After Transmigrating into a Book, I Ended Up with My Dream Omega - Chapter 13

“Why don’t you eat some of the candy you brought?”

Seeing Xia Xiangzhen’s stomach growling so loudly, Yin Xiaowei immediately reached into her pocket, wanting to pull out the candies and return them. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to clear the debt.

But Xia Xiangzhen quickly pressed her hand over Yin Xiaowei’s, stopping her from digging into the pocket. With her other hand, she pulled out the half-eaten green fruit from her own pocket.

“You still haven’t finished that?”

“You gave it to me; of course I have to treasure every bite.” Xia Xiangzhen gave the fruit’s skin another wipe and took a tiny nibble.

Under Xia Xiangzhen’s repeated flirting and provocations, Yin Xiaowei felt her “sharp-tongued” attribute developing at high speed. Looking at Xia Xiangzhen’s face twisting into a “pain mask” once again from the sour fruit, she said ruthlessly:

“Are you sure it’s not just because it’s too sour? If you really can’t stomach it, don’t force it. Eat the candy; you brought plenty in anyway.”

It was definitely a sourness issue, but with Yin Xiaowei watching, how could Xia Xiangzhen admit defeat?

She stubbornly insisted, “No way. How could it be sour? It’s because I’m treasuring it, that’s all.”

“Really? I don’t believe you.” Yin Xiaowei looked at her with a slight smile. “Eat it for me then. Only then will I believe you.”

Under that gaze, and to prove it wasn’t a matter of sourness, Xia Xiangzhen devoured the rest of the green fruit in two or three quick gulps.

With Xia Xiangzhen’s hand finally off hers, Yin Xiaowei pulled out two pieces of candy. “Want to take the edge off? Hmm?”

“It wasn’t sour. Keep them for yourself.”

Despite her refusal, Xia Xiangzhen felt like her teeth were about to fall out from the acidity. She immediately grabbed her allocated coconut and “glug-glug-glugged” the whole thing down, only feeling the sour taste wash away after the last drop.

However, at least she finally didn’t feel so hungry anymore.

【The roles have reversed! Before, it was Xia Xiangzhen’s one-way crush, bravely charging to break down Yin Xiaowei’s heart. Now, it looks like Yin Xiaowei has developed immunity and has started pitting Xia Xiangzhen against herself.】

【From a psychological perspective, these two are in a high-stress survival environment. The tension and sense of danger, combined with protective behaviors, can truly sublimate feelings. President Xia choosing to join the cast personally was a very smart move. Look, Yin Xiaowei’s attitude is so much better now than when she was just constantly rejecting her. (Adjusts glasses)】

【I’d prefer the constant rejection over being trolled like this. Just look at that ‘pain mask.’ LOL.】

【I think their true natures are being exposed due to exhaustion. In an extreme survival environment, no one can keep up a facade for long. Within three days, their real selves will definitely show.】

Yin Xiaowei’s hand, holding the candy, was still suspended in mid-air. Xia Xiangzhen had already cracked open the coconut shell and was using a knife to scoop out the meat.

Without looking at the candy in the palm, Xia Xiangzhen said, “We can’t just sit here and wait for them to come back.”

Yu Yayue slowly sipped her coconut juice. “Then let’s talk about how to build the shelter.”

Before coming, everyone had watched videos or read books on building shelters. Some had even practiced in their backyards. Xia Xiangzhen was one of them.

“How big should we make it?” Xia Xiangzhen asked first. “It’s very damp here, so we can’t sleep directly on the ground. We need some elevation. We’ll have to see if the logs we brought back are enough to build a bed for all six of us.”

“With six people, it definitely needs to be larger.” Seeing that Xia Xiangzhen was focusing purely on business, Yin Xiaowei had no choice but to put the candy back in her pocket.

She took a branch and began drawing a layout on the ground based on the area needed for six people and the placement of the fire pit.

“We’ll need to boil things in the pot later, so should we make a larger water container and some bowls?” Yu Yayue added. “When you factor all that in, it feels like those logs really aren’t going to be enough.”

“We can use large shells for bowls later. But even then, we’re missing a lot of things,” Xia Xiangzhen rubbed her head.

Seeing that the other trio hadn’t returned yet, and having finished their brief rest and hydration, a wave of lethargy washed over them. The sunset had dyed the sea a brilliant orange, and even the seagulls flying by were bathed in a golden glow. The beauty of the sunset and the gentle sea breeze made them even sleepier.

To avoid actually nodding off, Xia Xiangzhen said, “It’s almost dark. Let’s not wait for them; let’s start now. We need to get moving, otherwise we won’t finish, and it’ll be miserable if we have no place to hide from the rain tonight.”

“True. If I sit here any longer, I’ll fall asleep,” Yin Xiaowei looked at the timber. “Let’s start with the frame.”

