*I’ll Always Stay by Your Side*
The midsummer sun blazed mercilessly over the earth.
Even though Song Qingxu wasn’t directly under its glare, the sweltering heat was already roasting her.
Being this close to Yuan Lai made it even harder for her to breathe.
She quietly shifted backward, trying to put some distance between them.
Of course, Yuan Lai noticed the small movement. While she kept fanning Song Qingxu with one hand, she inched her body closer—closer than before.
Song Qingxu’s arm was now pressed tightly against Yuan Lai’s waist, and the warmth radiating through the thin fabric made her uncomfortable. She nudged her elbow slightly, attempting to distance herself from the heat source.
Yuan Lai tilted her head, feigning ignorance. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re… too close.” Song Qingxu said.
“Am I?” Yuan Lai deliberately leaned in again. “Do you mean… this close?”
“Mhm…” Song Qingxu was already sitting at the very edge of the camp bed with nowhere else to retreat. She could only watch Yuan Lai draw nearer and nearer.
Yuan Lai pretended to give her some space, moving away just a fraction. “Then I’ll move back a little. Is this far enough?”
Her tone asked for Song Qingxu’s opinion, but her actions said otherwise.
“It’s still too close.”
Yuan Lai’s voice carried a hint of grievance. “But if I sit any farther, I won’t be able to fan you.”
Song Qingxu was about to say she didn’t need fanning, but before she could, Yuan Lai spoke again.
“The show arranged for me to help you. If I can’t do anything useful, the audience will think I’m useless.”
She didn’t actually care what the audience thought—what mattered was whether Song Qingxu would accept her.
With a pitiful tone, Yuan Lai continued, “I’m not like the other helpers. They can find food, locate water, cook meals, even treat injuries… But me? Compared to them, I can’t do anything for you at all.”
She lowered her head, hands falling limply to her sides, her whole demeanor dimming. “When you compare me to them, I’m completely useless.”
Every word was laced with quiet grievance.
Song Qingxu’s heart softened instantly. “That’s not what I meant…”
But Yuan Lai pressed the advantage. “You should’ve chosen someone else. They’d be more useful to you than I am.”
She made as if to stand up and leave.
Song Qingxu panicked, reacting faster than she could think. She grabbed Yuan Lai’s arm. “No… I’m happy you’re my helper.”
The words tumbled out in one breath, straight from the heart. “Really! Ever since you came, I haven’t felt lonely.”
For so many years, she’d thought she’d grown used to being alone. But Yuan Lai’s presence had shown her what it felt like to have someone there—and it was something she couldn’t reject.
Hearing that, Yuan Lai’s mood shifted in an instant. Gone was the earlier gloom; her eyes brightened as she smiled softly. “Then I’ll stay with you from now on. I’ll make sure you never feel lonely again.”
Her gaze lingered on Song Qingxu’s profile with a tenderness that treated her as though she was the most precious treasure in the world.
The sun tilted toward the horizon.
By evening, the heat had eased, and a cool breeze whispered through the forest, rustling the leaves in a soft melody.
Xia Shaoshao had originally planned to head out for more food around this time, but the doctor’s sudden illness forced her to abandon the plan.
One hand gently patted the doctor’s back while the other held a bottle of mineral water the crew had provided. Her expression was taut with worry.
“How do you feel? Any better?”
The doctor’s face was pale as paper. She had just finished vomiting—for the third time that afternoon. Her stomach had been in turmoil all day.
She took the water, drinking in big gulps before her free hand fell limply at her side, too weak to even lift a finger.
“P… poisoned,” she managed in a faint voice, pausing to catch her breath before adding, “The fruit… I picked… was poisonous.”
She knew all about the symptoms of poisoning—but not how to identify the plant that had poisoned her.
By the time she finished speaking, her already pale face was ghostly white, and a cough wracked her body.
Xia Shaoshao increased the pace of her gentle pats, helping her catch her breath.
“Alright, I hear you. Don’t push yourself.”
[Barrage Comments]
【This team is so unlucky. First the guest’s leg gets hurt, now the helper’s poisoned.】
【Even doctors can get food poisoning?】
【Of course. They’re human, not gods. Looks like she’s not very familiar with wilderness survival.】
【Now both are injured and still no food… they might be the first to get eliminated.】
【Without food, they won’t last long.】
After resting a while, the doctor regained some strength and voiced her confusion. “That’s strange… I picked my fruit right where you were picking yours. How did I get poisoned?”
