CHAPTER 172: FILLED WITH SUSPICIONS

Ruan Chanchan knew that it was a serious task, so she hurriedly finished the meal and started to look at the mushrooms. The majority of the tribe members didn’t make a mistake while looking for the mushrooms and brought the correct ones; as for those who brought the poisonous ones, Ruan Chanchan was very stern with them.

"These are poisonous ones. In the future, if you find mushrooms that I haven’t told you about, you’d better bring them straight to me. These mushrooms might look pretty, but they are only good-looking. They are highly poisonous, and if you eat them, then you will end up dying, and it will be the kind of death that you wouldn’t like. A really slow and painful death." To let the tribe members know the dangers of eating the wrong thing, Ruan Chanchan exaggerated a few things. She knew that these mushrooms were not that poisonous, and she could easily purchase some antidotes from the supermarket if she used some points. Ruan Chanchan didn’t want to waste her points on something as stupid as this.

When Yuan Ni heard her response, his heart jumped in the air. He looked at the woman and then at the mushrooms, and then his hands started to sweat because these were the same kind of mushrooms that he had picked from the mountains. Then, was his death going to be slow and painful? Yuan Ni suddenly felt scared, but when he thought of the sweet words that Shao Xia had told him, he could only purse his lips and step forward.

While Ruan Chanchan was carefully helping someone identify the mushrooms that were poisonous, Yuan Ni walked over. He looked nervous and anxiously handed the mushrooms that he had collected to Ruan Chanchan. He only handed her the edible mushrooms, and as for the inedible ones, he didn’t take them out and hid them in his skirt.

"So...so are these mushrooms okay?" Yuan Ni asked in a trembling voice.

When Ruan Chanchan heard his voice, she raised her head and looked at the mer. Though she was surprised upon seeing him, she still smiled at him politely and said, "Why are you so nervous? It’s okay; I will check the mushrooms for you. Don’t worry, your life is as important to me as it is to you. I will certainly not make a mistake."

When Yuan Ni heard her response, he stiffened, and his heart started to tremble. This was the first time someone other than his grandmother was telling him that his life mattered. His heart, even though filled with blame for Ruan Chanchan, couldn’t help but warm up a little.

Ruan Chanchan did what she said and examined each mushroom with extra care. Only when she was certain that Yuan Ni had collected all the right mushrooms did she nod. "You have done a good job. There are no poisonous mushrooms inside the basket."

"Thank you, thank you." Yuan Ni took the basket with shaking hands. He wanted to tell Ruan Chanchan that he was sorry and that he was planning on doing something that might harm her in more than one way, but he didn’t know how to say it without letting Ruan Chanchan get suspicious. But then again, would anything change if he were to say sorry? He was going to harm her anyway. Even if he told her that he was sorry, nothing was going to change.

He was still going to harm her, so what was the point in saying sorry? That would only make him sound hypocritical.

Ruan Chanchan raised her head. She had a feeling that the mer in front of her was acting weird. But she had no idea what was wrong with him. "Yuan Ni, is everything alright? I think you look a bit sick. Do you want me to check up on you? Or maybe you can ask your grandmother to take a look at your condition."

Hearing Ruan Chanchan’s worried voice, Yuan Ni felt even more ashamed. Why was it that the woman he cared for and loved didn’t seem to be worried about him, and yet this woman, whom he was going to harm because of his own selfishness, was worrying about him? He felt his cheeks burning with shame and had no face to stand in front of Ruan Chanchan. He angrily said to her, "Why are you interfering so much? You should just do what you have to do and leave the rest to me."

After he finished speaking, he quickly turned around and ran away.

Ruan Chanchan watched him leave and couldn’t help but frown. She had a feeling that this mer was hiding something from her and wasn’t speaking the truth.

She turned to look at Xiao Xi and asked, "Do you know why that mer is acting weird?"

"No, darling. But I can spy on him and relay what is wrong with him?" said Xiao Xi with a cheerful voice.

"No need." Ruan Chanchan shook her head and said to Xiao Xi, "Whatever is troubling that mer has nothing to do with us, so why should we intervene in it? It’s better to leave him alone. Didn’t you hear what he said? He asked us not to interfere, so why waste our time on him?"

Ruan Chanchan had no idea that in a few minutes she was going to regret these words.

On the other hand, Yuan Ni, who escaped from Ruan Chanchan, heaved a sigh of relief. Even now, his heart was thumping wildly in his chest, and he had to pat it two or three times to ease his erratic heartbeat. He was about to tell the truth to Ruan Chanchan; thankfully, he ran away, or else he would have made a mess of the situation. Fortunately, he escaped before the situation turned chaotic or else he would have spilt the beans in front of Ruan Chanchan.

"What were you saying to Ruan Chancha?" Shao Xia walked over to where Yuan Ni was resting against the tree and placed her arm on his back. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she asked, "Why were you with Ruan Chanchan for so long? What were you saying to her?"