By the campfire, the two of them held each other tightly, and though the cold wind howled around them, neither felt the chill as sharply.
But in such conditions, sleep was impossible; their eyes remained wide open.
No one knew how much time had passed before dawn finally broke at the horizon, the temperature rising with the light, yet the two still hadn’t separated.
Throughout the night, neither had dared to glance at the other, let alone speak—probably to avoid awkwardness. Not knowing how the other felt, neither dared to make a move.
At one moment, Qin Tian and Ye Lin both sensed something and simultaneously looked toward the sea.
They could clearly see the seawater gradually swallowing the beach, and in less than ten minutes, it had already risen past the spot where Qin Tian had made the fire yesterday, still rising.
The tide was coming in.
Seeing this, the two couldn’t help but worry that the water might flood their current spot. Fortunately, when the seawater was still about ten meters away, it stopped rising.
“Luckily, the tide has stopped,” Ye Lin said suddenly.
“I hope that after the tide recedes, some seafood will be left behind,” Qin Tian thought aloud.
“There should be crabs and such near the reef,” Ye Lin added after a pause.
“It’s a pity we don’t have tools; otherwise, we could dig out some mantis shrimp from the sand,” Qin Tian recalled from his previous beachcombing experience.
“If we’re lucky, we might have breakfast sorted today,” Ye Lin’s lips curled into a smile as she pictured crabs and mantis shrimp roasting over the fire.
Perhaps it was the hunger driving their conversation, but the two naturally drifted apart as they chatted about the ebb tide.
The tide would start to recede about an hour after it peaked, and thinking about the possible food, the two stared silently at the ocean, no longer seeming like they’d just endured a sleepless night.
***
An hour passed—neither too long nor too short—quickly enough.
Before the tide had fully receded, the seawater showed signs of retreating, and the two dashed forward.
For every meter the water receded, they took a step forward, and by their method, those stranded small fish and shrimp wouldn’t even have a chance to jump back into the sea.
The tide retreated quickly. In the blink of an eye, large reefs were exposed. Without needing to discuss it, the two split up and began searching beneath the rocks.
The deserted island’s seafood was surprisingly abundant. Soon, Qin Tian found clams larger than a palm in a shallow channel.
Though the clam meat wasn’t much—just a single bite—it was plentiful.
This was food that could fill their stomachs. Eyes gleaming, Qin Tian took off his shirt and used it as a sack to gather the clams, completely absorbed in the task.
***
“Qin Tian! Qin Tian!” Ye Lin suddenly called from a distance. Before Qin Tian could respond, she let out a sharp cry.
Without looking up, Qin Tian immediately guessed what had happened. “Grab its body from behind. If you can’t, smash it with a rock!”
With that, Qin Tian went back to searching.
Nearby, under a large rock in front of Ye Lin, a fist-sized Stone Crab was hiding in a crevice, blowing bubbles. Ye Lin’s earlier scream came from being pinched.
Hearing Qin Tian’s advice, Ye Lin smacked her forehead—such a simple solution and she hadn’t thought of it. She blamed it on her empty stomach, saying her brain lacked energy.
Ye Lin found a stone and smashed at the crab.
The method worked. Sensing danger, the Stone Crab immediately fled the crevice. After waiting patiently, Ye Lin grabbed its body from behind, and though the crab’s two pairs of pincers swung wildly, it couldn’t pinch her hands.
They busied themselves for an hour, going back and forth between the beach and the reefs until all nearby seafood was gathered, then returned ashore.
This beachcombing trip was quite fruitful—seventeen crabs and twenty-three clams—enough for a hearty meal.
***
While collecting seafood, neither Qin Tian nor Ye Lin had felt hungry, but once resting, their stomachs protested loudly.
Still, no matter how hungry, they could only watch eagerly because before eating, they needed to clean the innards and other parts.
Using the survival knife, Qin Tian pried open the crab’s belly and squeezed out the waste, then stabbed the knife into the crab’s head, lifting the back shell and tossing it aside.
“Why are you throwing away the shell? There’s still a lot of meat on it,” Ye Lin hurriedly picked up the crab shell.
Last night’s snake meat had barely filled her, and by morning, her stomach was empty again.
Having felt hunger, Ye Lin was pained seeing Qin Tian toss away meat-covered shells.
“You can eat them if you want, but you can only eat up to five crabs,” Qin Tian kept working with his hands.
“Why?!” Ye Lin got upset. “More than half of these crabs were caught by me!”
