Chapter 116 (First Release)...

Then, he lowered his head, closed his eyes, and nervously yet resolutely placed his beautifully shaped lips on Ning Wanwan's lips.

Ning Wanwan: "!!"

Ning Wanwan had never reacted so quickly before. Fortunately, Ansel's movements were somewhat clumsy and stiff, which gave her enough time to put her hand between them, separating the lower half of her face from Ansel's.

But the soft lips of Ansel pressed against the back of her hand still made Ning Wanwan tremble involuntarily.

Ansel noticed something was wrong with the touch, opened his eyes, and saw the hand blocking his way.

"Wanwan..." he called out in a drawn-out, aggrieved tone, "Don't block my way."

Ning Wanwan: "..." How can you still make demands so openly, so aggrievedly, and so confidently!

Ning Wanwan, of course, wouldn't move her hand away as he said; instead, she covered her mouth even tighter and shook her head.

And he glared at Ansel, trying to scare him away.

Ansel, of course, was not frightened. Instead, he angrily stepped forward and gave the girl's hand another heavy kiss.

Then, he suddenly curled up the corners of his mouth with a malicious glint in his eye, as if he had thought of some bad idea.

Just as Ning Wanwan had a bad feeling, Ansel cupped her face again and placed his lips directly on her eyes.

Ning Wanwan subconsciously closed her eyes, her eyelids trembling sensitively as she felt the boy's warm breath and the caress of his lips.

After Ansel finished kissing her, he stepped back a little and looked at the girl's trembling eyelashes, which seemed to be both frightened and nervous. He felt that she was both pitiful and cute.

Oh no, I want to kiss you again.

Then let's kiss again.

Ansel made no attempt to suppress his desire, lowering his head to peck at the girl's forehead, the corners of her eyes, and her cheeks...

It's as if he wants to kiss every part of her body and leave his mark on every corner.

Ning Wanwan trembled even more violently; Ansil's aggression was inexplicably strong at this moment.

She pushed him away, her refusal clear: "Stop, don't do this anymore, I'm really going to get angry."

The girl's voice was soft and trembling slightly with panic, lacking any intimidating power, but her expression clearly showed that she was genuinely dissatisfied with Ansel's aggressive actions.

If this continues into the afternoon, the girl will definitely develop a grudge against him, and she might disregard the danger and run away from him on her own.

Although it's not impossible for me to bring her back... I'd better not make her angry again.

Ansel licked his lips with some regret, glancing at the girl's mouth, which she still tightly covered and protected.

"Ansel...! You've gone too far." Ning Wanwan said in a muffled voice, her face darkening as she refused to look at him.

"I've stopped." Ansel, having finished his misdeed, quickly admitted his mistake, then leaned closer and said in a clingy tone, "I'm sorry, Wanwan, I couldn't control myself for a moment, but who told Wanwan to be so heartless with her words..."

Ning Wanwan's face remained expressionless as she pushed him away: "So it was my fault after all."

Ansel keenly sensed Ning Wanwan's emotions and immediately raised his hand to admit his mistake.

"My bad, my bad, Wanwan, don't be angry. Oh, Wanwan, I know a place where we might be able to find food and a place to stay overnight. Why don't we go look for it?"

Ansel changed the subject rather abruptly, but what he said was indeed something very urgent, so Ning Wanwan didn't say anything more.

She glanced back at the village behind her. It was almost dinnertime, and wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, creating a lively atmosphere.

Ning Wanwan stepped on the cold, crunching snow, with only Ansel beside her.

Although she was mentally prepared, not being able to enter the village and live a normal life still made her feel a bit disappointed and frustrated.

"Let's go," Ning Wanwan said.

However, she kept a greater distance from Ansel than before, and whenever Ansel tried to get closer, she would immediately and more warily increase the distance.

Needless to say, Ansel's repeated actions have significantly reduced Ning Wanwan's trust in him in certain aspects.

“We don’t need to get that close,” Ning Wanwan said.

Ansel: "..."

It feels like I tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice instead.

As they walked, Ning Wanwan suddenly remembered something and asked, "Ansel, do you know the details about testing talent and aptitude?"

"What do you want to know about, Wanwan?" Ning Wanwan finally responded to him, and Ansel immediately perked up and asked in return.

Ning Wanwan: "You said that if someone has talent or aptitude, they will be allowed to enter the village. But what about people who don't know if they have the aptitude? If they don't enter the village in the first place, how will they be tested?"

Ansel wasn't surprised; he saw through Ning Wanwan's intention: "Wanwan, you want to conduct a test, right?"

Ning Wanwan: "Hmm, do you know anything about this?"

"Of course I know. They have a unified testing day every year, and outsiders can also participate at that time. This year's testing day is about to begin."

"When?" Ning Wanwan asked quickly.

Ansel glanced at Ning Wanwan, paused, and said, "After the next blizzard, Wanwan, do you want to find another cave?"

Ning Wanwan: "..."

Don't mention the cave again. Those days trapped in the cave by the blizzard were the epitome of despair. The hunger and fear were too terrible. Ning Wanwan never wants to experience it again in her life.

