“…Miss, Young Lady.”

Hua Mu was sleeping groggily when she was gently shaken awake. The sky was already dim. Bai Zhen sat beside her, gently stroking her short hair as she smiled. “It’s time for dinner. You can sleep again after you eat.”

Hua Mu rubbed her eyes and shifted her head, resting it on the other’s lap.

“Did I sleep for a long time?”

“You seemed very tired, so I didn’t wake you.”

Hua Mu felt utterly languid from her sleep and had no desire to move.

“I’ll make dinner in a bit.”

“It’s fine, I’ve already made most of it. You should just rest well today.”

Although she wanted equality, Hua Mu didn’t dislike the feeling of being doted on. She nuzzled against Bai Zhen’s thigh and sighed in contentment.

“Mmm~”

“Then I’ll go prepare the octopus sashimi now.”

“Wait, I’m not very hungry yet.” Hua Mu held onto her, coaxing playfully, “Stay with me a little longer.”

“Alright.”

The setting sun cast a red glow upon the sea. The breeze was gentle, and the sound of the waves mingled with the calls of seabirds and dolphins, creating an indescribably peaceful and serene atmosphere.

For a time, neither of them spoke, quietly enjoying the unique tranquility of the deserted island.

Not until the sun had completely sunk below the horizon and Emergency Rations, who was sleeping nearby, stretched and got up, did Hua Mu finally speak, asking slowly, “What’s… the date today?”

“It’s December 5th.”

“Doesn’t that mean New Year’s is almost here?”

Living on an isolated island with no distinct seasonal changes made it difficult to feel the passage of time. Eight months had passed unknowingly since they were first stranded.

A lot had happened in these eight months, yet looking back, it all seemed to have passed in an instant.

“Yes, and your birthday is coming up soon too.”

Hua Mu’s birthday was January 11th, which was indeed just around the corner.

“How is it so soon!” Life on the deserted island was by no means interesting, and the ways to pass the time had been few and far between. From a purely sensory perspective, Hua Mu had even felt that time was passing too slowly.

But eight months had already passed. After the New Year would be her birthday, and she would have been away from home for nearly a year. When she had impulsively run away, she never could have imagined things would turn out like this.

“Time always slips away silently,” Bai Zhen said, looking at her with a hint of melancholy in her gaze.

Sensing the Sentinel’s sudden burst of poetic sentimentality, Hua Mu turned and sat on her lap.

“This is the first New Year we’ll be spending alone together. We have to plan it properly. And for my birthday, you have to do something special, right?”

Bai Zhen was naturally willing to please Hua Mu, but any gift she could find on this deserted island would be worthless compared to the things Hua Mu had received in the past.

“Young Lady, is there anything you want?”

“Asking the person what they want for a gift? You’re so insincere. Nope, you have to think of something yourself.”

In truth, Hua Mu didn’t care what Bai Zhen gave her. She was just giving the other woman a little problem to solve to keep her from getting lost in thought.

She could sense, to some extent, that Bai Zhen brooded over their inability to leave Dream Isle even more than she did.

“Alright.”

“Alright, let’s go have dinner. After we eat, we can… ahem, go to bed early.”

Bai Zhen didn’t catch the hidden meaning at first and simply nodded. Hua Mu didn’t mind—after all, she’d get the hint when the time came.

Thanks to Hua Mu’s bountiful harvest that afternoon, dinner was quite lavish. Having learned by observing Hua Mu, Bai Zhen’s cooking skills had improved greatly. The fresh seafood sashimi with homemade seasonings required almost no extra preparation.

The two women and one cat ate their fill, and the night had only just begun.

On this supply trip to the coast, because they spent so much time in bed together, it took them five days to gather everything they needed.

After returning to the mountain, it rained for two consecutive days. It wasn’t until Hua Mu’s period arrived that Bai Zhen finally had time to repair the oil press.

The traditional oil press was, in fact, a manual press with a simple structure. Because Bai Zhen needed to operate it alone, the machine had to be more compact and simple. The ram and the oil chamber were made small, so it took her less than two days to build.

Before, Hua Mu had also used coconut oil, a byproduct of grinding coconut meat for milk, but it was a bit lacking as a cooking oil.

With the oil press ready, the next step was to prepare the raw materials. The first thing they thought of was the oil palm grove on the back of the mountain. Oil palm fruits had a high oil yield, and since they were abundant on the island, they were perfect for an experiment.

After all, Bai Zhen had left the rainforest at the age of twelve, so this was her first time actually pressing oil from start to finish. There were many things she needed to figure out through trial and error.

Hua Mu was laid up for a few days due to her period. By the time she was up and about again, the roof of the small oil-pressing workshop was already finished. She felt bad that she hadn’t been able to help much and volunteered to go with Bai Zhen to collect the raw materials.

The island had a rich variety of palm plants. Besides coconut trees, there were also date palms, sugar palms, areca palms, nipa palms, and oil palms, among others, which were a great help in improving their lives.

Like other palm plants, oil palms were tall, with their fruit growing under the leaves at the top. This made harvesting them quite demanding.

