WS - Chapter 119
Chapter 119
They had called it an open clearing, but the place where they stopped still had plenty of wild grass and shrubs, and turning it into a resting spot for the night naturally required some tidying up.
First, around where they planned to build the campfire, any flammable plants had to be cleared, and a simple firebreak laid with stones. Then, where people would sleep around the fire at night, prickly shrubs and loose pebbles had to be swept aside.
After a few brief words, everyone scattered: some to clear the ground, some to gather firewood.
Ning Chuyang swept the ground with a branch picked up from the ground, branch and leaves still attached, while gradually edging toward Song Shiyue, who was lying in the grass with her head resting on her backpack.
But before Ning Chuyang had taken more than a few steps, Yu Nianbing came over even faster and stopped right in the path Ning Chuyang was taking toward Song Shiyue.
Ning Chuyang: "..."
Glancing at the large rock Yu Nianbing was holding with both hands, Ning Chuyang rubbed her somewhat aching forehead, gave Yu Nianbing a friendly smile, and then readily began clearing in another direction.
Even though she knew Yu Nianbing was just gathering stones for the firebreak, for some reason, Ning Chuyang still felt that the cold, guarded look Yu Nianbing had just given her was a little unnerving.
No, or rather, not just that look.
If anything, ever since they arrived at this spot and Song Shiyue fell asleep, Yu Nianbing seemed a bit... different.
Ning Chuyang couldn't help glancing once more in the direction where Song Shiyue was lying.
So... was Song Shiyue really just asleep...?
From Ning Chuyang's observation while she cleared the area, Yu Nianbing was not slow in picking up stones for the firebreak, but her range of movement remained basically centered around Song Shiyue...
Lots of people were busy working nearby. Wasn't that a bit overprotective just for someone taking a nap?
So for the rest of that time, Ning Chuyang's inner scale tipped back and forth between As expected, these two really care about each other a lot and This is really strange.
Zhao Er brought out a lighter, and the fire caught very quickly.
Night hadn't fallen yet, but the firelight had already risen.
No matter what, the lively, leaping orange-red flames still brought a trace of warmth and reassurance to the weary, uncertain people.
"We'll make do and rest tonight. As everyone should have heard on the way here, the area where we were filming was originally under a Protective Shield. Before we came to film, professionals cleared the area inside the shield of dangerous beasts and other harmful creatures. But now the shield has probably failed, so we can't all sleep soundly like we did the past few days. Tonight we'll take turns keeping watch. Three watches should be enough. Who'll join me for the first watch?" Captain Yang, sitting by the fire and poking at it with a long branch, said.
Silence...
"Zhao Er, how about you and I take the first watch? Then next watch, Zhao Da can pair up with someone else." Captain Yang looked toward Zhao Da and Zhao Er.
Zhao Er glanced at Zhao Da, who nodded.
"Fine." Zhao Er answered just as readily.
"Then you'll pair with me." Zhao Da raised a hand and pointed, seemingly at random, then added, "Right now some are injured, some have collapsed. We'll keep a closer eye on things tonight."
Mu Xingzhou, who had been pointed out by Zhao Da and had frowned as if about to say something, fell silent again after hearing Zhao Da's latter words, and merely nodded.
Soon, the night watch rotation was set.
Group One: Zhao Er and Captain Yang. Group Two: Zhao Da and Mu Xingzhou. Group Three: Zhuang Jiachuan and Wang Daming.
Without wristbands to track time, the night was divided into three segments, and handovers would depend on each person's sense of time. So Director Zhang and Guan Yongyi were designated as a fourth mobile group. If the first two groups misjudged and Zhuang Jiachuan and Wang Daming had to keep watch too long and grew too tired, they could wake up the fourth group.
As for the women, they weren't assigned this time. The plan was to reassign once they reached the camp the next day, rested and regrouped, and would be assigned to watch duty the following night.
This arrangement was quite considerate.
But Yu Nianbing still felt that something wasn't quite right.
Aside from how Zhao Da and Zhao Er insisted on sharing the carrying time equally with Zhuang Jiachuan and Wang Daming along the way.
Just considering how, back in the cave, when Feng Qianqian's life hung in the balance, they hadn't exerted their full strength lifting the rock—could these two really agree to keep watch without any reluctance at all?
Given their behavior today, shouldn't they have said, 'Those who worked hard and are exhausted should sleep well tonight, and let the others take turns keeping watch'?
Yu Nianbing was puzzled for a moment, but soon set the matter aside for the time being.
After all, something else felt far more pressing to her right now.
Sitting on the ground, Yu Nianbing gently placed her hand on Song Shiyue's forehead as the latter lay beside her.
Neither cold nor hot; a perfectly normal temperature.
Neither flushed nor pale; a perfectly normal complexion.
No sweat beads kept seeping from her forehead, and her breathing was very steady.
She slept so deeply, so soundly...
Even when Zhuang Jiachuan had helped carry her from the tall grass over to the fire, she hadn't been woken up.
She must be really tired...
Yu Nianbing's hand gently brushed across Song Shiyue's forehead, as if wiping away an invisible layer of sweat.
