Chapter 54: Xue Yu and Mo Li’s Desert Island Encounter
Xue Yu touched Mo Li’s short stubble and said solemnly, “Mo Li, I promise you, as long as you need me, I will definitely be by your side. I swear, if I ever let you down, may I be struck by lightning.”
A faint smile appeared in Mo Li’s eyes, like ripples gently spreading on a lake. He took Xue Yu’s hand, opened it, and a warm, wet kiss was imprinted on her palm.
“Don’t make such an oath. It’s unlucky. I want to be with you. It was my own choice, whether it was having relations with you that night or choosing to keep the children later. It was all my own will. You don’t have to feel pressured by my choice.”
His eyes were always very bright, as clean as a azure ocean.
“Xue Yu, I know I can’t compare to Zhou Siyan and Feng Qizhou. I don’t have that much money, and I’m not a powerful manager. But I will work hard. I will work hard to give our children a good life, and I will try not to be a burden to you, not to cause you trouble.”
Mo Li was insecure. Under the mechanism of the White Tower, only those who made it to the management were considered human.
He was an undervalued water-type warrior. He was the same age as Zhou Siyan and Feng Qizhou. Now, Zhou Siyan was the Director of the Security Division, and Feng Qizhou was the Deputy Director of the Central Hospital.
And he was just an ordinary sniper who had to constantly take on missions to make a living. Because he had no power, he had to pay for his own sniper rifles and ammunition.
Mo Li had never invited Xue Yu to his dorm.
His dorm was very small, a small single room that could be seen at a glance, not as spacious as Zhou Siyan’s and Feng Qizhou’s apartments.
He was very worried that if he brought Xue Yu to his dorm, she would say, “Mo Li, we’re so poor. Let’s just not have the children, in case they suffer with us.”
He had spent very little time with Xue Yu because he couldn’t just casually get a fake mental retardation medical record card for her like Feng Qizhou did, so that she could go on a date with him at the clinic anytime.
Xue Yu turned her back and wiped her tears with both hands. “Mo Li, give me ten seconds.”
“Okay,” Mo Li stood still.
Ten seconds later, Xue Yu composed herself and turned her head. “Alright, Mo Li, let’s not be insecure. Look at me. I’m even more miserable than you. I was last in school every day and was even nicknamed the number one good-for-nothing in the White Tower. I’ve never been insecure.”
She took Mo Li’s hand and patted his palm hard.
“We are the great working class! We are irreconcilable with the evil capitalists. Those managers who abuse their power will one day be trampled under our feet.”
“Are you also going to be irreconcilable with Zhou Siyan and Feng Qizhou?” Mo Li asked seriously.
Xue Yu smiled, revealing her clean, white teeth. “As for them, let’s give them a chance to turn over a new leaf!”
Blueberry came back from the water with the blue-ringed octopus. It circled Xue Yu and saw a teardrop in the corner of her eye. It asked through telepathy: You cried?
Xue Yu: I didn’t cry!
Blueberry: Then did you cry from pleasure? Haha, as long as you’re satisfied. It wasn’t in vain for me to stay in the water for so long to create a world for the two of you.
Xue Yu realized that Blueberry thought she and Mo Li were doing that on the shore.
She and Mo Li were having an innocent conversation here, and Blueberry actually thought she was playing dirty!
She scooped up Blueberry and patted its tail. “Do you think I’m as obsessed with sex as you are! As soon as you see an old lover, you’re on fire!”
The blue-ringed octopus floated over and wrapped its tentacles around Xue Yu’s wrist, pleading pitifully: Please don’t hit it, please.
Xue Yu couldn’t communicate with the blue-ringed octopus, but she could see the protectiveness in its eyes. She had no choice but to let Blueberry go. “Blueberry, you’d better behave yourself. I’m talking business with Mo Li. Don’t mess around.”
Blueberry blew bubbles at her, hooked the blue-ringed octopus with its caudal fin, and proudly dived into the sea.
Xue Yu took Mo Li’s hand. “Come on. Are you thirsty? I found fresh water and even boiled it in a coconut shell. Come and see.”
“Okay.”
The two of them walked along the beach in unison. Mo Li suddenly asked a question, “Why do you always hit Blueberry?”