Hua Mu had a fear of heights, so even though Luna could fly, she couldn’t make use of that ability. She could only stand at the bottom of the tree with a basket on her back, picking up the fruits Bai Zhen threw down. The ripe palm fruits were only about the size of a quail’s egg, and both the pulp and the kernel were very rich in oil.

Hua Mu had boiled and eaten them before. The taste wasn’t bad, but the coarse fibers inside tended to get stuck in her teeth, which she didn’t particularly like.

Bai Zhen was agile, scaling the tree with her bare hands in just a few seconds. Although Hua Mu knew what she was capable of, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“Bai Zhen, be careful.”

Hua Mu shouted up at the treetop. Bai Zhen simply shifted her position, gripping the trunk with her legs and sitting securely.

“It’s fine. Young Lady, you be careful down there. Don’t get hit.”

“I have a hat.” Hua Mu pressed down on the brim of her hat and looked up. Seeing the Sentinel hanging up there without any safety measures made her feel a little dizzy—her physique and strength were just too good.

Bai Zhen had specially made her a straw hat from palm leaves, which not only provided shade but also protected her from being hit by falling objects.

“I’m starting then. Just put the basket down below.”

Oil palm fruits usually grew in clusters under the hard, thorny leafstalks, making them very difficult to harvest.

Fortunately, her dagger was sharp and Bai Zhen was strong, so the harvesting went quickly. Clusters of oval oil palm fruits fell directly into the basket, so Hua Mu hardly had to do anything, only bending over for the few that occasionally missed.

Just as Hua Mu was starting to feel bored, Bai Zhen finished harvesting one tree and climbed down.

“We were supposed to be working together, but in the end, aren’t you the only one doing anything?”

Hua Mu pouted, annoyed at her own uselessness. Her fear of heights prevented her from doing so many things. Luna possessed the rare ability of flight, but it had become completely useless.

“I know you want to help, but there’s nothing to be done about a fear of heights. Besides, this is actually quite dangerous for a non-professional. You can still assist me from down here.”

The two carried the basket to another tree, where Hua Mu suddenly had a whimsical idea. “Do you think I could overcome my fear of heights? Maybe by riding Luna for a short flight every day… Luna can fly! It’s such an amazing and cool skill, and I can’t even use it. What a waste!”

Bai Zhen would be happy to see her overcome her fear of heights, but a crude, brute-force method would obviously do no good.

“Young Lady, we can take our time with that. If you’re bored, why don’t you help collect some palm leaves? I’m not good at throwing them accurately, so I’ll need you to pick them up.”

Seeing that she wasn’t supportive, Hua Mu said dejectedly, “You’re not just finding something for me to do, are you? What do we need palm leaves for? Isn’t the roof already done?”

“These are for making the oil cakes. There’s no suitable straw on the island, so I thought I’d pick some leaves, dry them, and give them a try.”

“Alright then.” The reasoning was sound, and Hua Mu cheered up a little. Clenching her fists as if ready to show off her skills, she said, “Then I’ll go find some other leaves to try too. Are long, wide ones better?”

“Yes.”

Having received confirmation, Hua Mu immediately rolled up her sleeves and got to work. However, having learned her lesson from the snake bite, she was extremely cautious now and summoned Luna early on to keep watch. Bai Zhen was even more careful, having Hati stay by Hua Mu’s side to protect her.

After Bai Zhen and Hua Mu bonded, Hati’s form, instead of growing, had actually shrunk. In his normal state, he was now only about as tall as Hua Mu. But getting smaller didn’t mean his power had weakened. On the contrary, even Hua Mu could sense his danger and power.

In just one short month, not only his size but Hati’s very form had undergone significant changes. His once snow-white fur now looked more flowing and thick, while his build was leaner and more powerful.

Hati’s most striking change was on his face. On his once pure-white forehead, a crescent of jet-black fur had appeared, lending him a certain kingly majesty. His eyes were a deeper, more profound green, and his fangs were sharper. Every “breath” he took radiated a chill.

“Eeyah~” The moment the unicorn saw the white wolf, she threw her hooves around him and began licking him furiously.

The white wolf was not as tall as the unicorn now, making it look as if he was powerless to resist. He obediently fell to the ground, exposing his belly and neck, and held the unicorn, letting her be affectionate.

Hua Mu was long used to these two being even more clingy than she and Bai Zhen. “Can you two not start licking the moment you see each other?” she said in disgust.

Although she and Bai Zhen had their indulgent moments, they also took plenty of breaks. But these two? It wasn’t enough for them to empathically experience their masters’ intimacy; they would also pop out when the two were resting and start licking each other incessantly. Many times, they had aroused the two women so much that they couldn’t take it and ended up back in bed.

Speaking of lewdness, these two were the truly lewd ones!

Hati twitched his ears, but Luna acted as if she hadn’t heard a word, pinning the white wolf beneath her as they rolled around together.

So desperate! So desperate!

How could a reserved noble lady like her have such a shameless, lewd spirit animal?

This is so unscientific!