The Taming of the Ruffian Hero

“Dear God! What did I just see?!” Shu Xiaoman’s screech caused Zhao Yuan to immediately relax his hand. He said solemnly, “You know how to play along.” Lin Wenxi instantly stopped crying and nodded.

“Damn it! Isn’t it just a little fall? You’re just like a girl, crying that much! I didn’t even say anything!” Zhao Yuan said loudly as he rubbed Lin Wenxi’s hair roughly. He also tried weaving a braid with Lin Wenxi’s hair.

“Isn’t it because you’re too fat and squashed me?!” Lin Wenxi retorted hatefully.

“I’m fat? Lin Wenxi, don’t you think your reason is too far-fetched?” When Zhao Yuan saw that Lin Wenxi had yet to recover his senses, he had no choice but to add, “I just farted, that’s all. To think you’ll get such a fright that you fell down! How strange!”

Lin Wenxi was momentarily stunned. He suppressed the smile that was threatening to show up on his face and replied, “Good that you know you’re farting!”

Zhao Yuan pretended to wave his fist, acting as if he was about to beat him. Lin Wenxi slowly climbed up and sneered at him.

Shu Xiaoman was shocked. This was clearly not what had happened just now. Why did they change so drastically? She felt very disappointed. Chen Wanxin looked coldly at them. She could feel that something wasn’t right. She had clearly seen Zhao Yuan stroking Lin Wenxi’s hair with an incredibly gentle expression. Their conversation was also abrupt and absurd. When Zhang An’an noticed Chen Wanxin’s expression, she turned to look at Zhao Yuan and Lin Wenxi. She pursed her lips into a small smile. “Alright, alright. It’s fine as long as you found him. Zhao Yuan, you seem to be bleeding? Where is the blood flowing from?”

Chen Wanxin couldn’t help feeling a stab of anger. “You still have the mood to joke around!” She walked up to Zhao Yuan and carefully examined him. Zheng Kai’s face turned green again.

Bruises covered Zhao Yuan’s entire body, including his palms and arms. The cloth on his knees was also worn out, revealing the blood that was seeping out from his wounds. He was covered in mud all over and a layer of dust coated his face. When he spoke to the military instructor earlier, he was still the bright and sharp-tongued Zhao Yuan. In such a short period of time, he had turned into this state. Evidently, he had been tormented quite miserably. The blame was presumably on Lin Wenxi. However, even though Zhao Yuan would typically her wishes in bickering with Lin Wenxi and bullying him, Zhao Yuan had never truly mistreated Lin Wenxi. Suddenly, Chen Wanxin couldn’t help feeling indignant. She raised her hand and tried to slap Lin Wenxi straight across the face.

“Let’s not hurt our friendship. I didn’t notice that there’s a pit here and tripped Lin Wenxi. Look how hard he stumbled. Of course, I must go down and rescue him,” Zhao Yuan said calmly after blocking Chen Wanxin’s hand.

Only then did Chen Wanxin realize that she had forgotten her manners. She cast Lin Wenxi an angry look and then started helping Zhao Yuan wipe away the blood on his body.

“I’m fine. We should go now. I’ll take care of it myself when we reach a place where we can pitch our tents. I don’t want to delay everyone. Reaching the second depot wouldn’t be as easy as reaching the first one,” Zhao Yuan said in a partially commanding tone. Chen Wanxin was speechless. Even though her heart ached for him, she inexplicably went along with his wish.

Before long, Lin Wenxi began thinking about leaving the team.

Even though he didn’t understand Zhang An’an and Shu Xiaoman’s words, he had a vague idea of their meaning. For example, when they asked, “What exactly happened? How did he carry you up?” For example, when they asked, “Is he on top or beneath you?”

Zhang An’an opened her mouth wide and looked as if she was chewing something soft. She sweetly raised an eyebrow and the words that left her mouth was as sweet as honeyed glutinous rice. She bared her white and straight teeth as if she was going to gobble Lin Wenxi alive. “Wenxi, what would you be like if you’re a girl? What would you be like?!!” Shu Xiaoman reached out to give Lin Wenxi’s cheeks a gentle pinch. “How soft! I really like how it feels! Say, why do you think Zhao Yuan hasn’t pinched your little face yet?” She swallowed a little when she was done speaking.

