"Well… just a little bit. We haven't brushed our teeth in three days," Anya said, her tone tinged with a hint of helplessness as she gingerly ran her tongue over her teeth. She could feel a layer of grime, almost like tartar, clinging to their surface.
"Rinse your mouth more often, and the smell should go away. It's probably just a fishy odor," she added.
As the saying goes, even the best cook can't make a meal without ingredients. After Anya shared the issue with Qin Ruoshuang, they realized that, no matter how pressing the problem was, rinsing their mouths was the only immediate solution they could think of.
They decided to wait for Zhang Liu to return and see if he had any better ideas. Unconsciously, both Anya and Qin Ruoshuang had come to see Zhang Liu as their reliable problem-solver.
"Oral hygiene, huh?" Zhang Liu said when he returned to the cave after taking care of his own needs. He picked up a piece of cooled charcoal from the ground and continued, "Grind this into powder, then rub it carefully on your teeth and tongue."
Qin Ruoshuang and Anya exchanged bewildered looks as they stared at the blackened charcoal, speckled with a few grains of sand.
Zhang Liu crouched down and began grinding the charcoal into powder with a stone. Actions speak louder than words, and he was ready to demonstrate. After all, now that they'd brought it up, he noticed the same sticky layer of tartar on his own teeth when he ran his tongue over them.
"Is this really going to work?" Qin Ruoshuang asked, watching as Zhang Liu scooped up some charcoal powder with his fingers and vigorously rubbed it against his teeth, producing a faint scraping sound.
"Mm…" he mumbled vaguely, grabbing some boiled water that had cooled overnight. He took a big gulp and began rinsing his mouth energetically.
Gurgle… gurgle…
His cheeks puffed out and deflated repeatedly. After about thirty seconds, he spat the water out of the cave entrance. Running his tongue over his teeth again, the sticky feeling was gone, replaced by a refreshing sensation, almost like chewing mint.
"See? It works pretty well!" Zhang Liu flashed a wide grin at Anya and Qin Ruoshuang, showing off his newly cleaned teeth with what could only be described as his signature "jungle exhibitionist" smile. "No tartar at all now!"
The two girls exchanged another glance. At such close range, they could clearly see bits of black charcoal still stuck to Zhang Liu's teeth.
Do I really have to put that black stuff in my mouth?
After a moment's hesitation, Qin Ruoshuang, who Anya had teased about having bad breath, decided to give it a try. But the idea of sticking her fingers in her mouth and scrubbing in front of others felt too awkward. She turned her back to them and began rubbing her teeth delicately.
Unlike Zhang Liu's aggressive scrubbing, which was like a storm sweeping through fallen leaves, her movements were far more refined. She turned, took the boiled water Zhang Liu handed her, and poured it into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed out instantly, but she was too shy to make a sound in front of them. Instead, she scurried out of the cave and began rinsing her mouth like a little hamster hoarding food.
Pfft…
After spitting the dark, murky liquid onto the beach, Qin Ruoshuang instinctively ran her tongue over her teeth. They felt refreshingly clean, and… she gently exhaled into her palm. The faint fishy smell from before was gone.
The method worked surprisingly well.
But then, a sudden realization hit her. The water she'd just used… wasn't that the same water Zhang Liu had drunk from? Did that mean they'd just… indirectly kissed?
"Want to rinse again?" Zhang Liu's voice came from behind her, followed by Anya's curious question.
"How'd it work?"
"It's really effective!" Qin Ruoshuang replied, deliberately keeping her lips closed as she spoke. Zhang Liu's earlier grin had taught her an important lesson: she'd need to rinse a few more times.
Taking the giant clam shell Zhang Liu handed her, she glanced at Anya, then turned her back to them again and squatted down to continue rinsing.
Knowing Qin Ruoshuang was shy, Anya pulled Zhang Liu toward the beach to collect more giant clam shells for storing water.
Once, twice, three times…
At the cave entrance, Qin Ruoshuang rinsed her mouth repeatedly, using up all the boiled water in the clam shell. My teeth must be clean now, right? She rubbed her fingers against them, producing a squeaky sound, like touching a spotless bone china bowl cleaned with dish soap.
With the oral hygiene issue resolved, Qin Ruoshuang felt a wave of relief. Her next tasks were to keep an eye on the fire and store more water. She climbed back into the cave and began tidying up the remnants of their meals from last night and this morning. Though Zhang Liu had already cleaned, Qin Ruoshuang, with a girl's higher standards, wanted their "temporary home" to feel just a bit more comfortable.
"Zhang Liu, could you turn around for a second?" Anya said after leading him to the beach. She glanced at the rippling waves, then at her armpits, where she'd just noticed an odd smell, and made her request in a soft, almost pleading tone.
"Turn around?" Though puzzled, Zhang Liu complied.
After some rustling sounds, Anya said, "Okay, you can turn back now!"
"Alright," Zhang Liu nodded and turned around—only to freeze in place.
Anya had her back to him, but that wasn't the point. The real shock was that she'd shed her outer clothes entirely. Her long, jet-black hair cascaded down her back like a glossy waterfall, framing her slender, elegant neck while partially covering her skin. Her slim, pale waist curved into rounded hips, modestly covered by a pair of black lace shorts. Her long, snow-white legs stood straight, her calf muscles slightly tensed, betraying a hint of nervousness.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Zhang Liu suppressed the rush of emotions and asked, "Anya, what do you need help with?"
He didn't assume Anya was doing this just to tease him. There had to be a reason.
"Why don't you take your clothes off too? We could… take a bath together," Anya said, covering her chest with one hand as she turned to face him. Her cheeks flushed red, but she pressed on, "I need someone to scrub my back."
Seeing Zhang Liu's confused expression, she quickly added, "Don't think I'm asking you to do it for free! I'll scrub your back too!"
This isn't about scrubbing backs for free!
Zhang Liu's throat tightened as he took in the sight of Anya's exposed, delicate skin. He swallowed hard, his mind racing.
In his opinion, this was bound to lead to trouble…