You Can Call Him Your Husband, but It Still Won't Help

Wen Wan's hand almost touched the Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam when a fair hand grabbed its longest spine and picked it up.

Wen Wan's pupils abruptly contracted. She suddenly looked up at Jiang Xia, realizing something. She tried her best to keep her voice calm and said gently, "Sister Jiang Xia, this thing has so many spines. It wouldn't be good if it stayed on the beach and hurt someone. Should I take it away and throw it out?"

Jiang Xia carefully held the Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam and examined it. She remembered the plot from the book. She had even deliberately searched for pictures back then, but she still wasn't sure, so she asked Zhou Chenglei, "Do you recognize this thing?"

"Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam," Zhou Chenglei replied.

Jiang Xia had not picked it up, so he had been planning to pick it up himself. This big fellow had a chance of producing a pearl, though the chance was extremely slim.

As soon as Jiang Xia heard that, she put it into the bucket. "It's actually quite pretty. I'll take it home and use it as a decoration."

Wen Wan: "..."

Still unwilling to give up, she said, "With so many spines, aren't you afraid of accidentally getting pricked after taking it home? I think you should still throw it away! Doesn't Sister Jiang Xia have a child at home? Children are playful. It wouldn't be good if the child picked it up to play with."

Jiang Xia said, "I'm not afraid. I'll put it on the wall around the house. It can ward off thieves and protect the residence."

Wen Wan: "..."

Ah! This was infuriating!

She had been so close! So close! Who had kicked it? Why hadn't they kicked the Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam toward her instead?

Jiang Xia ignored the female lead and said to Zhou Chenglei, "I'll continue looking over by the reef."

Zhou Chenglei was worried about letting her go alone.

"I'll take a look too."

Only then did Wen Wan come back to her senses. That's right, there's still a Pearl Conch! She hurried back to the reef pile to search as well.

This time, she absolutely could not let Jiang Xia find it first.

Neither of the married couple noticed Wen Wan inexplicably walking over and then leaving in such a fluster.

After the typhoon, the sky was still gloomy. The waves were huge, but the tide was gradually receding, revealing quite a number of reefs.

The couple walked toward the reef pile together, occasionally bending down to pick up a shrimp or dig a shellfish out of a blowhole and toss it into the bucket.

White Clams and clams were both quite delicious, and Jiang Xia liked eating them too.

They could pick some to take home and keep them in seawater. By the next day, they would have spat out all the mud. The only concern was that they might not survive and would die.

People picking shrimp and shellfish were everywhere on the beach now. There was hardly anyone by the reefs because the waves were still strong there, and seawater occasionally crashed against the rocks.

The waves were enormous, so Zhou Chenglei reminded Jiang Xia not to go where the waves reached. She should search only among the exposed reefs.

Jiang Xia acknowledged him.

The two of them searched separately, keeping a moderate distance from each other.

Jiang Xia soon found a crab in a crack between the rocks. It was even larger than her palm, and she immediately used the tongs to pick it up.

When the crab saw the iron tongs reaching toward it, it raised both of its pincers and clamped onto the two legs of the tongs. This made it even easier for Jiang Xia to hold it securely.

She put the crab straight into the bucket, then continued searching ahead. She picked up another Flower Crab. People around here did not like eating them, but Jiang Xia did.

After rummaging and searching for a while, it seemed that she had not found as many good things as she had imagined.

Suddenly, Jiang Xia saw an enormous white conch in a crack between the reefs not far away. It was almost as large as a watermelon.

She did not know whether it was edible, but she still walked over.

Wen Wan kept glancing at Jiang Xia from time to time. When she saw Jiang Xia looking in a certain direction, she looked over as well, and her pupils contracted. A conch!

The Giant Seashell! The conch from her dream that had produced pearls!

Wen Wan ran straight over.

When Jiang Xia saw her run, she immediately jumped up.

Damn! Did she have no sense of honor at all? She was obviously trying to snatch it!

Seeing Jiang Xia leaping and running across the reefs with a bucket in her hand, her body swaying back and forth like the bucket, Zhou Chenglei's heart leaped into his throat.

If she slipped and fell, the resulting injuries would be no small matter!

He hurried over.

With several leaps, Jiang Xia reached the conch. She picked it up in her arms. Good grief, it's heavy! Holding the conch, she looked provocatively at Wen Wan.

