Stranded on a Deserted Island—They All Started Plotting Against Me - Chapter 51 - Chapter 51

When Zhang Liu and Anya made a small detour and approached Qin Ruoshang, they found that she had already finished building the “stove.”

Qin Ruoshang’s craftsmanship was quite clever.

She had almost perfectly utilized the stones Zhang Liu left in the cave to build two long “stone walls” on the beach.

Between the stone walls, a campfire was already set up. The giant clam shell was placed on top, filled with fresh water. Qin Ruoshang was boiling water and preparing things. One end of the stone walls was left open—that was where she planned to grill the skewers.

“You’re here, have some coconut juice first,” Qin Ruoshang said when she saw them approaching.

She glanced at the big bunch of still bloody innards skewers in Anya’s hands, then pointed at three opened coconuts beside her and said, “I feel like it’s getting a bit late, so I thought I’d prepare something for you to fill your stomach first.”

“Sounds good!” Anya didn’t hesitate and dumped the dozens of bloody innards skewers onto the giant clam shell Zhang Liu was holding.

She then ran to Qin Ruoshang’s side, sat down, and began drinking coconut juice heartily.

The two had spent a lot of time cutting meat. Zhang Liu, tough and hardy, could still endure the hunger. But as a girl, Anya was naturally eager to eat something to regain energy.

“Okay, okay, let’s eat some coconut to soothe our stomachs first, then eat this.” Zhang Liu put down the shell, then sat down next to the two girls, ready to eat.

Then he heard Qin Ruoshang whisper, “Zhang Liu, I want to cook the innards myself to get used to it.”

“Ah…” Zhang Liu was stunned, hesitation clearly showing on his face.

He still vividly remembered seeing her dry-heave this morning.

Qin Ruoshang looked seriously at Zhang Liu and Anya, who was about to speak, and asked, “If we want to live here, isn’t this an essential step for me?”

“But… Xiao Ruoshang…” Anya pressed her lips together and then fell silent.

At the moment, she didn’t know from what angle she should try to persuade her.

Qin Ruoshang was undeniably right. This was basically a process they would have to go through sooner or later.

“It’s okay!” Seeing Zhang Liu and Anya still standing there frozen, Qin Ruoshang simply picked up a coconut and handed it to Zhang Liu.

Then she stood and walked over to the giant clam shell.

Innards in a hot, humid tropical seaside environment really do start to smell quickly.

Even though Zhang Liu and Anya had already cleaned them several times in advance, when Qin Ruoshang got close, she also caught a sharp, pungent, choking smell.

Looking at the colorful innards, along with the congealed blood clots on the skewers…the terrifying images from her memory surfaced again.

Her legs trembled, her heart raced, and her instinct told her not to get closer.

But after all, it was just instinct!

Gritting her teeth, she forced her stiff legs to step forward to the clam shell, then forced her gaze onto the pieces of innards.

A suffocating sense that made it almost impossible to breathe spread through her whole body.

She could only open her mouth wide to gasp for air to avoid the smell, while her body was completely unable to make any effective movement.

Finally, under the worried eyes of Zhang Liu and Anya, Qin Ruoshang bent down, reached out, and, at the cost of pressing her cheek close to the innards pieces, successfully lifted the clam shell, carried it over to the two, and set it down on the sand.

“Next, we just have to put them in, right?” Her lips trembled as she asked Zhang Liu, who was watching her intently.

“Mm.” Zhang Liu nodded, and Qin Ruoshang reached out to grab the pieces—but her hand was stopped.

“Use this.” Looking worriedly at the tightly gripped hand, Zhang Liu handed Qin Ruoshang two thin branches of suitable length and said, “Your hand…”

This wasn’t the first time Zhang Liu had held Qin Ruoshang’s hand.

When they had accidentally touched while moving things before, Zhang Liu only felt warmth and softness—something rare and precious in his life.

But right now, all he felt was cold and stiff.

Zhang Liu wanted to tell Qin Ruoshang not to force herself if it was too painful.

