Humans are very complex creatures.
When Cheng Tingyu noticed no signs of human activity around, she wanted to break the monotonous state of the scenario. However, when she saw white smoke rising from the chimney, the strange feeling in her heart only intensified.
Cheng Tingyu quietly looked ahead.
Other than that wooden cabin, she seemed to have no other place to explore.
Just as Cheng Tingyu was contemplating his next move, a peculiar chill emanated from the [affordable and high-quality hiking bag].
Cheng Tingyu reached into the spatial artifact, confirming the source of the cool sensation.
That [Lucky Decision Coin] suddenly became somewhat different.
The coin's color, size, and shape were no different from when she first saw it, yet in the moment Cheng Tingyu was about to make a decision, it became extraordinarily alluring, as if just by picking it up and tossing it, she could know the answer to her question.
Curiosity and anxiety about the unknown swelled unnaturally in my heart at this moment.
Her current feeling was like that of someone who could only drink plain porridge every day, suddenly seeing a hot, fragrant, and greasy chicken drumstick.
Even without looking or thinking about it, the aroma of the chicken leg would waft to the tip of the nose.
After a long while, Cheng Tingyu very slowly shifted his gaze away from the coin and muttered to himself, "No, this way, it's not exciting enough."
The white smoke rising from the small cabin was blown into a slanting line by the wind.
Cheng Tingyu casually stuffed the coin back into his backpack and started walking towards the cabin.
The respawn point for participants was approximately one kilometer from the cabin.
When she was about twenty meters from her destination, there was a creak, and the wooden door was pushed open from the inside.
Two young people walked out from the door. On the right was a woman with black hair and slender eyes, and on the left was a man with curly brown hair and round eyes that perfectly matched the atmosphere of the setting. Both appeared to be around twenty-four or twenty-five years old.
The girl showed no surprise at meeting a stranger and said happily, "It's been a long time since we've had a guest. You must have traveled a long way. Come in quickly and rest!"
A mere thousand meters of distance wouldn't make Cheng Tingyu feel tired.
However, when she heard what the two were saying, her legs indeed felt the soreness of long walking, as if she had really been walking for a whole day and urgently needed to find a place to rest.
Boy: "Please come in, please come in, we've already cooked today's meal."
"I am very pleased to meet you both," Cheng Tingyu said, neither accepting nor declining their invitation. "How should I address you?"
The expression on the girl's face did not change: "My name is Xiao Jia."
The boy said, "My name is Xiao Yi."
"..."
Cheng Tingyu's gaze moved back and forth between the two faces, then he slowly spoke: "Why do you call yourselves by this name?"
——She now deeply doubted the naming ability of the author of "A Boring Storybook." Was the word "boring" in the title because the characters' names were so unappealing to readers that the author finally decided to give up?
Xiao Jia looked at Cheng Tingyu, his face radiating with a warm smile. "It's been a long time since we've had any guests. You must have traveled a long way. Come in quickly and rest!"
Xiao Yi: "Please come in, please come in, we've already cooked today's meal."
...They repeated their initial response.
Cheng Tingyu's earlier inquiry seemed completely meaningless to these two people, so they couldn't provide an answer and could only repeat their words of welcome.
"..."
The wind around seemed to grow colder. Cheng Tingyu was silent for a moment, then softly said, "Let's not rush."
Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi did not urge.
They still stood at the door with beaming smiles, facing Cheng Tingyu with impeccable enthusiasm.
Checking the surroundings was Cheng Tingyu's habit. She turned around and walked a circle around the house.
In this open space, there were no golden yellow grasses growing, but there was a haystack in the backyard, with some farming tools beside it.
Cheng Tingyu did not enter the wooden house. Instead, he looked inside through the doors and windows and roughly understood that it was a three-bedroom, one-living-room layout.
Little Jia and Little Yi each had their own bedroom, and the other room was, of course, reserved for guests.
After a week had passed, Cheng Tingyu returned to the doorway.
Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi stood there, their movements not much different from before, like two idle NPCs. Upon seeing Cheng Tingyu, they repeated the words they had said when they first met for the third time.
Cheng Tingyu's hunger pangs in his abdomen grew more severe.
Today, she left home with the idea of a winter hike, naturally bringing food and water. However, just now, Cheng Tingyu suddenly realized that she couldn't reach into her backpack.
Cheng Tingyu raised his head, silently looking at the two young people in front of him, then shifted his gaze to the small wooden house behind them.
She looked for a long time, but in the end, she saw nothing.
"The appraiser's abilities, like the tools on his body, had all lost their effectiveness."
Little Jia and Little Yi stood in front of the wooden door, their faces beaming with enthusiastic smiles. They ignored all the peculiarities of the visitor and extended an invitation to come inside for a meal for the fourth time.
The two young people in front of him didn't seem like normal humans. Cheng Tingyu skipped the communication process and got straight to the point: "Why did you invite me in for a meal?"
Little Jia: "It is our duty to provide food for the guests."
Cheng Tingyu changed his way of asking: "Is there anything here that needs someone else's help?"
She needed to figure out her purpose in the copy as soon as possible.
Little Jia: "It is our responsibility to provide food for the guests."
Cheng Tingyu: "..."
She now felt like she was dealing with an AI customer service, but worse than AI, the available communication options with the two people in front of her seemed even fewer.
Cheng Tingyu asked Xiao Yi the same question again, and the answer he received was not much different from Xiao Jia's.
