Picked up by the Protagonist of a Tormented! MC Novel

Volume 1 Chapter 13

After “jiejie1” popped out, the surroundings went completely still for a moment; even Zeno himself was a little surprised. He had worked hard for a long time, hoping to have a “heart to heart” exchange with his protagonist, but slow laryngeal muscle development has made this wish difficult to achieve. At best, he can only babble messy, meaningless syllables. Perhaps, because he has been diligently practicing for so long, he was able to succeed this time.

Zeno's blood drains from his face as he turns to look at Xi Wei, finding that he has returned to complete calm. Deep within, his heart is silently trampled by a herd of cattle, as he mourns the disastrous waste of his first words.

Clearly he wanted to call out to the protagonist first ah! How could Xi Wei not get sucked in by the meng, you do not understand! (t/n: oh yes we do )

Instead, he did not expect to give a response to Xiao Wu, who, full of excitement, is trying to make Zeno speak to her again.

But, the heartbroken Zeno has already released the hand holding her braid, and buried himself in Xi Wei's shoulder, full of grief and indignation. Not willing to have any interaction with Xiao Wu, Xi Wei does not say a single word and turns to leave immediately.

Due to their mutual dislike, Xi Wei seems disinclined to conceal his character. He is simple and crude, and he really does not care if he is exposed. If you can't hide the broken pot, you might as well throw it away2.

Xiao Wu is shocked when he treats her like air. She has probably never met anyone who refused to give her face. Her cheeks flush deep red, and she stomps off in a huff in the opposite direction.

Although they have not been outside for long, the recent excitement leaves the cautious Xi Wei reluctant to stay out in the open. As soon as he feels they are not safe, fear and uncertainty will drive him to return to the safety of their home.

Zeno begins to reflect on what had gone wrong, and all of this can only be attributed to the Elf Queen!

Hua Li often goes out, not returning until the moon reaches its zenith. She spends much of her days in the boat speaking to Zeno, which sadly sounds a bit like she just talks to herself all the time. Because Zeno is still like a foreigner to this world, every time she shares her stories he listens very seriously.

The little tot's small, round, black eyes focus intently on Hua Li when she speaks. This made her so happy that she began trying to teach Zeno to say "Jiejie", but unfortunately she had not been successful.

If the Elven Queen found out that all of her efforts for so long had mistakenly been paid off to Xiao Wu so easily, what kind of expression would she show?

Closer to home, they return to the small, broken boat around noon. Xi Wei digs out some of the wild herbs from the corner of the boat cabin that they had not eaten before, mashes up the fresh heartleaf, pulls out some collected grass juice and combines it all for Zeno to eat; this is lunch.

Although the taste is not outstanding, compared to the winter food, Zeno has been very satisfied. This fresh kind of meal life in a life spent half-hungry is unforgettable.

Small children are always more sleepy. Lying on his side while enjoying watching his protagonist eat his own meal, Zeno’s eyelids begin to grow heavy.

Through his drowsiness, an already familiar voice sounds, followed by a cold but reassuring hand brushing across Zeno's short, fluffy hair, “Do not sleep.”

Zeno immediately knows something is happening, and looks up into Xi Wei's impenetrable gaze. He instinctively feels a little guilty, wanting to retreat back. However, Xi Wei easily grips the back of his clothes, and pulls Zeno up, fixing him within his extremely oppressive sightline, “Talk.”