Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning, one wiping his fingers and the other gently wiping his lips, were silent for a moment.
Suddenly, Meng Xinyi, who was not far away, gave a startled cry and suddenly stood up and jumped twice.
Her movements were so large that it immediately drew the attention of everyone present.
Bao Guangyuan was the first to react. He heard her cry and jumped up with her, guarding Meng Xinyi while looking around vigilantly, “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong?!”
Meng Xinyi saw the way Bao Guangyuan was shielding her and she instantly came back to her senses, hastily saying with some embarrassment, “No, no, I just saw an oversized caterpillar and it startled me.”
“Caterpillar?” Bao Guangyuan turned around and looked at Meng Xinyi strangely.
If it was in the past, Bao Guangyuan would understand a delicate little girl like Meng Xinyi being afraid of bugs.
But they were now in the middle of a forest; he and Meng Xinyi had been surviving here for several days.
The two of them were poorly equipped and did not have spare clothes, let alone tents and various field supplies.
They had used the sky as a hut and the ground as a bed, spreading leaves out and sleeping on them directly.
In such a rudimentary environment, let alone the sight of large caterpillars, even when the caterpillars crawled onto their bodies, they would not even change their faces.
If he remembered correctly, Meng Xinyi had even caught a leech yesterday and asked him if it could be eaten raw ……
Although Bao Guangyuan had some doubts in his heart, he didn’t say them out loud on seeing Meng Xinyi’s face full of panic and embarrassment.
After all, she is a girl, it is a bit justifiable to suddenly get scared when caught off guard…right?
However, Meng Xinyi was afraid of bugs, but Bao Guangyuan was not.
He said to Meng Xinyi, “If you are afraid, stand still and tell me where the caterpillar is. I will go and catch it.”
Meng Xinyi’s expression froze for a moment: “It might have already run away, don’t catch it, it’s disgusting.”
“How fast can a caterpillar run, especially an oversized caterpillar that can scare you. The fatter it is the slower it runs.” Bao Guangyuan said carelessly, “If it is non-poisonous, we could catch and eat it.”
Meng Xinyi glanced awkwardly at Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia not far away. She thought for a moment, and said to Bao Guangyuan, “We have fruit and melon seeds now, so we don’t need to eat caterpillars. If you’re really hungry, I’ll give all of them to you to eat.”
With that, Meng Xinyi put her wild fruits into Bao Guangyuan’s hands.
Bao Guangyuan’s mind was full of fat caterpillars and he didn’t expect Meng Xinyi to just stuff the fruit into his hand. He froze for a moment and looked at Meng Xinyi without saying anything.
Meng Xinyi looked down to compose her expression, and when she looked up again, there were already faint tears at the end of her eyes. She pulled Bao Guangyuan and sat down with him, bending over to him and saying, “Don’t be polite, hurry up and eat. If it’s not enough, I’ll go and pick more for you later.”
Bao Guangyuan looked at Meng Xinyi dumbfounded: “This …… what ah ……”
These wild fruits grew high up. Meng Xinyi could not climb the tree and it was always him who picked them while Meng Xinyi would pick up the fruit on the ground.
The more Bao Guangyuan became confused, the more he wanted to ask questions, but Meng Xinyi blocked his mouth with the fruit: “Hurry up and eat, we have to continue our journey later.”
The fruit was right next to his mouth, and as the words he wanted to ask were blocked, Bao Guangyuan could only continue to nibble on the fruit.
Although the fruit was edible, it was so sour and astringent that Bao Guangyuan’s whole face was wrinkled and his expression was out of control, not to mention his speech.
So, while Bao Guangyuan ate the fruit, Meng Xinyi lowered her head and carefully sorted out the remaining food in her pockets.
There was half a compressed biscuit, treasured and well-kept in the deepest part of her pocket; a few wild fruits; and the melon seeds that Ji Mingxia had just given them ……
Meng Xinyi sorted through them. Compared to the bleak and miserable state of their side, Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning’s side was like a luxury feast.
“Mingxia.” Yu Ning called out Ji Mingxia’s name at this time.
“Hm?” Ji Mingxia withdrew his gaze from Meng Xinyi.
Yu Ning was looking at Ji Mingxia’s mouth.
Ji Mingxia looked over at him, “What’s wrong?”
“You just …..,” Yu Ning hesitated.
Ji Mingxia looked at him strangely, waiting for him to say more, but after waiting for a few seconds, Yu Ning still didn’t continue on.
“It’s nothing.” Yu Ning lowered his head to organize his backpack, his voice sounding muffled.
Ji Mingxia’s head was full of question marks.
Had he just done something?
Ji Mingxia looked back carefully, and only then did he remember that he had just wiped Yu Ning’s lips with his hand.
He didn’t know what happened after wiping as his heartbeat suddenly became fast.
Meng Xinyi’s interruption at that moment diverted Ji Mingxia’s attention, and by the time he came back to his senses, the strange feeling had long since disappeared.
It was just drinking a box of milk together and wiping the lip in the process, although it was a bit odd, it was not a big deal even in normal circumstances.
What’s more, they were now in an extreme environment and such behaviour was simply insignificant and couldn’t be more normal.
Did Yu Ning mind more that he wiped his lip with his hand?
Ji Mingxia looked down at his hands and suddenly remembered that he had fallen and rubbed mud and dust all over his hands.
Although he had quickly wiped it clean with a wet paper towel, the forest conditions were limited after all. There was no water source along the way, so he hadn’t washed his hands yet.
Come to think of it, wouldn’t it have been better for Yu Ning to just lick the milk off.
He had reached out and wiped it like that, it really looked very unhygienic
The more he thought about it, the more unclean he felt. Ji Mingxia became a bit apprehensive and he carefully looked at Yu Ning’s face, then took out a tissue from his backpack and handed it to Yu Ning.
