Chapter 3: Indirect Connections
1353 Words
Two days ago, there were over a thousand people on the ship that was in the accident, including not only the teachers and students from Hereward University but also other tourists and students and teachers from other universities.
Aimee knew that Martin must have ended up on this deserted island after the cruise accident, just like she did. What surprised her was that Martin was also a student at Hereward University.
In the next moment, Aimee gave Martin a once-over: "Which department are you in?"
"The Computer Science Department!" Martin replied.
"The same department as me? How come I've never seen you before?" Aimee was even more surprised.
What a coincidence, not only from the same university but also from the same department.
"There are hundreds of people in the Computer Science Department, it's normal that you haven't seen me!" Martin smiled, responding casually.
Aimee nodded.
Indeed, each department at their university has at least several hundred students. While it's possible they might have seen each other, it's impossible to know every student.
"Maybe it's fate. Let me introduce myself, my name is Martin!" Martin continued, looking at Aimee.
Aimee gave Martin a polite nod: "My name is..."
"I know you, you're Aimee, the campus belle of our Computer Science Department, the dream goddess in many people's hearts, I..." Martin interrupted Aimee's self-introduction, but halfway through his sentence, he swallowed his words.
He lowered his head somewhat sheepishly.
Thinking to himself, that was close, he almost revealed that she was also his goddess.
"Hmm?" Aimee had been listening carefully to what Martin was saying. When she heard Martin say her name, her inner guard dropped by more than half.
Now she was sure Martin was indeed from the same department; otherwise, he couldn't possibly know her name.
"What were you going to say just now?" Suddenly, Aimee remembered that Martin seemed to have left something unsaid earlier.
"I..." Hearing Aimee's question, Martin's face turned a bit awkward.
"I wanted to say, I also think you're very beautiful, more beautiful than those celebrities!" After a few seconds, Martin smiled and complimented her.
"You're such a charmer!" Aimee glared at Martin with her beautiful eyes.
But a hint of color flashed across her face.
Obviously, Martin's compliment was very well received by Aimee.
"By the way, have you seen anyone else since you came to this deserted island?" After a while, the blush on Aimee's face faded, and she asked Martin seriously.
This was what Aimee most wanted to know.
Now, being on this unknown deserted island, the priority was to find a way off the island. If there were other people on this island, it would be easier to come up with a plan.
"No, when I pulled you up from the sea, I had actually just arrived on this island not long before!" Martin shook his head.
Hearing this, a look of disappointment appeared on Aimee's face.
This situation meant that the island only had the two of them.
"Don't worry, we will definitely get out of here. There were thousands of people on the cruise, and with such a big accident, the rescue team will surely come soon," Martin said, trying to comfort Aimee when he saw the disappointment on her face.
In fact, Martin was also trying to encourage himself, to comfort himself.
Aimee wanted to leave this unknown island, and so did he.
The most important thing now was not to give up. Even if there's only a sliver of hope, they must hold on.
"Let's hope so!" Aimee nodded.
"Growl, growl..." After Aimee finished speaking, her stomach made a series of hungry sounds.
Aimee shot an embarrassed glance at Martin.
Martin shrugged it off with a smile, knowing that Aimee was in the same situation as him, having not eaten anything for a whole day.
"I just picked up a ripe coconut, you should hydrate first." Martin used a stone to crack open the slightly blackened coconut and handed it to Aimee.
Originally, Martin had intended to climb a coconut tree to pick a few coconuts to replenish their water, but the trees were too tall, and he was already a bit exhausted.
Luckily, there were plenty of ripe coconuts already on the ground.
So Martin chose a complete and better one to bring back.
"Thank you!" Aimee took the coconut without hesitation and started drinking eagerly.
Aimee gulped down more than half of the coconut water, and her dry mouth and throat felt much better.
Although still hungry and thirsty, Aimee understood the situation and knew that Martin's condition was similar to hers.
In the next moment, Aimee handed the coconut to Martin, "You can drink the rest."
Martin swallowed and drank the remaining coconut water in one big gulp.
Martin was so hungry and thirsty that he couldn't even taste the coconut water, but after drinking it, he felt a sudden relief, as if a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Ah, that's better!" Martin took a deep breath.
But then Martin glanced sideways and noticed a blush rising on Aimee's face, even on her fair neck.
"Are you okay?" Martin quickly asked, worried there might be something wrong with the coconut water.
"No, I'm fine!" Aimee replied with her head down, a bit flustered, her eyes glancing at the coconut in Martin's hand.
Martin was confused.
"Hmm?" But the next moment, Martin seemed to realize something, and he shivered.
Looking at the coconut in his hand and then at Aimee's shy expression, he suddenly understood.
The coconut only had one opening, and after Aimee drank from it, she handed it to him, and he drank from the same opening, which was indirectly...
"I forgot for a moment that you drank from this opening, I didn't mean to!" Martin quickly explained to Aimee.
His heart was pounding like a jackhammer.
After all, the person in front of him was the campus belle of their department, and thinking about what had just happened, Martin couldn't stay calm.
Martin's explanation only made things worse, as he completely exposed the situation, causing Aimee's blush to deepen and her head to lower even more.
The atmosphere turned awkward.
"Um, I'll go get some food!" Feeling awkward himself, Martin quickly got up and headed to the pile of dry wood he had brought back earlier.
He soon busied himself.
Because their food for tonight was in that pile of dry wood.
Using a sharp stone, Martin broke open a piece of dry wood about arm-thick, which was somewhat rotten and loose.
The center of this dry firewood was hollow, revealing white strips that looked like large peanuts when broken open.
Martin carefully gathered each of these white strips.
Using the same technique, Martin broke open several more pieces of dry firewood, collecting about twenty to thirty of these large peanut-shaped white strips.
He turned back to the fire, placed the collected white strips on the ground, and found a large stone to dry heat in the fire.
There were no pots or pans here, so he had to use this large stone as a substitute.
"What are these things?" Although Aimee was still a bit awkward facing Martin after what happened earlier, she was curious about the white strips Martin had collected.
"This is our dinner tonight, and it's a delicacy!" Martin glanced at Aimee, not giving a detailed explanation, keeping it a mystery.
"A delicacy?" Aimee was even more curious but full of disbelief.
On this deserted island, where there was nothing, filling the stomach was already a problem, let alone having any delicacies.
"Haven't you heard? The best delicacies often come from the simplest preparations," Martin said, confidently.
Noticing the stone in the fire was sufficiently heated, Martin thought it was ready and placed the white strips in the center of the stone.
"Sizzle..." The stone quickly began to sizzle.
Soon, the aroma of roasting meat filled the air.
Aimee's eyes sparkled at the aroma of roasting meat, but the next moment, when she focused on the stone in the fire, she was startled.
"These... these are insects!"
- Writer