Just as expected, Ye Lin would question this. Qin Tian patiently explained, “The meat stuck inside the shell is crab stomach, and crabs are cold in nature. Removing the crab stomach reduces the burden on the human body.”
This was something Qin Tian had learned from coastal locals during his previous beachcombing, otherwise, he wouldn’t have known.
Hearing this, Ye Lin promptly threw away the shells. She knew crabs couldn’t be eaten in excess but hadn’t realized there was such a detail.
Working as a team, Qin Tian finished cleaning the crabs and clams, while Ye Lin washed them in the sea and then tossed them onto the fire.
Meanwhile, Qin Tian carved two pairs of chopsticks from wood with the knife, using clam shells as bowls, giving them a simple set of utensils.
Soon, the aroma of cooked meat wafted through the air. Impatient, they reached for the chopsticks, though using them was awkward since they weren’t real chopsticks.
Finding it troublesome, Qin Tian gave up and used his hands. Ye Lin was a bit reserved at first but eventually threw the chopsticks aside too.
The wind blew scattered shells away as they tossed aside crab shells and leaned back on the sand, fully satisfied.
After a day of hunger, they had finally filled their stomachs.
***
However, this only satisfied their hunger; their water supply remained unaddressed.
Not long after lying down, Qin Tian stood up and headed toward a nearby Coconut Palm, calling to Ye Lin, “Come help me.”
Guessing what Qin Tian intended, Ye Lin followed.
The deserted island was covered with tall coconut palms, much taller than the short varieties. The one before Qin Tian was about twelve meters high, with a straight trunk.
Ye Lin glanced up, worried. “Isn’t it too dangerous?”
“No matter how dangerous, I have to climb,” Qin Tian replied calmly.
He took off his belt, tied it into a loop with a figure-eight knot, and slipped it around his feet.
Leaping up, Qin Tian jumped onto the trunk. The belt between his feet tightened around the tree, holding his feet firmly against the trunk to prevent slipping.
Steadying himself, Qin Tian began climbing slowly as Ye Lin watched anxiously. Having climbed about a third of the way, sweat already appeared on his palms.
Qin Tian had climbed before, but never a coconut palm, and not one this tall. He truly worried about slipping and falling.
After a tense climb, Qin Tian reached the top and knocked down all the coconuts, then slid back down. Ye Lin let out a relieved breath.
There were seventeen coconuts—more than yesterday—and all were fresh, with much more coconut water inside than the older fallen ones.
Just four coconuts’ worth of juice was enough to quench both their thirsts.
Satisfied, the two sat on the beach, gazing at the calm sea and resting.
***
“We can’t stay on the beach overnight again. We need a camp to shelter from the cold,” Qin Tian said suddenly.
Recalling the cold last night sent chills through him. If he hadn’t woken up, they wouldn’t have seen the sun today.
Ye Lin hesitated, still frightened by the Zhuhua Snake.
But thinking it over, her eyes grew resolute. “I’ll follow your lead.”
Though they could survive the cold by holding each other, insufficient sleep could be life-threatening. Weighing pros and cons, entering the forest was the right choice.
“Once we’ve rested, we’ll head into the forest,” Qin Tian said.
Not resting long, they rose.
Worried they might miss the Search and Rescue Team while in the forest, Qin Tian spent half an hour arranging stones on the beach to form the international distress signal: S.O.S.
Then, he cracked open the coconuts and poured the juice into a bottle. When everything was ready, Qin Tian took the lead into the forest.
But after a few steps, he noticed Ye Lin lagging behind. Turning back, his expression darkened. “Why are you carrying so many coconuts? Just throw them all away.”
The plastic bottle was small and broken; it could only hold the juice from four coconuts.
Since the rest were too heavy, Qin Tian hadn’t planned to bring them, but Ye Lin was carrying four or five in her arms.
“Why?” Ye Lin looked reluctant. “These were hard-won. How can you just say throw them away?”
Qin Tian was speechless, smiling bitterly. “Coconuts are good, but you can’t eat too many—they cause diarrhea…”
Though a top student, ever since being stranded on the deserted island, Qin Tian had become Ye Lin’s teacher in all things. Though Qin Tian was right, Ye Lin stubbornly insisted, “Just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it will happen. We can keep them just in case.”
Qin Tian was about to argue but seeing her stubborn look, he understood and didn’t press.
“Alright, that makes sense. But I think two is enough. What do you think?”
Actually, carrying so many coconuts was tiring for Ye Lin. Seeing a slope nearby, she decisively tossed the coconuts aside. Her earlier reluctance was completely gone.
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