But thinking about it this way, based on Ansel's words, I still feel hopeless.

So, to enter the village, one must first be tested for talent and aptitude, and to be tested, one must first survive a blizzard that will occur in half a month. However, to survive the blizzard, one basically has to enter the village...

It's a dead end.

"Wanwan, I found food!" Ansel's cheerful voice suddenly rang out.

Ning Wanwan quickened her pace and looked ahead.

Ansel was right. Ning Wanwan did indeed see a rare tree with a lot of fruit on it. If they ate it sparingly, it should be enough for her and Ansel to last for two days.

Although it may not sound like much, it is quite rare in this vast snowfield where almost no plants or animals can be seen.

Ning Wanwan let out a breath, trying her best to stop thinking about the things that had caused her anxiety, and went forward to help Ansel pick fruit.

After that, Ning Wanwan and Ansel spent ten days outside like that.

The scarcity of food, the cold environment, and the hardships of daily life are all more difficult predicaments than imagined.

If Ansil hadn't been with her, Ning Wanwan would probably be dead by now.

Ansel seemed to have learned from his previous experience, and his behavior appeared more measured than before. Ning Wanwan's relationship with him had also been barely restored to normal.

Having gone through this period, Ning Wanwan became even more certain of one thing—she had to find a way to get into that village.

She had to have talent and aptitude... Looking at the sky, which was almost as white as snow, she couldn't help but pray like this.

As for how to get through the impending blizzard, Ning Wanwan dared not think too much about it, fearing that if she thought about it any longer, she would completely give up.

The only thing we can do is store as much food as possible and find a relatively safe place to take shelter from the blizzard...

Even with the current conditions, it's impossible to store much food.

Ning Wanwan sighed softly and continued to try to discern her surroundings, searching for food or shelter.

“Maybe we’ll discover something different today,” Ansel said to Ning Wanwan, seemingly in particularly high spirits.

Ning Wanwan assumed he was just saying that to cheer him on.

In a vast expanse of white snow, what could be different?

Just then, Ning Wanwan suddenly noticed something that seemed to be glittering in a patch of snow not far away.

"What's this"

Ning Wanwan walked over, picked up the object, and examined it curiously. It was a palm-sized, strangely shaped thing, somewhat like a blunt wooden sword and somewhat like a puzzle piece. She didn't know what it was made of.

Upon closer inspection, one can also see some intricate yet beautiful patterns on it.

But when she held it in her hands, the initial sparkle that had initially made Ning Wanwan notice it seemed to have disappeared.

Ning Wanwan looked at the small wooden sword in her hand for a while, and suddenly felt that its shape was somewhat familiar, as if she had seen it nearby...

She walked to a fallen, dead tree covered in snow, brushed away the thin layer of snow on the trunk, and sure enough, she saw the dent on it.

Sure enough, it looked quite similar to the "little wooden sword" in his hand.

"Did someone cut this piece off this dead tree?" This was the only possibility Ning Wanwan could think of.

However, looking at such a perfectly fitting indentation, like a puzzle piece missing, I doubt anyone could resist putting their "puzzle piece" on it, right?

Ning Wanwan raised her hand, about to put the "puzzle" together...

"Wanwan, have you found anything?" Ansel walked over from not far away.

Ning Wanwan hummed in agreement, withdrew her hand, opened her palm to show him, and pointed to the dead tree: "Someone must have dug it down from there to play with."

Ansel looked at it, seemingly somewhat surprised: "The pattern on this... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before..."

Ning Wanwan blinked, then suddenly had a brilliant idea: "Could it be a treasure trove? If we just piece together the indented part, we can open a secret cave filled with treasure..."

“Then the monster in the cave will drag you in, drag you to the depths, so that you can only be slowly enjoyed by him…” Ansel smiled and leaned closer to her, adding the next sentence.

Ning Wanwan: "Hiss."

She quickly pushed him away.

Why tell such a scary story with such a joking expression?

Ning Wanwan glared at him: "Don't talk about such bloody things."

Ansel: "Eh, bloody? It has nothing to do with blood."

Ning Wanwan ignored him and continued to examine the "little wooden sword" puzzle in her hand.

Ansel also turned his gaze to Ning Wanwan's hand, and suddenly curled the corner of his mouth: "But Wanwan, maybe you're right, this is the key to some kind of treasure."

Ning Wanwan: "Huh?"

She was just joking. The idea of ​​a treasure is overthinking it. It's no different from walking down the street and thinking you've found an unclaimed multi-million dollar lottery ticket.

Wait, the lottery...

What is that?

Ning Wanwan fell into a slight sense of confusion again.

Therefore, she didn't hear Ansel's next murmur either.

"Wanwan, congratulations! You've found the key to unlock the second test."

"Thinking about it, I really feel a little reluctant..."

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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 10:31:14 on March 10, 2024 and 14:50:53 on March 11, 2024!

Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Wen Shisan (10 bottles); 63196485; and Qiuqiu (1 bottle).

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!