"What are you doing?" he grabbed her wrist, his voice low, and a hint of darkness flashed in his eyes.
"Uh, your beard is a bit long, shall I shave it for you?" Zhao Lian instinctively struggled, surprised to find that she couldn't break free from his grasp. She was astounded by his strength, but the next moment, he let go of her hand.
Zhou Quchuan glanced at her and lowered his head slightly, saying, "Sorry, I'm not used to others touching me."
Zhao Lian pulled back her hand, apologizing, "I should be the one to apologize." For some reason, she always felt very comfortable being with Ah Chuan, as if they were old friends.
Her earlier action was just a subconscious behavior. However, after Ah Chuan grabbed her hand, she immediately realized that he might not have such feelings for her. To him, her actions might seem too presumptuous and possibly offensive.
"Um... I don't have a shaver, but I have collected a pack of blades earlier. Let me get them for you." Zhao Lian smiled awkwardly and quickly rummaged through her backpack.
In no time, she handed a small pack of razor blades to Zhou Quchuan.
Without taking it, Zhou Quchuan glanced at her, then lowered his head and whispered, "Could you help me with it? I'm not very good at using this..."
"Sure." Zhao Lian chuckled, feeling that Ah Chuan's gesture indicated that he had already begun to open up to her.
Then she scooped up a small bowl of water and wet the area around his mouth with her hand. Now there were limited tools at hand, so she had to make do.
Feeling her soft fingertips dabbing cold water around his lips, Zhou Quchuan felt a slight itch on his skin. Her face was very close to his, and she looked very serious, as if she was doing something very important.
This was the first time in his life that a woman had been so close to him.
Sensing her carefully removing his beard, and the sharp blade coming dangerously close to his carotid artery, he didn't have a single defensive thought, not even a hint of caution.
It seemed that her soft touch had captivated his full attention.
For the first time, he realized that a woman's hand could be so soft and tender.
After she finished, Zhao Lian observed Zhou Quchuan's face and said, "There, see for yourself if it's clean enough."
Zhou Quchuan touched his chin and nodded, "It's clean. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Zhao Lian said as she washed the razor blades, "Shaving makes you look younger. Now, you look like a college freshman." She also seemed more handsome, but she felt that Ah Chuan probably didn't like being called handsome.
About to leave after tidying up, her wrist was grabbed by Zhou Quchuan.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Lian looked at him puzzled.
"You... why don't you wash your face too? You said we are friends, right? I want to see your real face. Besides, there are only the two of us here," Zhou Quchuan said, seeming a bit embarrassed by this request. His voice was very soft, as if he had mustered the courage to say it.
Upon hearing him mention "friends," Zhao Lian smiled, "Sure, I'll go wash my face."
In fact, she had been looking for opportunities to wash her face every day since she arrived. After all, there was a river nearby. However, due to years of caution, she would immediately cover her face with mud or something similar after washing to conceal her true appearance.
But as Ah Chuan had said, this area was devoid of other people's activities, and there were only the two of them. She didn't really need to be so careful. After all, applying those things to her face was quite uncomfortable and not good for her skin.
She fetched a clean bowl of water and carefully wiped her face with a towel she always carried, then smiled at Zhou Quchuan, "Ah Chuan, can you check if I missed any spots?" She used to have a small mirror, but it was taken away by someone, and she hadn't used one again because there was no need.
Zhou Quchuan already knew she was a beauty, but seeing her clean face, he was surprised by how beautiful she really was. Her smile was so radiant that a breath of fragrant wind seemed to brush through his heart.
He stared at her face for a long time, making her think that she had missed a spot. So she wiped her face again carefully.
"It's fine. Just keep it like this from now on and don't make your face dirty again," Zhou Quchuan used a commanding tone involuntarily but quickly softened his voice, "There's a bit of dirt on your chin."
"Here?" Zhao Lian didn't notice his tone, she just wiped her chin with the towel.
"No, here," Zhou Quchuan pointed to his own chin, and when Zhao Lian wanted to wipe it again, he said, "Come here, let me wipe it for you."
Not suspecting anything, Zhao Lian walked to the bedside and handed him the towel.
But when Zhou Quchuan took the towel, he set it aside and raised his hand to gently rub her chin, saying softly, "Here."
His expression was very gentle, with deep eyes as if there was a black vortex that seemed to suck people in.
The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds. Zhao Lian was the first to regain her composure and quickly averted her eyes. She felt a bit flushed and her heartbeat seemed to quicken.
