Chapter 35

Li Yuanxi sat with her legs pressed together like a little child, eating the meat in her bowl bit by bit. Occasionally, she listlessly poked at the meat with her chopsticks.

She propped her chin on one hand on the table, her gaze occasionally drifting to Wei Shu, who was eating seriously. She’d steal a glance, then immediately look away. When she realized the other woman hadn’t noticed, she’d sneak another peek.

This continued until Wei Shu finished her meal. Li Yuanxi had barely touched the meat in her own bowl. Wei Shu raised an eyebrow, catching Li Yuanxi’s covert, stealthy gaze. Li Yuanxi quickly averted her eyes and began eating the shredded meat in her bowl.

Wei Shu’s eyes held a mocking gleam, her brows and eyes curved in amusement. Unfortunately, a guilt-ridden Li Yuanxi didn’t see it. After the meal, Wei Shu still washed the dishes. When she turned around, the cave was empty of Li Yuanxi.

Stepping out of the cave, she saw a pile of firewood had been lit, illuminating the open ground around the cave mouth. From the small shed, the smoked wild goose meat released its fragrant aroma.

Wei Shu dried her hands, poured two cups of tea, and placed them on a small table made from plastic bottles. This square plastic table was her own creation.

The plastic bottles were seamlessly joined, each one tightly fused to the next without a gap. She had no tape or super glue, so she used fire, softening the bottle bodies and melting them together.

She’d experimented many times at first. Each time, the plastic bottle would burn through and melt completely. Later, she’d searched through the forest near the coastline, looking for the plastic bottles she’d saved.

Finding many bottles with thicker walls, she went back and tried several more times, mastering the right amount of heat. Only then did she start gluing them one by one, resulting in the current table made from over a hundred plastic bottles.

To ensure the table’s adhesion was strong, Wei Shu melted a large number of plastic bottles into a gel-like substance. Before it solidified, she poured it into the gaps between the bottles. Once it cooled down, a practical, lightweight plastic bottle table was complete.

Li Yuanxi sat by the campfire, the cool sea breeze making the flames dance. She watched Wei Shu sit down beside her and slowly sip her tea. In the small wooden shed, there were eight wild geese and one swan in total.

Now the wooden racks were full. Li Yuanxi would have to start building a second shed. After the tide came in, there would be sea fish, and those were also a priority for her.

Li Yuanxi mentally planned what she needed to do tomorrow and the day after. The sky was full of twinkling stars, and occasionally, she could hear the calls of wild geese.

Suddenly, an idea struck Li Yuanxi. Where did swans like to live? Freshwater lakes. There had to be a place here where the swans could bathe and drink.

Even if this place was temporary, the swans would likely stay for a day or two. If they could find food there, it meant there were fish, shrimp, and crabs in the freshwater. That kind of food would satisfy the swans, giving them energy and allowing them to rest properly.

She also thought that when the weather got colder, she could store the food in iron barrels and place them outside the cave. She’d build a small shed to block the sun, and the cold would keep the food from spoiling.

Anyway, Li Yuanxi was thinking of many, many things, mainly to avoid going back to the cave and staring blankly at Wei Shu. Her thumb picked up the cup from the plastic table, and she continued drinking water.

The campfire illuminated their surroundings, raising the temperature a few degrees. Li Yuanxi turned her head and saw Wei Shu sitting beside the plastic table. She hadn’t noticed when she’d come. Her breath hitched, and it took a moment before her breathing returned to normal.

With her mind quiet, Li Yuanxi began to feel anxious again. When she was nervous, she unconsciously picked at her fingers. Sometimes, she’d even hurt her fingers without realizing it.

Wei Shu’s gaze fell on her fingers. She reached out and took Li Yuanxi’s hand. Li Yuanxi’s body trembled. She forcefully pulled her hand free, hiding it behind her back. “Ah… the moon is really beautiful tonight, isn’t it?” Her ears red as she looked up to find the moon.

