Chapter 2
1232 Words
"Breaking news: The Ferris Wheel cruise ship has been confirmed to have sunk at 4:30 this afternoon..."
"Buzz... Buzz... Buzz..."
"The shipwreck has resulted in 3,600 tourists missing. Search and rescue operations are currently underway..."
"Buzz... Buzz... Buzz..."
A black semiconductor lay abruptly on the beach. A palm-sized red rock crab crawled over it, startled by the crackling news, and scurried away in all directions.
The sea breeze blew gently as William's hand twitched slightly. He felt as though an avalanche was pressing down on him.
"Cough, cough, cough..." William pushed a wooden plank off his body, rolled over, and began coughing violently as he lay on the ground. "Where... Where am I?"
In front of him stretched a dense, lush rainforest. Behind him, the vast and surging ocean waves roared endlessly.
William's head throbbed with pain. He lay back on the beach, resting for a while, before the memory of surviving a shipwreck came rushing back to him.
Forcing his brain, which hurt so much, to function, he sat up and looked around. He muttered to himself, "Looks like this is a deserted island... Wait, who's there..."
Looking up, he spotted a man and a woman lying on the beach not far away. The figure in the deep blue dress was someone William was both deeply familiar with and yet now found distant.
It was Ruby.
The man beside her, dressed in a suit with a balding head, appeared to be the company's deputy general manager, Eric. Thinking about Ruby's sharp and cutting demeanor from that evening, William felt a surge of anger. Stumbling, he walked over to Ruby's side and nudged her hand with his foot. "Hey, are you dead or alive?"
Ruby didn't respond at all. William crouched down to check and found that while she wasn't breathing, her neck still had a pulse. It seemed her airway was blocked by seawater.
'D*mn it. If she isn't saved, she'll be dead in minutes.'
William hesitated. He thought about the three years he had poured into their relationship, the genuine love he'd felt, and the sweet moments they had shared. He couldn't bring himself to just watch her die.
But then, the thought of the woman he had cherished betraying him, abandoning morals and their relationship to seek favor under another man for her ambitions and dreams, filled him with a burning hatred to kill her.
Ruby's unfamiliar face and sordid deeds of recent days were fresh in his mind. William found himself torn. 'Should I save her or not?' he wondered.
Watching Ruby's delicate and flawless face turn increasingly blue from lack of oxygen, William sighed inwardly. 'Forget it. Consider it an act of humanity.'
Perhaps the seawater had washed away some of William's anger, or maybe he had come to terms with the fact that a woman like Ruby wasn't worth it.
Whatever the reason, William decided to save her.
He adjusted Ruby's body to lie flat, placed his hands one over the other, and began performing CPR on her fair, full chest.
"Pfft!" Soon, a mouthful of seawater spewed out of Ruby's mouth.
"Cough, cough, cough..." She opened her eyes in a daze, and upon seeing William, she immediately sat up in alarm, covering her chest with her arms. "William! What are you doing? We've already broken up!"
William's face was expressionless. "I was saving you."
"Bullsh*t! You creep! We're broken up, and you're still touching me. You're so disgusting! What if someone sees us?" Ruby instinctively looked around and suddenly noticed Eric lying beside her. "Mr. Stone!"
Ruby patted Eric's face, but he didn't respond. She let out a sigh of relief. "Phew... Thank goodness Mr. Stone didn't see that. William, we are worlds apart now. Stop trying to do anything to me, and don't touch me again! If you ruin my career, I won't let you off!"
With that, Ruby waved William off with a look of disdain as if shooing away a stray dog. "Get lost. Don't let Mr. Stone see you."
William stood up, watching Ruby adjust Eric's body and begin performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on him.
Once, those rosy lips had belonged only to William, but now they were kissing another man over and over again.
William clenched his fists. At that moment, he had half a mind to throw Eric into the sea. But in the end, he restrained himself.
No one knew when rescue would arrive, and it wasn't worth being labeled as a murderer over a woman like Ruby.
Ruby maintained a serious demeanor, her actions professional as always. Eric coughed up a large mouthful of seawater, slowly regaining consciousness.
"Pfft... Cough, cough, cough..." Ruby cradled Eric's head against her chest, doing her best to make him comfortable. "Mr. Stone! Are you okay? I was worried sick!"
Eric blinked, his gaze darting around. "Ruby, where are we?"
"I don't know either," Ruby replied, her face filled with worry, her eyes shimmering as if brimming with tears.
But as she turned to face William, her expression hardened into one of sharp disdain. "Mr. Stone is asking you. Where is this place?"
Although William was reluctant, he still answered truthfully, "I don't know. A deserted island, perhaps."
"A deserted island? Does that mean there's no one here?" Ruby's arrogance crumpled, and she immediately burst into tears. "Oh no, Mr. Stone, I don't want to die here..."
Eric, clearly taken in by her tearful display, pulled Ruby into his arms. His large hand patted her back gently, soothingly. "Don't worry, sweetheart. This is a serious shipwreck. The authorities will definitely take it seriously. It won't be long before they send someone to rescue us."
"Really?" Ruby looked up at him, her tear-streaked face carrying an expression of sorrow.
No wonder she was a top-tier celebrity. Her acting was flawless.
"Of course it's true! Don't be afraid. I'm here," Eric said, his tone full of gallant reassurance.
Watching this scene, William smirked coldly to himself.
Earlier, he had spotted several red rock crabs, a species native to South America. If their current location was indeed near South America, then rescue might not come at all, considering their shipwreck had occurred in Southeast Asia.
How laughable it was that these two, with no survival skills, were still clinging to fantasies of being rescued.
Ruby tugged at Eric's sleeve, her voice soft and sweet. "Mr. Stone... I'm thirsty."
Eric's expression darkened as he turned his gaze toward William. "Go get us some water and food. What's the point of having a security guard if you can't protect the company's important personnel?"
"William, hurry up! Weren't you a special forces soldier? Finding water and food should be easy for you, right?" Ruby chimed in, her tone laced with entitlement.
William briefly considered exposing the past relationship between the two of them as a way to get back at Ruby.
But after a moment's thought, he dismissed the idea. People like them weren't worth the effort.
The island's harsh conditions would eventually teach them who the real ruler here was.
William sneered, "Humph, there's no water, but there is some food. The question is, do you dare to eat it?"
"What do you mean? I have traveled the world and even dared to eat monkey brains. Bring it over," Eric said confidently. Then, turning to Ruby, he softened his tone. "Don't worry, sweetheart. Food will be here soon."
- Writer
