Du Lai first felt pain, then opened his eyes. Piercing sunlight entered his field of vision, stabbing his pupils like needles. He was dizzy and disoriented.

He closed his eyes, forced himself to prop up on his elbows, and his stomach convulsed in spasms. He couldn’t help but cough violently, vomiting out a great deal of seawater before his mind finally began to clear somewhat.

He braced himself against his knees and slowly stood up, looked around, and found himself on a stretch of beach.

It was an extremely rough beach — pristine and untouched, mixed with coral fragments, shells, reef rock, and what appeared to be rotted driftwood.

Du Lai’s occipital region throbbed with a dull ache. He turned to look out at the sea — the blue ocean surface stretched vast and boundless, not a single ship in sight, only a few seabirds flying past in the sky.

Where was he?

His last memory was of a deck tilting endlessly. What had happened after that? The violent wind, the towering waves, the terrified screaming… they had encountered a tornado — and then? Where was the ship? Had only he survived? Were there other survivors?

Du Lai walked slowly along the beach, trying to find some clues. A cruise ship that large — if it had truly been swept nearby by the tornado, it was impossible there would be no trace of it whatsoever.

After walking some ten or so steps, he spotted a woman sitting not far ahead.

It was that spoiled and unhinged young miss.

She was soaked through, sitting vacantly on the beach, staring blankly at the horizon.

Waves periodically washed over her ankles, and the hem of her dress was covered with white sand. She looked like a drenched hen — every feather wet, every last bit of her former arrogance gone.

When Du Lai saw her, he felt a measure of relief. Since he wasn’t the only one here, the others were very likely nearby as well.

He walked over and asked: “Young Miss, are you alright?”

She turned to look at him, her expression confused.

Du Lai patiently explained: “We’ve been in an accident — do you remember? We encountered a tornado.”

When the young miss heard the word “tornado,” her eyes stirred slightly. Then she slowly blinked, as if it was coming back to her. She nodded very slowly: “Right… a tornado…”

She looked out at the ocean again and asked with puzzlement: “The tornado… why is it gone…”

Du Lai: “……”

He didn’t know how to answer that. After a pause, he said: “I don’t know how long we were unconscious. Young Miss, do you have any way to contact your bodyguards, or anyone else?”

The young miss stared at the ocean and said nothing.

Du Lai wasn’t sure what was wrong with her — was the shock too great and she hadn’t come back to herself yet, or had she hit her head when washed ashore?

“……Young Miss?” Du Lai cautiously reminded her. “Are you alright?”

She lowered her head, moved her two legs, and said: “My legs hurt.”

Du Lai: “……”

Wasn’t that obvious?

After an accident this severe, just managing to survive was already extraordinary — how could one expect to come away without a single injury? He himself was aching all over right now!

“Young Miss…” Du Lai controlled his temper and coaxed patiently. “We need to find rescue as quickly as possible. Otherwise, your injuries can’t be treated in a place like this. It looks like this might be a deserted island — there’s nothing nearby.”

The young miss still wore that dazed expression, her face devoid of emotion.

After a few seconds, she said calmly: “Grandfather will send people to find me. Our family has plenty of money and plenty of people. They’ll definitely find me quickly.”

Hearing her words, Du Lai’s heart completely settled, and he smiled: “Wonderful. Then let’s do our best to stay in the open — this area is more visible and makes it easier for a rescue team to spot us.”

The young miss said: “But my legs hurt.”

This time Du Lai handled it more diplomatically and said attentively: “Let me carry you on my back to rest over there.”