I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

As for myself, I have a bit of a laid-back, lazy nature to my core. I used to dislike shopping, going out, and eating at restaurants. I preferred to stay at home unless necessary and would order takeout when I was hungry. But since I met her, I seem to like all of these things.

Now, whenever we have free time, I think about taking her out for a stroll, to eat out, or to buy some groceries to cook what we want to eat at home. She cooks while I help her, washing vegetables and peeling garlic. It's a simple life, but I enjoy it.

When Chen Shuo came down the steps, Bai Xiaoqi was already there; she was wearing a pretty pink dress.

She held up the wildflowers in her hand, stood on tiptoe to try and tuck them behind Chen Shuo's head, but when she took off his baseball cap, she realized that his hair was too short, so she could only tuck them behind his ears.

"Why are you taking this off me?" Chen Shuo reached out to remove the little wildflower from his ear. A grown man wearing a little pink flower like Ximen Qing.

"You're not allowed to take it." Bai Xiaoqi pressed his hand down, then handed him another flower, "Put it on me too."

Where to wear it?

"Wear it..." Bai Xiaoqi wanted to put it on the sun hat on her head, but then changed her mind and said, "Put it on your ears too."

So Chen Shuo tucked it behind her ear, and now the two of them looked the same.

Chapter 172 I'm even considering marrying into the family.

The journey, which took nearly two hours, was leisurely for the two of them, as they walked and played along the way. It took them almost three hours to finally reach the mountain.

As soon as you step into the forest, the light suddenly dims. The towering trees and huge canopies help block out much of the sunlight, leaving only dappled light that filters in, creating streaks of light.

The air suddenly became cool, and the breeze blowing from the mountains invigorated everyone's spirits.

The air in the mountains is much fresher than in the city. Simply wandering through the woods and breathing in the fresh air is enough to bring joy.

Chen Shuo, with his tall and muscular physique from regular exercise, didn't feel too tired carrying a large backpack and a portable bag. Bai Xiaoqi, carrying a backpack that was more than half her height, did it with ease, still displaying her usual restless and mischievous personality.

He would pick up a stick and wave it around a few times, then pick up a small stone and throw it hard into the depths of the forest, startling countless birds into flight.

After walking for a while, they saw a rather large rock. Chen Shuo turned around and suggested, "Why don't we sit on it and rest for a while before continuing?"

"are you tired?"

"No, let's have some water. Aren't you thirsty?"

Without saying a word, Chen Shuo walked over, put the portable bag in his hand aside, sat down on the big rock, took off the backpack behind him, took out two bottles of mineral water, unscrewed the caps and handed them over.

"Give."

Bai Xiaoqi took it, tilted her head back and took a swig, then patted her bottom and sat down directly on the big rock.

"You should be slapping the rock, not your butt."

"You can wash it in the river if it gets dirty for a while." Bai Xiaoqi didn't care at all. She put the mineral water bottle aside, picked a small wildflower from the ground, and tucked it behind Chen Shuo's ear.

This time it's yellow.

Chen Shuo thought it was better than the pink one; at least it didn't look like a flower thief's. He nodded and said, "This yellow one is alright."

"Because you're so lewd?"

"...When I get home, I'll check your browsing history to see what you've been searching for and how bad you've become."

"It was you who led them astray."

Bai Xiaoqi wasn't flustered at all; she had long since mastered the skills of deleting browsing history and incognito browsing.

So they can't find anything, and it was this guy who led the way, including last night. Even though he did it on his own initiative, he would never admit it.

Anyway, it's all this bad guy's fault, what does it have to do with me, this innocent little kitten?

Through the gaps in the trees, you can see the azure sky. If you listen carefully, you can hear the babbling of a stream. The green mountains and clear waters, the gentle mountain breeze, without any dryness, carry the moisture from the mountain rivers, brushing against your cheeks, leaving a slight dampness.

Chen Shuo suddenly thought that it would be nice to build a small courtyard here in the future and live here.

But then I thought about it and gave up on the idea. As a human being in a modern society, living in such a remote mountain forest, without internet, WIFI, or 24-hour convenience stores.

Simply put, without the conveniences of modern society, living here for a while is okay, but you definitely can't stay here for long.

The two sat side by side on a large rock, where they could hear the chirping of cicadas and birds, as well as the occasional soft sound of the mountain breeze.

“I’ve also thought about building a small courtyard here, and then we can live together, and the whole mountain will be ours.”

Chen Shuo didn't expect this silly girl to think the same way as him. He reached out and put his arm around her waist. "Thank you, Mountain God. I was inexplicably rewarded with a mountain by you, and I've been directly upgraded to the landlord class."

"I'll give you another kiss." Bai Xiaoqi leaned over and kissed his cheeks a few times, then rested her head on Chen Shuo's shoulder and said, "Besides, even if you marry into the family now, a live-in son-in-law is bound to be bullied by me."

"Where did you watch that weird TV series again? It's usually the mother-in-law who bullies the son-in-law who lives with his wife's family."

"You can bully your wife too."

"Oh, you say it's okay, so does that mean I have to marry into your family?"

"I've thought about it and decided against it. There's nothing in the mountains, and you definitely wouldn't be used to it, nor would you want to stay there."

"Thank you for thinking of me so much. I'd like you to marry me and we can live in a small third-tier city. Would you be willing?"

"I'd love to."

"Should we live in the mountains or in the city?"

“They live in our home.”

A leaf was blown down by the wind and landed on Bai Xiaoqi's leg. She picked it up, poked a small hole in it with her finger, and then held it up to her eyes, looking up at the sky through the hole.

Things are different now. I have a home now, and a naughty guy who loves me very much, and whom I love very much in return. I'm no longer the lonely cat king I used to be; now I'm Bai Xiaoqi, a human.

