Life, it will get better and better after all

To be frank, when Lu Zhe realized that the Malayan bear posed no threat, he really didn’t have the heart to further harm the bear. But now could he choose otherwise? If he didn’t take away the honey, Ning Shu would still have to endure the torment of the devil’s pepper for a while longer. Between his beloved and the bear, if one had to get hurt, anyone would know who to choose without hesitation.

“Captain, wait for me!”

Lu Zhe ran up to the Malayan bear, giving it a huge shock! He quickly patted the Malayan bear’s head, “Listen to me. I didn’t take your honey before because I didn’t need it. Now I do! I know it’s a bit unfair but I promise this will be the last time.” Then with lightning speed he snatched away the honey.

The Malayan bear froze for a moment, looking at its empty paws. It rubbed its eyes and let out a loud “Ow!”

Lu Zhe came running back with the honey. He used a knife to peel off the outer layer, then used a bamboo stick as a spoon to dig out a piece and feed it to Ning Shu’s mouth.

After eating some honey and drinking water, she had to admit, the spicy sensation in her mouth immediately lessened by more than half.

“This stuff really works!”

“Yeah, the sweetness of honey can suppress spiciness. Don’t casually challenge this again next time. If it was you, Yaya, who has a weaker palate, she probably would have called it quits immediately.”

Ning Shu nodded. “But if you grind it into a chili powder and add a little less into other chili crumbs, you can increase the spiciness without making it too outrageous!”

“I advise you not to do that. Other than you, no one else could eat something so spicy. Plus for us, this is a strategic resource and secret weapon against the monkeys, not for eating.”

Ning Shu scooped another spoonful of honey and nodded. “Oh right, how do you plan to deal with the monkey invasion?”

“We can apply it directly to arrowheads, or make traps.”

“How?”

Lu Zhe sat down and thought for a bit. “They love to steal things - stealing our fruit, milk, etc. We’ll place some fruit and milk near the camp, then add Devil’s Peppers inside. With the monkeys’ spice tolerance, eating it will be an experience similar to transcending tribulation. If they’re lucky, they may directly ascend to immortality.”

“It won’t directly kill them from spiciness, right?”

“It’s unrealistic to expect monkeys who eat fruit and crab every day to have the same spice tolerance as you Sichuanese. Think about feeding a spoonful of this pepper to a 5-year-old child.”

Ning Shu imagined it for a bit. “That’s too cruel! ...What if they don’t die?”

“I’ll lend them a hand.”

“Won’t this affect the ecological balance on the island?”

Lu Zhe thought about it. “It won’t. Their diet barely overlaps with ours at all. Even if they all died, we wouldn’t need to worry. But if we continued to let them breed unchecked and run amok, we’d never be able to properly build up our camp. Although it sounds somewhat cruel, in order for us to survive well here, we must control their numbers. This is the law of survival on the island...”

Ning Shu also nodded. She understood that at heart Lu Zhe was a kind person. If there was any other choice, he wouldn’t kill the native residents of the island.

Indeed, these monkeys had brought them far too much trouble. If they didn’t get rid of them, they wouldn’t even be able to sleep easy in the camp.

“Let’s head back after resting a bit. We’ll build the house with Sister Bing and the others in the afternoon.”

Ning Shu nodded, leaning against Lu Zhe’s shoulder as she looked at the somewhat bleak Malayan bear in the distance. Suddenly she felt a tinge of remorse.

“Sorry for eating up all your honey.”

The Malayan bear lifted its head and let out a sad “Oooh” sound.

“Hey, there’s still a bit left on this tree bark, although it’s a little dirty... Do you want to ease your craving a bit?” Ning Shu threw the honey-smeared tree bark over to it.

The Malayan bear looked at the honey on the tree bark, licked it a couple times, then threw it away again. It went back to sitting there blankly, its expression full of despair towards life.

“It looks so pitiful.”

Lu Zhe nodded. “Being able to survive in the cruel wilderness means it naturally has exceptional abilities! I believe this little setback won’t affect its positive and optimistic attitude at all! I’m confident that in just a few days, it’ll be able to forget all the unhappiness and cheer up again.”

“Hopefully that’s the case!” Ning Shu felt a little comforted as she waved towards the Malayan bear, “Hang in there, little buddy! I believe in you!”

The Malayan bear completely ignored her, continuing to sulk there.

“It’ll take some time for its mood to recover. Let’s not bother with it.”

Ning Shu nodded. Suddenly she closed her eyes and lightly leaned towards Lu Zhe’s face. “Hehe... kiss?”

Lu Zhe pinched her mouth and turned it towards another direction. “No kissing! Unless you rinse your mouth!”

Ning Shu broke free. “I rinsed with honey several times just now. Not dirty at all!”

“Nonsense, what I’m afraid of is the spicy flavor.”

The bickering continued, but once their feelings were in place, the two were like the prince and princess in a passionate romance, sharing an ardent kiss in the jungle.

Happiness, joy, and the touching emotions from starting a prosperous life together after surviving disaster!

All of it was contained in this affectionate, tender kiss!

In that moment, Lu Zhe seemed to see Ning Shu wearing a wedding dress. Ning Shu also seemed to see Lu Zhe kneeling on one knee, holding out a diamond ring before her!

And just then, the Malayan bear was suddenly provoked, letting out a rough roar that interrupted Lu Zhe and Ning Shu!

“What’s up with that bear?”

“Don’t know.”

It angrily turned in circles several times, then smashed its head against a big tree multiple times. Finally it ran away desperately while crying out in despair.

“It feels like we hurt it again somehow!”

Lu Zhe thought about it. “After taking the honey, we didn’t do anything else to harm it, right? It’s probably a bit neurotic, just ignore it.”

“Um... wanna continue kissing?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t we kiss more!”

An hour later, Lu Zhe and Ning Shu returned to camp with the Devil’s Peppers and a pile of sweet grass.

The treehouse platform just needed the final step of tying everything tightly together. After eating something, Lu Zhe and Ning Shu helped out. Finally, right before nightfall, they securely fastened the platform to the treehouse!

The treehouse was really starting to take shape.

After cutting away the branches and leaves blocking sunlight, the six companions stood together on the treetop platform, appreciating the beautiful sunset scenery as the sun sank behind the western mountain. Everyone felt warm and touched!

“Our days will surely get better and better, right?”

“That’s right. If we went through so much hardship and nothing really changed in the end, wouldn’t our previous efforts have been in vain?”

“Our food and lodging conditions keep improving. It’s just that our clothes get more tattered. We can barely find any intact clothes on the beach!”

“Lu Zhe is fine since the men’s clothes are his. For the women, we five have to share whatever women’s clothing we find.”

“And no fat person to swap with!”

“We could just not wear any!”

...

It was another fulfilling, warm day. The six companions held hands as they chatted, entering dreamland together. But no one knew that at this very moment, a distressed bear was crying for a long time deep in the forest, heartbroken over its loss.