After saying this, Jiang Ning turned and joined the firewood-gathering team.
Leaving Xi Yue alone, frowning in deep thought.
There was also an indescribable sense of anticipation between his brows.
Even the audience grew curious.
【So what exactly does Jiang Ning want to tell Brother Xi? I’m dying of curiosity.】
【Blind guess: it’s about Brother Xi’s early gossip.】
【Ahhhhhh, Jiang Ning, hurry back!! I still want to hear about Brother Xi’s embarrassing stories!】
It wasn’t until everyone had gathered the firewood, successfully started a fire, and Jiang Ning, along with the two female guests, began cooking the meal.
Afterward, Jiang Ning sat around the bonfire with everyone, chatting about life, and then peacefully crawled into her sleeping bag to sleep.
During this time, Xi Yue hesitated, wanting to cue Jiang Ning, but each time he thought she would come to talk to him later, so he held back with anticipation.
But then.
Three in the morning.
Xi Yue lay in his sleeping bag, unable to sleep at all.
He racked his brains until he felt his hair was about to fall out.
What exactly was the important thing Jiang Ning wanted to say?!
The audience, who had stayed up late with him, had red-rimmed eyes but refused to put down their phones.
【Damn Jiang Ning!】
So.
What exactly!
Was it!
…
Xi Yue didn’t sleep a wink all night.
By daybreak, he finally realized that Jiang Ning had been messing with him.
She just didn’t want him getting close to her.
Xi Yue gritted his teeth in anger, but facing the camera, he couldn’t lash out.
Since the rations in their packs could only sustain the seven guests for two meals, and because they needed to set up camp and it was getting dark last night, they had skipped foraging time and already eaten one emergency meal.
With only one meal left for emergencies, the guests had to find a way to forage for food in the jungle.
But when it came to finding food, the group was divided.
It wasn’t exactly a disagreement—just completely aimless. Some said to go east, others said to go west, with no basis at all, relying entirely on intuition.
Jiang Ning sighed, feeling like their half-baked team would starve to death in this place.
Jiang Ning crouched down and brushed aside the leaf-covered ground before standing up and saying, “Let’s go this way. There should be food.”
Huang Wanqing insisted on opposing Jiang Ning, pointing in the opposite direction: “I heard water over there. There must be a stream. We can catch some fish or something.”
Jiang Ning: “Then let’s split into two groups. Some can go with you to catch fish, and some can come with me to find other food.”
Huang Wanqing let out a “Huh?” and said, “Pretending to know what you don’t—don’t lead everyone astray.”
Zhong Hui and Qin Lang, both gentlemen, didn’t get involved in the argument.
Only Wei Lan, the blunt one, muttered, “How do you know she doesn’t know?”
Huang Wanqing instinctively wanted to retort: “What could she possibly know? She’s just a…”
Halfway through, she caught herself. The words “what does a young lady know” were left unspoken, swallowed back.
Since Jiang Ning hadn’t revealed it, she wasn’t about to expose Jiang Ning’s secret identity. That would only undermine her own persona as the “wealthy heiress who has to inherit a hundred-billion-dollar fortune if she doesn’t act well.”
So Huang Wanqing changed her tone, merely snorting and saying, “Fine, split into two groups then. I’d like to see what kind of food Jiang Ning can find.”
Wei Lan volunteered to follow his goddess: “I’ll go with Jiang Ning.”
Shen Yiqiao also quickly took sides: “I’ll follow Jiang Ning too.”
Xi Yue went without saying.
He had already started asking Jiang Ning: “Do you need to bring any tools?”
Huang Wanqing was furious.
Fortunately, there were still Qin Lang and Zhong Hui. Both worried Huang Wanqing might be in danger and said they would go with her.
After the two food-gathering teams split up, the live stream comments erupted into chaos.
Most of them were actually questioning Jiang Ning.
After all, in the jungle, if you lack survival knowledge, searching for food along the river is the safest option.
Huang Wanqing’s fans were especially jumping around in the comments.
