The group of fujoshi representatives, spearheaded by Shu Xiaoman, had already neglected the ultimate reward. Perhaps, it was better to say that they personally believed that they didn"t have the capability of even getting close to the reward. They put all their focus on discussing how to make Zhao Yuan and Lin Wenxi into a pair. The verdict was working together to manufacture an exceptionally good opportunity for Zhao Yuan and help him succeed.
However, the girls led by Chen Wanxin were used to watching scheming palace harem dramas. They had a very different idea when it came to the concept of manufacturing an exceptionally good opportunity.
Thus, Zhao Yuan"s supplies inexplicably disappeared. w.a.n.g Xiang, being a person who would rather advance and retreat together, shared his supplies with him. However, w.a.n.g Xiang"s supplies disappeared as well. Thus, the members of the dorm discussed and came to the conclusion that everyone, except the weakling Lin Wenxi, would guard Zheng Kai and Lin Wenxi"s life-saving rations in shifts. Sure enough, no one touched Lin Wenxi"s part of the supplies. Lin Wenxi was simply too aloof that the other three came into an understanding that if he was unwilling to do something, they wouldn"t force him either.
When it was late at night, Zheng Kai stared blankly at the sea of stars in the sky above. This was his best opportunity! Thinking about it, it had been three years since he last saw his father. His father"s words at Green Fields Military Academy rang beside his ears: "Don"t come home before establishing yourself in society and becoming an elite!" Since then, he had heard no news of his hometown.
Why did his father do this? His father didn"t allow his mother to visit him. Over the past three years, he didn"t even make a single phone call home. He supposed his family didn"t even know if he was dead or alive. Now that he was selected to enter Jifu University, he was merely a hundred miles away from home. If his father knew this, what would he do?
He felt a stinging sensation p.r.i.c.king his eyes as if he was close to crying. Yet when he saw Chen Wanxin, a smile blossomed on his face.
"Zheng Kai, I want your rations," Chen Wanxin said, smiling.
"Sure." Zheng Kai directly handed her his knapsack.
"You"re not going to ask me what for?" Chen Wanxin was a little startled.
"If you want it, I"ll give it to you. There"s nothing much to it," Zheng Kai replied.
"I"m menstruating recently, so thanks..." Chen Wanxin flashed him a lovely smile.
"Rest well and try to stay warm." Zheng Kai nodded. He wanted to say something but realized that they had no common topic to talk about. He could only watch as Chen Wanxin walked away.
It was more than enough for one person to fill his stomach with Lin Wenxi"s rations. Now that there were four of them, it was hard to make sure that they could eat their fill. Lin Wenxi just ate a smaller portion and handed the remaining food to w.a.n.g Xiang to divide it between the three of them. Thus, all of their stomachs were only half-filled the next day. The pace of their squad became no different than the pace of the girls" squad.
Zhao Yuan"s stolen supplies were indeed Zhang An"an and Shu Xiaoman"s work just as they were setting off. Everyone was in such boisterous spirits that no one would have foreseen their cla.s.smates stealing from them. Their goal was to force Lin Wenxi to help a little. They didn"t expect w.a.n.g Xiang to stir trouble for them. Thus, Zhang An"an confiscated his rations. Once again, they didn"t expect Zheng Kai to be filled with brotherly affection, so they asked Chen Wanxin to make a personal appearance. This resulted in Lin Wenxi himself eating the least and sparing the most for his group members. While the two girls were dejected, they were even more worried about him. They knew that they must allow Zhao Yuan to pick up something tomorrow but this mustn"t be discovered by other people.
"One puts himself above the common populace, and another can keep sleeping even if Mount Tai collapses," w.a.n.g Xiang said, helplessly summing up Lin Wenxi and Zhao Yuan. Lin Wenxi would typically go to bed early to counteract his hunger while Zhao Yuan would run around to look for wild herbs. Meanwhile, Zheng Kai and w.a.n.g Xiang were seated opposite each other. Zheng Kai couldn"t help pulling on the weeds growing on the ground and chewing on them for a moment.
"It"s also An"an who asked for my rations, saying that her period is here. Say, wouldn"t it be nice if girls don"t have a period?" w.a.n.g Xiang also painfully pulled on the weeds to chew.
"I have an idea. You can get them pregnant. From a biological perspective..." Zheng Kai painfully spat out the weed in his mouth. He saw that w.a.n.g Xiang was already hiding inside the tent while enclosing his ears.
In reality, all they had to do was seek help from the nearby military instructors. However, the premise was that they would have to withdraw from the contest. To seek help from the military instructors no matter what happened during the course of the contest would be considered a withdrawal. There was no exception even for the case when someone had fainted. Jifu University"s admission office had already made this very clear to the military instructors that the things like first aid, medicine, food, tent, and rope were well-prepared in the supplies they provided the students. Moreover, in order to become a student of Jifu University, the students would either have exceptional talent in medicating and nursing or were all-rounders with the innate ability to survive the wild. There were also those who were experts at rock climbing and shifting. Even among those who had no ability at all, some would at least know some poetry and use it as a spiritual fodder. Take for example, w.a.n.g Xiang.