“One and a half meters high?” Xia Xiangzhen used her own height to measure and marked a line with her axe. “Is that high enough?”

“It’s fine. We’re only staying for a few days.”

“Alright. Everyone stand back—it’s time for me to show off again.” Xia Xiangzhen rolled up her sleeves. “A saw would be nice, though; it would be faster.”

Yin Xiaowei and Yu Yayue stepped back. “You handle the chopping; we’ll handle the building.”

“Okay. I’ll prep the four corners and the center support first.”

Xia Xiangzhen selected six logs about the thickness of an arm, chopped them to 1.5 meters, and sharpened the base of each. Then, Yu Yayue gripped the wood with both hands, aiming the sharp end at the ground. She slammed them into the dirt repeatedly.

Yin Xiaowei then used a heavy piece of wood to pound them from the top until they were firm enough that they didn’t wobble when pushed. Working together, they followed the marked lines until the six main pillars were secured.

Next, Xia Xiangzhen began chopping thinner pieces of wood. Yin Xiaowei and Yu Yayue used the vine ropes to tie these together to form the framework for the roof.

They were in the middle of working when Wei Lan’s group returned, carrying the iron pot and a few wild bird eggs.

“You’ve already got the skeleton of the shelter up! But we didn’t do too bad either.” Chen Shengze pointed to He Zixi’s arms. “Look what we found!”

“Bird eggs! Something to add to our dinner!” Yu Yayue cheered. “I guess we can only make boiled eggs with our setup.”

“We can also make egg drop soup,” Wei Lan said, setting the water-filled pot down. “Should we build a stand for the fire to boil the water first?”

“The knife is over there; you guys figure it out.”

With three more people, the building speed didn’t actually increase much, mainly because they were short on cutting tools. As the sun cast its final golden light, the line between the sky and the sea vanished, and darkness began to shroud the island.

The shelter was finally complete. They secured the roof with banana and palm leaves. One by one, they hunched over and crawled into the shelter, sitting on the ground around the burning fire.

“If it weren’t for the whole ‘finding food’ thing, this would actually be a great vacation spot,” He Zixi said, poking the fire with a stick.

Watching the crackling flames, Xia Xiangzhen’s mind drifted. “The problem is, the ‘finding food’ thing is currently our biggest headache.”

“Don’t mention it; I’m getting hungrier by the second. When can we eat?” Yu Yayue stared longingly at the bird eggs, coconuts, and fruit.

The six of them hadn’t eaten for a long time, and after so much physical labor, their stomachs were growling in unison. Even so, for the sake of the next few days, no one dared to touch the wild fruit or coconuts yet, wanting to save them for when they were even hungrier.

Yin Xiaowei listened to the soft sound of the waves outside. “The tide hasn’t gone out yet. Once it does, we can go scavenge for seafood. Then we can eat.”

“When does the tide go out?” Yu Yayue asked hopefully.

“We can’t really predict that. We’ll have to wait a bit,” Yin Xiaowei said. Seeing Yu Yayue’s discomfort from hunger, she suggested, “Why don’t you have some water first?”

The water was boiling, but they had nothing to scoop it with.

“Never mind, I’ll wait.”

“The beds aren’t finished yet either. What should we do?”

“Let’s chop the wood into pieces we can slot together for a bed frame and then cover them with the vine mats. That should be easiest.”

Xia Xiangzhen stood up, hunching over as she walked out. “I’ll go chop some more. I don’t know if we have enough wood.”

“Eat something before you keep working. If we make the beds smaller—two people to a bed—it’ll be faster,” Yin Xiaowei advised.

Two people to a bed?

At this moment, Xia Xiangzhen’s brain and Wei Lan’s were in perfect sync. That means I’d have to squeeze in with Wei Lan (or Xia Xiangzhen)!

No way!

Xia Xiangzhen walked out even faster. “No need. We’ll make them smaller; one per person is fine.”

Wei Lan stood up silently, intending to help just to escape that fate. Yin Xiaowei looked at the two Alphas with confusion.

“They’re off to chop stakes. What should we do?” Chen Shengze asked.

“Let’s weave the vine mats. We gathered quite a lot of vines,” Yin Xiaowei paused. “We can also try making some fish traps to see if we can catch anything.”

【I finally believe this is a survival show. They barely rested before starting to work on the sleeping arrangements.】

【All I see is them working; I haven’t seen them eat a thing. They’ve barely had any water.】

【How long has it been since they ate? I’d be dying if I missed one meal, and they’re doing heavy labor on top of it.】

【We should be glad the two Alphas this time are quite responsible, taking on all the heavy lifting. If it were those two from last season…】

【Don’t. I can already see the footage in my head.】

The four of them sat quietly in the shelter weaving mats, listening to the rhythmic thud-thud of wood being chopped outside. After a long time, they suddenly heard Xia Xiangzhen shouting from the beach:

“The tide is out!”