Chapter 3

Chapter 3
Main Text 3: Differences

Setting aside the danger, the Sidagojali Rainforest was a beautiful place—lush with trees, winding branches stretched across the water's surface, and when the breeze passed through, patches of shadow danced on the shimmering ripples.

Lin Qianyu leaned against a large tree. In front of her, the small campfire crackled brightly as she took occasional bites of the chicken leg in her hand.

Though it hadn’t marinated for long, it had absorbed some base flavor. Even without cooking wine, the addition of cumin and chili powder masked any gamey taste from the chicken.

Or maybe it was because she’d gone hungry for most of the day. The few raspberry-like wild fruits she ate earlier were sweet and tangy, boosting her appetite, and it didn’t take long before she finished the entire leg.

The remaining half of the chicken roasting over the fire was a bit much for her to finish. But since it had been cooking for a while, Lin Qianyu flipped it to the other side, planning to finish roasting it and wrap it up to take back for dinner.

Later, she could reapply seasoning and grill it over the fire again. The taste shouldn’t be too different from freshly roasted.

That way, she wouldn’t have to venture out for food again at night.

Suddenly being pulled out from a deadly game where even sleep wasn’t safe—regardless of the original plot of this book—this actually felt like a pretty relaxing vacation spot.

After rinsing her hands, Lin Qianyu turned to douse the fire with water, then stirred the ashes with a stick and poured water a second time, making sure not a wisp of smoke remained.

As she stood up, she casually plucked a flower. It looked a bit like chamomile, only much smaller.

It wasn’t listed in the rare flora and fauna guidebook given by the production crew. Since there were so many around, it was probably a common local wildflower.

“What kind of flower is this? It’s quite pretty.” It didn’t have much scent, but the colors were varied.

Lin Qianyu held up the flower to the livestream, then walked along the river, picking various colors here and there until she had a small handful.

【Why is she picking flowers?】

【Setting aside Lin Qianyu’s physical ability, her looks are seriously next level. Any still frame from this stream could be used as a cover photo.】

After wandering for a while, Lin Qianyu circled back.

She hadn’t touched the leftover chicken—it was still right where she left it.

Lin Qianyu sat cross-legged and placed the picked wildflowers in her lap. She took out two stems from underneath and began weaving them together.

Glancing at the comments, she spoke while weaving, “Making a flower crown. The stems are soft—no need for willow branches.”

A leisurely post-meal moment: her long, fair fingers twined the tender green stems, carefully working around the delicate blossoms. As she bundled them together, she would now and then place the unfinished crown on her head to check the size.

Once she twined the last stem in place, Lin Qianyu examined the flower crown, put it on, and smiled into the livestream, her eyes curving, “Does it look good?”

【So pretty ahhhhhh!】

The comments flew so fast, the screen was full of densely packed words. Lin Qianyu could barely make them out. She glanced at the viewer count in the top right corner and asked suspiciously, “Why are there so many people here?”

【Thanks for the invite. I saw someone in Guo Yanpeng’s stream saying this one looked like a vacation, so I came to check it out.】【The people next door are about to fight over a bite of food, and you're here leisurely weaving a flower crown!!!】

Lin Qianyu blinked a few times, still unable to make out the text, and gave up trying to interact with the chat. She went around picking leaves nearby.

Once she found ones of suitable size, she rinsed them in the water before bringing them back, wrapped the two portions of chicken tightly, and tossed them into her hiking backpack.

The equipment provided by the production crew was very professional—great quality and large capacity.

After packing up, Lin Qianyu picked up a stick and started poking at the fish in the water. She didn’t use much force, just idly playing around.

Alone in the wild, Lin Qianyu was having a great time.

After standing for a long time, her back and waist started to ache, so she looked for a shady spot and stepped on it twice to check. Finding no signs of dangerous bugs, Lin Qianyu stretched and yawned, muttering vaguely, “I’m going to take a nap. You all go play on your own.”

There wasn’t anyone else around her, so naturally, she was talking to her livestream viewers.

She pulled over a large leaf that could cover her face and lay down on the grass. Feeling the soft ground beneath her, she exhaled deeply and grew even more relaxed and content.

Just as Lin Qianyu was about to sleep, she suddenly remembered something. Lifting the edge of the leaf, she turned her head toward the livestream camera and waved, “Good afternoon.”

