With Me Here, No Big Problem

After Meng Wenzhou finished speaking, the other four instantly turned their heads, staring at him in stunned silence.

"You serious?" Zhang Ziming asked, his face full of surprise.

Liu Bo then leaned in excitedly beside Meng Wenzhou. "Really, Meng? Don’t mess with me. Where is it? I haven’t seen my old friend in years—hurry up and let me get a feel for it."

Meng Wenzhou glanced at them expressionlessly. Except for Su Yang, who quickly regained his composure, the other three still wore looks of intense curiosity. Unable to hold back, he suddenly burst out laughing. "You guys actually believed me?"

"Damn, so it’s fake?!" Ji Bo looked disappointed.

"Obviously! You try getting one yourself. Unless you’re eager to trade freedom for a sewing machine gig in prison."

"Heh, I just figured with your background, you could pull it off no problem."

"I’m a law-abiding citizen. Sure, I’m curious about that stuff too, but breaking the law? No way. Just messing with you—I only brought a knife."

As he spoke, Meng Wenzhou pulled out an all-black, sheathed military-grade knife from somewhere.

Seeing the knife, Liu Bo immediately lost interest. "Tch, got my hopes up for nothing. My old friends… I miss you!"

Ignoring Liu Bo, Meng Wenzhou turned to Su Yang and asked casually, "What about you, Lao Su? Bring anything?"

Su Yang shook his head. "Aren’t we just camping? Not going to war. Why would I bring anything?"

"You guys have zero sense of caution. Didn’t you hear Pan Ning say we’re heading into the mountains tomorrow? I looked it up—Qianye Mountain spans multiple cities and counties across Tianhai and Xia Province. It’s massive, and there’s definitely bears in there."

Su Yang thought for a moment. "Bears aren’t surprising, but they usually stick to the deep, central areas. The outskirts are safe—otherwise, this place would’ve been restricted ages ago. No way they’d let people camp here."

"I don’t care about outskirts or inner zones. I need something in my hands to feel secure."

Su Yang patted Meng Wenzhou’s shoulder with a playful grin. "Relax, with me around, it’s no big deal."

Meng Wenzhou chuckled but said nothing. He knew Su Yang was tough, but humans stood no chance against bears. Unless the bear wasn’t hungry… that much he firmly believed.

Ji Bo suddenly raised his hand. "I brought a shovel. Does that count?"

"Sure, that’s way better than those flimsy batons," Meng Wenzhou said, then smirked at Zhang Ziming.

"Eh, a baton’s enough. If you run into a bear, nothing’s saving you unless you’ve got the great equalizer."

......

Meanwhile, the girls were efficiently prepping ingredients, nearly ready to start cooking.

Pan Ning called out to the five chatting by the river, "Hey, you five! Quit yapping and come help."

"Coming!"

Laughing, the group got up and headed to the clearing.

"Who’s got the portable stove?" Pan Ning asked as they approached.

Liu Bo raised his hand. "It’s in my car. I’ll grab it—hold on."

"Hurry up! No wonder I couldn’t find it."

Soon, Liu Bo returned with a silver-gray camping stove, placing it on the foldable multi-purpose table Su Yang had bought. He quickly attached the butane canister and flicked the ignition.

A flame burst to life.

"Works perfectly!"

Nearby, Meng Qianyu, still chopping vegetables, smiled. "Great, turn it off for now. I’ll take it from here."

"Oh, and could you guys set up the grill too?"

"Got it!" Liu Bo nodded at Ji Bo. "That’s your job!"

Ji Bo grinned. "Happy to oblige."

But he didn’t move. Liu Bo blinked, then nudged him. "Well? Go get it!"

"Where is it?"

"My car, trunk. Here, keys."

Ji Bo took the keys and suddenly saluted. "Yessir!"

With that, he spun around and jogged off.

"Is that guy mentally okay?"

......

Su Yang smiled, watching the long-legged beauties at work, then strolled over with his hands behind his back.

