Stranded on a Deserted Island—They All Started Plotting Against Me - Chapter 36 - Chapter 36

“Yeah… just a little. I mean, we haven’t brushed our teeth in three days, you know,” Anya muttered, clearly a bit helpless about the situation.

As she spoke, she ran her tongue across her teeth, feeling a sticky, plaque-like film clinging to the surface.

“Maybe if we rinse our mouths well, the smell will go away. I think it’s just the fish stink.”

There’s a saying: even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice.

Even though Qin Ruoshuang was now self-conscious, the best emergency solution she could think of was simply rinsing her mouth.

Maybe Zhang Liu would have a better idea when he got back?

Without realizing it, Qin Ruoshuang had started to rely on Zhang Liu as her pillar of support, just like Anya did.

…

“Ah, dental hygiene, huh?” Zhang Liu said as he returned to the cave after taking care of business. After listening to the girls’ concerns, he casually picked up a piece of cooled charcoal from the ground and said, “Just grind it into powder, then use it to rub your teeth and tongue.”

Qin Ruoshuang and Anya stared at the blackened chunk of charcoal—still speckled with grit—and then looked at each other, dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Zhang Liu knelt on the ground and began grinding the charcoal with a rock. After all, no amount of explaining could beat a demonstration.

He intended to show them himself.

After all, now that they had mentioned it, Zhang Liu used his tongue to feel his own teeth—and sure enough, there was a sticky, grimy texture on them too.

“Is this really okay…?”

Qin Ruoshuang couldn’t help but ask as she watched Zhang Liu dip his finger into the charcoal powder and begin scrubbing it against his teeth with audible friction.

“Mm—”

Zhang Liu gave a muffled reply as he picked up a pot of water that had been boiled and cooled the night before.

He took a big swig and started rinsing his mouth.

Glug glug glug…

His cheeks puffed and deflated repeatedly for about half a minute before he spat the water outside the cave.

He licked his teeth again. The sticky feeling was gone, replaced by a surprisingly fresh sensation—like he had just chewed mint leaves.

“See? Works great!” He grinned at Anya and Qin Ruoshuang, flashing a classic jungle-survivor smile. “No more plaque at all!”

The girls exchanged glances.

From this close, they could clearly see specks of black charcoal still stuck to Zhang Liu’s teeth.

So… were they really supposed to put that black gunk in their mouths?

After a moment’s hesitation, Qin Ruoshuang—who had been told she had bad breath—took the lead and decided to give it a try.

But unlike Zhang Liu, she wasn’t comfortable sticking her fingers in her mouth in front of others. So she turned her back to them and began rubbing her teeth with the charcoal more discreetly.

Compared to Zhang Liu’s aggressive scrubbing style, hers was far more refined and elegant.

She turned around to accept the cup of cool water Zhang Liu handed over and took a sip.

Her cheeks puffed up instantly.

But she didn’t want to spit in front of them, so—looking like a hamster storing food in its cheeks—she hurried outside the cave.

Pfffft!

She spat the now-blackened mixture out onto the sand, then instinctively ran her tongue over her teeth.

It definitely felt much fresher—and…

She raised her palm, breathed onto it lightly, and sniffed.

The faint fishy odor that had been there before was now completely gone.

The effect was surprisingly good.

It was just then that she suddenly realized something—

The water she had just drunk… was probably the same water Zhang Liu had used earlier.

Did that mean the two of them had just indirectly kissed?

“Do you want to rinse again?” Zhang Liu’s voice came from behind her.

Then came Anya’s curious follow-up: “How did it work?”

“It worked really well!” Qin Ruoshuang replied, deliberately minimizing the movement of her lips as she spoke.

From Zhang Liu’s earlier toothy grin, she had learned something important—multiple rinses were necessary for best results.

She took the large clam shell Zhang Liu handed her, glanced at Anya, then turned away from them, crouched down, and continued rinsing.

Knowing Qin Ruoshuang was shy, Anya decided to take Zhang Liu with her to the beach to collect more clam shells for storing water.

Once… twice… three times…

By the cave entrance, Qin Ruoshuang rinsed again and again, eventually using up all the leftover boiled water in the clam shell.

But now… her teeth should be clean, right?

She rubbed them with her finger—at once hearing a squeaky sound, like clean porcelain dishes fresh from a dishwashing session.

Next, she’d need to watch the fire and store more water.

Now that the major issue of hygiene was solved, Qin Ruoshuang finally felt at ease.

Climbing back into the cave, she began tidying up the remnants of last night’s and this morning’s meals.

Although Zhang Liu had already done some cleaning, from a girl’s perspective, Qin Ruoshuang held herself to a higher standard for their shared “temporary home.”

“…Zhang Liu, could you turn around for a moment?”

After bringing Zhang Liu to the beach, Anya looked at the waves rolling steadily onto the shore. She glanced at her armpit, where she’d earlier caught a whiff of unpleasant odor, and asked in a low, pleading voice.

“Turn around?” Though a bit puzzled, Zhang Liu obediently complied.

After a series of rustling sounds, Anya called out to Zhang Liu, who had his back to her, “You can turn around now!”

“Oh!”

He nodded and turned back around—only to freeze in place, stunned.

Anya had her back to him—but that wasn’t the issue.

The real issue was that she wasn’t wearing any outerwear anymore.

Her long, jet-black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, smooth and glossy.

It framed her slender, graceful neck with elegant beauty while also providing a degree of cover.

A slim, snow-pale waist flowed down into a perky, delicate behind, the important parts wrapped snugly in a pair of ultra-short black lace-trimmed panties.

Her smooth, pale, long legs were planted firmly on the ground, calf muscles slightly tense—clearly, she was a little nervous.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Liu forcibly calmed his emotions and asked, “Anya… is something the matter?”

Zhang Liu didn’t believe that Anya was suddenly offering him some kind of free benefit out of the blue. There had to be a reason behind her actions.

“Why don’t you take your clothes off too… and let’s bathe together?”

Covering her chest with one arm and turning to face him, Anya’s cheeks flushed red, but she still insisted on finishing her sentence.

“I want someone to scrub my back.”

Seeing the confusion in Zhang Liu’s expression, she quickly added, “Don’t think I’m just making you do free labor! I can scrub your back too!”

Scrubbing backs for free? That wasn’t the problem at all!

Zhang Liu’s eyes were glued to Anya’s exposed, flawless skin. He couldn’t help his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard.

From where he stood, it felt like things were about to escalate beyond just scrubbing backs…