"I'll head out and scout around a bit—maybe see if there's anything useful out there. Fingers crossed the rescue team shows up tonight."
Sensing the conversation turning awkward, Zhang Liu cut it short to escape the tension.
After all, getting down in the dumps was a surefire way to screw yourself over in a survival situation like this.
With that, he stepped out from under the shade of the hill. As he went, he turned back to Qin Ruoshuang and stressed that she shouldn't wander off—last thing they needed was to lose each other in this godforsaken place.
His plan was simple: poke around a little, then hunker down for the night right by the hill. No real shelter there, sure, but it beat crashing on the open beach and getting battered by the wind all night long.
Earlier, while knocking down those coconuts, he'd already scoped out the lay of the land. He had no clue if this was some isolated rock in the middle of the ocean or what, but food? That wasn't the immediate worry.
Forget whatever mysteries lurked in that pitch-black forest behind them, where even sunlight couldn't sneak through. Right here on the beach, there were easily a hundred coconut palms, each loaded with about ten green ones still hanging high. And the ground was littered with fallen brown ones.
Coconut meat was starting to lose its appeal after scarfing so much of it—now it just left his mouth feeling cold and slimy. Dig too deep into the core, and you'd hit woody shavings mixed in. Not exactly gourmet. But hey, beats starving.
He and Qin Ruoshuang could probably hold out for weeks on coconuts alone. That said, from what he remembered, overdoing it could lead to the runs—or worse. Finding something else to mix it up would be ideal.
Strolling along the beach, Zhang Liu spotted the massive SOS he'd scratched into the sand with all that effort. He glanced back at it, a flicker of hope stirring in his chest. Please let the search teams spot this soon and haul us back to civilization.
Once Zhang Liu was gone, Qin Ruoshuang crossed her arms over her chest, a flush of embarrassment creeping across her pale cheeks.
Truth was, she'd come to during his mouth checks and CPR earlier—she'd just been too out of it to fully snap awake.
After a moment's hesitation, she slipped off her skirt and blouse, then unhooked her bra.
Girls' natural cleavage could trap water like a damn sponge, especially after a dunking like hers. And with her push-up bra? It did wonders for shaping her budding curves, making them look fuller and perkier. Downside: it soaked up water like nobody's business, leaving her chest feeling heavy and constricted.
On a normal day, she'd just duck somewhere private and sort it out. But with Zhang Liu right there? No way she was dealing with that in front of him.
Now that he'd wandered off, though, it was time to handle it. At minimum, she had to wring out the soaked padding.
She threw her school uniform back on, then grabbed the bra and twisted it hard. Water dribbled out between her fingers as she worked. Every few seconds, she'd peek over the rock wall, half-expecting Zhang Liu to come strolling back.
He had just saved her life, but if he caught her like this? Yeah, that'd spark all kinds of awkward assumptions she didn't need.
Once the worst of the water was out, she didn't bother drying it fully—just slapped the damp bra back on. The "kinda dry, mostly wet" sensation against her skin was a relief, at least. Finally, she could take a proper look around.
Her eyes landed on the coconut trees nearby. Pushing herself up, she headed over. Zhang Liu had told her to stay put, but sitting idle felt wrong.
He'd given her that first fresh coconut, after all—least she could do was pitch in, even if it was just gathering a few fallen ones from under the trees.
She'd nabbed two and was reaching for a third when a sharp cramp twisted in her lower belly, followed by that telltale twinge. Qin Ruoshuang's face drained of color. She dropped the coconut and clutched her stomach on instinct.
A weird, insistent pressure started building, creeping downward. And then it hit her—like a punch to the gut.
Oh no. My period. Right now?
She'd lost track of the days, but yeah, the timing lined up. Problem was, there were no pads here. No "little breads" for girls in this hellhole.
Panic flashed in her eyes, but she clenched her jaw against the ache and shuffled toward the thicker part of the coconut grove anyway.
She'd keep picking. No time for drama like curling up in bed with a hot water bottle and brown sugar tea—no maids here to pamper her.
...
Maybe it was the chit-chat with a girl that lightened his mood, or maybe just having company again after who-knows-how-long. Either way, Zhang Liu felt surprisingly upbeat as he ambled along the sun-baked beach that afternoon.
"Alright, beach recon first, then prep for nightfall," he muttered to himself, squinting up at the sun. No watch, but judging by its angle and the heat beating down, it had to be around two or three p.m.
No time like the present. He bolted toward the shoreline, eyes peeled for anything the tide might've coughed up. Food could wait—coconuts were covering that for now. What he really needed were tools. Anything useful.
After all, he'd double-checked with Qin Ruoshuang earlier: empty pockets all around. Zilch.
But as the sun dipped low, painting the sky in fiery oranges, the beach had given him squat.
He'd spotted some weird fish darting in the shallows but couldn't snag a single one. His only score? A couple of big foam panels tangled in green algae, plus a palm-sized chunk of iron bolted to one side—rusted to hell on the edges.
The foam seemed perfect for padding their butts against the sand come bedtime, so he scraped off the slime with a rock and hauled it along.
As for the iron? He wedged it between two foam pieces for safekeeping. He'd heard enough about tetanus to know better than to mess with that thing bare-handed—not even while cleaning the algae. If he needed it later, he'd gear up properly first.
No doctors out here. One bad cut, and it was game over.
Balancing his armload of half-person-high foam, Zhang Liu trudged back to the shady hill spot.
But when he got there... empty. No Qin Ruoshuang. She'd sworn she'd wait.
He dumped the foam and whipped around, scanning frantically. Had she been rescued? Or worse—something happen to her?
Then his gaze snagged on a flash of white triangle peeking from the sand. Underwear. Her underwear, if he wasn't mistaken—the kind that went under her skirt.
What the hell?
"Qin Ruoshuang! Where are you?!"
His shout echoed, wild thoughts racing through his head.
But a faint voice answered almost right away.
"Zhang Liu..."
She emerged slowly, gripping a nearby rock for support. Her face was ashen, breaths coming in shallow gasps.
"I... I don't feel good..."