After sending Wang Mingyu away, Jiang Feng felt noticeably more comfortable.
This finally gave him the opportunity to spend some alone time with Mu Yunxi.
"Yunxi, do you need any help?" Jiang Feng asked.
"No, not right now." Mu Yunxi shook her head.
She felt a hollow emptiness inside, as if much of the fun had drained away. She was also a bit worried about the two who had gone off into the small grove. Surely it wasn't *that* kind of trip into the woods, was it? Her thoughts were in turmoil.
Hearing Mu Yunxi say this, Jiang Feng had no idea what to do next. Bored, he picked up Wang Mingyu's homemade fishing rod and cast the line into the lake.
This was completely different from the camping atmosphere he had imagined.
Meanwhile, Wang Mingyu and Lin Linyu arrived at the small grove.
"Watch your step and stay behind me. There are a lot of spiderwebs in the woods," Wang Mingyu turned back to remind her.
Lin Linyu smiled and nodded. "You know so much."
"Haha, not really, just experience." Wang Mingyu waved his hand.
When he was little, he frequently played at his grandparents' house in the countryside, and he really had learned a lot there.
Sigh, for some reason, he found himself missing the real world. He missed his parents and his younger sister. Wonder how they were doing.
"What's wrong?" Lin Linyu asked with concern when she saw Wang Mingyu stop in his tracks.
"Oh, it's nothing." Wang Mingyu smiled faintly and continued walking forward.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since there was no way back anyway, he might as well enjoy the present moment.
They gathered some dry firewood and prepared to head back.
"Ah!"
Hearing Lin Linyu's scream, Wang Mingyu hurriedly turned back to check and saw her lying on the ground. Dropping the firewood, he jogged over. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"My foot..." Lin Linyu clutched her ankle. "I sprained my foot."
Wang Mingyu checked her injury, then hoisted Lin Linyu onto his back to head back.
"The firewood!" Lin Linyu didn't forget their task.
"Forget about the firewood, your wellbeing is more important."
Wang Mingyu's tone allowed for no argument, which made Lin Linyu feel safe. She pressed against his back and smiled softly.
Wang Mingyu was so overbearing, but she loved it.
The two returned to the campsite.
"What happened?!" Mu Yunxi asked anxiously at the sight. She handed the half-grilled meat to Jiang Feng and hurried over.
"She sprained her ankle. Go to the car, there's a medical kit in the trunk that I brought," Wang Mingyu instructed as he carried Lin Linyu to the side to sit down. "Um... I'm... I'm going to take off your shoe, okay?"
Lin Linyu nodded shyly. "Mhm."
Wang Mingyu removed Lin Linyu's shoes and socks, and Mu Yunxi ran over carrying the medical kit.
Wang Mingyu took an ice pack from the kit and wrapped it around Lin Linyu's ankle. "Ice it for now, and stay seated."
"Mhm, okay." A blush appeared on Lin Linyu's face.
From childhood until now, no man had ever touched her foot.
Wang Mingyu stood up, gave Mu Yunxi a few instructions, and hurriedly jogged back toward the small grove. He still needed to bring back the firewood.
"Are you okay?" Mu Yunxi sat beside Lin Linyu to keep her company.
"I'm fine, it doesn't hurt much as long as I don't move." Lin Linyu shook her head, her gaze following Wang Mingyu's retreating figure with a beaming smile on her face.
Seeing this, Mu Yunxi paused slightly and looked in the direction of Lin Linyu's gaze.
It was Wang Mingyu.
Could it be that Lin Linyu had feelings for Wang Mingyu...?
Her mood was somewhat complicated, an ineffable swirl of emotions.
Jiang Feng quietly grilled by the side, offering no commentary. Prior to this, he had always thought he was the protagonist of this life. But now, he had inexplicably been reduced to an extra.
So this was what growing up felt like? Sob.
Wang Mingyu returned carrying the firewood and resumed looking after Lin Linyu.
Mu Yunxi brought over the grilled meat and distributed it to them.
"You eat first, your foot still needs attention." Wang Mingyu squatted down and took out a bottle of medicated safflower oil from the medical kit. "Um... I'm going to massage it for you, you don't mind, do you?"
"Mhm, i... it's okay," Lin Linyu nodded shyly.
As Wang Mingyu massaged Lin Linyu's ankle, Lin Linyu held her breath, trying hard not to make a sound.
"If you want to cry out, just do it. You don't have to hold it in," Wang Mingyu noticed her expression.
"Ah~"
"That actually sounded pretty nice." Wang Mingyu smiled faintly.
"Cu... cut it out. You men are all perverts."
"Even for perversion, the other person has to be a beauty, you know."
"Then... then am I considered one?" Lin Linyu covered her mouth and secretly observed Wang Mingyu's expression.
"You are, of course you are. If you weren't a beauty, why would I be so happy to touch your foot, heh heh."
"Haha, can't you be a little more tactful?"
"You're the one who said men are all perverts." Wang Mingyu shrugged helplessly.
Once the massage was finished, he applied a medicinal patch to Lin Linyu's ankle, stood up, and stretched his limbs. "There, apply a hot compress after 48 hours and you'll be fine."
"You're really professional. Did you secretly study foot reflexology or something?"
"No way, I was just massaging blindly." Wang Mingyu sat down, picked up some grilled meat, and held it out near Lin Linyu's mouth. "Here, limited-time service, the 'fed straight to your mouth' set meal."
"Haha, I'll do it myself." Lin Linyu took it with a smile. "My hands aren't injured."
"Right, right. Call me if you need anything." Wang Mingyu started eating as well. After all, he had done so much work and was hungry.
Mu Yunxi sat by the lake, her elbows resting on her thighs, cupping her cheeks in her palms as she silently watched the two people who had just been acting so intimate. She felt a twinge of envy, thinking how nice it would be if she had sprained her ankle instead.
As soon as this thought popped up, Mu Yunxi shook her head. What on earth was she thinking?
"Yunxi, here, this was just grilled."
Jiang Feng handed a freshly grilled skewer to Mu Yunxi. Mu Yunxi silently accepted it, forgetting even to say thank you.
"Is something on your mind?" Jiang Feng asked.
Mu Yunxi shook her head and said nothing.
This reaction left Jiang Feng somewhat depressed and shut off from the world. What on earth had he done to make things turn out like this?
Evening arrived, the sun sank below the horizon, and a streak of orange painted the edge of the sky.
The group sat around the campfire, and Wang Mingyu was unusually quiet. Whenever night fell, he would miss home with a fierce intensity—missing that real world.
The other three chatted away while Wang Mingyu held a branch, poking at the campfire. Under normal circumstances, the branch in his hand would definitely have served as his legendary sword to slay the weeds by the wayside—the kind of technique where every step claims a blade of grass, leaving no blade standing a thousand miles around.
But right now, he didn't have the mood.
He just stared quietly at the campfire as the flames devoured the wood, making crackling sounds. He thought of the nursery rhyme his mother used to teach him, and he hummed it aloud:
"The dark, dark sky hangs low~
Accompanied by bright, twinkling stars~
Little bugs are flying, little bugs are flying~
Who is it that you're longing for~
..."