That was the third day that Nan Chen and the others had been trapped in the forest.
Only a little food was left so no one else was eating because it had to be saved for the kids.
Despite that, the kids still had to ration their meals because they were running out of food.
For the first time in her life, Ning Ran felt hopeless.
She thought that she had it rough when she had to take care of the kids all on her own, but the true hardship had just begun.
Nothing else mattered when they were struggling to survive.
Dabao could tell that his mommy was worried so he held her hand and said, “Don’t worry, mommy. Even if we run out of food, we can still eat the fruits in the forest.”
Ning Ran forced a grin and said, “Okay, mommy won’t worry.”
“We won’t die, mommy,” said Erbao who was also trying to comfort her mommy.
Ning Ran was terrified of hearing the word ‘die’ so she picked up some bitter fruits and took a couple of bites to distract herself.
“We’ll be okay,” Ning Ran encouraged the kids, “We’ll get out of here soon.”
It didn’t matter how scared she was, Ning Ran needed to give the kids hope.
“Mr. Nan Chen is back!” someone called out.
“Dabao! Dabao!” shouted Nan Chen.
“Third uncle!” replied Dabao loudly.
“I found it! I found the river!” exclaimed Nan Chen even though he was naturally calm, “And there’s food there!”
“Really? That’s amazing!” said Dabao as he jumped up, “Yay!”
“Get ready, we’re leaving now,” ordered Nan Chen, “We’ll move over before nightfall.”
One hour later, everyone took off.
Even though the correct path was marked, they still got lost twice.
That forest had too many trees and the leaves had blocked out every bit of sunlight.
Not long after they had departed, Ning Ran realized that there were a couple of leeches on her feet.
The humidity and darkness of this forest made it feel like hell on Earth.
Walking in this forest would make any human feel like they would not live another day.
Tired, famished, and having no actual path to walk on, everyone was moving slowly.
“Don’t give up,” said Nan Chen whose voice was masculine and deep, “It’s just a little further.”
Ning Ran suddenly realized that Nan Chen had been struggling with the same environment previously and was still the first one to forge ahead on their journey. How physically and mentally strong did he have to be to be able to do that?
With Nan Chen’s help, the leeches were taken care of soon enough, and Ning Ran sat on the floor.
She was simply too exhausted to move forward, and her feet feel as heavy as lead.
“Get up,” ordered Nan Chen coldly, “We don’t have time to rest.”
“I need a minute,” panted Ning Ran, “Just one minute.”
“Mommy, you can’t sit on the floor,” said Dabao who was on Nan Chen’s back.
“I am too tired,” explained Ning Ran.
Nan Chen held out a hand and pulled Ning Ran up, “You can rest standing up, but you are not allowed to sit.”
“Why not?” asked Ning Ran.
“It’ll make you fatigue and cause your muscles to cramp,” explained Dabao.
Ning Ran didn’t really believe that. She wanted to sit down because she was too tired.
“Come on,” said Nan Chen, “You can lean on me as you walk.”
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