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墨書 Inktalez
It was yet another day in Jiangnan Town, bright and sunny.
She saw large patches of purple Bellflower swaying in the sunlight.
She had discovered this patch of Bellflower in a secluded garden at school.
The flowers, tinged with white, were as elegant as she had always hoped for, giggling softly in the wind, while the fresh green leaves looked on with indulgence.
Xu Nuan remembered that she was leaning against a white railing, counting the flowers one by one, while murmuring about someone else.
"Hmph, I want to be an elegant woman like the Bellflower, yet he doesn’t believe me and doesn’t come to find me. What a big bad guy."
She recalled that summer in her sophomore year when Qin Yaojie had just finished his college entrance exams and came back to school to see her. They ended up arguing about women and girls, Bellflowers and Flower Tobacco.
In a fit of anger, she had run out of the milk tea shop, and when Qin Yaojie chased after her, a teacher had called him over, seemingly asking how he had performed.
"Hmph, as if there’s any doubt. How could that guy possibly do poorly?"
Frustrated, Xu Nuan reached out to pluck a petal from the Bellflower, but her hand froze mid-air. It wasn’t her own doing; a familiar hand had reached out from behind and grasped hers. The warm scent of someone she knew wafted toward her.
"Such beautiful flowers would be a shame to pick."
Xu Nuan frowned playfully, wrinkled her nose, and forcefully shook off that hand before turning around. She decided to use her silver tongue to convince Qin Yaojie that her viewpoint was correct.
However, before Xu Nuan could say anything after turning around, she was suddenly embraced by a seemingly gentle yet actually domineering boy. With her face buried in his chest, Xu Nuan felt her cheeks flush hotly.
After a while, Xu Nuan felt quite vexed.
"I like Bellflower, is that not okay?"
You should know that the flower language of Bellflower signifies eternal love.
She wanted to give that person eternal love.
"Alright, alright, you can have whatever you want. This time it was my fault, so please forgive me, dear Warm Lord."
"Don't use such a nonchalant tone; it lacks sincerity."
"Ahem, Warm..."
"And don't use that tone either. You are a man—no, a boy."
The person buried in the boy's embrace clearly wore a smug smile.
But Xu Nuan would only learn much later that what Qin Yaojie understood as Bellflower was unrequited love.
Because everything in the world becomes hopeless with time.
The dampness hitting her face gradually brought Xu Nuan back to consciousness. As she slowly opened her eyes, she found herself in the midst of Swarm, with rain still pouring down tirelessly.
The cold raindrops on her face made Xu Nuan slightly close her eyelids again. Her awareness returned, but she had yet to fully process what was happening.
Xu Nuan vaguely remembered that they had been fighting against sharks; Gu Ze and Tang Jingshu were injured while she and Xu Hang were responsible for rowing the boat. When night fell, they encountered a storm. The storm came suddenly, with fierce winds and high waves. Their boat felt like a fallen leaf, aimlessly drifting along with the currents.
The storm raged on, waking Gu Ze and the others. The six of them worked together, some rowing while others scooped water out, but they were ultimately no match for the wind and the towering waves. Xu Nuan remembered that after a massive wave had engulfed their boat, she lost consciousness.
As these thoughts swirled in her mind, Xu Nuan suddenly sat up, looking around to find the others.
Upon seeing them, she let out a sigh of relief. Not far away, five people lay scattered about. Although their faces varied in color, at least no one was missing.
With one hand braced on the ground, Xu Nuan stumbled to her feet and staggered over to the nearest person, Tang Jingshu. She reached out and gently patted Tang Jingshu's face while calling out.
“Tang Jingshu, wake up, Tang Jingshu.”
The warmth of Tang Jingshu's skin was concerningly high. Xu Nuan furrowed her brow as she observed Tang Jingshu's condition. The seawater and rain had soaked her completely, and blood oozed from a wound on her leg, mixing with the water from the shallows—a sight that tugged painfully at Xu Nuan's heart.
“Could the wound be infected?”
Feeling anxious, Xu Nuan wanted to pull up Tang Jingshu's pant leg but suddenly remembered that Gu Ze was also injured. What if his wound was infected too?
With this thought in mind, Xu Nuan turned to look for Gu Ze.
To her surprise, the next person to sit up was the injured Gu Ze, who was rubbing his head and scanning the area. Their eyes met instantly through the heavy curtain of rain.
Both were momentarily stunned into silence, gazing at each other across the downpour.
A whirlwind of emotions surged within Xu Nuan as she unconsciously furrowed her brow, scrutinizing Gu Ze's condition.
He appeared pale from blood loss, his face still gaunt and drawn. Exhaustion had hollowed out his eyes, leaving dark circles beneath them. His high nose remained defiantly prominent above lips so pale they were nearly invisible.
The clothes were soaked with rain and blood, clinging to the body in tattered strips, a pitiful sight. Yet Gu Ze's expression showed no signs of distress. A gentle smile lingered on his lips, and a hint of concern sparkled in his eyes. Even in such adversity, he remained unfazed, like a king—albeit a king with a good temperament.
