After Transmigrating into a Book, I Ended Up with My Dream Omega - Chapter 14

During low tide, the beach was scattered with an abundance of fish, shrimp, crabs, and shellfish.

“Let’s hurry, the low tide only lasts 48 minutes,” Xia Xiangzhen said, checking her watch.

Yin Xiaowei followed up, “Then let’s each search a different direction. Everyone, work hard! Whether we eat our fill tonight depends on these 48 minutes.”

The other four looked at them sideways.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a one-way crush from Xia Xiangzhen? Then why is their coordination so seamless this time?

Xia Xiangzhen handled their gazes with ease, even returning a knowing look. In contrast, Yin Xiaowei glared back at each of them one by one.

She thought to herself: Don’t you guys know what’s going on? Especially you, Wei Lan—if you hadn’t stayed silent, would I have had to step up?

In these temporary teams, it was customary for an Alpha to lead. The problem was the two Alphas in their group. While Xia Xiangzhen’s behavior was a bit odd, she hadn’t caused any real issues yet—at most, she was just constantly adding drama to pursue her. Wei Lan, however, was a bigger problem; she was silent most of the time.

If Yin Xiaowei didn’t coordinate with Xia Xiangzhen, was she supposed to let the woman perform a stand-up comedy routine all by herself?

【Is this “the wife follows the wife”? Weren’t they just a one-way crush before? Such fast progress!】

【It seems like because Wei Lan is too cold and aloof, Yin Xiaowei took over her duties. Personally, I don’t see any signs of Yin Xiaowei softening toward Xia Xiangzhen yet.】

【Leave some illusions for the CP shippers, don’t burst the bubble.】

【How did you guys start shipping them already? This is clearly a one-way chase!】

【With enough persistence, I feel like she can actually bring a girlfriend home. (Deeply serious)】

The 48 minutes of low tide were arguably the easiest time of the day to obtain food. If they didn’t seize this chance, they would truly have to starve through the night. Everyone knew this, so after a brief joke, they began to pray for good luck to find enough food for dinner.

By the moonlight, the six of them split up, each heading in a different direction. Xia Xiangzhen carried a sharpened wooden stick, prepared for any large fish she might spot. However, in her area, she hadn’t seen a use for it yet. She focused on the air holes in the sand, digging them up to see what lay beneath.

As she dug, she found a large clam trying to burrow deeper. “A catch on the first try—that’s a good omen.” She immediately dug it out.

The vine baskets woven by Yin Xiaowei and the others finally came in handy. Xia Xiangzhen tossed the clam inside, and the basket was no longer empty. Her mood improved; the beach seemed rich in food. If they kept searching, they could likely feed everyone. As for tomorrow… she’d worry about tomorrow when it came.

Xia Xiangzhen continued her search. In addition to conches and clams, she found plenty of seaweed and shrimp. Yin Xiaowei was even more successful; she discovered a reef covered in oysters. She joyfully harvested them, but then she saw something moving in a crevice.

She watched closely for a moment and realized it was a tentacle.

“Xiangzhen!” Yin Xiaowei called out loudly to the nearest person with a tool. “There’s a reef here with an octopus inside! You have a tool, come help!”

“Coming!” Xia Xiangzhen dumped her catch into her basket and ran to help. “Where is it?”

“Right there.” Yin Xiaowei grabbed Xia Xiangzhen’s arm, pointing out the spot.

Xia Xiangzhen glanced down at the hand gripping her. Oh, choosing to join this show was definitely the right move. Look at the steady progress of their relationship! Her wish for things to “normalize” by the end of the episode seemed like it would not only be fulfilled but surpassed. For example, maybe Yin Xiaowei would finally unblock her on her social media feed.

Suppressing her excitement, Xia Xiangzhen gripped her wooden stick and focused on the octopus. This was their dinner. Through the gap, she saw the creature huddled inside. She adjusted her stance and struck with sudden precision, piercing the octopus’s head.

