Chapter 43: Forty-Three Part 2

Li Yuanxi’s expression was focused and serious. Her hands worked quickly, tying knots in the vines. Only when the entire frame was stable did she let go and step back to see where adjustments were needed.

A simple cabin structure was built. Li Yuanxi frowned, thinking about what could be improved. She felt like she was forgetting something.

Suddenly, a long sigh came from the mountain forest. “You’ve been gone for over five hours and didn’t even come to tell me.”

Li Yuanxi blinked in confusion. She turned and saw Wei Shu standing on the slope above her. Her eyes widened slowly as she finally remembered what she had forgotten.

Li Yuanxi gave Wei Shu a sheepish smile. She had only intended to cut a few trees and build a frame, planning to fill it in gradually during her spare time. This was their newly minted bathroom.

“Shu Shu, look, isn’t this bathroom nice?” Li Yuanxi quickly changed the subject, raising her hand to beckon Wei Shu over to see her finished frame.

Wei Shu walked over with a straight face. The soreness in her legs was almost bearable with more movement. She circled the skeletal bathroom and nodded in satisfaction, giving Li Yuanxi ample praise and approval.

Receiving the compliment, Li Yuanxi proudly lifted her chin. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Wei Shu’s occasionally pausing steps. Her brow furrowed, and her tone was a bit unhappy. “Why… are you back?”

Wei Shu, seeing the just-proud person’s change in expression, thought she was worried about the salt pan on the beach. She explained softly, “I took the iron pot off the stove before I left. There’s no more brine now; it’s still filtering. Don’t worry.”

Li Yuanxi pouted, ignoring Wei Shu’s explanation. She stepped forward and picked up Wei Shu, carrying her towards the cave. She grumbled, “If your legs hurt, don’t wander around. If you pull a muscle, what will you do?”

Wei Shu gasped and tightly wrapped her arms around Li Yuanxi’s neck, feeling warm inside at her concerned scolding.

“I’m fine. Put me down. You stay and build your bathroom, and I’ll go watch our salt pan on the beach. Good, okay?”

Wei Shu’s beautiful, ethereal face held a doting smile. She pinched Li Yuanxi’s earlobe and gently rubbed it, causing Li Yuanxi’s entire ear to turn bright red.

“Don’t… that tickles…” Li Yuanxi tilted her head, her ears red, trying to free her earlobe from Wei Shu’s grasp. Wei Shu didn’t let her, keeping up with her moving head.

The two played and laughed in the mountain forest. Wei Shu didn’t rest in the cave; she made the indefatigable Li Yuanxi carry her back down the mountain.

“Chuyi, are you really not tired?” Wei Shu leaned close to Li Yuanxi’s ear, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Li Yuanxi shook her head. She was bursting with energy, feeling she had endless strength.

She was full of hope for tomorrow. Li Yuanxi bounced Wei Shu in her arms, startling her. “Hey! What are you doing~”

“Haha, this is fun! Here I go again! Hold on tight~” Li Yuanxi ran and jumped through the mountain forest with Wei Shu on her back, seeming to exert no effort at all.

Long-term exercise and an Alpha’s natural physical advantages kept Li Yuanxi energetic every day. With a reliable food supply, her anxiety had also lessened.

Wei Shu tried to balance every meal nutritionally, mixing meat and vegetables, and even brewing passion fruit for Li Yuanxi, who, unfortunately, found it too sour.

Apart from being forced to drink two cups of passion fruit water daily, she avoided it whenever possible.

Passion fruit was even more sour than lemons. With lemons, you could only use two or three slices at a time, but with passion fruit, you had to use one whole fruit. Just thinking about it made her teeth ache.

On the island, both were busy with their tasks, occasionally remembering the other only when they stopped.

Without a clock, they judged the passing of time by the sun’s position and the length of a burning piece of wood.

The waves lazily lapped at the shore. Hermit crabs and small crabs scurried sideways across the sand. Wei Shu walked barefoot on the beach, looking for any stranded seafood.

Seawater covered her feet. Wei Shu gathered her windblown hair and tied it back neatly. She hadn’t actively swum in the sea since arriving.

Only Li Yuanxi would spend half an hour swimming every day to maintain her fitness. Wei Shu would sometimes come along and walk on the beach.

The only place she willingly entered the water was the reef area, where there was seafood. Whenever the tide went out, Li Yuanxi would drag her there to collect shellfish.

Wei Shu habitually walked towards the reef area. The water there was dark with a layer of foam on top, looking a bit dirty. Wei Shu was used to it. The reef area was often a feeding ground for many small fish and shrimp.