Lin Wenxi pushed Shu Xiaoman’s hand aside in displeasure. “Please conduct yourself with dignity,” he said solemnly.

Only then did Shu Xiaoman withdraw her hand awkwardly. She whispered into Zhang An’an’s ear, saying, “This is really quite embarrassing.”

“It’s fine. You’re unfamiliar now, but you’ll become close later,” Zhang An’an replied with a chuckle. She took Shu Xiaoman’s hand in hers with a little pout. Together, they walked alongside Lin Wenxi.

Lin Wenxi was incredibly uneasy deep inside. He wanted to inspect Zhao Yuan’s injuries but knew that he couldn’t act like Wang Xiang, sometimes jumping up and down while pulling onto Zhao Yuan’s arm and sometimes pinching his neck. More importantly, he couldn’t stand next to Zhao Yuan from the beginning to the end the way Chen Wanxin did. Besides bickering, few words were exchanged between him and Zhao Yuan. It wouldn’t seem right if they suddenly became close. But why did he had to hide this way? What exactly was he hiding?

The three of them had nothing to say throughout the entire journey and moved forward by following the rest of the team. Zhang An’an and Shu Xiaoman helped Lin Wenxi clear the weeds and kick off the stones in their path. Wang Xiang walked ahead of them, leading the way. From time to time, he would turn around to look at Zhang An’an’s gentle and sweet demeanor and feel a stab of jealousy. While helping to check the map, Zheng Kai watched Chen Wanxin walking closely beside Zhao Yuan and felt a jab of pain. Now that he had lost the bet, he had completely forgotten about the basketball jersey that he was about to lose.

The sunlight gradually darkened as they journeyed, revealing the glow of sunset instead. Zheng Kai found a clean and safe upland to camp on that night.

The girls cleaned up the site while the guys took charge of pitching the tents. The group stared blankly at the bread and eggs. The only fruit that they had was dried and shriveled persimmon. The rare beef jerky in their possession had been completely divided amongst the group that hadn’t taste meat for several days along the way. They had little appetite for what remained of their rations.

Zheng Kai and Zhao Yuan ate with relish, with the latter looking as if he wasn’t injured at all. Unexpectedly, even Lin Wenxi was able to chew and swallow slowly. Wang Xiang and the others were deeply distressed.

“Wenxi, why do you look like you’ve never suffered a day in your life?” Shu Xiaoman sized Lin Wenxi up, taking in his fair skin. She was even a little envious of his complexion didn’t even change after going through the furnace that was the military training. More importantly, there was not much change in his skin color. His skin was a little tanned but it wasn’t the scorched kind. His skin was still fair with a pinkish tinge.

Lin Wenxi gave her a small smile as a way of responding to her question. He picked up a bottle of mineral water and took a sip.

Seeing this, Zhao Yuan told them that he was going off to find some wild fruits and left on his own. Chen Wanxin followed after him. Without them both, Lin Wenxi could clearly feel the atmosphere coming to a standstill. In this boundless wilderness, he felt like he was the only person around. Suddenly, Shu Xiaoman sat next to him. She tilted her head and placed it onto Lin Wenxi’s lap. She closed her eyes to rest. “This princess has gotten tired. There’s nothing to eat either. Since you’re a guy, you should carry everything for the girl and do everything for the girl’s sake, not act for the sake of all girls. Lend me your lap for a rest.”

Zhang An’an teased her friend, saying, “This older sister’s thighs are thicker than Wenxi’s. Do you want to switch?” Wang Xiang obediently fell onto Zhang An’an but she seized him by the ear, causing him to yelp.

Shu Xiaoman pursed her lips and adopted a more comfortable posture to face Lin Wenxi’s abdomen. She closed her eyes and fell asleep just like that. Lin Wenxi wanted to move, but Shu Xiaoman’s sleeping face against his thighs was so sweet. She wore an imperceptible smile that carried her exhaustion from running around all day. Right then, she was clearly a pitiful yet adorable person. Her fiery temper during the day was extinguished. Lin Wenxi lowered his head to stare at her face for quite some time but had no interest in getting her off him.

