Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Mo Huiling had gotten naturally hungry a long time ago. Lin Che even ate some noodles in the middle of it all while Mo Huiling didn’t get to eat anything.

Her stomach growled as she went over. She saw Lin Che pick up a steamed cornbread along with some unknown food in her bowl and began to eat ravenously.

However, Mo Huiling could not bring herself to eat.

She looked at the food angrily. “What is all this nonsense? It’s so filthy and hideous. How am I supposed to eat this?”

Lin Che glanced at her and said, “Don’t eat it then. Nobody is forcing you to eat. If you don’t eat, you’ll be hungry and you won’t survive.”

Mo Huiling scoffed.

But her stomach growled again.

She had no other choice. She picked up a piece of black steamed cornbread, went to one side, and took a bite. It was really hard to swallow and it even had a funny taste. She had no idea how she managed to swallow it.

That woman looked at both of them and asked, “Did you two come from the city?”

Lin Che replied, “We came from B City.”

“B City… Oh my, it must be especially huge there. No wonder you don’t like it here. Our village is the most backward place around here.”

Lin Che looked at the woman and asked, “Why don’t you guys go out?”

“There are some who do and they never returned after that. The rest of us here are old, weak, ill, or handicapped. We would be a burden as we have no skills. We wouldn’t know how to live. I heard that it’s a dog-eat-dog world in big cities and only rich people like you can survive there. We can’t. If we go there, we won’t be able to eat or we will be eaten first. At least here, we have a home.”

Someone must have told them this or ingrained this idea in their heads long ago. Lin Che didn’t say anything else. She just smiled and said, “You can always try if you have the chance to. This place is your home anyway. If you can’t make it, you can always come back here. Your home will be here.”

“Look at what you’re wearing and how nice you look. Won’t we get eaten once we go there? We wouldn’t even have the face to show ourselves on your streets. Are the streets there all filled with good-looking people like you?”

“Sis, you think too highly of us. You make it sound so nice. You’re not going to starve in B City.”

She laughed heartily, revealing her teeth. Her smile was dazzling.

At the other side, the few men were discussing what to do with the two women.

They looked at Lin Che. “How did you end up in the forest?”

Lin Che said, “We were kidnapped. They wanted ransom from our families. I took the chance when they weren’t looking and escaped with… her.” Lin Che really couldn’t be bothered to take Mo Huiling with her. She glanced at Mo Huiling who was still sitting there in contempt. Mo Huiling was extremely upset that her clothes were dirty.

“Then we just kept walking. We wanted to walk through the forest but unexpectedly bumped into you guys. I see that you are all good people. Can you tell us how to get out? When I get home, I’ll definitely reward you guys handsomely.”

The men still looked at each other, unable to make a decision.

Because they were outlaws, poached illegally, and made their own shotguns in private, Lin Che thought that perhaps they were worried that she would let her mouth run after she escaped. Thus, Lin Che did not dare to mention anything about the guns. She only looked at them and said, “Or you guys can let someone pick us up from here. Do you have any phones here?”

Her phone was already confiscated by the kidnappers when she was kidnapped. Up until now, she was empty-handed and she had no other way out.

They looked at each other again.

That woman said, “Why would we have phones? We’re in the ravine, and deep in the forest at that. We don’t even have electricity and it’s getting dark now. We can only use oil lamps, but it’s all good anyway. There’s nothing to do at night, so we just go to sleep. We also save money on electricity.”

At the side, the young lady tilted her head and looked at Lin Che, “Miss, the necklace you’re wearing looks very nice. Is it very expensive? These gems are real, right?”

Lin Che froze and bent down to look. It was a necklace that she casually wore on her neck and it was not very big. The caretaker back home probably bought it and placed it to match with her clothes.

When Lin Che went out, she casually brought a few pieces with her. She didn’t care what exactly she brought as long as they could match with her outfits.

Looking at the eagerness in the young lady’s eyes, Lin Che took the necklace off her neck and said, “If you like it, how about I give it to you?”

The young lady was surprised. “Really?” However, she withdrew meekly again. “I can’t. We can’t wear things that are too expensive.”

The woman beside her said, “Exactly. Why would you need to wear such a nice thing? Are you as pretty as her? If you are, then you can wear it.”

Lin Che smiled and said, “That’s not true. She’s quite cute. She only needs to take a little more care of herself and her skin will also be moist and tender in the future. It’s just that she’s a little tanned now. This isn’t expensive too. Just take it.”

To Lin Che, this was something she could live without. In contrast, she felt that it was more meaningful to give it to the girl. At least the girl liked it.

The young lady accepted it gleefully. She was so happy as she took the necklace and ran around showing it off to the others. She said that this was a gem and it was a gift to her.

When the children there heard this, they all swarmed her and looked at the pretty necklace curiously.

Mo Huiling scoffed in disdain. She said unhappily, “As long as you can send me back properly, let me tell you guys. I can give a whole car fill with these things to you. That is nothing. It’s just a small diamond that I won’t even look at usually.”

That woman heard this, looked at Lin Che and asked, “That woman… Is her family very wealthy over there?”

Before Lin Che could say anything, Mo Huiling already spoke first, “Well, if it wasn’t for this little slut, I wouldn’t have ended up here. Did you think that I would come to such a place like this? It’s so ruined. I would never come here in my entire life. It’s so filthy and the food is horrible. Have you guys really never eaten any delicacies? Every meal in my home must have at least ten dishes. We have chefs from different countries in our home and they make whatever I want to eat. The clothes in our wardrobes are enough to clothe all of you for the rest of your lives. I only wear my clothes once and definitely won’t wear the same outfit twice. Our maids wear my hand-me-downs and every piece of clothing is from an international brand. One piece of clothing costs tens of thousands of yuan.”

The woman said, “You really know how to brag. I don’t believe you.” She looked at Lin Che and asked, “This sounds like the life of royalty in those stories. Is she bragging?”

Although Lin Che didn’t like Mo Huiling, she was, in fact, telling the truth.

Lin Che said to the woman, “Yes, she is telling the truth. Her family is very rich. If you guys can help us out… She’ll definitely give you lots of money. When the time comes, you can rest assured and ask her for things. She will definitely not reject you.”