This move completely stunned Xi Yi, causing him to pause his actions of dismantling the net. He turned his head to look at her for a long moment before reaching out to lift the animal hide.
To prevent him from doing anything inappropriate again, Sha Yi quickly pressed down on his hand and couldn’t help but call out to him, “Xi Yi…”
Hearing her voice, his movement to lift the hide stopped. He mumbled a response, flipped his hand to grasp hers, and when he looked at her again, his face was full of confusion.
“Um…” Sha Yi knew he wouldn’t understand her words, just as she couldn’t understand his, but she needed him to calm down. So, despite the turmoil in her heart, she forced herself to remain composed and slowly said, “Let me teach you how to tie knots.”
Xi Yi clearly didn’t understand her words. He looked utterly bewildered, but because he was trying to figure out what she meant, he sat quietly without moving or attempting to lift the hide again.
However, the thin vine he had used as a belt had snapped. If she wanted him to properly wrap the hide around himself now, she would have to find another one.
Sha Yi remembered the thin beaded chain she had used to tie her hair. On the day she had crossed over, her hair had been loose before her bath, and since there were no hair ties in the bathroom, she had taken off the beaded chain from her wrist to tie her hair afterward.
It was the kind of delicate beaded chain that could be wrapped multiple times around the arm as a bracelet or worn directly around the neck as a necklace. After bathing again by the small lake, since she had originally intended to escape and the chain was too long to tie her hair conveniently, she had twisted her hair into a bun and tucked it into the strands.
Now, if she hadn’t accidentally pulled off Xi Yi’s hide skirt, she might have completely forgotten about this beaded chain. But it turned out to be just the right thing—she was also due for a hair wash.
Once she had made up her mind, Sha Yi reached up to undo her hair. As she removed the beaded chain, her hair cascaded down completely.
Sha Yi’s hair was quite long, but because it had been tied up with the beaded chain, her normally straight hair now had noticeable waves. Combined with the fact that she hadn’t properly washed it in days and it had gotten wet, she felt uncomfortable as it loosened.
Xi Yi, however, didn’t seem to share her discomfort. It was as if he had never imagined she would have such long hair, or perhaps he had never seen hair like this before. He looked surprised, and his gaze held a hint of delight.
Sha Yi ignored his foolish expression and bent down to help him wrap the orange-red hide around his waist from the back. Then she handed him the beaded chain, gesturing for him to pull it over his head.
At first, Xi Yi was curious, but once he understood her meaning, he obediently followed her instructions.
The circumference of the beaded chain was slightly shorter than Xi Yi’s waist, but since the chain was elastic, it still fit well enough. This made things much more convenient, though there was still a risk of the hide skirt slipping down. Sha Yi thought that when she had time, she would need to fold the top part of the hide to create a higher edge and prevent it from falling.
With the hide skirt issue resolved, Sha Yi intended to teach Xi Yi how to tie knots right away. Unexpectedly, however, he became fascinated by the elasticity of the beaded chain, tugging and pulling at it relentlessly.
Worried he might break it, she stopped him. He looked aggrieved, but when she tried to comfort him, his attention shifted to her long hair. After a bout of rough handling, Sha Yi angrily slapped his hand away.
But it was too late—her hair was now a complete mess, while he laughed heartily.
Faced with Xi Yi’s knack for causing trouble, Sha Yi realized that if she didn’t keep him busy, he would inevitably create chaos for her!
So she decided not to go to the river to wash her hair later. Instead, she would wash it in the bathtub and have Xi Yi carry the tub to fetch water.
Unaware that he was about to be assigned another task, Xi Yi continued to watch her cheerfully.
Sha Yi glared at him before picking up the vine net he had discarded earlier. She pulled out the two ends he hadn’t yet unraveled, crossed them with the two separate thick vines, and tied a knot.
Xi Yi froze when he saw her tying the knot, only snapping out of it after a long moment. He grabbed the two thick vines she had knotted, yanking and pulling at them, then examined her hands.
Sha Yi didn’t know when humans had learned to tie knots, but it was clear that Xi Yi and his people hadn’t yet mastered the skill. This made her suspect that the era she had crossed into might be the very early stages of prehistory.
Finding nothing unusual about her hands or the knot, Xi Yi eventually placed the two thick vines in front of her, demanding that she do it again.
This was the simplest knot, but even so, she didn’t refuse him. After all, it wasn’t just that he didn’t know how—he had never even seen it before. It was understandable that he struggled to grasp something entirely unfamiliar.
Taking the two thick vines, Sha Yi deliberately slowed down as she demonstrated again.
First, she crossed the two vines—one inward and downward, the other outward and upward—then pulled them through. She repeated the motion without actually tying the knot, then handed the vines back to Xi Yi for him to try.
Xi Yi was a quick learner. Without needing further instruction, he swiftly tied the two vines into a tight knot. Afterward, as if recalling her first demonstration, he grabbed the four vine strands and mimicked her motion, pulling them firmly.
Sha Yi couldn’t help but laugh and nodded to show he had done it right. He immediately jumped up, spun her around in excitement, and grinned from ear to ear.
The night had been full of chaos and commotion, and it was likely very late by now. Sha Yi thought it would be best to wash her hair quickly and prepare for sleep.
With that in mind, she urged Xi Yi to gather the bathtub and fetch water. This time, their communication was surprisingly smooth—Xi Yi instantly understood her meaning. He quickly emptied the tub, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and went to the river to fill it halfway.
While he was fetching water, Sha Yi dug out the shampoo and soap, then scrubbed the stainless steel basin with soap. When Xi Yi returned, she scooped water from the tub to rinse the basin before starting to wash her hair.
She only wanted to do a quick wash—cold water wasn’t ideal for hair, but there was no time to heat any. Plus, the shampoo and soap were non-renewable resources here, so she used them sparingly.
Meanwhile, Xi Yi sat quietly, using the knot-tying method she had taught him to extend the vine net. By the time he finished adjusting the net’s length and hung it on the tree, Sha Yi had finished her rushed hair wash and was sitting by the fire, squeezing water from her hair.
A short while later, Xi Yi returned, poured out the tub’s water, and put everything back in place. Then he came to the fire, took her hand, and signaled that it was time to rest.
Sha Yi nodded, and he extinguished the fire before leading her to the giant tree where the vine net hung. He carried her on his back as he climbed up onto the net.
That night, she was utterly exhausted. Sha Yi figured Xi Yi must have been too, because for once, he didn’t fidget after lying down—he simply held her. Normally, he was anything but well-behaved.
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