WS - Chapter 138
Chapter 138
Having witnessed the scene, Ning Chuyang thought to herself that the force-fed duck had truly had an extremely hard time.
But for Feng Qianqian, whose wishes were already fulfilled and whose body was broken and will was weak, this was more like a joke than a threat.
"I really don't want to eat..." Feng Qianqian sighed, and when she spoke again, her voice unconsciously dropped a little lower. "The way I am, eating or not doesn't make a difference. You don't have much either, so don't waste food on me."
She had known it—known that when someone asks for paper and pen to write a will, it never meant anything good.
Ning Chuyang may not have been as quick as Yu Nianbing earlier, when she had grabbed Feng Qianqian's hand pressing toward her wound, but she had a clear grasp of the current situation.
However... Ning Chuyang was good at arguing with people, but having her gently persuade someone to regain hope in life was a bit too difficult for her.
Facing Feng Qianqian, leaning weakly against the backpack with eyes about to close, Ning Chuyang couldn't even begin to search her mind for comforting, inspiring words. If she hadn't been gritting her teeth, she would have already thrown a bellyful of abuse in her face.
A bad life is better than a good death—what is wrong with these people?
Splitting up before reaching the end of the road, wanting to die before all hope is lost...
What kind of people did this show recruit!
Ning Chuyang, her face dark, stomped out of the tent.
Feng Qianqian, who had closed her eyes to avoid communication, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Both the sound of Ning Chuyang's departing footsteps and Feng Qianqian's audible sigh—so different from normal breathing—reached Song Shiyue's ears.
Interestingly, she seemed to also faintly hear some other sound.
These past few days, Song Shiyue, fully conscious, had been living quite hard. The despair she thought would dissipate had instead become the even greater despair of being a conscious, feeling vegetable; the helplessness of the spirit being willing but the flesh weak... the guilt of burdening Yu Nianbing, the heartache, and even more complicated emotions...
Oh, right, and that nightly cleaning that was so embarrassing she wished she could just vanish...
Life was truly too hard.
When there were more people, Yu Nianbing had taken very close care of Song Shiyue. With just the two of them together, quiet and with little conversation, those emotions naturally grew larger and larger.
But now that they were short-handed, Song Shiyue lying here and listening to the sounds around her as a distraction actually brightened her mood a little.
Pity that her body hadn't recovered, and though her hearing was normal, she couldn't make out some sounds clearly.
But from those faint sounds, Song Shiyue felt that Feng Qianqian was still too young and had definitely relaxed too soon.
Sure enough, soon Ning Chuyang's stomping footsteps approached the tent again.
Feng Qianqian, feigning sleep, instinctively glanced toward the tent entrance, and that one glance met Ning Chuyang, who was holding a bowl of congee.
Ning Chuyang looked at the person leaning against the backpack. Even though she had looked over, she still dared to close her eyes and pretend to sleep. It really made her...
So want to force-feed!
It was just too infuriating.
Ning Chuyang was beginning to understand Yu Nianbing's somewhat rough behavior last night. At that moment, Song Shiyue had seemed like she wanted to speak, and perhaps Yu Nianbing had foreseen it and deliberately prevented Song Shiyue from saying something like what Feng Qianqian had just said.
Some people simply shouldn't be given the chance to open their mouths!
Song Shiyue, who was secretly waiting to hear another duck get force-fed, never imagined that in Ning Chuyang's mind, she had already been lumped together with Feng Qianqian as a person making no effort to improve.
"Stop pretending. If you're so good at pretending to sleep, then be good enough to snore." Ning Chuyang plopped down beside Feng Qianqian's head in irritation, imitating Yu Nianbing's actions from the night before, and scooped the half-lying person into her arms. Her mouth sounded unhappy, but her hands carefully adjusted Feng Qianqian's head so she could rest it on her shoulder.
Feng Qianqian, who hadn't expected to be repositioned so suddenly, could no longer keep up the pretense and hurriedly pushed with her hands to squirm out of Ning Chuyang's embrace.
Even though Ning Chuyang had been eating less to save rations these days, in terms of strength she was still far stronger than Feng Qianqian, who was injured and had hardly eaten anything.
That tiny bit of strength—which would tremble even holding a piece of charcoal—was, in Ning Chuyang's eyes, less than holding a struggling kitten.
"All right. Your little strength is about the same as Song Shiyue, who can only move her head. If you want the strength to push me away, then eat properly." With a gentle press, Ning Chuyang pinned both Feng Qianqian and her hands in her embrace, and leisurely opened the congee bowl. "Look, dried scallop and spare rib congee. Eat it all properly, then drink water and take your medicine, and you can get away from me and lie back down."
Feng Qianqian struggled with all her might twice, but couldn't budge Ning Chuyang at all; even the congee in the bowl she held didn't so much as ripple. What else could she do...
