Chapter 30: Dying Together, Is There a Problem?

“I like it.” Qiao Yitong was very frank when it came to things that satisfied her.

Lu Cheng’s smile deepened.

This scene fell into the eyes of the viewers who knew the truth, leaving them all with complicated feelings.

[Emmm, I watched with my own eyes this afternoon as Lu Cheng went to find that stone slab, then found a harder rock to use as a tool, and bit by bit chiseled out the shape of a Stone Pot before sanding it smooth.]

[We all know Lu Cheng is good at making weapons, but that’s usually when he has a full set of tools and machinery to help. Out here, he has nothing. It was all pure stone and manual labor. It hurt just watching him do it.]

[It didn’t just hurt my heart, it made my hands ache! Granite is so hard. Chiseled by hand? You’d need iron hands to withstand that.]

[I was curious when I first saw him messing with it, but I left halfway through. It was about an hour into the chiseling. Even with cloth wrapped around his hands, they were covered in bloody blisters.]

[Doesn’t it hurt?]

[Nonsense, try having bloody blisters on your hands and see if it hurts. I just don’t understand why he absolutely had to make this pot. It really wasn’t necessary. I feel like they were doing fine without it.]

[I don’t get it either. It feels completely unnecessary. I don’t know what he was thinking. I could understand Qiao Yitong building the house or him making the fish trap before, but this Stone Pot? I really don’t get it. What’s he after? Better tasting food?]

[I’m a Lu Cheng fan. I once saw him lock himself in a room for a whole week, eating nothing but instant noodles, just to recreate an ancient crossbow. He is definitely not a glutton. Obviously, it’s not worth doing this just for food. To go to this extent, he’s clearly just trying to win a certain someone’s favor.]

Holding the Stone Pot, Qiao Yitong had to admit that Lu Cheng’s gift had truly hit the mark.

However, she also knew the hardness of this type of rock. If she were to do it, it would cost her at least a drop of Spiritual Power and some time to complete.

How did Lu Cheng, a mere ordinary human, manage it?

“How did you make this?” she asked.

“I told you, I’m good with my hands. This counts as a type of handiwork, I suppose,” Lu Cheng said.

His eyes were still filled with smiles, but Qiao Yitong keenly noticed the unnaturalness in his expression.

There was also a faint bead of cold sweat appearing near his temple.

Qiao Yitong frowned slightly, guessing the truth.

She shifted her gaze to the side and noticed Lu Cheng’s hands were hidden behind his back in a defensive gesture. “Your hands?”

“Huh? It’s nothing. I just accidentally…”

Before he could finish his brave front, Qiao Yitong reached out. Without giving Lu Cheng time to react, she grabbed his arm.

She lifted his hand and immediately saw the palms covered in bloody blisters.

Qiao Yitong: “…”

When an ordinary human tries to do something beyond their capability, they can only pay the price with their body.

She had guessed as much.

But seeing Lu Cheng’s hands covered in these blisters still caused a slight tremor in her heart.

The two of them were just strangers who met on a show. Cooperation was fine, mutual benefit was fine, but there was no need to go this far.

Though she came from the Wasteland, it didn’t mean she was heartless or devoid of emotion.

Seeing this, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t moved at all.

She let go of Lu Cheng’s hand and turned to walk in another direction.

Seeing Qiao Yitong turn and leave, Lu Cheng panicked.

“Sister Tong…” he called out.

Qiao Yitong ignored him, picking up her harpoon and walking toward the sea.

In three minutes, she speared five fish.

Then, carrying the harpoon laden with fish, she walked toward Shisan and the others under everyone’s shocked and envious gazes.

What was she doing?

At this moment, whether it was the twelve people on the island, the Director Group¹, or the viewers in front of their screens, they couldn’t help but wonder.

When Qiao Yitong reached Shisan’s group, she completely ignored the people who stepped forward to greet her. Instead, she walked straight to the Doctor, who had been staying at the edge of the group with very little presence.

With a flick of her wrist, all the fish on the harpoon shook off.

Five fish fell to the ground. Shisan and the others stared with wide, envious eyes.

“The fish are for you. In exchange for gauze,” Qiao Yitong said.

She knew that all the medical resources on the island were in the hands of this Doctor.

The Doctor looked up slightly, gazing at Qiao Yitong.

