WS - Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Yu Nianbing hadn't expected Song Shiyue to be so decisive—she'd kneel the moment she said she'd kneel, and touch her foot the moment she said she'd touch it, giving her no time to react at all...
"Is it this foot?" Song Shiyue wrapped her hand around Yu Nianbing's right ankle, her nimble fingers quickly feeling around.
This hand... why is it always so warm...
Yu Nianbing pursed her lips, reining in her slightly wandering thoughts, and gently tugged Song Shiyue's backpack, whispering, "I'm fine, don't hold up the filming. Give them the food first."
Song Shiyue stopped massaging Yu Nianbing's ankle and looked up.
Yu Nianbing met her gaze with a calm expression, but her hand on Song Shiyue's backpack subtly tugged twice more.
"Really okay?" Song Shiyue hesitated.
Yu Nianbing shook her head.
Song Shiyue released her ankle, stood up, gave Yu Nianbing another glance, then took off her backpack and held it in front of her.
That glance from Song Shiyue unsettled Yu Nianbing.
Was she... meddling too much...
But even if Song Shiyue could keep those foods now, breaking the rules would hand leverage to the production team. From what Feng Qianqian said, Mu Xingzhou would probably get an "extra meal" at noon. A disciplinary extra meal in the wild—you didn't need to think hard to know it wouldn't be anything good. If Mu Xingzhou, caught immediately by the dog, was treated that way, then the longer Song Shiyue concealed things, the heavier her punishment would be... and those things she kept would never be eaten anyway.
And that wasn't the only thing Yu Nianbing was worried about.
Her clumsy distraction with a fake sprained ankle was more because of the way Song Shiyue had stared at the dog.
Amid that earnest fixation was a threatening ruthlessness.
A look like that, if it appeared when an artist was acting, could even be praised as good acting. But a reality show—reality shows show the real person, and also the person the artist wants the audience to think they are.
That look from Song Shiyue, even if meant to scare off the dog, was far too out of place.
Yu Nianbing had made that reminder out of a desire to protect Song Shiyue. And now, Song Shiyue, who was opening her pack, had undoubtedly picked up on her earlier hint.
But seeing Song Shiyue actually do that, Yu Nianbing felt a little uneasy.
Yu Nianbing had always minded her own business, but lately she'd repeatedly broken that rule for Song Shiyue. She didn't know if it was because that day, the image of the young woman collapsing in thick smoke, frail and helpless, had etched itself too deeply into her heart—whenever Yu Nianbing faced Song Shiyue, she unthinkingly dropped much of her guard and couldn't help paying a little extra attention.
But just now, Yu Nianbing had been looked at by Song Shiyue, and suddenly she couldn't quite read the meaning in that gaze, which unsettled her heart a bit. She questioned herself: had she overstepped? Could Song Shiyue have thought she was in cahoots with the production team, here to seize her food together?
If Song Shiyue really thought that...
Then that would be...
Then that would be really awful!
Yu Nianbing's lips pressed tighter, but a wave of indescribable bitterness surged in her heart.
Song Shiyue, busy unpacking beside her, didn't sense Yu Nianbing's mood shift.
Song Shiyue's backpack was truly huge; when she held it, the bottom reached past her knees and the top hid a small part of her face.
Earlier, the StarNet audience had been a little worried that the dog was useless and they wouldn't get to see Song Shiyue get exposed when opening her pack.
Unexpectedly, Yu Nianbing pointed it out so bluntly, telling Song Shiyue to hurry up and hand over the items, and Song Shiyue looked like she really would hand them over.
It made the viewers incredibly excited.
But just as the excitement surged, most of Yu Nianbing's fans sensed something off.
If their own Little Ice Block was this warm-hearted, then what kind of ice block was she?
On the danmaku, the spectator CP fans were rejoicing, flinging imaginary candy around like it cost nothing.
And those die-hard fans of Yu Nianbing, who always looked down on those melon-eating fans daring to ship any random CP and would always come out to snipe at them, were temporarily not in the mood.
They just felt: something seems off?
As early as when Song Shiyue brought her backpack in front of her and prepared to open it, Feng Qianqian had walked over holding the storage box.
Wang Daming wanted to say that he'd given Song Shiyue a chance to hand over food earlier and she hadn't taken it, but on second thought, although he'd called the dog, the useless dog hadn't gone forward, so he couldn't really claim Song Shiyue had been found out.
But forget it—they'd already caught Mu Xingzhou, so this part of the highlight should be enough. So thinking, Wang Daming said nothing more.
Only, he neither noticed Director Zhang's rather unfavorable gaze at this moment, nor that the dog he was leading was tightly hiding behind his trouser leg, tail tucked, ears drooping, with only a sliver of its face peeking out to sneak looks at Song Shiyue, looking rather like a pitiful little thing who'd been bullied.
