In that case, after spending so much time together, all he knew was that the child was the eldest prince, a quest target for other players, but he had no idea what his name was.
Because he speaks very little, there's no need to even call him by name.
However, after Qin Chu asked this question, the child sitting on the horse kept his head down, and after a long while, he only said in a low voice, "I have no name."
Qin Chu: "..."
The conversation ended abruptly. Qin Chu pursed his lips, gave up trying, and silently rode his horse forward.
The further you go, the more desolate the scenery becomes. There are no tall plants left, only withered grass on the ground. The surroundings are empty, and from afternoon to evening, you can clearly see the huge sun gradually shifting to the west, like a giant red paper cutout, disappearing little by little.
This scenery was different from that in the capital, which inevitably surprised the children, but the eldest prince showed no interest in appreciating it at all.
He looked at the sun in the sky, feeling a heavy weight in his heart, as if he were being suffocated by paper.
Once, a palace maid was ordered to kill him. This involved sticking wet pieces of paper to his face one by one. He managed to break free of the ropes and escape, but he could never forget that feeling.
But now, even though his face was completely empty, he still felt the same discomfort.
Looking at the slender fingers that had circled around to his side and were holding the reins, the eldest prince wanted to ask why he would take him along and protect him if he didn't like him. Wouldn't it be better to just throw away anything he didn't like?
But he didn't ask, fearing that if he did, he might alert Qin Chu.
They traveled for a long time, and Qin Chu even allowed him to rest on horseback for one night. When he opened his eyes the next day as the sun rose, the first feeling that came over him was hunger.
He didn't actually sleep that night; he remained awake the whole time, which made the stomach discomfort even more unbearable.
After walking for a while, Qin Chu finally stopped when it was at its hottest and driest. The eldest prince subconsciously looked around, looking for something to eat.
Qin Chu already disliked him a lot, so he couldn't cause Qin Chu any more trouble.
After searching around without success, the eldest prince sat down on the ground with his back to Qin Chu. He didn't look back, but he could sense that Qin Chu was starting a fire, and he was also taking something out of his bundle and roasting it over the flames.
Soon, a familiar aroma wafted over, and the eldest prince restrained himself from turning around. It was Qin Chu preparing his food; he couldn't snatch it.
But the aroma grew closer and closer. Just as the eldest prince was about to stand up and walk away, a golden-brown pancake was placed in front of him.
The eldest prince was taken aback. This was a cake that Qin Chu had bought in the city he had passed through last time. He thought Qin Chu had already finished eating it, but he didn't expect that there was still one left.
Although the fried dough was a bit dry, it remained soft after baking, and the meat filling inside also gave off a fragrant aroma.
The eldest prince was surprised that Qin Chu would hand him food. He subconsciously turned to look at Qin Chu, whose expression was still cold and indifferent, but said to him, "Eat."
By the time he realized what was happening, he had already taken the pancake and taken several bites.
Qin Chu sat beside him watching him eat, and when he was about to choke, she handed him the water bottle.
The eldest prince took the water jug, looked at the food in his other hand, hesitated for a moment, and asked Qin Chu, "Aren't you going to eat?"
He saw Qin Chu turn his head away and simply say to him, "I've already eaten."
Did he really eat it?
As Qin Chu carried him onto the horse to continue their journey, the eldest prince was still pondering this question.
He remembered that the pancake wasn't big. Qin Chu had given him one piece back then, and now he had another piece. So, hadn't he eaten more than Qin Chu?
Could it be... that Qin Chu doesn't actually hate me that much?
This idea made the Crown Prince's heart skip a beat again, as if a hole had been poked in the paper covering it, finally revealing a glimmer of hope.
He felt uneasy, sensing that there was something unbearable behind the broken hole.
This night was spent on horseback again, but before Qin Chu told him to go to sleep, he put a sweet ball in his mouth.
It's sugar!
The eldest prince, who wasn't sleepy to begin with, immediately perked up. He raised his head to look at Qin Chu, his dark eyes sparkling in the clear moonlight.
He was somewhat incredulous, wondering if he was asleep and dreaming. So he couldn't help but tug at Qin Chu's arm and ask, "Is this candy? Did you give it to me?"
Qin Chu found it somewhat amusing.
He bought these things simply because they were easy to carry, provided good energy, and didn't require as much water as dry food. Unexpectedly, they pleased the child.
Seeing Qin Chu nod, the eldest prince was even more convinced that he was dreaming!
He licked the candy from his left cheek to his right. It wasn't the first candy he'd ever eaten; he'd snatched candy from others out of hunger and curiosity. But this was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted!
The paper stuck to his heart seemed to have been completely torn away, like taking a deep breath of refreshing air. The eldest prince felt light as if he were about to fly away.
He even tried to grab Qin Chu and ask: Don't you hate me?
But the lingering fear in his heart prevented him from asking the question.
He looked up at Qin Chu and noticed that Qin Chu's cheeks weren't puffing up. His pleasure faltered slightly, and he asked, "Why aren't you eating candy?"
Qin Chu gave him the same answer as he had that morning.
The eldest prince's doubts persisted: Did he really eat it?
Eat it. How could someone leave such delicious food to give to others and not eat it themselves?
Putting himself in others' shoes, he knew that food was a precious thing, and he would never give up all of his food to others.
The eldest prince thought this all night, until he saw Qin Chu take out the third cake wrapped in oil paper from his bundle during his rest the next day at noon.
Qin Chu lit a fire as usual and placed the cakes on the flames to roast.
This time, the eldest prince did not turn his back. He stood quietly to the side, watching Qin Chu start the fire, watching him take out the oil paper package from his bundle, and watching him bake the cakes and hand them to him.