Wei Shu watched her, looking like a timid little wife, and couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Ha ha ha ha…” The clear, unrestrained laughter made Li Yuanxi nearly turn from embarrassment to anger.

At that laugh, Wei Shu couldn’t stop, clutching her stomach and laughing for a long time. She laughed until Li Yuanxi, abandoning all her irritation, awkwardness, and shame, finally came over and covered her mouth, forbidding her to laugh anymore.

Wei Shu, with her mouth covered, looked up at Li Yuanxi and blinked. Her eyes were full of laughter, her black pupils filled with starlight. Li Yuanxi’s palm felt hot, and she let go.

Li Yuanxi licked her lips and sat back down in her spot. Her body relaxed, her back curved, and she stared straight at Wei Shu, silently commanding her to stop laughing. Wei Shu stopped, but the upward curve of her lips betrayed her mood.

Having broken through Li Yuanxi’s defenses, Wei Shu pressed her advantage. She raised an eyebrow, an expression that didn’t seem frivolous but rather added a bold, carefree elegance. She propped her chin on one hand, her eyes blazing as she looked at Li Yuanxi, “What’s up with you today, acting like a timid little wife? Hmm?”

That drawn-out, lowered “Hmm?” made Li Yuanxi’s heart skip a beat. It sounded so good. Li Yuanxi’s tea-brown eyes lifted slightly, their lids half-covering her gaze, making her expression unreadable.

In the darkness, the dancing bright flames seemed to grow even warmer. Seeing Li Yuanxi stay silent, Wei Shu turned to look at the stars in the sky. She and Li Yuanxi rarely came out at night because of the mosquitos.

But if the smoke was thick enough, the mosquitos wouldn’t come. That was why they could sit here without being bitten.

“It’s been a month since we came to this island,” Wei Shu said with a soft, melancholic sigh.

Li Yuanxi followed Wei Shu’s train of thought and thought about it. It really had been a month and two days. Had it been that long already?

She also looked at the stars with a sense of loss, feeling a bit homesick.

“I wonder if they’re still looking for us?” Wei Shu’s voice held confusion and hope. “Of course, they’re still looking. They’ll find us in a few months at most.” Li Yuanxi nodded firmly. She believed that the Wei family and her own parents wouldn’t give up so easily.

“Mm, I believe you.” Wei Shu turned to Li Yuanxi and gave her a radiant smile. Her loose hair fell over her shoulders, and in the flickering firelight, she looked incredibly gentle and moving.

Li Yuanxi nodded hurriedly, her thoughts swept away by Wei Shu’s words. With just a few sentences, Wei Shu had pulled her out of that strange, awkward atmosphere.

“Do you know what your pheromone smells like?” Wei Shu suddenly asked. “Wha… what?” Li Yuanxi didn’t quite understand Wei Shu’s question, her eyes full of confusion.

Wei Shu looked at the plastic table separating her and Li Yuanxi, then lowered her gaze. She suddenly found the table quite annoying. She reached out and moved the table aside, then picked up her small stool and sat down shoulder-to-shoulder with Li Yuanxi.

Li Yuanxi looked at Wei Shu’s actions in confusion, then watched her move closer. Wei Shu sat beside her, leaning slightly upward with her chin in her hand, perfectly positioned to look up at Li Yuanxi’s face.

They had created a subtle distance, yet Wei Shu could see Li Yuanxi’s face completely, putting psychological pressure on her. Li Yuanxi sat up straight, her prominent Adam’s apple moving up and down in her fair, beautiful neck.

A female alpha’s Adam’s apple wasn’t very noticeable, but Li Yuanxi’s was somewhat prominent, very sexy. In the past, Wei Shu’s gaze always lingered on her Adam’s apple, and this time was no exception.

Li Yuanxi looked at the way Wei Shu was looking at her. She felt like she was swimming freely in a vast lake, and the scattered sparks on the shore made her sink into that watery gaze.

“Have you ever smelled your own pheromone?” Wei Shu’s pink lips softly uttered a topic that made Li Yuanxi nervous.