The storage box in Feng Qianqian's hands was about the size of a small suitcase; currently lying inside were a bag of chips, a bag of dried plums, two bags of candy, and a small bag of pork jerky, so it looked like there was plenty of room left. At least, she thought, even if more than half of Song Shiyue's huge pack was food, it would still fit.
What Feng Qianqian hadn't anticipated was that fitting was one thing, but whether she could carry it was another.
The first bag Song Shiyue pulled out was a dark, indistinct packet; before Feng Qianqian could see clearly, it was already placed into the box she was holding.
How to put it... it suddenly grew heavy, and Feng Qianqian, unguarded, nearly dropped it.
"What's this?" Feng Qianqian looked down and saw that the dark thing wasn't one solid chunk, but a whole sheet, plastic-sealed into small individual squares.
At the same time, the StarNet viewers also saw, through the intelligently switched livestream camera, the item Song Shiyue had put into the box.
With many eyes, it didn't take long for danmaku to figure out what it was.
"Meat!"
"Such thick, huge meat—looks like it's six or seven centimeters thick, right?"
"Meat? Based on the color, I'd think it's jerky."
"Jerky? Such a big piece of jerky, and so thick?"
"Definitely meat. If it were jerky, how heavy would it be? Just now when she opened her pack, it was full—she wouldn't be able to carry that much jerky."
"Even if it's meat... that looks like five or six jin at least. Could the rest of the pack be all puffed snacks?"
"Who would put puffed snacks under heavy meat? Underneath must be those air-filled bags mentioned earlier!"
On StarNet, rows of danmaku scrolled by so fast that Song Shiyue's answer seemed half a beat slow.
"Cooked jerky. Want to try some?" Song Shiyue pulled another bag out of her pack and, instead of immediately stuffing it into the box, first asked Feng Qianqian in a friendly manner.
As a staff member, Feng Qianqian shook her head without hesitation.
"I'll try some." Mu Xingzhou, who had drifted over from the other side at some point, poked his head out from behind Feng Qianqian.
Feng Qianqian's body stiffened.
Song Shiyue glanced at Mu Xingzhou, set her pack on the ground, casually placed the bag into the box to the side, picked up the bag of jerky, gently tore twice, and one plastic-sealed square detached from the large sheet.
Mu Xingzhou took the piece of jerky; it was palm-sized, and although called a piece... it was more like a cube...
A perfect cube with neat edges.
Mu Xingzhou tried to tear it but actually couldn't open the plastic seal.
"Oh, I forgot—this plastic seal is extra thick on purpose." Song Shiyue once again extended a friendly hand and tore open the packaging for Mu Xingzhou.
So how did you tear open packaging that's extra thick?
Holding the cube of jerky, Mu Xingzhou hesitated a bit.
"Don't worry, it tastes great. I specially ordered it from a restaurant chef. Too bad I couldn't bring more..." Song Shiyue said with real regret, then suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to Feng Qianqian, "When we leave our things here, can we take them with us when we go? This jerky has a shelf life of over a month."
Feng Qianqian didn't know how others present saw this situation. She only knew that as Song Shiyue placed item after item, the weight of the box in her hands went heavy, then light, then heavy again—in just this short while, her hand holding the box was already very sore.
Song Shiyue's items weren't limited to that bag of jerky; the next one she put in was also a large sheet of individually sealed dehydrated vegetables, and it turned out to be just as heavy.
Feng Qianqian looked again at the large pack beside Song Shiyue's feet, which seemed to still have more to pull out, and couldn't help but feel a bit of awe. At Song Shiyue's question, she answered offhand, "Yes, we'll take a plane later, then head this way—this is the second-to-last point."
"Feng Qianqian." Wang Daming called out, rather surprised that she'd just blurted out the upcoming itinerary like that, and tugged at the dog somewhat anxiously, trying to walk over.
Unfortunately, the dog seemed rooted to the spot; no matter how much strength Wang Daming used, all he managed was to let out some leash while shuffling a few steps himself.
Feng Qianqian knew she'd misspoken and shut her mouth.
Mu Xingzhou glanced at the others and took a bite of the jerky.
It must be said, Mu Xingzhou was a cautious person; this jerky felt very compact and looked devoid of moisture, so he bit into a small corner.
But he hadn't expected that his attack on the weak point would find that weak point not weak at all.
Mu Xingzhou had to exert considerable effort to tear off that small corner from the jerky.
Tearing it off was hard, chewing was also not easy, and even though the seasoning was truly savory and tasty, it sapped a lot of the enjoyment.
"Not bad." Mu Xingzhou struggled to swallow it down.
Song Shiyue nodded and smiled, "Right? I compared many restaurants to hire that chef, so it wasn't easy to come by."
Mu Xingzhou felt blocked by Song Shiyue's words. But seeing the young woman's bright, clear gaze and smiling face, he thought he might be overthinking...
Since she'd said that, and he'd taken the initiative to ask for food, he couldn't just eat a tiny corner and waste food, right?
Mu Xingzhou still had a slight idol's burden; hearing this, he could only bury his head and gnaw. At least, he should eat half, right? So Mu Xingzhou thought.
