My Name Is Lin Xuan

When he lived in the orphanage, he spent every day hoping his family would find him.

And indeed, he was found. But life with the Lin family didn’t feel any warmer than the orphanage.

In the Lin household, he faced endless beatings and scoldings.

It seemed like everything he did was wrong.

Whenever Lin Li made a mistake, a single word from him was enough to shift all the blame onto Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan lowered his gaze.

How ironic.

He was their biological son, their flesh and blood, yet in their eyes, he was nothing more than an outsider.

No—

Not even as good as an outsider.

Lin Xuan sat alone outside for about an hour before returning to the small makeshift shelter. He intended to check on Su Hua’s condition.

He had assumed she was still peacefully asleep.

"Cold… so cold…"

Instead, he found her curled up, her lips trembling.

"Cold?"

Lin Xuan smacked his forehead. How could he have forgotten? The herbal medicine she took was known to cause chills.

But there were no blankets here…

Gritting his teeth, Lin Xuan took off his shirt and pulled Su Hua tightly into his embrace.

The woman, sensing his warmth, clung to him just as tightly.

Lin Xuan felt his body growing hotter.

He tensed, his brow furrowing.

Wasn’t he supposed to be in love with Qin Ruoyao?

Why was he reacting like this to another woman?

He restrained himself, allowing Su Hua to hold onto him but doing nothing more.

Like this, he stayed awake, eyes open, until past four in the morning, when exhaustion finally dragged him into sleep.

When he woke again, daylight had already spilled across the sky.

He was still holding her close.

Startled, he quickly let go.

If she woke up and saw this, it would be beyond awkward.

As soon as Lin Xuan stepped out of the shelter, Su Hua stirred awake behind him.

Clearing his throat, he said, "You're awake."

Su Hua remained silent.

Lin Xuan tried again. "Uh… are you feeling better?"

Still no response.

Lin Xuan frowned.

Was she mute?

No, that couldn’t be. The first time they met, she had asked who he was.

She wasn’t mute—she just didn’t want to talk to him.

Lin Xuan sighed. "You must be hungry. I’ll go find something to eat. Wait here."

He turned to leave.

Then, a voice—cold, clear, and hauntingly beautiful—spoke from behind him.

"I tried to kill you. Why did you save me?"

Truthfully, she had woken earlier than him. When she realized Lin Xuan was holding her, her first instinct had been to kill him.

She had always despised being touched by men.

Especially one who had stripped off his shirt and held her so tightly. Her hand had hovered over his neck, ready to strike.

But then, images flashed in her mind—Lin Xuan brewing medicine for her, feeding it to her mouth-to-mouth…

Su Hua pressed her lips together.

He was her savior. She couldn’t repay kindness with cruelty.

She withdrew her hand.

When she tried to push his arms away, she noticed he was waking up. Caught off guard, she didn’t know how to react, so she feigned sleep instead.

Lin Xuan answered solemnly, "I don’t like killing. I don’t kill. And on this island, it’s just the two of us. We should help each other."

With that, he left to search for food.

He had only eaten a few pieces of fruit the entire day before, and his stomach was growling.

"Don’t like killing…?" Su Hua murmured to herself.

She thought of the countless lives staining her hands.

He despised killing—while she was a demon who took pleasure in torture and slaughter.

If he knew her true nature, he’d surely regret not killing her when she was feverish.

Lin Xuan climbed the mountain. Having spent years in the orphanage scaling trees, gathering fruit was no challenge.

Within minutes, he had a pouch full of fruit.

But he frowned.

Surviving on fruit alone wouldn’t sustain them. They needed meat.

Fish?

If there were a lake, he might’ve managed to catch some. But this was the open sea—without tools, catching fish barehanded was impossible.

Maybe there were wild chickens or rabbits nearby.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a rabbit darted past.

Lin Xuan’s eyes lit up.

Perfect!

If he could catch it, they’d have a proper meal. He gave chase.

But rabbits weren’t easy prey. It vanished into the bushes before he could get close.

Lin Xuan wiped his brow, panting.

"So much for those farming novels where hunters bag piles of game effortlessly. What a lie."

He resumed his search.

The mountain teemed with wildlife—he spotted one creature after another, yet caught none.

Exhausted, he slumped beneath a tree.

Another rabbit hopped by, almost taunting him.

Lin Xuan didn’t bother moving.

No point wasting energy on a hopeless chase.

Then—

A bamboo spear pierced the rabbit’s body. It collapsed, twitched, and fell still.

Lin Xuan gaped in shock.

He turned and saw Su Hua, her expression unreadable.

Incredible.

The rabbit he couldn’t catch had been taken down in an instant.

Turns out those farming novels weren’t fake—he was just terrible at hunting.

"Pick it up," Su Hua ordered flatly.

"Right."

Lin Xuan scrambled to retrieve the rabbit.

Su Hua tossed him a small knife.

"Clean it. We’ll roast it."

Lin Xuan nodded. "Got it."

It took him nearly an hour of clumsy butchering before the rabbit was ready. Mimicking scenes from TV, he skewered it over a fire.

Su Hua leaned against a tree, eyes closed, conserving her energy.

Her silence was icy.

Not a word more than necessary.

To lighten the mood, Lin Xuan ventured, "We’ve been together this long, and I still don’t know your name. What should I call you?"

Su Hua didn’t answer.

Lin Xuan pressed on. "I’m Lin Xuan."

At the sound of his name, Su Hua’s eyes flicked open.

For a moment, the man before her overlapped with a boy from her memories.

(Thanks to 15ww51 for the gift! Goodnight, everyone.)