Tang Jingshu's faint groan pulled Xu Nuan back from her thoughts. Blinking, Xu Nuan redirected her attention and helped the now-conscious Tang Jingshu, who had difficulty moving his legs.
At that moment, Xu Hang and the others began to wake up one by one. The first thing they did was express relief at being alive and together. The second was to search for their boat and backpacks.
Xu Nuan and Deng Yinyin supported Tang Jingshu while Gu Ze followed behind them. The four of them first sought shelter under a large tree to escape the rain. Xu Hang took Xie Huai to look for their boat.
After a brief exchange, Xu Hang and Xie Huai returned with the backpacks belonging to the six of them and shared some good news: the boat was not far away on the shore and had sustained minimal damage—it was still usable.
The group, having survived the ordeal, broke into smiles, but those smiles quickly faded as they realized their dire situation: it was still raining, they had no shelter, and no food.
The phrase "hungry and cold" perfectly described their current plight.
"Alright, everyone find your raincoats and put them on," Xu Hang said, regaining his composure as he scanned the group with steady eyes.
"I'll work with Xie Huai to set up a temporary shelter. Xu Nuan and Deng Yinyin will look for food. As for Tang Jingshu and Gu Ze, you two should find a place to rest and recover."
The healthier members had no objections, but the guilt-ridden Tang Jingshu and proud Gu Ze insisted on contributing as well; after all, this was an emergency situation.
"This is not the time for impulsiveness," Xu Hang said sternly, exuding authority. "Taking care of your injuries is also part of contributing. Remember, there are many survival games ahead. If you want to continue facing challenges, you need to behave."
Xu Nuan felt a strong sense of incongruity hearing Xu Hang say "behave," but she couldn't deny that as their leader, he was capable of both guiding them and taking action. His reasoning was sound and persuasive.
Gu Ze and Tang Jingshu settled in, while the others busied themselves with their respective tasks.
This was Xu Nuan and Deng Yinyin's third time alone together.
Xu Nuan remained calm, and Deng Yinyin no longer felt constrained or shot her a cold glare. Instead, she asked with a frown, "Why are there only coconut trees on this island? What can we eat?"
"Coconuts?"
Before Xu Nuan could fully observe the island, she blurted out the answer, earning herself an eye roll from Deng Yinyin.
"Take a look for yourself. Are there any coconuts left on the trees? There are just a bunch of rotten ones on the ground."
The two of them walked into the forest, one after the other.
The island's forest was not just filled with coconut trees; there were also various other tall and short trees that they couldn't name. However, no matter where they looked, they saw no fruits on any of the trees.
"Don't worry. Let's follow this path; we'll surely find some food," Xu Nuan suggested, pointing to a trail that had been cleared by someone. Thorny bushes lay scattered along both sides of the path.
"Okay," Deng Yinyin nodded and followed her. After walking for a while, she found it strange.
"Could it be that other players have come to this island and cleared this path?"
"Maybe."
Xu Nuan casually glanced at the gashes left by the fallen Bush. It must have been a while since the First Batch of Players had chopped them down.
"Wow, this game is pretty impressive. Every Player encounters sharks on the Sea Surface, then faces storms, and ends up on this island, just like a predetermined program in an online game."
Deng Yinyin exclaimed loudly, looking around but failing to find any food, and she couldn't help but pout.
Xu Nuan fell into deep thought because of Deng Yinyin's casual remark. A predetermined program? The model of an online game?
Something was on the tip of her tongue, but when she tried to grasp it, it slipped away.
The two of them scanned the surrounding forest for quite some time without spotting anything edible.
Deng Yinyin began to complain about her legs hurting and wanting to rest, but there was nowhere to sit. She leaned against a tree, but before she could steady herself, Xu Nuan yanked her forward and started running quickly.
"Hey... Xu Nuan, why are you suddenly running so fast?"
Deng Yinyin gasped for breath as she ran. Seeing that Xu Nuan had no intention of stopping, she angrily pulled her hand away and stopped first.
Xu Nuan had no choice but to halt as well. Realizing they were quite a distance from that spot, she calmly explained.
"There was a snake on the tree you were leaning against. Judging by its markings, it’s highly venomous. I didn’t have time to warn you."
With that one sentence, Deng Yinyin's complaints were effectively silenced.
"Wow, this place is way too dangerous!"
Deng Yinyin patted her chest, still feeling a bit shaken.
Xu Nuan, unfazed, changed direction and continued walking.
"We should hurry and find some food. The sooner we fill our stomachs, the sooner we can rest."
"That's true, but food doesn't just pop up on its own, does it?"
Deng Yinyin pouted and followed along, only to bump into Xu Nuan, who had suddenly stopped. Rubbing her nose, Deng Yinyin was about to complain when she heard Xu Nuan's voice filled with excitement.
"Look! Food really has popped up!"
Deng Yinyin maneuvered around Xu Nuan to see what was ahead and discovered several pineapples. Although their color was still quite pale and they might not be sweet, she was too hungry to care.
Picking three pineapples instantly boosted Deng Yinyin's confidence.
"If we keep this momentum going, we're definitely going to have a bountiful harvest."
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