After Transmigrating into a Book, I Ended Up with My Dream Omega - Chapter 12

It took nearly three hours of grueling effort, but Xia Xiangzhen finally managed to fell a number of trees with diameters ranging from five to fifteen centimeters.

“I wonder if this is enough,” Xia Xiangzhen said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Due to the prolonged exertion, her arms were trembling uncontrollably. She was forced to set the axe on the ground and massage her muscles to help them relax.

“You’re truly impressive,” Yu Yayue remarked. Holding the machete, she began stripping the branches from the fallen trees.

For nearly three hours, Xia Xiangzhen had been swinging an axe without pause. Even Yin Xiaowei, who had been trying to avoid any misleading contact with her, couldn’t help but feel concerned about her physical state.

“Eat a piece of fruit to quench your thirst.” Yin Xiaowei handed Xia Xiangzhen a fruit that looked quite green and bore several peck marks.

Fearing that a wealthy young lady like Xia Xiangzhen—who had likely never eaten such battered-looking fruit in her life—might reject it, she added a specific explanation: “We can only pick the ones birds have pecked at. If the animals have tested it, at least we know it’s not poisonous. I can’t guarantee the taste, though.”

Xia Xiangzhen grabbed the fruit with a speed that was almost predatory.

She hadn’t expected such progress. Previously, Yin Xiaowei had struggled with the decision just to accept her candy; now, she was actually offering her food.

“Since you gave it to me, I’d eat it even if it were poisonous,” Xia Xiangzhen blurted out.

“If that’s how you’re going to be, then don’t eat it. When we get back, see if Wei Lan picked any coconuts to drink, or wait until we boil some water in the iron pot,” Yin Xiaowei said, reaching out to take the fruit back.

As if I’d let her take it back!

Currently in a state of being “overwhelmed by favor,” Xia Xiangzhen marveled at how quickly her treatment had improved and dodged away. She gave the fruit a casual wipe and took a massive “crunching” bite, devouring half of it instantly.

The moment the green fruit hit her tongue, Xia Xiangzhen’s face twisted into a grimace from the sheer sourness. Still, she didn’t forget to say, “There, now you can’t have it back.”

Looking at the half-eaten fruit and Xia Xiangzhen’s distorted features, Yin Xiaowei simply ignored her. She picked up the axe Xia Xiangzhen had left on the ground and went to help Yu Yayue.

【Every time I watch Xia Xiangzhen and Yin Xiaowei, I instinctively start questioning what kind of show I’m watching. Let me double-check… is this really not a dating show?】

【What a high-tier “simping dog.” Rejected so many times and she keeps at it. Hmph, why can’t she look at someone else? Like me. (Currently eating lemons/being jealous)】

【Xia Xiangzhen single-handedly turned the gritty survival vibe into a pink bubble aesthetic. Legendary.】

【But honestly, if this pair actually happens, they look great together. Even with her face scrunched up from the sour fruit, you can tell the CEO is very handsome.】

【Place your bets now: can Xia Xiangzhen actually pull this off through sheer effort?】

Ten minutes later, Yu Yayue and Yin Xiaowei had cleared all the leaves and branches, collecting a good amount of usable sticks and timber in the process.

“Let’s keep these; we might need them later,” Yin Xiaowei said, binding them together with vines, planning to drag them all back.

“I wonder how the other side is doing,” Xia Xiangzhen said, her arms having finally recovered. “Did you two have any luck hunting earlier?”

Yu Yayue looked a bit dejected. “I saw some small animals, but they were lightning fast. My crude wooden bow isn’t easy to use yet. I didn’t hit a single thing, so I could only pick these bird-tested fruits.”

“It’s fine,” Xia Xiangzhen comforted her. “We’ll live off the sea once we get there. If we can’t make simple spears to catch fish, we can at least wait for low tide. We should be able to find crabs, sea turtles, or conches on the beach. We’ll have a seafood feast.”

Seafood scavenged from a beach wouldn’t have much meat—just enough to pad their stomachs. This was especially true now that they had spent a massive amount of physical energy on labor.

Everyone understood this reality, but they avoided saying anything discouraging. Instead, they followed Xia Xiangzhen’s lead, talking about how delicious seafood could be and looking forward to the potential dinner.

After all, their invitation proposals had stated clearly that in this show, the majority of the time would be spent gathering and searching for food. At best, you might enjoy some local scenery while hunting.

