"No! You can't eat that!" Zhang Liu stepped back, then reached out to take the fruit Anya was offering him, shaking his head in refusal.
Under her suddenly dimming gaze, he began to explain.
"First off, I'm not entirely sure if this is a jaboticaba, but it does look pretty similar.
And I remember from the plant encyclopedia that jaboticaba belongs to a certain family. If it's from the Apocynaceae family, it's very likely to be poisonous.
Some fruits are toxic if they're not fully ripe, and others have sap that can cause allergies after being picked. We should avoid eating freshly picked fruits.
The ones that fall to the ground are probably the ripest, and it's always safer to pick ones that have been bitten by insects than those that insects won't touch.
So today, we're only taking back the fruits that have been bitten by insects. I'll eat some later. If I'm fine by tomorrow, we can have this for breakfast. Then we'll pick more tomorrow to test if the ripe black ones are edible. We'll take it step by step.
Maybe by then, rescue will have arrived!"
After hearing Zhang Liu's explanation and plan, Anya suddenly felt ashamed and embarrassed.
He had thought everything through so carefully, yet she was still fretting over childish thoughts like whether he had something against her and didn't want her feeding him.
While Anya stood there in silent shame, Zhang Liu had already taken off his shirt and said to her, "You pick up the ones under this tree. I'll go gather from other spots. It's getting late!"
"Yeah!" Nodding firmly, Anya bent down and started trying to spot the flawed jaboticabas on the ground.
From time to time, she'd see some sticky bugs next to the suitable fruits. In the past, she would've been terrified.
But now, influenced by Zhang Liu's actions, when she encountered insects, she'd just grit her teeth and use a branch to flick them away.
"Anya, could you please stop throwing bugs in my direction?"
Then Zhang Liu, shirtless, had some bad luck. Just as he approached with a handful of jaboticaba, Anya flicked a sticky yellow planarian right toward him.
If Zhang Liu hadn't reacted quickly and turned his head to dodge, the disgusting thing would've smacked him right in the cheek.
Zhang Liu had no choice but to complain, hoping Anya would hold off on flicking the second bug. He wasn't afraid of insects, but he sure didn't like them.
"Huh?" Anya had been focused on clearing bugs and picking fruits, completely unaware she'd accidentally targeted her ally.
But when she turned her head, she saw Zhang Liu's bare upper body.
And his slightly defined chest muscles, with the faint outline of eight-pack abs below.
Anya blinked and quickly averted her gaze, her fair face now flushing bright red.
Only one thought remained in her mind.
Whether it's my body or my heart, I'm no longer pure... So Zhang Liu has to take responsibility for me!
"I'm sorry, I had no choice but to go shirtless." Zhang Liu took the initiative to apologize, knowing full well why Anya had turned away. Then he added, "Let me help you over to the beach to sit and rest."
"No need! I can do it!" Hearing Zhang Liu suggest she rest nearby, Anya quickly bent down and grabbed a handful of fruit, trying to prove she could work hard.
Then she felt a sticky sensation on her hand, different from the jaboticaba pulp. Looking closely, she saw half a worm wriggling at the base of her palm.
"Ah!"
A high-pitched scream echoed through the forest, and at the same time, a handful of jaboticaba—along with an innocent caterpillar—smacked Zhang Liu hard in the cheek.
Startled, Anya jumped around in panic, lost her balance, and tumbled to the ground beside her.
"Be careful!" Zhang Liu rushed forward a few steps and caught Anya just as she was about to fall. With a wry smile, he said, "Why'd you do that?"
"I..."
Taking a deep breath, Anya couldn't speak normally anymore.
Because Zhang Liu's strong, firm chest was only a few inches from her cheek—Anya even suspected her exhaled breath was hitting his chest muscles directly.
Her face burned red, and she didn't dare meet Zhang Liu's eyes.
"You pick some under this tree. I'll go grab more." Looking down at Anya's dazed expression, Zhang Liu smiled and whispered reassuringly, "It's normal for girls to be afraid of bugs. As a guy, I don't like them much either."
Anya didn't respond, but she kept bending down to pick fruits with her face still flushed.
This time, though, her motions when flicking away insects were noticeably gentler.
With the two of them working together, they were efficient. After Zhang Liu made three trips back and forth, the black T-shirt spread on the ground as a bundle was already packed with plenty of fruits.
"Well, that should be enough for us to eat tomorrow." Zhang Liu stroked his chin and said, "I just hope it's not poisonous."
After hearing that, Anya, who had been thrilled at the prospect of new food tomorrow, suddenly fell silent.
Only then did she realize that Zhang Liu was essentially testing for poison on behalf of her and Qin Ruoshuang.
"Let's go!"
Noticing Anya's quiet expression but unsure what she was thinking, Zhang Liu turned his back to her and said, "I'll carry you, and you'll have to help hold this bundle."
"Yeah!" Nodding vigorously, Anya climbed onto Zhang Liu's back again, then steadily caught the bundle he handed her.
The two set off once more on the path back to the cave.
Along the way, Anya stayed quiet, but she would rest her cheek directly on Zhang Liu's shoulder, breathing softly and inhaling his masculine scent mixed with a faint hint of sweat.
Normally, she would've hated that smell.
But now, Anya felt only a sense of security, like being enveloped in warmth.
Zhang Liu's stamina was solid. He didn't start breathing heavily until they reached the small rock where he and Qin Ruoshuang had spent the night—though that was partly because Anya weighed less than 90 pounds.
"Are you tired?" Hearing Zhang Liu's panting, Anya asked softly, "Want to take a break?"
"No need, we'll be there in about half an hour." Zhang Liu shook his head, and his hands, which had been supporting Anya's perky buttocks, gave a slight push to lift her higher.
Then he continued stepping toward the cave.
The western sky was gradually turning red with the setting sun, fiery clouds swirling like threads of silk.
Zhang Liu, focused on watching the path to avoid falling, naturally didn't notice the beautiful scene, but Anya, lounging on his back, had the leisure to take it all in.
The view filled her eyes completely.
"Zhang Liu, look, the sky over there is so beautiful..." Anya murmured, a look of longing in her eyes.
"Yeah!"
Following Anya's gaze, Zhang Liu glanced up at the sky, nodded, and then kept walking.
Rather than admiring the fiery clouds in the west, the physically exhausted him now just wanted an iced mineral water.
"Zhang Liu, tell me."
But Anya wasn't ready to drop the topic so soon. After a moment's hesitation, she pressed her chest against Zhang Liu's back and whispered, "Who's prettier, me or Qin Ruoshuang?"
Without a word, Zhang Liu turned his head in surprise to look at the girl behind him.
Under Anya's expectant gaze, he stayed silent for a few seconds, then asked in confusion,
"Anya, did you accidentally eat something you shouldn't have just now?"