Chen Shuo finished the mineral water, put the empty bottle into his bag, and turned to say, "Let's go."

Aren't you going to rest?

"I didn't need to rest at all; I'm not tired at all."

Chen Shuo stood up, took a few quick steps forward with his long legs, then ran back, picked up his backpack and carrying bag, and said, "See? If I weren't carrying a bag and things in my hands, I could have run away."

"I can run very fast even with a backpack on."

Bai Xiaoqi ran forward with a big bag on her back.

"Slow down, I know you're good, don't run so fast or you'll fall."

The first half of the road in Jiuling Mountain is not difficult to walk. The mountain path is relatively flat. Due to the large size of the mountain, you can't even feel the slope. It only becomes rugged when you go deeper into the mountain and there is no path. All you can see are bushes that are half a person tall.

It was dusk, and the sun, now a deep orange-red, hung in the sky. The sunlight that fell was no longer intensely hot, but warm and gentle on the skin.

But the two had not yet found a place to set up camp, so they had to quicken their pace and walk slowly through the bushes.

"Where is the cave you mentioned? Are we almost there?"

"It's not a cave, it's my old home."

As night fell, they finally found the cave, located between two mountain ridges. The entrance was a bit small, requiring one to crouch to enter, but inside was a hidden paradise.

At first it was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. After walking several dozen steps, it suddenly opened up into a bright and spacious area. The land was flat and open, with houses...

Oh, there are no houses; it's more like a small tunnel than a cave, connecting to the valley.

When viewed on a satellite map, it looks like a large pit sunken into the mountains, but once you actually get inside, you realize... it's still a large pit, or rather, a basin.

The valley is about several thousand square meters, roughly the size of a football field, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only one entrance—a cave—truly giving it a secluded, paradise-like feel.

Within the valley, there are clusters of unnamed wild flowering trees, with white butterflies flitting among the blossoms. On the right side of the valley is a small river that flows all the way to the foot of the mountain, its source hidden in the mountain wall.

There was a fairly large open space on the riverbank, perfect for setting up a tent.

Seeing Chen Shuo looking around with a hint of amazement in his eyes, Bai Xiaoqi asked smugly, "What was my old home like?"

“That’s great, it’s making me want to marry into your family.”

Chen Shuo had to admit that this guy really knew how to pick a spot.

Chapter 173 The Meaning of Wanting You to Kiss Me [Bonus Chapters for the Alliance Leader]

Around 8 p.m., as the last rays of the setting sun disappeared, the two finally set up their tent. The barbecue grill was placed next to the river so that they could easily put out the fire if anything went wrong.

Chen Shuo took a packet of powder and sprinkled it around the base camp. It was insect repellent. Then he tore open another packet of powder and sprinkled it around the camp again. This time it was snake repellent.

The two powders were mixed together, and various Chinese herbs were gathered together. The strong, pungent smell was unbearable even to him, not to mention the snakes and insects. Chen Shuo felt that he had bought a product with a conscience this time.

Inside the tent, Bai Xiaoqi bent over and laid out the mat, then a thick quilt, and then a pillow, a blanket, and a quilt.

Although it is summer, the temperature difference between day and night in the mountains is large, and it gets cold at night. It is easy to catch a cold if you sleep without a blanket.

That's what that guy said, which made her think that Chen Shuo had lived in the mountains, but actually he hadn't. He said it was some kind of high school geography common sense: the mountains are much higher than the ground, so the temperature is higher during the day than on the ground, but at night there is no residual heat from the ground to radiate to the surroundings, so the temperature difference is very large.

Finally, he mocked himself, saying that this is the power of knowledge—knowing everything without leaving home, something an illiterate person like me would never understand.

Bai Xiaoqi ignored him at the time, but what this bastard said was true. When she used to live in the mountains, it was indeed much colder at night than during the day.

Why are you asleep so early?

As soon as Chen Shuo lifted the tent flap and entered, he saw her lying on the mattress.

"I just lay down for a bit, I didn't sleep."

"Then I'll lie down for a bit, you can move over a little further."

The small space of a tent gives people a strange sense of security, completely different from the feeling at home. Once you unzip the tent, it becomes a small world, just the two of you, a true world for two.

After lying there for more than ten minutes, enjoying the charm of their time together, Chen Shuo finally pulled her out of the tent and led her to the barbecue grill to prepare for a barbecue.

"You can also barbecue?"

"No, but even if you've never eaten pork, haven't you seen a pig run?"

He lit the charcoal, put the iron rack on top, and then fanned the charcoal stove with a palm-leaf fan. The charcoal inside flickered on and off, making it look quite impressive.

The meat skewers I bought were all pre-skewered, and I bought a little of each kind. I also bought a bag of chicken wings, which I put in an insulated, sealed bag with ice inside. The insulation worked quite well; after a day and a night, only a little over half of the ice had melted.

Chen Shuo was still a bit naive. He tried to figure out the technique while grilling, and he wanted to search on Baidu, but unfortunately there was no signal in the mountains.

Now it seems like we wasted our money on the power bank; it's completely useless. With no signal, their smartphones are practically useless, not even as good as a flashlight.

After eating half a full portion of the meat skewers he practiced making, he finally grasped the basic techniques and managed to grill some skewers that he was quite satisfied with. He eagerly handed them to Bai Xiaoqi next to him.

"Try your husband's cooking."

Bai Xiaoqi pretended not to see the bamboo skewers scattered on the ground, picked one up and took a bite. She was already hungry, but this guy only cared about himself and even said something like, "Let me taste it for you first." What a dog!

"It's a little burnt."

"A little burnt means it's cooked; eating undercooked food can easily cause diarrhea."