“Since there’s not much to do today, how about some fishing?” Wei Shu thought of the fishing lines they had collected. They hadn’t brought any to the beach today, but she knew where to find some.

Wei Shu went to her pile of treasures (garbage) and rummaged through it. She remembered putting a bundle of tangled fishing line there last time.

Wei Shu bent over, sifting through the colorful pile of treasures. A fast-moving black object darted out from beside her treasure mountain and scurried away rapidly.

Wei Shu was startled. It was a huge crab, a black one. “Is this a coconut crab?”

She picked up a convenient stick from the ground and walked towards where the coconut crab had run, only to find a broken coconut on the ground.

“Coconut crabs eat coconuts.” Wei Shu looked around. Wisely, she didn’t give chase, fearing she might lose a fight with the coconut crab—how embarrassing would that be?

“I wonder if coconut crab tastes good. I’ve heard it has a milky coconut flavor.” Wei Shu walked away regretfully. She had been influenced by Li Yuanxi. She used to avoid eating coconut crabs because they looked too much like spiders.

Now, with Li Yuanxi leading the way, she considered how to prepare anything she saw for eating. It was quite a drastic change.

Far across the ocean, on a search and rescue ship, an old man in an orange life jacket sat with a pale, determined face. No amount of persuasion could make him leave. His aged face was etched with grief and wrinkles.

“Dad, you need to go back to the company. It can’t manage without you. I will find Xiao Shu here.” The bearded eldest brother, Wei Yi, tried to persuade Wei Shu’s father to leave the rocking ship.

He had been at sea for two months now. Their only finds so far were some personal effects and partial remains.

They had split into three teams to meticulously search the ocean, not giving up on any island. The airline company still hadn’t provided answers for why Flight N968 had crashed, and the black box hadn’t been found either.

A weary Wei Zheng opened the door and looked at the stubbornly silent old master and her headache-inducing eldest brother. She raised her hand. “You men, come in. Take the Old Master away.”

Four men in black worker uniforms bowed to Old Master Wei. Just as they were about to move, the old man glared, his voice firm. “I am not going back until I find Shu Shu.”

“Staying here will only distract us and make us worry about you. It does nothing to help find Shu Shu. You need to go home now and take charge. If Shu Shu knew the stock was falling because she wasn’t there, she’d go ballistic.”

Speaking of her sister, Wei Zheng’s eyes filled with tears she couldn’t hold back. She had the men escort the Old Master to a helicopter. Hearing her words, the old man’s face crumpled, and he left, his body sagging with sorrow.

“Second Sister, is Li Yuanxi’s family still with Third Sister?” Wei Yi paused and asked her. Wei Zheng rubbed her throbbing temples. “Yes, they’ve been following us, especially Li Zheng.”

Mentioning Li Zheng, a complex look flashed in Wei Zheng’s eyes. She hadn’t expected Li Zheng, who seemed like a fragile, artistic youth, to shave his head and fly around every day in a helicopter without complaint, not at all like the Li Zheng she knew.

Thinking this, she told her brother, “Mm. Li Yuanxi is his only child. It’s not strange for him to do this as a father. You should go get some sleep first.”

Wei Zheng nodded. Since the accident, she hadn’t set foot on land a single day, spending all her time searching the sea. The thread of hope in their hearts was growing thinner by the minute.

On the search boat, Wei Zheng had collected over a dozen bodies, none of them intact. As soon as she lay down and closed her eyes, images of mangled corpses flashed before her. She turned over and hugged the trash can, vomiting violently.

She vomited until everything went dark, the bitter taste of stomach acid spreading in her mouth, making her want to vomit even more. It took a long time for her to stop. She leaned against the bed, her eyes bloodshot, and closed them in pain.

She was afraid that next time, she would pick up Xiao Shu. Even more, she was afraid that her sister, who loved to be beautiful, would be mangled and bloody. The thought of the pain she must have felt was unbearable.

The fourth sister was holding the fort at the company, pressuring the airline and constantly gathering news. Everyone was wondering how such a large passenger plane could have crashed so inexplicably.

The whole Blue Star was paying attention. News reports had been non-stop for months, but there was still no conclusive investigation.

Wei Shu used deer meat as bait and iron wire as a hook, tying it all to a random stick. She cast the line and walked away. The iron pot was boiling again, the air thick with a salty smell that made one desperately thirsty.

Alone on the beach, Wei Shu wasn’t bored. She would get up occasionally to rummage through her treasure pile, seeing if she could find anything useful.