The eight tentacles writhed frantically against the rocks before eventually going still. Only then did Xia Xiangzhen pull it out.

【Wow! That’s a huge octopus! That would be worth a lot of money, right?】

【Octopus can be eaten raw, but most people can’t handle that. Stir-fry is the way to go!】

【Grilled on an iron plate with sauce is the GOAT, no arguments.】

【With an octopus that big, they don’t have to worry about dinner tonight.】

“This octopus is massive,” Xia Xiangzhen observed. “One tentacle is big enough to wrap around a person. With eight of them, I think all six of us can get full with leftovers.”

“It looks like we have a big harvest tonight. Maybe we can save some,” Yin Xiaowei said happily. One octopus was enough to save the entire team from hunger.

Xia Xiangzhen thought about it and said, “If we’re lucky enough to find fish, we can dig a hole and fill it with seawater to keep them alive until morning. Even without fish, if we find enough shellfish, we can keep those alive too.”

“How much time is left for the tide?” Yin Xiaowei asked.

Xia Xiangzhen checked her watch. “About 20 minutes.”

“Then let’s keep searching to prepare for tomorrow morning.”

“Okay. Whatever you say is good.”

Yin Xiaowei was speechless. “In that case, could you please stop talking to me?”

“That’s not very good,” Xia Xiangzhen immediately backtracked.

Yin Xiaowei felt she was getting used to this way too quickly. Facing Xia Xiangzhen’s words now, she couldn’t even get angry; she just felt a faint sense of exasperation. “Go back to work,” she said, pointing to Xia Xiangzhen’s area. “Go.”

“I’m going.” Xia Xiangzhen knew every second counted. She left the octopus near the baskets and resumed her exploration.

The 48 minutes passed in the blink of an eye as the tide began to crawl back in. Fearing the danger, the six of them didn’t linger. They gathered their harvest and returned to the shelter.

Looking at the baskets and the large octopus, everyone felt a wave of relief. Food was the motivation for the coming days. Back at the shelter, they took stock of their haul: shells, conches, seaweed, crabs, and shrimp—and of course, the star of the show, the octopus.

“This octopus is huge. How are we cooking it?” Yu Yayue asked. She had expected a few crabs and clams at most; she hadn’t anticipated such a feast. Her throat bobbed as her mouth watered. She was truly starving.

“We’ll grill the octopus for tonight,” Xia Xiangzhen said. “We’ll grill some large clams too and use the shells as bowls. We’ll make some seaweed soup. I’ll go dig a pit for the rest of the shellfish; when the pot is free, we’ll fill it with seawater to keep them alive for breakfast.”

Xia Xiangzhen picked up the axe. “You guys grill, I’ll dig the pit.”

Wild shellfish and snails were prone to parasites. To ensure safety, high-heat cooking was essential. While Xia Xiangzhen dug, Wei Lan sharpened some branches and skewered the washed octopus pieces, placing them over the fire alongside the clams. She then added seaweed to the iron pot and set it over the flames.

At first, the clams were tightly shut, but as they roasted, the shells popped open one by one, revealing the plump, white meat inside. Everyone had been fasting since noon; the aroma of grilled seafood was enough to make them droop.

【These people are staring at the grill with blue eyes (extreme hunger).】

【They’ve been hungry for so long. I really thought they’d have to endure a night of starving. I didn’t expect one low tide to solve both dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast. (Disappointed drama-seeker)】

【This makes me want to go to the beach for a low tide harvest. So much seafood, I want to eat!】

Xia Xiangzhen finished the pit, placed the two baskets of seafood inside, and sat back down. “I just realized we might not even need to carry seawater over; it’s going to rain tonight anyway,” she noted.

A few minutes later, Wei Lan used a stick to move the six roasted clams to the ground to cool. “Once they aren’t too hot, we can eat.”

At that moment, the only thing in anyone’s eyes was the fragrant clam meat.