Rarely having the upper hand, Sha Yi was in an exceptionally good mood and was about to tease him further when the baby on the other side suddenly started crying.
Only then did the two of them snap out of their daze.
But when it came to feeding the baby, they were both equally stumped.
Sha Yi thought that a baby this small should be fed liquid food, but at the moment, aside from some wild fruits, there was nothing else available. And as for him—ever since she had picked him up from the deep waters of Nian Yi’s territory—he hadn’t eaten a single thing.
Xi Yi was clearly even more inexperienced than her. Seeing the baby cry, he immediately grabbed a few wild fruits and tried to shove them into the infant’s mouth. Sha Yi was horrified and snatched the fruits from his hand. He looked confused, while she glared at him angrily. Under her fierce gaze, he finally had no choice but to lower his hand helplessly.
Sha Yi was actually just as clueless. She had never taken care of a baby before, and what little she knew was only hearsay or assumptions—hardly any better than Xi Yi. Besides, there was a huge gap between theory and practice. If not for the baby being unusually calm and well-behaved, she might have already lost her mind.
The fruit she had taken from Xi Yi was somewhat withered, its surface wrinkled. Its taste was likely far from ideal, let alone its moisture content.
She had originally intended to ask Xi Yi to squeeze the fruit for juice, but now she hesitated. When she turned to look at him again, she found him staring unblinkingly at her chest.
This time, it was her turn to feel unnerved.
Baffled, she followed his gaze, looking down at herself repeatedly, but still couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Instinctively, she thought his lecherous tendencies had resurfaced. Just as she was about to scold him, a sudden realization struck her, and she flushed with embarrassment.
Could it be…?
Xi Yi still hadn’t blinked. Not only that, he even reached out toward her chest while muttering something to her in a rambling manner.
Sha Yi was utterly dumbfounded. Reflexively, she crossed her arms over her chest and scooted backward until her back hit the damp, dead tree behind her. The cold sensation made her shiver involuntarily. Just as she was about to dodge further, Xi Yi instinctively leaned forward, stubbornly blocking her escape.
Furious and flustered, she was no match for his strength. Unable to hold back, she cursed under her breath, her words a chaotic mix of her native language and fragments of the ancient tongue, utterly incoherent.
Xi Yi didn’t understand a word and still tried to pry her arms away from her chest.
Her resistance proved futile, and Sha Yi finally lost her temper. Abandoning her broken ancient tongue, she snapped in her native language, “Damn it, Xi Yi, let go of me! I’ve never had a child—how could I possibly have milk? Stop pulling!”
Unfortunately, Xi Yi still managed to yank down half of her top. Sha Yi gave up and simply let go.
Xi Yi was hopelessly clueless. If he insisted on pulling, then fine—but she’d make sure he paid the price for his stubborn mistake!
With that thought, she swiftly grabbed the wailing baby and, aiming precisely at one of the two points on his chest, pushed the infant toward him. The next second, the baby’s crying stopped.
Her move was so quick that even Xi Yi didn’t react in time. He stood frozen for a long moment, dumbfounded, until the baby began smacking its lips and gnawing at him. Then, with a horrified shriek, he jumped back in panic!
Sha Yi nearly laughed herself to tears, but Xi Yi had no time to deal with the instigator. Gasping, he frantically tried to pull the baby away. By the time he finally succeeded, his chest was red and swollen.
Sha Yi felt not an ounce of guilt for her actions. On the contrary, she laughed even harder. Meanwhile, Xi Yi, looking utterly traumatized, held the now-whimpering baby upside down, clutching his chest in lingering fear.
The incident had happened so suddenly that Xi Yi seemed genuinely shocked—as if he hadn’t expected the baby to bite. He stood there in a daze, and Sha Yi guessed he might already be developing some aversion or skepticism toward the child. At the very least, he was definitely questioning things now.
Though his biting ordeal was entirely her doing, this incident also proved that even someone as capable as him was bound to stumble when it came to children. He was far more clueless than her. Given his complete lack of experience, the idea of raising a child might be postponed for a long time.
Still, the outcome was somewhat unexpected.
Xi Yi quickly turned the upside-down baby right side up and cradled it in his arms again. Unable to resist, he pried open the baby’s mouth, and in that instant, his expression twisted into one of utter confusion—as if he couldn’t fathom how a toothless infant could bite so hard.
Sha Yi burst into laughter again, nearly choking.
Xi Yi shot her a resentful look before pulling her into his arms. As she continued laughing uncontrollably, he bent down and nipped her neck—a mix of affection and punishment. The faint sting finally stopped her laughter.
Sha Yi couldn’t help but punch him lightly.
But Xi Yi just grinned, his eyes crinkling. He didn’t dwell on what had just happened. Instead, he held the baby between them and gestured while murmuring fragmented words, clearly asking her a question.
Sha Yi knew he was asking what the baby should eat. The infant had been crying nonstop—whereas the night before, it had been quiet and well-behaved. It must have been starving.
After a moment’s thought, she mimed a drinking motion.
Xi Yi nodded. After glancing at the fruits by the fire, he turned his gaze toward the dark, ominous area across from them, where only faint outlines were barely visible.
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