Chapter 45 Chapter Forty Five - The Roses Reflect His Feelings (2/2)
Although Nathan was about the same age as herself and her cousin, his face was more youthful, despite his usually indifferent expression. He stirred in her protective feelings, just as did Lucy; neither seemed suited to the harshness of the apocalypse, the former seeming too innocent and the latter too young. ”Um, I don't know what you like to eat,” Autumn said in a low, but fast tone, wincing as she saw a startled glint in Nathan's eyes. She wasn't sure what she'd done to disturb him, but she remembered Dexter's words and tried to keep her own voice calm as she added; ”I hope these pancakes are okay.”
Seeing his blue eyes dull slightly, she couldn't help but frown a bit, but was quickly distracted by the small hand reaching for one of the fried, batter circles. Gently she asked; ”have you washed your hands?”
The little girl paused and retreated a step, before tugging on Nathan's sleeve. The youth automatically picked her up and took her to the sink in order to do so. In that short time, the obvious stiffness in the boy's gait had also relaxed a bit and he returned, with Lucy, less reluctantly. Nan Li Liang had already placed the rice upon the table and was indulging his curiosity, looking around the cottage. Autumn wrapped some of the vegetables in one of the pancakes, cut it in two and handed it to Lucy. Nathan copied her movement, filling a pancake and munching on the crunchy contents.
A couple of minutes later, the boy surprised her as he spoke in his quiet voice; ”These are my vegetables?”
Autumn paused, before nodding. ”Yes, I hope you don't mind. I was very carefully in harvesting them.”
”I don't mind,” Nathan replied and took another bite.
Lucy made a satisfied sound, before tearing a piece off of her pancake and stretching out her hand. A large pink tongue swept the offering from her palm before disappearing into his black muzzle. Autumn flinched, where had Aslan appeared from?! She was not so good with large dogs, not frightened per se, but before the end, she always avoided ones that were not leashed. Neither Nathan nor Lucy, though took any notice regarding his sudden appearance.
Autumn thought it was time to tactfully retreat; she'd delivered this evening's meal for them and they seemed to have liked it. She indicated to Nan Li Liang that he should leave with her. But before they could take more than a couple of steps back, Nathan said aloud; ”You should save the rice in the future. I don't need it. Ren Zexian likes rice a lot.”
Autumn gave a small sigh, wondering how to deal with his request. ”The rice... we probably only have enough to last the winter, it's a shame.”
Nathan nodded in agreement, before swallowing the hefty bite within his mouth. ”I can't grow rice, I don't have the seed as it doesn't grow in this country. Otherwise, I'd grow lots of it for Ren Zexian.”
Autumn glanced at his face, surprised to see how his eyes seemed to sparkle as he spoke of the oriental man. The corners of his lips were also upturned, his expressionless face suddenly appearing soft. She wondered what sort of feelings he held for the man, did he idolise him, was it brotherly affection or something more...
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Unable to notice anything out of the ordinary, Nan Li Liang latched onto the conversation with a response; ”it's not like you can't actually grow rice in this country, just it might be a bit difficult. Rice needs warm temperatures, so could be grown in a greenhouse... though you'd need a fairly big greenhouse to grow enough rice to make it worth it. And as for the seed, whole grain rice can actually be used.”
Nathan's whole face lit up like a bonfire on a cold winter's night. Suddenly, he was no longer just cute, but beautiful. Autumn found herself blushing. ”Really?” He asked, eagerly.
Nan Li Liang also found himself reddening, this was more due to Nathan's intense stare causing him to be embarrassed. ”Yeah, we did this science experiment in school... growing stuff available from the supermarket. We grew a small amount in a bucket. We grew dry beans as well... oh but rice would need a lot of water.” He mentioned, thinking about how precious that last resource was.
Nathan's brightness dimmed slightly as he considered this detail within his mind. He could already produce a lot of water, but it wasn't always enough to ensure all of the plants were able to drink, especially with all of the new potted vegetables and fruits growing in the house and the new greenhouse. He sometimes had to ask Tyler, which made the other man irritable, so he didn't ask too often even though Tyler never actually refused him. So in order to make rice, wouldn't that mean he would need to just make more water? Ren Zexian said before that he could teach him a way to do that... like he'd taught Tyler... so it was possible...
His smile returned and ignoring the guests in his house, he rushed out of the door towards the main property's kitchen in order to confiscate all and any whole grain rice in its cupboards. Nan Li Liang And Autumn could only look after him with incredulous expressions.
Lucy grabbed the last pancake on the plate and loyally shared it with Aslan when no one was looking.