Chapter 26: Threw Out My Back

Jiang Manman sat up in a tree, munching on a biscuit while waiting for someone to arrive. It didn’t take long before she saw Zhou Ye approaching with Ge Mazi, Wang Jiaxing, and Liu Jianye — four people in total.

Zhou Ye held a large fishing net in his hand.

Ge Mazi carried two sticks.

When Jiang Manman looked closely, she realized those sticks were actually made of iron — iron rods!

From that, she could pretty much figure out the plan: first trap the wild boar with the net, then beat it with the iron rods until it was too weak to fight back and could be dragged down the mountain.

Then they’d lock it up in a pigpen to tame it — um, was “tame” the right word?

Well, something like that. From her perch above, she watched Zhou Ye provoke the wild boar from beneath her tree.

Sure enough, the boar, infuriated, charged right toward her. Jiang Manman witnessed it all like a live-action scene.

That wild boar was massive — the biggest she’d ever seen.

Zhou Ye flung the fishing net at the boar as it charged.

Suddenly, a theme song started playing in Jiang Manman’s mind:

“That lasso-wielding man, you’re mighty and strong,
Galloping steed like the wind so long…
You betrayed my love, left behind a guilty wrong…”

The net wrapped around the wild boar, but it still barreled toward Zhou Ye. He dodged sideways just in time.

Then, in a flash, Zhou Ye grabbed the net and looped it around a nearby tree, tying it securely.

The boar was jerked back and flipped over. Ge Mazi and the others rushed in, swinging the iron rods at the trapped animal.

The wild boar howled in pain.

Driven mad, it thrashed around wildly, managing to knock the three men away.

Zhou Ye climbed down the tree, untied the other end of the net, and charged at the boar, grabbing the iron rod Ge Mazi tossed him mid-run.

He swung hard, hitting the boar square on the head. The boar staggered, unsteady on its feet, before Zhou Ye quickly rewrapped it in the net.

Next, the four of them worked together to carry the boar back.

When they reached the tree where Jiang Manman was, Zhou Ye looked up at her.

She looked kind of chubby — how did she climb that tree?

“Hey,” Zhou Ye called up, “Comrade Jiang, the wild boar’s been caught. You can come down now.”

Jiang Manman had already started putting on gloves, carefully making her way down.

Zhou Ye stood at the base of the tree, watching her descend. Not far off, Ge Mazi, Wang Jiaxing, and Liu Jianye were all watching them.

As Jiang Manman carefully made her way down, she noticed the three men staring at them.

Then she looked at Zhou Ye below — oh no!

This situation… Good thing she didn’t feel like farting.

Not knowing what expression to wear, she awkwardly looked away — and then her eyes went wide in shock.

Another wild boar was charging toward them from a distance!

This one was only half the size of the first — probably its offspring.

Seeing it barreling toward them, and just as she had almost reached the ground, Jiang Manman should’ve climbed back up — but instead, her foot slipped and she fell.

Luckily, Zhou Ye was right there. He reached out and caught her, spinning around a few times to absorb the impact.

“You okay—”

Before Zhou Ye could finish speaking, Jiang Manman shoved him against the tree.

“Careful! Another wild boar’s coming!”

She pinned him to the tree, watching as the smaller boar ran past them. Then she looked up — and saw Zhou Ye staring at her with eyes as deep as ancient wells.

Jiang Manman’s heart skipped a beat.

She gulped and forced a smile.

“Heh…”

She tried to wriggle out of Zhou Ye’s arms, but ended up with him collapsing right onto her.

When he’d caught her and spun around, it had aggravated the injury in his back. The pain made him furrow his brows.

Now, with Jiang Manman pressing him to the tree, he let out a muffled groan and inhaled sharply in pain.

One movement and he lost his balance, collapsing directly onto Jiang Manman.

The sudden development left her stunned.

“You—”

“Threw out… my back!”

Zhou Ye started to feel like there was something between him and this female comrade.

On her first day, she thought he saved her from drowning and smashed him unconscious.

Now, he saved her — but ended up hurting his back.

Then she saved him, but slammed him against a tree — and now his back was probably broken.

He lay hopelessly on top of Jiang Manman.

Fine. You can have my life.

Jiang Manman was speechless. She had no idea what to do.

The other three were still dealing with the smaller wild boar. It was just the two of them here.

Their position looked like that of embracing lovers — only looked like, though.

He was much taller than her. With his 1.85-meter frame, even if he didn’t weigh 200 pounds, he was definitely at least 160. But he still felt heavy enough to crush her.

“You okay?” Jiang Manman asked.

Realizing they couldn’t stay like this, she had a sudden idea — she shifted her body and hoisted him onto her back.

A bit awkward, sure, but at least it didn’t look so indecent.

Meanwhile, the three men were still trying to beat the smaller wild boar. It was slipping away and weaving back and forth — and then suddenly charged toward Jiang Manman again.

She was still carrying Zhou Ye!

If it hit her now…

Without thinking, she lifted her leg and kicked the boar straight in the head.

With a loud bang, the boar flew five or six meters and slammed into a tree.

It died on the spot.

Ge Mazi and the others, who had just caught up, stood frozen in shock.

Ge Mazi stepped up to check the boar and exclaimed in disbelief, “Dead. Completely dead!”

Then he turned to Jiang Manman and gave her a big thumbs-up.

“Comrade Jiang, that was one hell of a kick! Killed it in one shot!”

Jiang Manman: Please stop talking, I’m dying of embarrassment.

Only then did Ge Mazi realize she was carrying Zhou Yunting on her back and hurried over to check on him.

“Brother Ye, what happened?”

“My back’s done for,” Zhou Ye muttered, near tears. Nothing ever happened when he did all kinds of crazy things before — but the moment he met this female comrade, his back gave out.

“Ah, then I’ll…” Ge Mazi looked at the smaller boar, then the big one.

The words “I’ll carry you” got stuck in his throat and he quickly changed his tune.

“Then Comrade Jiang, you help support Brother Ye. We’ll take care of these two pigs.”

Jiang Manman rolled her eyes. Which part of this looks like I’m supporting him? I’m clearly carrying him, okay?

Still, she gave it a try. She was surprisingly strong and solid. She really could carry him.

Dear lord, this guy’s 1.85 meters tall — even if he’s not 200 pounds, he’s at least 160.

Then she thought back to how she just kicked a 100-pound wild boar to death in one shot. Well, with this strength, who needs a Wanda Mall anyway?

“You… you can really carry me?”

Zhou Ye looked moved. “I’m impressed. I respect you.”

“Oh brave warrior, would you be willing to carry me to the clinic?”

“You think… your back’s not permanently ruined, right? I actually spent some time at the clinic. Want me to take a look?”

The original body had once worked at the clinic — mostly as a bootlicker trying to suck up to her future mother-in-law.

There had been a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner there who taught her some massage techniques, impressed by her diligence.

Now that Jiang Manman had merged with those memories, she realized those techniques were pretty decent.

But to her surprise, Zhou Ye looked horrified.

“You?! No no no no no!”