The Doctor’s expression was cold and aloof. Even though he had been starving on the island for a long time and his body was very weak, his spirit was not irritable like the others. He remained calm and indifferent, just as he had been when he first arrived.

It was as if the hardships of the past few days had never happened to him.

After hearing Qiao Yitong’s words, the Doctor’s gaze rested on the fish for a moment, but he didn’t show the slightest bit of greed like Shisan and the others.

“Are you injured?” the Doctor asked.

“No, my companion is,” Qiao Yitong said.

“I’ll go take a look,” the Doctor said, standing up and picking up his medical kit.

Qiao Yitong followed closely behind with her empty harpoon.

The Doctor paused. “You can take the fish back. This is my duty.”

He had never taken a side from beginning to end; he simply preferred wherever he could maintain the least presence.

Therefore, treating someone who was injured was his duty. There was no need for such a trade.

Qiao Yitong looked at him. When the Doctor said those words, she seemed to want to see through his thoughts.

Because it wasn’t logical.

But as soon as the Doctor spoke, the people on Shisan’s side grew anxious.

Brother! Those are five big, fat fish!

We spent two hours today and only caught one!

How can you be so generous as to say you don’t want them?

Facing Qiao Yitong, Peppa Lamb’s gaze turned somewhat gloomy.

He didn’t give the Doctor any chance, stepping in to take the five fish away immediately.

Qiao Yitong saw this and raised an eyebrow slightly. “It seems your companions are in great need.”

“I have no companions,” the Doctor said. Having finished his sentence, he picked up his medical kit and walked away without looking back.

Qiao Yitong didn’t say much either. She simply trailed half a step behind the Doctor, her expression filled with scrutiny.

Lu Cheng remained where he was, but he took in all of Qiao Yitong’s actions.

He watched as Sister Tong, who usually had no interest in dealing with people, went to spear a fish just to make a trade with the Doctor.

For a moment, his heart was a whirlwind of emotions.

There was gratitude, but also a strange, inexplicable feeling he couldn’t quite name.

The Doctor walked over and immediately saw the blood blisters covering Lu Cheng’s hands, which were hanging at his sides.

He set the medical kit down and took out iodine and other supplies.

Lu Cheng had already washed his hands with fresh water. Now, as the Doctor applied the iodine for disinfection, the pain made him grimace inwardly.

On the surface, however, he endured it, not wanting Qiao Yitong to see his weakness.

Deng You watched this scene, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.

Truly a fool, playing the hero in front of the person he liked.

He had no respect for that kind of behavior.

After about twenty minutes, the Doctor finished wrapping Lu Cheng’s hands in gauze and gave his instructions. “Be careful with what you do for the next couple of days. Don’t let them get infected. Other than being a bit painful, it won’t affect much. Just let them heal on their own.”

“Understood, understood,” Lu Cheng said quickly.

His work finished, the Doctor began repacking his kit.

Deng You, who had been sitting nearby, suddenly stood up and called out, “Hey, are you really going back to that side? Your medical kit is a treasure here. Join us. We can guarantee you’ll survive the next twenty days comfortably, though you’ll have to be a bit frugal with how you use your supplies on us.”

As Deng You spoke, he shot a meaningful look at Qiao Yitong.

This time, he wasn’t actually thinking of himself.

On a Deserted Island, anything could happen.

He also knew the supplies in the Doctor’s kit were limited. Once they were gone, there would be no way to replenish them.

It was better to persuade the Doctor to join their camp while he still had supplies.

That way, they could have peace of mind if anything happened later.

After all…

He and Lu Cheng were two grown men. If they got a little sick, they could just tough it out.

But Qiao Yitong was a girl and a celebrity. Moreover, he had seen the gossip before and knew her health wasn’t great.

Even though Qiao Yitong’s current abilities had exceeded his expectations in every way, her physical constitution was still a factor. If a serious illness struck, it would hit like a collapsing mountain².

Just endure it?

If waiting it out caused some kind of permanent damage, how miserable would that be?

Qiao Yitong caught Deng You’s look, but she didn’t speak.

Her gaze simply rested quietly on the Doctor, though her eyes were significantly sharper than usual.

It was as if she were trying to see right through the man in front of her.

The Doctor, however, methodically finished packing his kit.

