“The three of you have worked so hard and are our heroes. Please rest well.” He Jia smiled.Fish was delicious but extremely troublesome to handle. It had to be scaled and its internal organs must be removed, or else it might impart a fishiness to the flesh itself.

Ye Lingchen was naturally not interested in doing those things, so Huang Lei took over.

By then, it was only just after nine o’clock, since everyone had woken up early that morning. Ye Lingchen and the two girls were bored stiff, so they sat outside and enjoyed the late morning mountain scenery.

The mountains were clearer in the early morning. One could see greens all over the mountains, and even the air seemed to be filled with the scent of flowers and grass.

“God Ye, there’s nothing to do anyway, so why not tell us a story?” Wei Daxun moved a stool and sat over, looking at Ye Lingchen excitedly.

The story that Ye Lingchen told before was deeply rooted in his heart, rendering him sleepless in the middle of the night. He was scared, but at the same time, he could not help but think about it constantly. He wanted to hear what happened next.

“No.” Ye Lingchen shook his head without the slightest hesitation.

“Why not?” Wei Daxun asked.

Ye Lingchen pointed to Huang Lei and He Jia who were busy, then said with a smile, “The two of them are working and preparing for lunch. The three of us have just returned from fishing. What are you doing?”

Wei Daxun was taken aback for a moment. “I… I’m in charge of eating.”

“PFFT, HAHAHA…” Hu Yue’er and Zhao Liangying both laughed.

“In charge of eating? I’ll be the first to disagree.” Ye Lingchen then said to everyone, “Do you agree for him to eat?”

“I don’t.” Zhao Liangying refused without even giving it any thought.

“I disagree too,” Hu Yue’er chimed in quickly.

“He Sensei, Daddy Huang[1]…” Wei Daxun looked pitifully at Huang Lei and He Jia.

“Daxun, Daddy Huang won’t help you this time. This is Life’s Struggles, and if you don’t do anything, you really won’t have anything to eat.” Huang Lei smiled.

Ye Lingchen stood up and beckoned to the despairing Wei Daxun. “If you still want to eat, come and work quickly.”

“Oh,” Wei Daxun responded and asked, “What will we be doing, God Ye?”

“Chopping firewood!”

“Chopping firewood?” Wei Daxun walked to the pile of firewood. “What do I need to do?”

At that point, Ye Lingchen had already picked up the ax and touched it. “You’re responsible for keeping the wood straight. I’ll do the chopping.”

“What?” Wei Daxun flinched. “God Ye, you’re not asking me to hold it with my hands, are you?”

“Duh, if not your hands then are you going to use your face? Hurry up.”

“God Ye. Calm down for a bit. You… Have you chopped firewood before?”

“Nope. There’s always a first time for everyone, but it’s fine. We’ll take it slow,” Ye Lingchen remarked curtly. That answer made Wei Daxun scared, and his face became paler.

“No, are you sure you won’t cut me if I hold it with my hand?” Wei Daxun gulped and asked worriedly.

Ye Lingchen patted Wei Daxun on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll try my best not to chop you.”

Try his…best?

Why did he pale when he heard those words?

Wei Daxun trembled as he straightened the wood and his face turned completely bloodless. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said in a faltering voice, “God Ye, I’m your fan. You mustn’t hurt me.”

“Look at my eyes.” Ye Lingchen pointed to his own eyes. “Do you see what’s inside? It’s trust! What’s the most basic foundation between people? Trust!”

He had already raised the ax while speaking and swung it down under Wei Daxun’s horrified gaze.

Chop!

“AHHHHHHHH—”

Wei Daxun was so frightened that he let out a woman-like scream. His entire body trembled and the ax landed on the left side of his arm, exactly half a foot away. Ye Lingchen did not chop off Wei Daxun’s hand, but he did not manage to chop the wood either.

“It’s not too accurate. Let’s try again,” Ye Lingchen said and raised the ax once more.

“No way. I really can’t do it.” Wei Daxun dropped the firewood and ran back. “God Ye, please spare me, I’ll help clean the fish.”

Looking at his rear figure, Ye Lingchen could not help but sigh and say with compassion, “Sigh, I never imagined that even the most basic trust between two people has disappeared. Modern men are unreliable.”

[PFTT, God Ye, this is too much!]

[I’ll support God Ye this time! Don’t run, Wei Daxun. At most, God Ye will cut off a hand. What’s a hand compared to trust?]

[Hahaha, this is too pathetic. Wei Daxun is so miserable. Did you see him? He nearly fell while walking. He probably collapsed from sheer fright.]

[He actually did okay. A bit of a slant in the ax and it’ll cut right into his hand. If I was in his shoes, I’d probably pee myself in fear.]

[Big Brother God Ye is too mean, but I like it…]

…

Wei Daxun smiled and returned to Huang Lei’s side. “God Ye, I feel that I suddenly awakened the ability to cook. I discovered that I’m actually good at cooking. Daddy Huang, what can I do to help? You don’t need to pity me, just let me dive into as much as possible.”

Zhao Liangying smiled. “You? Discovered the ability to cook? You can’t tell the difference between oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar. You’ll only burn the kitchen down.”

“Don’t slander me!” Wei Daxun spoke righteously and appeared to start getting busy beside Huang Lei. He stroked an ear of corn back and forth, then urged, “I think we should let Zhao Liangying and Hu Yue’er help. This is a crucial moment to test your trust.”

“I trust Lingchen the most, of course. There’s absolutely no need to test that at all,” Zhao Liangying answered without thinking.

“Me too.” Hu Yue’er nodded as well.

“Verbal statements can’t be taken as proof. The time to prove yourself has arrived!” Wei Daxun continued.

“Hmph, we’ll go then!”

Zhao Liangying got up and went to Ye Lingchen’s side. Her slender hand held up the firewood and she said firmly, “Come on!”

Hu Yue’er went over too.

Seeing Zhao Liangying’s fear and resistance, Ye Lingchen could not help but smile. He then said, “How about you throw the wood into the air and I’ll cut it.”

Zhao Liangying huffed softly, then threw the wood into the sky. She proceeded to close her eyes tightly and looked very nervous.

Clatter!

The wood fell in front of her again.

“Who told you to throw it like this, Sister?” Ye Lingchen rubbed his head and smiled bitterly. “At least throw it a little bit higher. And also, stand further away. Why are you staying here?”

“Oh.” Zhao Liangying stuck her tongue out, picked up a piece of wood, then retreated a distance. She then looked at Ye Lingchen. “Is this enough?”

“Mm, throw it over.” Ye Lingchen nodded.

Zhao Liangying raised her hand, and the wood flew through the air toward Ye Lingchen in a curved arc.

Ye Lingchen’s eyes gleamed. He raised his ax and slashed straight at the wood in mid-air!

…

[1] 粑粑 – is a type of thick, round, heavy bread known as baba, but in this case, it’s probably a term of endearment for father, since father is also pronounced similarly (爸爸 = baba). We thus use the word Daddy here!