Qin Ruoshuang wasn't planning anything unusual.
She picked up the sharpened metal piece Anya had worked on last night from the ground. Her goal was to cut open her push-up bra and remove the sponge padding inside.
This padding could be repurposed as a tool for cleaning their bodies.
As for how to divide it, one piece would go to her, and one to Anya.
As for Zhang Liu…
Well, sorry, but there wasn't enough to go around, and honestly, she felt too embarrassed to offer him any.
A shy expression crept onto Qin Ruoshuang's face as she carefully sliced the bra open.
She knew that starting tonight, she'd have to go braless in front of Zhang Liu…
That realization was the main reason she'd been taking deep breaths, mentally preparing herself.
Anya's knife-sharpening skills were impressive, and Qin Ruoshuang quickly extracted the two white sponge pads from the bra.
As for the now-tattered bra, she neatly set it aside with her stockings and underwear.
Before taking off her red sweatpants, Qin Ruoshuang cautiously walked to the cave entrance, poking her head out to make sure Zhang Liu and Anya hadn't returned.
Once she was certain no one was coming, she slipped off her pants, dipped a sponge in clean water, and quickly washed the blood-stained skin on the inside of her thighs.
Soon, the refreshing sensation of being clean brought a happy smile to her face.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Anya was struggling to explain herself to Zhang Liu.
"It's not my saliva that smells—it's the bottle!"
She was on the verge of a breakdown.
Even though she'd rinsed the bottle with seawater beforehand, the faint odor lingered when Zhang Liu unscrewed the cap.
"Uh-huh," Zhang Liu nodded seriously, fully agreeing with Anya's explanation.
The slight smell would probably disappear after a night anyway. It wasn't a big deal.
"So I don't have bad breath!" Anya insisted, doubling down in response to Zhang Liu's half-hearted acknowledgment.
Faced with her earnest defense, Zhang Liu was momentarily at a loss for words.
After staring awkwardly at Anya for a while, he scratched his head, gave a wry smile, and said, "Honestly, bad breath is probably inevitable for all of us eventually."
"…"
Anya fell silent.
She understood what Zhang Liu meant.
In their current situation, they had no way to brush their teeth. As he'd pointed out, bad breath would soon become unavoidable.
More importantly, as a girl, Anya was already noticing a sticky, uncomfortable feeling on her body—especially in her lower body.
At home, she could've hopped in the shower anytime, but here…
"It's not impossible, though," Zhang Liu continued, noticing Anya's dazed expression. "Once we manage to start a fire today, we'll have charcoal. I've heard you can crush it up and use it to clean your teeth. Plus, we could figure out a way to boil water for bathing."
"A bath?" Anya's legs instinctively pressed together at the mention of the word.
For a girl feeling grimy all over, Zhang Liu's suggestion was incredibly tempting.
"It's not exactly a shower, more like a bath," Zhang Liu clarified, sensing her excitement and seizing the moment.
"We could dig a big pit on the beach, line it with stones, use big leaves to make it watertight, and then fill it with hot water. It'd be like an open-air bath, right?"
"A hot spring…"
Anya swallowed hard, her breathing growing heavier, far from ladylike.
"Let's head back and start preparing to make a fire this afternoon!" Zhang Liu said with a smile, glancing at Anya, whose face was lit up with anticipation. "Ready to go?"
"Yep!"
Anya followed behind Zhang Liu, carrying a bag full of jaboticaba, her mind buzzing with dreams of a hot spring.
Zhang Liu, hauling a bundle of firewood, glanced back at her but sighed inwardly.
Drilling wood to make fire… that was going to be a challenge.
"You're back?" Qin Ruoshuang called out as Zhang Liu and Anya approached the cave entrance.
She'd already finished cleaning her lower body and felt refreshed.
Standing at the entrance, she filled a coconut shell with clean water, turning her head to greet them with a gentle smile.
"Yeah, we picked a ton of jaboticaba," Anya said eagerly. "And Zhang Liu said we're going to try making a fire by rubbing sticks together, then boil water for a bath!"
She scrambled up into the cave, dumped the jaboticaba onto the foam board, and tossed the T-shirt she'd been using as a bag to Zhang Liu, who was drinking water.
Qin Ruoshuang stood beside the shirtless Zhang Liu as he collected water, her head slightly lowered, silent.
Her long hair draped over her cheeks like a delicate curtain, hiding her shy expression.
"Anya, you're too much," Zhang Liu said, catching the T-shirt and noticing the juice stains that had soaked into it. "This is going to be a pain to wash."
"I'll wash it for you!" Qin Ruoshuang said, steadying her breath.
She glanced at the T-shirt in Zhang Liu's hand and added softly, "Don't you need to focus on starting the fire?"
"Really? You sure?" Zhang Liu asked, a bit embarrassed. He'd never had a girl wash his clothes before.
"Absolutely," Qin Ruoshuang nodded firmly, taking the T-shirt from him. "I'll wash it for you later."
"Thanks, that's a huge help," Zhang Liu said with a grateful smile, picking up another coconut shell to drink from.
Anya, perched near the cave, watched their simple exchange and felt a strange pang in her chest.
Wait, didn't I toss that T-shirt to Zhang Liu? How'd it end up in Qin Ruoshuang's hands?
"I want some water too," Anya said suddenly, climbing down from the cave. She snatched the coconut shell from Zhang Liu's hand and took a big gulp.
"Didn't you just drink a whole bottle?" Zhang Liu asked, dumbfounded, as she stole his water.
"Not enough!" Anya shot back, catching Qin Ruoshuang's subtle smirk.
She hesitated, suddenly too shy to take another sip from the same spot Zhang Liu had used.
"Forget it, you have it," she said, handing the coconut shell back to him.
"Huh?" Zhang Liu was baffled by her behavior but took the shell and kept drinking.
Qin Ruoshuang had spent the morning collecting water from a small puddle, filling eight coconut shells—the total amount it naturally produced.
She'd used four to clean herself and drink, leaving three for Zhang Liu, with one remaining.
Now, she was sprinkling water on Zhang Liu's black T-shirt, soaking it to prepare for washing.
Every now and then, she'd glance at Zhang Liu's back, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
Even now, she hadn't dared to let Zhang Liu or Anya see her chest.
Her white school uniform turned see-through when wet with sweat, and she was definitely sweating.
Anya sat on a rock nearby, munching on jaboticaba and watching Zhang Liu tinker with his fire-making setup.
Her eyes sparkled with hope for fire—and hot water.
As for Zhang Liu, the center of their attention, he was fully focused on his task.
He decided to try the bow drill method first, doubting his hands—used to less strenuous tasks just days ago—could handle manual wood-drilling.
With Anya watching eagerly, Zhang Liu sharpened a stick and aimed it at a small hole in a prepared wooden board.
Using a bent branch as the bow and his trouser belt as the bowstring, he began pulling it back and forth with force.
The creaking sound of wood grinding echoed for the first time in this desolate place!