He looked up, didn’t even spare Deng You a glance, and turned to leave.

Deng You didn’t give up. He stepped in front of him, attempting to negotiate.

“You’ve seen what we have here. All we need is for you to help out as a medic occasionally. It’s a very good deal. As for that side…”

Deng You had originally followed Shisan and the others, so he understood the situation over there perfectly.

“The people over there probably don’t care about you at all. There’s no need to concern yourself with whether they live or die.”

Hearing this, the Doctor looked at Deng You blocking his path and opened his mouth to speak. “I am a doctor. I cannot stand by and watch people die.”

Deng You was speechless.

Did such a noble and great doctor actually exist in this world?

By comparison, he felt like a total jerk.

Deng You stepped aside, allowing the Doctor to leave.

He failed to notice that after those words were spoken, Qiao Yitong’s pupils suddenly constricted.

“Master, you clearly said you don’t like meddling in other people’s business. Why did you save me back then?”

“I couldn’t stand by and watch a child like you die in front of me.”

Qiao Yitong’s fingers clenched slightly, and the look she directed at the Doctor turned razor-sharp.

The expression flashed across her face so quickly that it went unnoticed by the other two.

Deng You walked over, looking rather regretful. “Sister Tong, you should have made him stay. He’s from Stanford Medical School and is incredibly capable. His name is famous worldwide. He earned his doctorate at a very young age, and some say he’s a man who can snatch lives back from the King of Hell. If he were on our side, we basically wouldn’t have to fear any accidents.”

Qiao Yitong didn’t respond.

Seeing that Qiao Yitong seemed uninterested, Deng You swallowed the rest of his words.

In truth, there was another benefit to bringing him over now.

A doctor like that was considered a top-tier resource globally. Countless dignitaries and wealthy elites wanted to get close to him but never had the chance.

Now they had unexpectedly found him on this island…

Previously, no one was sure if they could survive until the end, so their attention was focused entirely on immediate survival. They hadn’t thought that far ahead.

But now, for Qiao Yitong, survival wasn’t a difficult task.

Under these conditions, if she could establish a friendly relationship with the Doctor, life would still be long after they left the island. It would be like buying herself an insurance policy.

Qiao Yitong stared at the Doctor’s back for a long time before finally looking away and slowly letting out a breath.

Though there were similarities, he wasn’t her Master.

First of all, her Master would never refuse to recognize her.

Furthermore, she couldn’t sense even a trace of Spiritual Power within this man.

If they had truly encountered a problem together during the Ascension, her Master should have regained some Spiritual Power by now.

Having lost interest, Qiao Yitong returned to her usual indifferent demeanor.

“Are you two hungry?” Qiao Yitong turned and asked the men.

The moment they heard there was food, both of them immediately looked like eager, starving beggars, nodding their heads repeatedly.

“Sister Tong, are we having grilled fish again today?” Deng You asked expectantly.

Yesterday, he had only smelled the grilled fish without getting a taste, and he had been craving it ever since.

After walking such a long distance with Qiao Yitong today, he was already exhausted to the point of collapse.

But he hadn’t complained once, all because he thought there might be a meal of grilled fish waiting for him when they returned.

Yesterday’s grilled fish was the carrot dangling in front of him.

Now that Qiao Yitong had brought it up, he immediately voiced his hopes.

Qiao Yitong shook her head. “We have a pot. No grilled fish.”

“Huh?” Deng You was stunned.

He had really been looking forward to grilled fish…

Qiao Yitong added, “Today we’re having Coconut Fish.”

Lu Cheng’s eyes instantly lit up.

Coconut Fish? He had never tried it, but it sounded delicious!

For some reason, he made that judgment immediately.

It was a sign of his absolute trust in Qiao Yitong’s culinary skills.

“I’ll go get the coconuts,” Qiao Yitong said, walking toward the row of coconut trees by the shore.

“Sister Tong, I’ll go with you,” Deng You said, moving to follow her.

“No need,” Qiao Yitong replied.

“I can help you carry them back,” Deng You offered, unconsciously trying to please her.

But before he could take more than two steps, Lu Cheng grabbed him. “Get back here. If you have time for that, you might as well come with me to fetch two buckets of water. Are you planning to just stand around and let Sister Tong do everything?”