Li Yuanxi’s palms gripped her knees. Her lips moved slightly as she looked at Wei Shu’s beautiful captivating pupils, which shimmered with silent allure. Suddenly, the corner of her mouth lifted, and the tension in her eyes faded.

[I can’t let her lead me. I need to get my own momentum back.] Li Yuanxi repeated this silently in her mind. She found a logical flaw in Wei Shu’s words and instantly felt confident.

Li Yuanxi regained her former confidence and deliberately lowered her head slowly, seemingly about to touch Wei Shu. There were about ten centimeters between them, close enough to clearly see each other’s pupils.

Li Yuanxi thought Wei Shu would be startled and change her posture, making her the winner. But Wei Shu didn’t follow the script. She just looked at Li Yuanxi with a smile, quietly watching her, waiting to see what she would do.

Her shimmering eyes were full of laughter, making Li Yuanxi dumbfounded for a moment. She rarely saw such open emotions from Wei Shu.

“Do you have something you want to ask me to do?” Li Yuanxi decided to just ask directly if she needed help with something.

Wei Shu’s expression sobered, and she sat up straight. “On this island, it’s just you and me. What would I need you to help me with?” She pointed at Li Yuanxi and herself.

“Then…”

Li Yuanxi left the sentence unfinished, but Wei Shu understood. She just wanted to know if Li Yuanxi was starting to recover.

“You still haven’t answered my question. Have you smelled your own pheromone?” Wei Shu pressed on, her gaze drilling straight into Li Yuanxi’s heart, forbidding her from being perfunctory.

“Yes, I have,” Li Yuanxi said quietly. Wei Shu’s eyes lit up. Just as she thought. “It smells like agarwood, doesn’t it?”

Li Yuanxi’s eyes widened, her expression clearly saying, “How do you know!?”

Wei Shu deliberately curled her lips and gave Li Yuanxi a playful wink. “I smelled it.”

“Impossible. I’ve never released my pheromone. Never…” Li Yuanxi covered her neck, speaking forcefully. Then she suddenly thought of something, her pupils dilating.

“That once?” Li Yuanxi asked in disbelief, her lips moving soundlessly. “Mm-hmm.” Wei Shu lifted the corner of her mouth and nodded.

“I just caught a faint whiff of it during your heat period,” Wei Shu leaned close to Li Yuanxi’s ear and dropped a bombshell.

Li Yuanxi kept swallowing. Her body instinctively moved away from Wei Shu, and just as she was about to near the campfire, Wei Shu pulled her back.

Caught off balance, Li Yuanxi was yanked directly into Wei Shu’s arms. It was a bit of a struggle for Wei Shu to hold someone a head taller than herself, but Li Yuanxi circled her arms around Wei Shu’s waist.

They just held each other. Wei Shu didn’t plan on letting go. Li Yuanxi loosened her grip and gently pushed her, but Wei Shu didn’t let go. Instead, she rested her forehead on Li Yuanxi’s shoulder.

“Li Chuyi, do you really not understand what I mean?” The warm breath from Wei Shu’s words enveloped Li Yuanxi’s earlobe. The ear, already red enough to bleed, continued to heat and burn. Li Yuanxi even stopped breathing.

“Haha… haha… I don’t understand what you mean?” Li Yuanxi forced a stiff smile, her eyelids twitching like crazy.

“Hmph.” Wei Shu gave a cold snort. She looked at Li Yuanxi’s bright red earlobe, a flicker of shyness in her eyes, but she stopped eventually. If she really did something, Li Yuanxi would dare to run to the other side of the island in the middle of the night and hide out.

Wei Shu let go. Li Yuanxi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little disappointed, but quickly pushed the feeling away. This was all one of Wei Shu’s tricks. She couldn’t fall for it!!!

“When you left without a word before, I used to look at the stars in the orchard. The little cabin you built is still there.” Wei Shu began to speak of the past. The past… Li Yuanxi felt dazed.

