SDIWD - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Hua Mu slept well. When she woke up, the sun was just rising from the sea level. Bai Zhen had already gotten up at some unknown time. After walking out of the shelter, Hua Mu saw her by the sea. The morning sun lit up the sky, the sea mist was gradually dissipating, and the early morning air carried a slight chill.

Hua Mu exhaled a puff of white breath.

This was the best night's rest she'd had since arriving on the island. Even the discomfort from her period wasn't as bad.

Bai Zhen was squatting in the distance on the beach, busy with something. It was only then that Hua Mu noticed that the beach was covered with many transparent plastic sheets, laid out at some point. The Sentinel seemed to be collecting the dew from them, her movements extremely careful.

Hua Mu hadn't been standing for long before Bai Zhen noticed her and ran over, carrying a bottle of water.

"Miss, you're awake?"

"Mmm…" Hua Mu was in a hurry to use the toilet and didn't have time to worry about the source of the plastic sheets for now. She nodded distractedly, her eyes glancing at the simple sanitary pads hanging by the fire that had already been made. "I need to go to the toilet. Can I use those?"

"Yes, yes, you can."

Bai Zhen carefully took one down and handed it to her.

The cloth was warm from the fire, and holding it seemed to warm her entire body. Hua Mu suddenly realized that her stomach didn't hurt much at all, much better than the agonizing pain she used to experience.

"You can have breakfast when you get back, and drink some more Kun grass soup. The one you change out of… uh, don't throw it away. Just leave it there, I'll wash it later."

Hua Mu was just wondering if this was the result of her endurance increasing after being stranded or the effect of Bai Zhen's herbal medicine, when she was once again stunned by the other's words!

How obsessed was she with this handkerchief!!!

"You- you still want it after… that?"

Pervert!

Bai Zhen said matter-of-factly, "It's reusable. Don't worry, I'll wash it clean."

Wash it clean my ass! Reuse it? She had seven of them! If she changed one a day, her period would be almost over. She was going back to civilized society in a little over ten days. She would only use this damn thing this one time in her life!

Hua Mu didn't want to agree, but when she thought about how Bai Zhen had managed to retrieve the handkerchief once, she could certainly retrieve it a second time—after all, Sentinels were experts at finding things. In the end, she followed her instructions.

Anyway, she wouldn't look at it, and she wouldn't use it again. Out of sight, out of mind. She'd let this person do whatever she wanted with it!

Bai Zhen was completely unaware that she was being criticized in the Young Lady's mind again. She carefully put away the other pads. On one hand, she certainly hoped rescue would arrive soon and that Hua Mu wouldn't have to suffer like this anymore. But on the other hand, her exploration of the surrounding sea area made her more worried, forcing her to prepare for the worst.

Considering that the search and rescue would still take time, the two of them would likely have to stay on the island for more than two months. And by then, these things would still be essential.

When Hua Mu returned, Bai Zhen had already finished collecting the dew, nearly a full bottle's worth. The water in the coconut shell had also been heated, with a few leaves floating inside.

As Hua Mu drank, she observed the plastic sheets on the beach and asked strangely, "What is this? Where did you find it?"

Breakfast was ready. Bai Zhen had cut some coconut meat and bananas for her, and she answered without holding anything back.

"It's a rain tarp. I found it on a ship yesterday."

Although it was called a tarp, it was made of PVC plastic film. It was highly transparent, and besides collecting dew in the morning, it could also collect water vapor through solar evaporation during the day, killing two birds with one stone.

Hua Mu frowned, feeling that something wasn't quite right. No wonder it took her so long to catch fish yesterday, and she had dragged back such a heavy roll of something.

"You found it while you were getting dinner? Why did you go to a ship to get dinner?"

She knew Bai Zhen had a cautious personality and was extremely goal-oriented. She was definitely not someone who would take risks because of temptation. If she had happened to see a washbasin while fishing and picked it up on a whim, that was possible. But a ship? She would absolutely not risk exploring inside it.

Unless her initial goal was to find things.

"Uh…"

Bai Zhen rarely lied, especially when facing Hua Mu. After one or two questions, she was stumped.

"You went specifically to find this?"

As smart as the Young Lady was, she naturally couldn't hide it from her.

"Mmm… I- I thought it would be safer to solve the freshwater problem this way for now."

Safer my ass!

Risking her life for just one bottle of water a day? Who knew what kinds of things lived in those shipwrecks? If something happened, she wouldn't even be able to run.

"It's just one bottle of dew…"

She mumbled, unsure if she wanted to show concern or blame her. As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt a bit of regret. Those words were indeed too harsh and discouraging.

Bai Zhen didn't seem discouraged. In fact, she seemed a little pleased.

"Miss, it's more than one bottle. We can collect dew in the morning and water vapor during the day. We just need to place a container underneath."

Only then did Hua Mu realize the plastic sheets weren't laid flat on the beach, but were stretched over pits in the sand. These tarps had all been cut into roughly one-square-meter pieces. The edges were buried in the sand, a rock was placed in the middle, and half a coconut shell was placed directly below it.

This used sunlight to directly collect water vapor. It was a bit slow, but it didn't consume fuel and didn't require constant supervision. Moreover, Bai Zhen had clearly found a large roll of the tarp, so she could definitely win with quantity.

