Song Yi screamed internally with all her might, scrambling to her feet using both hands and feet, quickly backing away several steps until she maintained a full three meters of distance from Hang Feng.
No matter what, she had to get through this current "predicament" first.
Shen Yujing strode forward, walking up to Song Yi's side, and repeated his question: "What were you two doing?"
Song Yi felt a headache coming on.
What were they doing? How would she know what they were doing? Right now, she just wanted to have a fight to the death with this ridiculous Mary Sue system in her head.
Quan Le hurriedly walked over and said, "I can testify! It was just an accident. It happened because Song Yi..."
Hang Feng cut off Quan Le's words, asking flatly, "How is this any of your business?"
Shen Yujing looked at him, his anger suppressed by that single sentence.
Hang Feng raised his wrist, wiping away the blood that had drawn from his lip during the earlier accident, his eyes still cold and distant.
Hang Feng tugged at one corner of his mouth, giving Shen Yujing an ambiguous smile, "Let's just say I kissed her. You have no say in this matter."
"How do I not?" Shen Yujing let out a cold laugh and began rolling up his sleeves. "I kindly invited you to join us, but I didn't expect you to be this kind of person. Today I'm going to teach you a lesson, you scum. Consider it my civic duty."
Seeing that the two were about to fight, Quan Le became very anxious. He looked at Song Yi, "Quick, think of something!"
After all, Shen Yujing's leg had only recently healed, and if he got into a fight with Hang Feng now, he would definitely lose! And losing would be so embarrassing!!!
"Listen to me for a moment."
Song Yi's voice came from behind the two, eerily calm.
Hang Feng and Shen Yujing both turned to look at her, seemingly waiting for her decision.
Song Yi gave Hang Feng a smile, or rather, a forced smile.
She said, "Since this has already happened, I'm going to..."
Shen Yujing interrupted: "Take responsibility for him?! No way! This is just a small matter! An accident! It's not worth sacrificing yourself over!"
Quan Le: "..."
Looking at how agitated you are, it doesn't seem like you really think it's a small matter.
But Song Yi just shook her head, "No."
As she spoke, she looked down beside her, bent over, and picked up a large stone.
Song Yi held the stone in one hand and charged towards Hang Feng, "Then I'll just have to kill you!!!"
Hang Feng: "...?"
Quan Le: "???"
Shen Yujing: "!!!"
Although no one had processed what was happening, people instinctively avoid danger when faced with it, and Hang Feng was no exception.
Meanwhile, Shen Yujing tried desperately to stop Song Yi, shouting: "Let it go! Let it go!"
The two who were about to fight moments ago suddenly found themselves united in the face of "life and death."
Even Quan Le anxiously shouted from the side: "Let it go! Sister Yi! Let's just drop it!"
Just as Shen Yujing was desperately trying to block her, Song Yi's gaze shifted away from Hang Feng.
She looked at Shen Yujing and began to think.
Even if she killed the antagonist, it might not change anything.
But what if she killed the male lead?
If the male lead was gone, everyone could just live however they wanted!
Shen Yujing suddenly sensed something was wrong. The moment Song Yi's gaze fell on his forehead, he immediately let go and turned to run.
This wasn't right! Something was very wrong! How did he suddenly become the target of danger?!
Wait! What did this have to do with him?!
Shen Yujing couldn't understand, but he knew running was his best option.
So Quan Le stood there, dumbfounded, watching everything unfold before him.
One fled, then another fled, while she chased alone, yet none could escape even with wings.
Hang Feng had long disappeared, and Shen Yujing, while internally cursing his craftiness, fully demonstrated his prowess as the school's sports day long-distance running champion.
Song Yi couldn't catch up and decided to stop pursuing.
So she stopped and turned to look at Quan Le, the only one still remaining.
Quan Le swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.
The moment Song Yi took her first step toward him, he too turned and ran.
Although he had no idea what this had to do with him, he couldn't rule out the possibility that Song Yi might silence all witnesses!
Life is precious, staying alive is most important!
At this moment, the system was also screaming frantically in Song Yi's mind—
[Ahhhhh! Host! Host, what are you doing!!!]
