“By the way, you hadn’t slept a wink since last night. You should sleep for a while. I’ll keep watch,” Stella Grace said as she sat up.
“Didn’t you not sleep last night as well? I can stay awake for a few days. You should sleep first,” Jasper Milton said softly.
“I’ve been sleeping. It’s your turn now. I want to feel the sea breeze and see the blue sky and white clouds.” Stella patted her thighs.
Jasper smiled slightly, his eyes full of love. He did not refuse anymore. He lay down next to Stella and put his right arm behind his head. He did not lean on Stella’s leg. He was afraid that she would be tired.
Stella looked at his prominent features. When he fell asleep, his mouth was also tightly closed, like an elegant prince.
It seemed that God was not entirely cruel to her. Although her life was short and although she had suffered a lot, God had given such a good man to her.
Jasper was too tired. In fact, he had been restless after parting ways with her. At that moment, he fell asleep almost instantly.
Stella looked at the blue sky and white clouds while enjoying the peace of the moment. After a while, she felt a little sleepy and closed her eyes.
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but she opened her eyes when the beautiful smell of roasted fish wafted towards her.
Jasper had already roasted more than a dozen fish, and they were almost ready.
“I’m sorry, I fell asleep too…” she apologized.
“It’s okay. At least you didn’t fall into the water.” Jasper said with a smile and handed the pot to her. “Have a taste.”
Stella took a sniff and found that the stinky smell was much less intense. It smelled like edible fish.
She pinched a little of it and put it in her mouth. “Wow, it’s really good.”
“The sea water is originally salty. This particular species has its own flavor and is high in minerals. Eat up.” Jasper continued to roast them.
Instead of using a spatula, he turned the fish over with a knife.
Beside him, Stella quietly removed the fish’s bones.
When Jasper was still grilling, Stella had removed most of the bones from the fish.
However, Jasper didn’t take it, and instead took a different fish.
“I’ve already removed all the bones from this one,” she said.
“You should eat it. I’ll do it myself.”
“But it’s already done.”
Jasper looked at Stella.
She really wanted him to eat her fish.
He ate the fish she had prepared.
Stella smiled happily, and he smiled along with her. “There’s no need to do it for me. Just make some for yourself.”
“Alright.” Stella responded.
After eating, Jasper tied the remaining fish together with a thread and put it on the upper part of the parasol. This way, they could keep the fish dry as well as serve as shade to block the sunlight.
Earlier, he had used several mineral water bottles to make distilled water. It was a simple process. He just needed to remove one third of the bottle and pour sea water into its remaining space. Then, he removed the bottom of another bottle and cupped it above the one with the sea water. The sea water in the bottle would then be trapped in a vacuum state.
The sunlight shone on the sea water in the bottle, and the water would start to evaporate. The evaporated water wouldn’t escape into the atmosphere, so it would condense into distilled water and trickle down into the bottle. Unfortunately, there was no ice and they had no access to fire. Otherwise, it would have been very easy to obtain distilled water.
Jasper stole a look at the stored water and the time on the clock. After more than five hours, he had only made a bottle of distilled water. The amount was too little, they could only take a gulp each day. A normal person would need at least 1, 200ML of water each day to sustain himself. This was not enough at all.
“Stella.” Jasper shouted, looking embarrassed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, if you want to relieve yourself… You know, what we lack the most in the sea is water…” he said.
Stella immediately understood. Her face turned red and she lowered her eyes.
“This…”
She had seen an adventure program before, in which the adventurer was called Bale. He ate everything, including deer feces, the maggots on a dead mouse, and the rotten placenta of animals.
Even though she hadn’t yet gotten into such a desperate situation, her stomach was already turning at the thought, and she lay down on the wooden planks.
Jasper could sense that she did not welcome this idea. “Drink some water first. We’ll talk about it when the time comes.”
“What time is it now?” She changed the topic.
Jasper looked at the time on his watch and said, “It’s 4:20 p. m.”
Stella stopped talking and looked at the sky in a daze.
Jasper held her by the side of her head with one hand. “What are you thinking about?”
“I used to plan a lot of things for the future, but everything happened so quickly. Now, I can’t do anything. If I think too much, I will become more and more frustrated. We might not even last for a week.” She sighed.
“If we could only live for a week, what do you want to do?” Jasper asked seriously.
The corner of her mouth twitched. She said, “We can’t really do anything on the sea.”
“I think this is pretty good.” Jasper said in a low voice and looked at her affectionately. “At least we are together. There were a few times where I just wanted to kidnap you and steal you away. By the way, what kind of deal did you make with Frederick for him to let me go?”
She looked at him gloomily. There were many complicated thoughts flashing in her eyes.
She didn’t want to tell him that she had a virus injected into her body. What if they was rescued?
Then Jasper would just end up in despair.
“I promised that I would divorce you and make you marry Bettany,” Stella said dismissively.
“What else?” Jasper didn’t quite believe it.
“Frederick is a Commander. He specializes in investigating the private lives of officials. He reports to the President.” Stella explained.
“I know, I have always suspected that he is somehow related to the President. But he is very cautious and hence I couldn’t find any clues. Also, you don’t need to worry about Eli. I’ve already ordered my men to rescue her as soon as they find her. Even if I’m not there, they’ll carry out their orders.”
Stella breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“Must we still be so formal with each other?” Jasper said in a low voice.
“Right. Well, you should sleep for a while longer. I promise I wouldn’t fall asleep this time. We’ll take turns staying up.” Stella sat up.
“Okay.” Jasper lay down and shut his eyes.
Stella looked at the sea in a daze.
By the time Jasper woke up again, the sun had already set.
“Are you hungry?” Jasper asked.
Stella shook her head. She was thirsty and didn’t want to talk.
He checked the fish on the parasol and found that they were already dried up.
Jasper handed the mineral water to Stella.
Stella shook her head. She wanted to conserve as much water as possible.
“Drink. It’s going to rain tonight. We have enough water, but the wind and waves will be very strong. For safety’s sake, I will tie one of your hands to the wooden board. You must lie close to the wooden board, do you understand?” Jasper said and put away the umbrella.
“How do you know it’s going to rain?” Stella asked in confusion.
Jasper pointed to the sky. It was dark in the distance.
Stella did not say anything else, but she felt a faint fear in her heart.
Jasper tied the umbrella under the wooden board.
The other things were all put in the net or plastic bags and tied under the wooden board. Only the empty mineral water bottles were placed in one big pot.
The rope was very thin, and it will hurt to have her wrist tied with it. So he took off his clothes and held onto Stella’s hand. Seeing how cautious he was, she no longer felt afraid…