As dusk fell, the sky turned a deep orange-red, yet remained brightly lit. Exhausted, Chu Wenwen limped laboriously towards the camp.
Her clothes, which were once relatively clean, were now covered in stains and scratches, and her hair was a mess, with two withered twigs stuck in it. She looked ridiculous and like a crazy woman who had escaped from an asylum.
As soon as Chu Wenwen entered the camp, she was stopped by the head of the supply team.
Chu Wenwen's superior was a stern-faced, unsmiling middle-aged man. He frowned, his eyes full of dissatisfaction, and pointed at the pitifully small amount of firewood in Chu Wenwen's hand, loudly reprimanding her: "Look at you, this is all the firewood you have. Did you go on a trip or go to work? Huh? Can't you put some effort into it!"
"But you still pretended to be sick and pushed all the work onto that idiot captain of the exploration team..." Chu Wenwen muttered, but kept her head down and didn't dare to breathe. She gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with both hands, cursing this pretentious man to the bone in her heart.
At this moment, Xi Xi walked over from the side, her eyes showing no fear of defying the odds.
She immediately noticed Chu Wenwen's disheveled and miserable state, and deliberately pretended to be worried, saying, "Auntie, what happened to you? Who made you look like this?!" Her tone was full of concern, and there was no sign that she had just used a curse talisman.
Chu Wenwen is very concerned about her image and has a strong sense of jealousy. Xi Xi understands this kind of conflicted psychology all too well. You can't live a bad life, otherwise she will look down on you; but you can't live a better life than her either, otherwise she will become jealous.
Upon hearing Xi Xi's words, Chu Wenwen's face flushed bright red. She was so embarrassed that she wished she could disappear into the ground. "N-nothing... I just tripped and fell." She could only manage a few dry laughs before fleeing in panic and quickly disappearing from sight.
The campfire in the campsite emitted a warm glow. For the first time ever, Xi Xi's family didn't hide inside the car; instead, they set up a grill over the campfire outside.
Raw rabbit meat skewered on the grill, coated inside and out with spices, was now emitting an enticing heat.
Soon, a rich aroma of roasted rabbit wafted over and spread throughout the mountaintop.
Xi Zhongcang told everyone he met, "I'm so lucky today, I caught a snow rabbit!" As he spoke, he tore off a piece of rabbit meat that was steaming with oil and covered in spices, and ate it in big bites. His satisfied expression was as if he were eating a delicacy.
Those around couldn't help but cast envious glances at the enticing aroma. The scarred man's family, living closest to Xi Xi's, had a clear view of the glistening rabbit meat.
The old man's eyes were cunning; he would steal glances from time to time, trying to make eye contact with Xi Zhongcang and sneak a bite of meat.
The short-haired woman, barely suppressing her craving for food, glared fiercely at the campfire, muttering to herself, "It was just pure luck..."
Xi Xi and her family of three were engrossed in eating meat, seemingly oblivious to everything else, but in reality, they were secretly plotting something.
In reality, this was hardly a matter of luck. In this desolate, frigid land, very few animals could survive, and Xi Xi had already exhausted her own energy to cast a spell, so she couldn't afford to act rashly.
To be on the safe side, the family of three hadn't left the vicinity of their RV all day, and hadn't seen a single animal. The rabbit meat was clearly something they'd obtained from opening the treasure chest earlier.
On the other side, Chu Wenwen had finally managed to tidy herself up and was about to queue up for rice soup when she heard about this.
She straightened up instantly, her eyes gleaming with an inexplicable sense of superiority. She went around calling out to everyone she met, telling them that her brother-in-law was the one who caught the rabbit, and that she believed she deserved some credit for the rabbit meat.
The short, plump auntie scoffed, "It's not like she was the one who hit her..."
Chu Wenwen, now feeling smug, glanced at the short, plump aunt with disdain, and then, amidst the envious gazes of others, swaggered towards Xi Xi's family's parking space.
She stood aside, watching her sister Chu Zhiqin and her family feast, feeling an unbearable itch in her heart. She could only make small talk with Chu Zhiqin, but her eyes never left the rabbit meat.
Chu Wenwen kept using various hints and direct suggestions, hoping that Chu Zhiqin would share some of the meat with her.
She kept swallowing and licking her lips, subtly hinting to her younger sister to share a piece of meat with her. But the three people opposite her acted as if they didn't see her, continuing to eat their rabbit meat and chat with her.
Chu Wenwen couldn't hold back any longer and finally spoke up: "Back when I was pregnant, I loved eating rabbit meat..." She pretended to reminisce about her stillborn child, her eyes flickering as she looked at Chu Zhiqin.
Chu Zhiqin frowned, wiped the grease from her mouth, and said, "Wenwen, it's not that we don't want to give it to you... Sigh, the organization has rules that food can't be shared with outsiders..."
Upon hearing this, Chu Wenwen became anxious, stamping her foot and saying, "Just give it to me secretly! Why be so rigid?! Rules are rules, but people are flexible!"
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