After all that teasing, the moment finally arrived. Excited, I lunged forward, my hands eagerly kneading that softness. Wang Yan, breathing heavily, frantically fumbled with my belt, quickly unfastening it.

But just then, voices suddenly rang out from the trees.

"Wang Yan! Lu Yuan!"

"Brother Lu Yuan!"

Hearing the shouts, Wang Yan shoved me away, her face flushed as she hurriedly adjusted her clothes.

"Damn it!" I cursed under my breath. Of all the times for them to show up—why now? reached out to help her up, but she glanced at me shyly before placing her hand in mine. Once we were both on our feet and had gathered our things, I called out toward where the voices had come from, "We're over here!"

Soon, Xia Lan and Zhang Xi’er appeared. Xia Lan noticed Wang Yan's flushed face and paused for a moment.

"Wang Yan got a leg cramp. Come help us," I urged them.

Xia Lan quickly supported Wang Yan, though her gaze turned oddly suspicious as she asked about Wang Yan's injury.

Zhang Xi’er cheerfully took the shirt bundled with wild fruits.

By the time we returned to the rocky shore, it was already 8 PM—the sun long since vanished beyond the horizon.

The six of us sat around the fire, and I handed each person a segment of the Dandan vine.

"Ew—what the hell is this? It's disgusting," Jiang Dandan sneered the moment she got hers, immediately tossing it aside. sliced open my segment and took a sip. "We don’t have any containers to store or boil water. The Dandan vine is the only clean drinking source we have. It tastes a bit bitter, but it’s better than drinking untreated water. If you want stream water, it’s two hours deep into the forest—but after drinking it, I can’t guarantee you won’t get sick."

I’d already disliked Jiang Dandan’s attitude, and now she had the nerve to throw away the water I’d risked my life to get. My patience snapped.

"Huh? Hey, what’s your problem?" she snapped back, unreasonable as ever.

"Drink it if you want. Don’t if you don’t," I shot back.

Xia Lan and the others, parched after a whole day without water, followed my example and cut open their segments. True to my warning, the taste was awful—bitter, astringent, and slimy. They all grimaced as they swallowed. Jiang Dandan hesitated, then disdainfully sliced hers open and took a sip before immediately spitting it out.

"What kind of shit is this?!" she yelled, hurling the Dandan vine to the ground and stomping on it furiously.

Watching her, I clenched my fists, rage burning in my chest. I really wanted to punch her—but reason, that pesky trait of civilized people, stopped me from doing something stupid.

Wang Yan shot Jiang Dandan a filthy look, while Xia Lan and the others merely watched without commenting.

Wang Yan then produced the wild fruits she’d picked—thirty-five in total, red and green, each about the size of an egg. She handed five to Xia Lan, five to Lin Xian’er, five to herself, and ten to me.

Seeing I got twice as many as her, Jiang Dandan blew up. "Why does this country bumpkin get twice as many fruits as the rest of us?!"

Wang Yan glared at her. "If you’re so capable, go pick your own in the forest. Stop whining."

Jiang Dandan’s face froze. After a long pause, she shut up and sulkily sat on the ground, nibbling at her fruit.

The taste was sour enough to make your teeth ache—worse even than the Dandan vine. But at least the flesh was thick, keeping hunger at bay.

Xia Lan took a bite, frowned, but forced it down, secretly slipping one into her pocket.

Lin Xian’er ate two before offering the rest to Wang Yan.

Wang Yan waved her off, saying she had enough. Lin Xian’er giggled and patted her skirt, indicating she had no pockets, so Wang Yan took the remaining fruits for herself.

Zhang Xi’er, it seemed, had a high tolerance for sourness, polishing off her portion in just a few bites before looking around expectantly.

Jiang Dandan, however, took one bite, spat it out, and—under our collective gaze—tossed the rest of her fruits into the fire. barely had time to stop her.

"This shit isn’t even food for humans!! I want tiramisu, I want Blue Mountain coffee!! AHHH!!" she screamed.

Suddenly, Wang Yan stood up, her expression dark. She marched straight up to Jiang Dandan, raised her hand, and slapped her across the face with a sharp crack!

The sound echoed through the clearing, leaving all of us stunned. Slowly, a bright red handprint bloomed on Jiang Dandan’s cheek.

For a moment, Jiang Dandan just stood there, frozen. Then, as realization hit her, she snapped.