He Ying pulled Chen Mu to the side and stared at him intently.

Chen Mu touched his dirty face and said, "Yeah, I know I'm dirty, but you don't look any better. Why are you staring at me like that?"

"What?," He Ying seemed a little displeased.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you just 'yeah-ing'? You haven't been saying anything all along."

"Well..."

"What are you thinking?"

"What am I thinking?"

"I mean about what that guy said, joining Qing Bei, and all that."

"But... wasn't he asking you?"

"I've already joined you guys, so of course, I'll follow your lead."

"Um..."

Initially, Chen Mu was worried that He Ying would turn around and join the other side. Although that wouldn't be entirely unreasonable, losing such a powerful ally would be a significant loss for their side.

However, He Ying didn't seem to have any intention of doing that. She didn't refuse to join Qing Bei; she just wanted to make decisions together with them.

Chen Mu said, "Honestly, I can't make up my mind right now. I need to go back and discuss it with everyone. But if you want to go, I won't mind. After all, from what it looks like over there, they do seem to be more stable..."

"What are you saying?" He Ying frowned. "Since I've joined you guys, of course, we'll advance and retreat together."

"Alright, my mistake. I thought you had already wanted to go there a long time ago, so..."

"If they had come two days earlier, I might have agreed without much thought. But now, I think this side is pretty good too. Well... maybe even better. After all, I don't actually know anything about this so-called 'Qing Bei'."

"I'm worried about this too," Chen Mu sighed. "It seems like the other side is sincere, but no one can guarantee what the situation will be like over there."

"How about... asking him?" He Ying suggested.

"He won't tell us," Chen Mu replied.

"How do you know?"

"Didn't Li Xu refuse to say anything?"

"Well, it won't hurt to try."

"Then I'll ask," Chen Mu sighed."Aren't you planning to keep it a secret?" He Ying chuckled.

"What's the point of hiding anything? Big sister, we said we'd discuss this together, but in the end, you didn't even call the other three companions. You just pulled me aside. Song Yu isn't a fool; he probably already guessed that there's another group behind me. Besides, I think he's starting to suspect something about Dong Junwei too."

Chen Mu felt somewhat helpless. While He Ying wasn't dumb, she lacked experience in dealing with such situations. If it were Tang Jing, she would have handled it better. However, Chen Mu couldn't correct her in front of Song Yu. But this was also his fault; his initial worries were completely unnecessary.

"Um... did I mess things up?" He Ying felt a bit guilty.

"No, it's not your fault. I also made mistakes, but let's not dwell on that. I plan to temporarily refuse and make a decision after we understand them better in the future."

"Okay," He Ying nodded.

After a brief exchange, they returned to Song Yu's side.

In total, four people had come – three men and one woman. However, the other three hadn't spoken a single word from start to finish. They stood behind Song Yu with an air of discipline, barely showing any facial expressions.

This also created some distance in Chen Mu's heart, and he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, but it just made him uncomfortable.

"How's your discussion going?" Song Yu could already sense something from He Ying's act of taking Chen Mu aside.

At first, Song Yu didn't pay much attention to Chen Mu, thinking he was just a companion that He Ying happened to encounter and accept on the way. Song Yu had always been an active member at the school, but his classmates from the same grade were not very noticeable, and Chen Mu seemed no different.

However, he quickly adjusted his attitude.

Chen Mu also changed his silent demeanor and showed a curious expression. He proactively asked, "Can I ask how many people are in Qing Bei now?"

Normally, such a question would be ordinary. If you want to win someone over, you usually talk about your own situation. However, for Song Yu and his group, this was evidently the first time encountering such a situation. In the past, people they encountered were either hostile or obsequious, but never had they met someone like Chen Mu, who discussed things with them on equal terms.

The three people behind Song Yu visibly showed a hint of displeasure and disdain, as if such an ordinary question was offensive.

However, Song Yu, being quite sophisticated, showed no sign of displeasure on the surface and continued to be gentle and friendly, saying, "I understand your concerns. During this period, everyone has changed, especially with the addition of an uncertain factor like One Middle School. People can't be as open with each other as before. But please understand my predicament. I am an outside agent, and if you are not true companions, I can't disclose any information. After all, I have to be responsible for the people in the camp."

Chen Mu had already anticipated that he would say this, but he still looked disappointed on his face. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to inquire. It's just that... we are doing quite well right now, and unless there's a significant improvement, we have no intention of joining anyone."

"Do you think you're doing well?" Song Yu appeared puzzled because he had already learned about He Ying and the others' situation from Feng Xiaoyu. They were already struggling to find food, and every time they went out with Sun Yuan, it was a life-or-death situation. It was precisely because of this that he was confident he could recruit them.

However, now it seemed like the situation might have changed.

And the only variable appeared to be this guy named Chen Mu.

Song Yu became even more cautious and asked, "Chen Mu, are you alone, or do you have companions?"

Chen Mu spread his hands and chuckled awkwardly.

Song Yu smiled, "I apologize if I was abrupt."

Chen Mu replied politely, "It's okay. In fact, I still hold a high regard and respect for Qing Bei. Also, I only speak for myself, and it doesn't affect the decisions of others."

Song Yu turned to He Ying, "And what about you, He Ying?"

"I also want to maintain the current situation for now," He Ying replied."Senior sister..." Feng Xiaoyu clearly felt disappointed and couldn't understand He Ying's decision. They had all been looking forward to going there before, but why did everything change completely after they came back from the trip?

He Ying sighed, "Xiaoyu, you three can decide for yourselves. If you want to stay, I will do my best to protect you. But if you want to go to Qing Bei, you don't have to consider my opinion. We'll still be good friends when we meet next time."

Feng Xiaoyu and the other two boys seemed to be in a dilemma, their expressions conflicted. It was evident that He Ying was someone they trusted, but Qing Bei was a stronger force. They wanted to go there, but they also felt guilty about leaving He Ying. After all, she had taken care of them selflessly for so many days, and now, when there was a better opportunity, they would just leave without much thought. It didn't sit well with them emotionally.

Meanwhile, Chen Mu and He Ying both seemed to unconsciously ignore Sun Yuan.

It was clear that even Chen Mu didn't want to let Sun Yuan go easily. On one hand, Sun Yuan indeed played a significant role, and on the other hand, Sun Yuan had already been to the storage room, so if he went to Qing Bei, he would expose all the information about their side.

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