"...!"
Qiao Ran had no idea how Eve was doing and could only urge Suicune to speed up so they could check on her once they reached the surface.
Suicune nodded and continued accelerating. Before long, she burst through the surface and entered the air-filled world above the water.
Qiao Ran and Vulpix both breathed in fresh air, but Eve's condition was far from reassuring.
"Eve? Eve?"
Qiao Ran patted the girl's face behind him, but she seemed to have lost consciousness and showed no response whatsoever. Worse still, her complexion was terrible, and her hands and feet were ice-cold.
"This is bad..."
The pursuers had not followed them, but Qiao Ran was facing the worst possible situation. Eve had clearly swallowed water underwater and was drowning. However, Qiao Ran had no knowledge of how to perform this kind of rescue.
This is bad, bad, bad...
Qiao Ran's heart pounded wildly.
What should he do now?!
"Water got in, Rotom! Water got into me too, and it got into her too! She needs artificial respiration, Rotom! Though it's not as bad as it is for me, Rotom."
The dizzy Rotom Phone floated out of Qiao Ran's pocket at just the right moment. With her waterproof black black black black black technology, she still felt awful underwater, but her words gave Qiao Ran some idea of what to do.
"Maybe... I should massage her heart while giving her artificial respiration?"
Qiao Ran recalled some first-aid knowledge he had seen before, then took several deep breaths and forced himself to calm down. Every second counted now, and he could not afford to overthink it.
"Artificial respiration, Rotom! It has to be mouth-to-mouth, Rotom! Also, press below the sternum with your hands. After four presses, pinch her nose and blow air into her once, Rotom!"
"Artificial respiration... artificial respiration..."
Qiao Ran pinched Eve's mouth, preparing to begin.
Yet as he looked at those delicate, cherry-red lips, his heart began beating faster and faster.
After all, this was his first time...
"Wait, Master."
However, at that critical moment, a voice suddenly stopped him.
"What?"
Qiao Ran turned around, only to find empty space behind him. He saw nothing, but something soft, damp, and icy suddenly covered his lips.
"...!" Qiao Ran jolted all over and instantly widened his eyes.
This was...
The other party gave him no time to react. It had already happened.
The sensation was indescribable. If Qiao Ran had to describe it, he would rather believe he had just tasted a cool, sweet jelly or dessert.
Qiao Ran wanted to savor it a little longer, but the sensation did not last long, perhaps not even a second, before the other party pulled away.
"Master, hurry and save her."
The white-haired girl looked at Qiao Ran's face and revealed a faint smile.
Some things only revealed how important they were after they were lost.
This time... she would not just stand by and watch...
What Exactly Happened?
What... happened to me?
Right... right, I sank to the bottom of the sea... down there...
Is this... the seabed?
In the darkness, Eve could not see anything around her. She only felt herself sinking continuously. She had no strength left in her body, unable even to control her arms or legs.
She kept sinking until she felt something like salvation—
Light...?
A beam of light suddenly shot through the darkness. Looking upward along it, Eve's tightly shut eyes opened by the slightest sliver. She saw an anxious boy's face. Not only that... he was so close to her, close enough to cross the distance friends should have kept.
"...&!*@...!...%@!%"
Eve could not hear what he was saying, but she felt as though something had been taken from her.
"..."
Right... right.
He came to save me...
Eve could not hear any sounds or sense her surroundings, but her heart gradually began to stir, and warmth spread through her body.
Her mind was a muddle. When she struggled to open her eyes again, the first thing she saw was a familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling.
"Cough... cough, cough cough cough!"
Her nose, mouth, and upper respiratory tract felt as if they had been scorched by fire. The burning pain was enough to make any strong girl cry.
Tears welled up in the corners of Eve's eyes.
"You're awake?"
Qiao Ran walked over to her and checked on her condition. After a round of rescue efforts, Eve's condition had gradually stabilized. Once he confirmed she was safe, Qiao Ran brought her back aboard the cruise ship.
Luckily, they had not been attacked by those two kidnappers during this process. Whether it was because they had failed to find him or for some other reason, Qiao Ran had encountered virtually no obstacles the entire way. Could those two really have been idiots?
Rather than think about the kidnappers for now, Qiao Ran felt Eve's condition was more important. No matter what, he could not bear to watch this girl collapse in front of him.
"How are you feeling now? If you're uncomfortable, tell me."
"I..."
Eve's voice was a little hoarse, and she looked extremely weak. Clearly, she was not doing well.
However, one second later, her eyes suddenly widened.
"My... clothes..."
As her awareness gradually returned, she also felt a trace of discomfort. It came from her own body. She could feel that she was probably not wearing any clothes.
—That was right. Beneath this blanket, she was wearing absolutely nothing!
"I had Water... I mean, my younger sister wash your clothes. They're hanging outside to dry right now. We couldn't find anything for you to change into, so this was the only option for now. Also, did you lose your backpack when you were kidnapped? I'll ask the crew later. Maybe they saw it."