[We're in a Mary Sue novel! This is supposed to be a sweet romance! Don't do these illegal things!!!]
[It was just a kiss, it's not a big deal! Hang Feng doesn't deserve to die!!!]
Seeing the area now empty, Song Yi put down the stone and dusted off her hands.
Song Yi said: "Right, he doesn't deserve to die, because we're all innocent."
System: [...]
Of course it understood that Song Yi was being sarcastic about it.
[Then what does the host want to do?]
Song Yi replied: "You're in my head, I can't do anything to you."
[...]
Song Yi picked up the bag Hang Feng had left behind, found some useful supplies inside, and said: "I just want some peace and quiet for a while."
Song Yi didn't want to see Hang Feng and Shen Yujing "fighting over her" in front of her, so she simply chased them all away for some peace and quiet.
As for the gathering later, if anyone dared to mention this incident again, she would have ways to deal with them.
Things turned out even better than Song Yi had imagined. After experiencing her earlier "madness," not only did Shen Yujing and Hang Feng stop fighting, they could even communicate amicably.
Perhaps they had become good brothers who had been through life and death together.
Shen Yujing looked at Hang Feng, confirming for the fiftieth time, "Swear that it was all an accident, and that you don't have even the slightest inappropriate thoughts about Song Yi."
Hang Feng: "...I swear."
Quan Le couldn't stand it anymore and said: "Since it wasn't intentional, let's turn swords into plowshares. No one is allowed to mention this again, don't provoke Song Yi."
Shen Yujing nodded, "Let's let bygones be bygones, pretend this never happened."
Hang Feng opened his mouth, originally wanting to object, but then remembered the image of Song Yi charging at him with a stone, and couldn't help but shudder.
She must be... really upset about it.
Thinking of this, Hang Feng also nodded and said word by word: "Nothing happened."
Shen Yujing raised his hand in the air and said: "Come on, let's form a brotherhood, for our mutual trust!"
Quan Le: "No, it's for our survival."
Hang Feng: "..."
He wanted to say that this wasn't forming a brotherhood, it was taking an oath.
In the end, three hands came together in the air, forming a silent alliance.
Yes, this would do.
*
Song Yi walked alone quite comfortably and efficiently, discovering six or seven "supply packs" along the way, filling her bag to the brim.
When it was time to gather, sure enough, Song Yi had the most abundant harvest.
Hang Feng kept his eyes lowered as usual and wouldn't look at her, while Shen Yujing was unusually restrained, still remembering what had happened earlier.
Song Yi acted as if nothing had happened. She looked around and asked: "Where's Murong Huan? Why isn't she back yet? And where's Quan Le? Wasn't he just here?"
Shen Yujing explained: "It's because Murong Huan hasn't returned yet, so Quan Le just went to look for her."
Song Yi frowned, suddenly thinking of something.
She stared at Shen Yujing, "Wasn't Murong Huan with you?"
Shen Yujing: "..."
They had argued and split up.
Thinking about it now, Shen Yujing felt some regret.
If he hadn't argued with Murong Huan then, they wouldn't have separated, and he wouldn't have seen...
Shen Yujing shook his head vigorously.
Don't think about it anymore! Forget it! Forget everything!
Seeing that the departure time was getting closer and the sky was getting darker, Song Yi left most of the supplies on the ground and said: "I'll go look for them too."
"I'll go with you!" Shen Yujing immediately followed Song Yi, then looked back at Hang Feng, "You watch the supplies here! Wait for us to come back! Don't worry! Our Celestial Dragon Team will definitely get first place!"
Hang Feng: "..."
Who the hell is worried?
And as for that first place, he really couldn't care less about it.
However, since he had already joined the team, Hang Feng crouched down and held the opponent's supply pack in his arms, standing still waiting for them to return.
Song Yi and Shen Yujing walked one after another on the path. By now, there was hardly anyone left in the mountains.
The weather in late October had already turned chilly, accompanied by cold winds that made people shiver involuntarily.
It had grown dark, and the path was somewhat rugged. Song Yi took out a flashlight from her bag to light the way.
