I Got Together with the Scum Gong’s White Moonlight - Chapter 9

When it came time to move, the group erupted into another round of groans and complaints.

They hadn’t realized it when they first settled down, but now that they were tearing things down, they discovered they had an absurd amount of belongings.

“This is bad, it’s starting to drizzle. Let’s hurry up!” Song Ai, who was packing up on the outer perimeter, wiped his face and called out loudly to warn the others.

The four boys responsible for packing the tents paused mid-action, tilted their heads up to feel the weather, and immediately accelerated their pace.

The girls packing up the other supplies hadn’t expected the weather to turn so suddenly either. They began stuffing things into bags in a frantic rush.

The drizzle grew heavier, and a visible layer of mist gathered on everyone’s hair. Gu Ming made a decisive call: “Leave behind anything that isn’t convenient to carry and won’t be ruined by water. Hide them right here on the spot. We didn’t bring much medicine, so try your best not to get drenched.”

Moreover, rain brought a drop in temperature, and without any usable firewood or spare clothes, they would have to endure being wet with no way to dry off. It was far too easy to fall ill.

“We can probably leave things like the pots, bowls, and ladles behind for now,” You Sa said, intending to sort those items out and leave them.

“No, we haven’t eaten a single thing today. We don’t have to take all of them, but the pot, chopsticks, and spoons must come with us.” He Xin picked through the pile and packed a portion of them back into the bags.

“Hurry up, the rain is about to pour!” Song Ai urged from outside the tent.

You Sa and the others grew anxious, and their hands became even more frantic and disorganized.

Gu Yan was packing other miscellaneous items. Watching them throw things together in a chaotic mess with absolutely no system, her brows furrowed slightly.

She looked over at Gu Ming. Gu Ming was in charge of categorizing and storing the items; perhaps out of sheer habit, her movements were highly skilled.

Seeing that the others were overwhelmed, Gu Ming didn’t say a word and simply stepped in to help pack.

As she packed, she methodically assigned tasks, telling everyone exactly what to do, so they were no longer a disorganized mess like moments before.

Soon, everyone’s belongings were packed, and the tents were completely dismantled and slung onto the backs of the four boys.

The rain was indeed turning heavy now, accompanied by gusts of wind. Fortunately, when Xu Wen had scouted the location earlier, he had found a spot on higher ground. Although it was a bit far from the water source, they had no time to look for a more suitable place now.

The ten of them braved the rain, stepping onto the increasingly muddy and rugged dirt path as they walked toward their destination.

Their destination was atop a small hill.

Unfortunately, the vegetation was too dense, and they still needed to climb up a short, steep slope to reach it.

The path inside the forest was even harder to navigate, and it emitted a rather unpleasant odor—the smell of rotting grass and leaves that had been fermenting. Sniffing it suddenly, without exception, everyone either frowned or gagged, their noses suffering terribly.

“Ah—” Kang Yu, who had gradually fallen behind and ended up at the rear of the line, slipped and fell. The things she was carrying scattered all over the ground.

He Xin, who was closest to her, noticed this and immediately called for the main group to stop and come back to help.

Gu Ming, who was tacitly accepted as the captain, turned back at the first opportunity to check on the situation.

Kang Yu looked full of self-blame: “I’m sorry, I’m dragging everyone down. My foot… I sprained my ankle.”

As she spoke, Gu Ming squatted down to check. Her brows instantly knitted tightly together.

Supplies were one thing everyone could divide and carry her load but when it came to a person, Kang Yu’s foot was clearly unfit to bear any weight. With the rain pouring harder by the minute, the group couldn’t slow down their pace just for her alone.

However, Kang Yu was the second-tallest girl in the group, and the weight the four boys were carrying was already too much for the other girls to take on. After a moment of deliberation, Gu Ming decisively handed over the items she was carrying to someone else.

“Get on, I’ll carry you on my back.”

Kang Yu looked hesitant: “I think I can manage on my own…”

Although she was highly unwilling to see Gu Ming taking care of someone else especially in a way like carrying her on her back the emergency had arisen so suddenly and left them with no other choice. Gu Yan could only suppress her emotions and urge Kang Yu, “The rain is getting heavy, don’t stall. You can’t make all nine of us collapse out here with you.”

