T/N: This chapter will be split into two parts because we’re very busy this week, we seek your understanding(＞人＜;)
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Standing from afar, Wei Wan stared at the two with her face pale. Her unbuilt tent was thrown to the back of her mind. Initially, she was watching Pei Chuan, building his tent with ease. She wanted to seek help after he completed his tent building. Instead, Pei Chuan straightaway began to help out Bei Yao.
She gave it several thoughts, still salty. Deciding to not bother with the tent, she walked towards them.
Wei Wan was dressed in a summer short skirt, and called out, “Pei Chuan.”
Pei Chuan was moving his hand non-stop and didn’t lift his head. The boy was covered in sweat. The summer heat was no doubt tormenting.
Wei Wan pleaded in a pitiful voice, “I don’t know how to build the tent, can you help me?”
Pei Chuan pinned down the tent, replying coldly, “No.”
Wei Wan stared at Bei Yao beside her, who was looking lost. She was in an extremely awkward position after he straight-up rejected her. Wei Wan almost subconsciously blabbered out, why are you helping Bei Yao but not me?
Nonetheless, she wasn’t all stupid. Bei Yao didn’t show any signs of hidden joy nor satisfaction. She was also at a loss as to why Pei Chuan was helping her. In addition, the way she looked at Pei Chuan was innocent and pure. It wasn’t the romance that a girl feels towards a boy, but plain trust and nostalgia.
For a split moment, a crazy idea flashed through Wei Wan’s mind. Is Pei Chuan having unrequited love?
Wei Wan froze, her heart was shaking intensely.
She stared at Pei Chuan who was building the tent and shifted her glance towards the lost girl. The more she thought, the more obvious what the situation was. Perhaps the girl named Bei Yao wasn’t even aware of Pei Chuan’s crush towards her!
The thought was obvious. Wei Wan was so furious she could explode, after all, a lot of people had liked her even from a young age. For her first time trying to appeal to someone, setting aside his absolutely cold attitude, his eyes were set upon another girl. She hadn’t even made her confession yet, and what’s more, the girl was clueless about his feelings!
For someone she couldn’t have, could be easy in front of another girl, or even unwanted.
Wei Wan’s face was distorted.
She never returned to those two again. Meanwhile, Zheng Hang and Jin ZiYang teamed up and built their tent.
Jin ZiYang exclaimed, “I’m no doubt a genius. I’m going to fall in love with myself.” He raised his arms, “Girls, raise your little hands if you need help from Master Jin!”
One of the girls raised her hands boldly with a smile, “Thanks, Master Jin.”
“No problem!”
Wei Wan was planning on raising her hands, but someone acted faster. This added more fuel to her fury.
Zheng Hang stepped over, saying, “I’ll help you.”
In return, Wei Wan suppressed her anger, “Alright.”
While building the tent with Zheng Hang, Wei Wan stood extremely close to him. She asked, “Zheng Hang, has Pei Chuan known Bei Yao for long?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know their relationship?”
“Not too sure. Chuan Bro has never mentioned it.”
Someone who doesn’t even get mentioned?
Hearing that, Wei Wan’s eyes flashed for a second.
-
Crickets could often be heard in the fields during the summer. The ground beneath was uncomfortable. Pei Chuan rested on his arms as the night breeze blew through the opening of the tent. Jin ZiYang and his friends could be heard playing cards from not far away.
Normally, he will be there with them, but tonight wasn’t the case.
A petite face poked into the tent and Pei Chuan raised his eyes, which was met with hers. The girl chirped, “Guess what I brought?”
Pei Chuan stared at her beauty, which was amplified under the moonlight, saying, “I don’t know.”
She magically pulled out a bottle of insect repellant.
“There're so many mosquitoes here, some even sneak into the tents. It's so hard to hit them when there’s no light in here, luckily I brought this along. Wanna spray some?”
Pei Chuan remained silent as he watched her. “Bei Yao.”
“Yes?”
“I... I lied to you before. It’s been so long, and I have turned into this state. How can you still treat me as if nothing had happened?” How much must she not care about him, to have completely forgotten what he did to her?
Bei Yao looked into his eyes, puzzled. “But you’re Pei Chuan, the Pei Chuan that grew up alongside me. The one who drew boundary lines on our tables, the one who brought an extra bottle of water for me during summers, the one who walked me home after school countless times.”
He clenched his fists. Although he knew she didn’t have hidden intentions in those words, his heart tightened subconsciously.
