Chapter 6: Why Don't You Take My Pants?
As if he had been electrocuted, Zhang Liu trembled all over when he saw Qin Rushuang's timid expression, then quickly looked away.
He picked up a coconut from the ground and walked swiftly behind the rocks. After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, he shouted, "Qin Rushuang, please get ready. I will open some coconuts for breakfast."
After yesterday's failed attempt, Zhang Liu knew better than to use stones to crack the coconuts protected by their thick fiber shells.
He lifted the coconut and struck it hard against the sharp point of the rock. When the juice started to flow out, he collected it in the empty coconut shell container he had prepared the day before.
In just over ten minutes, Zhang Liu had a simple breakfast in front of him: two large servings of coconut milk and less than half a serving of coconut meat.
Without proper tools to extract it, he had to resort to using a sharp flint to cut it haphazardly. As a result, the coconut meat looked as if it had been soaked, with a high loss rate and more than 40% of broken pieces remaining on the coconut shell.
After preparing everything, Zhang Liu didn't dare to approach directly, remembering the forest scene. Instead, he shouted loudly through the rocks, "Qin Rushuang, have you resolved the matter?"
"Yeah... I've taken care of it," Qin Rushuang replied calmly.
Although the pain in her lower abdomen hadn't eased, Zhang Liu's noble behavior made her feel warmth in her heart.
However, all Qin Rushuang could do was dismantle the circle, flip over the blood-stained foam board, and place it under her body, burying some blood-stained sand.
As for the white underpants and black stockings that were still on the rock, she had no intention of wearing them again for now. Firstly, they would get dirty, and secondly, they were uncomfortable.
"Have some coconut juice first." Zhang Liu emerged with two bowls made from coconut shell containers, his tone sounding a bit helpless.
"Yes." After taking a few sips from the large coconut shell, Qin Rushuang inadvertently glanced at Zhang Liu, who was staring at her, and felt a little nervous.
The rhythm of drinking the coconut water also became chaotic.
"Cough, cough, cough..." She choked a few times, set down the coconut shell, and quickly wiped a few drops of clear liquid from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Qin Rushuang turned to look at Zhang Liu, who was still gazing at her shyly, and asked, "Why are you looking at me?"
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"I'm not looking at you; I'm just thinking that if rescue doesn't arrive today, we'll have to spend the night somewhere else."
Zhang Liu shook his head, denying the other party's assumption.
As he spoke, he didn't notice the embarrassed expression on Qin Rushuang's face.
"Well... it's not safe here." The embarrassment quickly disappeared. After taking a sip of the coconut juice she had set down, Qin Rushuang said, "But didn't you say we can prevent wolf attacks here?"
"Oh, I lied to you," Zhang Liu admitted sincerely and honestly.
"Okay..." With coconut juice in her mouth, Qin Rushuang puffed out her cheeks and didn't know what to say for a while.
Was there a lie hidden behind that confident tone last night?
"Don't worry about the details right now. Let's eat something first and find a place to sleep that can protect us from the wind tonight." Unlike Qin Rushuang, who was huddled in the foam, Zhang Liu was fully exposed to the sea breeze at night, and this small stone on the mountain wasn't enough.
While it provided good warmth in the first half of the night, it became much cooler in the second half.
Zhang Liu gulped down the coconut juice and surpassed Qin Rushuang in terms of speed. Then he picked up a piece of milky white coconut meat and put it in his mouth.
The flesh wasn't as delicious as the coconut found in the milk. It lacked an aftertaste and only had a hint of sweetness from the coconut milk that covered it. The overall taste was similar to that of white jelly.
However, he had come up with a solution this morning.
He decided to mix the coconut milk with the coconut meat, taking a sip of coconut milk and then a bite of coconut meat. Although it still wasn't delicious, it tasted much better than chewing on wax.
Following Zhang Liu's lead, Qin Rushuang also started doing the same.
Soon, their stomachs were no longer empty, and they began to feel somewhat full.
Only a piece of coconut meat remained in the bowl, and Zhang Liu and Qin Rushuang looked at each other and said in unison,
"You're in a period, so you should eat."
"You have to do physical work, so you need to eat."
"You better eat it! I can open another coconut later," Zhang Liu said when he saw Qin Rushuang turning her head in embarrassment at his words.
This statement wasn't wrong; there were at least twenty coconuts piled up behind the rocks. Even if they both ate greedily, there wouldn't be any problem at all.
"Yes," Qin Rushuang replied. Having already finished speaking, she didn't hesitate to stop being polite. She nodded and put the coconut meat in her mouth, chewing it twice before swallowing.
She didn't particularly enjoy the cold, greasy taste, but the feeling of something filling her stomach brought a sense of security to Qin Rushuang.
In the morning sea breeze, Zhang Liu stood there without any reaction, but he felt a bit cold. However, Qin Rushuang couldn't help but tremble all over.
Observing Qin Rushuang trembling inexplicably, Zhang Liu hesitated for a few seconds, then tentatively suggested, "How about I take off my pants and let you wear them?"
"Huh?" Qin Rushuang was momentarily stunned. Her mind subconsciously registered that Zhang Liu was about to take off his pants, but she quickly realized that he intended to give her his pants.
"No! I..." Her face suddenly turned red. "There will be blood," she whispered.
"It's okay to cover it up. I saw you shivering just now," Zhang Liu said sincerely, his fingers gripping the belt of his pants. "Getting cold in a place like this will definitely become a big problem."
"You can wear it; I really don't need it!" Qin Rushuang placed her hands on her snow-white thighs and quickly shook her head, dismissing the idea. "If you get scratched, it will cause bigger problems!"
After some back-and-forth, Zhang Liu decided to keep his pants on and walked to the other side of the beach.
He had already mentally made a list of arrangements for their situation.
"First, the best chance for rescue is within seventy-two hours." Thinking through the possibilities, the most likely time for him and Qin Rushuang to be rescued would be within these three days.
"Second, find a place to provide cover, at least to avoid the afternoon sun."
"Third, secure a water source." He remembered the warning about drinking too much coconut, as it could cause diarrhea.
"Fourth, a source of fire. We need to find suitable materials to make a fire, be it tinder or a wooden stick. If we could scrape some sawdust off bamboo, it would also be a good tool choice."
"Fifth, food and rescue operations are uncertain. To ensure a chance of survival beyond the seventy-two-hour mark, we need to find food that could sustain me and Qin Rushuang during this time. It should contain protein, not just simple carbohydrates like coconut."
Zhang Liu racked his brain, recalling all the survival wilderness videos he had seen and extracting the essential information from each one.