The sun blazed overhead, the sand scorched hot underfoot.

The two of them walked one after the other, sheltering under their banana leaves.

Du Lai walked in front, Fu Miaoxue followed behind, a gap of several meters between them — neither too close nor too far… She tried several times to say something to ease the tension, but in the end, no words came out.

They made their way back to the large rock.

Amid the lush greenery, the gray-white boulder jutted out like a fish’s head half-emerged from green water. Du Lai crawled into the hollow at the “fish’s mouth,” pressed the scattered leaves flat with his feet, and lay down to rest.

The bonfire was still burning. The bamboo cage had been roasted to a deep red, and the clams on the metal tray had long since burned to an utterly charred, completely inedible state.

Which meant their food supply… consisted of nothing but the wild fruits Du Lai had brought back earlier.

Fu Miaoxue rubbed her belly, walked quietly over to Du Lai’s side, and asked: “Are you going to go catch more fish?”

“The tide’s in. Can’t fish now,” Du Lai replied.

Fu Miaoxue sat down beside him and carefully probed: “Then… wait until the tide goes out?”

“It’ll be too late by then — can’t fish in the dark.” Du Lai lay on his side, his voice flat and emotionless.

Fu Miaoxue: “…”

Her stomach growled.

“What if we make a fishing net in the meantime? You said last time we could weave one from tree bark and vines.” Fu Miaoxue said, unwilling to give up.

Du Lai closed his eyes and gave her only three words in reply:

“I’m tired.”

Fu Miaoxue: “…”

She felt defeated, and a swell of frustration rose in her. Her tone turned sharp: “You’re a grown man — why is your temper bigger than mine? You’re not going to do anything? So what, are we just going to sit here and starve to death?”

Du Lai paused for two seconds, then sat up. He looked at her with calm composure and said: “I genuinely am tired and I want to rest right now. Can you please be quiet for a moment?”

Fu Miaoxue bit her lower lip.

He glanced at her once more, then looked away and lay back down.

Fu Miaoxue felt utterly stifled. She stared at the back of Du Lai’s head and muttered miserably: “But I’m so hungry. Ever since we got to this island, I’ve barely eaten anything properly. The first day we only had a few fruits. The second day was fruit plus clam meat. Today is already the third day, and my stomach is so empty — I want to eat something.”

Du Lai lay there with his eyes closed, ignoring her.

Fu Miaoxue paid no mind to whether he was genuinely asleep or faking it, and continued to murmur in a pitiful, aggrieved voice: “I’ve never been this hungry in my life. Three days — three days without a proper meal! I used to eat at least four times a day — breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. Now I can’t even manage one meal a day. Aren’t you hungry too? And you threw away that octopus — I spent so long digging to find that one octopus…”

Du Lai still said nothing, but a vein had already started pulsing visibly on his forehead.

Her voice gradually took on the wavering edge of tears: “I only wanted to give you a little scare… I didn’t know it would hurt you that badly. But even if it hurt, you still shouldn’t have thrown it away. I’m nearly starving to death. I really am going to starve to death. My stomach acid is practically digesting me from the inside…”

“Alright!” Du Lai reached the limit of his patience, flipped over and sat up. “Aren’t there still fruits?! Can you just eat some fruit to tide yourself over?!”

Fu Miaoxue’s eyes shimmered with tears. “But that’s only one meal — what about afternoon tea and dinner?”

Du Lai could have strangled her!

But he restrained himself!

He pressed a hand to his forehead and sat up, grabbed the banana leaves Fu Miaoxue had picked up earlier, and pointed toward the trees outside: “Go find something to eat near where you pulled those leaves from.”

“The bananas haven’t grown yet.” Fu Miaoxue said sadly. “I already checked — the fruits are barely bigger than a thumb. They’re not edible.”

Du Lai said irritably: “Go chop down some banana stalks. Bring several back — I’ll show you how to eat them!”

Fu Miaoxue’s tears spilled over: “Stop trying to trick me! I’m genuinely starving! Everyone knows banana stalks are for feeding pigs — you’re just trying to make a fool of me again! How can you be such a terrible person!”

—