Chapter 487: Hey, your eyeballs are about to fall into the pot

What one saw in those little adult films and what one witnessed with their own eyes in reality were two completely different things—worlds apart in every sense.

It wasn’t merely the difference between an ordinary movie and a 3D film. Even virtual reality couldn’t compare. Those were still fabricated illusions, carefully arranged images projected on a screen. But this—this was real. Tangibly, undeniably real.

Especially since Li Shu was no ordinary girl. Compared to the actresses in those films, her beauty surpassed them by a hundredfold. Her features were exquisitely delicate, the kind that could make people lose their breath with a single glance. On top of that, her identity carried its own unique charm—she was a noble young lady, proud and aloof, with that cold and arrogant temperament that kept everyone at arm’s length.

And yet, by sheer accident, she had been seen in a moment of unintentional exposure.

That kind of “plot,” where a highborn, proud young lady inadvertently revealed herself, was far more tantalizing than any scripted scene from those films.

For the entire night, Zhu Ping’an’s mind refused to settle.

Images flickered endlessly through his thoughts—like plump roasted ducks glistening with oil, soft curves, graceful and alluring silhouettes. His imagination ran wild, and no matter how he tried to suppress it, the memories replayed again and again.

He tossed and turned on the grass bedding, unable to find a comfortable position.

But Zhu Ping’an wasn’t the only one who hadn’t truly fallen asleep.

Li Shu lay quietly nearby, her breathing slow and steady, carefully matching the rhythm of the little bun-faced maid who had already drifted into a deep sleep beside her. To any observer, she looked completely at rest.

Yet her eyes remained open in the darkness.

It wasn’t the lightning or thunder that kept her awake. In truth, Li Shu had never been afraid of lightning since she was young.

What made her lips curl slightly in the dark was the memory of a certain foolish toad staring at her earlier with a stunned expression. The more she thought about it, the more amusing it seemed.

That silly man had secretly peeked at her so many times, thinking she hadn’t noticed.

Did he really believe she was that oblivious?

Besides occasionally listening to the faint rustling sounds from behind the curtain where someone was clearly tossing and turning all night, Li Shu’s thoughts were occupied with something else entirely.

She was silently calculating the date.

If her memory was correct… tomorrow should already be the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month.

If nothing had gone wrong at sea, they would have long since sailed upstream along the Yangtze River and returned home by now.

Traveling by water didn’t require rest like journeys by land. Boats could move day and night without pause, riding the current. It was several times faster than traveling overland.

By that logic, they should have arrived home quite a while ago.

The twenty-eighth of the fourth month.

An auspicious day for marriage.

That day… was supposed to be her wedding day.

And yet now, she and Zhu Ping’an were stranded on this desolate island.

Tomorrow, the wedding at home would arrive—but there would be no bride, and no groom.

What would her family do?

Would they panic? Would they send people searching everywhere?

Or perhaps… they didn’t even know what had happened.

If the shipwreck had been discovered, maybe they would assume that she and Zhu Ping’an had already sunk to the bottom of the sea… becoming food for the fish.

The thought made Li Shu’s chest tighten slightly.

How wonderful it would be if, in the blink of an eye, the three of them could suddenly return home.

On the day of the wedding, she was supposed to wear a magnificent phoenix coronet and a crimson bridal robe.

Her father had even specially sent people to the South Seas to purchase pearls, using them to craft the phoenix crown just for her.

Outside the cave, thunder still roared from time to time. Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the island in brief flashes of white.

Whenever the thunder grew particularly loud, the bun-faced little maid would shiver unconsciously in her sleep.

But Li Shu didn’t even blink.

Her mind remained completely absorbed in her thoughts, utterly unconcerned with the storm.

It wasn’t until deep into the night, when exhaustion finally overcame him, that Zhu Ping’an gradually drifted into sleep.

The night passed without further incident.

The weather on the island changed as quickly as flipping a page in a book. Just last night, lightning had flashed through the sky while fierce winds and torrential rain battered the island. Yet by morning, a hazy sunrise had already appeared in the eastern sky.

The forest outside had been thoroughly washed by the rain, the leaves shining with a fresh emerald brilliance.

The entire island looked as though it had been freshly cleaned by nature itself.

Now, if this were the plot of a typical romance novel, one might expect something interesting to happen upon waking.

For example, Zhu Ping’an might open his eyes and discover that Li Shu was clinging to him like an octopus.

Or perhaps he would wake up to find her propping herself up on one arm, quietly staring at his face with intense curiosity.

Or maybe the mischievous girl would be teasing him by brushing a strand of her long hair against his face, making him itch until he woke.

However—

Reality was nothing like the sweet, fragrant clichés of romance novels.

Not a single one of those scenes occurred.

