Stranded on a Deserted Island—They All Started Plotting Against Me - Chapter 20 - Chapter 20

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, only the misty area in the far east showed a faint glow as Zhang Liu had already woken up.

He was startled awake by a dream.

Zhang Liu dreamed that his two younger sisters were holding a funeral for him.

The scene was exactly like the one five years ago, when thirteen-year-old Zhang Liu had organized their parents’ funeral.

In the dream, every year on Qingming Festival, the sisters would come to pay their respects, just as he had done.

But unlike him, who during his first Qingming visit hadn’t known to bring extra food offerings in advance—and ended up starving halfway down the mountain, forced to eat the steamed buns and roast chicken someone had left at another grave—his sisters, in the dream, had eaten his offerings right there on the spot during the very first year.

And after they’d eaten their fill, they descended the mountain together, chatting and laughing.

What a bizarre dream! At least steal from someone else’s offering table, not mine!

Zhang Liu sighed, a little speechless. Just as he was about to laugh it off, he suddenly felt an overwhelming sadness well up inside him, which flowed out through his nose, leaving a sour taste.

The reason he risked stealing back then was because he didn’t want his parents to see their son in a state so poor that he couldn’t even afford food.

He shook his head and smiled disdainfully. Now, he was much stronger than he was five years ago.

At this moment, he definitely wouldn’t hesitate to sit by his parents’ gravestone, eating buns.

Instead of suffering in silence for the sake of dignity.

Thinking of buns, Zhang Liu suddenly felt hungry. He stared blankly at the pitch-black sky above.

That’s when he realized that he hadn’t woken up because of the sadness…

It was just hunger that had woken him up…

He really wanted to eat a soft, fluffy bun…

Rolling over where he lay, Zhang Liu quickly pulled himself together and waited in silence for the sky to brighten.

It was already the third day on the deserted island. The most urgent issue to solve was fire.

Curling up to resist the early morning chill, Zhang Liu silently made up his mind: he had to create some sparks today.

At that moment, he heard Anya’s voice nearby.

“Zhang Liu, are you awake?”

“Yeah, I’m awake.” Hearing Anya’s voice, Zhang Liu felt relieved.

After returning yesterday, he had deliberately ignored the fact that Anya had been bitten by a snake to avoid putting any psychological pressure on her.

But deep down, Zhang Liu was still worried about her.

Hearing her energetic voice now, he was reassured.

But he still asked, “How’s your wound? Does it still hurt?”

Anya didn’t answer immediately. She reached under her skirt to touch the wound, then said, “It should have scabbed over.”

“That’s good.” Zhang Liu knew that the wound was in a sensitive area, so he didn’t want to ask too many questions or check it personally. He made a mental note to ask Qin Ruoshuang to discreetly take a look later and make sure there wasn’t any redness or swelling.

“Wanna go down and watch the sunrise?” Just as Zhang Liu was debating whether to doze off for a bit longer, Qin Ruoshuang’s voice called out, “Come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen one with my own eyes.”

“Okay!” Zhang Liu nodded and sat up.

Outside, the sky was still a misty gray. He couldn’t see much of the surroundings yet.

“Ah…” He stretched with a groan, feeling his muscles and joints loosen up with satisfaction.

Anya, meanwhile, tried to move as little as possible as she quietly put back on the skirt that had been draped over her and Qin Ruoshuang’s stomachs.

Qin Ruoshuang, however, felt awkward and didn’t dare to move.

She could feel something sticky down there.

She didn’t want to get up and risk making a mess.

Although she had actively suggested watching the sunrise and Anya had responded positively, Qin Ruoshuang remained lying down after both of them got up.

“Qin Ruoshuang?” Zhang Liu, who was already by the entrance of the cave, turned around and looked at her in confusion.

“…” Anya’s eyes flickered, and she quickly realized what was happening. She hurriedly urged Zhang Liu, “You go ahead!”

“Okay, fine.” Zhang Liu scratched his head in confusion and crawled out of the cave first.

Soon, he could vaguely hear the voices of the two girls inside the cave.

“Come on, get up, let me check.”

“I don’t want to…”

“It’s fine, just wash it with water, and flip the foam board over.”

“But…”

“Stop hesitating, Qin Ruoshuang. You don’t want Zhang Liu to find out about this, do you?”

“Okay… fine…”

Their little conversation came to an end with Qin Ruoshuang’s soft agreement.

Zhang Liu quietly took a few steps to the side; he didn’t want to turn around and risk being silenced.

On the beach in the early morning, the traces of last night’s rising tide were still visible on the shore. Zhang Liu, Qin Ruoshuang, and Anya were sitting in front of a small boulder, each holding a jabuticaba fruit and a coconut.

It seemed like they had turned watching the sunrise into an entertainment activity.

The light had gone from being so dim that they couldn’t see more than ten meters ahead to a brightness where they could clearly make out each other’s faces.

Compared to Anya, who casually tilted her head back to drink coconut juice, Qin Ruoshuang was much more delicate in her movements.

Watching Qin Ruoshuang’s refined movements, Anya gradually slowed down her own drinking. She felt a little unladylike.

Noticing Anya’s change in behavior, a faint smile curled on Qin Ruoshuang’s lips—she was reminded of the conversation the two of them had started but hadn’t finished the night before.

Anya, who had been carefully mimicking Qin Ruoshuang’s gestures, also caught the smile on her face.

In response, she decisively reached over and gave her a playful pinch on the thigh—payback.

Her face was already tinged with a rosy blush.

Qin Ruoshuang smiled even more happily in response.

“‘A single streak of strange light splits the clouds of the sky. In moments, it turns into a swirl of five colors. The sun rises, red as cinnabar, and from below, crimson light sways and lifts it up…’” Zhang Liu hadn’t noticed the little exchange between the two girls beside him. He was softly reciting his favorite passage from classical literature.

“But there’s no Mount Tai here,” Qin Ruoshuang immediately recognized the text and teased, “You’ll need to come up with a tropical island edition.”

“Ah…” Zhang Liu paused for a moment, then began searching his memory for some island-related excerpts.

“Well, generally speaking, if someone in ancient China was watching a sunrise on an island, there’s a 90% chance it was because they were exiled. Not exactly a vibe that inspires sunrise poetry,” Anya commented from the side with a deadpan tone.

The clouds in the east were gradually tinged with red, and the sight quickly pulled the three of them into silence.

The crimson glow shifted rapidly—what started as a faint blush quickly bloomed into a fiery red in less than ten seconds. Then, the rim of the sun slowly crested the horizon.

“Beautiful…” Qin Ruoshuang and Anya were mesmerized by the sight, watching the sun as it lit up the world.

Zhang Liu, however, watched the sun with a quiet feeling of despair in his heart.

It had been almost three days, and if there was no rescue tonight, the golden 72-hour rescue window would be over.

After that, the chances of rescue would plummet.

It would be up to him to survive on his own.

Could he really make it?

His fists clenched slightly, then quickly loosened.

Zhang Liu turned toward the two girls who were still marveling at the sunrise and smiled. He knew that no matter how anxious he felt inside, he shouldn’t show it in front of them.

One of them had to be the pillar of support.

The corners of his lips lifted, and his smile gradually grew more confident.

He was sure of one thing.

He would make it back home, because his sisters were waiting for him!