WS - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Yu Nianbing had followed along precisely to find a chance to speak with Song Shiyue. Now that she had said what she wanted, she simply washed her face in the bathroom and came out.

The two quickly returned to the Old Castle entrance and regrouped with everyone.

Yu Nianbing was a little worried about that extra press of the privacy shield button Song Shiyue had made outside the bathroom. Strictly speaking, that was against the rules. If the production team wanted to make an issue of it, she didn't know whether admitting that she had initiated the conversation with Song Shiyue could shift the rule-breaking onto her own head.

But beyond Yu Nianbing's expectations, Director Zhang only glanced at them and said, "From now on, when you go to the bathroom, go one at a time."

And that was the end of the matter.

The storage box that had held the confiscated food and sundries at the Old Castle entrance was already gone. Song Shiyue felt a little regretful, but she didn't say anything more.

Just as Yu Nianbing had said, this was only a livestream for The Wilderness Journey reality show. There might be minor troubles, minor hardships, and little traps set by the production team along the way, but in the end it was just a variety show. They were not truly stranded in a wilderness desperate enough that the production team would let them starve.

Only...

Perhaps it was because she had been in this world for too short a time, or perhaps it was a lingering effect of seven years living in the apocalypse. She still couldn't quite get used to the feeling of placing her fate entirely in the hands of others.

Song Shiyue couldn't help but glance sideways at Zhao Da and Zhao Er standing in the distance — tall, brawny, a double dose of muscular men who, according to reports, carried weapons and would serve as bodyguards to protect everyone's safety. On their waists, one could see knives. Inside their clothes, there was a bulge; she didn't know whether it was a gun or something else.

With a soft sigh, Song Shiyue tightened her backpack straps and straightened her belt.

She could only hope that this journey would go smoothly.

With their bags checked and everything they were allowed to take in hand, the group was finally about to formally enter the wilderness.

Not far from where they had disembarked the spaceship the previous night, a small plane was waiting for them.

The plane had no one on board. When they boarded, it was all thanks to Director Zhang entering a string of codes on the cabin door panel. It was said that this plane was remotely controlled by the production team on Mingtan Prime. After flying them to their destination, it would fly back on its own.

Presumably, this was the technology of this world.

Feng Qianqian's earlier slip of the tongue had let everyone know that the next leg of their journey would be hiking from the plane's landing point back to the Old Castle. To preserve mystery and freshness, once everyone was inside the cabin, Director Zhang locked the plane windows.

Unable to see the scenery outside, they could only sit in the cabin staring blankly at one another.

Song Shiyue recalled the scattered information about Wilderness Planet that Wang Mancang had gathered for her.

This planet, originally an agricultural planet under the jurisdiction of Mingtan Planet, wasn't very large — probably about the size of a few provinces from her old Earth's China combined.

The planned itinerary was fifteen days. If the Old Castle was the second-to-last stop, then where they were going now was probably around thirteen or fourteen days away from it.

Although they couldn't see outside the plane now, back at the Old Castle, they had seen endless mountains in all directions. She figured that after they landed, there wouldn't be any transportation either; they would mostly be relying on their own two feet.

This was a reality show, not a forced march. If this plane was similar to the helicopters in Song Shiyue's understanding, perhaps they wouldn't be in the air for long before landing.

Just as Song Shiyue was pondering the surrounding terrain she had seen earlier, wondering which direction they were flying relative to the Old Castle, someone lightly patted her right arm.

She turned her head; it was Ning Chuyang.

Song Shiyue paused for a split second, only then remembering that Yu Nianbing was on her left side.

"That jerky of yours is really chewy in a good way," Ning Chuyang wiped her mouth and whispered, "After the show ends, tell me the name of that hotel."

Song Shiyue glanced at the empty little wrapper in the garbage bag in front of Ning Chuyang — it looked like she had just finished eating — and then smiled, "It's just far..."

"Ay..." Ning Chuyang hadn't expected Song Shiyue to just start saying it. She hastily pressed a finger to Song Shiyue's lips, "Don't say it now! Soon enough Director Zhang will say you brought a self-promoting ad into the show and make you eat bugs."

"Cough cough..."

Before Song Shiyue could say anything, from a couple of rows away came a very obvious fake coughing sound.

"See? Told you so. They've been watching us the whole time." Ning Chuyang withdrew her finger and winked at Song Shiyue, with a touch of playful smugness, as if everything was under her control.

