HEIFEIGU -Chapter 44

Xie Jixing had found the perfect branch to release the snake.

Since the snake had been coiled on his hand, he had been controlling the temperature of his arm with yin energy, keeping it low to prevent the snake from struggling.

Now that it was time to release it, he needed to warm his arm; otherwise, the little one might fall when it returned to the tree.

Xie Jixing silently warmed his arm.

That hunger grew even stronger. Qian Shuyun’s gaze followed him the entire time.

Seeing him try to place the snake on the branch but it was still too low, he approached. “Need help?”

Xie Jixing jumped twice but failed. He tilted his head slightly, looking at the person beside him.

Normally, when moving he didn’t notice, but standing still on the same plane, how was this person so much taller?

Teacher Xie was slightly annoyed. “Afraid of snakes?”

Qian Shuyun, careful, had already noticed a small clue.

He realized that while Xie Jixing always smiled, the smile when happy and the smile when slightly annoyed were different.

When slightly annoyed, he squinted his eyes deliberately. The little mole under his eye looked adorably pouting.

Now, he was a bit unhappy. Cautiously, Qian Shuyun answered, “Yes.”

“Then Teacher Qian probably can’t help.” The little mole’s anger eased slightly, and a hint of tsundere tone appeared.

Though Qian Shuyun was tall, he was afraid of snakes. Xie Jixing subtly found a balance.

“I’ll ask Teacher Fei; he doesn’t seem afraid of snakes.”

“No need,” Qian Shuyun stepped half a pace back and placed both hands on Xie Jixing’s waist. “Steady, Teacher Xie.”

Xie Jixing’s waist was narrow and delicate. With his hands spread, he could fully encircle it.

The view suddenly shifted, and Xie Jixing realized he was being lifted. Was this the view from above?

The person below held him steadily. Xie Jixing leaned slightly forward, placing the snake on the branch. Once it coiled safely, he stepped back and released his grip on the snake’s vital spot.

The little snake, now warmed up, immediately bared its fangs at Xie Jixing. ‘Hiss!’

Xie Jixing casually flicked a yin-energy bean into its wide-open mouth.

The little snake, “Hiss, hic.”

It seemed to have eaten something unlucky. ‘Hic.’

Confused, the snake obediently closed its mouth and slithered along the branch. ‘Hic.’

After teasing the snake a bit, Xie Jixing smiled. The red mole under his eye was soft, and when Qian Shuyun set him down, his ears flushed slightly.

Being lifted because of height differences was a little embarrassing—surely a blush of irritation.

Meng Zezhou had originally planned to return to the group, but turning around, he saw this shocking scene.

Since Qian Shuyun’s incident, everyone was wary of close physical contact. At first, it was strangers; later, even his closest family kept their distance. Though Meng Zezhou wanted to help, he still had to overcome an instinctive fear and aversion when approaching this cousin.

Over time, Qian Shuyun automatically kept distance, one reason he could no longer act.

Even with Xie Jixing, before this, any contact had been initiated by Xie Jixing. This time, it was entirely Qian Shuyun’s initiative.

Meng Zezhou quickly made a detour. In this vast world, was there really only room near Teacher Fei?

The snake was released. Xuan Caiyan went from wailing to silent tears. Luo Feiang seized the opportunity to slip away and handed her a roll of tissue.

Seeing her cry like that, no one insisted on dealing with the coconut first. They decided to take Xuan Caiyan back to the camp before planning further.

As they reached the edge of the forest, they just ran into the crew going in for the rescue.

“Teacher Xuan? Is she okay?” The director was nearly panicking.

The person in front stepped aside, revealing Xuan Caiyan with red, swollen eyes, still sobbing.

“Is she hurt?”

Xuan Caiyan shook her head lightly, her whole body drained as if she had survived some disaster.

“You scared me to death!” The director let out a sigh of relief. “Alright, Teacher Xuan, go rest first. I’ll bring the medical staff from the emergency team later to give you a checkup.”

A little further out, they ran into Xia Letian, who had already returned to the camp.

Xia Letian didn’t look well either—pale, with tiny red veins in his eyes and some scrapes on the backs of his hands. He was sitting on the sand, hugging his head and mumbling to himself.

When he saw Xuan Caiyan, he immediately stood up and went to meet her, trying to hold her hand—but she avoided him.

“Yan Yan, I’m sorry.” Xia Letian’s voice was hoarse. “I really freaked out back then. You know I’m scared of snakes.”

“And as soon as I got out, I went to find the crew—I wanted to go in and save you.”

“I…”

Xuan Caiyan didn’t listen to his explanation or apology and, exhausted, brushed past him silently.

Watching her back, Xia Letian followed a few steps. “Yan Yan, I know you’re really angry and disappointed with me. It’s all my fault.”

“Rest first, calm down, and later I’ll come find you, okay?”

