CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 46: GREEDY DEMANDS

"No, thank you."

Ye Manman didn’t feel like talking too much with them. Regardless of gender, the thoughts on their faces were too obvious, especially their eager eyes made her very uncomfortable.

After rejecting the young intellectuals, Ye Manman rubbed her somewhat numb legs, the tingling and sore feeling made her unconsciously let out a soft whimper, and then she looked up at He Chen with a pout.

"He Chen, my legs are numb~ Can you hold me the other way around?"

He Chen’s big hands were particularly warm, just enough to wrap around her two feet, Ye Manman felt extremely warm, but her legs were indeed numb.

At this point, she probably couldn’t stand up anymore.

He Chen responded with an "Mm," carefully turning her around, and Ye Manman switched to a knee-hugging position, leaning into He Chen’s embrace, now her back was warm too.

Ye Manman comfortably squinted her eyes.

"He Chen, am I heavy? Are your legs numb?"

He’s been sitting like this for quite a while, and Ye Manman felt she couldn’t let him hold her for too long, otherwise his thighs might lose circulation.

He Chen lowered his head, about to say she wasn’t heavy, but she leaned against him too comfortably, and from his angle, he could just see a small crevice exposed due to her wearing his ill-fitting clothes.

Suddenly, He Chen felt his heartbeat becoming frighteningly rapid, as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

He averted his eyes, desperately trying to forget the blood-pumping scene, yet his heartbeat grew more intense.

It’s over.

He couldn’t forget it at all.

He Chen’s heartbeat grew increasingly fierce, and the sound of it grew louder. Ye Manman, leaning against his chest, felt a little confused.

"He Chen, why is your heartbeat so fast? Did you catch a cold? Or are you uncomfortable somewhere?"

She made a move to sit up, but He Chen quickly reached out to hold her down.

"Don’t..."

"I’m fine, don’t worry."

He explained nervously while looking down, finally revealing the desires in his heart through his suddenly deep and husky voice.

Ye Manman hadn’t eaten pork but had seen pigs run; when she settled back onto his legs, she clearly felt something suddenly pressing against her.

Combining this with his voice, Ye Manman instantly understood.

She didn’t dare to move, neither away nor closer to him, and her fair face discreetly turned pink.

"He Chen, you"

"You calm down a bit."

"Should I cover your legs with a piece of clothing? I’ll sit next to you."

Ye Manman pondered carefully; he’s already like this, and if she continued sitting on his legs, wouldn’t that be adding fuel to the fire?

She immediately wanted to move away.

But He Chen lowered his head, held her tightly, and his husky voice had a hint of pleading.

"Don’t go."

"Manman, I want to hold you."

"I’m sorry for scaring you, I won’t do anything to hurt you, rest assured."

He held her tightly but not uncomfortably, even in such uncontrollable circumstances he still maintained rational control over his strength.

Ye Manman felt warmth in her heart, her small hand rested on his arm that embraced her, and she smiled silently.

"Then I won’t leave, you can hold me, but if your legs get numb you have to say so, or be careful about circulation issues, as circulation could lead to muscle necrosis, and you might have to have an amputation and become disabled one day."

She intentionally teased him; He Chen didn’t show any fear, instead blushing more while he buried his head in her neck, cautiously yet almost greedily breathing in her unique scent.

Who knows why he suddenly became so shameless, actually having the nerve to beg for a hug.

Right after speaking those few words, he regretted it. He still feared Ye Manman might find him disgusting; yet she allowed him to hug her, and instantly he felt having a thick skin wasn’t too bad.

He Chen’s face was always red, people unaware might think he had a fever.

But he was only ashamed beyond measure, thinking wildly, unable to control his greedy wishes, as long as Ye Manman gave him a little he was satisfied.

He was incredibly content.

It seemed that no one had seen a sticky pair like them before; even the aunt sitting next to them seemed slightly blushing and turned to look elsewhere embarrassed.

Others occasionally glanced at them, but everyone was frozen half to death, and as time went on even those who stole glances almost disappeared.

Everyone was silent, listening to the sound of branches being torn off by floods not far outside, occasionally hearing animal cries, the atmosphere suffocatingly tense.

"Hey, when will this rain stop? If it keeps coming, the house might collapse."

"How will we live, sob..."

"..."

Someone suddenly sighed, and after the first, there were continuous sighs and sobs; the prolonged waiting and fear finally overwhelmed most people’s fragile hearts; even children were scared into crying.

When the sharp crying of a child pierced the air, the mental defenses of everyone in the tent began to crumble like earth, even the brigade leader holding a loudspeaker couldn’t maintain order.

Ye Manman leaned against He Chen, took out chocolate and shared it with him, one each, and soon they went through several bags, yet she still felt hungry.

Since the group of young intellectuals came back, she was no longer worried about casualties from the rain, but she really was hungry.

Because the rain seemed to stop only at night.

Which meant they would probably go hungry all day.

Just thinking about it was daunting.

"He Chen, I’m so hungry, are you hungry too..."

She pulled He Chen’s hand over to her flat belly, looking up at him pitifully.

"Feel it, it’s rumbling."

He Chen was also very hungry, but having been used to hunger since childhood, he could bear it; however, he’d never let Ye Manman miss a meal. Seeing her pitiful look, his eyes turned red with pain.

"Mm, I can feel it. Hold on a little longer, the rain should stop soon, I’ll take you to pick fruit when it does."

He had no choice, even if there was game, even if a wild boar was left here, they couldn’t cook it.

None of them brought food, and those few young intellectuals hastily brought back only some raw sweet potatoes and sorghum, which they could only munch on.

Ye Manman was starving and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"He Chen, what in the mountains can be eaten raw?"

She wasn’t familiar with the flora and fauna in the mountains, especially local items, seemingly could only ask local He Chen.

He Chen thought a bit, understood her plan but was somewhat disapproving.

"You want things to suddenly appear with us? That could scare others, it’s dangerous."

His greatest concern was her unique ability being discovered.

Ye Manman grasped his hand and shook it.

"Trust me, I’ve mastered the skill, just tell me."

She started to act coquettishly, something He Chen couldn’t resist, so he mentioned tender bamboo shoots freshly sprouted could be pulled out and eaten, but he requested she face him again.

This could maximize minimizing the chance her ability would be discovered.

That was He Chen’s most acceptable limit.

Otherwise, he would rather be heartless and let her be hungry for a while.

Ye Manman obediently turned around, then kept picturing little tender bamboo shoots emerging from the ground.

Suddenly, a nearby uncle felt his backside being poked.

He stood up and looked, and his eyes instantly brightened.

"Oh my, bamboo shoots are sprouting!"