"Um... big brother here."
Just as Chuck was silently watching the flickering fire, paying attention to the whispers coming from the corner behind him, right at this moment, amidst the swaying firelight, a bowl of steaming wild vegetable soup was slowly handed to him.
Chuck paused for a moment, then looked up, only to see the East Asian woman he had just made eye contact with, holding the rough clay bowl with both hands, looking at him carefully.
"I just saw that you were completely drenched, have a sip of something hot to warm up."
He saw that as soon as this rather temperamental woman opened her mouth, it was a quite pleasant voice, and her tone was also quite concerned.
But what surprised Chuck the most was that extremely standard Chinese, or rather, Mandarin.
Actually a Chinese woman.
Among the three Asian female faces, the first one to attract his attention was this woman. Looking at it now, perhaps it's hard to say it was a coincidence.
Chuck didn't take it immediately. He looked down. Although the vegetable soup in the bowl was hot, the contents inside were pitifully scarce. It really was just a bowl of green vegetable soup.
There was still some time before dinner. It seemed this bowl of vegetable soup was boiled by them, just wanting to slightly warm their bodies on this rainy day, and incidentally slightly soothe their hungry stomachs.
Seeing this, the other women around ceased their mutual conversations again, and their gazes gathered on Chuck once more. He looked at the Chinese woman in front of him, whose face was equally gaunt, and revealed a puzzled expression.
"Why don't you drink it yourself?"
"I... I ate a bit too much for lunch."
"So that's how it is."
Hearing this, Chuck nodded in understanding, smiled, and simply reached out to take this pitiful bowl of vegetable soup, tilted his head, and drank it down in one gulp.
Such a casual excuse, he didn't have the slightest thought of questioning it, because this wasn't important in the first place.
A bowl of vegetable soup was not even as valuable as a basket of wild fruits, but in this situation, it had a rather important function.
— Showing goodwill to Chuck.
Among the eight women present, only this Chinese woman took action for this. So whether she understood this in her heart, or simply out of good intentions, wanting to yield this bowl of vegetable soup to Chuck, Chuck would accept it.
On this deserted island, women taking the initiative to show goodwill to him in order to survive, as long as they weren't unbearably ugly, Chuck wouldn't refuse.
After all, what he lacked now was no longer basic supplies like food and water, but rather the labor force needed to develop the settlement.
So yes, the reason Chuck paid so much attention to this survivor settlement in the north of the island was, firstly, that the Korean sisters were pretty and had good figures, hooking his desire to conquer, and secondly, he had the intention to incorporate these people.
Even including those two dark-skinned women suspected to be of African descent.
Unlike the harem at home who were already connected to Chuck body and soul, incorporating these women didn't mean Chuck would take them to bed, so the requirements for appearance weren't high, as long as they were pleasing to the eye, it was fine.
These women were all in their prime in their twenties. Although they were all relatively thin, none were as petite and frail as Momo and Kaoru. They all looked like labor that could be put to use.
If they could all be incorporated, dispatch two to work under Janet to help manage the livestock shed and silkworms; arrange two more for Julia to help clean up the greenhouse and reclaim paddy fields; select two with good stamina to chop trees and mine stones with Valentina and Kaede; assign one to take turns fishing at the pier for Kaoru; and even spare one to help Yitong manage the increasingly heavy housework.
In this way, the daily work pressure of the women at home would be much less, and the output efficiency in all aspects could also be doubled.
Being able to live a life without worrying about food and clothing on this deserted island, putting such conditions on the table, Chuck believed that among these starving, sallow-faced women present, not even one would refuse. The only obstacle was the problem of living space, but Chuck's deserted island residence had exactly started preparing for expansion. Once that two-story deserted island villa was built, taking the women at home to move to the second floor, the expanded rooms on the first floor would be completely enough for all these people to move in.
But Chuck didn't plan to put all these conditions on the table right from the start.
If it were in modern society, constrained by morals and laws, with a contract as proof, Chuck could immediately sign employment contracts with these people on the spot. But this was a deserted island after all. Chuck, with his superhuman body of steel and iron bones, wasn't afraid of someone harboring malicious intentions. But once people with unruly intentions were brought home, the women at home weren't as strong as him, and unnecessary chaos might arise.