At dawn, a few girls gathered for a discussion. One of them started sobbing. "Can you please let me go?!" The sound came from none other than the residence of the four guys in Dorm No. 216. Several military instructors grabbed their weapons and rushed over there. There, they discovered Zhao Yuan grabbing a rabbit by the ears and holding a sharp dagger in his other hand. He placed his hands together and quietly began the religious ceremony to help the soul of the rabbit to find peace. Just as the white knife was about to stab forward and a red knife was going to show up, the rabbit shivered in fright and put its paws together like Zhao Yuan did as it pleaded pitifully.
There was another rabbit struggling on the ground with its paws tied. Its snow-white fur was stained gray by the soil and the corner of its eyes seemed like it was about to burst forth with tears at any time. Judging from the blood stains on its frontal claws, it seemed that its paws were smashed by a rock until they had gone lame. With its eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears, it put its claws together and pleaded pitifully.
So it was a false alarm.
Shu Xiaoman walked up to them and gave Zhou Nannan a little push. "Hey, are you a manifestation of a rabbit spirit? Why are you asking them to let you go?"
"Let the pair of pitiful rabbits go is like... letting me go. I... I feel bad..." Zhou Nannan was sobbing so hard that she was sniveling.
Zheng Kai and w.a.n.g Xiang woke up muddleheaded after being awakened by all the clamor. Lin Wenxi"s tent also trembled ever so slightly and before long, he finished neatening his clothes and slowly came out. The three of them were stupefied to see such a scene. When Zheng Kai saw the rabbits, his stomach immediately rumbled. w.a.n.g Xiang smacked his lips. Lin Wenxi squatted down to gently caress the rabbit"s injured claws.
"Oh, you"re not letting me eat the rabbit? You want us to starve to death?" Zhao Yuan said placidly.
"That... That rabbits smell good..." Zheng Kai couldn"t help squatting down and feeding more wood to the fire.
"Zheng Kai, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You dare eat!" Chen Wanxin was the first to step up.
"w.a.n.g Xiang, you dare eat!" Zhang An"an put both of her hands on her hips.
"That... That... Lin Wenxi, you dare eat!" Suddenly, Shu Xiaoman said something similar to Lin Wenxi.
Lin Wenxi was rather dumbstruck and his expression turned apathetic. He wrapped a strip of plain white cloth around the frontal claws of the rabbit to stop its bleeding. Within seconds, the rabbit immediately limped far, far away and soon disappeared out of their sight.
"Hey! Lin Wenxi! Did you want the rabbit to come back after a thousand years to pay a debt of grat.i.tude to you?!" w.a.n.g Xiang rose to his feet, feeling deep regret for the rabbit meat that never made its way into his mouth. He then turned to look at Zhang An"an with a bright smile. "The rabbit is actually a male. It"s still okay for it to pay a debt of grat.i.tude." Zhang An"an gave him a thumbs-up.
Zhao Yuan clenched the rabbit ears in his hand and scratched his neck with the handle of his dagger with a faint smile. The rabbit started struggling but like usual, Zhao Yuan didn"t even raise his head.
Lin Wenxi silently walked over to him, intending to s.n.a.t.c.h the rabbit. Zhao Yuan tossed his knife and swiftly stuffed the rabbit into his embrace. Wearing a teasing smile, he yelled, "Lin Wenxi, take off my clothes if you want this rabbit."
The hearts of Shu Xiaoman and Zhang An"an blossomed into a flower after seeing this. They immediately quieted down. Chen Wanxi also watched Zhao Yuan and Lin Wenxi with great interest.
Lin Wenxi picked up the knife on the ground and gestured it at his wrist. His small face was as red as a tomato. Without needing him to speak, Zhao Yuan immediately took out the rabbit and threw it toward the wild. The rabbit flopped on the ground twice before turning around to flash them a smug smile and disappearing.
The girls were inevitably disappointed to see that such a hasty conclusion to a good show. Even so, they could see that Lin Wenxi was infuriated. They were afraid that he would take this seriously and do something foolish, so they were also secretly relieved at the turn of events. Zhang An"an gave it a thought and then signaled Shu Xiaoman with her eyes. Thus, the two of them thoughtfully sent some food that they had stolen from Zhao Yuan and w.a.n.g Xiang over to Lin Wenxi. Lin Wenxi didn"t even spare them a glance. He handed the food to w.a.n.g Xiang and returned to his tent.
Zhao Yuan followed after Lin Wenxi closely and abruptly threw himself into the latter"s tent. In a moment of careless, he pressed Lin Wenxi to the ground. Lin Wenxi immediately got a whiff of a strange smell from Zhao Yuan"s body. Before he could react, Zhao Yuan was already laying on the ground with his jacket off. Inevitably, Lin Wenxi caught a glimpse of his lean figure. He couldn"t help covering his eyes and cry out in fright.
His alarmed cry caused the students outside the tent to once again band together.