He had never seen a master who hit their spirit body every day. A spirit body was a reflection of the master’s world. The spirit bodies he had seen were all of the same personality as their masters, always on the same side as their masters. There was no need for training or discipline.
But he often saw Xue Yu hitting Blueberry in a huff, which made him curious.
Xue Yu’s face turned red. “It’s because it’s naughty and always causes trouble for me.”
“A spirit body can cause trouble for its master?” Mo Li didn’t understand. “All its actions and thoughts follow you. How can it cause trouble?”
“Oh, don’t ask. My situation is a bit complicated,” Xue Yu said, brushing it off.
She couldn’t just say that she was a big rogue who couldn’t control herself when she was tempted by a handsome guy, but on the surface, she was an honest person, and this situation often occurred because of the inconsistency between her inner and outer self!
Behind a large reef, Xue Yu showed Mo Li her stove.
“This is the stove I made. I can grill fish and boil water on it. I’ve been grilling fish these past two days, but there’s no seasoning, so the taste is a bit bland.”
Mo Li took off the bag on his back, squatted down, and opened it. He took out a physical supplement and a bag of rations for Xue Yu. “You eat this first. I have seasoning here. We can grill fish later.”
He had been on missions outside all year round and often had to stay in the wild for ten days to half a month. His bag was always stocked with basic survival necessities.
Xue Yu put down the physical supplement and rations. “I’m not hungry right now. Let’s grill the fish first. We can eat together after it’s done.”
She stood up and shouted at the sea, “Blueberry, if you have nothing to do, go and catch me two fish. Do you hear me?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Blueberry and the octopus Xiaoxue rushed out of the water. Blueberry’s caudal fin was wrapped around a large fish. It flew over and gracefully placed it in front of Xue Yu.
Xue Yu smiled and hugged Blueberry, kissing it. “My good Blueberry, you’re amazing! You’re the best Blueberry in the world.”
Blueberry raised its head proudly and then led its little lover, the octopus, away.
Xue Yu opened her folding military knife to clean the fish and casually asked Mo Li, “Do you know what kind of fish this is?”
Mo Li looked at it carefully and said, “This is a cod, probably a slender-bodied broad-headed cod.”
Cod, Xue Yu? Isn’t that a homophone of my name?
Xue Yu realized that Blueberry was definitely doing this on purpose.
She turned her head and cursed in the direction where Blueberry had gone. “You want me to eat myself, you stinky seahorse! If you have the guts, stay in the water for the rest of your life and don’t come out!”
Mo Li held Xue Yu’s wrist. With just two fingers, he could easily pick up the fish. After checking and finding that the fish was still alive, he stood up and walked towards the current, throwing the fish back into the water.
He said to Xue Yu, “Wait for me for a few minutes. I’ll go and catch a new one.”
Mo Li entered the water, and his figure quickly disappeared underwater. Five minutes later, he returned with two silver pomfrets and waved them at Xue Yu. “These are silver pomfrets. Is that okay?”
“Okay, okay! Of course it is!” Xue Yu smiled at him.
After grilling the fish and sprinkling it with the salt that Mo Li had in his bag, the two of them each ate one.
The two of them sat face to face on the beach. Mo Li’s communication tools included a Cloud Sound Box, a watch, and a helmet. But they were too far from the White Tower, and there was no signal. They couldn’t report their safety to Zhou Siyan and Feng Qizhou for the time being.
Xue Yu asked Mo Li what the situation was in the White Tower.
Mo Li said, “Your wanted poster is everywhere. The wanted mission is the responsibility of the Affairs Department. Zhou Siyan found Yan Wantang and had her transfer the mission to capture you to the Security Division.”
“Zhou Siyan is now on a field mission to capture you, leaving the White Tower. I contacted him once before I went into the sea. He said he would go to the South Continent to look for you first.”
Xue Yu clapped her hands. “That Zhou is worthy of having been with me for so long. We have such a tacit understanding! I was also planning on going to the South Continent to find his childhood friend, Guan Xun.”
“It’s good to have a tacit understanding,” Mo Li nodded.
Xue Yu put her arm around his shoulder and touched his ear with her cheek.
“When it comes to tacit understanding, no one can compare to you! I’ve drifted to this godforsaken place, and you can still find me. We are the most tacit and understanding!”
Mo Li smiled and kissed Xue Yu on the cheek.
