, it was just a quick action of bending and reaching out.
Lu Liu also wanted to embrace him. Twisting his body, he said, “I don’t want the blanket, I want you.”
Li Feng spoke to him in a soft tone, his mood lifting, “How do you want me? You can’t even get out of the blanket.”
Lu Liu, ever sincere, opened his mouth and said, “Then you come into the blanket.”
He shyly invited the man to crawl into his bed, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Li Feng wasn’t in the mood for anything else today. After a moment of thought, he accepted his husband’s invitation.
He went outside and locked the gate, then locked the main door and the room door.
After closing all three doors, Lu Liu, who had already wriggled out of the blanket, began to put on his cotton jacket.
Li Feng took off his clothes and said, “No need to wear it. Take it off, let’s sleep for a while.”
Lu Liu glanced outside, and since it was still bright, he hesitated for a moment before obediently following Li Feng’s instructions.
Once Li Feng climbed onto the bed, Lu Liu quickly moved close and embraced him.
Li Feng could feel his warmth and, in that moment, became more aware of the events of the day. He asked Lu Liu what kind of dream he had.
Lu Liu answered honestly, “I’ve never seen a wild boar before, but if I had, I bet it would have tried to hit me. Yao Fulang said wild boars can break houses. If I had been hit, the house would’ve been wrecked.”
Li Feng couldn’t help but laugh, holding him tighter.
Li Feng had just returned from walking in the snow, his body carrying the crisp scent of the cold air. It smelled clean and faint.
Lu Liu shifted under the blanket, resting his warm little feet on Li Feng’s, sharing his heat.
Li Feng, still feeling a bit heated and with his feet warm, didn’t feel the cold. Lu Liu’s movements warmed his heart, and he found himself liking Lu Liu more.
Outside, the wind was blowing, and the sound of it coming through the window was soothing, almost hypnotic. As the wind whispered, Li Feng began telling Lu Liu a story.
When he was nineteen, he had an argument with his hunting partner, which scared away a full-grown buck.
The buck was valuable, but difficult to hunt. It required a lot of patience, quiet, and preparation.
That time, they had been waiting at a water source in the mountains for three days.
In Li Feng’s experience, three days wasn’t long. But after just those three days, someone started complaining, grumbling and talking endlessly.
The buck, hearing the noise and smelling their scent, fled quickly. After that, they could only follow its tracks and droppings, struggling to find it.
They were lucky. After the buck had been startled, while tracking it, they encountered two fawns.
If only Li Feng had just a bit more patience, he could have hunted them.
Unfortunately, his companion couldn’t wait any longer. Eager to take credit, he didn’t fully draw his bow, but shot the arrow directly, causing them to lose track of the fawn again.
This story made Lu Liu angry: “What were they thinking?”
Li Feng had been just as angry back then. If they weren’t going to listen to him, then they should just break up the group.
No one had faith in him. Everyone thought they could bully him because he was younger, thinking he wouldn’t dare venture alone into the mountains, waiting for him to give in. But Li Feng didn’t.
It was his first time walking alone in the mountains, and although he was a little scared, it wasn’t overwhelming.
He walked aimlessly, covered with branches and grass, not thinking much. After missing two hunting opportunities, he had lost interest.
Lu Liu, tightly embraced by him, couldn’t move much. He rubbed his feet against Li Feng’s, trying to offer comfort.
“And then?” Lu Liu asked.
Then Li Feng had bad luck—he dropped his salt packet.
When they ventured into the mountains, they would stay for long periods and needed to carry their own salt.
The mountain was vast, the forest deep. Li Feng walked for a long distance without knowing where he’d lost the salt packet, or how long it had been gone. He had no mood for anything else, so he decided to head back home.
On the way back, he encountered the deer again.
“I recognized it—it was the same buck I missed earlier. It was licking the salt packet. The paper wrapping around the salt was thin, and when it got wet, it would tear. The water had dissolved the salt, and it was eating it.”
The old hunters had never taught Li Feng this, and he didn’t know that salt had such a fatal attraction for wild animals.
One little salt packet had set up a natural trap. This time, no one interfered or ruined his chance. Li Feng followed his own pace and successfully hunted the buck.
Lu Liu liked this story. Even though there had been setbacks and it had been frustrating, leading to missed opportunities, the ending was good.
Li Feng had discovered the “hunting secret.” In addition to his skills, he had learned a new way to trap his prey.
And he had hunted the buck! The very animal he had been after!
“You’re amazing,” Lu Liu said. “To be able to hunt a deer alone at nineteen! I heard from Yao Fulang that there are many hunters in the village who never hunted a deer in their entire lives! Everyone says you’re amazing, and they all want to go hunting with you because you always come back with a great haul! Da Feng, you’re a born hunter!”
Lu Liu’s praises came one after another, almost making Li Feng forget the purpose of his story.
Li Feng turned over, propping himself up on his arms on either side of Lu Liu. They had a difference in size, and in this position, with one on top and the other beneath, Lu Liu was entirely covered by him, as if trapped, with no way to escape.
Lu Liu had just had a nightmare, but he was still in a good mood. He wasn’t afraid of Li Feng and even reached out to wrap his arms around his neck, smiling softly.
“Do you want me?” Lu Liu asked.
Yes.
To Li Feng, Lu Liu was like the fawn he had hunted.
Their marriage had its ups and downs. He had been deceived many times, and after going in circles, he finally got the person he had wanted the most.
Li Feng said, “I want you to be my husband.”
Lu Liu didn’t think too much of it. When Li Feng said it, he just smiled.
After laughing for a moment, Lu Liu realized that Li Feng wasn’t kissing or touching him and understood that he was serious, not just being affectionate.
He replied sincerely, “I do too. I want you to be my man.”
It was only then that Lu Liu realized that Li Feng wasn’t just being intimate. After saying these serious words, Li Feng kissed him deeply.
Lu Liu was no longer afraid. He knew Li Feng’s lips were soft, and no matter how forceful the kiss, it was always pleasant.
They stayed intimate from day to night. By evening, they were both hungry. Lu Liu couldn’t get off the bed, so Li Feng put on a coat and went to the stove to cook noodles. He brought them back and had Lu Liu eat while lying on the bed.
Lu Liu couldn’t stop smiling. He and Li Feng were never good at hiding their words. He told Li Feng, “You’re a good man.”
Li Feng raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to flatter me?”
Lu Liu held the bowl with both hands and smiled up at him. “Today, when I was talking to Yao Fulang, I asked him something. I said, in our village, do husbands and wives always have to listen to the man? He said, we’re supposed to serve the man. Then I asked, do the men serve us? He said I was daydreaming. He also told me you’re the most domineering, and if I dared ask you, you’d beat me up.”
