sjar Chapter 745 So if something is cute, you can't eat it? Then tell me, what can you eat?
Chapter 745 So if something is cute, you can't eat it? Then tell me, what can you eat?
Gu Qingchen's cheeks instantly flushed, both embarrassed and annoyed. She could feel the warmth of his chest and his steady heartbeat, which she could still clearly hear through his thick winter clothes.
She shoved him away abruptly, and to hide her embarrassment, glared at him fiercely: "Mind your own business!"
After saying that, she turned around and slid away into the distance like an annoyed cat, even faster than before.
As Qian Zhenyun watched her retreating figure, the curve of his lips softened even more.
The two chased each other on the ice, laughing and playing, as if they had returned to their carefree childhood.
All of Gu Qingchen's worries and frustrations vanished without a trace amidst the crisp laughter and the biting cold wind.
When they got tired of playing, the two sat down to rest on the withered grass by the lake.
Gu Qingchen's face was red from the cold, but her eyes shone brightly, sparkling with a long-lost, pure joy.
"Gungun, thank you so much," she said sincerely.
Qian Zhenyun handed her a water pouch. "What are you thanking me for?"
"Thank you for bringing me here." Gu Qingchen took a sip of warm water, the warmth flowing down her throat to her heart. "I haven't been this happy in a long time."
As she was speaking, her gaze inadvertently swept over a patch of snow not far away, and she suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
“Look there,” she said, pointing to a row of tiny footprints. “They’re rabbit tracks.”
As the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, her archery skills were not for nothing. She had an innate sensitivity to the tracks of her prey.
Qian Zhenyun looked in the direction she pointed and indeed saw a series of plum blossom-shaped footprints that extended all the way to the bushes at the foot of the hill.
"Looks like we've found a solution for lunch today." Qian Zhenyun stood up and brushed the grass clippings off his clothes.
Gu Qingchen's eyes lit up even more. She jumped up from the ground and said excitedly, "Let's go raid the rabbit burrows!"
Following the trail, the two soon found a rabbit hole covered by withered grass under a sheltered earthen slope.
Gu Qingchen picked up a twig and carefully parted the disguise of the cave entrance, releasing a faint fishy smell.
"I've got it!" she said excitedly to Qian Zhenyun in a low voice.
Qian Zhenyun found some dry grass, lit it at another cave entrance, and used the smoke to smoke it out.
A moment later, a plump gray rabbit darted out of the main hole in a panic and crashed headfirst into the snare that Gu Qingchen had already set up.
"Got it!" Gu Qingchen cheered, holding the struggling rabbit with a triumphant smile on his face.
The two gathered some dry branches nearby, and Qian Zhenyun took out a flint from his pocket and skillfully started a fire.
He cleaned the rabbit, skewered it with a sharpened twig, and slowly roasted it over the fire.
Soon, the grease dripped into the flames, sizzling and releasing an enticing aroma of meat into the air.
Gu Qingchen sat by the fire, hugging his knees.
“Gun Gun,” she suddenly said, “you seem to know everything.”
He is well-read, insightful, and able to comfort her; he even possesses natural-world survival skills.
Qian Zhenyun was focused on turning the roasted rabbit. Upon hearing this, he said without looking up, "My mother always said that when you're out in the world, you have to have some skills to rely on, otherwise you'd have starved to death long ago."
He tore off a rabbit leg that was roasted until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, blew on it, and handed it to her.
"Try it, the spoils of our heroine's war."
Gu Qingchen took the rabbit leg, ignoring the heat, and took a big bite. The spicy seasoning mixed with the natural freshness of the rabbit meat exploded on his taste buds.
She squinted her eyes contentedly and mumbled, "Delicious!"
Watching her eat so unceremoniously, Qian Zhenyun's eyes held a tenderness he himself was unaware of.
The sun is shining brightly, the breeze is gentle, I have trustworthy friends by my side, and I have freshly caught delicious food in my hands.
At this moment, Gu Qingchen felt that the scheming in the imperial court and the struggles in the inner quarters were very, very far away from her.
She was just Gu Qingchen, not the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, nor the future Crown Princess.
She is simply herself.
"Sister, what are you eating? It smells delicious!"
A soft, sweet voice suddenly rang out from behind the bushes nearby.
Gu Qingchen and Qian Zhenyun paused simultaneously and looked toward the source of the sound.
A tiny, exquisitely beautiful child, about four or five years old, was peeking out from a bush about half a person's height.
He was wearing an exquisitely crafted royal blue brocade cotton robe, and a golden longevity lock hung around his neck, clearly indicating that he was the child of a wealthy family.
At this moment, he was staring intently at the golden-brown, oily rabbit leg in Gu Qingchen's hand with his big, dark eyes, his little nose sniffing hard, his mouth practically watering.
Gu Qingchen's heart softened instantly when she saw his adorable, greedy look.
She smiled and waved at him.
"Little guy, come here."
Seeing that she meant no harm, the little child, with his short legs, huffed and puffed as he crawled out of the bushes and ran to the fire.
Gu Qingchen tore off the other, most tenderly roasted rabbit leg and waved it in front of him. "Want some?"
The little child nodded vigorously, his eyes filled with longing.
"Here you go." Gu Qingchen handed over the rabbit leg.
The little baby seemed to have been hungry for a long time. He took it and, not caring that it was hot, opened his little mouth and started to gnaw on it.
He ate quickly and hurriedly, his cheeks puffed out like a little squirrel, muttering indistinctly as he ate: "...So delicious, sister, what kind of meat is this?"
Seeing him wolfing down his food, Gu Qingchen was in a good mood and casually replied, "Here, rabbit meat."
As soon as he finished speaking, the little baby abruptly stopped eating.
He looked down at the meat in his hand, then looked up again. His clear eyes instantly filled with tears, and his lips trembled as if he had suffered a great injustice.
With a loud "Wah!", he threw the half-eaten rabbit leg on the ground and burst into tears.
Gu Qingchen was taken aback by his sudden change of heart. "Hey, child, what's wrong?"
The little child pointed a chubby little finger at Gu Qingchen, sobbing uncontrollably, "You...how could you eat bunnies! Bunnies are so cute!"
Gu Qingchen was both amused and exasperated. She sat cross-legged and raised an eyebrow: "Just because something is cute doesn't mean it can't be eaten? Then tell me, what can you eat?"
"Yes...yes, we can eat chicken! We can eat fish!" the little child sobbed, protesting. "Rabbits are for hugging, not for eating!"
"Who said that?"
Gu Qingchen found the theory quite novel, and she became interested, teasing him like she was playing with a kitten.
“I eat whatever I hunt. Today it just happened to fall into my hands, so it’s only right that I eat it.”
"You're bad! You're a bad person!" The little child was so angry at her twisted logic that her face turned red, and she stomped her feet and shouted.
"How am I bad? I was hungry, it came to me, and I ate it. It's only natural."
"You're a bad person! You're not allowed to eat it!"
Qian Zhenyun watched helplessly as the two, one big and one small, argued fiercely.
He put down the branch in his hand, stood up, walked over to the little child who was still wiping away tears, reached out and lifted him up from the ground.
The baby's feet left the ground, the crying stopped abruptly, and the baby looked at the adult who had suddenly lifted him up in a daze.
Qian Zhenyun pulled him in front of her and said gently, "Alright, stop crying."
He looked into the little child's eyes and asked earnestly, "Whose child are you? How did you end up here all by yourself?"