Recently, the heat has been unbearable, and not many people are taking to the streets. Stepping out feels like you’re about to be baked alive. In this era, people don’t stroll around much anyway, especially in small towns . Most farmers are busy working in the fields, perfectly embodying the verse—
"Hoeing the grain under the noonday sun, sweat drips beneath the crops."
Life isn’t easy for anyone. This is existence; this is duty.
Early in the morning, there was a heavy downpour. The rain was fierce, drops as big as soybeans pelting the ground. After the storm, the entire town felt noticeably cooler.
Meng Shuyan and Little Milk Tea stayed at home with Chen Ying, while Tian Sangsang had gone mountain exploring with a basket on her back. The town is surrounded by mountains—living by the mountain, relying on its bounty. In the depths of the forest, there are always countless unknown treasures waiting to be discovered.
Walking along the mountain path, breathing in the refreshing scent of earth after the rain, the leaves on the trees, washed clean, radiated a lush green vitality. The trail was a bit muddy, and footprints appeared wherever her shoes landed, but Tian Sangsang didn’t mind. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, savoring the cool breeze on her dark face—it was so invigorating, lifting her spirits.
"That day, I transformed into a fluttering swallow, flying to your side, turning and circling, again and again. You fixed your gaze on me, your eyes tracing my whirls. From then on, I lost my way, tumbling into this ordinary world."
Singing softly, humming along.
Tian Sangsang retrieved several fish, crabs, clams, and fruits from her spatial storage, pretending as if she had gathered them from the mountain. This way, there was a reasonable explanation for their origin, avoiding suspicion from Chen Ying and the others.
After strolling for a while, she found herself deeper in the mountain, arriving at a spot with water at its center. Before her lay a tranquil, crystal-clear pool, hidden amongst the surrounding hills, encircled by a lush canopy of green leaves. The foliage resembled a jungle—somewhat familiar. As she got closer and parted the leaves, nestled within were rows of enormous green watermelons!
A summer without watermelon feels incomplete.
Tian Sangsang’s eyes sparkled. Hurriedly, she hauled several watermelons into her spatial storage. She was running out of watermelons in her storage, and the ones bought from the supermarket wouldn’t grow in her soil there.
Watermelon seeds, with careful watering and fertilizing, could indeed be cultivated.
Once everything was packed up, Tian Sangsang slung her basket onto her back and continued forward. She hadn’t walked far when suddenly—"Splash!"—a loud noise erupted behind her.
Startled, Tian Sangsang turned around in alarm and retraced a few steps. The sound was like something falling from the mountain. Looking up, she realized the cliff was at least fifty meters high. Yet the surface of the pool rippled only slightly, as if nothing was about to emerge.
Curiosity killed the cat.
Tian Sangsang quickly ran off, temporarily brushing aside the strange occurrence. Exploring further into the mountain, she found some new species: old mushrooms, purple grapes, figs. She also uprooted a small piece of bamboo and some sugarcane, planning to plant them in her storage soil.
On her way back, she passed by the pool again. At its edge were a long set of footprints—larger than hers. That wasn’t important; what mattered was that they seemed to belong to an ordinary human and not some strange creature. So, was it a person who had fallen from the mountain?
Relieved, Tian Sangsang followed the footprints, which led her to the entrance of a stone cave.
The cave appeared seldom visited, with wild grass growing thickly at the front. Peering inside, it was pitch-black. After hesitating for a moment, Tian Sangsang mustered her courage and threw a rock into the cave. Nothing responded. She threw another rock, and again, no reaction. The imagined monstrous beasts didn’t come charging out either.
Tian Sangsang suspected that she had been watching too many American dramas—or perhaps too many horror films. No sound could mean there were ghosts, as she was reminded of the movie *The Vanishing Cave*.
But these ideas were nonsense; after all, this was just a decent slice-of-life story, not some thriller.
She stepped inside. It took quite a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, slowly making out shapes.
Inside the cave, the sound of dripping water echoed faintly, a chilling dampness enveloping her. Black-green moss clung to the walls, and in a corner, there seemed to be a shadow.
An ordinary person might be scared half to death; a typical girl would’ve screamed and bolted long ago. But Tian Sangsang? She was a connoisseur of suspense, mystery, thriller, horror, crime, psychological, and ghost stories. Aside from her heart pounding furiously a few times, she felt no discomfort. Maybe her stout figure gave her courage.
"Cough... cough..." A strained coughing noise jolted through the cave. It was clearly coming from the shadow.
The shadow was hunched over against the wall, body curled up, maintaining a motionless posture, head drooping low.
"Hey. Are you alright?" Tian Sangsang stepped closer, pulling a flashlight from her spatial storage and shining it directly on the shadow. Only after confirming it was a human did she finally calm her heart.
Suddenly, she covered her nose and mouth, frowning. The shadow emitted an awful stench—different from ordinary filth, it was the rot of infected wounds, like cooked pork left untouched for too long. At this moment, Tian Sangsang couldn’t let herself hesitate. Placing the flashlight on the ground, the cave gradually filled with light.
She stepped forward and touched the shadow’s forehead.
"Oh, crap." The scalding heat made her curse reflexively. Was he feverish? Had his brain fried?
Lowering her gaze, she stared at the shadow’s face—familiar contours. Discordant memories began to flood unbidden into her mind.
Boiling, boiling, ready to explode!
"Why is it him!?" Tian Sangsang jumped about three feet high in shock, backing away repeatedly, her thoughts racing a mile a minute.
Destiny strikes again, unyielding.
She’d just gone walking in the mountain and ended up meeting the villainous big boss?
No, wait. He hadn’t turned evil yet, hadn’t blackened into the antagonist.
What was he doing here?
Tian Sangsang approached cautiously, tilting his chin with a finger, carefully examining his features.
Preliminary assessment: an absolute heartthrob.
Eyebrows... long and straight, decidedly masculine.
Eyes... tightly shut, hard to tell if they were peach blossom, almond-shaped, or fox-like.
Eyelashes? Like her son’s, resembling a fan. Why did a man have such thick and curled eyelashes? Couldn’t he just transfer them to her?
Nose bridge... straight and prominent.
Lips... thin and pale.
Complexion... pallid as paper.
Cheek... faint scratches lined the edge.
Moving further down, he wore a military uniform: a dark green tank top, matching green trousers, and a military pack beside him, stuffed with miscellaneous items. Upon closer inspection, she spotted both a knife and a gun. What was this man here for? She remembered from the original storyline that Meng Shuyan’s biological father was a soldier who had earned his military honors. Aside from his regular missions, he was part of an elite special forces unit, often handling challenging operations and rising quickly through the ranks. Now, how high had he risen?