Stranded on a Deserted Island—They All Started Plotting Against Me - Chapter 37 - Chapter 37

Zhang Liu didn’t follow Anya’s seductive, suggestive proposal to scrub each other’s backs—not one bit.

Although he didn’t know why Anya suddenly stripped down to her underwear in front of him…

He knew one thing for sure: some lines simply can’t be crossed lightly.

If you cross them under the excuse of a “reason,” then that becomes the beginning of breaking boundaries.

Once the door to desire is opened, there’s no going back!

Zhang Liu was absolutely clear on one thing in his heart—his future plans did not involve playing king of the hill on a deserted island, taking advantage of Anya and Qin Ruoshuang.

Putting aside the moral collapse and inevitable rift in trust and cooperation that would come from doing such a thing—completely ruining any chance of convincing them to work together and use their brains for survival—

Just from a purely practical standpoint, like building a seaworthy vessel and escaping the island…

Taking advantage of them, getting them pregnant, and turning them from capable helpers into actual burdens—that would be the dumbest, most self-sabotaging move possible.

Not to mention the most terrifying scenario—

What if, just as he was halfway through “taking advantage,” rescue arrived?

Once back in civilized society, as a regular nobody, wouldn’t he be flattened back and forth by a fleet of insured 18-wheelers from the powers backing Anya and Qin Ruoshuang?

“Anya! I’m heading over to the reef to see if I can find some shellfish. Let’s have seafood for lunch!”

He shouted this toward her white silhouette by the beach, then bolted without looking back.

As for the original plan of collecting giant clam shells—he didn’t mention a word of it.

Let alone respond to her “mutual back-scrubbing” proposal.

Anya stood there silently.

Watching Zhang Liu’s figure grow smaller in the distance, her expression held a trace of annoyance—yet her lips curled up into a faint smile.

After a while, she finally walked to the shore and stepped into the cool seawater, submerging herself completely.

The feeling of being wrapped all around by the sea was something Anya really liked.

Yet her previously calm expression gradually flushed with embarrassment.

Because she realized something—

If Zhang Liu hadn’t turned her down, the two of them would be bathing together right now.

Would that have counted as… a lovers’ bath?

Blub blub blub…
She dunked her head under the water and slowly blew out a few bubbles.

Though she wasn’t born in a coastal region of Japan, Anya really liked swimming.

Or just blowing bubbles underwater and watching them rise and pop above her.

She couldn’t hear the bubbles burst, but she could imagine the sound.

And doing this helped her calm down quickly.

Despite how it looked, Anya hadn’t invited Zhang Liu to bathe with her out of pure seduction.

At its core, her impulsive act of stripping down and inviting him in had been driven by one thing—

She was deeply dissatisfied with how quickly the relationship between Qin Ruoshuang and Zhang Liu had progressed in just one night.

She hadn’t actually forgotten to take the night watch last night.

In fact—Anya had woken up briefly in the middle of the night.

That was exactly when Zhang Liu and Qin Ruoshuang had that awkward physical contact.

She had pretended to still be asleep, and quietly listened to their entire conversation.

As for Zhang Liu gazing absentmindedly at the sleeping Qin Ruoshuang—Anya had seen that clearly too.

But what she saw more clearly was something else.

Qin Ruoshuang’s attitude toward Zhang Liu had changed significantly.

At first, even though Qin Ruoshuang often sided with Zhang Liu and had even fed him, Anya knew deep down those actions were just expressions of appreciation.

They were like a company giving bonuses to a competent employee—purely transactional.

But the way Qin Ruoshuang spoke last night, the reliance in her eyes before she fell asleep leaning against Zhang Liu’s chest… That revealed something entirely different.

Qin Ruoshuang no longer just admired Zhang Liu. Like Anya herself, she had started to rely on him.

Admiration and reliance are completely different things.

The former has the initiative.

The latter is passive.

But Anya didn’t expose anything. This morning, she even pretended to have forgotten about her night watch duties.

Stripping down and inviting Zhang Liu to bathe together had been a test.

With two goals in mind.

The first was to see if Zhang Liu would do something scummy under the temptation.

Second, she wanted to present herself as a woman in front of Zhang Liu.