Qiao Ran slowly explained the reason. When they came out of the water, everyone's clothes had been completely soaked. If they did not change, they would definitely catch a chill. Yet no matter how hard they searched, they could not find any spare clothes for Eve, so they could only let her go without anything on.
"..."
Hearing that, Eve froze for several seconds, then obediently lay back down and covered her face with the sheet.
She could not see her own expression, but she felt certain her face was completely red.
She felt that the boy before her must have seen her clothes, and perhaps... even seen more than that.
"Um... I drowned, right?"
"Yeah. You nearly scared me to death."
Qiao Ran nodded. Thinking back to what had happened, the situation truly had been extremely urgent. If Rotom had not been there to guide him, Qiao Ran felt he might have ruined everything.
So rather than saying he had saved Eve, it would have been more accurate to say Rotom had saved her. Professional guidance really was important.
"Th... thank you."
Eve spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. Although she did not ask for the details, based on what she knew, she naturally understood what had been done to her. Or rather, she knew what had happened between herself and Qiao Ran.
Yet when she thought about everything that had happened before, Eve surprisingly did not feel angry, annoyed, or regretful. Instead, her heart was full of warmth and excitement.
She now believed more than ever that secretly sneaking aboard the ship to approach Qiao Ran had been an incomparably correct decision. This boy with astonishing performance skills had brought her so many surprises in many other ways as well.
The time she had spent with him had never once been boring. Most importantly, he would appear whenever she needed him most. It was almost like...
That was wonderful... truly wonderful...
"Thank you... for saving me..."
"Haven't you said that once already?"
"That... is different... It was actually my first time being..."
"Alright, alright. Don't say any more."
Qiao Ran shook his head, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"You should get some more rest. Your Smoochum hasn't fully recovered yet either. You should be better before we disembark."
Although he was still concerned about those two kidnappers, Qiao Ran did not choose to ask about them at a time like this. This weak girl needed more rest.
Qiao Ran decided that once she had recovered a little more, he would ask about it. Those people did not feel as vicious as poachers, but they definitely were not good people either.
"Mhm..."
Eve nodded gently and used the blanket to cover her completely flushed cheeks.
Compared to her previously mischievous self, she was much more docile and obedient now.
Qiao Ran withdrew his gaze from her and walked to the other side of the room, looking out at the scenery through the window.
The sky outside was still clear. Blue skies and white clouds never grew tiresome no matter how long one looked at them. Yet just as Qiao Ran relaxed and admired the refreshing view, a familiar voice came from behind him.
That voice seemed to carry a certain dark resentment as it spread toward Qiao Ran from behind.
"Brother... can you tell me now? What exactly happened this time?"
The adorable girl blinked her ruby-like eyes and stared at Qiao Ran.
"Why has Vulpix been acting all shy and unable to look at me ever since we came back?"
"What exactly did you do?"
Thoughts
"Uh..."
Qiao Ran's expression shifted slightly. Faced with Dianxi's sudden interrogation, he did not know what to say for a moment.
Dianxi's powers of observation truly were formidable. She had already noticed something from Vulpix's little movements alone. It was simply too difficult for Vulpix, who was as innocent as a blank sheet of paper, to hide her thoughts from Dianxi.
"..."
So now... what should he do?
Qiao Ran was caught in a difficult dilemma.
Tell the truth?
Well... Qiao Ran did not know how Dianxi would react if he told her the truth. He did not want to see a disappointed expression on her face.
Tell a lie?
Qiao Ran felt that with the bond between himself and Pokémon, there was no way he could deceive Dianxi.
After remaining silent for several seconds, Qiao Ran glanced at Eve lying on the bed. Once he confirmed she could not possibly hear them from this distance, he finally looked toward Dianxi and chose to tell the truth.
"She kissed me... before I started giving Eve artificial respiration."
—Sure enough, he could not lie to them.
Rather than avoiding this and worrying about that, Qiao Ran preferred to get straight to the point and tell the truth.
"...!"
Dianxi's breath caught, and her eyes widened.
"She..."
Clearly, what Qiao Ran had said shocked Dianxi to the point of speechlessness. That soft and sweet Vulpix could actually pull something like that off?
She had originally thought Vulpix was just an ordinary, adorable and gentle girl. Yet in truth, Vulpix was apparently not as innocent as she looked. When it came time to strike hard, her decisiveness was terrifyingly resolute.
Dianxi asked herself whether she could have done the same thing under those circumstances. She was not even sure that she could.
After listening to Qiao Ran's explanation, Dianxi stood there without saying anything for a long time. Seeing her stiff posture and expression, as though she had been petrified, Qiao Ran's heart pounded nervously. However, after the stalemate lasted a while, Dianxi finally lowered her head and spoke.
"...I... I want to as well..."
Before you continue