He adjusted his posture, stretched out his two long legs, and said to Xue Yu, “You can lie on my lap and be closer to the child.”
“Okay,” Xue Yu lay down, her head on Mo Li’s lap, her face towards his slightly protruding belly.
She reached under Mo Li’s shirt and touched it. As soon as she touched it, she could feel a subtle force coming from his abdomen. It was the child in Mo Li’s belly transmitting Mo Li’s spiritual power to her.
When she had accompanied Zhou Siyan to the South Continent to have a baby, Xue Xiaohai would also transmit Zhou Siyan’s spiritual power to her like this.
Xue Yu had no choice but to pull her hand back and not let the child transmit spiritual power to her. Mo Li was also very tired. She couldn’t take advantage of him like this.
“The child is already transmitting spiritual power to me. Isn’t it bothering you in your belly? Is it very uncomfortable?” Xue Yu raised her hand and scratched Mo Li’s smooth chin.
Mo Li held her hand and played with her fingertips, saying, “It’s fine. The babies move occasionally, but it’s not that uncomfortable. It’s still within my tolerance range. Don’t worry.”
“You have to tell me if it hurts. Don’t bear it silently. You have to let me know how you feel.”
Xue Yu touched his smooth, tender face. “It must be very uncomfortable, right? Zhou Siyan was also in a lot of pain. He said it was like a storm in his belly.”
“It’s not that serious. He’s just being too dramatic.”
Mo Li was actually also uncomfortable, but he could endure it. He was too lazy to say it, afraid of putting pressure on Xue Yu.
Xue Yu was much more at ease. “That’s true. Zhou Siyan is a bit dramatic.”
Xue Yu took Mo Li for a walk on the island. She had explored the entire island these past two days and happily told Mo Li her plan.
“Mo Li, I don’t want to stay in the White Tower anymore. I want to build my own safe zone. I’ve tested the pollution level of this island. It’s habitable.”
“Are you willing to leave the White Tower and live here with me? Here, the children can run around freely, see the sea, and see the blue sky and white clouds. They don’t have to hide in fear all day.”
Xue Yu had thought that Mo Li would agree to her immediately and build the island with her.
But Mo Li, who had always supported her unconditionally, had a hesitant look on his face and did not agree.
Instead, he persuaded her, “Let’s think about it again. The mechanism of the White Tower is indeed not very good, but it is the best safe zone on this planet. It’s much easier to live in the White Tower than outside.”
Seeing Xue Yu’s sad face, Mo Li added:
“Zhou Siyan and Feng Qizhou are both very capable managers of the new generation. Yan Wantang is too. Maybe they can change the White Tower and break the rules to accept the existence of children in the future.”
Xue Yu was very confused. Mo Li’s life was also very hard. Why did he still defend the White Tower?
Do they really think the White Tower is very good? She couldn’t figure it out.
The White Tower was so dark, so oppressive, without any freedom. How could everyone stand it?
She was very disappointed with the White Tower and didn’t want to spend energy to change its order.
The sky was high and the sea was wide outside. There were so many beautiful mountains and rivers. She wanted to come out and build her own home.
Looking at Mo Li’s eyes, she didn’t want to criticize the dark side of the White Tower too much.
In any case, Mo Li was born and raised in the White Tower. It was his hometown. He must have his own reasons for defending the White Tower.
She couldn’t just say fiercely, “Your hometown is so rotten, so evil! What are you still doing in that godforsaken place!”
Casually belittling what others liked was too rude.
She took Mo Li’s hand. “Then let’s talk about this later. At worst, you can stay in the White Tower with the children first. After I’ve built this island, I can come and get you.”
Mo Li thought for a moment and said, “Xue Yu, it’s not that I can’t endure hardship that I don’t want to come out with you. I just feel… a sense of belonging in the White Tower.”
He paused and then said a few seconds later, “Of course, if you insist on building a new safe zone, I am also willing to give up this sense of belonging and come out with you.”
Xue Yu saw his indecision and smiled. “It’s fine. Nothing is set in stone yet. There’s no hurry. Let’s take it slow.”
The sun sank in the west, and the sunset disappeared at the junction of the sea and the sky.
Mo Li had an inflatable sleeping pad in his bag. He took it out and inflated it, and also gave Xue Yu a set of his own quick-drying clothes. “You can wear these.”
