The woman was afraid of water.
They said it was because she had once fallen into the water as a child and nearly drowned.
She didn't remember it.
After all, it had happened when she was only six years old.
But the faint fear of water had been deeply etched in her heart ever since.
She instinctively recoiled from water.
It wasn't a big deal that she couldn't swim, anyway.
Now, she suddenly remembered what she had been like back then.
It seemed she had felt the same way.
As a child, she hadn't been able to hold on for long before opening her mouth to gulp for air.
The water, so gentle just moments before, bared its ferocious fangs.
She felt awful.
Snot and tears streamed down her face as she struggled without stopping.
But she couldn't escape the pain.
Her body sank lower and lower.
"Xiao Zhao! Xiao Zhao!"
"Xiao Zhao!"
Someone was shouting.
Someone's voice was choked with tears.
"Xiao Zhao, take a deep breath!"
"Come on, breathe deeply!"
Someone lifted her face.
But everything before her eyes was a blur.
She instinctively tried to do as the voice said, then froze the next second.
Take a deep breath... How?
A tremendous force pushed up against her chin, but she couldn't stop herself from curling up.
She shook her head, struggling to break free of the grip on her chin, and made meaningless sounds.
It hurt. It hurt so much.
Why did it hurt so much?
She couldn't breathe!
Her eyes grew hot.
She was crying.
Suddenly, she felt weightless.
Then she felt something sink beneath her.
Ah, they had laid her on the bed.
It took her a long while to realize what had happened.
But the soft bed brought her little comfort.
She