Darkness all around...

My body floats in this endless darkness.

In my ear, it seems like a girl is calling my name.

"Xiao Chen? Xiao Chen!"

Darkness gradually fades, and I suddenly open my eyes.

"Xiao Chen! Get up quick! The wave is coming!" A girl in a white short-sleeved shirt is desperately pulling my arm. I look forward, indeed, a towering giant wave just like a furious beast is heading straight at me.

A chill runs down my spine, the dull feeling in my brain is swept away. I bounce up from the ground, together with the girl who was just calling me, I dash towards the back for a few steps. Just barely escaping the moment the giant wave hits the shore.

We both, gasping for breath, slump down on the ground.

...

I look around, find behind me is a dense forest, while on both sides are beaches far as the eye can see.

Damn.

Where am I?

But I quickly remember, this... is a deserted island!

I am a sophomore at Songjiang Technology Academy. Three days ago, I signed up for a spring celebration sea trip sponsored by the school.

Of course, I didn't just sign up for the fun of it. Because the school spent big bucks to invite the popular online singer Xia Ran to perform on our sea cruise. Xia Ran is my dream girl. In order to catch a glimpse of her beauty, many boys signed up.

In addition, we were told of open-air activities at sea in advance, with the guide advising us to prepare our swimsuits accordingly. This meant that I would be able to see the lovely figures of young female students from the school in their swimsuits.

However, unexpected weather changes can be brutal, especially when you're on a ship. The damn cruise we were on hadn't been out to sea for an hour before it encountered a sudden and violent storm. The strong windy gusts mixed with seawater, and in no time, shattered our ship into pieces. Some people managed to escape on lifeboats, while the rest of us were left floating on the remains of our vessel.

Strangely, I'm not the type of person who knows how to swim, but the moment the ship sank, I found myself mysteriously empowered. Thus, my limbs naturally started kicking in the water. If not for this, I would have drowned in the sea.

Fortunately, the ship was near an island. I swam with all my might toward the shore. I vaguely remember other people doing the same. Just when I was about to reach the shore, a giant wave knocked me out. My last bit of energy was gone, then everything went black.

I was then woken up by a girl wearing a white short-sleeved shirt.

At this point, both of us were panting and sitting on the ground, gazing out at the wild sea waves that were still raging in the distance. The cloudy sky made my mood fall even lower.

Damn it, where is my dream goddess, Xia Ran? And where have my bikini-clad classmates gone? Is this some kind of cosmic joke?

As for the girl who just revived me, she was none other than the famous school beauty being hailed by all at our school, Chen Mengyu.

This Chen Mengyu is treated as a goddess by all the male students at our school. She’s beautiful and sociable, and countless guys fantasize about spending a romantic night with her, myself included. But this was hardly the time to be thinking such things.

I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know me. She only knows my name because it's engraved on the badge I wore on my chest. The badges are cruise ship passes, compulsory for everyone.

"Thank you," I said. "If it weren't for you waking me up, I would have been washed away by the sea."

"No need to...," Chen Mengyu's expression was grim, and it seems her mood was just as bad as mine. Her once smooth hair was now in complete disarray due to the waters, looking somewhat forlorn.

I basically have my bearings now, and that sudden surge of strength I felt when falling into the sea returned. I stood up and moved around a bit, and surprisingly, found my spirits oddly lifted.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"I have no idea." Chen Mengyu shook her head. "I just woke up too."

In my heart, I concluded that she and I were washed ashore by the sea together, only that she woke up a little earlier than me.

At that moment, I noticed Chen Mengyu was shivering, her lips turning pale. Rushed, I asked, "Are you ill?"

Chen Mengyu remained silent, leaving me no time for any hesitation. I reached out to feel her forehead, only to find it burning hot.

The pouring rain still drizzled down, and I worried that if this is kept up, she would freeze. With this in mind, I quickly took off my clothes to cover her and held her tightly, leading her towards the woods behind us.

The outer perimeter of the forest was lined with tall coconut trees, further in were even denser trees. It was at first glance, an untouched area. The canopy of the trees shielded us from the rain, providing a suitable temporary shelter.

I quickly brought Chen Mengyu to the furthest edge of the forest, sitting down in the least wet part. She was shaking even more violently now, so I had no choice but to hold her even tighter.

Chen Mengyu seemed a little shy at the initial point, her face flushed, but as time passed, probably due to the effects of the warmth, her facial expression slowly returned to normal.

Thanks to the rain that came quickly and left equally promptly too, and the weather quickly became clear in less than ten minutes. The blazing sun instantly shone down and I returned to seaside with Chen Mengyu. Similarly, the stormy ocean was finally calming down.

Only then did I notice the scattered wreckage of our previous cruise ship nearing the surface of the sea. I look around keenly, hoping to find suitcases, packages, or any belongings that had been washed ashore. After all, this is a deserted island, and it’s unknown when help will arrive. Anything edible or wearable would be incredibly valuable. However, I found none…

I was a bit disappointed.

Chen Mengyu's condition was considerably better than before, yet she still seemed listless. I figured that with such a massive cruise ship, there must be more survivors than just the two of us. There were over five hundred people onboard! Four hundred of which were students and teachers from our school, whilst the remainder were entertainers and some distinguished individuals from Songjiang City, all invited for the school’s celebration. Who would have expected such a catastrophe…

Given this substantial number of people, if the two of us could be washed up on shore, then there must be others, too.

I asked Chen Mengyu to wait there while I hurriedly started to run along the beach.

After jogging for several hundred meters, I saw a group of five, all boys and clearly recent arrivals as indicated by their drenched clothes and hair. One of them was a classmate of ours, Liu Yong.

The man was as robust as an ox and had quite a temper. Few dared to cross him back in school. From afar, I could see he seemed to be addressing four other boys as if he had already become their leader.

I promptly yelled, and the guys immediately noticed me and started running towards me.

"Xiao Chen? You're actually alive?" Liu Yong said.

I felt rather annoyed. It seemed as if he expected me to be dead.

But I couldn't entirely blame him. In class, I was a person on the fringes, unremarkable in every aspect, with a frail figure. I seemed indeed to be the ideal choice to have drowned.

"I am blessed." I slightly annoyed retorted, "Have you seen any other people?"

Liu Yong shook his head.

I quickly told them what had happened, about me bumping into Chen Mengyu. The four boys instantly brightened up at their mention and asked where she was.

In my heart, I thought these people were hopeless. At a time like this, they were still concerned about women. In contrast, Liu Yong had no unusual reaction.

At the same time, I was a bit wary. In this lawless place, if they dared to mess around, I would fight them relentlessly. After all, in a sense, Chen Mengyu had saved my life.

Regardless, we were currently weak and needed to unite more people to strengthen our position. Who knew if any dangerous beasts inhabited this island, after all, strength lies in numbers.

I quickly led them back to Chen Mengyu. The boys instantly tried to surround her, but Liu Yong stopped them. He pointed to Chen Mengyu and said, "No! She can't stay with us!"