Ning Chuyang scooped up a spoonful of congee, but didn't rush to feed it to Feng Qianqian. Instead, she spoke: "I'm not good at saying nice things. I know you don't want to eat, don't want to drink, don't want to take medicine because you want to finish sooner. But do you think we can just watch you be done? I noticed you haven't asked about the others all this time, yet you went to great lengths to tell us the layout of the road ahead. You had been awake, right? Anyway, it's like this. Now, apart from you two lying down, only Teacher Yu, Teacher Zhuang, and I are left in camp. We need to stay here for a few days. The Protective Shield is down, we need to build fences and traps, and we still have to go out to find food. If you don't eat properly, then one-third of the camp's labor force—that's me—will be stuck here wasting time with you. Do you still think your hunger strike is reducing our burden?"
There are some things you see through but don't speak aloud.
Ning Chuyang being so blunt, even though Feng Qianqian had planned exactly that, she was agitated to the point of reddening eyes.
"Who asked you to waste time on me? Can't you just leave me alone?" Feng Qianqian made another futile struggle, tears about to fall. "You take Song Shiyue and go on ahead. I didn't really have anything to do with you to begin with. Without medicine, these legs of mine can't possibly recover. Why should you delay your journey and waste food on me? The three of you, taking just Song Shiyue, could slowly move forward, ration the food tightly, and still manage to reach the next camp. But me... what am I... With only three people, you definitely can't take the two of us on the road... Then... wouldn't it be better to just give up now... I'm nothing... Just let it be, okay?"
Feng Qianqian's words, gradually broken by falling tears and choking sobs, became more and more disjointed.
But both Ning Chuyang and Song Shiyue understood the unspoken meaning.
Song Shiyue, of course, could only remain silent with a sigh.
Ning Chuyang, however, resolutely cut off Feng Qianqian's increasingly sinking words and mood: "No, since we stayed behind, we will take the two of you..."
Those who interrupt shall be interrupted in turn.
Feng Qianqian's weak hand pressed on Ning Chuyang's wrist, but she sniffled and wiped away her tears before speaking again. "That's not what I mean. I'm not asking you to promise anything. I really do think it's already good enough to just give up now... I'm very grateful you're willing to take me, but leaving that aside, just the fact that Song Shiyue saved me means I shouldn't become your burden. The three of you taking Song Shiyue alone is already extremely difficult. If you take me too, what chance is there left... Consider it me repaying the favor. Don't let me drag you down. I don't have any family left anyway..."
"You mean that carrying you will lower our survival chances?" Ning Chuyang tilted her head to look at Feng Qianqian.
Feng Qianqian nodded.
"If we only cared about survival chances, why would we have stayed? Couldn't we just follow the team ahead?" Ning Chuyang glanced at the lying-flat Song Shiyue again. "For myself, I absolutely had to repay Song Shiyue's lifesaving kindness. Until just now, I also thought I stayed to repay that kindness. But now... I'm starting to feel that even if Song Shiyue hadn't saved me, I still wouldn't have been able to choose to leave. I know I can jump over many obstacles in this life, but the obstacle of 'leaving someone to die'—I probably can't jump over it my whole life. I don't want to live like that, so..."
Feng Qianqian listened quietly.
Ning Chuyang suddenly laughed: "So whether it's you or Song Shiyue, don't even think about kicking the bucket before I croak. Just being a duck and living honestly, isn't that fine?"
Feng Qianqian: "..."
As for Ni Jinghe, fine. When Feng Qianqian saved people in the cave, she really didn't think much about it—it was just instinct. Even though it turned out like this... with only a few days of acquaintance, if the other party didn't want to stay, then so be it.
But Mu Xingzhou...
Forget the time they were in love, forget the grievance of hiding because of their different statuses, forget his concealment, forget that... she only came on this show for him. Just treat all that came before as her own choice.
But... it had just been a disaster, not yet a life-or-death dead end, and in just a few days, he had given up.
The human heart is truly too hard to see clearly.
Feng Qianqian saying she didn't want to eat was a lie. For two or three days, surviving on just a little water and a few bites of jerky, her stomach had long been burning with pain. But not wanting to continue living like this... that was true.
Both legs had comminuted fractures, accompanied by large-area external injuries. There was only so much hemostatic powder, and it had all been sprinkled on her legs right after they left the cave. Even after arriving at this camp and having water to clean the wounds, they didn't dare throw away the gray, powder-coated cloth strips, which were still applied to her legs to absorb whatever medicinal strength was left.
But even with Feng Qianqian's lack of medical knowledge, she knew that without medicine, in this environment, such wounds would be too hard to endure.
So, better to just let it go.
Why use those rations and medicine on a useless person like herself?
