Ger, So Proud

Chapter 47

“Brother, are you okay? Does it hurt?”

Seeing the cotton cloth in He Ze’s palm turning red with blood again, He An’s face was full of panic. After glancing around, he stood up and said, “Brother, wait here, I’ll get some medicine for you.”

Because He Ze’s father often did this kind of work, injuries from files were common, and the He family always kept medicine for such injuries.

Without waiting for He Ze’s response, He An turned and ran into the house.

A drop of blood fell onto He Ze’s knee, mixing with the reddish-brown wooden bow, making it difficult to distinguish between the two colors. He Ze held the wound, allowing the blood to continue dripping, his eyes staring blankly ahead, seemingly oblivious.

“Brother! Do you like Brother Lin?”

Like… Lin… Lin Yu?!

How could that be possible?

He An’s words kept echoing in He Ze’s ears, and he tensed up all over.

“Brother, what are you spacing out for?”

After some time had passed, He An came out of the kitchen with a bottle of medicine and a basin of water. Seeing that He Ze still had a blank expression, he couldn’t help but wave his arm in front of him.

Finally, He Ze snapped out of it.

“Wash the wound, I’ll apply the medicine for you,” He An carefully unwrapped the cotton cloth from He Ze’s palm and wiped it with a wet cloth. “Brother, I was just joking, why are you reacting so strongly?”

“…Why are you asking such childish questions?”

“I’m already sixteen!” He An glared at He Ze impatiently and pursed his lips. “But Brother, do you… really not like Brother Lin?”

“…”

“I’ve been jealous seeing you working on this bow all these days!”

After applying the medicine and rewrapping He Ze’s palm with a new piece of cloth, He An tied a knot tightly.

“What are you jealous of?” Pushing aside the inexplicable thoughts in his mind, He Ze averted his gaze calmly. “Last time we went hunting bears on the mountain, your Brother Lin broke his bow to save me. I’m just making another one for him now. Besides, isn’t this a gift prepared for you?”

“Heh heh,” He An smirked, “The gift you give me is just two packets of snacks, while the gift for Brother Lin, you make it yourself. Staying up late at night, used to faint at the sight of blood, now you act like nothing happened, redoing everything for a little flaw. If it weren’t for Dad stopping Father, his shoehorn would have been slapped across your face!”

“…”

“Whenever you have nothing to do, you run to Brother Lin’s house!”

“…”

“Since you woke up, you’ve been with Brother Lin whenever you’re not at home!”

“…”

“And, the most important thing is…”

He An emphasized each word, and He Ze turned to look at him.

“Brother Lin is so good-looking, how could you not like him!”

“………… Xiao An, you’re sixteen now, right?” After a long silence, He Ze suddenly changed the subject.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Sixteen, Xiao An is all grown up now. Tomorrow, I’ll ask Dad to take a good look at you and prepare your dowry… Brother will help you.”

“What, what are you…” He An stared at He Ze for a long time without saying a word, and finally turned and ran away after a few steps, “Hmph, I’m not talking to you!”

Seeing He An’s sulky appearance, He Ze couldn’t help but bend his mouth slightly. The next moment, his gaze fell on the wooden bow, and his smile faded away.

His eyes were somewhat complicated, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

After a while, He Ze silently picked up the file from the ground and silently carved on the arrow shaft. He didn’t finish until late at night.

The next day, he took the bow to the town. Due to the material, the bow didn’t need to be painted. He Ze only added good deer sinews as strings and chose three arrows and a bow case before returning home.

“Here, for you.”

He Ze handed the box to He An, who opened it with a snap, showing surprise on his face. The next moment, he glared at He Ze, “I knew you were biased!”

“…”

“…Next year… next year on your birthday, Brother will make whatever you want, okay?”

“That’s more like it! Don’t worry, tomorrow I’ll give it to Brother Lin. I’ll say I made it, and he’ll definitely be very happy.”

He An placed the box on the table, and then lovingly felt the fine patterns on the end of the arrow shaft. Then, he snapped the box shut and smiled at He Ze.

There was a momentary crack in He Ze’s expression, then he turned and headed for the door. “Okay, what you made is what you made! Is that it?”

“Ha!” He An stuck out his tongue at He Ze’s retreating figure.

…

On the eleventh day, after He An finished breakfast and made sure that He Youcai and Dad Li weren’t paying attention, he hugged the box and went to Lin Yu’s house. As he left, he flashed a big smile at He Ze.

With that done, as soon as He An left the courtyard, He Ze informed Dad Li and headed towards the Bai Zhi below the western mountain.

In terms of time, it’s estimated that the crops should be sprouting by now.

Whether He Ze went to see them or to meditate, it’s unknown.

As for He An…

It was mentioned earlier that Lin Yu’s house was at the southernmost part of He’s Village, near the foothills to the south, with a few more steps leading to other people’s fields. Not mentioning the exact location, but now, perhaps because the crops in the fields have already been harvested, it’s quiet outside Lin Yu’s house.

The gate was open, and Lin Yu was sitting at the table in the courtyard, with a broken bow on the table.

“Xiao An, why are you here?” Lin Yu stood up when he saw He An and then closed the courtyard door.

“I…I’m here on someone’s behalf!” He An bit his lip, glanced at the table, and his smile became even brighter.

“On someone’s behalf?”

Lin Yu was puzzled. He led He An to sit at the table and poured him a cup of tea.

“Yeah, Brother Lin, today is your birthday. I’ve come to give you a birthday gift.” He An handed over the large rectangular box tightly held in his arms to Lin Yu, staring at him intently. “You’ll definitely like it!”

“…You remembered that I’m already very happy on this day. I didn’t have time to prepare for you this year, so why…” Last year, he saw that Xiao An liked a fox fur hat, so this year, he planned to hunt a fox for him. After finally making a simple bow, he couldn’t find a fox and had to give up.

