Yun City.
Although Chen Zui and Han Ling possessed plenty of outdoor experience, they still couldn’t resist a small accident happening.
Just as the internet said, the deeper they went, the less useful their compasses became, and they could only rely on years of sharp intuition to barely forge ahead. Within minutes of walking, mist began to roll through the mountain. It wasn’t to the point where people couldn’t be seen clearly, but it indeed severely hindered their sense of direction.
The mountain was uncleaned by anyone, and the fallen leaves piled up as high as a knee. Chen Zui didn’t dare to take the risk with Han Ling, proposing that she stay in place to support and wait for her, but alas, Han Ling was stubborn and insisted on following along.
The accident happened when they were collecting pigments by the lake. While Han Ling was keeping an eye on the surrounding situation for her, her gaze swept across the opposite side of the lake and suddenly paused, clutching the safety rope in her hand that connected to Chen Zui and giving it a tug.
Chen Zui instantly realized something was wrong, and without a trace, she looked in the direction of Han Ling’s gaze—a breath got stuck straight in her heart!
—A black bear taller than a human had somehow run to the opposite side of them! Similarly, it was staring fixedly at them without blinking!
Before entering the water, Chen Zui had checked the surroundings. How could there suddenly be a bear?! Could it have been following them all along? Chen Zui didn’t dare to think.
The more this kind of situation was, the more Chen Zui and Han Ling dared not move. Half of Chen Zui’s body had already stepped into the lake, and the bone-chilling temperature pierced straight into the gaps of her bones through her waterproof suit. Under the piercing coldness, Chen Zui used the color of the lake water to reach out and feel around for small stones clinging to the lakeside.
Compared to the bear on the other side, she was more afraid of this lake.
The dark green lake water suppressed her vision. Anything could be inside, and it might even come up and take a bite out of her at some moment, which was even more exasperating than a bear.
Chen Zui pressed her lips together, carefully stuffing into her pockets the rocks she could touch that were hard enough to feel abrasive, and then unbuckled the safety rope behind her.
She had to get out of the water, but her actions would inevitably attract the attention of that behemoth on the other side.
Having climbed mountains where blades were crossed together after all, the moment the rope in Han Ling’s hand slackened, she knew what idea Chen Zui was plotting. Carrying a backpack meant she definitely wouldn’t be able to outrun that thing.
Well, actually, taking it off didn’t mean she could necessarily outrun it either.
Han Ling kept her eyes constantly fixed on Chen Zui’s movements.
Chen Zui raised her foot, turned around, and then—
Run!
Han Ling didn’t even look back; her backpack and tools had already been thrown aside the moment she turned around. Behind her, footsteps had been closely following—she knew Chen Zui was right behind her.
“It still has to make a detour to chase us, we still have time, run separately!” Chen Zui gripped the stones in her hand tightly, caught her breath, chased forward a couple of fiercely fast steps, stuffed them into Han Ling’s hand, and urged anxiously, “Hold your pocket tight! Go to the place where we marked! You remember it! It should come after me first; if I don’t come to rendezvous with you within half an hour, you immediately take the equipment and go out!”
Han Ling wanted to go with her, but everyone knew this was not the time to be stubborn. That heavy and urgent footstep behind them was getting closer and closer; there was no time to hesitate. The two went left and right, fleeing on separate paths.
As expected, the sound behind was following her. Chen Zui frowned; there were even more bushes ahead, which would only make it harder to shake them off later. She had never encountered this kind of situation, and she didn’t know whether what the internet said about bears not eating dead people was true or false.
The violent panting made Chen Zui’s lungs ache, and the branches sticking out were terribly sharp, striking her face as if she had been whipped with a stick.
She saw a slope on her right hand, rather steep, with the trees all growing crookedly. Chen Zui didn’t have time to think; her steps veered and she turned toward the right.
In the forest, wanting to create a scene of falling to one’s death was not difficult. Chen Zui deliberately tilted her center of gravity and rolled straight down the slope.
She was still careless.
This slope was a bit too steep.
Chen Zui desperately protected her head and face, not knowing how many times she hit trees, before finally landing without incident in a pile of withered grass at the bottom, her figure mostly concealed by the leaves.
Her brain felt like it was going to be shaken into eight-treasure porridge. Chen Zui endured the sharp pain all over her body; her left thigh was both painful and numb, and the wet touch became increasingly obvious. She simply didn’t dare to move a muscle, and didn’t even dare to breathe.
Perhaps she was stunned by the fall; she couldn’t hear other sounds very clearly, and the tinnitus was so loud it felt like a helicopter landing on her face, noisy to death.
She lay in this pile of withered leaves for a very long time, and the pain in her left leg forcibly dragged her straight up from her drowsiness.
Chen Zui opened her eyes. Just now, it seemed like she had seen the King of Hell, but the King of Hell thought she was too heavy and let her back.
Her thigh had been scratched by a tree branch while rolling, bleeding all over her pants. Chen Zui couldn’t care about too much; she took off her ice sleeves to do a simple bandage, and then, relying on a meager sense of direction, headed toward Han Ling’s direction as much as possible.