Xue Yu held the collar and sniffed her own clothes. Fortunately, there was no smell. She had been on the run for so long and had not changed her clothes.
She had been drifting in the water all this time, so she was not dirty, but her clothes were torn in several places, tattered like a beggar.
“Then I’ll change now,” Xue Yu said.
Mo Li turned his back and didn’t look at her. “Okay.”
His attitude made Xue Yu embarrassed too.
She was so shy just changing her clothes next to Mo Li, but she wasn’t red-faced or flustered when she was acting in a small drama with Feng Qizhou in the clinic. As expected, you are who you associate with. She, an honest person, had been corrupted by Feng Qizhou.
The island was very hot. The two of them lay on the inflatable sleeping pad without needing a blanket.
Xue Yu had thought that Mo Li would be chaste and uphold his male virtue. After it got dark, she kept moving to the side, trying not to be too close to Mo Li, so as not to “defile” Mo Li’s rules as an extreme sexual conservative.
The inflatable sleeping pad was too small. She moved half an inch, but Mo Li could still easily touch her with a move of his hand.
Xue Yu kept moving and comically rolled off.
Mo Li quickly reached out and pulled her back. “What’s wrong?”
Xue Yu giggled. “Nothing. I was dreaming.”
Mo Li: “Dreaming so soon?”
Xue Yu: “I can fall asleep in three seconds and dream in five.”
This time, Mo Li took the initiative to adjust his posture, also lying on his side like her, and hugged her from behind.
Xue Yu didn’t dare to move and held her breath, not speaking.
A few minutes later, Mo Li sat up. Xue Yu heard the sound of him unscrewing a water bottle, and then some water sounds. Mo Li seemed to be washing his hands.
Xue Yu couldn’t say anything. She really couldn’t open her mouth and express her needs. Mo Li was the same. He knew very little about this kind of thing.
The night was dark and windy. The sound of the waves in the distance was sometimes calm, sometimes noisy. The tide quickly rushed up the beach and then slowly receded.
She had thought that Zhou Siyan’s hands were amazing, but she hadn’t expected that the honest and dull Mo Li’s fingers were even better. Mo Li’s spirit body was an octopus, and his fingers also had the characteristics of an octopus.
His fingers were extremely flexible, and his fingerprints also had a suction property. The feeling brought by this suction was strange and strong.
Xue Yu covered her mouth, her tears forced out.
At this moment, Mo Li quickly turned her over, let her lean against him, pulled away the hand covering her mouth, and reminded her, “Xue Yu, you forgot to breathe.”
Xue Yu took a deep breath. A large amount of air mixed with the moist sea breeze rushed into her lungs. At this moment, a huge wave in the distance crashed onto the shore, and Xue Yu felt that she had also been pushed to the highest point by the wave.
Mo Li pulled his hand back, raised it to look at it. In the moonlight, his whole hand was wet. He gently rubbed his fingertips. They were sticky and slippery.
Before Xue Yu could react, he licked his fingertips for some reason, just like the time he had tasted it years ago.
***
A long time later, Xue Yu recovered a little and rolled out of Mo Li’s arms.
Mo Li pulled his hand back and sat up. The two of them looked at each other in the moonlight.
He didn’t dare to face Xue Yu directly. His thick, dark eyelashes were lowered, and he was silent, still silent.
He didn’t say a word, but Xue Yu could feel that there was no barrier between her and Mo Li. This was how they should be. She didn’t need to report her actions to him all the time like she did with Zhou Siyan.
And she didn’t need to use a lot of sweet words to flirt and maintain a sense of freshness like she did with Feng Qizhou.
Mo Li was just Mo Li. His silence was actually a kind of love. He was different from Zhou Siyan and Feng Qizhou.
Looking at each other, Xue Yu smiled again.
Mo Li asked, “What are you smiling at?”
Xue Yu: “I feel that the two of us are so silly, so naive, like childish ghosts.”
“Not at all,” Mo Li did not quite agree. He felt that he was very mature, at least able to bear the responsibility of being a father. “I’m not childish. Everything I’ve done has been carefully considered.”
Xue Yu lay down and sighed softly. “Sigh, you’re all the same. You all say that you’ve carefully considered it before deciding to have a child. You always say I’m childish, but you never gave me a chance to think carefully.”