Even the person she had saved, the person she had loved, had given up on her. What expectations could she have for these three people, who likely stayed only because of Song Shiyue's lifesaving favor? What burden would she become for them...
Feng Qianqian truly didn't want to think about it; she just wanted to let it be...
Even with the opened bowl of dried scallop and spare rib congee right in front of her, the aroma of meat and rice drilling into her nose, her stomach cramping with urgent hunger, Feng Qianqian had no desire to take a single bite.
Her heart was simply ashes...
Ning Chuyang was still too young, still at an age of ceaselessly absorbing knowledge from the vast world.
Left hand pinched the cheek, applying a little force, and at the moment the jaw loosened, the right hand thrust the spoonful of congee in. Perfect!
"Chew quickly." Ning Chuyang deliberately put on a cold face, scooped another spoonful of congee and brought it to Feng Qianqian's mouth. "Last night, Song Shiyue was much more obedient than you. Do you look down on me, thinking I'm not as good as Teacher Yu at freezing people out?"
Song · Good Duck · Shiyue: "..."
"..." Feng · Not-Good Duck · Qianqian held the congee in her mouth without chewing.
Ning Chuyang, regardless of whether this was silent resistance, just pinched Feng Qianqian's cheeks again and forcibly shoved the second spoon of congee in. "I don't care. One spoon every five seconds. If you've got the guts, don't swallow. Spit it out! Spit it out bit by bit and waste the food. There's only this much congee, saved by us. Spit it out for me to see. Let Song Shiyue, who can't even drink it, see how you waste food. Five, four, three, two, one..."
Feng Qianqian, utterly lacking the strength to resist Ning Chuyang, could only grit her teeth tightly. But what use was that? Soon, the third spoonful of congee was shoved in.
Even though the spoon wasn't big and the congee was leveled off, Feng Qianqian's mouth could only hold so much. When the third spoon went in, a few grains of rice dribbled out the corner of her mouth.
"Tsk, what a waste." Ning Chuyang looked at Feng Qianqian with eyes full of regret and reproach.
Who wanted to waste! Who forced this!
Ning Chuyang did as she pleased like a local tyrant—pinching cheeks when she felt like it, prying open teeth when she felt like it, pouring congee when she felt like it—and then still looking at her like that!
Even though Feng Qianqian no longer wanted to live, her temper was provoked somewhat.
"Five, four, three..." Ning Chuyang, as if not seeing the sparks in Feng Qianqian's tear-filled eyes, continued counting to herself.
Feng Qianqian wanted to get away but couldn't move. She wanted to stop being force-fed, but her mouth couldn't resist the hand's strength.
Her mouth was already too full to hold more. Already afraid of being a burden and wasting their food...
And seeing Ning Chuyang's expression, as if she would continue feeding even if the congee spilled all over her own clothes...
Feng Qianqian dodged Ning Chuyang's slowly approaching spoon, and roughly chewed and swallowed, getting all the congee in her mouth down.
"You..." Feng Qianqian had just begun to speak when another spoonful of congee was accurately inserted.
"Five, four, three..." Ning Chuyang was like an emotionless countdown timer, not pausing just because Feng Qianqian had compromised.
Feng · Duck · Qianqian: "..."
One feeding, one eating—the harmonious sounds echoed by Song Shiyue's ear. Waves of congee fragrance drilled into Song Shiyue's nose.
How enviable!
Song Shiyue felt the hunger in her stomach and quietly envied.
But who could have imagined.
There are truly too many fleeting things in this world.
Just like Song Shiyue's envy right now, it was also as short-lived as an epiphyllum bloom.
"Mmm..." Feng Qianqian, after eating only a couple of bites, again restlessly avoided Ning Chuyang's approaching spoon, her mouth flattened as if she had something to say.
Ning Chuyang remembered yesterday's force-feeding principles and did not give her a chance to speak; the spoon just kept advancing.
Come to think of it, she had it good; last night Yu Nianbing hadn't even given a countdown.
Feng Qianqian, unable to escape the emotionless countdown timer, was force-fed two more mouthfuls before she couldn't hold back and spat two pieces of bone she had held in her mouth for an extra two rounds onto Ning Chuyang's body with a plop...
"..." Ning Chuyang stared at the bones on her pants, and her cold countdown face finally collapsed.
Taking advantage of the moment Ning Chuyang was stunned by the bones, Feng Qianqian finally caught her breath, though she was a little embarrassed about the bone: "You... you wouldn't let me speak. Five seconds a spoon... I didn't even have time to spit out the bones... it's not my fault..."
Ning Chuyang, whose imitation of the force-feeder had hit a snag, rubbed her nose and muttered sheepishly: "It was all yesterday's duck... Hey, Song Shiyue didn't need to spit out bones..."
Song Shiyue: "..."
This duck joke is never going to end, is it!
Comments
Post a Comment