Lu Cheng scolded him.

Deng You: “…”

That wasn’t what he meant.

He truly wanted to do something to help Qiao Yitong.

If his relationship with Qiao Yitong had previously been a mere partnership where he tried to save energy and slack off whenever possible, things had changed.

Now, he felt a genuine sense of sincerity toward her.

At the very least, he truly wanted to share her burden.

And so, the three of them split into two groups: Qiao Yitong went to pick coconuts, while Deng You and Lu Cheng went to fetch water.

• Is it just my imagination? Why do I feel like Lu Cheng is so wary of Deng You? –

• I noticed it too. And look, they’re only carrying six water bottles between them. Didn’t Lu Cheng carry eight by himself before? –

• Isn’t it obvious? He even carved the Stone Pot by hand. He clearly doesn’t want to give Deng You any chance to interact with Qiao Yitong. –

• Is this him being protective? –

• Protective my foot. This is blatant jealousy. –

• Stop talking about them for a second. I want to know about that Doctor. Is he really from Stanford Medical School? Why is someone that impressive here? He shouldn’t be short on money. –

• Heh, of course he’s not short on money. Rich people are practically tripping over each other to give him money. As for why he’s here… I’m guessing too many people were trying to pay him, so he wanted to give himself a vacation. –

• ??? Is the person above even speaking human? Who goes to a Deserted Island for a vacation? –

• Don’t knock it. For him, a Deserted Island might be better than reality. I’ve followed some gossip about him; let’s just say being too talented can be a burden sometimes. –

• The more I watch this show, the more I think the Director Group is incredible. Where did they find this group of people? The contrast is so sharp. –

• Yeah, those two lines of dialogue just now showcased human nature perfectly. –

• The Doctor: I can’t just stand by and watch people die. –

• Deng You: What does it matter to us if they die? –

• It’s a textbook comparison between a healer’s heart and pure selfishness. –

• I’ve explained this so many times, Senior Deng wasn’t like this in the past… –

The bullet comments were filled with different opinions, everyone discussing different people and arguing back and forth.

On the Deserted Island, Lu Cheng and Deng You were harmoniously and slowly fetching water together.

“Hey, with this little bit of water, you couldn’t carry it all yourself?” Deng You asked, speechless after realizing how ridiculously light the load was.

Lu Cheng glanced at him but didn’t explain.

Deng You paused, looking at Lu Cheng’s hand. Was it because of the injury? Definitely not. The reason was obvious.

A low chuckle escaped his throat.

“Hey, what are you laughing at?” Lu Cheng asked with a stern face, hearing the mockery.

“Laughing at you, you moron.” Deng You’s words were as harsh as ever.

Lu Cheng: ?

Say that again and see what happens.

“You think pulling someone away so they can’t interact for a little while will stop their feelings from developing?” Deng You said, eyeing him.

Lu Cheng: ?

So, you better not tell me you actually have inappropriate feelings for Sister Tong.

“If you like her, you should be more direct. We haven’t interacted much, but I’ve basically figured out her personality today. If you don’t make it clear, she probably won’t get it at all,” Deng You said.

“Make what clear? My bond with Sister Tong is one of life and death, of facing hardships together. Don’t make me out to be so…”

“It’s just a crush, why are you so afraid of people knowing?” Deng You exposed him ruthlessly.

Lu Cheng: “…”

“You say it so casually, as if you aren’t the same,” Lu Cheng retorted.

“I’m really not,” Deng You said candidly. “She’s capable, so I admire her. She saved me today, so I’m grateful. Mine is a bond forged in crisis; it has nothing to do with whether she’s a man or a woman, fat or thin. If you were the one doing those things, I’d feel the same way about you. This has nothing to do with ‘liking’ someone, understand?”

Although Lu Cheng couldn’t understand how anyone could not like Sister Tong, he roughly understood Deng You’s point.

“I guess I get it,” Lu Cheng said.

“So there’s no need to watch me so closely. If you have the time, you should keep an eye on your Sister Tong. Don’t let her get too close to that pretty boy named Jing. Based on my years of keen gossip-hunting, she seems to actually be interested in him. It’s just that they had some unpleasantness before, so she’s keeping her distance to avoid suspicion.” Deng You glanced at the nearby camera and leaned closer to Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng’s relaxed state immediately vanished, replaced by tension.