Fans: 【……】

You’re actually pretty nice, even saying good afternoon to us.

【Wait… wasn’t this the wilderness survival channel I clicked into? Why does this feel like an outdoor picnic?】

【I was starving from dieting and thought watching these people go hungry would comfort me a bit, but watching her eat like this—I immediately sat up and cooked myself a bowl of instant noodles.】

After Lin Qianyu said good afternoon, the stream went quiet.

The temperature was pleasant at this time of day, and the grass wasn’t prickly. It was soft with a slight fresh scent—the smell of greenery.

The production team, carrying a lot of gear, had arranged a large monitor showing all the guests’ livestreams at once, with a crew member assigned to watch each segment carefully.

After taking a short break and returning, the director glanced at the center screen and immediately exclaimed, “What happened to Lin Qianyu? Quick—get the doctor—!”

He couldn’t see her face, but he knew whose stream it was. Because of Lin Qianyu’s health concerns, he had specifically placed her stream in the central slot so the team could respond immediately if something happened.

The director had already shouted when, right then, the figure on screen rolled over, causing the leaf covering her face to slide aside. Without even opening her eyes, Lin Qianyu fumbled for the leaf and pulled it back over her face.

“……”

What the heck is this?

The director had thought something had gone wrong. His heart had jumped into his throat. “She fell asleep?”

The female staffer in charge of Lin Qianyu’s segment nodded, “Yeah. She played until she got tired, so she went to sleep.”The director nodded. “Her health isn’t great. She gets tired just walking a few steps. Keep a close eye on her—call the doctor immediately if anything happens.”

The woman recalled everything she had observed in the livestream so far and fell silent for a moment. Hmm... the kind of “tired” they were talking about didn’t quite seem the same.

While Lin Qianyu was happily enjoying herself, the other guests had already started having conflicts.

There were too many people who stayed within the base, and even more mouths waiting to be fed. But the available prey wasn’t enough to go around, and the supplies the crew had prepared didn’t include food.

In the end, nobody set up a tent—they’d all run off in search of something to eat. After a chaotic and clumsy effort, they barely managed to catch a single chicken.

Lin Qianyu had taken a light nap, and when she returned, she spotted smoke rising from the base in the distance.

As she got closer, she could smell a burnt, indistinct stench hanging in the air.

Lin Qianyu frowned and rubbed her nose with her knuckle, but still couldn’t help sneezing from the irritating smell. “Achoo!”

Hearing the noise, the two people working over the fire looked up. Guo Yanpeng’s eyes were bloodshot from the black smoke.

He wiped his face with his sleeve and spoke in a sarcastic tone, “Oh, not around when there’s work to be done, but just in time to show up when food’s ready. Been camping out in our livestream, just waiting to eat, huh?”

Lin Qianyu didn’t show much reaction to this, but her livestream chat had already filled with a barrage of 【……】

【Look at Lin Qianyu, then look at Guo Yanpeng… honestly, the contrast is brutal.】

【As someone who liked Guo Yanpeng for his looks, I have no words. This is just ugly.】

Compared to Guo Yanpeng’s attitude, An Lanqing came off much more composed. “Let it go—we’re all on the same team. Don’t make a fuss over a bite of food. Qianyu, you’ve been out for quite a while; I’m sure you found some food too. Why don’t you bring it out, and we can all share?”

An Lanqing’s words sounded much more tactful, her tone warm and affectionate. She assumed Lin Qianyu hadn’t found anything, so when Lin Qianyu failed to produce food, it would clearly come off as a veiled jab—implying Lin Qianyu had just been aimlessly wandering around the whole time.

Whether they ended up sharing it or not, An Lanqing had no real interest in the charred chicken. But by pretending to offer some and then "benevolently" inviting Lin Qianyu to contribute, she could paint herself as a caring teammate.

However…

All of this hinged on Lin Qianyu actually returning empty-handed.

But the fans in Lin Qianyu’s stream had seen everything. She barely ate any of her chicken, had picked a bunch of wild fruits on the way back, and her backpack was clearly stuffed full of food.

