Chapter 35: “You’d Rather Give Your Food to Outsiders Than to Yang’er?”

Jiang Wan drifted off into sleep in a daze, while not far away, Song Jiuyuan let out a long sigh.

The dilapidated temple was utterly quiet, the only sounds were the soft, steady breathing of the people and the faint buzzing of mosquitoes flying back and forth.

Jiang Wan was so disturbed she could barely stand it. She took out some floral water from her storage space—saved from her previous life—and sprayed it on herself. Only then did she feel the mosquitoes lessen a bit.

Just as she fell asleep again, she suddenly heard a pitter-patter—it sounded like it was raining.

Someone sleeping at the outermost edge of the temple was awakened by the rain. “It’s raining!”

“It’s pouring! Brother, can you move over a bit?”

“…”

The spot where Jiang Wan and the others were sleeping wasn’t leaking, so they remained lying down. The soft tapping of the rain mixed with their steady breathing actually made for a decent rest.

But when Jiang Wan woke up early in the morning, she discovered the rain hadn’t stopped. Ren Bang’s brows were so tightly furrowed they could kill a mosquito.

“Why is it raining this heavily?”

Song Jiuli rubbed her sleepy eyes, her beautiful gaze filled with confusion. Madame Song’s expression, however, was full of worry.

“There’s no telling when it will stop.”

If the rain didn’t cease, not only would they be unable to continue traveling, even survival would become an issue.

At that moment, Song Jiuchi was helping apply medicine to Song Jiuyuan’s injuries. Upon hearing the conversation, Song Jiuyuan lifted his eyes slightly and glanced outside, then said softly:

“Keep an eye on your belongings.”

When people become desperate from hunger, they’re capable of doing anything. He was speaking these words specifically for Jiang Wan to hear.

After listening, Jiang Wan nodded, her expression turning a shade more serious. “Don’t worry. I know what to do.”

It looked like for the next couple of days, they’d have to eat cautiously and without drawing attention again. According to the original novel, the villain’s descent into darkness stemmed from a series of disasters during their exile. The death of the villain’s loved ones triggered the turn—and this heavy rain was only the beginning.

Just as Jiang Wan suspected, the rain continued relentlessly. Ren Bang sent people out to scout, but they returned with bad news: the heavy rain had blocked the main road nearby. Not only were they unable to proceed, they couldn’t even retreat.

And the rain showed no signs of stopping. In fact, it began pouring even harder. The situation was not good, and Jiang Wan didn’t dare show herself too much.

In the morning and at noon, they boiled some very simple porridge with a bit of wild vegetables. By the time evening came, their stored water was running low.

“I’ll go fetch water!”

Song Jiuchi volunteered enthusiastically. The young boy thought he could finally be of use, but Song Jiuyuan suddenly said:

“Go collect rainwater instead.”

“Rainwater? Can we drink that?”

It wasn’t that Song Jiuchi was dumb—it’s just that their pampered upbringing left them with no such survival knowledge.

“We can.”

With Song Jiuyuan’s affirmative response, Song Jiuchi grabbed their bamboo tubes and pots and eagerly ran out to collect rainwater.

He wasn’t the only one—many others were doing the same, including the officials.

Ren Bang had no idea when the rain would stop, so he didn’t distribute any more rations. In truth, they didn’t have much food left.

During their last supply run, most people had bought some provisions. In desperate times like these, food was life. Whether one could survive now depended entirely on themselves.

Those without food had to keep drinking water to stave off hunger. Some couldn’t bear it and resorted to picking wild greens beside the temple. Jiang Wan cast a glance at the Chen family.

Chen Ce’s family had joined the group last and brought no provisions with them.

Little Chen Wenhao’s face was ghastly pale from hunger, but he didn’t complain. Instead, he quietly nestled in his mother’s arms.

In stark contrast, not far away, Song Yang was loudly throwing a tantrum over food, crying and wailing from hunger.

The situation was quickly becoming chaotic. Jiang Wan knew that if the rain didn’t stop, unrest would only grow worse.

The water Song Jiuchi brought back was secretly replaced by Jiang Wan with her stored water when she cooked. She had no intention of drinking rainwater.

At this point, aside from the officials, probably only Jiang Wan and her group still had food left. Countless hungry eyes in the broken temple fixated on the pot Jiang Wan stirred.

No one dared to mess with the officials—their whips were no joke—but Jiang Wan…

She wasn’t exactly a pushover either. But compared to her, Song Jiuli and Madame Song were visibly more anxious under all the stares.

Song Jiuchi snapped angrily, “What are you staring at?!”

Only then did the others look away. In contrast, Jiang Wan and Song Jiuyuan remained composed. Soon, the vegetable porridge was done, and Jiang Wan skillfully distributed it to everyone.

“Husband, you’re still injured. Drink a little more.”

In front of others, Jiang Wan was incredibly attentive to Song Jiuyuan. He had grown used to this side of her and reached out to take the porridge she handed him.

When their fingers touched, an awkward emotion surged in both their hearts, but neither showed it outwardly.

The others couldn’t detect anything strange in their expressions. Jiang Wan even casually filled a bowl of porridge for Madame Song.

“Mother, let’s make do with this.”

Everyone else: …

You’re making do with this? Then what are we supposed to call drinking rainwater and eating wild herbs?

Madame Song smiled and nodded. “Alright. Wanwan, make sure you don’t go without your share.”

In just a few short days, Jiang Wan had not only smoothed things over with Song Jiuyuan’s family—they had already fully accepted her.

Not far away, Shen Qian gritted her teeth in hatred. But at this moment, she didn’t even have the strength to speak, only glaring resentfully at Jiang Wan’s well-fed group.

There were many greedy eyes watching. Jiang Wan quickly finished her own bowl of porridge and scooped up the last bit left in the pot.

“Wenhao, come here.”

She gently beckoned to Chen Wenhao. Only after getting permission from his parents did the boy slowly walk over.

“Here, drink this.”

Jiang Wan handed him the bowl. The child’s eyes welled up with tears. “Thank you, Auntie!”

“I want porridge! I want porridge! That porridge is mine!”

Song Yang, who had been watching the whole time, suddenly erupted. Both boys were about the same age, and in a single leap, he charged forward.

Caught off guard, Chen Wenhao almost dropped the bowl. Thankfully, Jiang Wan reacted quickly and steadied it.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Jiang Wan’s cold gaze locked onto Song Yang, making his small body tremble as he burst into loud sobs.

“Mother, I’m hungry! I’m so hungry!”

“Yuan’er, Yang’er is your own younger brother! You’d rather let outsiders eat your food than give any to Yang’er?”

Third Madame Song pulled Song Yang into her arms, her tone full of resentment. Jiang Wan’s hand, still holding the bowl, stiffened slightly, but she didn’t speak.

Yes, in the end, they were blood relatives. If Song Jiuyuan chose to help them, she couldn’t blame him. But she, Jiang Wan, wouldn’t play along!

“That porridge belongs to Wanwan. She can give it to whomever she wants.”

Song Jiuyuan’s indifferent words made the entire Song family feel a chill deep in their hearts.

He had changed. Truly changed.

In the past, although Song Jiuyuan didn’t show much warmth toward them, he was never this cold-blooded. It was all Jiang Wan’s fault!

“Did you hear that?”

Jiang Wan was satisfied. Song Jiuyuan had handled it well enough. She fed the porridge directly to Chen Wenhao.

“Wenhao, drink it. This is your porridge—I gave it to you. No one can take it from you.”