“We happily dated and broke up, and then you suddenly came to me with a big belly and said you wanted to have a baby. I didn’t even have time to think. I’m the most mature one. If I were childish, I would have run away long ago and wouldn’t have cared about you.”
Mo Li listened to her words quietly. “I admit, I was selfish.”
Xue Yu sat up again and asked Mo Li seriously, “Mo Li, can you tell me why you want to have the children? The White Tower clearly doesn’t tolerate children, but you still want to have them.”
Mo Li thought for a long time. “I feel that life is very pale and needs something to look forward to.”
“Then the child and I will be your hope from now on!” Xue Yu hugged him.
“Yes. Let’s go to sleep.”
It was still very early, and she couldn’t sleep. Xue Yu asked again, “Don’t you have a reaction? Will you be electrocuted by the chip in your body? Last time Feng Qizhou came to play with me, he was accidentally electrocuted, and the fetal heartbeat even stopped. It scared me to death.”
Mo Li’s cool palm gently stroked her back. “I just took a suppressant. The reaction is not very strong.”
“That’s good.”
The atmosphere fell into a brief silence. When Xue Yu was half-asleep, Mo Li spoke again. “Xue Yu, can you drink that water?”
“Huh? Which water?” Xue Yu knew what he was talking about but still pretended to be foolish.
“The one just now,” Mo Li said seriously.
Xue Yu: “Why would you drink that? It’s kind of…”
“I think it’s drinkable,” he kissed Xue Yu on the side of her face and found a reason for himself. “Let’s drink it next time. Otherwise, it’s everywhere, and we don’t have any clothes to change into.”
Xue Yu pretended to be asleep and didn’t reply.
Mo Li shook her. “Xue Yu, did you hear what I said?”
Xue Yu said with her head down, “If you want to drink it, just drink it. Your mouth is on your own body. How can I control you?”
“Okay,” Mo Li held her. “I don’t understand these things. You have a responsibility to teach me. Don’t always be silent, and don’t be impatient. It makes me feel very stupid.”
“Don’t learn these things. You’re the honest and dull type. Don’t learn those things,” Xue Yu said with her eyes closed.
Mo Li nodded. “Okay. Then let’s sleep.”
The next day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Xue Yu and Mo Li woke up at the same time.
When Xue Yu sat up, she found that the jacket Mo Li had covered her legs with last night had been kicked far away by her. The morning wind was chilly.
Mo Li also got up and looked at her. This time, he did not deliberately avoid her gaze. He stood up, picked up the clothes, and placed them on Xue Yu’s legs.
He then picked up the pants from last night. The pants were made of a quick-drying material and were already dry.
“I’ll go and wash them. They’ll be dry in a few minutes after I hang them up.”
Xue Yu sat on the sleeping pad. “Okay. You go.”
Half an hour later, Mo Li returned with the pants and also two bottles of water in an empty bottle.
He often fought in the wild and was still very particular about hygiene. His bag was fully equipped with toothpaste, a toothbrush, and soap.
He gave the spare toothbrush to Xue Yu and asked her to wash up.
The two of them ate some rations for breakfast. Xue Yu asked him, “Mo Li, is the South Continent nearby? We have to go to the South Continent, right? We can only report our safety to Zhou Siyan when we have a signal in the South Continent.”
Mo Li: “Yes, I know the direction. At our speed, it should take two days to swim there.”
Xue Yu stood up. “Then should we go now?”
Mo Li sat without getting up. Xue Yu leaned down and asked, “What’s wrong? Do you still need to rest?”
Mo Li shook his head.
Xue Yu asked again, “Are you not feeling well?”
Mo Li still shook his head.
Xue Yu held his short-haired head with both hands and sang, “What a beautiful jasmine flower… fragrant and white, praised by all…”
Mo Li smiled and then looked up. “I want to spend another day alone with you. Is that okay? They’ve gotten enough of your love. Can you give me a little this time?”
“You want to have a world for two?” Xue Yu sat down and leaned against him.
Mo Li put his arm around her shoulder. “I’ve found a little bit of a feeling of home, Xue Yu. Thank you.”
He felt that the inexplicable sense of belonging he had for the White Tower in his bones seemed to have been diluted a little by Xue Yu’s arrival.