As soon as the word ‘Danayi’ was uttered, the natives instinctively froze for a moment, and then the fierce expressions on their faces noticeably softened in unison.

Seeing this scene, the audience exploded once again.

【What does it mean?】

【Language Master · Salted Fish Queen confirmed!】

【They’re all on the same variety show, but why is our salted fish queen so amazing?! What are the other guests even doing? Points and judges.jpg】

【So how did our Xiao Yu learn the local language this time? Murmuring.jpg】

Ning Xiaoyu had received quite a few benefits from the director’s side and had secured her dinner, so for once, she decided to make an effort. She used both hands, pressing downward with both palms simultaneously while speaking to the natives, “Souda. Souda.”

After speaking, she turned to Ning Yuwei’s group and said bluntly, “They don’t welcome you. You’d better leave now.”

At first, Ning Yuwei panicked upon seeing the fierce expressions of the natives and only wanted to leave as soon as possible. But now that Ning Xiaoyu had appeared, for some reason, she no longer wanted to leave.

She pursed her lips and said pitifully, “Teacher Ning, we mean no harm. We just wanted to trade for some porridge to eat.” Then she bit her lip and added, “Didn’t you learn a bit of the local language? Could you help us?”

Hearing Ning Yuwei speak up, Mu Jiajia— who had grown tired of eating insects— quickly followed up, “That’s right, Teacher Ning. We’re all guests of the show. Can’t you give us a hand?”

【Is this emotional blackmail?】

【I used to like Ning Yuwei and thought she was truly beautiful. But for some reason, seeing her act like this makes me kind of dislike her.】

【Can Mu Jiajia stop being Ning Yuwei’s lapdog already?】

【This time, it looks like Mu Jiajia genuinely wants the porridge for herself, not just to suck up to Ning Yuwei.】

With her ever-deadpan expression, Ning Xiaoyu replied emotionlessly, “Ning Yuwei, weren’t you the one who found the porridge disgusting before?” Ning Yuwei’s disdainful comments about the porridge during a livestream had all been relayed to Ning Xiaoyu by Shen Yueyue, so she knew full well what Ning Yuwei thought of it.

Ning Yuwei’s face stiffened. “I was just…… thinking about my teammates, okay? I don’t care myself— I can keep eating roasted bugs. But my teammates can’t handle them.”

Ning Xiaoyu nodded. “Alright.”

Ning Yuwei’s expression eased, thinking Ning Xiaoyu had agreed to help them. But then Ning Xiaoyu continued, “I can only get four portions of porridge for you. How to divide it, you figure it out yourselves.”

With that, she left them alone, waiting for them to decide. If they thought four portions weren’t enough and didn’t want them, that was perfectly fine with her. In fact, that was exactly what she was hoping for.

Unfortunately, after some discussion, Brother Wang and the others decided to take the four portions anyway. At least it would slightly improve their meals.

They all knew that if Ning Xiaoyu was truly willing to help, getting a few extra portions wouldn’t be difficult. But judging by her attitude, she clearly didn’t want to, so there was no point in pushing further and embarrassing themselves.

Brother Wang spoke up, “Alright, four portions it is.”

Ning Xiaoyu stretched out her hand toward him. “Give me the chocolates.”

Brother Wang gave a bitter smile. “Little Sister, you’re really going to calculate things this precisely with me?” In the entertainment industry, favors were often exchanged freely— you help me today, I help you tomorrow. It was just how things worked.

But Ning Xiaoyu had no intention of forming any connections with Brother Wang and his crew.

Knowing more people meant more connections, but it also meant more trouble.

If you didn’t maintain those relationships, why would anyone go out of their way to help you or give you resources?

Maintaining relationships requires mutual effort. It was exhausting. She’d rather not bother.

So when she heard Brother Wang’s words, she just replied coolly, “What else?”

What, were they expecting her to give them the porridge without taking the chocolates? Dream on.

After receiving the chocolates, Ning Xiaoyu straightforwardly gestured a ‘four’ with her hand to the leader of the tribe, indicating four portions of porridge. Her face had already become familiar to the leader. Just one gesture was enough for him to understand her meaning.

They gave porridge, and in return, received chocolate— a smooth transaction.

When Ning Xiaoyu and her group traded for porridge earlier, they also received fruits along with it. But perhaps because this time the porridge wasn’t for them, the leader didn’t give any fruit.

Once she handed the porridge to Brother Wang, Ning Xiaoyu was ready to bow out.

But at that moment, Brother Wang, representing the curiosity of countless viewers, asked the question that had been lingering in everyone’s minds, “Just now, those two phrases— ‘Na something’ and ‘Da something’— what do they mean?”

As soon as he asked, everyone else turned their curious, gossip-hungry gazes toward Ning Xiaoyu.

She gave a casual “Oh” and didn’t keep them in suspense. “Danayi means ‘It’s okay’, and souda means ‘Calm down.'”

【You actually know that?!】

【How did she know that?!】

【We all had nine years of compulsory education, why is Xiao Yu so amazing?!】

【Did Xiao Yu study the local language beforehand?】

Brother Wang, wearing a complicated expression, voiced the question on everyone’s mind, “You did your homework in advance?”