Zheng Kai watched the sunset alone. He lit a cigarette and remained silent for a long time.

No one knew when a small flower fell on Shu Xiaoman’s forehead. Lin Wenxi chuckled and reached out to help her brush it off. Shu Xiaoman’s long eyelashes flickered and she looked up. She asked softly, “You’re not angry anymore?” 𝒇r𝙚𝙚𝓌𝙚𝑏𝗻𝑜𝘷𝗲𝘭.c૦𝑚

Lin Wenxi nodded with a straight face.

Shu Xiaoman put her cheeks closer to Lin Wenxi, where she could smell his sweat. The odor wasn’t as strong as that on other guys. Neither was it similar to the scent of women’s sweat that was mixed up with cosmetics. Instead, it was an elegant and intoxicating feeling. She didn’t know if it was because of the faint smell of cologne on her hair or the tranquil sounds of chirping birds in the wind. Shu Xiaoman had actually fallen asleep.

When Shu Xiaoman woke up again, Zhao Yuan had already returned with a bunch of bright red fruits. They were about the size of olives but their kernels were plump. They looked incredibly lovely but each fruit was covered with thorns. Shu Xiaoman studied it carefully before looking at Lin Wenxi. “It looks like you.”

Lin Wenxi caressed his cheek, unexpectedly grasping the meaning of Shu Xiaoman’s words. He took the fruit and buried it in the sand. He repeatedly used his shoes to roll and step on the fruit. When he picked it up again, the fruit looked bright and clean.

Shu Xiaoman climbed up with a swish and rested both hands on her cheeks. She watched Lin Wenxi use the rainwater collected on the leaves beside him to wash the fruit and rub it dry with paper towel. He pinched the stripes on the skin of the fruit with his fingernails and used his thumb to break it into halves. He then carved out the brown seed inside and gave her half of the flesh.

“For me?” Shu Xiaoman’s voice was very quiet and her face was slightly red. That was because all eyes were on Lin Wenxi, his hands, and then Shu Xiaoman’s face. Zhang An’an couldn’t help shaking her head.

Wang Xiang, Chen Wanxin, and Zhang An’an were holding their knives, ready to cut the thorns on the fruit. Wang Xiang’s finger was pricked by a thorn, causing a bead of blood to form. Chen Wanxin also had a thorn stabbing her finger and was looking for Zhao Yuan to help her pick it out. However, she froze when she saw Lin Wenxi’s series of quick actions.

Lin Wenxi didn’t pay attention to everyone’s gazes. Everyone’s fruits were piled under his feet. Wang Xiang felt as if he could squeeze water out of his eyes.

Zhang An’an pointed at Wang Xiang’s head and said, “If you have a tail now, you can very well shake it off!”

Lin Wenxi’s face twitched. Shu Xiaoman was already exclaiming that the fruit was delicious. Thus, everyone sat closer and watched Lin Wenxi even more closely. Shu Xiaoman frowned as she ate. “This is the first time since I, this old sir – ah, no, old madam – was born that I’m blushing...”

“Isn’t this just Cherokee rose? You hicks.” Zheng Kai recovered his senses after he was done smoking a few cigarettes on the stone. He looked as if he didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. Simultaneously, he also felt that something wasn’t quite right and opened his mouth to correct himself. “You city dwellers...”

“Jar of sweets,” Lin Wenxi said concisely. 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝒆𝘸𝚎𝙗𝒏oν𝙚𝘭.𝐜𝒐m

“Cherokee rose.” Zheng Kai corrected him.

“Oh...” Lin Wenxi continued to peel the fruits. Besides bickering with Zhao Yuan, he was no good at dispute of any kind.

“You’re both right. City dwellers call it the Cherokee rose while country bumpkins, like those in my hometown, call it the jar of sweets.” Zhao Yuan leaned over and crouched down. He acted just like Lin Wenxi and soon cleaned a bunch of jar of sweets fruits.

Lin Wenxi shrugged after hearing his words.