"Then aren't you afraid of Director Zhang?" Song Shiyue asked, a little amused.

"What's there to be afraid of? They never said complaining about the production team is against the rules." Ning Chuyang lightly nudged the paper trash bag on the tray in front of her. "Anyway, I'm not getting out of this meal today, so a few words don't matter. This time, only you and Teacher Yu didn't get caught. At lunch, you two should eat whatever you have, because after seeing our lunch, I'm afraid you won't have any appetite."

"It might not necessarily be bugs..." Song Shiyue said hesitantly. "Earlier, Feng Qianqian only said the punishment was related to lunch. Maybe it's just some local specialty that doesn't taste good? Or ingredients we have to prepare ourselves?"

"Hahaha." Ning Chuyang laughed until her eyes crinkled, her girlish charm on full display. "Your attempt at comfort is way too obvious. Turns out you're this funny?"

Song Shiyue felt a bit awkward being laughed at like that. But the girl's pure innocence was genuine — her laughter was simply laughter, not mockery or anything else. Her smile was actually quite pretty, making it impossible to get angry.

"Do you want to use a wet wipe to clean your hands?"

Amidst Ning Chuyang's delighted laughter, a cold and dead-serious voice cut in.

Song Shiyue turned her head to the left and saw Yu Nianbing slowly pushing a wet wipe across the trays, from her own spot all the way to Ning Chuyang's.

"...Me? Me?" Ning Chuyang froze in bewilderment.

"It looked like you smudged her lipstick just now." Yu Nianbing slowly curved the corners of her lips, revealing what she herself thought was a friendly, faint smile.

"Oh... oh... thank you, Teacher Yu..." Ning Chuyang seemed to understand, and yet seemed to completely miss something.

Still, that didn't stop her from accepting the wet wipe, pulling one out, and wiping her hands.

"I..." Song Shiyue glanced at Ning Chuyang, who was wiping her hands, then turned hesitantly to Yu Nianbing. "But I'm not wearing any lipstick."

Ning Chuyang, mid-wipe, stopped her motion.

"Your lips are so red. You put some on, you just forgot." Yu Nianbing's expression didn't change. With that single statement, she stopped looking at the two of them and turned her head elsewhere.

Ning Chuyang slowly wiped her hands, placed the wet wipe into the trash bag, and inwardly sighed. As expected, Teacher Yu really was a big ice block. Whatever she casually said could freeze the entire atmosphere, leaving no one able to respond.

After a while, Ning Chuyang leaned forward a bit, sizing up Yu Nianbing. Seeing that she seemed to have no intention of looking their way again, she finally resumed chatting quietly with Song Shiyue.

They only chatted intermittently about filming and the earlier events on the spaceship to pass the time before Director Zhang signaled that the plane was about to land.

Song Shiyue calculated the time; they had only been flying for a little over an hour.

That meant that if something unexpected happened over these dozen or so days, it would only take a plane a little over an hour to reach them.

If, at the same time the plane took off, a rescue spaceship was dispatched from Wilderness Planet, then with a bit of luck they could be back on Mingtan Prime within five or six hours.

That could be considered an extra layer of safety, she supposed.

During the time on the plane, aside from chatting with Ning Chuyang, Song Shiyue had been mulling over these things.

She didn't know if Yu Nianbing was still angry about those conversations outside the bathroom, but on the plane Yu Nianbing hadn't looked her way again. Song Shiyue also felt too embarrassed to reach out and tap her to say something.

What a pity — the time outside the bathroom earlier had been a little too short.

Later, when Song Shiyue had returned to the hall to wait for Yu Nianbing, she sensed that something was off. But she couldn't see what in those few exchanges would have made Yu Nianbing suddenly say those things...

Ultimately, it came down to them knowing each other too little.

By the time they got off the plane, Ning Chuyang had naturally fallen into step with Song Shiyue.

Song Shiyue couldn't help but glance back at Mu Xingzhou behind them. If she remembered correctly, those two — whether a real CP or a fake one — had seemed to be pushing a CP narrative based on their earlier behavior. Why were they suddenly not doing that anymore?

Of course, Song Shiyue couldn't ask that out loud.

But as she withdrew her gaze, she happened to lock eyes with Yu Nianbing, who wasn't far away.

The moment their eyes met, Song Shiyue knew what Yu Nianbing would do next.