Thank heavens, when Han Ling saw Chen Zui limping back into her field of vision, she really wanted to curse a couple of times out loud—anyone would do.
Because of her injuries, the two didn’t walk fast on the way back, but fortunately, they managed to get out of this forest around sunset.
A rather long cut had been scratched onto the outer side of Chen Zui’s left thigh. She got twenty-something stitches at the hospital and was hospitalized for observation for two nights.
When Li Li called, she was just about to finish paying her fees and leave the hospital. She had originally planned to wait until she returned to Qingzhou tomorrow to tell Li Li, but she ended up blabbing it out because of Han Ling’s big mouth, and after much talking and persuading, she finally managed to dissuade Li Li from the urge to fly over.
“Chen, when are we going to Qingzhou? You said you were going to take me to play.” Han Ling checked online and everyone said the beer in Qingzhou was delicious; she wanted to drink some too.
Chen Zui glanced at the plane ticket and dragged her leg forward two stiff steps: “Tomorrow morning, I guess, otherwise it’s too rushed.”
Han Ling, “Then what are we eating tonight?”
“The fried centipedes here are not bad, there are also silkworm chrysalises, scorpions…”
“Oh! Shut up! I’d rather not eat!”
Chen Zui said, “Didn’t ask you to eat, these are cute little insects.”
Han Ling glared at her and briskly rushed forward to check out, completely looking like she didn’t intend to bother with her anymore.
Chen Zui couldn’t stop laughing.
Hisss—she pulled her wound…
Chen Zui didn’t dare to act rashly anymore, and her attention was once again drawn away by messages on her phone.
Jiang Feiwan: [Is Boss Chen done with her busy work?]
Jiang Feiwan: [Still waiting for Boss Chen to treat us.]
Since the two of them chatted on Thursday morning, this was the first time Jiang Feiwan took the initiative to send her a message. Chen Zui pursed her lips, and the trace of disappointment she had felt earlier when she first came out and didn’t see any messages on her phone suddenly vanished into thin air.
But one thing was one thing; she didn’t want to reply to Jiang Feiwan just yet.
“Han Ling,” Chen Zui called out to the person in front.
Han Ling didn’t even turn her head: “I’m not eating bugs!”
Chen Zui was helpless: “Not eating bugs, go back and pack your luggage, we’re going back to Qingzhou to eat.”
“Really?! Why did it suddenly change to going back in the afternoon?”
“There’s still a meal when we get back.”
“Still? Are you taking me?” Han Ling didn’t understand why a meal also needed the word “still”.
She didn’t understand, but she could go play in another place, so she was excited.
Chen Zui thought for a moment: “Can I not bring you?”
“Then I am very pitiful, abandoned.”
“……..”
Very pitiful? She had almost been eaten by a bear!
At 16:45 in the afternoon, Chen Zui brought Han Ling back to Shengting.
Han Ling toured the house with starry eyes while going “wow”, and raised a sincere question: “Oh! Why is there only one bed in your house? Are we going to sleep in the same bed and pillow together?”
When purchasing furniture, Chen Zui had indeed forgotten to consider special circumstances. Originally, her only friend in Qingzhou was Li Li, and Li Li had already bought a house, making the possibility of staying over basically very low. She really had forgotten to prepare an extra bed.
“I’ll just sleep on the sofa.” Luckily, there was still a sofa; it was more than enough to act as a bed.
Han Ling, “Where is the logic of the host sleeping on the sofa? You’re even injured; I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
Chen Zui raised an eyebrow: “Alright.”
“…….. Can you put up a bit more of a pretense of declining.”
“Hahahaha…” This damned polite etiquette.
“Then you sleep on the sofa; I’m sleeping on the bed today.” A bed in hand couldn’t be allowed to fly away, and Han Ling was willing to take turns sleeping on it for a night.
Chen Zui didn’t argue with her, randomly agreed with a few murmurs, and dismissed her to take a bath in the bathroom, telling her to eat only after washing up.
Han Ling didn’t understand why she had to shower before going out—that way she would just become dirty again when she came back and would have to wash up all over again. She didn’t understand, but she was obedient, grabbing her clothes and slipping smoothly into the bathroom.
With the person dismissed, Chen Zui tiptoed out the door and took the elevator up to the 21st floor.
Oh no!
She forgot to ask if Jiang Feiwan was home!
Chen Zui felt both pockets.
Oh no, she didn’t bring her phone either.
Go down and fetch her phone?
Forget it, she had already gotten this far; quit halfway now?
Fine.
She had even outrun a man-eating urn—err, bear.
Uh…….
Two doors, was Jiang Feiwan on the left or the right?
Oh no, oh no…..
Chen Zui started off unfavorably, and she had also forgotten to wear her ice sleeves. A large area of tattoos was exposed, making her look like a delinquent resident. She still planned to go downstairs.
‘Creeak—’
The door of the apartment on the right opened.
Hearing the sound, Chen Zui looked over—
“Chen Zui?”
The familiar voice and tone made Chen Zui’s expression light up with joy, “Doctor Jiang!”
Oh my oh my, no need to go downstairs!