Chapter 29: Collapsed to the Side
After the two got out of the car, they saw the others not far away. After walking over, Xiao Feng said with a smile, “There’s still some hot water left. Are you having instant noodles or something else?”
“Let’s just have instant noodles.”
Wan Feng didn’t speak, so everyone took her silence as an agreement to have instant noodles as well.
After eating, Wan Feng arranged for the group to clear the tall bushes. They had to clear the road by this afternoon at the latest. They couldn’t stay in this place for long. They couldn’t see the situation inside the surrounding area at all, and Wan Feng was afraid something would happen.
Xiao Hou glared at Wan Feng. Listening to her arrangements, he snorted coldly. “Can’t we just ram through with the car?”
“If we just ram through with the car, what if there’s a pit inside? The car will get stuck, and then we’ll have to abandon it and walk,” Wan Feng said calmly.
“In the end, aren’t you just a coward?”
Wan Feng looked up at Xiao Hou. Why was this person so hostile toward her today? She hadn’t paid much attention at first, but now it seemed she had to.
“Is this being a coward?” Wan Feng retorted coldly.
Seeing the two of them at loggerheads, Xiao Feng and the others quickly pulled Xiao Hou back and covered his mouth.
“He took the wrong medicine today. It’s nothing, it’s nothing. We’ll do as you say,” Xiao Feng said with a placating smile.
Zhang Can’er squinted her eyes, sizing up Xiao Feng’s guilty-looking face. She said in a deep voice, “Why is Xiao Hou suddenly like this?”
Xiao Feng broke out in a cold sweat from her imposing manner. Why did her mouth have to be so cheap today, spouting nonsense in front of Xiao Hou? Now look what happened. Alas…
“Um… uh… Sister Can’er, you can’t hit me if I tell you.”
Zhang Can’er nodded. “You tell me first.”
Xiao Feng was still a bit cowardly. She hid behind Xiao An before she dared to speak and tell them what had just happened.
Zhang Can’er and Wan Feng exchanged a look, but they both quickly averted their gazes.
“Still thinking about such things at a time like this. It’s hard to say if we’ll even survive. Sister Feng and I are just good friends, best friends, not a couple. And…”
At this point, Zhang Can’er looked at Xiao Hou with some helplessness. After a pause, she finally spoke, “Xiao Hou, I’ve said it many times. I don’t have any feelings for you. Do you want me to make it clearer? But I don’t want to say those words because they’re too hurtful. But seeing you still not giving up, I have no choice but to say it.”
After taking a deep breath, Zhang Can’er continued, “I’ve always been very direct when I reject you, but you don’t seem to understand. Then I’ll make it even clearer today. I don’t like you. I have no feelings for you, commonly known as no spark. Even if I fall for Sister Feng, it’s none of your business. You have no right to be hostile toward Sister Feng.
“It has nothing to do with you who I fall for. If you hurt the person I like in the name of liking me, then I’ve really misjudged you. I’ll be very disappointed. You can’t treat me as your private property or prey, as if no one can touch me. You get angry if anyone touches me. What? Do you really think I’m your prey?”
Zhang Can’er suppressed the anger in her heart, but facing a friend she had grown up with, she felt a bit helpless. She knew Xiao Hou’s feelings for her. She had thought she had made it very clear before, but she hadn’t expected others to be wronged because of it.
Looking up at Wan Feng, Zhang Can’er’s face showed some apology. “I’m sorry, Sister Feng, for making you the target of unwarranted hostility. It’s my fault for not handling the problem well.”
Wan Feng shook her head. She didn’t quite understand the intricacies of this. When it came to feelings, she had always believed that as long as one party refused, there was no possibility of them getting entangled. If it were her, that’s what she would do, ensuring she stayed far away and didn’t bother them anymore.
After hearing this, Xiao Hou stood there in a daze. It was as if he only now understood that Zhang Can’er had no romantic feelings for him at all. He had always thought that as long as his heart was firm enough, he could wait for Zhang Can’er to have a change of heart. And during this time, he had mistaken Zhang Can’er’s care for him as a younger brother for something special.
He had always thought he had a chance. But just now, Zhang Can’er had told him that he wasn’t even qualified. What chance was there?
Thinking of this, Xiao Hou felt a bit self-deprecating. It was true. He was not worthy of Zhang Can’er. She was so beautiful, so pretty, so kind. She deserved better. And he was just a poor boy, a toad lusting after a swan’s flesh. How was he worthy?
“Sister Can’er, I understand,” he said, then walked toward the car. After getting in, he got out again with his backpack in hand and was about to walk down the mountain.
Xiao Feng and the others quickly ran over and pulled him back.
Zhang Can’er had a headache. Her head also felt a bit dizzy. Then she couldn’t hold on and collapsed to the side. Wan Feng was so scared that she quickly caught her. “Miss Can? Miss Can?”
After calling a few times with no response, Wan Feng anxiously picked her up and carried her to the van.
Xiao Feng and the others were a bit stunned by the situation. Xiao Hou was also stunned for a moment and quickly asked, “What’s wrong with Sister Can’er?”
Wan Feng shook her head, carried her into the car, and adjusted the back of the seat so that Zhang Can’er could lie flat.
“Miss Wan, what’s going on?” Xiao Feng asked anxiously.
“I don’t know either. She just fainted suddenly, without any warning,” Wan Feng said, shaking her head, her brow furrowed with anxiety.
Xiao Hou stood outside the car, his eyes red, crying so hard he could barely breathe. “Can, Sister Can’er, was, was Sister Can’er angered by me? I, I won’t go, I won’t go. Sister Can’er, please wake up.”
“Xiao Hou, don’t be too sad. Sister Can’er should be fine. It looks like she just fainted,” Xiao Li said in a gentle voice.
Hearing her words, Xiao Feng suddenly remembered that Xiao Li knew a little bit of medicine. She had stayed with the village’s Doctor Bai for a while.
“That’s right! Xiao Li, didn’t you stay with Doctor Bai for a while? Come and see what’s wrong with Sister Can’er,” Xiao Feng said quickly after realizing.
Seeing everyone staring at her, Xiao Li couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. “I, I only learned a little bit. At most, I can check for a common cold.”
“Oh, what are you being so modest for at a time like this?” Xiao Feng grabbed her hand and brought her to Zhang Can’er’s side.
Xiao Li was a bit helpless and could only bite the bullet and examine Zhang Can’er.
After a thorough examination, Xiao Li frowned. She said with some confusion, “Her symptoms are very strange. It’s like she hasn’t eaten enough, and her consumption is also high, leading to insufficient qi and blood, which causes her body to be weak and lack energy.”
“This… didn’t we just eat? How could she not have eaten enough? What should we do now?” Xiao Feng asked.
“We can only wait for Sister Can’er to wake up and then eat something. Alas… in this situation, we can’t find any medicinal herbs to replenish qi and blood. If we had some, I could write a prescription. Let’s try to prepare some nutritionally balanced food.”
The others nodded and went to see if there was any slightly more nutritious food in the car.