【Truly, ignorance is bliss. Any adult would know how dangerous a place like this is. How dare Jiang Ning recklessly lead people around?】
【I’m curious to see what she can actually find.】
【I find some people are really jumping to conclusions. How do you know Jiang Ning doesn’t understand wilderness survival skills?】
【She looks like a pampered young lady who’s never lifted a finger in her life. What could she possibly know?】
【A young lady dressed head to toe in clothes worth less than a hundred bucks? Can’t you stop judging people with stereotypes?】
The group followed Jiang Ning, and before they had gone far, she stopped, pulled a small hoe from her bag, and started digging.
Jiang Ning bent down, unearthed several root tubers from the soil, and tossed them to the others.
“The roots of this plant contain a lot of starch. Its root system is long but shallow, so you can trace it back to find more.”
Before anyone could express their amazement,
they saw Jiang Ning tug on the vine of the plant she had just dug up and shake it several times.
A few sparse fruits fell from above, one even hitting Wei Lan on the head. He let out an “Ouch!” and covered his head.
Jiang Ning: “These are its fruits. They’re edible too, though they probably aren’t very sweet right now.”
Wei Lan trusted Jiang Ning completely. He picked up one of the fruits and took a bite.
It wasn’t as sour or astringent as he had imagined, but it had high water content.
Wei Lan: “It’s delicious! Jiang Ning, how are you so amazing?”
Jiang Ning smiled.
Jiang Ning’s demeanor was calm and restrained, earning her the online nickname “subtle deadpan energy.” But when she smiled, the curve of her lips was particularly captivating. Even her deep, peach-blossom eyes, which usually seemed unremarkable due to her overly placid expression, became noticeably vivid.
Viewers in the live stream were utterly charmed by Jiang Ning’s smile.
【She’s so beautiful!】
【She’s so talented too! Actually, watching her set up the tent yesterday, I could tell she definitely knows her stuff!】
【Wei Lan, that silly boy, really just ate it without hesitation just because she said it was edible. I’m dying of laughter.】
【These two are so shippable!! A silly, puppy-like guy and a calm, stable beauty—sorry, sisters, I’m jumping on this ship first.】
【Wait for me! I want to ship them too!!】
Xi Yue had no idea that Jiang Ning and Wei Lan had already gained CP fans behind his back.
Watching their interaction, he stubbornly insisted on inserting himself between them: “Stop eating and start helping to search.”
Only then did everyone begin collecting the roots and fruits.
Xi Yue asked her with a forced smile: “Did you end up homeless while studying in the U.S.? How do you know so much?”
Jiang Ning dug at the roots absentmindedly: “I often go camping in the wilderness. I’m happiest when I’m alone.”
Back then, the servants Jiang Jintao had sent to watch over her wouldn’t follow her there.
Whether listening to the rain in her tent or lying back to gaze at the stars, Jiang Ning’s mood was always much better than when she was at home.
【Wow! I never would have guessed that Jiang Ning likes camping in the wild!】
【That’s true. She seems like the type who would be reading in her study at home or spending time at some afternoon tea spot.】
However, some of Xi’s fans in the bullet comments quickly caught on.
【M country? Isn’t that where Xi spent most of his time when he was developing his career abroad?】
……
From Huang Wanqing’s perspective.
Huang Wanqing heard the sound of water and went searching for it, only to find an underground river. Who would dare go down there?
So, everyone had no choice but to keep looking. After much effort, they finally found a shallow stream, but even after searching for a long time, they couldn’t catch anything—not even a shrimp, let alone a fish.
Moreover, mountain spring water is naturally cold, and it was still March. Taking off their shoes and stepping barefoot into the water, the biting chill shot straight from their feet to the top of their heads. After just a short while, they had to return to the shore to rub their feet and warm up.
Huang Wanqing only thought about how easy it would be to find food in the water, but she didn’t realize just how cold the weather was.
【There are indeed plenty of resources in the river, but the way they just dive in after seeing fish, it’s no wonder they can’t catch anything…】
【Who learns how to catch fish in a river for no reason? If Wanqing can’t find food here, Jiang Ning won’t find any either.】
【What are you Huang fans still stubbornly insisting on? Can’t you switch to Jiang Ning’s side and see? They’ve already gathered plenty of food and returned to the campsite.】