But this time the eldest prince did not accept it. He looked at the same piece of cake in front of him as yesterday, and looked up at Qin Chu seriously: "You lied to me."
"What did I lie to you about?" Qin Chu was a little stunned by what he said.
"You gave me all the cakes, but you didn't eat any."
The eldest prince spoke with great seriousness. He hadn't expected that Qin Chu hadn't eaten a single bite of the entire pancake; he had divided it into three portions and kept them all for himself.
He also realized that he had first eaten this pancake three days ago. In those three days... Qin Chu hadn't eaten anything.
Qin Chu hadn't expected the child to be so stubborn. Although Noah couldn't adjust his physical data this time, going hungry for a few days wasn't too difficult for Qin Chu.
He said, "I ate something else."
"When did you eat? What did you eat? I was with you the whole time, why didn't you know?"
The eldest prince took two steps forward and approached Qin Chu to look at him.
His small face was still covered in dust, making him look a little dirty. His pair of dark, bright eyes were fixed on Qin Chu, and his pupils slowly deepened.
Qin Chu focused intently on placating the child, saying without batting an eye, "I ate it while you were asleep."
"Liar!"
The child's words were resolute, and his eyes reddened again: "You lied to me again. You didn't eat anything last night, I didn't sleep, I know all that!"
This was the first time Qin Chu had ever heard the child speak such a long string of words.
He glanced at the dark circles under the Crown Prince's eyes and frowned. Qin Chu had long noticed that the child was unusually alert at night, and had assumed he was just not sleeping soundly, but it turned out he hadn't slept at all.
For a moment, Qin Chu didn't know what to do, so she just handed the pancake in her hand to him again: "Eat first and then we'll talk."
Seeing Qin Chu like this, the eldest prince pursed his lips, a complex expression on his small face, a mixture of anger, sadness, and bewilderment.
He didn't take the cake, but continued to look at Qin Chu, saying, "How could you do this? Why don't you eat it yourself? Aren't you hungry? Why..." Why treat him like this?
How could anyone treat someone like that?
First, they saved his life, and then they gave him all the food.
The eldest prince had never encountered anything like this before, and at this moment, he felt his mind was in complete chaos.
He felt a surge of anger, yet his heart felt like it was being filled with warm water, swelling up with warmth. He had absolutely no idea what to do, or what he wanted Qin Chu to do…
He knew nothing, but could only follow his instincts and take the pancake, then brought it to Qin Chu's lips: "You eat! Brother, you eat, if you don't eat, then I won't eat either!"
To get Qin Chu to eat, he even resorted to his long-lost habit of acting cute.
Every time he calls someone in a sweet voice, he is using his advantage as a child to take advantage of others and gain some small benefit for himself.
But this time, he didn't want anything. He just wanted Qin Chu to eat something properly, and he just hoped that Qin Chu wouldn't be so nice to him...
He's so bad, he doesn't deserve it.
Qin Chu was both amused and exasperated by the child's actions.
He was somewhat surprised, because it was obvious that the eldest prince wasn't not hungry. Qin Chu had experienced this kind of bone-deep hunger when he was a child, and he understood very well what such a feeling meant to a child. So when he saw the eldest prince bring the cake to his mouth, he was unusually touched.
But after hesitating for two seconds, he still didn't touch the high-calorie food. Instead, he took a piece of dry food from his bundle, put it in his mouth, and told the Crown Prince that he had already eaten.
Even so, the child in front of her looked like he was about to cry.
Qin Chu had no choice but to explain to him gently, "You're a child, so it's only right that we give you food. If you don't eat and get sick, it will be very troublesome on the road. I'm an adult, so it's okay for me not to eat."
Upon hearing this, the eldest prince finally stopped insisting and slowly withdrew his hand.
He slowly began to nibble on the biscuit with water, chewing each bite slowly and carefully. He knew Qin Chu was still lying; no adult didn't need to eat.
But he had to eat it properly; it was food Qin Chu had given him, and he couldn't waste a single bit.
Qin Chu took a short nap at noon, but the eldest prince did not. He kept an eye on his surroundings while secretly watching Qin Chu's sleeping face.
He had never been treated like this before and didn't know what this behavior meant, but he thought that Qin Chu might not like him, but he was really, really good to him.
Qin Chu did not slow down their journey, but the environment ahead became increasingly desolate, and they could not find any food.
The bag of maltose that the eldest prince had been eyeing was eventually fed to him piece by piece. The eldest prince racked his brains trying to find a way to get Qin Chu to eat something, but Qin Chu always refused.
They had enough dry rations, but their water supply quickly dwindled, and eventually they relied entirely on grass roots they dug up.
This little bit of food and water was not enough; the hunger in my stomach was still unbearable.
But sitting on horseback, nestled in Qin Chu's arms, even though he was starving, the eldest prince felt the most profound peace he had ever experienced.
He had never had a definition of the word "happiness" in his life before.
But now, he rested his chin on Qin Chu's shoulder, with sandstorms rushing in front of him, the scorching sun overhead, and his weary horse beneath him.
At this moment, the eldest prince felt that he had touched happiness for the first time.
He wanted this happiness to last longer, but his consciousness was becoming increasingly clouded. Not from hunger, but from dehydration.
The eldest prince instinctively hugged Qin Chu tightly and called out, "Brother."
He recalled that in the previous village, Qin Chu had asked him if he wanted to come along.
He chose to be with Qin Chu, and then faced death again on the road. But he didn't regret it at all. If he could do it all over again, he would still choose to walk with Qin Chu.