159: Chapter 159 If I don't care about you, why would I care about Zhang Tao?

"Care about me?"

"President Su, don't tell me you're about to put on a show of an overbearing female CEO falling in love with a poor guy?"

Su Qingxue's hands paused in their movement.

Outside the partition, Zhou Kai was processing the pork, the sound of a military shovel chopping bones echoing in thump by thump.

Zhang Tao coughed a couple of times occasionally, Liu Feifei didn't dare to get close, and Song Ya was helping boil water.

This sentence landing here felt rather abrupt instead.

Su Qingxue lowered her eyes, using a cloth to wipe away the blood scab on Lin Fan's shoulder blade.

"You're thinking too much."

"Oh?"

"If you die, my safety will no longer be guaranteed." Su Qingxue threw the dirty cloth into the basin and picked up another one again. "If I don't care about you, could I possibly care about Zhang Tao?"

Zhang Tao, who was squatting outside peeling rattan, raised his head slightly.

He didn't hear the first half clearly, only catching his own name.

"Who's calling me?"

No one paid attention to him.

Su Qingxue continued, "There aren't many people who can survive on the Deserted Island. You count as one. If you fall, no one outside will be able to keep those people down."

She spoke very directly.

There were no sweet words, nor any bowing down to compromise.

But this was no longer the Su Qingxue of the past who threw money at people.

The her of the past had to wrap even her concern in a shell of commands, but now she had at least learned to calculate accounts.

Lin Fan didn't pick up the conversation.

Su Qingxue wiped clean the last spot of muddy blood, washed the cloth with the remaining bit of water, and pressed it against the edge of his wound for him.

"If it hurts, say so."

Lin Fan glanced at her.

"You didn't wait on people like this before."

"In the past, no one dared to make me wait on them either."

After these words were spoken, neither of them continued any further.

After finishing washing, Su Qingxue carried the basin and went out.

As soon as she lifted the curtain, the stench of blood mixed with the aroma of roasted meat rushed in from outside.

The wild boar meat had already been cut open, and Zhou Kai cut the fat belly into strips, placing them over the fire to smoke slowly.

As the oil dripped into the fire, it sizzled loudly.

That sound made Liu Feifei's eyes stare straight ahead, and even her face, which had been scared white just moments ago, regained some signs of life.

"How long can this meat last?" she couldn't help asking. Previously, she had thought getting food was very simple for Lin Fan.

Not until seeing it today did she realize how hard it was to get this food.

And she didn't want to go into that deep mountain forest again either.

Su Qingxue glanced at her. "If you eat a little less, it can last one more day."

Liu Feifei choked on her words.

Everyone saw how she hid behind Song Ya today.

No one said anything, but this was even harder to bear than being scolded.

Zhang Tao leaned against the stone wall, half of his face swollen to a purplish color, his speech whistling through the gaps.

"Brother Kai, I'll come help too."

Zhou Kai didn't raise his head. "Fine, I'm worried you'll stab me in the back. Starting today, you, Zhang Tao, stay away from me."

Zhang Tao gave two dry laughs, not daring to talk back.

After taking that beating today, his ribs still hurt now. Zhou Kai knew how to hold back and didn't beat him to death, but every single strike made him remember it.

Especially since he was missing a front tooth, his words whistled with wind whenever he spoke.

This was even more insulting than being slashed with a knife.

Nightfall descended.

The mist pressed down again in the forest, and the firelight at the entrance of the Karst Cave flickered a few times in the wind.

Strips of meat hung on a temporarily erected wooden rack, smoked underneath with damp wood.

The cave was much more prosperous than the past few days.

Water was back.

Meat was also available.

Yet no one felt very relaxed.

Because these things were exchanged for their lives.

After finishing a piece of pork, Lin Fan sat by the bonfire whittling arrow shafts.

Zhou Kai sat to one side, his chest wrapped in torn strips of cloth, coughing from time to time.

Song Ya handed him water.

Zhou Kai took it and said in a low voice, "Thank you."

Song Ya shook her head.

