Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 282: Chapter 193: For the Record, I Wanted to Dig It Myself

But he had prioritized personal hygiene from the very beginning. This showed it was a long-established habit for him, not something he did consciously, but an instinct.

Staring at Lin Chen’s features from up close, she observed him with a bit of curiosity.

Unlike the rough skin, thick brows, and large eyes of white people, Asians, while not as fair-skinned, had skin so fine it looked like they were wearing foundation. Their pores were so small they were almost invisible.

A week of surviving in the wild had left him with short stubble around his chin. It was sparse, a stark contrast to the bushy beards of Western men.

Those nest-like beards easily got stained with soups and sauces during meals, and they’d start to stink if not cleaned promptly.

She was used to seeing grubby men. Suddenly seeing such a clean-cut, handsome young man felt more and more miraculous the longer she looked, so she couldn’t help but stare a little longer.

"Is there something on my face?"

Seeing that she wasn’t moving and was just staring intently at him, Lin Chen touched his face in confusion.

"Do all you Asians have such good skin? Your pores are so fine, and you have less facial hair."

"?"

Lin Chen rolled his eyes, speechless.

’You really don’t give a damn about your scraped skin, do you? You’ve still got the energy to study the physical differences between races.’

"More or less. Go ahead and wash up. I’m going to wash my hair over there."

After speaking, he walked straight over to a spot a few meters away, squatted by the stream, and began scooping the icy water over his head.

Erica’s gaze followed his every move. When she saw him squatting so steadily to wash his hair, she, for some reason, decided to copy him and try squatting down too.

But her expression quickly changed.

As she neared a full squat, she suddenly lost her balance. Her center of gravity shifted back and forth, and she just couldn’t find a stable point.

She desperately wanted to stand back up, but in this position, she couldn’t properly engage her core or quads. The moment she exerted a little force, she tumbled headfirst into the stream.

SPLASH.

"???"

Lin Chen, who was washing his hair with his head tilted, caught a full view of the comical scene.

’Seriously, what is this woman trying to pull now? Is it that hard for her to just wash her hands?’

’Doesn’t she have any self-awareness about whether she can do an Asian squat or not?’

Luckily, the stream was shallow. Even falling in completely only submerged her up to her calves.

Erica propped herself up with her hands, kneeling in the stream. She felt the cool water seep into her pants and glide over her skin.

Having not bathed in days, she was suddenly tempted. She took off her camo jacket, tossed it onto the bank, bent over, and submerged her shoulder-length, flaxen-brown hair completely in the water.

"Lin, can I borrow a few soapnuts~"

"You’re getting more and more shameless. Are we that close?"

Lin Chen took three soapnuts from his pocket and tossed them over. At the same time, he grabbed one for himself, crushed it, and rubbed it until it foamed before working it into his hair.

"We’re already friends, aren’t we? We’ve known each other for over twenty-four hours and even ate together~"

Erica giggled, picked up the three fruits from the water’s surface, and after a moment’s thought, tucked one inside the collar of her shirt, using the remaining two to wash her hair.

Lin Chen had no intention of arguing with her. He had already discovered that this woman’s train of thought was different from a normal person’s, or at least, they weren’t on the same wavelength.

Out of ten sentences, five were usually completely off-topic, and the rest were an even split between rambling and acting cute.

’Normally, women mature psychologically about three years earlier than men. And in Western society, they mature even earlier.’

’She’s also twenty-five. Under normal circumstances, Erica should be as composed as a mature thirty-year-old woman, but interacting with her, she’s as innocent and carefree as an eighteen-year-old girl.’

’Is it because of her upbringing and job?’

’This is good, too. Dealing with someone with this kind of personality is simpler. I won’t have to worry about schemes and backstabbing.’

’It’s like placating a child. A little bit of good food should do the trick.’

’Besides, she’s a fan of mine who came all this way specifically for me. We’ll be neighbors in the future, so I should build a basic rapport.’

’Putting all that aside, I might even need her help someday. After all, she has such a capable mother.’

He quickly rubbed his scalp a few dozen times, letting the foam fully saturate his roots and hair strands.

His hair, unwashed for two or three days, had been unbearably itchy. After scrubbing with the soapnut, a cool, refreshing sensation spread across his scalp, and he felt as if his whole body had become a few pounds lighter.

At times like this, it was best to let the foam sit on the scalp for a while to kill as many bacteria as possible and protect it.

He didn’t stay idle, either. He took out another one and started washing his face, giving his arms a scrub as well.

"Lin~"

Erica’s sweet, naive voice rang out again.

"Could I have a few more?"

One soapnut has a limited amount of sap. It was normal for a woman with long hair to use a few more.

Lin Chen didn’t think much of it. Without counting, he reached into his pocket and grabbed a handful.

"Just remember to pay me back later."

Since he was washing his face, he didn’t open his eyes and just casually tossed them in the direction of the voice.

"Thanks so much! Love ya~"

After washing his face, he also rinsed the foam from his hair.

Lin Chen shook his head, squeezed his hair a few times to wring out the excess water, and then slicked his wet hair back to let it air dry.

He opened his eyes and glanced instinctively toward Erica, curious to see what step of washing she was on.

His gaze swept over, and his pupils reflected a smooth, fair back and long, shapely legs kneeling in the stream. She had even taken off her camo pants.

Lin Chen froze for a second, then, realizing what was happening, he whipped around, his heart pounding wildly.

"W-W-What are you doing?! Weren’t you just washing your hair? How did it turn into a bath? You could’ve given me a heads-up!!"