“It’s okay, Brother Lin, just open it and see?”

For some reason, Lin Yu felt that He An’s gaze today was particularly bright, and his smile had a kind of…indescribable feeling.

He took one glance at He An and gently lifted the lid of the box. The next moment, his eyes widened, “This is…”

“This is a bow, made of ironwood! The string is made of deer sinew, the shaft is made of birch wood, sturdy and lightweight. The tail of the arrow is made of red-billed blue magpie feathers. Brother Lin, isn’t it especially beautiful!”

Lin Yu didn’t pay attention to what He An was saying at all. All his attention was focused on the bow and arrows in front of him. He couldn’t help but pick up the bow, draw the string, and aim into the distance.

As the string was pulled tighter, his excitement grew. He had been using bows and arrows for so many years, but never had one that could fully bear his strength. Even with the one he had used for years before, he always had to control his strength carefully.

But this one in front of him, it did it!

“Bang!”

The string was pulled to its limit, and Lin Yu suddenly released his hand. A bang sounded, and the air in that area seemed to tremble.

“Brother Lin, I told you that you’d like it, didn’t I?” Seeing the uncontrollable excitement on Lin Yu’s face, He An propped his chin with one hand, smiling mischievously.

“Yeah, I like it…” Lin Yu finally came back to his senses, nodding, and then carefully stroked the shaft of the arrow. Only… the simple cloud pattern on the tail of the arrow was a bit ugly, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Great, as long as you like it, my mission of making you happy is accomplished,” He An suddenly stood up, “Brother Lin, enjoy your birthday. I have to go now!”

“Hey, wait!” Lin Yu saw him getting up, and he immediately stood up as well. Feeling somewhat reluctant, he put the bow back in the box and handed it to He An. “Take it back, this thing is too valuable.”

“No way!” He An shook his head vigorously, “This was made by Brother Ze himself for almost half a month. When he gave it to me, he specifically told me to deliver it to you. First, it’s to return the bow to you, and second, it’s your birthday gift. So… if you don’t accept it, my brother at home will definitely scold me!”

“Did… did your brother make this?”

“Of course, he went to many blacksmith shops but couldn’t find a suitable bow for you, so he personally went up the mountain to cut down trees and make it. To save time, he even injured his hand!” He An said with some concern, then added, “By the way, my brother didn’t want me to tell you this, Brother Lin, so please keep it a secret!”

“He got injured? Is he… alright?” Lin Yu’s tone suddenly became anxious.

“He’s fine, he’ll be fine as long as you accept this gift!”

He An flashed a big toothy grin and bid farewell to Lin Yu before walking away. Lin Yu escorted him to the door with the box in his arms, standing there for a long time before finally turning around. He was about to say something when he suddenly noticed, “Dad? You…”

Zhang Su was already standing by the table at some point, facing Lin Yu’s line of sight.

The box in his arms seemed to be burning hot, causing Lin Yu to hold it tighter.

“Sent over by the He family kid?”

“Yeah,” Lin Yu nodded blankly, then shook his head, “No, it was brought by Xiao An.”

“Isn’t that still sent over by the He family kid?” Seeing Lin Yu’s expression, Zhang Su couldn’t help but chuckle softly, then continued, “Dad heard about it. That child… seems to have good intentions.”

“Dad…” Lin Yu glanced at Dad Zhang, his face reddening, but he didn’t realize it himself, and said, “Don’t misunderstand, he’s just making it up to me. There’s nothing between us!”

“Dad asked you about this?”

“…”

Lin Yu’s face turned even redder.

Dad Zhang sighed, took his hand, and led him to sit down at the table, seemingly casually saying, “Matchmaker Wang told me that there’s a good match for your marriage. He wants me to go take a look tomorrow and ask for your opinion.”

“…”

“As for the He family kid…” Zhang Su glanced at the box still in Lin Yu’s arms, then looked at Lin Yu, his expression thoughtful.

“There’s nothing, Dad. I’ve told you last time! There’s nothing between me and He Ze…” Before Dad Zhang could finish speaking, Lin Yu interrupted him, his face flushing.

“Really nothing?”

“Really… really nothing!” Lin Yu lowered his eyes, and his fingertips holding the box tightened slightly.

“Well, if there’s nothing, then Dad will go tomorrow!” Saying this, Zhang Su had already turned around and didn’t pay attention to Lin Yu’s two calls. He just smiled faintly where he couldn’t see, thinking that as long as that He family kid kept having such intentions, it would be good.

At the table, Lin Yu placed the box on the table and watched Dad Zhang disappear from the doorway, his brow furrowed tightly.

…

That night, probably because it was nearing the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon was round and bright, illuminating the entire He family village.

He Ze couldn’t sleep again, just like last night. He didn’t know why, but the words He An said to him yesterday kept ringing in his ears.

“Brother Ze! Do you like Brother Lin?”

Like? How could he like… Lin Yu?

But what He An said… Could it be that he really likes Lin Yu without even realizing it?

But…

Although females who survived the apocalypse were much fewer compared to males, same-sex relationships were not uncommon, but he had never thought about it before.

Now…?

He Ze felt his mind was in a mess. After staring at the ceiling for a while, he finally couldn’t help but get up and put on his coat.

He looked at the moon in the courtyard, then stepped out of the courtyard door. Fifteen minutes later, he stopped at the gate of Lin Yu’s house.

How did he end up here…

He Ze frowned, about to turn around, but the next moment, the door suddenly opened.

Their eyes met, and the one who opened the door… was Lin Yu.

The author has something to say: He Ze: Finally going to hug my wife, so excited, so excited… Damn, why do you have to stop here again, stupid author?!!