"Uh… do you two have some kind of misunderstanding about me?"
After a long conversation, Zhang Liu finally managed to explain his idea to Anya and Qin Ruoshuang. The tense atmosphere in the cave began to settle.
His plan was simple: have the two girls swap their tops. Anya would give her red athletic wear to Qin Ruoshuang, and Qin Ruoshuang's white student T-shirt would go to Anya.
The reasoning was straightforward. Qin Ruoshuang, who wasn't wearing a bra, wouldn't have to worry about accidentally exposing herself anymore. Anya, who was wearing a bra, would only show a faint outline at most, which wasn't a big deal.
But after Zhang Liu shared his suggestion, Anya and Qin Ruoshuang exchanged glances, their expressions odd, followed by a soft sigh.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Liu asked, looking at them in confusion.
Qin Ruoshuang, facing him, quickly covered her chest and turned away, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"Zhang Liu, don't you know that girls have different… bust sizes?" Anya said, looking at the boy in front of her with a mix of pity and amusement. "Do you really think Qin Ruoshuang could fit into my jacket?"
Zhang Liu froze, his eyes instinctively darting to Qin Ruoshuang, whose figure was noticeably fuller than Anya's. He fell silent.
He'd only been thinking about avoiding awkward situations, not about the practical issue of sizes.
"I've been wanting to give her my bra for a while now…" Anya muttered under her breath, unable to hold back.
Qin Ruoshuang's face turned even redder, and she buried it in her hands, pretending to disappear.
The cave fell into an awkward silence until Zhang Liu cleared his throat and spoke up. "Alright, let's drop that idea for now. I want to talk about our plans moving forward."
Plans for the future.
The topic shifted the mood. Qin Ruoshuang and Anya looked at Zhang Liu, each with different emotions in their eyes.
Qin Ruoshuang, feeling low because of her period, seemed pessimistic and helpless. Anya, on the other hand, was physically fine, warmed by the bonfire and full from the big fish dinner they'd had. Her gaze was filled with curiosity and confusion.
"First, let's address the marriage talk you two were having earlier," Zhang Liu said, scratching his head awkwardly. "Mind if I share my thoughts?"
To be honest, he felt uneasy bringing up such a sensitive topic, so he deliberately referred to them as "classmates" to keep things formal.
Qin Ruoshuang's face paled when she heard him mention it. Anya, sitting beside her, started to look embarrassed too.
Both girls knew it wasn't exactly polite to gossip about someone's background behind their back.
"I overheard your conversation," Zhang Liu continued. "Anya, you're right. You and I come from different worlds financially, so we're not a good match." He glanced at their expressions and offered a reassuring smile. "No need to feel bad about it. It's just how things are."
As an orphan who'd lost his parents over five years ago, Zhang Liu had long accepted the world's unfairness. He and his sister had scraped by, counting every penny, while others could spend freely and hog resources.
But he wasn't bitter. To him, life was like a card game in Yu-Gi-Oh. Not everyone starts with a perfect hand like five Dark Magicians. Instead of giving up, you build your deck slowly—summon what you can, sync what works, and fuse when possible. With a bit of strategy, you can still come out on top, as long as you don't face an unbeatable opponent.
So, he genuinely agreed with Anya's earlier point.
Before, he hadn't brought it up because he was too focused on survival, his stomach growling from hunger. But now, with the stranded fish filling his belly after two days of starvation, he finally had the energy to address this.
They seem to think I'm upset about it, he thought, recalling the conversation he'd overheard behind the rock.
Clearing his throat again, Zhang Liu decided to clear up this minor issue before moving on to the bigger one: surviving on this deserted island.
Hearing his words, Anya looked away, avoiding eye contact. She was certain that when Zhang Liu sucked the venom out of her wound and carried her back, she'd felt something for him. But after Qin Ruoshuang's reasoning, she'd come to terms with the gap between their worlds. That's what led to their earlier discussion.
Qin Ruoshuang spoke up. "From what I know, the An family started with Chinese workers who went to Japan in the '70s and '80s. And for the last decade, they've been trying to return to China to reconnect with their roots, right?"
"Y-Yes…" Anya replied, caught off guard by Qin Ruoshuang suddenly airing her family history. Her eyes started to shift as she began to guess where this was going.
"Huh?" Zhang Liu looked at Anya, surprised. "Wait, so you're not Japanese?"
"I'm Chinese!" Anya said, glancing at Qin Ruoshuang before blushing and falling silent. "My family's never intermarried with Japanese people."
"Oh, got it!" Zhang Liu nodded, understanding that Anya was Chinese but still confused about why Qin Ruoshuang brought it up.
Seeing his puzzled look, Qin Ruoshuang continued, "From what I've heard, Anya's mother had an idea. She wants Anya to marry a man in China and offer most of the An family's wealth as a dowry."
She paused, noticing Zhang Liu's blank expression, and decided to be blunt. "Do you get it now, Zhang Liu?"
"Get what?" Zhang Liu asked, genuinely confused. "We're stuck on this island. Even if we weren't, what does this have to do with an ordinary guy like me?"
Looking between Anya's flushed face and Qin Ruoshuang's pointed stare, a wild thought hit him. "Wait, you're not suggesting something like… I marry into your family and get a big promotion, are you?"
"That's ridiculous!" Anya snapped, mortified that Qin Ruoshuang had spilled such a personal detail about her marriage prospects. Zhang Liu's absurd interpretation only made her more flustered.
"Exactly, it's ridiculous!" Zhang Liu shook his head, exasperated. "Let's drop this love-brained nonsense for now. I want to talk about our actual plans."
He waved his hands to stop Qin Ruoshuang and Anya from speaking, noticing their hesitation. From their earlier conversation, it was clear they hadn't fully grasped the reality of their situation: they were stranded in the wilderness, likely for a long time. Otherwise, they wouldn't be fixating on things like social status and dowries.
"First, let's address something you're probably both worried about," he said, looking at them seriously. "You're scared I might try to… take advantage of you here."
He paused, meeting their eyes. "And you're not wrong to worry. I'll be honest—I have thought about it."
"Pfft!"
Anya, who'd just taken a bite of coconut meat to calm her nerves, choked and spat it out, stunned by Zhang Liu's blunt admission.