Shen Yujing took out his phone intending to call Quan Le, but twice there was no answer.
The busy tone of the disconnected calls made everyone's mood even heavier.
Suddenly, Shen Yujing grabbed Song Yi's arm.
Shen Yujing used considerable force, making Song Yi cry out in pain as she stopped to look at him, "What are you doing?"
Shen Yujing swallowed hard, his gaze falling on the ground not far ahead, then let out a sigh of relief.
Song Yi followed his gaze and saw the shadows of tree leaves swaying on the ground, which at first glance looked like something floating past.
Song Yi understood and said, "Don't tell me you're afraid of ghosts?"
"What are you talking about?" Shen Yujing pretended to be relaxed as he let go of Song Yi's arm and walked forward, "I just lost my balance and steadied myself by holding onto you..."
Song Yi interrupted Shen Yujing's words with a sudden scream, "Ahhh!!!"
"Ahhh!!!"
Shen Yujing couldn't help but immediately retreat, once again tightly grabbing Song Yi's arm.
Oh no, "grabbing" wasn't even the right word anymore, as he was practically trying to climb onto Song Yi.
Song Yi: "..."
She had thought Shen Yujing was useless, but she hadn't expected him to be this useless.
Song Yi used one hand to push away Shen Yujing's head that was tightly buried in her shoulder, saying with disdain, "Get off me."
Realizing what he had just done, Shen Yujing immediately let go, but he still didn't dare to leave Song Yi's side even half a step.
When Song Yi moved forward half a step, Shen Yujing would follow exactly half a step, no more no less, just staying right next to her.
Song Yi exasperatedly stuffed the flashlight into Shen Yujing's hand, "Here, take it."
"I'm not afraid of ghosts," Shen Yujing stuffed the flashlight back to her.
Song Yi: "Being afraid of the dark is the same thing."
Shen Yujing: "...I'm not afraid of the dark either."
Song Yi was confused, "Then what are you doing? Just trying to act dramatic?"
Shen Yujing didn't answer, and Song Yi couldn't be bothered with him anymore, so she quickened her pace forward.
Whether Shen Yujing was afraid of ghosts or not wasn't important; the urgent matter was finding Murong Huan first. It was too dangerous for a girl to be alone in the mountains at night.
After walking for about twenty minutes, they finally saw Murong Huan's figure.
Murong Huan was crouching next to a large rock, her face buried in her knees, her whole body curled up in a self-embracing posture.
Quan Le was standing beside her, looking anxious.
Song Yi shone the flashlight at them, and after confirming their identities, called out, "Murong Huan! Quan Le!"
Murong Huan immediately lifted her head, and when she saw Song Yi, she also saw the light.
Murong Huan immediately ran towards Song Yi, directly hugging her and burying her face in her shoulder.
The usually haughty young lady had lowered her head, seeming to be choking back sobs.
Song Yi was stunned for a moment, looked at Quan Le, and her first reaction was, "Did you bully her?"
"How could that be possible?" Quan Le was truly at a loss for words, "I wouldn't dare even if I had a hundred lives!"
Shen Yujing then asked, "But if you found her, why were you just standing there instead of coming back?"
Speaking of this, Quan Le was also confused, he said, "When I found Murong Huan, she was just crouching there. She wouldn't respond when I talked to her, and I couldn't just leave her, so I could only stand beside her."
Song Yi patted Murong Huan's back to comfort her, asking, "It's okay, it's okay, tell me what happened?"
Murong Huan finally raised her head, her beautiful eyes slightly red, and reluctantly said three words, "I'm afraid of the dark."
"Huh?" Quan Le was stunned, "Just that? Come on, what's there to be afraid of in the dark? It's not like you can't see the path."
Song Yi rolled her eyes at him, "It's just like your motion sickness, it's uncontrollable."
Quan Le immediately shut up.
Song Yi held one of Murong Huan's hands, then waved the flashlight in her other hand, "It's okay, look, we have light, right?"
Just as Song Yi finished speaking, the flashlight suddenly went out.