“I wanted to contact you, but my pride wouldn’t allow it. Three times. I gave you three chances, Li Yuanxi. You didn’t take a single one.”

Wei Shu looked at Li Yuanxi with an icy gaze. Li Yuanxi felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, cold all over.

Li Yuanxi knew what chances Wei Shu was talking about. Three chances to explain. She had never used a single one.

Li Yuanxi lowered her head, picked up a piece of firewood from the ground, and threw it into the fire. Her voice was hoarse. “It’s not that I didn’t take them. It’s that I couldn’t take them.”

The bright flames reflected on Li Yuanxi’s face. She looked at the fire. “I couldn’t let you fall into the quagmire that is the Li family.”

Li Yuanxi’s expression was dazed. Her voice dropped to a near whisper.

Back then, the Li family was like sticky mud you couldn’t shake off, a blood-sucking leech. What they wanted was the resources and energy to revive the family, even elevate it to a higher level.

And the Wei family had precisely those resources and that energy. Most importantly, Li Yuanxi shot a bitter, resentful glance at Wei Shu. She still remembered what happened at the hotel!

“Didn’t you say you wanted to find an omega?” Li Yuanxi pouted and mumbled, tossing another branch into the fire.

Wei Shu heard both sentences she said. Maybe not every word was clear, but she heard them.

Wei Shu pressed her temple. She barely stopped herself from lifting her leg and kicking Li Yuanxi into the fire.

“Why do you think your dear Second Uncle was able to take over?” Wei Shu forcefully cupped Li Yuanxi’s face, looking down at her. Her gaze was cold, her tone icy. She released her full aura, suppressing Li Yuanxi.

Li Yuanxi swallowed nervously. With her whole face cupped by Wei Shu, she looked at the icy shards in Wei Shu’s eyes and asked with difficulty, her mouth still pouting, “Why?”

“Hmph. The day you left the country, your Second Uncle came knocking on my door. How else do you think you and your parents got your 10% of the original shares?” Wei Shu glared at her contemptuously.

“The chances I gave you, you never took. And you loved to bounce around in front of me. Li Yuanxi, you should really think about just how much of a coward you are.” When she finished, Wei Shu lowered her head and bit Li Yuanxi hard on the lips. Then she let go and left Li Yuanxi to head back to the cave.

Li Yuanxi felt the pain on her lips, and a numbness. Had she been bitten again?

Li Yuanxi licked her lips, her heart pounding wildly. Her mind was a blur of chaotic thoughts, but beneath it all was a joy she couldn’t suppress. It manifested as a grin that stretched to the back of her head, baring all her teeth in a loud laugh.

Li Yuanxi replayed the memories from after she’d returned to the country. When her Second Uncle had given her the original shares, she’d been a little stunned. But her Second Uncle kept saying, “Yuanxi, you’ve sacrificed a lot. You deserve all of this.”

In the end, with the attitude of “why not take what’s offered,” Li Yuanxi and her parents accepted their original shares.

She had just returned to the country then and wanted to find Wei Shu but couldn’t swallow her pride. Before she left, she had caused plenty of trouble in front of Wei Shu.

Otherwise, do you think she got the title “archenemy” for nothing?

She had even snatched a project from right under Wei Shu’s nose, one that Wei Shu was about to close. Wei Shu had never held it against her. At most, she made things busy enough for Li Yuanxi that her Second Uncle would drag her back to the company for six months of work.

During those work days, aside from occasionally having a bit of time to show her face in front of Wei Shu and make a small struggle, the rest of the time was spent in a blur of frantic busyness.

Wei Shu sat on the bed, listening to Li Yuanxi’s laughter from outside the cave. She bit her lower lip, her face burning hot. She covered her face with her hands, trying to cool down.

The fierce momentum she’d just had was all gone, replaced by an adorable, moving charm, surrounded by shy annoyance. Wei Shu sighed. She hoped Chuyi wouldn’t run away this time.

Thinking about it made Wei Shu’s teeth itch. She still wasn’t sure if Chuyi’s problems were purely psychological.