Yu Ning looked at Ji Mingxia in confusion.
“Wipe your mouth.” Ji Mingxia said, while assuring, “I will wash my hands diligently when I have the chance. I usually pay attention to hygiene, you know, I wash my hands and bathe every day, very diligently ……”
Yu Ning froze for a moment before reacting to what Ji Mingxia was saying. He looked at Ji Mingxia helplessly, but in the end said nothing, and just handed over the food in his hand.
The fluffy sandwich with green vegetable ham and Orleans chicken was covered in golden salted egg yolk sauce, which was slightly runny from being squeezed in the packet. However, not only did it not affect the appearance of the food, it made it even more appetising to look at.
There were also individually wrapped chocolates, and two small packets of dried fruit to relieve the boredom after a meal.
They had been prepared to spend a few days in the forest, and it had only been one night, so the backpack was naturally well stocked.
The main food was sandwiches and compressed biscuits. Considering that eating these every day would be very boring, the two prepared additional nuts, dried fruit and other small snacks which did not take up much space but could also fill their stomachs and adjust their tastes; as for chocolate, it was a jungle essential to cushion their stomachs and they it was packed in small packages where one bite was just enough.
These were foods that most people would not even look at on a normal day, but in a forest where supplies are scarce, they were simply a delicacy.
Especially when compared to the stock of Bao Guangyuan and Meng Xinyi not far away. It was a cruel contrast.
When the milk appeared, the air around them was quiet for a second, not to mention the sandwiches and various food items at the moment.
Although he couldn’t see Bao Guangyuan and Meng Xinyi’s expressions at the moment, Ji Mingxia could basically imagine what they were like.
There was only one carton of milk left earlier, so it was impossible for Ji Mingxia to share it with anyone other than Yu Ning. But there was a larger stock of food and Ji Mingxia had carried quite a lot in his own backpack.
The image of them over here, eating big fish and meat, while Bao Guangyuan and Meng Xinyi were eating wild fruits not far away, was a little hard to describe.
It would be fine if they were villains like Song Yuelin, but for the moment, Bao Guangyuan and Meng Xinyi were just ordinary people.
As he ate, Ji Mingxia took advantage of the unpacking to move slightly closer to Yu Ning and whisper, “How about we share some with them?”
Yu Ning looked at Ji Mingxia.
Ji Mingxia gestured with his finger, “Just a little.”
Twenty minutes later, the four of them finished their rest and were ready to continue their journey.
From there, the journey to Love Mountain Spring was short, and all four were ready to reach their destination in one breath.
Before setting off, Yu Ning and Bao Guangyuan went into the nearby woods to look for suitable tree branches for Ji Mingxia and Meng Xinyi to use as walking sticks.
Meanwhile, Ji Mingxia took the food and walked over to Meng Xinyi.
“This vanilla puff tastes good, you and Bao Guangyuan should try it and see if it’s to your liking.” Ji Mingxia said, shoving two boxes of puffs into Meng Xinyi’s hands.
Meng Xinyi looked down at the puffs, and then quickly swept a glance at Yu Ning who was not far away.
Yu Ning had put the black backpack on his back once again.
The puffs was just the tip of the iceberg compared to a whole bag bulging with all the supplies and food stuffed to the brim
Seeing Ji Mingxia about to leave, Meng Xinyi hurriedly said, “Thank you, for being willing to share food with us in this situation, I really don’t know how to repay you.”
Ji Mingxia wanted to leave after giving her the food and he didn’t expect Meng Xinyi to say thank you to his face.
It was just two boxes of puffs, but Meng Xinyi actually thanked him so solemnly. It made Ji Mingxia a little embarrassed.
“It’s nothing, don’t be too polite.” Ji Mingxia said.
Seeing that he was about to leave again, Meng Xinyi hurriedly added, “But it’s two boxes of precious food, will Yu Ning agree to giving this to me?”
Hearing Meng Xinyi mention Yu Ning, Ji Mingxia looked back at her, “Yu Ning? He agreed. ”
Ji Mingxia suddenly understood what Meng Xinyi meant, and smiled at her, “This is food that I share with him. Yu Ning knows I’m giving you two boxes of puffs, so don’t worry about eating them.”
Meng Xinyi glanced at Ji Mingxia and slightly lowered her head, seemingly a little shy: “You two share food? You and Yu Ning are really close.”
“Well, yeah.” Ji Mingxia and Meng Xinyi were not familiar with each other, so he didn’t say anything more.
Meng Xinyi quietly raised her head again, observing Ji Mingxia’s expression.
After watching for a few seconds, Meng Xinyi looked not far away and saw that Yu Ning and Bao Guangyuan were already on their way back and would soon rejoin them.
Meng Xinyi suddenly said, “Mingxia, may I take the liberty of asking you a question?”
“Is it about the ghost?” Ji Mingxia guessed. In his opinion, Meng Xinyi and Bao Guangyuan had suffered in the forest and the topic they were most concerned about should be how to leave the boundary to the forest.
Although Ji Mingxia had some clues about this, he did not have a full picture and did not know much about it.
And if he had to tell Meng Xinyi, he would have to pick and choose from it, only telling her part of the content, but not what specifically involved him and Yu Ning.
It was a matter of her life, and since she and Bao Guangyuan were having such a hard time surviving in the forest, Ji Mingxia understood that she wanted to get out quickly.
Just as Ji Mingxia was organising his words and thinking about how to communicate with Meng Xinyi about the ghost, Meng Xinyi shook her head.
Meng Xinyi asked, “I want to ask, are you and Yu Ning a couple?”
Ji Mingxia, who was suddenly asked about his love life: “???”
LMAO 😭