Given that, when you pair it with An Lanqing’s words—it just had a certain air of…

【Is this the start of moral blackmail and blatant robbing just because someone else found food?】

【Saying the most disgusting things in the gentlest tone—An Lanqing, you’ve really mastered being vile with a smile.】

【Come on, don’t be so harsh. Sister Lanqing didn’t know Lin Qianyu found food. She only said that because she assumed Qianyu didn’t have any—she was just being kind and got misunderstood.】

【Yeah, right—offering people that trashy burnt chicken out of ‘kindness.’ Such a saint.】...

The comment section broke out into an argument, with An Lanqing’s fans leading the charge in cursing others.

But at the moment, no one was paying much attention to the drama unfolding in the livestream chat.

Lin Qianyu said calmly, “I’ve already eaten. You all go ahead.”

“Qianyu, don’t be like that. Look at you, clinging to pride and suffering for it. We’re all one family here—why act so stubborn?” An Lanqing sliced off a piece of chicken, placed it on a leaf, and handed it to Lin Qianyu.

Guo Yanpeng sighed, “Lanqing, you’re just too kind. Why bother with someone so selfish and self-centered?”

Looking at what was being handed to her—a piece of chicken burnt black on the outside, still bloody on the inside—

Lin Qianyu: “……”

One bite of that might not even leave enough time to call for emergency help.

“No thanks. You keep it for yourself,” Lin Qianyu sidestepped her deliberately to avoid getting entangled in any trouble.

Seeing his crush being brushed off, Guo Yanpeng couldn’t stand it and immediately stepped up for her, “Lin Qianyu! How can you be so ungrateful?”

Lin Qianyu slowly raised one eyebrow, her gaze lightly sweeping over the spot she had kicked earlier that morning.

Guo Yanpeng stiffened, and his imposing attitude instantly deflated by half.

“Qianyu-jie,” Hang Sisi came over and tugged at Lin Qianyu’s sleeve, “don’t argue with them. I have some wild fruits here—I just picked them up from the ground. The livestream chat said they’re edible. You should eat a bit to fill your stomach.”

Lin Qianyu said, “I’ve already eaten.”

Hang Sisi gave her a look that said ‘I get it’, and left the fruits with her. “I found these myself, so they don’t count as public food. Go ahead and eat.”

Lin Qianyu: “……”

She hadn’t stopped snacking all the way back—at this point, she couldn’t even force down a sip of water.

But she didn’t know how to explain. It felt like even if she did, no one would believe her.

So for now, she accepted the wild fruits and asked, “Have you eaten?”

“I had a few wild fruits.” Hang Sisi sighed as she spoke, “I actually caught a chicken earlier, but it was too small. Sister Lan said it didn’t have much meat and told me to let it go, said we’d all eat the big one together.”

But now...

That so-called big one had been roasted into something monstrous. Just looking at it made Hang Sisi nauseous—there was no way she could eat it.

Lin Qianyu nodded. “Then let’s trade. I’ll swap you some food for your wild fruits.”Hang Sisi said, “Huh? No need to trade, you just eat. Even though the director said there’d be some release into the wild, it’s still really hard to find food. You…”

Her words trailed off when she saw Lin Qianyu pull out a leaf the size of an adult’s forearm from her backpack.

“Pfft—” Guo Yanpeng, who had been watching closely, spat out a mouthful of water and burst into unrestrained laughter. “Haha! You must’ve gone crazy from hunger, trying to trade a damn leaf with Sisi for wild fruit. Do you even have any shame?”

An Lanqing’s brow twitched slightly—she seemed to want to laugh too but held back for appearances’ sake. She turned away and gave a soft cough. “Qianyu, don’t bully Sisi.”

Hang Sisi had originally offered the wild fruit to Lin Qianyu freely, never expecting anything in return, so she didn’t care what Lin Qianyu brought out. Upon hearing that, she said, “It’s just friends trading supplies. Sister Lan, the way you put it sounds kind of weird.”

Guo Yanpeng said, “She’s just taking advantage of your age, easy to fool.”

Lin Qianyu ignored their comments and simply said, “Here, take this and eat. It’s still warm, no need to reheat it.”

“A damn leaf needs reheating?” Guo Yanpeng frowned, clicking his tongue. “Lin Qianyu, give it a rest already.”

At first, Hang Sisi also thought it was just a leaf, but once she held it, the sudden weight clearly made her wrist dip. Hearing Lin Qianyu’s words, she hesitated, “This is…?”

Lin Qianyu smiled and said, “Open it and see.”