The entire world plunged into darkness.
Song Yi could clearly feel Murong Huan let go of her hand and immediately crouched down again.
Unfortunately, as if to spite Song Yi, her flashlight had run out of battery.
Shen Yujing asked, "Is this our only flashlight?"
Song Yi answered, "All the others are with Hang Feng."
Shen Yujing: "..."
That's as good as having none.
Quan Le asked, "So what do we do now?"
Song Yi looked at Quan Le, "Sorry to trouble you."
Quan Le: "?"
On the way back, Quan Le took on the responsibility of carrying Murong Huan on his back.
Murong Huan wrapped her arms around Quan Le's neck, keeping her face firmly buried in his back the entire time.
Quan Le: "..."
She wasn't particularly heavy, but he was worried she might suffocate herself at this rate.
Shen Yujing, watching this scene, suddenly asked Song Yi, "Why aren't you afraid of the dark?"
If Song Yi was afraid of the dark like Murong Huan, he could reluctantly offer to carry her.
Song Yi followed his gaze to look at the pair in front, pondered for a moment, "You're not suggesting that I carry you, are you?"
Shen Yujing: "..."
Some things were just impossible to discuss with Song Yi.
Fortunately, the path wasn't too long, and the four of them walked quickly, returning in about ten minutes.
By now, all the teams had assembled and were just waiting for them.
Seeing that all the students were finally present, the teacher breathed a sigh of relief and began to announce the tasks for the next two days.
"From now on, you can only return to the hotel after 7 PM when it gets dark. The supplies you now have in your hands are very precious, because neither the hotel nor the school will provide anything except water resources for you in the coming days."
The crowd immediately erupted in groans.
Someone shouted, "Teacher! You can't starve us to death!"
The teacher said, "Students, let me finish! Everyone now has 100 points, and you'll work together in groups to earn or use points. Over the next two days, you can earn points by completing a series of tasks, and use these points to purchase different foods and other supplies. The final ranking of the top three will be determined by the total points each group has. Alright, everyone has worked hard today, you can go back and rest now."
Murong Huan, who still had her eyes covered, breathed a sigh of relief.
For their safety, the school had set the rule that they could return to the hotel after 7 PM, so this wouldn't affect her too much.
Hang Feng said, "We should go back and organize our supplies, see what we're missing, and use points to buy food when we do tasks tomorrow."
Everyone agreed with Hang Feng's suggestion.
So, that evening, in Hang Feng's room.
The five of them sat around the sofa.
Looking at this single room, Murong Huan asked with some surprise, "Do you live alone?"
Hang Feng nodded.
Shen Yujing became agitated, "Why? Weren't we told it had to be two people per room? Why do you get special treatment!"
Even he couldn't manage to get that arrangement, so why could Hang Feng?!
Hang Feng really felt a headache coming on and tried to change the subject, "Can we get to the main point?"
Shen Yujing: "No."
Song Yi patted Shen Yujing's shoulder, "Because he's the mixed-blood prince."
Shen Yujing suddenly understood, "Oh, I see."
Meanwhile, Quan Le, who hadn't heard anything during the day due to his motion sickness, exclaimed in shock, "What? Hang Feng is a mixed-blood prince? He has royal blood?"
Shen Yujing nodded, "Yeah, haven't you noticed he's special? Didn't your parents warn you not to bully him?"
Speaking of this, Quan Le nodded, "Yes, they said he had a special status and such."
Shen Yujing: "That's right, how could royalty not be special?"
Quan Le: "Oh, I see! Then we're all half-royal relatives now!"
Hang Feng: "..."
How could these people spread rumors so convincingly right in front of him? It was so outrageous that even he would have believed it if he wasn't directly involved.
Hang Feng was tired of denying everything, so he decided to stop.
Because his intuition told him—
It was useless.
No matter how many times he explained, these people would continue spreading whatever version they wanted to believe, as if their brains were merely decorative and couldn't process human speech.
Song Yi was the first to change the subject, beginning to inventory all the supplies on the table.
There was a pile of bread, a stack of cookies, two buckets of instant noodles, three flashlights, a pack of bandages, a lighter, and various other items that weren't particularly useful.