The words weren’t pleasant to hear, but they were the truth. Kang Yu pursed her lips in embarrassment, murmured a low apology, and climbed onto Gu Ming’s back.

Gu Ming hoisted her up steadily and moved forward at a swift pace, calling out for everyone to keep up and watch their step.

The ten of them hurried as fast as they could, but they still only managed to arrive at their destination just as the torrential rain began to pelt down.

The terrain here was indeed high and the space was large enough to pitch camp without an issue, but the rain was too heavy for anyone to risk going out to set up the tents.

Yet, as far as the eye could see, apart from the forest, they couldn’t find a single spot that offered enough shelter from the rain. And while the branches and leaves in the forest were dense enough, they couldn’t completely block out the rain, let alone the wind.

It was only their second day, and the ten-member adventure group seemed to have run into their greatest predicament yet, completely at a loss for what to do.

“Let’s get up into the trees first, pull out the tents, and simply drape them over our heads to block it for a bit,” Cheng Ming suggested.

Gu Ming, who was just about to speak, glanced at him. Coincidentally, Cheng Ming looked over at the same time, and the two exchanged a knowing smile, clearly having thought of the exact same thing.

Gu Yan took in the sight and silently swallowed back the words she had been a beat too slow to say.

Fortunately, the tree trunks and branches in this part of the forest were thick and sturdy enough. Everyone climbed up adjacent branches and, utilizing all their resourcefulness, managed to combine the unpitched tents to create a makeshift, bizarre-looking treehouse.

Gu Yan was also using the branches to help set up the tent.

The moment she realized there was no time to pitch the tents normally, she had already been considering where to take shelter from the rain, and these trees had caught her eye immediately.

Back when she lived in the basement, the conditions had been poor, and taking a bath in the winter was freezing, so she used to hang a plastic sheet over her head. It wasn’t very breathable, but it kept the wind out and retained heat.

She had visually measured the distance between the branches; they were perfect for suspending the tents. Moreover, the branches weren’t too high or too low from the ground, so they wouldn’t have to worry about flooding.

The only issue was the surface area. After all, these were tree branches, and they couldn’t possibly be as flat and spacious as the ground.

She hadn’t expected that while she was hesitating, Cheng Ming would beat her to the punch and suggest climbing the trees. Looking at Gu Ming’s hesitant expression earlier, she had obviously thought of it too.

It wasn’t that she minded who proposed the idea first; she only cared that in the final picture, the person sharing a mutual understanding with Gu Ming was Cheng Ming.

Unwillingness, panic.

She gave a self-loathing, bitter smile. In a moment of distraction, she nearly slipped off the branch.

Fortunately, Gu Ming reacted just in time.

“Are you alright?” Gu Ming’s face was still a bit pale from the fright.

Even though the branches weren’t high off the ground, and even Xu Wen and Yu Sa, who didn’t know how to climb trees, could scramble up with some leverage, it would be disastrous if someone fell from up here. Under these grueling conditions, they already had no way to treat Kang Yu’s sprained ankle, let alone injuries from a fall.

Gu Yan was also feeling the lingering fear, her heart pounding violently against her chest, but she also felt a sliver of happiness even if she was overthinking things.

Did Gu Ming… pay attention to her constantly, just like she did to Gu Ming?

“You can still smile, you scared me to death.”

Gu Yan pursed her lips, wanting to hold it in, but she still couldn’t hide the smile that leaked from the corners of her eyes and brows.

“I’ll be careful next time.”

“There better not be a next time. Just this once was enough to scare me out of my wits.”

Gu Yan blinked her eyes, acting embarrassed, and smiled with her lips pressed together.

For no reason at all, Gu Ming’s hand felt a bit itchy, and she gently pinched Gu Yan’s cheek. “I’ve never seen myself make this kind of expression before. It’s actually quite cute.”

She seemed to be praising herself, yet she also seemed to be praising Gu Yan. Gu Yan couldn’t quite tell the difference, but the rush of joy and her erratic heartbeat made her presumptuously believe that she was being praised.

Her body temperature grew even more burning hot.

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