Such was the road ahead, and such was how it was going to be in her entire life.
If she couldn’t overcome a challenge like this, how could she deal with the future ahead?
“Aren’t women supposed to be frail?” said Song Xihua. He wasn’t mocking women; men were born with better stamina, and women were naturally weaker. Those were the facts.
Doubtless, Yan Huan didn’t take it as an insult either.
“I started my acting career as an extra,” said Yan Huan. Her feet hurt, but she didn’t stop walking.
“During that time, I had to move between around 10 sets every day. I guess that improved my stamina.”
So that’s why. Song Xihua gave Yan Huan an approving look, then walked on.
On the back by Zhou Zizhe, Fang Ying could feel her cheeks heating up, her heart fluttering. The heat from a man’s body nearly set her face burning.
She didn’t know whether it was okay for her to feel this way.
Yan Huan wiped off the sweat from her forehead. Her clothes were nearly drenched, and there was a stinging pain at her feet. She tried to ignore it, but the pain just kept coming. Still, she gritted her teeth and pressed on.
Certainly, she couldn’t ask Song Xihua to give her a piggyback, or ask to swap places with Fang Ying. She knew where to draw the line, as well as her own limits.
If she couldn’t even take hardships at this level, how could she convince herself that she would be safe from harm after offending the Su Family?
She willed to be safe, and therefore she had to keep going down this path.
A day elapsed. Yan Huan couldn’t even remember how much distance they covered. However, her willpower stunned the two men.
“Doesn’t your feet hurt?” asked Fang Ying helplessly. “Mine hurts like crazy. Look,” she said, extending her blister-covered feet. It was a good thing that she didn’t walk during the latter half of the journey, or her feet would have been in a complete mess.
“I’m still feeling okay,” smiled Yan Huan. She felt weary, but she could still persevere. She laid down to sleep. Resting early would give her the energy to march on.
She woke up at daylight the next day, perhaps due to exhaustion or overwalking. Fang Ying was still asleep, sprawled across the ground, snoring softly.
Yan Huan covered her with a blanket. Then, she took out a bottle of water and ointment from a bag and left of the tent.
In the morning, birds chirped merrily. The cool mountain air was refreshing like a breeze.
She took a step forward and stopped. Gritting her teeth, she kept walking until she was far from the tents. She sat down and untied her shoes.
She took a deep breath and carefully removed her socks. Her feet were covered in blisters; pus had leaked from burst ones, gluing her feet to her socks. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had such a hard time getting them off.
She took the bottle of water, uncapped it, and poured it over her feet. The stinging pain drove her to the verge of tears as the water ran over her wounds. Pain is one of those things that humans can never get used to.
She took the ointment and applied it on her feet. Lu Yi had prepared it for her; it was something from the army. She had come out of sight so no one could see her wounds.
When she was done, she stood up and put her socks and shoes back on. She stood up and turned around. That was when she bumped into someone.
Song Xihua.
He seemed to have been standing there for a while now, watching.
“It’s you,” she said nonchalantly as she lifted head.
“Yeah,” replied Song Xihua, his eyes fixed on her feet. “You know, it’s rare to see a woman as tough as you.”
“In this world, if you aren’t harsh with yourself, someone else would be,” she said, walking away. She stopped for a moment when she was beside him. “Once you learn to be harsh with yourself, you will be able to deal with others harshly.”
“That’s the first and foremost rule to survival.
Song Xihua wheeled around, his eyes fixed on her retreating silhouette. A rare smile found its way to his lips. Before him was a pure heart untainted by this awful world, much like the vast expanse of unpolluted forest.
She was something out of this world.
An airy existence.
“Now, we’ll be assigning you your missions,” announced the director, gathering them together. After walking for a few days, they were moving into a new phase. Man Vs. Wild had never had a fixed pattern of events, so there was no way of telling what might come next. Even if you watched every season of the show and prepared beforehand, the challenge would often come as a complete surprise.
“Fang Ying will team up with Zhou Zizhe, Yan Huan with Song Xihua.
“The timer starts now,” he said, taking out his watch to check the time. “We have left markings along the path,” he continued. “You will proceed while following the marking. If the going gets too tough, press this to activate the signal flare. Once we see the signal flare, we will send a helicopter to extricate you. Of course, you will have to leave this show. In other words, it would count as forfeiting.”
“Have I made it clear?”
The director’s eyes roved over the four of them. This had been a temporary decision. The two teams will be given four days to reach the destination through following the designated path. In other words, they would have to survive for four days with the ample ration and water they were given.
Surviving in the wild was nothing new to Zhou Zizhe, but Song Xihua and Yan Huan were at a disadvantage since they lacked the experience.
The crew had put thought into this arrangement; the main reason was that Fang Ying had built up a good vibe with Zhou Zizhe. Yan Huan cared little about who her partner was; she didn’t even mind going alone.
No objections came from Song Xihua either. After briefing them on some cautionary points, the two teams went on their separate ways.
Both paths had been chosen and inspected by the crew. They weren’t rosy paths, but were absolutely safe. This put them at ease. Anyway, it wasn’t much different from when they traveled as four. Such an arrangement was merely a test on their decision-making, constitution, and mentality.