Sure enough, Yu Nianbing immediately averted her gaze, as if she hadn't just made eye contact with her.

Living under the cameras where nothing could be asked and everything relied on silent understanding... was truly exhausting!

After getting off the plane, everyone saw that they were roughly in a valley, surrounded by high mountains on all sides.

This was not good news at all.

In other words, no matter which direction they headed next, they would have to climb mountains...

After Song Shiyue got off, Ning Chuyang pulled her forward a couple of steps, but she couldn't help looking back at the plane.

The spot where it had parked was pretty nice — very flat, with no trees around. But that was only this one patch of land; elsewhere around it, many large trees grew, and it wasn't as level or as clear.

This was probably specially cleared for this landing.

But what about along the route ahead? Would there be flat spots like this?

If it was all tall trees, a plane wouldn't be able to come down easily.

Song Shiyue looked at the great mountains around them, lush with trees towering into the clouds...

She wondered if the production team had ever considered that there might be a situation requiring rescue.

Though when the time came, maybe they could be winched up?

Song Shiyue knew these were merely her own overly cautious thoughts. Voicing them would only earn a "the sky is falling" remark, so she didn't bring them up with anyone and kept mulling them over inwardly.

The production team behind them hadn't called for assembly, so the artists who had gotten off first were scattered around, observing their surroundings.

Song Shiyue scanned the area and felt that no matter which direction they went, it wouldn't be easy. Climbing mountains on the very first day meant the next few days were going to be hard on their legs.

As long as she could eat her fill, she could manage to push through. She just didn't know about...

Thinking this, Song Shiyue couldn't help but search for Yu Nianbing's figure.

Yu Nianbing hadn't gone far either; she was just squatting under a large tree in the distance, looking very serious, as if she was carefully examining a clump of plants beneath it.

If only that little temper of hers had passed. An unconscious smile tugged at Song Shiyue's lips. She had just started walking toward Yu Nianbing when her gaze shifted — and her expression instantly changed. She quickly crouched down.

Ning Chuyang had been with Song Shiyue since they got off the plane. They had been wandering together for a while now. Seeing Song Shiyue fall silent for so long and then suddenly crouch down, Ning Chuyang was about to ask what was wrong when Song Shiyue's pale face startled her. Ning Chuyang instinctively followed Song Shiyue's tense and almost fierce gaze, and saw...

"Ah..." Ning Chuyang's scream was only half-uttered before she clamped it shut with her own hands. Her whole body began to tremble with fear, and a film of tears quickly welled in her eyes. The once charming and lively girl now looked even more pitifully delicate and fragile.

But Song Shiyue didn't spare her a single glance. Even the half-scream Ning Chuyang hadn't managed to hold in didn't make her shift her gaze one bit.

It was too far away — around twenty meters. Song Shiyue gripped the stone she had just picked up from the ground, a thin layer of sweat already on her palm, but she wasn't confident enough to make a reckless move.

Although Ning Chuyang quickly realized her mistake and stifled her scream, the sound she had already made caught everyone's attention.

The others didn't think much of it, merely casting puzzled glances at Ning Chuyang.

But Yu Nianbing...

Under the tree, Yu Nianbing looked over in confusion. Her gaze paused on Ning Chuyang for a moment before settling steadily on Song Shiyue. After a brief hesitation, she actually stood up.

Song Shiyue's heart clenched. As she watched the line moving behind Yu Nianbing, her pupils dilated slightly.

No, she couldn't wait any longer.

Just as Song Shiyue was about to make her move, an unfamiliar, high-pitched male voice suddenly rang out: "Watch out! There's a snake!"

The out-of-the-nowhere shout startled everyone into anxiously looking down and around, their feet stamping as they feared the warning was meant for them.

Even Ning Chuyang couldn't help but lower her head to check.

Only Song Shiyue remained like a drawn bowstring, her gaze not shifting in the slightest.

No, there was also Yu Nianbing...

Utterly startled by the voice as well, Yu Nianbing also wanted to look around like everyone else and quickly leave that spot.

But her gaze had previously been fixed on Song Shiyue in the distance.

That girl, her face pale, even a lock of hair on her forehead damp with sweat — Yu Nianbing had initially thought Song Shiyue was unwell, which was why Ning Chuyang had cried out like that.

Now it seemed...

Yu Nianbing tried hard to calm down, but cold sweat uncontrollably beaded on her forehead.

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