The sky was still blue, warm sunlight shining on the golden grass, a gentle breeze blowing softly.
The scenery that once brought joy and relaxation now appeared rigid and monotonous.
Cheng Tingyu rubbed his temples and asked, "So after I finish eating, where should I go next?"
She still didn't get an answer.
For Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi, this still seemed to be an unsolvable problem.
The aroma of hot milk and toasted bread wafted from the doorway, the hunger in Cheng Tingyu's stomach burning intensely.
Even when she thought she had just crossed over and was gnawing on small portions of steamed buns with greens in the inn every day, she had never been this hungry.
Moreover, in addition to hunger, Cheng Tingyu's fatigue was also intensifying. Her muscles began to ache, and her limbs felt as if they were shackled. Even taking a single step made her feel the heaviness in her body.
Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi still stood at the doorway, smiling as they looked at Cheng Tingyu.
Monotonous background, monotonous characters, monotonous course of action.
The choices presented to the participants were not many.
Cheng Tingyu was silent for a moment, then smiled at the two young people. "In that case, I'll go in and rest for a while."
Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi looked at Cheng Tingyu and made way for her.
The layout of the wooden house was almost exactly as Cheng Tingyu had guessed. Behind the entrance was a small living room, followed by a dining room connected to an open kitchen. The building had a total of three bedrooms, two facing south and one facing north.
Xiao Yi led Cheng Tingyu into the restaurant.
Little Jia said happily, "After we finish eating, we will make the bed for the guest, and then you can go rest!"
Cheng Tingyu did not respond, yet this did not seem to affect Xiao Jia and the other's joyful excitement in the slightest.
The table in the dining room was covered with a snow-white tablecloth, adorned with three beautiful plates and three sets of cutlery. In the center of each plate lay a freshly baked, soft bread roll, accompanied by a cup of hot milk with honey on the side.
Cheng Tingyu lingered outside for quite some time, yet the food in the dining room remained warm, still at the perfect temperature for eating.
Little Jia and Little Yi gave up the middle seat for the guest from afar. However, in the face of such considerate hosts, Cheng Tingyu did not display similar courtesy. She picked up Little Jia's plate, took Little Yi's milk, and swapped them with the food in front of her.
The two saw Cheng Tingyu's actions but had no reaction, as if this was a perfectly normal behavior for a guest.
Cheng Tingyu thought, this is not a good thing.
If those two wanted to stop it, or at least showed some intention of stopping it, then it could prove that the problem lay with the food.
Unconsciously, the exam had already begun, and she hadn't even found her question yet.
The beautiful scenery and the serene, utterly safe hospitality made Cheng Tingyu feel a sense of being constrained.
If you can't sense danger, you can't respond to it.
Xiao Jia laughed, "It's time to eat now."
She picked up the glass and took a sip of milk.
Little Yi across from him picked up the glass and took a sip of milk as well.
The two of them performed the same actions. After drinking the milk, they simultaneously opened their mouths and used their white teeth to bite into the bread.
Until this moment, the two owners of the cabin finally exhibited a noticeable sense of strangeness.
Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi kept their eyes fixed in the direction of Cheng Tingyu while they were eating.
The loud, hair-raising sound of chewing echoed from their mouths.
Cheng Tingyu did not meet their eyes; she stared at the bread on her plate and suddenly remembered a story she had read before.
The fairy who lived on the surface had to stay in the underworld forever because she ate the food from there.
There are three rooms in the wooden house. If she eats the food here, will she turn into Xiao Bing?
Cheng Tingyu's hand had just touched the bread when he immediately put it down.
Her display of resistance did not affect the other two's appetite. Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi finished their bread and milk completely, not leaving even a crumb. Only then did they put down their cups and turn to Cheng Tingyu together: "Are you done eating?"
Cheng Tingyu: "What if I say 'no'?"
Xiao Jia said to Xiao Yi, "Have you finished eating?"
Cheng Tingyu: "..."
Alright, I guess I've got my answer.
Looking at the two people with enthusiastic smiles, Cheng Tingyu nodded, "I'm done eating."
Xiao Jia: "After eating, one should rest."
With her proclamation, the surrounding environment suddenly changed.
The sunlight outside the window dimmed, and the temperature dropped accordingly. Even the wind direction changed, with the fragrance and warmth in the air completely disappearing. The wind howled through the window, making Cheng Tingyu feel a distinct chill.
Cheng Tingyu realized something.
In this scenario, time follows the plot.
Before the dining scene arrives, the food's temperature will never drop; before the dining scene concludes, the sun will never set.
Little Jia and Little Yi lit the candles and cheerfully said, "We have already prepared a soft bed for you, please go and rest."
Their expressions returned to normal, as if the strange demeanor during the meal was merely Cheng Tingyu's illusion.
Cheng Tingyu's gaze swept over the two of them, and he remarked objectively, "Going to sleep right after eating is really not a healthy lifestyle."
Xiao Jia looked at Cheng Tingyu and gave a big smile. The candlelight reflected off her white teeth. "Guests need to rest more to get rid of their fatigue."
Cheng Tingyu pondered for a moment, then stood up from the chair and gave the two a slight smile. "In that case, take me to see the bedroom."
When the owner of the small cabin became strange, she suddenly seemed to transform into a courteous guest. She stepped forward, took the candlestick from the other person's hand, and then bowed slightly to Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi: "Please, lead the way for me."