"Lu Yun, what’re you washing there?"

Lu Yun looked up with a sweet smile. "Chicken gizzards!"

"Oh, nice. Those’ll be great grilled. Good job."

"No trouble at all."

"Need a hand?"

Lu Yun shook her head. "Nope, almost done~"

"Alright." Su Yang nodded and moved toward Tang Ziyun, who was crouched a few meters away, her back to him.

He peeked over her shoulder. "What’re you up to?"

"Ah—! You scared me!"

Tang Ziyun turned, pouting at him.

Su Yang chuckled and circled around to see her washing potatoes in a small metal basin.

He frowned. "Wait… why are you washing them?"

"Don’t you wash potatoes?"

"You peel them first, then wash. What’s the point of washing unpeeled ones?"

"Oh… right."

Su Yang tilted his head back, shaking it in exasperation. "You really don’t do any housework, do you?"

"Hehe, I’m learning bit by bit."

"Fine, fine. Stop washing. Peel them first, rinse after, then give them to Qianyu and Pan Ning to chop."

"Okay~"

"Know how to peel?"

"Probably…?"

"Ugh, fine. I’ll show you once. Gotta learn sometime."

Tang Ziyun stuck out her tongue. "Got it! One demo and I’ll nail it."

Su Yang sighed, grabbed a peeler from the table, and swiftly peeled a potato before dropping it into a basin of clean water.

"See? Easy, right?"

Tang Ziyun nodded eagerly. "Yep! I got it~"

"Good. You handle the rest. Here." He handed her the peeler.

Next, he walked over to Ye Wan, who was bent over, busy with something.

Upon closer inspection, his jaw dropped.

Ye Wan was whittling a twig as thick as her pinky with a small knife.

"Uh… what’s this about?"

She glanced up. "Making skewers~"

"You’re… trying to turn that into a meat skewer?"

Ye Wan nodded. "Mhm."

"Pretty sure I bought a pack of barbecue skewers back in town?"

"Huh?" Ye Wan paused, then glared at him indignantly. "Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

Su Yang facepalmed. "You didn’t ask! And where’d you even find these random sticks?"

"Picked them up in the woods earlier."

"I'm going, I really can't deal with you guys anymore, stop chopping." Su Yang shook his head and walked toward a few bags lying on the ground nearby.

Soon, he pulled out a pack of wooden skewers for grilling.

"Here, just skewer the meat directly."

"You!! Why didn’t you bring these out earlier?!" Ye Wan shot Su Yang an annoyed look.

Su Yang sighed and glanced at Shen Yixue not far away. "Yixue, what are you doing over there? Come help skewer the meat."

"Coming, just a sec~"

Once Shen Yixue arrived, Su Yang helped the two quickly skewer the beef, pork, and lamb that Meng Qianyu and Pan Ning had sliced.

"You guys can handle the rest of these vegetables. I’ll go set up the grill."

"Okay, thanks, Su Yang." Shen Yixue smiled sweetly at him.

Looking at her adorably well-behaved demeanor, Su Yang flashed a charming grin. "No problem~"

A few meters away, Zhang Ziming brought down a Bluetooth speaker from the car and connected it to his phone.

Soon, the soothing melody of Rice Field began playing.

—If you have too many complaints about this world...

—If you don’t dare to move forward after falling...

—Why must people be so fragile, so lost...

......

"You should’ve played music earlier! Now this feels like a real camping trip!!" Liu Bo laughed while arranging a box of charcoal.

With the pleasant melody in the air, everyone worked faster.

On the grassy field by the river, each person wore a smile as they focused on their tasks.

Even Pan Ning, usually so reserved, had a faint curve on her lips.

Meanwhile, Su Yang chatted with Meng Wenzhou and Ji Bo while assembling the grill.

[Ding! Detected host’s first-ever outdoor camping experience—mood: extremely joyful. Reward: 2 million.]

......