Chapter 58 – Fitting In
Que Jin thought for a moment, then asked, “Could you help me pick out some thinner sticks?” The dry grass had just caught fire and couldn’t ignite the thicker branches yet.
Lu Xi didn’t speak, but he moved quickly. As soon as Que Jin finished speaking, he squatted down by the pile of wood and began to sort through it. Although he wasn’t fast, the branches he handed over were always suitable. And so, Que Jin worked hard to start the fire, while Lu Xi, about a meter away, diligently selected sticks.
There was no conversation between them, but their movements gradually became synchronized. Que Jin couldn’t say she liked Lu Xi, but at least her dislike for him had lessened. It seemed they could communicate properly after all.
About ten minutes later, Lu Xi’s ears twitched. He paused in his wood-gathering, his hands quickly stopping, and he retreated a few meters back again.
Que Jin was stunned, not understanding why Lu Xi had suddenly acted this way. But Lu Xi looked like he had no intention of explaining. He just squatted a short distance away without speaking, not even looking at her.
Thirty seconds later, Que Jin heard a rustling sound of something being dragged behind her. When she turned around, somewhat frightened, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was Lin Ganzhi and Wenren Yi returning with supplies. Wenren Yi had several thick tree trunks tucked under her arm, and Lin Ganzhi was dragging two more, his other hand clutching a large handful of palm leaves. He walked behind Wenren Yi, his pink hair damp with sweat, but his eyes were bright and full of energy.
Thud! Wenren Yi dropped the tree trunks and clapped her hands. Her gaze paused on Lu Xi for a moment, but in the end, she said nothing and sat down next to Que Jin.
Lin Ganzhi looked at the rising fire and the pile of wood a meter away. He said nothing, yet he understood everything.
“Let’s eat first. While there’s still some sun, let’s dry the tree trunks and palm leaves,” Lin Ganzhi said.
No one else had any objections. However, speaking of tonight’s dinner, it was frighteningly simple. Que Jin tried to call out to Lu Xi, but he just turned his face away, trying his best to fade into the background.
Lin Ganzhi didn’t insist, and Wenren Yi had no intention of doing so either. They each took a few ferns, pierced them with a thin stick, creating a skewer with five or six ferns that looked a bit like a bamboo curtain.
The three of them gathered around the fire and began to roast them. The slimy liquid on the surface of the ferns was inedible, so as they roasted, Lin Ganzhi also taught them to rub off the melted slime as much as possible. The scene looked extremely arduous.
Brother Chen, the cameraman, set up his camera and sat down, comfortably stretching his shoulders. He took out a sandwich and a carton of milk from his bag.
The fern-roasting trio: ……
“Brother Chen, that’s a devastating psychological blow!” Lin Ganzhi’s eyes were fixed on the food, and he swallowed hard.
The other two also looked over with the exact same expression.
Brother Chen chuckled, and to be extra obnoxious, he even held the sandwich up to the camera and said, “I used to think this brand’s bacon and beef sandwich was pretty average, but for some reason, it tastes especially delicious now.”
The bullet comments also exploded with laughter. And that wasn’t all.
Just as Lin Ganzhi was about to stand up, Brother Chen quickly picked up a stick and drew a line in the dirt. “Be careful not to cross the line. If you break the rules, I’ll be the first to report you!”
Lin Ganzhi: ……
[Hahahaha, Ganzhi’s expression right now is killing me!]
[I don’t get it, is this the consequence of scamming the director?]
[I don’t get it, is this the price for showing off good luck?] some fans happily brought up old scores.
The unlucky players who had been flexed on by Lin Ganzhi before suddenly emerged, mercilessly mocking him in the bullet comments.
Lin Ganzhi dejectedly sat back down and continued to roast his ferns with a look of utter despair, his pink hair about to lose its luster.
To encourage everyone, Que Jin said, “I only ate this when I was a child, but I remember it tasted really good!”