Hua Mu suddenly realized that the other woman had taken this risk because her own attempt at making a distillation device yesterday hadn't gone well. They were both thinking of collecting water vapor, but Bai Zhen's method was clearly much better than hers.

Hua Mu felt a little touched, a little annoyed, and a little resentful.

Was she really just a burden?

Seeing Hua Mu lost in thought, not having taken a single bite of breakfast, Bai Zhen felt a little nervous.

"Miss, aren't you hungry?"

Of course Hua Mu was hungry. She glanced at Bai Zhen and mechanically stuffed the fruit into her mouth. The smooth and fragrant coconut meat soothed her melancholy slightly, and the soft, creamy banana gave her a sense of happiness—it was so lucky to be able to eat something sweet during her period.

But something was wrong.

"Wait, where did the bananas come from?"

She remembered they didn't have any yesterday! The most they had picked were limes; the few wax apples had been eaten long ago.

Seeing that she was willing to eat, Bai Zhen's expression relaxed slightly. She placed a few dates by her hand and said, "I found them this morning when I went to pick coconuts. It's rare that they weren't all eaten by insects. Miss, have some dates, they're very sweet."

Probably out of consideration for her period, the breakfast contained no seafood, and even the coconut milk was warmed up.

Hua Mu suddenly lost her appetite completely.

How long had this person slept?

"When did you get up this morning?" Setting aside the fruit-picking, just the massive project on the beach was definitely not something that could be completed in a short time. She had also collected dew this morning, which meant the tarps must have been laid out last night at the latest. But she had dragged Bai Zhen to bed very early last night. The only possibility was that she had gotten up in the middle of the night to continue working.

No, maybe it wasn't in the middle of the night. Maybe she started working shortly after Hua Mu fell asleep last night.

"It was fine, not too early."

Liar!

Hua Mu felt so, so angry, but she couldn't seem to lose her temper like she usually did. She had always known just how foolish this Sentinel was.

But she also found herself strange. The Sentinel putting her first in everything, obeying her every command—this should have made her happy. Why did she always feel an indescribable frustration in her heart?

In this environment, her safety and survival depended entirely on the Sentinel's intangible loyalty, yet she was dissatisfied with this excessive loyalty.

What was wrong with her?

"Miss, what's wrong? Is your stomach hurting, or do you not have an appetite?"

Bai Zhen looked at her with concern.

Hua Mu shook her head, ate a few more bites in silence, and finally held the fruit out to her.

"I can't eat anymore. You have it."

"Then let's set it aside for now. If you want to eat later…"

Without another word, Hua Mu picked up a date and stuffed it into Bai Zhen's mouth. "I told you to eat, so eat. Stop talking so much."

Bai Zhen held the date in her mouth, at a complete loss. Her face flushed red, and it took her a while to slowly start chewing.

The date was very sweet.

Hua Mu was satisfied. She handed the rest of the fruit to her. "Finish it quickly, then come sleep with me for a while."

She had just checked the time. It wasn't even seven o'clock. Even if they slept for another two hours, there would still be plenty of time.

Even if Bai Zhen wasn't looking for a water source, she had a lot to do every day. To keep the several fires burning, she had to find at least ten kilograms of dry firewood a day. If it weren't for the fact that they had stockpiled a lot in the beginning when they weren't worried about freshwater, she probably wouldn't have had much time to do anything else these past two days.

And besides firewood, Bai Zhen also had to prepare their three meals a day, plus other miscellaneous tasks. Hua Mu did a rough calculation for her: she only had five or six hours of rest a day.

But the Sentinel didn't even use those five or six hours to rest properly, remaining on alert at all times—Hua Mu really couldn't stand to watch it anymore.

Oh, but first, she had to declare that she didn't feel sorry for the Sentinel. She just thought that if Bai Zhen worked herself to death from being too stupid, she herself wouldn't be able to survive.

Bai Zhen ate very quickly. Of course, it wasn't just eating; she did everything with agility and speed. Although Sentinels were a group that prioritized efficiency, Hua Mu had seen many other Sentinels, and she really couldn't find a second one who completely forsook pleasure like Bai Zhen.

Hua Mu brushed her own teeth. Seeing Bai Zhen finish her food in a few bites, she made her brush her teeth too, then got up without a word and walked towards the shelter. Bai Zhen hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she followed behind her like a timid little wife.

"Lie down."

The pile of hay was still the same pile of hay. Although Bai Zhen brought back some fresh hay every day to increase its thickness, it was still only about a meter wide.

Bai Zhen just assumed Hua Mu found it uncomfortable to sleep alone, so she obediently lay down, ready to be the Young Lady's human pillow again.

Now that it was daylight, Hua Mu wasn't as bold as she had been at night. She hesitated for a long while before lying down next to Bai Zhen. She wasn't actually sleepy, but the lethargy from her period really made her want to stay in bed. Now that there was no bed, she could only use Bai Zhen as a substitute, but she couldn't bring herself to lie on top of her like before.

It was too embarrassing and too intimate.

"Miss?" Seeing Hua Mu curled up, looking obviously uncomfortable, Bai Zhen asked with concern, "Are you uncomfortable sleeping like that? Maybe you should… like last night…"

My god, was this still that clueless, foolish Sentinel? She even knew how to seek benefits for herself now! She must have been very comfortable being laid on!

Hua Mu flopped on top of her in a huff.

"Close your eyes, and close your mouth. Sleep!"

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