Du Lai said nothing.

He kept his jaw clenched and his strength braced, afraid that if he made a sound, he would lose his grip on himself entirely.

Fu Miaoxue watched him with worry. She didn’t know where he was going or what he planned to do — she could only follow behind him with a heavy heart, afraid something would go terribly wrong.

She had wanted to get back at Du Lai, but she hadn’t wanted him to die.

On an island this large, if it were just her left alone… how bleak would that be.

And besides… she really hadn’t expected that one tiny octopus could pack such a punch…

Fu Miaoxue sighed inwardly.

Ugh, ugh, ugh…

……

Du Lai walked with extreme care.

Afraid of agitating the octopus, he kept his steps very small and his pace very slow.

Fu Miaoxue followed behind him the whole way, checking in with a few concerned words every now and then — none of which he acknowledged.

He was simply too furious.

So furious he wanted to wring her head right off her shoulders, just to see what on earth was going on inside it!

Beat her? He had no strength for that right now. Berate her? She’d out-berate him every time, and do it with complete conviction, claiming she was just getting revenge!

How could such a woman exist?!

No — she wasn’t a woman!

She was a lunatic! A complete madwoman!

Du Lai cursed her inwardly, enduring the awful sensation below his waist, and after a very long time, finally arrived at the beach.

He lowered himself into the shallows at an agonizingly slow pace, palms braced against the wet sand, letting the seawater wash over his body.

Fu Miaoxue crouched down beside him, staring fixedly at his crotch area — apparently waiting for the octopus to crawl out of there at any moment.

Du Lai took a long, deep breath, turned his head toward her, and said: “Miss, is it possible — for you to move a little farther away?”

“What kind of attitude is that?” Fu Miaoxue frowned back at him. “I’m just here because I care about you! No good deed goes unpunished!”

Du Lai: “…”

Ha…

This kind of caring — he could do without.

“It’s so sunny here.” Fu Miaoxue looked around, then stood up and ran toward a large banana tree. She tore off two big leaves and ran back.

She held one up for herself, and held one up for Du Lai too — and even gave him a deliberate little smile, as if to say: Am I not terribly thoughtful?

“…” Du Lai felt nothing.

If he had to say something — he simply thought she had a split personality…

……

The two of them sat on the beach, sheltered under their banana leaves.

Heaven only knew what that octopus was holding on for — huddled in its corner, it stubbornly refused to release Du Lai.

Fu Miaoxue waited a while and grew impatient. She gave Du Lai’s shoulder a light nudge and asked: “Still hasn’t let go?”

Du Lai gave her an expressionless look. “It had already released three of its legs. Now that you’ve pushed me, it’s latched all of them back on again.”

Fu Miaoxue: “…”

She pressed her lips together and said quietly: “Well, you didn’t tell me — I didn’t know…”

“So it’s my fault again?” Du Lai said, exasperated. “Was I supposed to give you a live play-by-play?”

Fu Miaoxue said unhappily: “Why are you so bad-tempered? I didn’t do it on purpose! Do you have to keep taking everything out on me?”

Du Lai looked at her as though he’d just heard the funniest joke: “You didn’t do it on purpose?”

“…” Fu Miaoxue’s lips pressed into a sulk. “You started it.”

“Fine, I misjudged you completely.” Du Lai waved a dismissive hand and said coolly: “Just don’t talk, and don’t sit too close to me. I’m grateful.”

Fu Miaoxue pouted and shuffled a little farther away.

She was actually quite angry, and very much wanted to just walk off — but for reasons she couldn’t quite explain, she stayed, sitting beside Du Lai——

Perhaps she wanted to witness the exact moment the octopus finally let go.

The two of them waited on the beach for a very long time…

So long that Fu Miaoxue was starting to drift off to sleep. Then Du Lai suddenly thrust his hand downward, grabbed something, and with a heaving swing of his arm, hurled it as hard as he could toward the open sea!

Fu Miaoxue jolted awake and frantically looked around. “The octopus? Where is it? Where did it land? Why did you throw it away?!”

Du Lai stood up, dripping wet, and said with thinly veiled irritation: “Would you rather I kept it so you could use it on me again?”

—