That was the third day that Nan Chen and the others had been trapped in the forest.
Only a little food was left so no one else was eating because it had to be saved for the kids.
Despite that, the kids still had to ration their meals because they were running out of food.
For the first time in her life, Ning Ran felt hopeless.
She thought that she had it rough when she had to take care of the kids all on her own, but the true hardship had just begun.
Nothing else mattered when they were struggling to survive.
Dabao could tell that his mommy was worried so he held her hand and said, “Don’t worry, mommy. Even if we run out of food, we can still eat the fruits in the forest.”
Ning Ran forced a grin and said, “Okay, mommy won’t worry.”
“We won’t die, mommy,” said Erbao who was also trying to comfort her mommy.
Ning Ran was terrified of hearing the word ‘die’ so she picked up some bitter fruits and took a couple of bites to distract herself.
“We’ll be okay,” Ning Ran encouraged the kids, “We’ll get out of here soon.”
It didn’t matter how scared she was, Ning Ran needed to give the kids hope.
“Mr. Nan Chen is back!” someone called out.
“Dabao! Dabao!” shouted Nan Chen.
“Third uncle!” replied Dabao loudly.
“I found it! I found the river!” exclaimed Nan Chen even though he was naturally calm, “And there’s food there!”
“Really? That’s amazing!” said Dabao as he jumped up, “Yay!”
“Get ready, we’re leaving now,” ordered Nan Chen, “We’ll move over before nightfall.”
One hour later, everyone took off.
Even though the correct path was marked, they still got lost twice.
That forest had too many trees and the leaves had blocked out every bit of sunlight.
Not long after they had departed, Ning Ran realized that there were a couple of leeches on her feet.
The humidity and darkness of this forest made it feel like hell on Earth.
Walking in this forest would make any human feel like they would not live another day.
Tired, famished, and having no actual path to walk on, everyone was moving slowly.
“Don’t give up,” said Nan Chen whose voice was masculine and deep, “It’s just a little further.”
Ning Ran suddenly realized that Nan Chen had been struggling with the same environment previously and was still the first one to forge ahead on their journey. How physically and mentally strong did he have to be to be able to do that?
With Nan Chen’s help, the leeches were taken care of soon enough, and Ning Ran sat on the floor.
She was simply too exhausted to move forward, and her feet feel as heavy as lead.
“Get up,” ordered Nan Chen coldly, “We don’t have time to rest.”
“I need a minute,” panted Ning Ran, “Just one minute.”
“Mommy, you can’t sit on the floor,” said Dabao who was on Nan Chen’s back.
“I am too tired,” explained Ning Ran.
Nan Chen held out a hand and pulled Ning Ran up, “You can rest standing up, but you are not allowed to sit.”
“Why not?” asked Ning Ran.
“It’ll make you fatigue and cause your muscles to cramp,” explained Dabao.
Ning Ran didn’t really believe that. She wanted to sit down because she was too tired.
“Come on,” said Nan Chen, “You can lean on me as you walk.”
“It’s okay; you’re already exhausted from carrying Dabao. I can handle it.”
“Let’s go,” said Nan Chen who didn’t give anyone a chance to argue and made Ning Ran held on to him as they walked.
With Nan Chen’s help, it was slightly easier for Ning Ran to move forward.
Ning Ran was also someone with a strong will, but her body couldn’t handle it anymore because she had not eaten in two days. Still, she persisted.
No one knew how far or how long they walked, but they reached their destination just before the sun went down.
Compared to the forest they were previously trapped in; their destination was heaven.
A river was flowing beside a large, open field where one could see the sky if they looked up.
There was even a wooden cabin built by the river.
Qiao Zhan set Erbao down and started to pant on the ground.
“I can’t believe someone actually lived here,” said Ning Ran who couldn’t believe her eyes.
“No one lives here,” explained Qiao Zhan, “This is a temporary base for drug dealers who had it prepared in case they were ever chased into the forest.”
“Will they suddenly show up and realize that we had taken over their spot?” asked Ning Ran, “That would cause some trouble, wouldn’t it?”
“The possibility is very low,” said Qiao Zhan, “But don’t worry, Young Mistress. Even if someone were to show up, we will be able to protect you and the kids.”
After entering the cabin, they realized that there was, indeed, simple cutleries and pots for cooking.
A few of the plastic bags were filled with rice, but the weather had been too humid so those on the surface had already had mold growing on them. Despite that, it didn’t feel right to throw them away so Qiao Zhan had someone washed the rice with the mold growing on them then use them to cook some porridge.
The rice that was not affected by the mold had been given to Ning Ran and the kids.
After resting for a bit, Qiao Zhan and the others grabbed some of the tools laying in the cabin and went fishing.
They did a pretty good job and caught about 7 relatively big fishes along with one eel.
Ning Ran woke up to the smell of cooked food, and her stomach growled immediately.
The pot was cooking fish and some vegetables, and it smelled great.
However, that was for the security guards because Ning Ran and the two kids were having an even better meal – porridge with fish.
Ning Ran felt bad about that and tried to join the security team, but she was rejected.
After dinner, Nan Chen and Dabao sat by the campfire and started chatting.
They had found food and water so their survival issue had been solved for the time being, and everyone was in a good mood because of it.
Ning Ran inched closer because she was curious and wanted to hear what the Poker Face and Dabao were talking about.
The Poker Face rarely talked. In fact, he would only chat with the two kids, and Ning Ran realized that he was actually quite interesting despite his usual dull character.
However, Ning Ran soon realized that she could not understand a word they were talking about because Dabao and Nan Chen were discussing astronomy while looking at the sky.
Ning Ran’s pride was a little hurt as she realized that she was so far behind.
Geez, can’t they just gossip? Why do they have to talk about astronomy?
Sitting beside them, Erbao was also annoyed so she voiced up, “Third Uncle, what are you two talking about? I don’t understand!”
Ning Ran agreed in her mind and thought Yeah! Besides, isn’t it more inclusive and warmer if we talk about something everyone could understand?
“Why is it that your brother understands but you don’t?” asked Nan Chen sweetly.
For some reason, Ning Ran felt uncomfortable when that Poker Face talked sweetly because it didn’t feel real.
“Because I am a girl,” answered Erbao in her baby voice.
“Hmm?” said Nan Chen who was waiting for Erbao to explain.
“Girls only need a pretty face,” said Erbao with a straight face, “We don’t need to understand those complicated things.”
That is absolutely right! Ning Ran wanted to give her daughter a big thumbs up.
That is why it is not at all embarrassing for me to not know a thing about complicated topics!
Nan Chen’s lips curved upwards. With the campfire illuminating his face, it was obvious that he was smiling.
