Hidden Marriage: Spoiled by the Imperial Commander
Chapter 169: How Pitiful

Chapter 169: Chapter 169: How Pitiful

"Well, look at you, Xue Xiaoguang, sneaking in some food," Yan Chuhua said. "We want some too, otherwise we’ll expose you. The instructor said that bringing food secretly could get you expelled."

Xue Xiaoguang looked troubled: "That’s all I have, just this piece. I had saved it especially for my sister."

Yan Qianyi handed the chocolate to Yan Chuhua, "Here, you eat it."

"No need, I’ll find some wild fruit to eat later," Yan Chuhua said, not willing to take Yan Qianyi’s piece.

Yun Mu stared at Xue Xiaoguang with certainty in his voice, "You definitely have more."

Xue Xiaoguang sighed and took out another piece of chocolate, handing it to Yan Chuhua, "This is the last piece, let the girls eat it."

Yan Chuhua happily received it, unwrapped the packaging, broke it in two, and gave one half to Yun Mu.

Everyone had been walking for a whole six hours, and they were all famished by now; any food would certainly have to be shared.

But Yun Mu didn’t take it, his eyes intently fixed on Xue Xiaoguang as if he had x-ray vision, "Share and share alike, you’ve got more."

"I don’t," Xue Xiaoguang’s eyes darted away.

Yan Chuhua was skilled at reading people’s hearts and emotions through their eyes, and she could tell at a glance that Xue Xiaoguang was lying, "Xue Xiaoguang, we’re a team. If you’ve got something nice, you have to share it. This lack of unity and friendship won’t work for us; we won’t stick with you."

"Ah..." Xue Xiaoguang sighed heavily and took out another piece of chocolate, reluctantly breaking off half for Yun Mu.

He looked on the verge of tears, "Now, I really don’t have any more."

"Xue Xiaoguang, you’re amazing! You actually hid three pieces of chocolate!" Yan Chuhua exclaimed in surprise. "How did you manage to evade the instructor’s search?"

Xue Xiaoguang popped the chocolate in his mouth, "On our Lower-class Star, poor families can’t even afford Nutrient Liquid. Since I was little, I had to fight with others for food. If I didn’t learn how to hide food, how could I have survived to this day?"

Yan Chuhua’s eyes immediately filled with tears, "That’s so pitiful..."

She suddenly felt that her earlier threat to Xue Xiaoguang was too excessive. Even though it was just a scare, even if Xue Xiaoguang didn’t share with them, she would never actually report him.

Yan Chuhua solemnly promised, "From now on, Xue Xiaoguang, I’ll treat you as a true friend, and I’ll be good to you!"

But Xue Xiaoguang got goosebumps all over, "Cut it out, I’m going to catch some fish, you guys hurry up and make a fire."

He couldn’t stand the sentimental outpourings from others, especially from such a dainty girl.

And besides Yan Qianyi, he didn’t care whether or not others considered him a friend.

Yan Qianyi said, "Then you two start the fire. I’ll go back and see if there are any edible wild berries."

Yun Mu quickly said, "I’ll come with you."

"No need, you help Chu Hua with the fire. She can’t manage on her own, I won’t go far, I’ll be back soon."

Through their time spent together, she realized that although Yan Chuhua was poor, she was quite clueless about life, incapable of many things.

So Yan Chuhua’s family circumstances must not be bad, probably a runaway former rich young mistress.

After being declined, Yun Mu didn’t insist anymore.

He and Yan Chuhua gathered some dry wood, and after arranging the firewood, he glanced in the direction Yan Qianyi had gone, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Chu Hua, are you able to start a fire on your own?"

"Of course I can, it’s not difficult at all," Yan Chuhua took out the fire starter, smiled slightly, "Just need to light the wood."

"That’s good, I’m going to find a spot to relieve myself, I’ll be back in a bit."

"Okay, go ahead."

Yun Mu got up to leave, heading in the direction of Yan Qianyi.

Yan Qianyi was searching around in the woods.

She found that the geographical location nearby was favorable, close to a stream, with moist soil, potentially nurturing some good fungal and medicinal plants.

But after searching for so long, she found not a single Lingzhi mushroom, but saw many poisonous mushrooms, and even the wild berries were toxic.

She occasionally found one or two medicinal plants, but they were all very common.

She had only packed a backpack for her mountain trek, which limited the amount of items she could bring, necessitating that she bring back only the most valuable things.

Yan Qianyi started to worry.

The high levels of environmental pollution of the high-tech era meant that even in the wilderness, it was difficult to nurture anything of value.

Everything seemed not as simple as she had imagined.

Suddenly, there was a "bang" from the direction of the stream.

She turned around and spotted a figure dashing through the jungle.

Had someone been secretly watching her?!

She hadn’t noticed, which indicated that the person was no ordinary individual.

However, now was not the time to pursue them; she quickly headed back towards the stream.

There, she saw Yan Chuhua sitting on the ground, staring in shock, her face completely blackened.

"What the hell did you do?!" Xue Xiaoguang was standing beside her, with his trouser legs rolled up, holding a branch used to spear fish.

Yan Chuhua pouted with a small mouth, choking up, "Starting this fire... it’s just too hard."

Yan Qianyi walked over to assess the situation.

Yan Chuhhua had struggled to ignite the firewood and had kept the lighter on continuously. The lighter became too hot and exploded.

"Are you hurt?" Yan Qianyi asked.

Yan Chuhua shook her head, raised her hand to rub her reddened eyes, visibly shaken.

The moment she had felt the lighter getting hot, she had thrown it away.

But as soon as she let go, the lighter exploded.

If she had been a second slower, her hand would have been blasted to shreds.

"It’s fine; I’ll start the fire," Yan Qianyi said.

"But now all the lighters are gone..." said Yan Chuhua with guilt. "I was the only one of us four who brought a lighter. It’s all my fault for being so clumsy..."

"No worries, we can drill wood to make fire." Yan Qianyi stepped forward, and while the wood was still warm, starting a fire wouldn’t be difficult.

Seeing Xue Xiaoguang still standing there, she looked up at him, "What are you dazing for? Go get the fish."

"Um..." Xue Xiaoguang laughed awkwardly, "I didn’t catch any. There’s hardly any fish in the water. The occasional tiny one I saw was extremely small, not even enough to get stuck between teeth."

He was soaked through a large portion of his clothes, and his sun hat was askew, appearing quite embarrassed.

"Sis, did you find any wild fruits?"

Yan Qianyi shook her head.

Xue Xiaoguang sighed, "Then we’re screwed. We might starve to death before we even find the flag."

Just then, Yun Mu returned, and Xue Xiaoguang immediately reproached him, "Where did you run off to? How could you leave Yan Chuhua here to make fire by herself? Don’t you know she almost got killed by the exploding lighter!"

At these words, Yan Chuhua felt a lump in her throat.

As a student of the Federation Military Academy, it would be utterly ridiculous if she had gotten killed by a lighter.

Yun Mu sat down on a large rock, "Ate your expired chocolate, now I’ve got diarrhea."

"Damn it! My chocolate wasn’t expired; it was prepared for my sister, how could it be out of date? Are you insulting me for being poor?" Xue Xiaoguang threw down the bamboo pole and rushed up, ready to fight with Yun Mu.

"Shh, quiet!" Yan Qianyi suddenly said in a guarded tone, "There’s a noise nearby."