She said, "I, I'm going to go chop some wood." She grabbed the hatchet leaning against the wall and hurriedly ran outside.
Zhou Quchuan watched her figure disappear outside the door, then a smile appeared on his face. In that moment, his whole demeanor became somewhat sinister. He lay down carelessly and brought his hand, which had just touched her chin, in front of his eyes to examine it carefully.
After looking at it for a while, he brought it to his nose and thought, "Strange, why is it so smooth and tender? Are all women's skin like this? Like tofu, and even a bit fragrant —"
As he thought, he put his hand near his mouth and stuck out his tongue to lick it.
But before he could lick it a few times, he was startled by the sudden opening of the door and immediately hid his hand under his body.
It turned out to be Zhao Lian returning. She was probably in a hurry, with a slightly blushing face. After looking at Zhou Quchuan on the bed, she smiled shyly and said, "I, I forgot to bring some things..."
After saying that, she picked up the backpack and the dead rabbit, and then hurried out like a gust of wind.
Zhou Quchuan chuckled, sat up, and looked at the bucket of fish she had caught yesterday.
When Zhao Lian dragged back some wood from outside, she saw Zhou Quchuan sitting by the stone stove cooking fish soup.
She was surprised and hurriedly went up to him and said, "How come you're out of bed? Is your leg okay?"
"It's okay." Zhou Quchuan slowly stood up, and Zhao Lian rushed forward to support him.
She saw him take a few limping steps forward, but it seemed that there was really nothing wrong with him.
Seeing her astonished expression, he smiled brightly, as if he were a child, and said happily, "You see, I'm much better now, right?"
Zhao Lian was indeed very surprised. With his previously almost bone-exposed terrifying wound, how could he be able to get out of bed and walk in such a short time?
After she helped him back to bed and removed the bandages on his leg, she was surprised — the terrifying wound had already healed by more than half!
What's going on here?
She stared blankly at the now pinkish scabbed wound and was completely shocked.
Zhou Quchuan looked at her reaction and pretended to be puzzled, "I've always healed quickly after injuries since I was young, especially in recent years, the recovery speed is even more exaggerated. I don't know why."
Zhao Lian thought for a moment and suddenly said with joy, "I think I know the reason! Achuan, do you know about people with special abilities?"
Zhou Quchuan nodded, "Yes, I've heard about it before. What does this have to do with people with special abilities?"
"I think you might also be a person with special abilities!" Zhao Lian looked at him seriously.
Seeing her guess exactly as he had anticipated, Zhou Quchuan felt satisfied in his heart, but he deliberately showed a disbelieving smile, "How is that possible? Aren't people with special abilities very powerful? A quick recovery from wounds, how can that be considered a special ability?"
"There are many different types of people with special abilities." Zhao Lian sat on the edge of the bed and explained to him in detail, "The powerful people with special abilities you mentioned are mostly offensive types, with abilities focused on destructive power and great force. These are the trump cards that each base likes to show off to others, after all, such people with special abilities can have a deterrent effect on outsiders.
"But besides offensive types, there are many auxiliary types in this world. If you've played online games before, you should understand. For example, some people have the ability to heal others, some can accelerate plant growth, and some have sensitive vision and smell.
"So, Achuan, your special ability should be a strong recovery ability. Think about it, have you ever had a high fever that wouldn't go away, and then suddenly recovered?"
Zhou Quchuan pretended to ponder, then nodded, "There was one time, two years ago, when I was in a fight and suffered serious injuries... Are you saying that I awakened my special ability at that time?"
"That's it, it must have been awakened at that time!" Zhao Lian smiled, "You're amazing, the proportion of people with special abilities is so low, only one in tens of thousands!"
Zhou Quchuan also showed a pleasantly surprised look, but then sighed, "But it feels like this special ability isn't that useful."
"How can it not be useful!?" Zhao Lian interrupted him, "It's very useful! Think about it, what are people most afraid of in the current environment? Afraid of getting injured. With this special ability, to put it bluntly, it's like having an extra life compared to others. How many people would wish for such a special ability but never get it."
Seeing Achuan's "hmm," she smiled again and said, "Most importantly, winter is coming, we need to quickly stockpile food and the like for the winter. Before, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle it all alone, but now, once your wound is completely healed, you can help me."
Zhou Quchuan looked at her genuinely happy expression and felt something stirring deep inside. He nodded and said, "Okay."