They found a secluded cave to camp for the night. Bai Shuyin had never traveled before, nor had she ever gone on a camping trip. She was a homebody and she loved her routine.
School. Gym. Home. School. Gym. And home again. Then repeat the cycle.
That was it. Nothing more. And she loved her life. No matter how boring it was.
She preferred planting mushrooms at every corner of her room and making friends with them, rather than going out socializing. She had named all of them; red polka dot, inky bity brat, smelly guy, and so much more. That aside, she also had enough books to accompany her.
And now she regretted that a lot. If she had known that she would be transmigrated into a fantasy novel where her character had to live in the woods to survive, she would have stepped out of her room and learned how to survive in the woods.
She had read about what to do during camps and the methods in novel books and what the characters did, but applying the theory in real life was totally a different thing and more challenging.
She had stood at the outer cave like a dumbass idiot, watching Wang Heiyue busying himself like he actually knew what to do and prepare. He had paddled out of the cave and came back with arms full of thick tree leaves and spread them on the ground, creating a makeshift mattress.
'Forgive this useless sister,' Bai Shuyin wailed silently, weeping as she placed their bags down and tried to light a fire up.
She crouched down, picking up small pebbles. She read this somewhere before in surviving guide 101. Hitting rock with rock against each other could spark a fire.
But since there were no rocks in here, pebbles would work too, wouldn't they?
No?
Never know until you try.
As if Wang Heiyue could read her thoughts, this time, he came back with small woods and Bai Shuyin frowned.
"Where did you get that?" She asked as he placed them on the ground. Her tone had gone an octave higher and she cleared her throat.
"I cut it off from the nearby tree," Wang Heiyue chirped, giving her a toothy grin like he actually expected praise in return.
"You cut it off?!" She had lost the ability to grasp the situation. Her eyebrows almost raised above her hairline and she spluttered. "How could you--"
'How can a young boy at the age of 10 be able to cut down a huge trunk? Even his dragon form is too small to do that!'
The size of his dragon form was only that of an adult weasel. Tiny!
She inspected the woods he brought. It looked too well-polished with a smooth surface, unlike the trees they passed by. Since they were in a cave surrounded by huge trees, she only needed to crane her head a bit and see to make sure--
--only to have a small body blocking her view.
She glanced up at the small structure obscuring her. She cooled her expression and arched her slick eyebrow at Wang Heiyue.
He gave her another big grin, holding something up with his hands. This time, a small dead rabbit.
Well, at least, she didn't have to worry about their dinner.
***
The small fire kept the chilly cave warm.
Bai Shuyin and Wang Heiyue wolfed down their food, more like Heiyue. He appeared to be starving from using too much of his strength.
'Don't tell me he really did cut down a tree…'
Bai Shiyin nimbled at the roasted meat in her hand. Watching him eat already made her full. She wiped her hands clean on her clothes before patting the thick layer of leaves as if trying to make it comfy.
Bai Shuyin laid down on it and closed her eyes, preparing to sleep, face content. She had never expected that she would lie on a bed made of leaves and actually feel comfortable in her life.
This was probably due to exhaustion. 'Even sleeping on hard rocks would feel comfortable when you are tired.'
Bai Shuyin was on the verge of falling asleep when she felt something small squirmed into her arms and the smell of rain, damp moss, layered with the fragrant of flowers washed over her.
The scent reminded her of a forest that was ready to embrace her with open arms, without judging and always ready to give love and support.
Without opening her eyes, she knew who that was and the corner of her lips habitually jerked up. She had been smiling a lot more in this alternate world rather than her previous one.
All of these made her forget about her cherished boring life. She almost forgot about walking on the asphalt road, weaving through busy streets early in the morning to avoid being late to school.
Here, in this alternate world, where she should feel unsafe from time to time with the howls of the unknown and wild beasts just right outside their temporary stay, instead she was greeted with peace and the fragrance of nature. It didn't exactly help that Wang Heiyue always carried this scent on him.
Small arms wrapped around her middle and she wounded hers around him naturally; holding Wang Heiyue's slightly colder temperature body, nevertheless, it gave some sort of comfort in her heart.
She unconsciously leaned down and left a kiss on his forehead and before going back snuggling him. Bai Shuyin was too tired to notice something long and rough wrapped around her waist. Another thin root slithered loosely, circling her ankle.
***
He was startled.
Things were different when he asked for it. Trying to fight back the blush from burning his face seemed unavoidable. He knew he shouldn't feel this way, but he couldn't help it.
He slowly raised his hand to touch his forehead, feeling the warmth that lingered and took another look at the woman he knew in front of him.
His heart was brimming with doubts and fear.
Doubts of his choices.
And fear of losing the one he loved once again.