When Zhu Ping’an opened his eyes that morning, blinking away the remnants of sleep, he found that he was the only one left in the cave.

Li Shu and the bun-faced little maid had already gotten up.

He realized it was probably because he had tossed and turned so late into the night that he had ended up waking later than usual.

Outside, the morning sun had already risen.

Zhu Ping’an sat up from the grass bedding, slipped on his shoes, and pulled on his outer robe before standing.

Only then did he notice something strange.

The cave… looked completely different.

It had been decorated.

Clusters of wildflowers—blue, red, and yellow—had been carefully gathered and tied into small bouquets. They were arranged throughout the cave, hung against the stone walls and tucked into crevices.

Among them, red flowers were the most abundant.

The once bare, rough cave had been transformed into something unexpectedly festive.

At first glance, it almost looked like… a bridal chamber.

Zhu Ping’an rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn’t seeing things.

Then he stepped outside the cave.

The sight at the entrance made his eyebrows rise.

Bright red wildflowers had been arranged around the cave opening, framing it like a flower gate. The vivid blossoms contrasted beautifully with the rough stone, giving the entrance an oddly ceremonial feel.

And right there at the entrance—

A certain proud young lady was bent over with her backside raised slightly, busily arranging flowers.

On her head was a flower crown she had woven herself, cleverly styled to resemble a phoenix coronet.

It was Li Shu.

She held a large bundle of red wildflowers in her arms and was currently inserting them into a framework made from braided vines at the cave entrance.

Zhu Ping’an watched her for a moment.

What a girl who loved beauty, he concluded silently.

Getting up this early in the morning just to decorate the cave with wildflowers…

“Morning,” Zhu Ping’an greeted.

“Ah!”

The sudden voice startled Li Shu so badly that she nearly jumped like a startled kitten.

“You scared me to death! What are you doing sneaking up on people like that? You don’t even make a sound when you walk!”

After recovering, she shot him a sharp glare, her red lips pouting in annoyed reproach.

“You were just too focused to hear me,” Zhu Ping’an replied with a faint twitch of his mouth.

“Excuses, excuses,” Li Shu huffed, puffing out her cheeks slightly.

“What’s the occasion today?” Zhu Ping’an asked casually, pointing at the flowers in her hands with mild curiosity. “Why pick so many flowers?”

“What occasion?”

Li Shu seemed momentarily flustered.

A faint blush flashed across her pretty face, though she quickly lifted her chin and forced an expression of casual indifference. Rolling her eyes, she said,

“As if I care what day it is. This lousy cave is nothing but dirt and broken rocks. How can people live in a place like this? If I don’t decorate it to look nicer, how could anyone possibly endure staying here?”

That made sense.

After all, Li Shu was a pampered young lady who had grown up living in delicate boudoirs and elegant towers at home. It was only natural that she couldn’t get used to living in a rough cave like this.

Zhu Ping’an didn’t think much more about it.

Since there was no water source inside the cave, washing up required going down the mountain to the small stream below.

After greeting Li Shu, Zhu Ping’an headed toward the stream.

There, he used the most primitive method to wash up—scooping water with his hands from the stream, splashing his face and rinsing his hands. He snapped off a small twig to clean his teeth, then rinsed his mouth with the cool water.

While Zhu Ping’an was washing up, the bun-faced little maid was nearby gathering wild fruits.

Li Shu, meanwhile, had begun preparing breakfast by the stream.

She was making fish soup.

By the time Zhu Ping’an finished washing, the rich fragrance had already begun drifting through the air.

Following the scent, he looked over.

There he saw Li Shu crouched by the fire, skillfully adding firewood while calmly tending the pot.

Her movements were smooth and practiced.

Zhu Ping’an froze slightly.

Someone who could cook with such ease was definitely not a beginner in the kitchen. Without three to five years of experience, it was impossible to move with that kind of natural confidence.

And yet—

He had no idea how Li Shu managed it.

With nothing but stream water and fresh fish, she had somehow cooked a pot of soup that had turned a milky white color. There were no seasonings at all—no salt, no spices, nothing.

Yet the fish soup bubbling inside the stone pot released a fragrance so rich it made Zhu Ping’an’s taste buds tremble.

It was simply the finest delicacy imaginable.

Boiling fish in clear water removed all the overpowering seasonings, allowing the true essence of the fish to shine through.

The aroma was light, pure, and irresistibly appetizing.

For some reason, the smell felt strangely familiar to Zhu Ping’an.

It was as though he had tasted this flavor countless times before.

Countless times?

Wait.

Countless times?

Something in Zhu Ping’an’s mind suddenly clicked.

Two seconds later, his eyes widened.

He remembered.

“Hey, your eyeballs are about to fall into the pot,” Li Shu said with a roll of her eyes, her red lips pouting in playful annoyance.