Meanwhile, Abby had found a pretty conch on the beach just now, and wanted to show it to Adie, but turned around to find him missing. Worry filled her as she called out for Adie.At that moment, Stefan and Renee were sulkily walking back to the campsite, carrying firewood. Coincidentally, they bumped into Abby, who was anxiously looking for Adie."What's wrong, Abby?" Renee tossed the firewood aside and hurried over to Abby. "Why are you here alone? Where's Adie?" Adie and Abby were always together, so Renee knew that something was wrong. "Mommy, Adie is missing..." Abby's face was pale in fear. She hugged Renee and wailed, "I saw Adie sharing an apple with Tiffany just now, so I didn't disturb them. I came to the beach to look for conches, but when I went back… they were gone. I couldn't find them. Adie will be alright, won't he?" "Don't worry, Abby. Adie is clever and resourceful, so I'm sure he's fine. Maybe he's just playing somewhere with Tiffany!" Renee said reassuringly, t
Consequently, Stefan and Renee went their separate ways. Stefan went out to look for Adie while Renee was convinced Adie was just out playing and would come back soon. Renee decided not to worry about it, and went to cook dinner with Abby. Meanwhile, Adie was safe and sound. He held Tiffany's hand as they climbed up the steep path, eventually arriving at the cave where Adie and his family had found the treasures earlier. "What do you think? Isn't this place fun? We're alone here, so no one can find us," Adie announced proudly. He got his adventurous streak from Renee and his courage from Stefan. Having grown up on Sun Island which had many types of complicated terrains and caves, Adie had developed a love of exploring caves from a young age. When Stefan and Renee had stopped him from going into the cave earlier, it had made him long to explore it even more, which was why he had eagerly returned to it. "Is this cave safe? It looks so dark and deep…" Tiffany asked hesitantly as she
"I'm also curious to know your secrets," Tiffany mimicked with a wide grin. Soon, they started playing the game. In the first round, Adie went for 'rock' while Tiffany went for 'paper', which meant Adie lost the round and had to tell Tiffany a secret."A secret..." Adie scratched his head and frowned. "I don't think I have any." It wasn't that he was reluctant to share, but he had grown up with an open-minded family where it was easy to express himself. "Everyone has secrets, and I'm sure you do too. Think about it—is there anything your daddy, mommy, me, and the other kids don't know about?" Tiffany insisted, putting her hands on her waist. Adie thought about it for a long time, then finally sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you one." He looked at Tiffany and said coyly, "Well, the truth is… I've been lying to you.""What do you mean?" "I always said you were a crybaby who looked ugly when you cried, but… that's not true. You looked very beautiful," Adie mumbled, covering his face in
"What?" Adie stared at her helplessly, not knowing how to console her. Although he mostly only had one parent around growing up, he had been raised with plenty of love, so he couldn't put himself in Tiffany's shoes. "Don't be sad. If your mommy doesn't love you, you don't have to love her either." Adie couldn't understand Tiffany's sadness, but he tried his best to comfort her. "My mommy told me that we should only love people who love us, and we should only cry for people who love us too. She also said we shouldn't be affected by those who don't love us." "My mommy loved me very much back then…" Tiffany wiped away her tears, her lips quivering. "But now she's having a baby, so she loves her own child more. Why do people change? Why can't she love me forever?" "Love won't change. If it changes, it means that she never truly loved you in the first place," Adie said bluntly. He and Tiffany both treasured their relationships with others, but the difference between them was that Adie r
Stefan had been searching the island for a while, but still couldn't find Adie. Meanwhile, Renee was at the campsite. Initially, she didn't worry too much about Adie because she was busy barbecuing seafood with the other parents and playing Duck Duck Goose with the children. However, after a while, she started to feel uneasy. She glanced in the direction where Stefan had left, her worry growing. She figured he would have found Adie by now. Abby was worried too, and was too distracted to play games with the other children. She grabbed Renee's hand and asked anxiously, "Mommy, where's Adie? Why hasn't Daddy found him yet? Did something happen to Adie?""No, that won't happen." Although Renee said that, her heart was pounding in her chest. "Abby, be good and stay with the teacher. I'll go look for Stefan and Adie." "Mommy, I want to come too." Abby was worried about Adie and didn't want Renee to go out on her own at night. "No, it's dark now. It's safer if you stay here. If you go
Although Renee couldn't see who it was, she had to do something. "Hold on, I'll save you!" She put the torch in her mouth, planning to tear away the vines to see what was going on. "Don't move!" Stefan's voice came from behind her suddenly. He held her shoulders, stopping her from moving forward. Shocked, Renee turned around. She sighed in relief when she saw Stefan. "Where did you come from?""I was tricked when I used this path just now." Even in the dark, Stefan looked pale and weak. "What... What's wrong with you?" Renee asked hesitantly. "I got curious and tore off those vines, then I got bitten." Stefan sounded weaker as he spoke, and his body swayed for a while until he leaned against a boulder beside him."You got bitten?" Renee looked at the vines in confusion. "Wasn't someone calling for help? How did you get bitten?""It wasn't a human but an animal." Stefan coughed as his breathing grew shallow. "That animal… is quite rare. It's a human-shaped snake that lives in
"I'm not important!" Stefan protested hoarsely. "Go look for Adie first. I can still hold on.""You look like you're about to pass out. How can you hold on?" Renee ignored Stefan and insisted on helping him downhill. "Let's go back to the campsite. I've got to get you off the island and into a hospital." If Stefan really had been bitten by a narserial, it was very serious. Renee had read about an animal like that in ancient books like Legends of the Mountains and Seas. Although its existence was still questioned, it was indeed poisonous. If one was bitten by it, they had to be treated immediately or it could be fatal. Adie's safety was important, but Stefan's condition was more urgent. After some deliberation, Renee decided to send Stefan to the hospital first."I… I'm fine!" Stefan pushed Renee away, urging her to look for Adie. "I've searched the entire mountain except this path, so he has to be here. If you don't look for him now, he might go missing again when you want to come ba
"What did you see through?" Renee asked eagerly. This was the first time Stefan was speaking about this since he disappeared, so she was desperate to find out the truth."I… I…" Stefan muttered faintly, his head slipping down to Renee's shoulder. "What is it? Tell me!" Renee demanded impatiently, but she got no response from Stefan. In fact, she could feel his full weight now. He had probably been trying not to lean on her completely earlier, but now, he was too weak to support himself. Renee struggled a little under his weight, panting as she carried him. "Hold on—we'll talk once I catch my breath." Renee couldn't carry him any longer. She found a boulder and tried to lean Stefan against it, but his body slid down and dropped to the ground the moment she let go of him. "Stefan! Stefan!" Renee panicked and squatted down to shake him, and only then did she realize that he had fainted. His face was deathly pale, and his lips had turned a horrible blue-black colour. It was clear that