So right now, this time taking shelter from the rain in the cave with them was Chuck's opportunity to make judgments.
Before starting the incorporation, Chuck had to see clearly which of these women had an honest personality, which one knew her boundaries, and which one had too many schemes.
This was both an inspection and an interview.
Those who passed would have a chance to survive, even live comfortably, on this cruel deserted island. Those who didn't could only continue to live these days of not getting enough to eat or sleep in the jungle north of this deserted island, left to run their own course.
Of course, just like them, the Lee sisters, as well as that woman who had been separated from him for many days and still didn't know her place, were equally the subjects of this interview.
The vegetable soup tasted like nothing, but it was enough to warm the body.
Seeing Chuck being so straightforward, the tension on the temperamental woman's face subsequently turned into joy.
Not rushing to drink this mouthful of vegetable soup just now was indeed the right choice.
"This miss, how may I address you?"
Chuck reached out and handed the bowl back. Looking into the woman's eyes, he smiled and took the initiative to speak.
"I am He Xiaoyu, Brother Chuck... may I call you that?"
"How old are you this year?"
"Twenty-two, just graduated this year."
"Then you can, go ahead."
"Okay, Brother Chuck~"
Communication between strangers is most difficult at the ice-breaking stage. As long as the conversation box is opened, the rest will follow naturally.
The two of you said a word, I said a word, plus being compatriots originally, there were no language barriers, and they quickly chatted harmoniously. The other seven women around from different parts of the world and different races couldn't get a word in, and could only gather around the fire and watch eagerly.
"Just graduated this year, so what was your major?"
"Flight attendant."
Chuck nodded in understanding, saying 'no wonder' in his heart.
At first glance, he felt an indescribable temperament about her, she was actually really a flight attendant.
But just as Chuck was planning to continue speaking, a sudden sound of footsteps rang out from behind him again.
Tang Yumo, who finally emerged from the corner, with a trace of struggle in her eyes, looked at Chuck's back and came behind him step by step. Then, under the surprised gaze of flight attendant He Xiaoyu, she placed a small wooden stool in her hand by the fire, and then slowly sat down in the position beside Chuck.
Her gaze swept over Chuck's shoulders and arms, as well as that back as broad as a mountain, and she couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
Before, she only took a glance from afar. Now really meeting Chuck up close again, she realized that compared to the last time she saw him, he was actually even taller and stronger.
Tang Yumo's gaze finally rested on Chuck's profile. Pursing her lips lightly, she only felt her heart beating extremely fast.
Since learning the news of Chuck coming here, she would often imagine the scene of reuniting with him again. She imagined many words in her heart, wanting to tell him that she misunderstood him before, and also wanted to apologize for hurting his feelings as a teenager many years ago.
In Tang Yumo's view, although the current Chuck wasn't a bad person, he was ultimately still a man who played with women like possessions. And his becoming like this might be related to the events of that year, which meant, perhaps she also bore responsibility.
So after brewing in her heart for a while, Tang Yumo finally slowly and softly spoke.
"Hi, Chuck, long time no see."
But this sentence Tang Yumo held back for a long time didn't receive the response she expected.
"Since you are a flight attendant, doesn't that mean..."
The person appearing by his ear and the call that rang out didn't attract Chuck's attention at all. The latter was still immersed in the conversation with the little flight attendant, looking at her and pursuing with interest.
"Could it be that you hadn't been working for long before you encountered a plane crash and were stranded on this deserted island?"
"Ah, yes... that's how it is."
He Xiaoyu looked at Chuck, then looked at Tang Yumo beside him whose expression was gradually stiffening. She didn't quite understand what was happening, but still nodded truthfully.
"Strictly speaking, it was during my third official shift as a flight attendant."
"That's really unlucky."
Chuck curled his lips, nodding with great emotion.
Wasn't he the same? Even a bit unluckier. This flight attendant at least met with disaster on her third time. He encountered such a catastrophe on his first time flying abroad for a business trip. This probability was probably really lower than winning the lottery.
But looking at it now, for Chuck, that plane crash perhaps couldn't be called a disaster anymore.