Fei Zhehan, watching the two, silently decided that if they were recording another program together in the future, he would keep his distance from Xia Letian.

You could say Xia Letian had lost his mind in fear—yet in such a complicated forest, he managed to find his way back to camp following the markers, without getting lost at all.

But if you say he was rational, he also disregarded his friend’s safety in front of the cameras, even pushing someone to the brink of death and running off.

A person like that, when there’s no conflict of interest, puts on a soft, kind, considerate front—but the moment self-interest is involved, he’ll sacrifice everything.

An extreme selfish egoist. Anyone staying close to him too long wouldn’t fare well.

“Truly worthless!” Fei Zhehan muttered quietly.

Because of this incident, the crew and Xie Jixing’s team’s rhythm had been disrupted.

The crew restarted the insect collection work. This batch had over 400 insects, which, according to the exchange rules, was enough to trade for two single tents or one double tent, with some points left over.

“How should we handle it?” Meng Zezhou, self-aware of his position at the bottom of the food chain, decided to go along with whatever the two big shots chose.

“We started recording the program as soon as we landed today, and then there were some unexpected incidents. Everyone’s pretty tired,” Qian Shuyun noted all the supplies and their points on the crew’s old phone memo.

He then pulled up the digital map provided by the crew. “The forest is more complicated than we expected. I suggest keeping the compressed biscuits, milk, and mineral water for now…”

Observing Xie Jixing on the beach carving bamboo with a small knife, he cautiously asked, “Shall we put the coconut-picking plan on hold, Teacher Xie?”

After all, Xie Jixing had been excited about picking coconuts earlier. Qian Shuyun didn’t want the recent accident and time constraints to ruin his mood.

Xie Jixing looked down at the bamboo, and when he heard the question, raised his head in mild confusion. “Then should we go to the pool first?”

Coconuts weren’t going anywhere; he didn’t care.

Meng Zezhou wanted to ask Teacher Fe, why did his brother always make decisions without consulting him?

Such a familiar clownish feeling!

“Yes, let’s go to the pool to store water and look for food,” Qian Shuyun calculated the time. “We could trade for one double tent and one single tent. Everyone will be a bit uncomfortable at night.”

“When we gather food, we can grab some insects along the way—the points from exchanging for a single tent should be enough.”

“I’m okay with that.” Xie Jixing raised his hand. “I don’t mind how we sleep.”

Meng Zezhou pouted—so uncomfortable~

He knew his brother had probably already decided to get the double tent.

Next, would he need to be more alert?

Before Qian Shuyun could signal, Xie Jixing spoke again.

“But you two are afraid of the dark and snakes, right?”

“Then you two can share the double tent. I’m fine alone—I’m not afraid of the dark or snakes.”

“Pfft.” Meng Zezhou couldn’t hold back a laugh. So this is why you messed up before because you were scared of the dark.

Qian Shuyun shot him a discreet glare.

Little Meng winked at his brother flirtatiously. “Brother, I’ll see you at night~”

While they were teasing, hardworking Xiao Xie had already made several bamboo hooks, skewers, and long bamboo tongs, and even crafted a bamboo spear.

“Let’s go, bosses.” Xie Jixing picked up his makeshift weapons. “Time to get food.”

After Xuan Caiyan’s accident, Fei Zhehan finally realized: what’s so important about cameras? Isn’t surviving comfortably better?

Seeing this, he immediately tagged along. “Teacher Xie, can I join your team?”

Xie Jixing smiled and extended his hand, the small red mole making him look mischievous.

“Only 800 points left,” Fei Zhehan said, pulling out a red envelope. “I spent 100 points on info from you before. I’m an old customer—any discounts?”

“Work off the rest,” Xie Jixing said, pointing at the bamboo spear. “Teacher Fei, you carry it.”

“I…I…I… I also want to join.” After sending Xuan Caiyan back, Luo Feiang tidied his hair and came out as well.

Earlier he had seen Xia Letian knocking on Xuan Caiyan’s door, asking for forgiveness.

The scene was too suffocating. Even the top celebrity couldn’t handle it and quietly slipped away.

Xie Jixing turned to him.

“I… I only have 200 points…” The celebrity was cash-strapped.

“Then hand over that stick in your hand,” Xie Jixing pointed to the branch Luo Feiang had been coveting.

“Ah, how can this be?!” The celebrity was disappointed.

When he found the branch earlier, he was ecstatic—it was straight, long, smooth, and perfect. A weapon or a walking stick; he even imagined using it as a fishing rod.

But now, to join the team, he had to part with it.

“You must take good care of it…” Luo Feiang reluctantly handed the branch to Xie Jixing.

“Don’t worry.” Xie Jixing took it, gave it a few swings—smoothly—and said, “Let’s go!”

Meng Zezhou secretly glanced at Qian Shuyun.

That supposedly most elegant face in the entertainment industry had fallen.