Not far away, Ning Chuyang had just taken out the remaining clothes from her bag and laid them on the ground. She glanced impulsively toward Song Shiyue and saw Yu Nianbing looking at Song Shiyue, her expression... truly a bit strange.
Ning Chuyang was certainly not the only one finding it strange.
Never mind the other people on Wilderness Planet right now—viewers on StarNet who had been following Song Shiyue's camera feed really felt something was off.
"Does anyone else feel... Little Ice Block's gaze toward Song Shiyue is really a bit..."
"A bit too gentle..."
"So this afternoon the two were still arguing; how come by evening their relationship has suddenly advanced by leaps and bounds?"
"??? That's not gentleness, it clearly feels very sad."
"Right... Little Ice Block hasn't said or done anything, but when I look at her now, I just feel really upset inside."
"Forget Yu Nianbing, I think it's Song Shiyue who's really not okay. If her chest weren't still rising and falling, I'd think she..."
"Pah pah pah! Children's words are untainted! What are you saying!"
"Exactly, my Sister Song is just tired. That huge stone—didn't she say Zhao Da and Zhao Er didn't use any strength, and she lifted it all by herself? Falling asleep from exhaustion is totally normal."
"Honestly, when Song Shiyue slowly sat down and lay back, you could call it falling asleep naturally. But after she'd been sleeping a while, when Zhuang Jiachuan picked her up, she didn't react at all—that made my heart skip a beat."
"But looking now, Sister Song seems much better than that utterly exhausted state before. She's sleeping very peacefully."
"...It's precisely because she's sleeping too peacefully that it's alarming!"
"Everyone, let's not overthink it. It's just one person sleeping and another looking at her a few times; nothing will happen. Who is Sister Song? She could wake up and beat two cows to death!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Stop talking nonsense, pah pah pah!"
...
Nothing would happen.
Yu Nianbing told herself the same thing.
If she ignored how, when Song Shiyue suddenly collapsed, in her extreme panic, she had pinched down a few times—that reassurance would probably feel more convincing.
At that moment, because of the sheer terror that had flashed through her mind like a thunderbolt splitting open a fissure, Yu Nianbing had unconsciously tightened her grip on Song Shiyue. Those pinches had been really heavy.
But Song Shiyue? She had simply crumpled like a rag doll, sat down, and collapsed.
No matter how unwilling Yu Nianbing was to admit it, that image was engraved deep in her mind: the reluctant look and the words left unsaid on Song Shiyue's face as she closed her eyes.
Those damned unspoken words!
What was it that she couldn't just say before falling asleep!
Everyone thought Song Shiyue was just asleep.
Yu Nianbing wanted to think that too.
But... it was too hard.
Whether it was all of Song Shiyue's earlier odd behavior, or the arrangements and instructions she gave during their time alone in the forest, or how even that final pinch couldn't delay her drowsiness—all of it made Yu Nianbing realize that Song Shiyue's current sleep was no ordinary thing.
Yu Nianbing was frightened.
But compared to the panic on the road, where she couldn't see the path ahead at all, she now felt a sliver of calm.
Song Shiyue hadn't disappeared, hadn't gotten lost, and also hadn't...
She was right here, whole, sleeping beside her. Maybe she would wake up tomorrow.
In the end, it gave her worry a place to land, gave her... hope.
The firewood had been gathered, the campfire lit. Those who wanted to rest could now lie down on the ground with their eyes closed, just like Song Shiyue.
No one had the energy to build a lean-to shelter or put up a hut. All they hoped was that this night would pass quickly so they could reach the next camp soon. There, with the production team's boxed meals and water from the washroom, they could stuff their bellies and mouths full, then sleep soundly in a cabin or tent.
That was their greatest short-term expectation.
Right now, with no house, no blankets or pillows, and not even food or water... they could endure it.
Because their drinking water had long been given to Ni Jinghe to clean Feng Qianqian's wound, they hadn't had any water for about two hours.
This thirst would have to last another whole day.
After all... ahead, the nearest water source was the washroom at the next camp.
Many actually regretted it. When they left the cave, they were only thinking of hurrying away, hurrying forward, getting a little closer to the next camp, and a little closer still. They hadn't taken seriously the somewhat unclean groundwater on the cave floor...
But now they were truly thirsty.
Especially since, for safety, everyone was gathered by the fire, which made their mouths dry out even faster.
If they'd known this would happen, that unclean groundwater—maybe if they'd tried filtering it through clothing a few more times and boiling it, it could have been drinkable.
But regret was useless now. Whether they turned back or continued forward, it would take too long to get water.
Everyone's mouths were dry, their throats somewhat sore. After the night watch assignments were settled, for a long time no one spoke.
Yu Nianbing watched the darkening sky, thought of the things Song Shiyue had said, squeezed Song Shiyue's limp hand, and stood up.
Earlier, when they had come out of the forest after talking, they were about to set off and hadn't mentioned to Zhao Da and Zhao Er about looking at the map. Now, Yu Nianbing still didn't want to trade jerky for it.
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