Wounded

Jiang Xia paid no further attention to what the female protagonist was doing. Instead, she continued searching through the piles of reefs for anything worth picking up. Whenever she came across a stone she could move, she shifted it aside, but she found nothing.

Zhou Chenglei followed beside her with a bucket in hand.

Jiang Xia shooed him away. "Why are you following behind me? Split up and search! Hurry up and finish so we can go home. It's almost dark. See if there are any more crabs. It'd be good to pick up a couple more."

"Crabs are cold in nature. Eating too many isn't good for you." Zhou Chenglei had been following her because he was afraid she would fall, but after she complained, he could only move away and search for the crabs she liked to eat.

Jiang Xia carefully made her way forward. Whenever she encountered small Blue Mussels, oysters, or other shellfish, she picked them up. Even mosquitoes were meat if there were few enough of them—the guiding principle was to leave nothing edible behind.

After walking a short distance, she found another blue-green fish. It was a parrotfish, already dead. Jiang Xia lifted it up and took a look at its gills. They were still bright red, which meant it was fresh, so she picked it up and put it in the bucket.

She slowly continued forward. This stretch of reef was nearly at its end, and there was another beach ahead, crowded with people.

Jiang Xia had assumed there was nothing left to find, but then she saw a red shell protruding from the reef in a small puddle.

Looking at the shell, Jiang Xia thought it was a shrimp.

Her heart leaped into her throat!

Jiang Xia set the bucket aside and crouched down. When she realized her arm was not long enough, she simply sprawled across the reef and waited for her chance.

Zhou Chenglei kept an eye on Jiang Xia from time to time. When he turned his head, he saw her with her bottom sticking up as she lay across the reef.

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

He had no idea what she had found. Zhou Chenglei lifted his foot and walked toward her.

After Jiang Xia lay down, more and more of the shell gradually emerged. When half its body was exposed, she acted without hesitation, pinched it, and pulled it out!

She had caught a red Slipper Lobster in her hand! Zhou Chenglei raised an eyebrow.

Jiang Xia turned to Zhou Chenglei, beaming brightly. "I caught a Slipper Lobster!"

Zhou Chenglei continued walking closer. Hearing the excitement in her voice, he gave it a look. "That's a slipper lobster. They taste good."

Slipper lobster meat was firm yet tender and smooth, with a rich, delicious flavor similar to lobster. However, its meat was even more delicate and silky than lobster meat.

"Expensive?"

"Mm." These shrimp were not often caught. Thinking Jiang Xia had probably never eaten one, he said, "We picked up so many shrimp today. Keep this big one and give it a try."

Jiang Xia said, "Sure."

Money could never be earned all at once. When it was time to enjoy oneself, one should enjoy oneself.

Zhou Chenglei placed the bucket in front of her. "Put it in the bucket."

Zhou Chenglei did not pick up just anything. Jiang Xia saw that there was a Sea Bass, a Sea Eel, and several crabs in his bucket. The crabs were alive, while the fish were dead.

The Sea Eel looked a little like a snake. Jiang Xia's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly put the shrimp inside.

Zhou Chenglei picked up the Water Bucket she had set on the ground. "Let's go!"

"Oh." Jiang Xia answered, but she still could not help instinctively scanning her surroundings.

As she looked around, she saw the waves pounding against the reef. A flash of white swept past.

Jiang Xia immediately said, "There's something over there!"

As she spoke, she strode over.

"Don't go over there—the waves are big!" Zhou Chenglei shouted and hurried after her.

"I'm not going close." Jiang Xia replied as she moved a little nearer. The waves crashed down, filling her Water Shoes with water.

But Jiang Xia saw an extremely long, extremely flat fish twisting its body in a crack between the reefs. It was almost dead.

It had probably been washed ashore not long before. Its belly was slightly swollen.

"It's a hairtail."

Hairtails had sharp teeth. Fortunately, this one looked nearly dead and probably had little strength left.

"I'll do it. Stay farther away." Zhou Chenglei jumped down, grabbing its head with one hand and its body with the other.

The moment he caught it, the hairtail struggled.

It flung water all over Jiang Xia's face.

Jiang Xia was carrying her Snakeskin Bag, which she had already opened and held ready.

Zhou Chenglei pierced its belly and tossed the hairtail straight inside.

This hairtail was huge and long, probably weighing more than ten pounds.

Because they had found another hairtail, Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia looked around the nearby reefs again. Only after confirming there really was nothing else did they leave.

Zhou Chenglei carried both water buckets and the hairtail, not letting Jiang Xia carry anything.

Jiang Xia held only a pair of iron tongs and a small iron shovel.

The two of them headed back.

Jiang Xia was still unwilling to give up. She looked around as she walked.

Suddenly, a cry rang out in the distance. "Someone's been swept away by the waves!"

Jiang Xia was startled and looked over. Sure enough, there was a white figure in the sea, rising and sinking amid the waves.

The female protagonist was wearing white clothes.

Zhou Chenglei quickly set down what he was carrying and ran over.

Jiang Xia ran over as well.

But for some inexplicable reason, her foot slipped on the reef, and she fell hard against it.

A sharp pain shot through her knee!

The wave that had just poured water into her shoe had left Jiang Xia's trouser legs rolled up. She immediately saw blood beads welling endlessly from her knee.

Jiang Xia tried to get up, but the pain made her suck in a breath. "Hiss!"

Zhou Chenglei seemed to sense something. He looked back, then glanced toward the sea. Several people there had already rushed forward to rescue the person.

They were all excellent swimmers.

Zhou Chenglei turned back and returned to Jiang Xia's side. One look showed him that her knee and ankle were scraped open, blood flowing freely.

He frowned. "Let me see whether you sprained anything."

Zhou Chenglei gently held her ankle and calf and moved them with slight pressure.

The joint was not sprained.

Zhou Chenglei relaxed, then glanced toward the sea again.

Jiang Xia looked over as well.

At that moment, a massive wave surged in and carried the white figure back onto the beach.

Several people rushed forward and quickly dragged the person onto the sand.

She was safe.

Zhou Chenglei relaxed, withdrew his gaze, and said to Jiang Xia, "I'll carry you back."

Jiang Xia shook her head and stood up. "I'm fine. It's only a scrape. I can walk by myself. You carry the things."

What was this minor injury? In the past, when she had been rushing to work, she had fallen off her electric scooter and been hurt much worse. Half her arm and her thigh had been scraped raw, yet she had still gotten back up on her own and hurried to work.

Zhou Chenglei watched the blood running down Jiang Xia's knee as she walked forward as though nothing had happened. For some reason, his heart clenched.

With one hand, he lifted both water buckets and the Snakeskin Bag. Then he came to Jiang Xia, said nothing, swept out his long arm, and picked her up bodily before walking on!

Jiang Xia was held one-handed like a child. Frightened, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her face blazing red. "What are you doing? I can walk by myself. Put me down."

"Stop squirming." Zhou Chenglei did not put her down. He carried her toward the shore.

Jiang Xia no longer dared to move. She instinctively glanced around.

The entire beach was crowded with people. Fortunately, because someone had just been swept away by the waves, everyone was watching the spectacle, and no one was looking at them.

In the distance, Wen Wan had been dragged onto the beach, still shaken by the narrow escape.

She instinctively looked at the person who had rescued her. Not one of them was Zhou Chenglei.

She could not help searching around for Zhou Chenglei. Then she saw him walking toward the shore, carrying two buckets in one hand and Jiang Xia in the other.

Wen Wan: "..."

Had he actually stood by and watched her die?