The fear at that moment, coupled with his nonchalant attitude, made her feel extremely wronged. Because she liked him, she was afraid he might actually die, and then how could she continue this journey? If he was eaten, she would certainly fall into despair, silently losing herself in this mythical world…
Without him, she would also lose the courage to struggle to survive in this terrifying and unknown place.
“Why are you crying again?” He quickly put down the food and gently hugged her tightly. “Don’t cry, little girl…”
After falling for her, her tears were no longer just a child’s tears to him; they were “his” little girl’s tears. He would feel heartbroken, unable to bear it, wanting to wipe away all her tears because he knew they were shed for others.
She was worried about Xu Qing, and given that they had ended up in such a place, not knowing when they might return, she was anxious and cried; she was worried about him, worried he might die or be eaten by the leopard, so she cried.
“When the leopard caught you…” She tried to sniff back her tears, “You don’t know how scared I was that you might really get eaten… But… how could you tell me to run away first and leave you behind!”
“You were worried about me getting eaten, and I was worried about you too.” He kissed her forehead, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, and lips lightly, “And you’re a girl; I’ve never heard of a girl sacrificing for a boy. Don’t think too much; isn’t this just our imagination? I wasn’t eaten, and you’re safe and sound, isn’t that good?”
“But, what if there’s a next time?” She whimpered, her little face flushed as she looked at him.
“Nonsense! How could there be a next time? Don’t jinx it! We’ll be fine from now on, until we return to our own time.” Xu Qing gently wiped her tears, comforting her.
“I hope so too, as long as you don’t jinx it…” She struggled out of his embrace, piling rice on his face, rubbing her eyes with her small hands.
“Take the rice off,” Xu Qing said irritably. “What jinx?!”