Since five people ate quite a bit, the amount of bread and cookies seemed pitiful in comparison, probably not even enough to last until tomorrow.
Quan Le looked at Shen Yujing: "Didn't your mom prepare a lot of boxes for you? Bring them all over and let's see if there's anything useful."
Shen Yujing nodded: "Alright."
Then he and Quan Le went back to retrieve all the boxes and opened them. The contents were truly eye-opening.
From camping tents to barbecue stands, from medical bandages to oxygen masks, there was even a life jacket.
Murong Huan was silent for a few seconds before saying: "Did your mom think you were participating in some kind of survival show?"
Song Yi, however, praised: "The preparation is very thorough. Even if some natural disaster struck and we all died, he could probably survive on his own. But your mother didn't consider that before facing any danger, we might starve to death first."
Shen Yujing: "..."
Indeed, who could have predicted this? Young Master Shen had never worried about food or drink in his life.
Saint Slee was supposed to be a prestigious academy, yet now they were letting their students go hungry. It seemed like a joke.
Hang Feng frowned, "It wasn't like this in previous years. I don't know what the school is thinking this year."
Murong Huan: "..."
Quan Le: "..."
Shen Yujing: "..."
The three of them suddenly felt guilty, as the school's arrangements this time were actually their doing.
If they starved to death here, they would only have themselves to blame.
Shen Yujing rubbed his nose and quickly changed the subject, "Alright, let's not get discouraged. I'm sure other groups are in the same situation. Let's figure out how to distribute these supplies."
Song Yi looked surprised, rarely hearing something sensible from Shen Yujing's mouth, so she asked: "How should we divide it?"
"It's simple," Shen Yujing picked up the bread and started distributing while muttering, "One for Hang Feng, one for me, one for Song Yi, one for me, one for Quan Le, one for me, one for Murong Huan, one for me, and the last one for me too."
"Smack!"
Song Yi's hand unhesitatingly hit the back of Shen Yujing's head, saying: "Just shut up."
Shen Yujing obediently put all the bread down, saying: "I was just joking."
Song Yi analyzed the situation, "Our group has five people, so we start with five hundred points."
Shen Yujing took out his phone, "The teacher posted the tasks and supply prices in the group chat. Tasks are divided into three levels: A, B, and C, successfully completing them earns sixty, forty, and twenty points respectively. But... one bread costs eighty points?"
Murong Huan frowned, "These prices are way too high, especially considering there are five of us."
It would take at least two tasks to buy one palm-sized bread, and the energy gained from eating it might be less than what was spent earning it.
All five of them felt it was a losing business.
Suddenly, Shen Yujing slapped his forehead, "I knew this game mode seemed familiar. Didn't Saint Yu Boys' High School use this format last year?"
Murong Huan paused, "What?"
Shen Yujing said: "Xu Che's team won first place then. His follower posted on social media bragging about how they started with five hundred points and ended up winning first place with only four hundred left."
Hang Feng frowned but remained silent.
Quan Le, for once, caught the key point, "So basically, these points are meant to be a losing game, and if we can maintain our five hundred points, we'll likely win first place."
Shen Yujing nodded, "That's right."
Song Yi asked: "How much is the first prize?"
Hang Feng answered: "First place gets 150,000, second place 80,000, and third place 50,000."
If they could win first place, split between five people, that would be 30,000 each.
It was a significant amount, equivalent to at least a year's living expenses for the Song family.
So Song Yi said: "I have an idea."
*
At eleven o'clock at night.
Shen Yujing rolled over, one hand under his head.
Since Xu Che from Saint Yu Boys' High School won first place last year, as eternal rivals, he couldn't lose.
This time, he absolutely had to win first place!
In another room.
Murong Huan lay in bed, looking hesitantly at Song Yi, "Will this method really work?"
Song Yi nodded, took a deep breath, slowly placed her hands on her stomach, and said: "Let's sleep."
Murong Huan: "But... are we really going to sleep like this for two days?"
Song Yi: "Stay steady, we can win."