Two goals that were practically contradictory—but Zhang Liu’s reaction made her very happy.

He clearly saw her as an attractive girl, yet still chose to resist temptation and keep his distance.

Unable to hold her breath anymore, Anya surfaced and looked at the empty beach. Then, with a decisive motion, she took off the black lace underwear she had been wearing and tossed it onto the sand.

She began meticulously scrubbing every inch of her body.

Her fair skin flushed faintly under the sunlight, and the blue sea accentuated her graceful curves—like a lotus rising from the water, beautiful beyond words.

Unable to brace herself properly in the water, she moved to the beach, sat down, and let her slender legs stretch out in full view. She bent forward, using her hands to scrub her soft little feet.

Anya was so focused on cleaning herself quickly that she paid no attention to her surroundings.

But Zhang Liu, who had just gathered a heap of shellfish from the reef shore, was already on his way back to call her.

As a result, he ended up getting an eyeful.

Those glistening, jade-like legs seemed to reflect the sunlight. Fair and flawless, smooth as silk—so soft and pale it seemed a touch could draw water. And that supple, boneless figure—seemingly able to twist into any shape—left Zhang Liu awed by the handiwork of nature itself.

Even just watching from afar, he couldn’t stop his hand from itching, wanting to reach out and feel that unspeakably soft and slippery skin…

Gulping hard, Zhang Liu didn’t hesitate any longer and turned to sprint back toward the cave.

He knew that right now, he needed an alibi.

Rather than gathering more shellfish as “evidence,” the best testimony would be someone who could vouch for him—like Qin Ruoshuang.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Anya?” Qin Ruoshuang, who had been filling a water bottle, looked up in concern as Zhang Liu ran over, out of breath.

She assumed something must’ve gone wrong for him to be in such a hurry.

“Anya…” Zhang Liu was about to say she was bathing by the sea, but then hesitated and changed his words. “She told me to come back first—she wanted to play in the water a little.”

“Play in the water?” Qin Ruoshuang frowned, eyeing Zhang Liu’s “sincere” expression.

After a brief moment of thought, she immediately understood.

Anya was probably washing herself because of that comment she had made earlier about smelling bad.

Still, wasn’t this girl a bit too bold?

Luckily Zhang Liu wasn’t the type to take advantage—he just came back.

Otherwise, if he’d stayed to peek, wouldn’t that have been a complete violation of her privacy?

Of course, Qin Ruoshuang had no idea that her “private” interaction with Zhang Liu last night had already been witnessed by Anya.

Now quietly observing Zhang Liu’s blank face, she was secretly pleased—but her tone remained casual as she said, “Zhang Liu, how about we use this free time to boil more hot water?”

“More hot water?” Zhang Liu blinked in confusion.

Sure, boiling water made sense. But what was the point of more hot water?

“Mhm… I found a pit nearby about a meter deep. If we can fill it up, we can take a hot bath together this afternoon.” Rubbing her legs shyly, Qin Ruoshuang added, “Though it might take a bit of time…”

Hearing that Anya was currently bathing only made Qin Ruoshuang more eager to do the same.

Zhang Liu, having just barely escaped the aftermath of a steamy bath invitation and a visual overload, had absolutely not expected this to happen.

He had come back to Qin Ruoshuang for an alibi—but now she was talking about bathing too?

If he turned around and went back to Anya now for another alibi, wouldn’t that practically make him a criminal?

Staring blankly at Qin Ruoshuang, only one thought echoed in Zhang Liu’s head:

Are these two teaming up to mess with me?

Seeing Zhang Liu’s stunned expression, Qin Ruoshuang suddenly realized something might’ve been off in her phrasing.

Blushing, she quickly explained, “I meant taking turns! Not bathing together at the same time!”

“Ohh, I see. That is a good idea!” With her clarification, Zhang Liu finally relaxed.

“Bathing together?! Zhang Liu! Qin Ruoshuang! What are you two trying to do?!”

Right then, Anya—soaking wet—stormed up to the entrance of the cave.

And she just so happened to overhear that exact part of their conversation.

Qin Ruoshuang inviting Zhang Liu to bathe together, and Zhang Liu saying it was a good idea.

A surge of jealousy exploded in her chest as she scrambled into the cave on all fours, glaring at them both.