After crossing the cove's jungle, Chuck didn't rush back to the swamp to chop the tree. Instead, he followed the sound of the flowing stream to the water in the jungle.
He leaned down and scooped up a handful to taste.
It was indeed fresh water.
Chuck had already deduced the existence of a river on the deserted island, so he wasn't surprised. However, judging by the stream's size, it was likely just one of the tributaries of the main river after the main course had shifted.
Abundant fresh water resources meant the gathering of flora and fauna. Therefore, the true main channel of the island's river likely flowed into the vast Tropical Dense Forest in the west, if all went as expected.
It seemed that of the entire deserted island, the Southern Beach where he and Julia first landed was truly the most barren…
There was simply no justice.
Coupled with the chilling news he had just learned from Ms. Tang, Chuck's mood was honestly not great. He wanted to go back and fuck Julia soon to cheer himself up.
However, Chuck hadn't forgotten the main task of this trip.
He returned to the Sago palm near the Swamp Wetland, took out his large axe, and chopped into the tree without hesitation.
In an instant, he was breathing heavily, and sap splattered everywhere.
The trunk of the Sago palm was incredibly thick, and the sap content was truly high.
After chopping for a long time, Chuck was thoroughly drenched in the splashing sap.
Finally, Chuck heaved the large, lush trunk onto his shoulder… leaving only the pitiful, helpless stump weeping sap where it stood.
"Woah."
Chuck swayed a few times, quickly stabilized his center of gravity, and managed to stand firm. An unprecedented pressure weighed down on his shoulder.
The bad news was that it was heavier than he expected.
The good news was that he could carry it.
So Chuck took a deep breath, tensed his core, and started his return journey, carrying the log and sinking deep into the mud with every step.
Only after his figure disappeared behind the reeds did Tang Yumò, who had been closely following him, slowly emerge.
She turned to look at the thick palm tree, now reduced to a stump, and her expression slowly changed from shock to admiration.
She actually knew that Sago palms could be used to extract starch, but she never had the ability to implement it. The trunk was thick, making it difficult to chop down, let alone transport and process afterward.
Yet, Chuck had easily chopped it down with just an axe, and then carried it away on his shoulder!
How heavy must that massive log be?
A hundred kilos? A hundred and fifty kilos??
The more Tang Yumò thought, the brighter the light in her eyes became.
Such physical fitness—he definitely surpassed 99.9% of men!
Tang Yumò wasn't stupid. Although she still held onto the fantasy that rescue would come and allow her to return to the civilized world, she was very clear about her current predicament.
Even if she had a cave to live in and didn't have to worry about food and water for the moment, she was ultimately on a deserted island.
For example, the rainstorm two days ago had already worn her out, and she barely avoided getting sick from the cold.
If she continued to live alone, she was guaranteed to face life-threatening danger at some point.
In these special circumstances, a strong man who could protect her life was the most reliable companion.
Furthermore, if their relationship developed smoothly, returning to the outside world together to start a family would also be an excellent choice…
Chuck, the former student who had once confessed his feelings to her, had now scored almost full marks in Tang Yumò's estimation.
She looked at the swamp ahead, a place she had never ventured into. She had indeed seen signs of python activity there before.
But since Chuck had gone first…
Tang Yumò gritted her teeth, gathered her courage, and followed him.
It must be said that this was Chuck's most extreme physical challenge since being stranded.
Fortunately, he achieved complete success in the end.
With a heavy "thud," the thick log was placed on the stone slope platform. Chuck instantly felt his legs wobble and nearly fell to the ground.
"Darling?"
The next moment, a golden figure rushed out of the wooden house.
Seeing Chuck covered in sweat, leaning against the stone wall, panting heavily, and looking utterly exhausted, Julia's face immediately showed distress. She rushed forward to support Chuck, wiping the sweat from his forehead with her small hand.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Chuck raised an eyebrow, waved his hand to indicate he was fine while catching his breath. He straightened up, rubbed his shoulder, which was somewhat numb from the pressure of the log, and then wrapped his arm around Julia's soft body. He pointed to the thick log on the ground and asked with a smile.
