I’m not the kind of guy who wishes every single day was exciting.
So when I first started forming my views on life, my dream was to inherit my mom’s job and be an honest, steady worker in some state-owned company. Too bad I’m such a disappointment of a son I couldn’t even make that happen.
Same thing here. I only want a simple life. I’m not asking for some huge estate or anything, just enough food and clothes and a way to make a living. There’s no going back anyway, so living this lazy, carefree life here isn’t bad at all.
It feels amazing to have just recovered from a serious illness. If I could do a backflip, I’d do two just to celebrate. Being sick made me think about the medical level of this world. Judging from Night Fall Town’s level of technology, a lot of illnesses probably can’t be cured. But there’s one element in this world you can’t ignore: magic. If magic can cure diseases…
It’s too early to say. Who knows if healing magic even exists here. I can’t just copy-paste some MMO or anime setting onto this world. One thing I’m sure of, though, is that Medusa doesn’t know any magic for curing illnesses.
If she did, she wouldn’t be chewing herbs for me to eat every single day.
Eating something someone else has chewed in their mouth is humiliating, and honestly kind of disgusting. But I still forced myself to do it for a whole week. Traditional medicine used to put in centipedes and scorpions, right? As long as it can cure you, what won’t you eat?
Anyway, as long as I got better, that’s all that matters. I don’t know if she ever gets sick, but for my own health, we really should keep the house clean. Like those furs—we should take them out to dry more often.
Life went by very quietly, and I think that’s a good thing. I mean, look at it: “safe” and “plain” are basically the same word. Every morning, I’d get up and water that palm-sized patch of land. Then I’d head into the woods and pick some edible fruit for breakfast.
Once she woke up, we’d read together and practice the language. At noon I’d stir-fry some meat so we could have a proper meal, then sit with her in the sun for a while. In the afternoon, I’d just busy myself with random chores, tidy this, straighten that. There really wasn’t much else to do.
At night, if she’d eaten that day, then we’d be going at it till the second half of the night for sure. If she hadn’t fed, then it was pretty casual. Even so, we still tried to keep our sex life under control. I’m in my twenties; even I can’t take that much “exercise.”
But even such a simple life had lots of awkward parts.
“We’re a family, right?”
Sitting beside her, I said that.
“Mm, yeah.”
“Then, you’re the wife?”
“Mm…”
“Then I’m… the husband?”
“Mm… what are you trying to say?”
I didn’t know what I was trying to say either! When a man wants to take responsibility for his family, that’s when he’s at his best. So why am I so lame right now? And why is it that even when I finally manage to string together a smooth sentence, it still feels like we’re talking past each other?
“I mean… what should I call you?”
“Call me?”
“Uh, like, I can call you ‘wife,’ you can call me ‘husband,’ that kind of thing…”
“Oh. So I should call you ‘husband’?”
She was definitely playing dumb. Back in Night Fall Town she explained our relationship so easily. And why do I feel like she’s been laughing at me in her head this whole time? Is she picking on my tiny vocabulary? I just feel like we need some kind of label, so it’s easier to address each other when we’re outside.
“Yeah… that’s right…”
“Husband.”
“Yeah, like that…”
“Husband.”
“Pff—ahahaha.”
We both burst out laughing. Why does this sound so ridiculous? She’s repeating “husband” like it’s a pronunciation drill. Am I supposed to go “wife, wife” back at her too? Then it’ll turn into:
“Wife, you wanna eat?”
“Husband, I’m not hungry.”
What the hell is that! At least make it something like, “My lady wife, art thou hungry?” or something.
This world’s language is so clunky. Do they seriously not have a more affectionate word like “wifey”? I bet they do, but she definitely doesn’t know it, since she’s never been married. As for Medusas grabbing men during their heat and breeding periods to satisfy themselves, I only found out in Night Fall Town that those men are all disposable. Everyone’s got a home. No one wants to stay in a Medusa’s lair.
Still, I wanted to fix this whole form of address thing. If we’re being practical, we don’t actually need special titles. It’s just the two of us at home, and we only ever talk to each other. But I’m the type who cares about labels and status, so I really wanted us to have something to call each other.
With the language so limited, I decided to just flip the table.
I’d switch to a different language. If I don’t know how to say “wifey” in this world’s tongue, I’ll just use Chinese. It’s only for the two of us anyway. And that way, it’s like having a little secret couple’s code. (Why was I not embarrassed at all back then?)
“I’ll call you xifu.”
“Huh? Xi… fu?”
“Xi-fu~ It means ‘wife.’”
“Uh… xi-fu, er?”
I realized something else: people in this world don’t use that curled ‘r’ sound at the end of words.
“That’s from the language I used before. Sound okay when you say it?”
“Oh, oh. I’m… xi-fu, er?”
“No, not quite. It means you are ‘my xifu.’”
“I am… my xifu?”
I tried so hard not to laugh, but I just couldn’t hold it in. I’m my own xifu and also your xifu—who the hell is whose xifu anymore?
“No, no. You are my ‘xifu.’ It means you’re my wife.”
“Ah, got it~ xifu~”
So in the end, who’s whose xifu again?
“And then I… I’m your laogong.”
“What? Lao?”
“Laogong. It means ‘husband.’ I’m your husband.”
“Oh… lao, gong.”
“Yeah. Uh, you can call me laogong.”
“Laogong, you wanna eat?”
“Yeah…”
“Laogong, you wanna eat?”
Are you actually hungry or just practicing pronunciation here?!
Anyway, the naming problem was solved. Sometimes she’s just like a kid—once she learns something new, she won’t stop using it all day long. It’s annoying and funny at the same time.
Medusa might be a monster, but her learning ability is unexpectedly strong. In less than a day, we were both fluently calling each other xifu and laogong. After that, talking to each other felt way more comfortable. It actually gave the place a bit of that warm, homey feeling.
Home, sweet home. That’s the most important goal in my life. Whether a home is warm doesn’t depend on a house full of kids, or how fancy the place is. I’ve never believed that “poor couples are miserable in everything.” If a family falls apart because of poverty, it just means the people in it are too weak-willed.
If two people go through enough hardship and still hold hands, that’s proof of will. I hope I can get to that point with her someday. But the hardships in this world are the kind that can actually get you killed…
The first time we faced real danger—danger that could actually cost us our lives—was on the forty-fifth day.
I remember it clearly. That day was sunny, but the sky was just about to turn overcast.
I was outside hanging furs to dry when I heard human voices. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it was obvious they were heading toward our home.
One of life’s basic rules is this—by the time you feel danger, danger’s already been gently patting you on the head for a while.