But seeing the stubborn yet serious expression on her face, he swallowed his words.

“Okay!” Prompted to use the sticks like chopsticks, Qin Ruoshang showed a faint blush.

She felt a bit foolish for having forgotten the saying, “The greatest difference between humans and animals is the use of tools.”

One of her hands felt warm and comforting in Zhang Liu’s palm, while the other hand was preparing to pick up the pieces of internal organs and place them into the shell.

Just as Qin Ruoshang was about to do so, she suddenly realized she was holding Zhang Liu’s hand.

She accidentally formed a “lover’s fist” with five crossed fingers.

Her face instantly flushed red, and the coldness in her body was replaced by a burning heat spreading from deep in her soul.

Qin Ruoshang hurriedly let go and instead held Zhang Liu’s palm normally, then quickly started picking up the innards pieces.

Maybe because she was distracted, or perhaps because she had hit rock bottom and was now bouncing back, after putting all the innards pieces into the clam shell, she found herself able to stare blankly at the raw skewers being grilled.

It was like last night when she could stand still watching Zhang Liu kill the goat.

Was it because her adrenaline was pumping?

Qin Ruoshang sniffed hard, still smelling the strong metallic scent of blood in her nostrils.

But she was no longer afraid; instead, she felt a certain calmness.

Instinctively, Qin Ruoshang opened the palm of the hand she had just held from Zhang Liu in front of her and could feel a sudden flutter through her body and mind.

That whole-body trembling followed by a soothing comfort left her with a lingering pleasant feeling.

“Qin Ruoshang, eat more liver later. Zhang Liu specially cut two extra skewers for you,” Anya said, glancing at Zhang Liu’s palm before speaking to Qin Ruoshang, “It’s good for replenishing blood!”

Her way of addressing Qin Ruoshang had changed again—from “Xiao Ruoshang” to her full name.

Anya felt a bit uncomfortable, especially when Qin Ruoshang had been about to interlock her fingers with Zhang Liu’s.

She had a feeling that something precious was about to be taken away.

Setting down her half-drunk coconut juice, Anya placed the innard skewers on both sides of the “stone wall stove” and began to rotate them, imitating what she had seen when eating grilled chicken skewers.

When Qin Ruoshang had designed the distance between the two sides of the “stone wall stove,” she had specifically referenced the wooden sticks from the coconut meat skewers Anya had carelessly tossed aside last time.

So the innard skewers fit perfectly between the two sides, fully exposing the juicy tender meat to the charcoal fire.

This made it very comfortable for Anya to use.

Soon, the soft innards began to secrete a mixture of something like blood and fat.

When the liquid dripped onto the charcoal fire, it produced a smell typical of charred red meat protein, gradually covering up the bloody odor in the air.

Meanwhile, the innard pieces inside the giant clam shell gradually changed color.

A cooked meat aroma began mixing into the air, and the surface of the soup started to bubble with a white foam that only appears after blood has coagulated.

“Gulu…” Watching this scene, Zhang Liu quickly grabbed a coconut shell to scoop up the foam, while his stomach began to rumble.

Next to him, Anya, tending the skewers, and Qin Ruoshang, adding firewood, both showed expressions of desire.

“It should be about ready!”

After quite some time passed and the sun gradually grew hotter, Anya took the fully cooked skewers off the fire.

She divided them according to their portions—Zhang Liu and Anya ten skewers each, Qin Ruoshang twelve.

Looking at the ten skewers of innards sizzling with oil, Zhang Liu couldn’t help himself anymore.

He casually picked one up and bit off a piece.

Without any seasoning, the grilled innards couldn’t be called delicious, and Anya hadn’t grilled them perfectly—some edges were already charred.

But due to hunger and lack of fat, he barely tasted any flavor before finishing the entire skewer.

Qin Ruoshang and Anya beside him did the same.

For a while, the three had no energy to talk, only listening to the bubbling sounds of the innards stew in the giant clam shell, and fiercely eating the skewers, which weren’t very tasty but genuinely satisfying.