Wenren Yi believed her. Seeing that the fern was almost cooked, she tentatively took a bite. The high temperature had cooked away the fern’s natural bitterness. The first sensation in her mouth was tenderness, and as she chewed, juices overflowed. But as for how good it tasted…
After a moment, Wenren Yi gave a fair assessment: “It’s edible.”
The remaining two looked at the ferns in their hands and fell silent. But for the sake of their stomachs, they still forced themselves to take the first bite.
Once you have the first bite, the second follows.
After forcing down one skewer, Que Jin couldn’t eat any more. Fortunately, she didn’t eat much at night anyway, so a few ferns were enough to make her feel somewhat full.
Suddenly, Wenren Yi murmured with a blank look in her eyes, “I’m starting to doubt my own sense of taste now.”
Que Jin was puzzled and followed Wenren Yi’s gaze. Lin Ganzhi’s cheeks were puffed out like a hamster’s as he diligently chewed the food in his mouth. His hands weren’t idle either; he was skewering new ferns onto a stick one after another, his speed incredibly fast. Judging by the small sticks at his feet, by the time they had managed to swallow one skewer, Lin Ganzhi had already devoured five or six.
Even the cameraman, who was munching on his meat-flavored sandwich, was stunned. How could Lin Ganzhi eat this stuff so deliciously? Did this thing taste like crispy chicken when roasted?
“Ganzhi, is this… really that good?” Wenren Yi asked.
Lin Ganzhi nodded, his mouth too busy chewing to speak, but the expression on his face couldn’t lie. He was genuinely enjoying it. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he was feasting on a grand banquet.
Wenren Yi inexplicably swallowed and roasted another fern for herself.
It wasn’t just her; the viewers watching the live stream were also a bit stunned. Was it really that good? Damn, watching them made their mouths water. Some people even asked in the live stream if they could buy this stuff on Taobao so they could try roasting it themselves.
A survival show was gradually heading in a bizarre direction.
However, the next fern Lin Ganzhi roasted wasn’t for himself. Once it was cooked through, he walked over to Lu Xi, who was a short distance away. Lu Xi was taken aback, not expecting Lin Ganzhi to approach him.
“Here, as a thank you for helping Que Jin start the fire just now.” Lin Ganzhi smiled, his eyes squinting slightly, revealing a hint of a warm, bright light. To outsiders, this smile was full of sincerity and persuasiveness.
The other two also looked over. Que Jin was stunned, not expecting Lin Ganzhi to have noticed before she even mentioned it.
Lu Xi’s nostrils flared, and he looked at Lin Ganzhi in shock, but he didn’t reach out. Instead, he stuttered, “You, how did you know?”
Lin Ganzhi smiled generously. “Who would pile wood so far away from the fire? Eat up. The three of us have already eaten it, it’s not poisonous.” As he spoke, Lin Ganzhi extended his hand a little closer.
Lu Xi looked at Lin Ganzhi, then at the roasted fern in his hand, and his eyes turned completely red. He swallowed, but hesitated for a long time. Finally, infected by Lin Ganzhi’s smile, he gritted his teeth and took it. Thinking about some of the things he had said today, he began to feel guilty and choked out a “Thank you.”
After speaking, Lu Xi lowered his head and took a bite of the hot fern. The warm texture swept through his dry mouth. Lu Xi took several more bites, the taste of the food almost moving him to tears. He ate one bite after another, completely ignoring the fact that it was scalding hot.
As he ate, he gave Lin Ganzhi a firm thumbs-up.
When Lin Ganzhi was about to say something, he saw Lu Xi’s eyes turn red, and large tears began to fall without warning.
“Uh, Lu Xi, you, what’s wrong?” Lin Ganzhi was taken aback and quickly asked.
Lu Xi sniffed. He had wanted to say something normally, but it was fine when he didn’t speak. The moment he did, he completely broke down, wailing, “You, you, why are you so nice!!!”
