"Seventh, stop dawdling over there and hurry up," Mrs. Gu Li shouted through gritted teeth when she saw the two of them falling behind.
Gu Wenheng still couldn't bring himself to address Mrs. Gu Li directly. He mumbled, "You guys go on ahead. We'll catch up in a minute."
Mrs. Gu Li glanced at Jin Qianqian and muttered, "Nothing but trouble."
Gu Dashishi sighed. "They must be out of food. Seventh Wife is in terrible health. She's been the slowest one this entire trip."
Mrs. Gu Li touched the cloth pouch on her hip, then, gritting her teeth, she finally turned and walked back toward Gu Wenheng and Jin Qianqian.
"Wife," Gu Dashishi began, but Gu Yuanlei, who was beside him, pulled him back. "Dad, let's wait for Mother under that tree up ahead. The sun isn't as strong there."
"Sigh..." Gu Dashishi hesitated for only a moment before following Gu Yuanlei forward.
Jin Qianqian looked at Gu Wenheng. "Senior, I really can't walk anymore. My feet won't listen to me."
Gu Wenheng set down the bundle on his back. "Then I'll carry you. Even if we move slower, we have to keep going until the next rest stop."
"Carry her? Carry what?" Mrs. Gu Li looked at Jin Qianqian with utter disdain. "Use your head! With all these bags, you think you can walk while carrying a whole person?
"I must have owed you two in a past life. I'm so old, yet my worries never end."
She carefully untied a cloth pouch from her waist, glanced back at the group ahead to make sure her other daughters-in-law weren't looking, and then tossed it on the ground between the couple.
"This is the last time this old lady is helping you. From now on, whether you live or die is up to you." Li Cuicui cast a reluctant glance at the small pouch. "And you better be frugal with this. This is life-saving food."
Without waiting for them to react, she turned and walked away, not forgetting to hurry them along. "Don't rest for too long! Our family is already at the back of the line. If we fall any further behind, we'll be completely left behind."
"Thank you," Gu Wenheng murmured. "I'll repay you for this in the future."
Even though neither of them had experienced such hardship before, they understood just how precious this small bag of food was now.
Gu Wenheng carefully opened the bag and saw several wild vegetable buns lying inside. These were a size smaller than the one he had left, but if they were frugal, they could still last a few days.
"Eat one first. Otherwise, your body won't hold up." Gu Wenheng had never felt so helpless. 'When did I, Gu Wenheng, become someone who has to think twice about a single bite of food?'
Gritting her teeth, Jin Qianqian took one out. 'Until I decide whether to tell Gu Wenheng about my dimensional space, saving my own skin comes first.'
The moment the vegetable bun entered her mouth, Jin Qianqian nearly spat it out. This bitter, astringent thing, full of grit and sand, was somehow life-saving food.
Gu Wenheng reached out and patted her head, understanding how she felt. "Just make do for now. When we stop to rest later, your Senior will go look for other wild vegetables."
Even as he said it, Gu Wenheng had no confidence. According to the memories in his new mind, this entire road was filled with fleeing refugees. The fields and hills near the main road had already been picked clean time and time again by those who came before.
If they really wanted to find any rations, they would have to search in more remote or distant mountains.
Jin Qianqian forced down the vegetable bun in her hand. Forgetting her earlier disgust, she grabbed her bamboo canteen and chugged a large mouthful of water, which made her feel a little better.
"I'll go with you to look then, Senior." Jin Qianqian also wanted to use the opportunity of searching for food to see if she could find a way to sneak some things out.
Gu Wenheng helped her to her feet. "We need to change how you address me. Calling me 'Senior' sounds too out of place here."
Jin Qianqian tilted her head to look at him. "Then what? Little Yu? Or Big Yu?"
Gu Wenheng gave her hand a light, punishing squeeze. "'Husband,' or 'Heng-ge.' Pick one."
Jin Qianqian felt as if she'd been zapped by electricity, goosebumps rising all over her skin.
"Gu Wenheng? Or Gu Yuanyu?"
"Have you ever seen anyone call their own husband by their full name? If you actually dare to call me that, people will think it's even weirder."
Pretending to support the frail Jin Qianqian, Gu Wenheng openly pulled her firmly against his side. "Besides, I don't think there's anything wrong with us being a married couple. Don't forget, in this world, we're the closest people to each other.
"And I haven't forgotten a certain someone's heartfelt confession earlier. I've accepted it all, so you can't back out now."
A blush actually appeared on Jin Qianqian's gaunt, sallow face. 'That's true,' she thought, 'but I only said that because I thought it was the end for both of us! Why is Senior still holding on to it?'
"You're not really trying to back out, are you?" Seeing that the other travelers were a fair distance away, Gu Wenheng grew bolder. "Are you trying to love me and leave me? I heard your confession and I responded. You can't just pretend it never happened."
Jin Qianqian's head snapped up to look at him, a question repeating over and over in her mind. 'Did that really happen? He responded to me.'
Gu Wenheng lowered his voice. "You silly girl. Probably everyone in our department knew how I felt about you. You were the only one hiding in your shell all day."
Confusion flickered in Jin Qianqian's eyes. 'Other than taking better care of me than others, Senior never did anything special, did he?'
Gu Wenheng continued, "Li Tian'ai and the others were so protective of you, afraid I'd hurt you again. They warned me more than once not to lay my cards on the table with you until I got my family's approval."
At this, Gu Wenheng looked up at the sky. His family must have received news of the plane crash by now. 'I, their unfilial son, have disappointed them again.'
'Thankfully, the elders, my older brothers and sisters, can fulfill my filial duties for me. And with my little nephews and nieces around, I'm sure Mom and Dad will be able to move on from their grief quickly.'
'What's done is done.' He could only comfort himself with that thought.
"So you took the same flight as me on purpose this time?" Jin Qianqian's expression turned pained. 'It looks like I'm the one who dragged Senior into this mess.'
'Senior was a dreamboat in so many people's eyes. He was smart, handsome, and came from an even better family. He had such a bright future ahead of him, and now, because of me, he has to suffer through all this.'
How could Gu Wenheng not guess what she was thinking? He squeezed her hand, feeling how bony and rough it was.
"What are you thinking about? I had a lot of things to take care of back home anyway, and that was the only flight back that day. It was fate. It has absolutely nothing to do with you."
'This girl always gets stuck on the little things,' he thought. 'If I don't clear this up now, she'll carry this guilt for who knows how long.'
But Jin Qianqian had already made up her mind. 'Since we're destined to be tied together, I can't keep hiding things anymore.'