Wen Wan was not as fast as Jiang Xia and had fallen a step behind. When she saw Jiang Xia pick up the conch, she panicked. Her foot slipped, and she fell.

Wen Wan's knee was badly knocked. A searing pain spread throughout her body, but she had no time to check it.

She hurriedly scrambled to her feet and shouted, "Jiang Xia, that Emperor Tang Guan Conch is mine! I saw it first."

Even someone as civilized, well-mannered, gentle, and beautiful as Jiang Xia could not help swearing. "Bullshit! You discovered jack shit!"

Wen Wan: "..."

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

The corner of his mouth twitched, but amusement appeared in his eyes.

Wen Wan had always been gentle and graceful. She truly could not say such vulgar words, nor would she argue with anyone.

But when she thought of the two pearls she had missed, her heart ached so badly that her eyes reddened. She looked at Zhou Chenglei. "I saw this conch just now. I only didn't pick it up because it was too heavy. I planned to pick it up when I left. Brother Zhou, this conch is mine! Jiang Xia picked up my conch."

Jiang Xia said, "You don't need to call him Brother Zhou. Even if you call him your husband, it won't help! Even if the Heavenly King himself came, this conch would still be mine!"

Zhou Chenglei took a long stride to Jiang Xia's side. Ignoring Wen Wan, he darkened his face and said to Jiang Xia, "What nonsense are you talking about? Why did you run? Don't you know how dangerous that was?"

What did she mean, call him her husband? Could she just say things like that carelessly? Whose husband was he—didn't she know?

Jiang Xia said, "That White Lotus was trying to snatch my conch. How could I not run?"

If she didn't run, she would be an idiot!

Zhou Chenglei did not understand why Jiang Xia was calling Wen Wan a White Lotus, but he wisely did not point out that she had used the wrong term.

Wen Wan was furious. Having been reborn, she of course understood what White Lotus meant.

She could not argue, and Jiang Xia's words had made her face flush crimson. She hated speaking in a sarcastic, snide manner, so she said to Zhou Chenglei, "Brother Zhou, I really did see this conch first. It should be mine."

Jiang Xia said, "Just because you saw it first, it's yours? Going by your logic, I arrived at this beach first, so doesn't all the seafood on the entire beach belong to me? Why are you picking anything up?"

Zhou Chenglei said, "Just because you saw it first, it's yours? Jiang Xia arrived first. Then does everything on this beach belong to her?"

Wen Wan: "..."

Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei spoke in unison, leaving Wen Wan speechless.

After Jiang Xia finished speaking, she could not help glancing at Zhou Chenglei. She had not expected him to say almost exactly the same thing as her.

After Zhou Chenglei finished speaking, he ignored Wen Wan. He reached out, took the conch from Jiang Xia, put it into the bucket, and supported her. "Let's go! Don't run next time. It's only a conch. It isn't worth injuring yourself over one fall."

Jiang Xia ignored him.

Zhou Chenglei continued, "Nothing is more important than your health..."

Wen Wan watched Jiang Xia being supported away by Zhou Chenglei. His muttering was filled with concern. She lowered her head and rolled up her trouser leg. Sure enough, the skin on her knee had been scraped off. A patch the size of a fist was torn open and bleeding. At once, a wave of injustice, resentment, and grievance surged through her, reddening her eyes.

She had clearly been reborn and obtained a cheat that let her dream of the future, giving her the advantage.

She had dreamed of two Pearl Conches.

Moreover, she had arrived at this reef first. Why was she still a step slower than Jiang Xia? She and Jiang Xia had discovered the conch at the same time, yet she had been farther away from it.

The heavens were always so unfair to her!

The first Pearl Conch had been delivered right in front of Jiang Xia, and the second had also been spotted by Jiang Xia at a glance. She had even been closer, allowing her to seize the advantage.

Wen Wan watched Zhou Chenglei carry the bucket in one hand and support Jiang Xia with the other. The resentment in her heart grew even stronger.

Sooner or later, Zhou Chenglei would become her husband.

She would call him her husband openly and without the slightest hesitation.

Wen Wan thought of how Zhou Chenglei had rescued her in her dream after she had been swept into the waves. She looked at the sea, where the waves were churning, and walked over.

He had once been a soldier. He would not stand by and watch someone die.