The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

The three of them chatted as they walked up the mountain.

Since they weren’t planning to forage for anything, they didn’t split up, keeping a distance of a few steps between them.

Sun Jiaming wasn’t a particularly talkative person by nature, but now he had taken on the role of tour guide.

He told Liu Yuan what this and that was, pointing out everything he recognized. It saved Gu’er a lot of talking.

As Liu Yuan listened, he kept stealing glances at Gu’er.

Sun Jiaming took note of Liu Yuan’s behavior, and his heart sank. ’It looks like Liu Yuan is interested in Gu’er,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, he wouldn’t always be bringing her water. Now that I think about it, this "chance encounter" today probably wasn’t a coincidence at all. He either waited for her on purpose or they planned to meet.’

The thought left a sour taste in Sun Jiaming’s mouth. ’Does Gu’er feel the same way about Liu Yuan?’

Sun Jiaming watched Gu’er, but he couldn’t read her expression.

Sun Jiaming’s mind was filled with thoughts of Gu’er.

’Gu’er is beautiful, hardworking, capable, and good-tempered. What’s not to like about a girl like that?’

’Liu Yuan has good taste for taking a liking to Gu’er, but can they actually be together? The gap between their families is just too wide.’ He was well aware of the difference between city folk and villagers. His own sister-in-law had nothing to her name, but just because she was from the city, she acted like she was a cut above everyone else. ’Liu Yuan’s family is well-off, and he’s handsome. I heard his family already pulled some strings to get him a formal job. In a situation like that, his family will definitely arrange a marriage for him with someone of equal social standing. Gu’er would never qualify.’

’So, considering Liu Yuan’s situation, there’s no way he could marry Gu’er. But I can’t rule out the possibility that he genuinely likes her and would defy his family for her. If Liu Yuan is dead set on it, his family might eventually give in and let him marry Gu’er. But would her life be easy then?’

At this thought, Sun Jiaming’s gaze toward Gu’er filled with a touch of pity.

’And what about me?’

’I think I like Gu’er,’ he thought, a surge of turmoil rising within him, ’but I’m not sure how much. What I do know is that Mom would never let me marry her. No matter how wonderful Gu’er is, being born into *that* family means Mom would never approve. I swore to myself I’d marry a daughter-in-law who would make Mom happy, but now I find myself liking Gu’er... and she just has to be the daughter of a man like Zhou Mazi.’

’But if Gu’er hadn’t been born into a family with a father like Zhou Mazi, wouldn’t she have been swarmed with marriage proposals by now?’

’So you can’t have it both ways. What should I do?’

The reason for Sun Jiaming’s turmoil was that he was starting to fall for Gu’er, but his feelings weren’t strong enough to make him give up everything for her.

Gu’er, on the other hand, wasn’t thinking about any of that. With Sun Jiaming busy explaining the mountain to Liu Yuan, she looked around, her mind occupied with finding something she could sell.

"Hey, pheasants! There are a few of them over here!"

Liu Yuan suddenly cried out in surprise.

At his shout, the pheasants fluttered their wings and took flight, but they didn’t go far. They landed a short distance away and watched the group.

"Haha, pheasants are common on this mountain. You see squirrels all the time, too. If you go deeper, there are even wild boars. A few years back, someone from the next village even ran into a black bear. This mountain has everything."

Sun Jiaming chuckled, then his brow furrowed slightly.

"Have we wandered deeper into the mountain?"

Gu’er frowned as well. While Sun Jiaming was talking to Liu Yuan, she had been looking all over the place and hadn’t been paying attention to the path. Now that she took a look, it seemed they had gone deep into the mountains.

Sun Jiaming realized it too. He had been so preoccupied with thoughts of Gu’er that he had been absent-minded and hadn’t watched their direction. By wandering aimlessly, they had ended up heading into the deep mountains.

Liu Yuan looked around. There were trees everywhere, and he couldn’t tell north from south, east from west. It all looked the same to him. If he were asked to find the way out now, he wouldn’t know where to begin. He could only follow Gu’er and Sun Jiaming. ’They both come up the mountain often,’ he thought. ’They must know the way out, right?’

Gu’er had been up the mountain many times, but she had rarely ventured this deep. At this moment, she was also trying to get her bearings.

"Brother Jia Ming, do you remember which direction we came from?"

Gu’er asked Sun Jiaming. There was no point in asking Liu Yuan at a time like this.

Sun Jiaming was also trying to figure it out. Because his mind had been elsewhere earlier, he really couldn’t remember which direction they had come from.

In the mountains, you might think you’re walking in a straight line and can simply turn back, but that’s not how it works. Only people who frequent the mountains can navigate properly.

"Let’s try heading this way first and see."

Sun Jiaming memorized the distinct features of their current location and then pointed in one direction.

"Okay. If that’s not right, we’ll just come back."

Gu’er nodded. She couldn’t quite remember the way up either, so she went along with Sun Jiaming’s suggestion to try one direction first.

This time, unlike on their way up, all three of them focused their full attention on their surroundings.

The farther they walked, the more Gu’er felt something was wrong. This didn’t seem to be the way out. In fact, it felt like they were heading even deeper into the mountains.

At this moment, the only sounds in the mountain forest were their footsteps and the occasional, unidentifiable cry of some animal. Other than that, it was eerily quiet.

Sun Jiaming had clearly noticed something was wrong as well, and he stopped walking.

"I’m afraid this path leads deeper into the mountains."

Sun Jiaming had the same thought as Gu’er. He had been into the deep mountains before, but it was with a group of other young men, led by someone who knew the paths very well. He had only gone twice and wasn’t familiar with the way himself.

"Then let’s head back."

Gu’er had already suspected they were going deeper into the mountains, and Sun Jiaming’s words now confirmed her thoughts.

"Gu’er, are you tired? Do you want to rest for a bit? Don’t worry, as long as we’re together, we won’t get lost. We’ll find our way out."

Liu Yuan whispered comfortingly to Gu’er. He saw that her forehead was covered in sweat and was afraid she might be scared. Liu Yuan himself wasn’t afraid, however. It was his first time on the mountain, so he had no idea how terrifying it was to get lost in it.

"I’m alright. But why don’t we rest for a bit?"

Gu’er asked for their opinions. She wasn’t particularly tired, but it was Liu Yuan’s first time on the mountain. He must be exhausted after walking so much.

"Let’s rest."

Sun Jiaming nodded.

The three of them found a spot and sat down. In truth, everywhere in the mountains looked the same, so it didn’t matter where they sat.

Liu Yuan was indeed tired. He hadn’t realized hiking up a mountain would be so exhausting. He felt like his clothes were soaked with sweat. ’Is this what Gu’er’s life is like every day? Walking this far and carrying vegetables on her back... It must be so hard.’

Sun Jiaming scanned his surroundings, trying to get his bearings. But everything looked the same. They were so deep in the mountains that not even much sunlight could penetrate the canopy, making it incredibly difficult to navigate.

After sitting for only a little while, Gu’er grew restless and began looking around as well.

Suddenly, Gu’er spotted a plant. It was growing very close to a tree, with green leaves. Because there were no other green plants around it, it was quite conspicuous.