Once he started crying, he couldn’t stop. He bawled his eyes out, so heartbroken that anyone who didn’t know better would have thought the three of them had bullied him.
The trio and the cameraman: ……
The fans in the live stream: ???
[Damn! What is this drama queen Lu Xi doing? I don’t get it.]
[Uh, was he moved by Ganzhi’s kindness?]
[Didn’t Ganzhi just say it was a reward for helping out? Before that, when he did nothing, Ganzhi didn’t show him any mercy. No offense, I just think Lin Ganzhi handled it really well, not being a bleeding heart and disregarding the feelings of his other teammates.]
[Then why is Lu Xi crying here? And saying Ganzhi is a good person.]
[I’m guessing Lin Ganzhi is about to gain a fanboy.]
Lin Ganzhi was completely bewildered by Lu Xi’s crying. He wanted to pull something out of his pocket, but then remembered that Director Fang had emptied them before they entered the rainforest. After thinking for a moment, he could only pluck a leaf from a nearby plant and hand it to Lu Xi.
Lu Xi opened his tear-filled eyes and saw a snail on the green leaf, slowly extending its tentacles and wiggling around.
The air fell into a moment of awkward silence. Even Lu Xi forgot how to cry.
Lin Ganzhi also noticed the snail on the leaf. He quickly and gently pinched the snail’s shell and placed it on another leaf. He smiled sheepishly and said, “Here, there’s nothing on it now.”
Lu Xi stared for a moment, then subconsciously took it.
Seeing Lu Xi’s attitude soften, Lin Ganzhi, as the team captain, finally spoke up. “Before we came in, I said we should treat this as a vacation. If you can still hold on, then we’ll work together to overcome some difficulties. But if you keep isolating yourself, then I can only say, for the sake of your own health, you should quit early. Your foot, did you sprain it right after we came in?”
Lu Xi’s expression changed completely. He subconsciously covered his right foot. He hadn’t expected that the most harmless-looking Lin Ganzhi would be the first to notice.
Hearing this, Wenren Yi and Que Jin also walked over. Now, the problem of Lu Xi walking so slowly was explained. At that point earlier, Lu Xi must have been at his absolute limit to say something like that.
The group fell into a brief silence.
Finally, Wenren Yi couldn’t hold back any longer. She cursed under her breath, spun around in place, and then stood with her hands on her hips, looking at Lu Xi. “Why didn’t you tell us you were injured?!”
Lu Xi hugged his leg and said stubbornly, “It’s just a minor sprain, it’s not like I can’t walk!”
Now everyone was completely fed up with Lu Xi’s temper. He was super prideful, but also very fragile on the inside, and he cried at the drop of a hat. What kind of young master’s temper was this?
Suddenly, at that moment, Lu Xi’s stomach growled inappropriately.
Lin Ganzhi finally sighed and said, “As long as you’re willing to help build a temporary shelter in a bit, and can proactively help us share the load tomorrow…”
Lin Ganzhi stated his terms. He had discovered that Lu Xi responded better to this very direct way of communication.
“The water source, I can try to find it tomorrow,” Lu Xi suddenly said.
“You have experience in that area?” Wenren Yi asked, surprised.
Lu Xi shook his head honestly. “I can try to listen for it.”
Listen?
Everyone was confused and didn’t take it to heart. But what was certain was that Lu Xi was now willing to integrate into the team.
A flash of inspiration struck Que Jin’s mind, but it was so fast that she didn’t have time to catch it.
The group had now officially re-accepted Lu Xi. Lu Xi tearfully sat down by the fire, and Lin Ganzhi gave him several sticks. Lu Xi’s movements were a bit clumsy at first, but with Lin Ganzhi’s patient guidance, he finally managed to roast a skewer of wild vegetables himself.
And so, the “Survive!” set gained another outdoor food streamer. Lu Xi, who had been complaining about it, ended up devouring nearly half of the ferns with Lin Ganzhi. They rested for a while before starting to build a temporary shelter.