“The one named Jing?” Lu Cheng narrowed his eyes, his voice also kept very low.

“Jing Xueqin. You don’t know him?” Deng You named him.

“I know him, but Sister Tong is interested in him?” (Sister Tong would actually give him the time of day?)

“Anyway, I’ve given you the information. Whether you believe it is up to you,” Deng You said, returning to his normal volume.

Lu Cheng remained silent. It was impossible to tell if he believed it, but he made a mental note to be careful.

After all, before coming to the island, he had indeed heard a rumor speculating that Sister Tong was here specifically for the guy named Jing.

Of course, in his eyes, it was nonsense.

That Jing fellow wasn’t even worthy of a single strand of Sister Tong’s hair!

The two walked back slowly. Because of Deng You’s words, Lu Cheng had lowered his guard slightly.

They looked much more harmonious, but the walk was boring, so Deng You asked casually, “By the way, I’m actually quite curious. Why did you come here? With your status, you shouldn’t be short on money, right?”

As a frequent lurker in the deeper corners of the internet, Deng You knew a bit about Lu Cheng’s background.

“Just curious. Came here to check things out. Is that a problem?” Lu Cheng answered casually.

“The truth?”

“What else? Why else would I be here?”

Deng You scrutinized him for a moment, starting to believe him. “I thought you’d liked Sister Tong for a long time and came here specifically to chase her.”

“…Can you stop constantly bringing up the fact that I like Sister Tong?” Lu Cheng was genuinely worried that Deng You lacked a filter. If he blurted that out in front of her and made her uncomfortable, what if she stopped talking to him?

“Then I don’t quite get it. If you didn’t already like her, how were you so decisive about leaving with her when everything first went down? You couldn’t have known how incredible she was back then, right? What was your mindset? Were you actually willing to bet your life?” Deng You found Lu Cheng’s thought process somewhat baffling.

“I didn’t really have a mindset. I could just tell she was being framed. I thought it was unfair, pretty miserable, and since she’s a girl, I was worried something might actually happen to her out in the middle of nowhere,” Lu Cheng said.

“And so you bet your life on it?” Deng You sounded skeptical.

“It wasn’t exactly betting my life. I had my own motives at the start. In fact, at the very, very beginning, I thought I’d just wait for her to calm down and then convince her to go back to the main group,” Lu Cheng admitted frankly.

Who could have predicted that Sister Tong was so capable? Before he even had a chance to persuade her, she had already found such a perfect spot.

That worked out fine. Anyone who wanted to go back could go right ahead.

“I see. So it was just your sense of justice,” Deng You said.

“I guess?” Lu Cheng didn’t deny it.

At the time, he certainly had a bit of a hero complex.

“That’s nice,” Deng You remarked. To Lu Cheng’s ears, however, the comment sounded a bit sarcastic.

Lu Cheng asked warily, “You’re not mocking me, are you?”

“Not at all,” Deng You countered.

Lu Cheng chuckled. “That ‘not at all’ sounded incredibly passive-aggressive. But I am curious – from your angle back then, you must have seen the truth, too. Why didn’t you stand up? No sense of justice?”

Deng You lifted his eyelids slightly. “It’s dead.”

Lu Cheng was speechless.

You could never expect a kind word to come out of this guy’s mouth.

“Dead, right. I think you just never had one to begin with,” Lu Cheng snapped back, dropping the politeness.

Deng You wasn’t angry at all. He even seemed amused. “That’s actually not true. I really did have one once.”

“And then?”

“And then, it died along with my parents. Any questions?” Deng You said nonchalantly.

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Translator’s Notes

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1. Director Group: Refers to the ‘daoyan-zu’ (导演组), the production crew or showrunners of the reality program. In ‘system’ or ‘survival’ novels featuring a show-within-a-story, the production team often acts as a secondary antagonist or a source of narrative pressure. ↩
2. hit like a collapsing mountain: A translation of the Chinese idiom ‘bing lai ru shan dao’ (病来如山倒), which describes the sudden and overwhelming onset of a serious illness. It is often paired with the phrase ‘recovery is like spinning silk’ (病去如抽丝), emphasizing how quickly health can deteriorate compared to the slow process of healing. ↩