"My great botanist, what do you think this is?"
Julia's attention had been completely focused on Chuck. Seeing he was okay, she followed his gaze and finally noticed the exceptionally thick log he had carried back.
Her beautiful blue eyes gradually widened.
"Holy cow! That's a Sago palm log!"
As Chuck's current capable helper and domestic partner, Julia knew all about Chuck's plans. However, recently, she only knew his main goal was to fire water vats for storage.
The starch extracted from the Sago palm is called sago starch, which is why many people simply call it a Sago palm tree.
Clearly, Julia was very familiar with this peculiar starch-extracting tree and immediately recognized the origin of the log.
The surprise in her blue eyes quickly turned to astonishment. Julia slowly turned, looking at Chuck in disbelief.
She knew that extracting sago starch required crushing the log residue and letting the starch settle in water, making a large container essential.
In other words…
"Darling, did you rush to fire the water vat just so you could extract sago from this log?"
"You're smart."
Chuck raised his eyebrows in surprise, then nodded and stroked Julia's head.
Her eyes immediately glazed over with adoration.
Every time she thought their current life was good enough and satisfying, this man would surprise her even more.
As a result, Julia's admiration and affection for Chuck were now bordering on fanaticism.
Her heart filled with renewed worship and love, her soft body trembled slightly again. Julia's lower abdomen felt a tickle of emptiness, and she ovulated right there again.
She pressed tightly against Chuck's chest, stood on her toes to deliver a fiery, wet kiss, then tilted her head back, gently biting her lower lip. One small hand reached down, gripping the already erect long spear through Chuck's shorts.
She stroked it gently, watching him with hot, seductive eyes.
"So, Darling, do you want to work first? Or fuck me first?"
Chuck exhaled leisurely, enjoying the service of her small hand, and asked softly, "How is the water vat firing?"
"Little Sister Momo is watching it."
Chuck glanced toward the back of the house upon hearing this. Indeed, Gu Mòmo was sitting on a rock by the kiln, a wooden stick in one hand and her phone in the other, seemingly having a good time slacking off, not even noticing Chuck had returned.
"What about the dog?"
"She dug for clay for a long time and is resting inside the house now."
Julia blinked her beautiful eyes, her small hand not stopping its movement, a smile playing on her lips.
"Should I call her out?"
The workbench countdown still showed the timer slowly ticking away in the kiln. There were still nearly three hours until the water vat was finished.
While he could certainly use this time to find other things to do, as he just said, Chuck's mood was a bit off.
So, he decided to give himself the afternoon off.
He looked down at the foreign bombshell's exquisitely beautiful face, raised his hand, gently pinched her small earlobe, and laughed softly.
"How about we go take the dog for a walk on the beach, and then we fuck?"
Hearing this, Julia's eyes instantly turned into hearts. Her long white legs rubbed together excitedly, and the little hole below her felt itchy. She nodded impatiently.
"Yes!"
Cautiously making her way through the swamp, Tang Yumò noticed Chuck heading towards the eastern Redwood Forest and quietly followed.
Because he was carrying a thick log on his shoulder, his walking speed was very slow, allowing her to keep her distance behind him.
This behavior, which bordered on being a stalker, almost made Tang Yumò back out.
But she quickly found a reason to convince herself.
She told herself she had no malicious intent in following him. She just wanted to see what kind of companions would make the former student who liked her say goodbye so decisively and without hesitation.
So, she quietly followed Chuck, believing she hadn't been noticed, all the way through the Redwood Forest, arriving at the flat stone beach, where she saw the distant volcano and the continuous cliffs.
Having never crossed the Swamp Wetland since being stranded, Tang Yumò realized for the first time that this deserted island had so many terrains and an unbelievably vast area, leaving her momentarily stunned.
But the stone beach was open with no cover. To avoid being spotted, Tang Yumò had to hide at the edge of the Redwood Forest, only daring to cautiously continue following after Chuck had walked far away.