Ning Xiaoyu shook her head. “Nope.” Before the plane landed, she hadn’t even known that the filming location was this rainforest.

She had indeed watched a documentary about this rainforest before, but it mostly covered the daily habits of the tribes, not their language.

Brother Wang, still full of curiosity, held the bowl of porridge in his hands and asked with a conflicted look, “Then how did you know what those words meant?”

Ning Xiaoyu shrugged. “Most of the people in the tribe are young boys in their prime. And where there are teenagers, there’s bound to be some friction. Earlier, two boys got into a fight, and someone trying to break it up kept repeating those words. Is that hard to pick up?”

Is that hard to pick up?

Those words kept echoing in the guests’ ears.

In that moment, their expressions became incredibly colorful— each more complicated than the next.

If their faces could actually change colors, then right now, the guests’ complexions would have been a full-blown rainbow.

It truly wasn’t hard, but who would’ve been as observant as Ning Xiaoyu?

The way she used the language so fluently could only be described with the words ‘flexible and adaptive.’

Although she had watched a few documentaries and had a general understanding of the tribes, documentaries were filtered through editing and always felt one step removed. To truly understand the natives, she had to rely on her own firsthand observations.

When out in the wild, knowing one more language never hurt.

Ning Xiaoyu had only briefly observed a few of the tribesmen nearby and memorized a few phrases. She hadn’t expected they’d come in handy so quickly.

Since she had already explained this much, she didn’t mind elaborating a bit more.

“Danayi meaning ‘It’s okay’ was just my guess, but I think it’s close enough. As for souda, the person who was trying to stop the fight kept putting both hands in front of him, moving them up and down. Based on life experience, I guessed it meant something like ‘Calm down.’ It should be close to the real meaning too.”

The more Ning Xiaoyu explained, the more the audience began to feel the growing gap between themselves and her.

【So meticulous! Her observation skills are insane!】

【She might be a salted fish, but when it counts, she really delivers!】

【Like, who would’ve thought of that?!】

【Respect to the salted fish queen!】

【So what you’re saying is, while eating porridge, she was also observing the environment and learning the local language?!】

The other guests all looked thoroughly impressed after hearing her explanation.

Ning Yuwei stared at Ning Xiaoyu, her expression complicated. Her memory of Ning Xiaoyu was still stuck seven years in the past. Their mother had always looked down on this eldest daughter, and under that influence, Ning Yuwei had never thought much of her older sister either.

But so what?

Once they left this survival show, who would ever need to speak the language of these primitive people again?

Once the show ended, who would even remember that Ning Xiaoyu could speak the tribe’s native language?

Audiences were forgetful.

Thinking that, Ning Yuwei quickly calmed down again.

────ρя


After sending the large group of people away, it was already getting late.

Ning Xiaoyu shot the director a look, reminding him to fulfill his earlier promise of dinner.

The director wasn’t stingy enough to renege on a single meal. He readily arranged a proper dinner for the four of them.

No porridge, no grilled insects.

Just a simple four dishes and one soup. Yet in the harsh environment of the rainforest, what normally felt mundane suddenly became precious.

Ning Xiaoyu had done them a huge favor, and the director wouldn’t dare serve her something subpar.

Faced with a full table of home-style dishes, Ning Xiaoyu called out to her three teammates, “Come on, everyone. Let’s eat together.”

Liu Xu, her weathered face blooming with joy, laughed brightly. “Ah, Little Sister, I’ve benefited from you again today. I feel bad!”

Ning Xiaoyu waved her hand dismissively. “No worries. Just eat.”

Word of their dinner spread quickly to the other group of guests nearby.

Brother Wang was baffled. “What? When did the director agree to provide them with dinner? Why didn’t I hear about it?”

Xi Rui replied, her tone hard to describe, “It was during the standoff with the natives.”

To make peace, the director had promised Ning Xiaoyu a meal as one of the conditions.

As for the other condition……

Well, if the other guests found out, they’d probably feel even more bitter.

The difference between people could really be huge.

────ρя


After dinner, when Ning Xiaoyu lay down in her sleeping bag to rest, Liu Xu pulled Lu Jingdu and Shen Yueyue aside and whispered, “What are you two planning to give Xiaoyu?”

Shen Yueyue looked totally lost. “Give Xiao Yu what?”

Liu Xu sighed. “She’s helped me so much today. I mooched two full meals off her! But I only caught one bullfrog for her, and it was small and barely filling. I feel really guilty. So I wanted to ask what you two are planning to give her.”

Everyone had benefited from Ning Xiaoyu’s help. It would only be polite to show their appreciation too.

Hearing that, Shen Yueyue blushed slightly and stammered, “Uh…… I haven’t thought about it yet…… haha……”

Seeing that Shen Yueyue was no help, Liu Xu turned with hopeful eyes toward Lu Jingdu.

Surely he had something in mind?

Lu Jingdu, under Liu Xu’s hopeful gaze, replied calmly, “Oh, I don’t need to. I’m already used to mooching off her. She’s probably used to it too.”

Liu Xu: “???”

Shen Yueyue: “……”

Big Shot, your sense of decency— where did it go?

As expected, soft rice really was addictive!