In the previous season, if they truly couldn’t find food, the crew would help them once the cameras were off. But with a 24-hour live stream, that luxury was gone. They had all come prepared to go hungry for five days.

Since this was the first episode, the crew hadn’t made things too difficult yet. They had at least provided essential supplies like the iron pot and flint. In future episodes, they likely wouldn’t even have those, so they had to adapt quickly.

While Yin Xiaowei and Yu Yayue hadn’t caught any animals, they had collected a lot of vines. Yin Xiaowei had been weaving them into ropes along the way. Now, she used these vine ropes to bundle the logs together, tying three handles so they could use their body weight to drag them.

“Let’s go. It’s almost time to regroup. Let’s see how they’re doing,” Yin Xiaowei said, looping a rope over herself to start the pull.

“Wait a second.” Xia Xiangzhen pulled a spare set of clothes from her backpack. “Use these for padding.”

“No need. I have my own clothes; use your own,” Yin Xiaowei rejected directly. She pulled her own spare clothes from her bag to stop Xia Xiangzhen from insisting further.

Seeing this, Xia Xiangzhen assumed she just didn’t want to ruin her own skin. She took her own spare clothes and padded the area around her waist where the rope would sit.

Yu Yayue watched the interaction, once again feeling like a pathetic “invisible person.” She silently pulled out her own change of clothes.

Next time we divide into teams, she thought, I am definitely not joining these two. Even though we’re a team of three, I always feel like I’m the third wheel. It’s so weird.

【I feel like the women’s group this season is so unlucky. They got stuck with the 24-hour live stream right when the crew stopped helping. Compared to the guys last season, they’re getting a raw deal.】

【But their bad luck is our entertainment! And so far, they don’t seem that miserable…】

【Poor Yu Yayue. No one cares about her; she just has to sit there and watch those two show off.】

【Even though it’s a one-way crush right now, I’ve already thought of a “CP” (Couple) name for them: “True Love Smiles” (Zhen Ai Xiao). I’m going to go grab that hashtag on Weibo now. If they actually get together, I’m a prophet. If they fail, pretend I never said anything.】

“We’re back!”

Coming out of the forest, they could see the other three waiting at the regrouping point. The three who had been sitting on the ground rose immediately at the sound of the voice.

They saw Xia Xiangzhen leading the way, the three of them laboriously dragging a pile of tree trunks toward the camp.

“You guys are amazing! How did you manage to cut down so many trees? And you dragged them all back yourself? You should have sent one person to get us to help!”

He Zixi ran over to help Yin Xiaowei. “This should be enough for the shelter and then some.”

“It was all Xiangzhen’s work. She chopped for about three hours,” Yin Xiaowei said, refusing to take any credit and attributing it all to Xia Xiangzhen.

“I really… didn’t expect that.” Wei Lan, who had gone to help Xia Xiangzhen drag the logs, let her eyes flicker over her in surprise before quickly looking away.

Even that brief glance was enough to annoy Xia Xiangzhen. What’s with that look? Is me being a hard worker that shocking to you?

Fortunately, Wei Lan didn’t provoke her further. She shifted the topic to their team’s progress.

“We’ve picked a spot for the shelter. There’s a flat elevated area not far from here. The fire is already going, we’ve picked plenty of coconuts, and we’ve gathered banana and palm leaves for the roof. What about you?”

“We found a water source. We’ll go get some water in a bit and start a fire for it,” Xia Xiangzhen replied, listing their team’s accomplishments. “No luck with prey, but we picked some wild fruit.”

“Hunting in the forest is too hard. Let’s try fishing in the sea later. If that fails, we’ll wait for low tide for the seafood feast.”

“Alright. We’ll make some spears later,” Wei Lan nodded, leading everyone to the site they had found.

The spot was indeed good, but Xia Xiangzhen wasn’t sure if it was safe from the wind. She walked around the clearing, inspecting the site.

“Have a coconut and rest. The three of us will go get the water,” Wei Lan suggested. “Did you make a mark? How do we find it?”

Xia Xiangzhen pointed to the logs. “We dragged these back the whole way. The drag marks on the ground are very obvious. Just follow them and you’ll find it easily.”

“Got it.”

Wei Lan and her team headed off with the iron pot. The three who had just returned each grabbed a coconut and sat down to rehydrate.

Grumble… grumble…

“What was that sound?” Yu Yayue asked, though both she and Yin Xiaowei had already fixed their gazes on Xia Xiangzhen’s stomach.

Xia Xiangzhen’s lip twitched. Traitorous stomach!