As emotional as Chuck looked on his face, the more awkward the face of Tang Yumo beside him right now.
Why isn't he ignoring me?
Did he not hear what I just said?
Should I say it again?
As a former female teacher and a top student from a well-off family since childhood, Tang Yumo's face couldn't be said to be thick. So this kind of situation being ignored was truly the first time she had encountered it from childhood to adulthood, so much so that for a moment confusion and shock even overshadowed the embarrassment and shame that should have appeared.
"Chuck??"
She raised her volume slightly again, wanting to use this to attract Chuck's attention and make him turn his head to look over here. But Chuck still remained unmoved. He Xiaoyu opposite, who had no idea what happened, became even more bewildered. Whether to continue chatting or wait for Tang Yumo to finish speaking first, for a moment also made her extremely tangled.
Finally, seeing that Chuck remained unmoved, Tang Yumo raised her hand and gently poked Chuck's shoulder with her fingertip.
"...Little Yan?"
This address was what Tang Yumo used when she was Chuck's tutor back then, and also what she used when the two first reunited in the southwest bay, before she had seen the scene of Chuck crazily educating Julia and Yitong by the sea.
Hearing this address, Chuck finally turned his head, looking at her calmly and asking.
"What is it?"
Seeing this, Tang Yumo felt slightly relieved in her heart, but then frowned in confusion.
"Nothing, just long time no see, wanted to say hi to you first, we used to..."
"Mmh, now the greeting is done, anything else?"
Chuck didn't give her the chance to finish the second half of her sentence, but instead frowned, urging in a cold, machine-like voice.
"I..."
Tang Yumo opened her mouth, but found it hard to say another half sentence. The confusion and awkwardness originally in her heart also gradually turned into a chill.
Over the past two days, Tang Yumo had thought of many scenes when seeing Chuck again. She imagined Chuck would be hostile towards her, dissatisfied with those things she did behind his back in the past, perhaps even angrily rebuking her for ruthlessly puncturing his feelings back then.
The only thing she didn't expect was that Chuck would look like this, like a stranger.
But how could he be a stranger?
Seeing her ask a question and then holding it in for a long time without uttering half a fart, Chuck also lost the little patience he had left for her. He unceremoniously withdrew his gaze, turned his head, and looked back at flight attendant He Xiaoyu opposite.
"I am currently talking with Ms. He, if there's nothing else, please do not disturb."
Chuck's words, heard in Tang Yumo's ears, were like a bell ringing overhead, yet exceptionally piercing.
Tang Yumo instinctively nodded, said "sorry", and then got up unsteadily. Like having her soul sucked away, she staggered towards the depths of the cave.
On the other side of the fire, Lee Na-eun, who had her back to everyone from beginning to end, lying quietly on the straw mat like a dead person, slowly opened her slightly red eyes from the fever, her frown deepening.
Not far away, Lee So-yeon, standing with arms crossed and leaning against the stone wall, watched this scene. The expression on her face was even a few degrees uglier than her sister who was pretending to sleep.
Although the contact time was short, Lee So-yeon was already certain enough that Chuck was not an unreasonable person.
Tang Yumo's looks were indeed not bad, even quite distinctive. Normally, if she was willing to offer herself proactively, probably no man would be unmoved. This was also why Lee So-yeon firmly believed in her resolve.
But looking at it now, this matter had problems right from the start!
Meeting again after many days of separation, even if it was just a chance encounter, one would at least nod and say hi to each other, not to mention it was someone of the opposite sex with outstanding appearance.
But seeing Chuck's posture just now of not even wanting to open his eyes to look at her, it was obviously not even up to a chance encounter, and there was simply no good impression at all! Not even as good as He Xiaoyu, a complete stranger!
Thinking of this, Lee So-yeon's expression grew even more irritated.
Over the past few days, her attention had almost entirely been on Chuck, so much so that regarding the rhetoric Tang Yumo described to her before, she accepted it entirely without any questioning. Looking at it now...
She definitely hid some things she had done herself.
Some things enough to make Chuck not give her a good look.
This Tang Yumo really bluffed the old lady!
What nonsense about offering herself in my place, looking at this, let alone replacing, continuing to let her stay here will be of no benefit to the subsequent trades at all!