“Hand over the insect repellent.” His deep voice ringed throughout the tent.
Pei Chuan stood up and casually sprayed around the tent before handing it back. The tent became refreshing instantly.
“See you tomorrow!”
He laughed as the tent closed. Just because he was Pei Chuan. What a laughable excuse, probably because she never got to know the real Pei Chuan.
-
The following day, after the participants handed in their phones, they were randomly dispatched into the jungle. She changed into long sleeves before heading deeper into the jungle.
“Students, this marks the first day of your survival boot camp. There are currently 10 people still surviving and no one eliminated yet. Be quick to find your lunch, if not you will succumb to starvation!”
Bei Yao stared at the speaker for a while. So the number of people remaining would be broadcasted huh...
In her opinion, these types of survival boot camps were targeted at rich people who had nothing better to do, which did not suit her well. Since she was already here, there was no way she was going to give up so easily. She took out the map from her backpack and started looking for checkpoints.
Something blinked behind her collar, but it appeared faint under the bright sun. Bei Yao would never have noticed it.
On the opposite end of the jungle, Pei Chuan was frowning as he looked down on his tracker. Bei Yao was miles away from him.
They were practically an entire jungle apart. The blinking dot was constantly on the move, trying to make its way towards the checkpoints.
Pei Chuan squinted. It didn’t seem auspicious that he was randomly dispatched so far away from Bei Yao. But that didn’t seem to bother him as he started to move towards Bei Yao’s location.
The first person he came across was Jin ZiYang. He had no idea what he was doing and was wandering around aimlessly. “WTF, didn’t I just come here before? Did I or did I not?”
Pei Chuan walked right past him without paying any attention.
Almost every patch of the forest was covered in dense vegetation. With all of them looking almost identical, it was easy to be lost. However, Pei Chuan wasn’t heading towards the checkpoints, he was headed straight for the blinking dot on his tracker.
“Pei Chuan! Wait for me!” Wei Wan yelled as her eyes lit up and came rushing towards Pei Chuan.
He didn’t slow down for her at all as she panted trying to chase him.
She finally caught up with him. “I... I can’t find the way anymore. Following the map doesn’t get me anywhere. Can I group up with you?”
“No.” Pei Chuan said firmly. “Get lost.”
The smile on Wei Wan’s face faded away. She muttered, “You’re going to look for Bei Yao right? Do you like her?”
Pei Chuan stopped. “That’s none of your business.”
“But she doesn’t like you!” Wei Wan screeched. “I’m a girl too, I can tell that she doesn’t like you, not a single bit!”
Pei Chuan suddenly turned, his eyes were those of a demon’s.
It was the first time Wei Wan saw him this angry. Although she was scared, she was telling the truth. Pei Chuan had shamed her again and again, it was about time that he had a taste of his own medicine.
Wei Wan took a step back. “She might not like you, but I do! Why won’t you consider going out with me?”
Seeing the anger barely subsiding in Pei Chuan, and barely flinched at her confession, she continued. “Are you still confused on whether she likes you or not? Just ask her directly! Or I’ll go ask instead.”
“You dare?”
In that instant, Wei Wan felt a tidal wave of fury wash upon her.
Why would he be scared of Bei Yao knowing?
Wei Wan said, “Just be with me, I won’t tell her anything.”
Is she threatening him? Wei Wan had been in the center of attention for a year, to the extent that she thought she was really something.
Pei Chuan smiled. He walked up to her, the anger was gone, replaced with some wild energy. “You really like me?”
“Yes!”
He held her right hand, with a smug look on his face.
It was the first time Pei Chuan had come in physical contact with her. Wei Wan was overwhelmed by his charisma and bold act, “So.. is that a yes?”
“Hmm? What do you think?” Pei Chuan moved in closer to her as he said.
Wei Wan started blushing, “I didn’t mean to threaten you, I just, really like you.”
Pei Chuan snickered, tossing her hand away from him. “That’s too bad, I feel disgusted seeing you each time. I dare you to look for her.”
Wei Wan could only watch Pei Chuan leave as she held her wrist in pain. As angry as she was, she couldn’t do anything.
She looked down on her wrist, stifling down the urge to cry. However, as she looked above, she was stunned. The lights on the watch had gone off...
Wei Wan became desperate. The lights going off meant that if she couldn’t find any food or shelter, there was no way she could call for help.
Wei Wan started furiously pressing those two buttons, but there was no response.
Is Pei Chuan out of his mind? How could he have done that to her?