CHAPTER 383: CHAPTER 383: TRUSTING YOU ONCE MORE

"Damn it!" Lian Qi’s eyes suddenly widened. "We’ve been tricked by the production team. Unbelievable!"

Wei Lejun kicked the back of Lian Qi’s knees from behind. "Who told you to be so stupid?! You’ve got the guts to steal the boat but no skill to row it to the destination!"

Lian Qi jumped a step away from Wei Lejun in the opposite direction, then shuffled back several smaller steps before suddenly making a mocking face at her. "It’s my first time, zero experience, okay? It’ll be better the second time! I’m off to grab the next batch of supplies. Y’all have fun without me!"

Seeing that Lian Qi intended to flee, Wei Lejun’s first instinct was to chase after him.

But Lian Qi had already put some clear distance between them. If he really gave it his all to run, there was no way she could catch up.

"You little bastard!" Wei Lejun cursed, her heart unwilling to let him get away so easily.

"See ya later!" Lian Qi shouted and turned to run.

Out of nowhere, someone ruthlessly kicked him from behind, sending him stumbling straight toward Wei Lejun.

To avoid falling flat on his face, Lian Qi had no choice but to stagger forward in her direction, only to stop at just the right awkward moment.

But his forward stumble sent him charging directly at Wei Lejun. What in the world!

As she saw Lian Qi hurtling toward her, Wei Lejun’s lips curved into a devilish smirk. She lifted her right leg slightly, narrowed her right eye as if aiming, and positioned her shoe’s sole precisely toward his chest.

Just as Lian Qi was about to stop in front of her, she gave him a heavy shove with her foot. "Bastard, keep running, huh?!"

Once Lian Qi was thoroughly floored, he pitifully looked back to discover that the person who had kicked him was Sang Ning.

Damn it! He’d been so focused on guarding against Wei Lejun that he’d completely forgotten about the backup threat that was Sang Ning!

Sang Ning glared at Lian Qi with that "why are you such a disappointment" expression. During the fight for the first batch of supplies, she had even deliberately stayed behind, leaving him and Wei Lejun alone to create some quality bonding time for them.

But this idiot didn’t appreciate the opportunity at all, screwing up time and time again.

With his performance? If Wei Lejun ever fell for someone like him, even Sang Ning would declare her hopelessly irrational, ready for the grave, buried with a flower in her hand and a love-brain epitaph.

"Run? Run where?! Since you’re here, you might as well stay and help us work!" Sang Ning ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Clearly, if Lian Qi had no sense of romance, there was no need to keep creating chances for him. Someone like him was much better suited for manual labor!

"Hold up! It’s not that easy to join our workforce without consequences!" Wei Lejun picked up a thick rope from the riverbank, walked over to Lian Qi, and crouched down, preparing to tie his legs.

Of course, Lian Qi wasn’t having it. He caught hold of Wei Lejun’s hands in resistance, though his words came out totally spineless. "Grandma! I was wrong! Have mercy on me!"

Wei Lejun ignored him entirely and kept trying to tie him. Lian Qi struggled even harder.

Wei Lejun was, after all, an ordinary girl. While she was ferocious in personality, she didn’t possess Huang Chengzi’s **Innate Divine Strength**, so a direct contest of strength was naturally not in her favor.

Sang Ning shot a sideways glance at Lian Qi and then gave Huang Chengzi a knowing wink. "Chengzi, this guy’s getting rowdy. Go hold him down for us!"

Huang Chengzi, being a person with zero initiative and almost complete obedience to Sang Ning, immediately followed her command.

Completely disregarding Lian Qi’s loud protests, Huang Chengzi pinned him down with brute force, making it easier for Wei Lejun to tie him up.

With Huang Chengzi stepping in, Lian Qi stood no chance at all. He could only watch helplessly as the two of them worked together to bind his hands and feet.

"You tied him up like some kind of art project." Sang Ning sauntered over, circling Lian Qi as she examined him before making her comment.

The Vine Rope had been styled into a sort of handcuffs-and-ankle-shackles setup, enough to restrict Lian Qi’s freedom without preventing him from working entirely.

The key was, Lian Qi himself couldn’t possibly untangle the knots alone. He’d obediently have to work until Wei Lejun decided to let him off the hook.

"This is ridiculous! Even capitalists aren’t as heartless as you gals!" Lian Qi wailed miserably while being forced to work.

Wei Lejun played the role of the overseer. Whenever Lian Qi so much as complained, she’d snap the Vine Rope across his back.

She had specifically learned from Sang Ning how to control her strength—how to hit someone just hard enough so that they felt the sting but wouldn’t get injured.

But Wei Lejun still went easy on him. The blows were well within the pain tolerance of any ordinary guy.

What she underestimated, though, was that Lian Qi wasn’t exactly an ordinary guy. Whether she hit him or not, he’d howl and wail like his life depended on it, his voice sharp and grating.

Eventually, Wei Lejun couldn’t take it anymore. She shoved the rope at Sang Ning. "Your turn. I can’t stand this bastard’s caterwauling any longer."

Sang Ning looked at Wei Lejun with a knowing smile. "Still too soft-hearted, huh."

It had never crossed Sang Ning’s mind—she’d thought the most ruthless one among them, Wei Lejun, would actually turn out to be another hopeless romantic.

Wei Lejun pretended not to understand, averting her gaze. Sang Ning, taking the cue, grabbed the Vine Rope and whipped it lightly across Lian Qi.

Sang Ning hadn’t even used any force; the rope merely brushed past Lian Qi’s clothes. It was far gentler than when Wei Lejun hit him.

But as soon as he saw Sang Ning with the rope, Lian Qi suddenly remembered the sheer terror she’d instilled in him before. The psychological fear made him howl even louder—more pitifully than when Wei Lejun took a shot at him, as if he were enduring unspeakable torture.

This time, even Wei Lejun, who had initially turned away, couldn’t resist glancing back when she heard him scream.

When she looked, his face was so twisted in agony it seemed like he was about to drop dead the next second.

Meanwhile, Sang Ning showed no intention of stopping. She even raised the rope higher, preparing to strike again.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough!" Wei Lejun finally broke and raised her hands to stop Sang Ning. "Just a little lesson is fine. What if you actually cripple him?"

"Tsk tsk tsk." Sang Ning clicked her tongue a few times. "Fine, fine, I’ll let him go—for your sake. But you better keep a close eye on him. If he slacks off again, don’t expect me to hold back next time. I’ll beat that useless punk senseless."

"Got it, I’ll keep tabs on him." Wei Lejun answered, looking at Sang Ning with an expression that screamed, "I can’t even."

She then took Lian Qi aside and untied the rope. "Forget it. I won’t tie you up anymore. It’s not convenient for working like this."

Lian Qi, normally so dramatic and flamboyant, had been playing it up like a whining gremlin. But hearing Wei Lejun’s words, he finally dropped his over-the-top antics and looked up at her in surprise.

Wei Lejun stared back at him calmly, speaking slowly and deliberately. "I’ll trust you one more time. Don’t let me down again!"