44. Could You Avoid Hitting My Face?

Half an hour earlier.

Lin Mu drove to the foot of Muren Mountain, then took Fat Tiger and Zhang Hen to Lost Forest, halfway up the mountain.

He told them to split up and search, then plunged straight into the dense woods.

"Feng Bingbing broke the rules and followed me. Why are we looking for her?"

Zhang Hen didn't understand.

"Shut up! You really are a thickheaded idiot!"

Fat Tiger hurriedly cut him off, afraid Brother Mu might hear. He dragged Zhang Hen into Lost Forest.

"Where did you lose Feng Bingbing just now?"

Fat Tiger asked.

"Fatty, what the hell is going on?"

Zhang Hen still couldn't figure it out.

"Less talk. We'll explain once we find her. There are poisonous snakes in these woods. Feng Bingbing's just a young woman—if a snake bites her, we'll be in trouble."

Fat Tiger urged him on.

At last, Zhang Hen led Fat Tiger to the place where he'd lost Feng Bingbing earlier, but no one was there anymore.

"Brother Mu's Junior is way too bold. She actually dares to wander around Lost Forest by herself."

Fat Tiger was getting a headache.

No wonder Brother Mu hadn't even asked Zhang Hen where he'd lost Feng Bingbing. He probably knew her too well and realized she wouldn't stay put.

"Damn it, we'll have to split up and search."

Fat Tiger and Zhang Hen finally decided to look for her separately.

"Hey, idiot, remember: if you find her, don't go over. Tell Brother Mu first and let him come rescue her!"

Fat Tiger suddenly warned Zhang Hen.

"You're the idiot!"

Zhang Hen shot back, then asked impatiently,

"If we find her, we can just take her out. Why wait for Brother Mu?"

"You've dated women, haven't you? How can you be this dumb?"

"Say that one more time, and I'll—"

The two idiots bickered under their breath for a while, then finally went their separate ways to search.

Fat Tiger's words turned out to be prophetic. Zhang Hen soon spotted Feng Bingbing.

At that moment, she was stumbling through the dense woods.

Zhang Hen followed her from a distance and messaged Lin Mu and Fat Tiger on WeChat.

Lin Mu replied, "Keep an eye on her," then said nothing more.

A few minutes later, Lin Mu arrived, drenched in sweat.

Zhang Hen noticed several tears in Brother Mu's clothes.

He was surprised. Brother Mu was usually calm even when faced with the juiciest gossip. He didn't think he'd ever seen him this flustered and disheveled.

Fat Tiger arrived soon after, and Lin Mu started toward Feng Bingbing. Zhang Hen was about to follow, but Fat Tiger grabbed him.

"What are you going over there for?"

Zhang Hen asked, puzzled. "To help Brother Mu, obviously."

"Staying here is how you help Brother Mu."

"What the hell, Fatty? What are you talking about? I don't get it!"

"Idiot!"

"Call me that again, and see what happens!"

The two idiots kept arguing in low voices while Lin Mu quietly approached Feng Bingbing from behind.

His shoes made a strange sound as they stepped on the leaves. Feng Bingbing jumped in fright. She was sitting on a large rock, muttering to herself.

Lin Mu could only make out bits and pieces: "fox demon," "Mom and Dad," "the first child," and "the second child."

He wanted to teach the bold girl a lesson. Quietly walking up behind her, he suddenly asked,

"What are you talking about?"

Feng Bingbing sprang to her feet and turned around. But instead of looking frightened, she beamed with delight.

"Senior? Senior, it really is you! I knew I wasn't seeing things! Ahahaha!"

She laughed like a maniac, then started to rush toward him. But she stopped herself and warily looked him up and down, asking cautiously,

"Wait, are you a fox demon in disguise?"

Lin Mu nodded. "That's right. I'm the fox demon of these woods, and now I'm going to eat you."

Just then, the phone in Lin Mu's pocket chimed.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the forest turned awkward.

He helplessly took out his phone. It was a message from Fat Tiger:

"Brother Mu, A Hen and I are heading back. We'll leave the car for you two."

Lin Mu was speechless. He looked up at Feng Bingbing, and sure enough, she was staring at him with a sly grin.

"Senior, you said you couldn't sing! Now I've caught you!"

Lin Mu played dumb. "Junior, what are you talking about?"

"Don't pretend!"

Feng Bingbing grabbed his arm, as if afraid he might run away.

"The person I saw across from Jiangrong Satellite TV was you, right? And the man who helped chase off that pervert and then brought me here must be someone you know, right?"

Lin Mu's mouth twitched slightly, but he insisted,

"I don't know what you're talking about. What are you doing out here so late? I'll take you back."

Seeing Feng Bingbing shiver, he took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, then turned to walk away.

After two steps, he looked back and saw that Feng Bingbing hadn't moved. "Come on!"

Feng Bingbing looked at him pitifully. "Senior, I fell earlier and twisted my ankle."

Lin Mu looked her up and down. "Twisted your ass. You just jumped that high!"

Feng Bingbing bounced on both feet. "I twisted it! I really did!"

Lin Mu ignored her and turned to leave.

"Ow!"

Hearing her cry out behind him, Lin Mu turned around helplessly. His pupils shrank, and he hurried over to help Feng Bingbing, who had really fallen.

"Are you stupid? Why are you jumping around in the dark?"

Feng Bingbing was sitting on the ground, legs spread in a split. She rubbed her knee and looked up at Lin Mu, her eyes misting over.

"Senior, it hurts so much."

Lin Mu crouched down to examine her knee. It was smeared with dark mud, so he couldn't tell how badly she was hurt.

He gently pressed it with his fingers.

"Ah! That hurts!"

Feng Bingbing's voice had turned teary.

Lin Mu immediately stopped and carefully helped her up. "Can you walk?"

Feng Bingbing lifted her injured right knee and shook her head miserably.

"Women are such a hassle!"

Helpless, Lin Mu turned his back to her and crouched down.

"Get on."

"Okay."

Yes!

Before climbing onto Lin Mu's back, the pitiful look vanished from Feng Bingbing's face. Her eyes gleamed with mischief, and she flashed a V sign to celebrate her successful plan.

Once the girl was on his back, Lin Mu suddenly felt—

What a little vixen!

His heart skipped a beat. He shook his head, trying not to think too much about it, and headed out of the woods.

After walking for a while, Lin Mu suddenly stopped and turned his head.

"Wait, when you scraped your knee at the university sports meet, you didn't even make a sound. You ran the whole five kilometers. How come now—"

You're not the delicate type of girl at all!

Lin Mu realized what was going on.

She'd been faking it the whole time. She wasn't hurt at all!

"Either way, you're carrying me. I'm not getting down!"

Feng Bingbing quickly locked her arms around Lin Mu's neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, looking determined to stay there even if it killed her.

"Go easy on me. You're going to strangle me!"

"Then promise you'll carry me out!"

Helpless, Lin Mu had no choice but to agree and keep walking with the little vixen on his back, feeling thoroughly frustrated.

"Damn it, I fell for it."

"Senior, don't be so vulgar."

"That's how I am. If you don't like it, walk out yourself!"

"Okay."

"What do you mean, 'okay'? Are you pretending to be upset?"

"Okay."

"If you say 'okay' one more time, I'll hit you!"

"Okay. Could you avoid hitting my face?"

"..."

Thanks to book friends Liaowuhen5567 and Youge Pengyou, Jiaoma for the 500-point tip.