But suddenly, Chuck's figure abruptly disappeared after reaching the cliff.
She grew nervous, afraid of losing him, and slightly quickened her pace.
The cliff edge of the stone beach was quite rugged. Tang Yumò fumbled along the edge for a while until she finally found a slightly narrow passage that slanted steeply downward.
It seemed this was the path Chuck had just taken.
Tang Yumò softened her steps, carefully entered the passage, and followed the steep slope downwards.
Finally, she arrived at a stone slope platform.
The sight that greeted her made her freeze completely.
A wooden house that was properly built, a kiln emitting wisps of smoke, and neatly stacked piles of firewood.
This clean stone slope platform had clearly become a habitable shelter!
It was infinitely better than her mountain cave!
The expression on Tang Yumò's face grew more delighted.
If she could move here, it would surely be much more comfortable than living alone in that cold cave.
But speaking of which…
Where was Chuck?
She looked towards the side of the wooden house, where the Sago palm log Chuck had carried from the swamp was resting flat on the ground.
But where did he go?
Tang Yumò was about to circle to the front door of the wooden house to investigate when a lazy yawn suddenly drifted from the direction of the kiln behind the house.
"Ah—hooo~"
The voice sounded cute, like a girl.
Tang Yumò paused, wanting to sneak closer for a look, but unexpectedly, footsteps sounded the next moment.
A small figure stretched and walked straight out from behind the wooden house, immediately running into Tang Yumò.
The two stared at each other, freezing simultaneously.
Gu Mòmo looked at the woman who had suddenly appeared in front of her. She didn't scream in fright or feel nervous. Her large, watery eyes blinked a couple of times, and then she murmured in a surprised tone.
"…Little Ms. Tang?"
"Student Mòmo?!!"
It wasn't just Gu Mòmo. The uninvited Tang Yumò also cried out, then instinctively covered her mouth, nervously glancing towards the wooden house.
After a moment, no movement occurred. Tang Yumò frowned, looked back at Gu Mòmo, and whispered.
"Student Mòmo, what are you doing here?"
As a substitute teacher at a key high school, the girl named Gu Mòmo was not a student in her class. She had met her a year ago at the National Olympiad competition, where Tang Yumò was an accompanying teacher for the school's contestants.
They had a brief encounter due to the competition. Gu Mòmo's intelligent, kind, cute, and introverted personality made a good impression on her. They exchanged contact information after the competition and occasionally chatted online to catch up.
They were, essentially, online friends.
"After the college entrance exam, my mom took me on a trip, and then we ended up here…"
Gu Mòmo tilted her head, still introverted, but answered Tang Yumò's question truthfully, occasionally sneaking a look at her with her big eyes.
Like Tang Yumò, Gu Mòmo also had a good impression of this young teacher.
As one of her few online contacts, occasionally chatting with Tang Yumò helped her understand the perspective of young high school teachers, making it easier for her, who was not good at offline socializing, to maintain good relations with the teachers around her.
In short, it was very helpful for her school life.
"I see…"
Tang Yumò nodded knowingly, and then a wave of emotion washed over her.
What an incredible coincidence.
How could she keep running into people she knew on this deserted island?
But soon, she thought of something else and looked down at Gu Mòmo again.
"Student Mòmo, you just said your mom took you on a trip. Does that mean… she's here too?"
As Tang Yumò spoke, the elegant and beautiful figure of Gu Mòmo's mother appeared in her mind.
Honestly, the reason she had such a deep impression of Gu Mòmo, despite only meeting her once, was not just because they occasionally chatted online.
The main reason was Gu Mòmo's mother, whom she had only met once at the competition site.
She vaguely remembered that the woman was wearing designer clothes and exquisite makeup, exuding a powerful aura as she came to cheer for her daughter, drawing the attention of everyone present.
Because of Gu Mòmo, the two also had a brief conversation.
The cold, powerful aura of a career woman, her dignified and graceful demeanor, and her flawless appearance utterly captivated Tang Yumò, even as a fellow woman.