Catching Little Fish

Lin Qianqian blushed and furrowed her little brows. "That's not true..."

Jiang Yao asked, "Hey, did anything else interesting happen this time?"

Lu Zhe and Ning Shu exchanged a glance. "Actually, yes!"

Then Ning Shu told everyone about the ship-like thing they had seen on the horizon!

Jiang Yao said, "Could it really be a rescue fleet?"

Tang Xiaoguo said worriedly, "What if they come to this island while we're away from that side? Wouldn't we miss them?"

Ning Shu said, "We left distress signals on that side of the island too. If they really are a rescue team, they'll definitely see them when they pass!"

Lu Zhe continued, "If it's just a passing merchant ship or fishing boat, they're so far away that even if we shouted our throats raw, they couldn't possibly hear us!"

Lin Qianqian nodded. "Lu Zhe, what are you planning to do?"

Lu Zhe set an alarm on his watch. "I'll get up early tomorrow and go over there to see what's going on!"

Ning Shu said, "I'll go with you tomorrow morning!"

Lu Zhe nodded. "Sounds good!"

Dinner that day finally left everyone feeling a little full!

Then the girls all squeezed into the shelter and began inviting Lu Zhe in!

"Lu Zhe, come inside too!"

"Yeah, it's pretty cold out there alone!"

"You're a little heater. With you here, it'll be two degrees warmer!"

"We have enough firewood today, so there's no need to worry about the fire going out! Besides, you built the shelter. We'd feel bad making you sleep outside!"

Lu Zhe nodded. "Since you're all inviting me so sincerely for once, I won't stand on ceremony!"

They made a few more warming bottles using hot sand and seawater and placed them around the edges.

Outside, the sea wind howled, but inside the shelter, it was as warm as spring!

Ning Shu made the arrangements. "To avoid any unnecessary awkwardness between the boys and girls, the four of us girls will lie in a row, and you'll sleep lengthwise, Lu Zhe. Any objections?"

Tang Xiaoguo blushed. "What if I get cold tonight? I suppose I could reluctantly let Xiao Zhe hold me for another night!"

Lu Zhe knew Tang Xiaoguo wanted to be close to him, but that feeling of his blood surging all night...

Thinking rationally, what he needed most now was quality sleep, so he refused. "It's warmer here than in yesterday's sand pit, and you're in the middle. You shouldn't get cold under normal circumstances!"

With that, he lay down!

But even after Tang Xiaoguo lay down, she wouldn't behave, touching Lu Zhe's stomach with her icy little feet!

Lu Zhe caught them. "What are you doing, Guo'er?"

"If you're a gentleman, warm them up for me!"

Lu Zhe sighed, pretending to be annoyed, and held both her feet in one hand!

"You're barely even trying!"

"If you don't like it, take them away!"

"No!"

After a while, soft, sweet snores sounded in the shelter again!

The girls had fallen asleep again!

A little later, Lu Zhe felt drowsiness wash over him too and gradually closed his eyes!

Morning!

His watch alarm beeped, and Lu Zhe sat up!

It was their third day stranded on the deserted island!

Three of the girls were sleeping in, but Ning Shu had already left the shelter!

He pushed aside the grass screen and saw Ning Shu roasting coconut flesh in front of the fire!

"Morning, class monitor!"

"You're awake, Lu Zhe!"

"Yeah!"

"Is roasted coconut flesh all right for breakfast again?"

"Sure! I'll look for something else to eat too!"

He crawled out of the shelter and noticed that the tide had gone out. The place where he had set the trap with Yaoyao's poop yesterday was now out of the water!

He walked over!

He lifted Tang Xiaoguo's stocking trap and was instantly delighted!

Inside the stocking, twenty or thirty little fish, each an inch or two long, were actually flopping around!

Ning Shu came over to look too. "Wow, so many little fish! What did you use as bait?"

Lu Zhe took his sock out of it!

"My sock plus Yaoyao's poop!"

"What?"

In an instant, Ning Shu felt uncomfortable all over!

"How can such cute little fish like eating that stuff?"

"Human feces contain a lot of fat. To them, it's a rare source of nutrients!"

As he spoke, he turned the sock inside out. "More importantly, there's something else!"

Ning Shu saw little specks stuck to it that looked like black sesame seeds!

"Most of the waste dispersed through the gaps in the sock after soaking in the water. What's left is the dragon fruit seeds!"

"Using seawater and a sock to separate the feces from the seeds!" Ning Shu dry-heaved. "That's a good idea, but those fish..."

"What about the fish?"

"They're not for eating, are they...?"

"Of course they're for eating!"

Ning Shu's eyes widened. "Surely you know what they eat..."

Lu Zhe was unperturbed. "In fact, plenty of sea creatures feed on other creatures' feces, including the seafood we eat in the city. It's perfectly normal!"

"But inside their stomachs..."

Lu Zhe knew what bothered Ning Shu. "It's simple. We slit their bellies open with the little blade and take out their innards, and the dirty stuff comes out with them! These fish are just so small that gutting them takes some effort, but we can still do it if we're careful!"

As he spoke, Lu Zhe took the little blade, slit open a small fish's belly, and carefully picked out its intestines with a twig!

Then he threaded another twig through its mouth. "Just put them on a skewer like this, and they're ready to roast!"

The little fish had been gutted and pierced through, but it still wasn't dead and kept writhing, making Ning Shu feel a little uncomfortable!

"Oh, right, we still have two bags of spicy strips. We can brush the chili oil over them for a distinctive flavor!"

Ning Shu said quietly, torn, "All right, but don't tell them how you caught them!"

"Got it!"

There were thirty little fish in total. After gutting them, he threaded six onto each skewer, making exactly five skewers!

He brushed them with chili oil and roasted them over the fire. Before long, the aroma of grilled fish drifted out!

The aroma wafted into the shelter, and all three girls crawled out!

"I smell fish!"

"Wow, that smells amazing! I really want some!"

"Class monitor, esteemed sports rep, where did you get the fish?"

Lu Zhe was just about to speak when Ning Shu pinched him and cut in. "Lu Zhe caught them by the shore! Breakfast is ready. Come out and eat!"

"Lu Zhe is amazing!"

"Thanks for all your hard work, class monitor and Lu Zhe!"

"On behalf of all the pretty girls at Magic City Jiaotong University, I hereby express our sincere gratitude for your hard work!"

"Oh, right, what else is there to eat?"

Ning Shu said with a smile, "Besides spicy grilled fish, there's roasted coconut flesh and crab and kelp soup!"

Tang Xiaoguo said, "Just hearing that makes me hungry!"

Lin Qianqian said, "It sounds like the school menu!"

Jiang Yao said, "I can hardly wait!"

Everyone chatted as they ate breakfast!

Ning Shu asked an important question. "Lu Zhe, what are your plans for today?"

Lu Zhe checked his watch. Seven forty!

"I need to go over to the other side of the island in a bit and take a look. I wonder if that thing on the horizon is still there!"