Zhang Tao watched from the side, feeling intensely sour in his heart.

After today, Zhou Kai's position within the team could be considered firmly established.

Lin Fan personally saved him, and he killed the wild boar together with Lin Fan.

With this kind of friendship, Zhang Tao couldn't fabricate it back even with ten mouths.

And as for him, Zhang Tao, the tree observer.

Thinking of this term, he wanted to slap himself.

After a while, Zhang Tao dawdled and edged up to Lin Fan.

"Brother Fan."

Lin Fan didn't raise his head, continuing to whittle the arrow shafts.

"Wang Lan and I are going up to pick up some firewood." Zhang Tao licked his split corners of the mouth. "The meat needs to be smoked all night, and the firewood isn't enough. While it's not completely dark yet, let's get a bit more back."

The knife in Lin Fan's hand stopped, and he raised his eyes to look at Zhang Tao.

Zhang Tao felt his back tighten under that gaze, while still having to squeeze out a diligent expression on his face.

"Brother Fan, I held everyone back today, and I admit it. Everyone is tired now, so I'll do a bit more. Rest assured, I guarantee I won't slack off."

Lin Fan put the whittled arrow shaft aside.

"During the day you said you wanted to perform a merit."

Zhang Tao's throat tightened.

Wang Lan sat on the edge of the cave entrance, and upon hearing these words, her movements paused for a moment.

Lin Fan looked at Zhang Tao. "What kind of merit?"

Zhang Tao's brain buzzed.

During the day, he had been pinned in the mud and beaten by Zhou Kai, and in his acute pain, he had almost spilled everything about last night. The merit he spoke of back then was just to save his life.

But now, even if beaten to death, he couldn't say it.

Zhang Tao didn't dare look at Wang Lan.

Nor did he dare hesitate too long.

"It's... it's just doing chores."

Zhang Tao grinned with his swollen mouth, smiling even more uglier than crying.

"Brother Fan, I don't have much ability. I'm bad at fighting, bad at finding water, and completely blind when it comes to recognizing herbs. But I have strength. When we came back today, you saw it too; I carried a good share of that meat."

Zhou Kai sneered. "Aren't you just afraid I'll beat you up again?"

Zhang Tao acted as if he didn't hear, continuing to make things up as he went.

"My performing merit means acting as several people by myself. While you all rest, I'll go pick up firewood. While you all sleep, I'll watch the fire. From now on, carrying water, hauling meat, digging pits, carrying things—the dirty and tiring work will be mine."

He spoke more and more smoothly, almost believing it himself.

Lin Fan looked at him for a moment.

Zhang Tao kept his head down, sweat sliding down from his temples.

These few seconds were harder to endure than facing the wild boar during the day.

Lin Fan withdrew his gaze and let the knife fall back onto the bamboo piece.

"Go."

Zhang Tao's heart relaxed, almost kneeling directly to express his gratitude.

"Alright, alright! I'll go right now."

He turned around and gave Wang Lan a wink.

Wang Lan didn't speak; she picked up the rattan basket by the cave entrance and followed him outside.

Walking out of the Karst Cave, the two climbed up until they reached a flat piece of ground.

Zhang Tao turned back to look at Wang Lan.

The fire pent up during the day, the hatred from the beating, and the fear of almost letting slip what happened—all blocked in his chest, burning his brain into a daze.

"Come here."

Wang Lan bent down to pick up firewood and didn't move.

Zhang Tao walked over and grabbed her arm with a yank.

"I told you to come over."

Wang Lan raised her head to look at him.

Zhang Tao's face was swollen comically, the corners of his mouth were split, and his speech whistled.

But the look in his eyes was all too familiar.

Inferiority, deep resentment, and the foolish drive to hurriedly regain a man's face.

With one hand he pulled at his belt, while his other hand went to press down on Wang Lan's shoulder.

"During the day, I was beaten like this by Zhou Kai, and everyone in the cave was making a joke out of me. Since I can't deal with Zhou Kai, I'm going to take it out on you to vent my anger."