Just as Mu Xingzhou was battling with the jerky, he suddenly felt a gaze lingering on him from the side and couldn't help turning his head—it turned out to be Yu Nianbing.
The second their eyes briefly met, Yu Nianbing coldly averted her gaze.
Mu Xingzhou was a bit baffled; such dry, hard jerky—Yu Nianbing couldn't possibly want some, could she?
While Mu Xingzhou was laboring over his jerky, Feng Qianqian wasn't having an easy time either.
One big bag of jerky, one big bag of dehydrated vegetables, one big bag of white powder she didn't know was wheat flour or rice flour... with just these three items piled on one after another, Feng Qianqian gave up on holding the box.
Sure enough, it wasn't over; Song Shiyue actually pulled out two large bottles of water, but instead of putting them in the box, she asked, "What about water? Can we bring it?"
Director Zhang shook his head vigorously.
Wang Daming saw it and said, "No, we'll give you bottles later."
Song Shiyue nodded and, without resistance, also placed the water into the box.
Feng Qianqian felt that she wouldn't be able to lift this storage box alone later.
When Song Shiyue pulled out yet another big bag of snacks and the box was nearly full, Feng Qianqian gave up completely.
"That's it." Song Shiyue held up her now mostly flattened pack and looked at Wang Daming.
Wang Daming also felt... that should be it...
With these items—jerky, dehydrated vegetables, plus that powder—they could cook and eat frugally for several days. What else could she possibly bring...
But procedure still had to be followed; Wang Daming could do nothing about the dog rooted to the ground, so he had to bend down, pick it up, and walk toward Song Shiyue.
This time Song Shiyue didn't stare at the dog; although it kept its head and tail low, it didn't struggle much and was carried over in front of Song Shiyue.
"Smell it..." Wang Daming patted the dog's back.
Song Shiyue picked up her pack and brought it close to the dog's face.
"Whimper..." The dog twisted backward, "whimper, whimper..."
Wang Daming lost his grip, and the dog in his arms managed to twist around and turn over; man and dog ended up face to face, tightly embracing each other.
"Hahaha, looks like there's nothing else. But Teacher Song really brought a lot of food—you must have watched quite a few wilderness survival tutorials before coming on the show." Wang Daming tried to smile less awkwardly and quickly set the dog back on the ground.
Song Shiyue smiled.
"Alright, now we'll move on to the next segment: another check of your backpacks. Hand over the items I'm about to list into the box, and as a supplement, we'll give you some essential supplies later." As Wang Daming spoke, he passed the dog leash to Feng Qianqian, preparing to trade props with her and have nothing more to do with that cowardly dog.
Feng Qianqian didn't immediately grasp Wang Daming's intent and didn't have time to stop him before he bent down to lift the nearly full storage box.
On the first try, he couldn't lift it.
Wang Daming's expression stiffened slightly.
But he was not one to give up; he held his breath and gave another fierce heave.
This time, he did manage to lift the box, but Wang Daming lost his balance and lurched sideways; it looked like both he and the box were about to topple.
"Careful." Even though Song Shiyue disliked the production team seizing her food, she wouldn't just watch someone fall in front of her, so she extended a friendly paw.
Wang Daming was a bit dazed; clearly it was his arm that had been supported, so why did it feel like the box in his hand... wasn't as heavy anymore?
This person really is so warm-hearted to everyone.
Yu Nianbing lowered her head slightly and involuntarily took two steps away from Song Shiyue.
Song Shiyue had handed over the greater part of her possessions and was feeling far from wonderful, but when she turned her head, she saw Yu Nianbing, who also seemed not very happy.
"What's wrong?" Song Shiyue quickly caught up. "Is your ankle still bothering you?"
Yu Nianbing paused for a moment before realizing what Song Shiyue meant by ankle.
"Let me check it again?" Song Shiyue said, and with a thud she knelt down again.
Yu Nianbing felt dizzy. What kind of person was this! She'd clearly understood her hint to hand over the food, and now she was doing this—was it on purpose?
"Is it the right foot?" Song Shiyue pressed a few times on Yu Nianbing's ankle, saw no reaction at all, and looked up in confusion.
Are you silly?
Yu Nianbing really wanted to ask that, but in the end she just shook her head, "Really, it's fine."
Yes, really fine.
Yu Nianbing couldn't ignore the sincere concern and worry in Song Shiyue's eyes.
She... actually really still thought she'd sprained her ankle.
Truly... silly...
So thinking, when Yu Nianbing helped Song Shiyue up, her eyes held a hint of a smile.
"Alright, alright. Let me tell everyone what else you can't bring and need to hand over." Wang Daming dragged the box over to the middle of the group with difficulty, took a list from his pocket, and prepared to read it out.
That somewhat mysterious joy in Yu Nianbing's heart was interrupted by Wang Daming's voice, and her face returned to its usual cool aloofness.
Only, she felt that something was different now.
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