Xia Shaoshao fetched both their packs and compared the fruits.
At first glance they looked the same, but on closer inspection, the ones in the doctor’s bag were darker, larger, and slightly different in shape.
“They’re not the same species,” Xia Shaoshao said, emptying the poisonous ones from the doctor’s pack. Two-thirds of them were toxic.
She tossed all the poisonous fruits away, placing the safe ones into her own bag. Then she shoved her pack into the doctor’s arms, slinging the now-empty one over her own shoulder.
The doctor quickly asked, “Where are you going?”
“If you get hungry, eat what’s in the bag. I’ve checked them all—they’re safe.” Xia Shaoshao’s gaze turned toward the jungle. “I’m going to find more food.”
There weren’t enough fruits for both of them, and with the doctor weakened by poisoning, it was too dangerous to send her out.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you,” the doctor murmured, guilt written on her face.
“Who says you didn’t help? My leg would still be bleeding if you hadn’t bandaged it,” Xia Shaoshao said, gesturing to her injured leg before heading out again.
She needed to hurry. Once night fell, the jungle would be even more dangerous.
[Barrage Comments]
【I’m crying… they’re both such good people.】
【Doctor good, fruit bad.】
【She looks so guilty… but food poisoning isn’t her fault. It happens in the wild.】
Night was when the beasts came alive.
Xia Shaoshao followed a trickling stream. Wild fruits were often more abundant and larger near water sources, and the chances of finding food here were better.
After working up a sweat, she crouched by the creek, cupping cool water in her hands to splash over her face. The chill chased away the heat clinging to her skin.
Her bag now held a handful of fruits, but they were still far from enough for two adults. She stared into the clear water, considering her next move.
Small fish darted below the surface, one flicking its tail to splash her face.
Her eyes lit up immediately.
[Barrage Comments]
【Fish! Danger!】
【LOL food basically jumped in her face.】
【Finally, some luck for this team.】
【That fish looks way too happy. It doesn’t know it’s in danger.】
【But she has no tools… how’s she going to catch them?】
Xia Shaoshao crept toward the school of four or five hand-sized fish, pulling the knife strapped to her thigh.
The blade flashed under the dappled light as she waited for her moment, then—strike.
The fish scattered in panic, but she ignored the ones that got away, lifting her knife with a hand-sized catch skewered cleanly through.
Encouraged, she shed her shoes and socks, wading into the knee-deep water. She could get a few more to go with the fruit and solve their food problem for the day.
The water seeped into the bandages on her injured leg, stinging sharply, but she gritted her teeth and kept going, making a note to have the doctor re-bandage it later.
[Barrage Comments]
【I’m a fan now. She’s so responsible.】
【She keeps getting unlucky but never gives up.】
【Not worried about infection? Jungle water’s full of bacteria.】
【Good thing there’s a doctor back at camp.】
Heaven rewards the persistent—by the time she was done, Xia Shaoshao had caught five or six fish, one nearly as long as her forearm.
Stringing them together, she stepped onto the bank. Only then did she notice the bandage on her calf was soaked through with blood.
The wound had been stinging the whole time, but the water had numbed it. Out of the stream, the pain flared again.
Limping, she gathered her haul and started back.
A rustle in the underbrush made her freeze. She instantly pulled out her knife, eyes scanning the darkening jungle.
The sun had set, and while it wasn’t fully dark yet, the dense canopy cloaked the forest in shadow, every corner hiding potential threats.
She prayed it was only a small animal—a harmless grazer. Once night fell completely, the dangers would multiply.
Holding her breath, she realized the sound was coming closer.
Branches parted ahead, and Yuan Lai stepped through, clearing the path for Song Qingxu behind her.
Song Qingxu hadn’t known the show would assign her a helper and had only prepared food for one.
Yuan Lai had offered to go out alone to find food, but Song Qingxu refused, insisting it was safer to travel together.
Though Yuan Lai wanted to stick close to her at all times, she also worried the rugged terrain would tire her out. So she carried a fire axe, hacking a path through the undergrowth and choosing the flattest route.
“Careful—there’s a slope here,” she said, turning back to take Song Qingxu’s hand before she could protest. “I’ll hold you so you don’t slip.”
“Qingxu-jie!”
Xia Shaoshao’s surprised voice rang out through the forest.