He really wasn't dead

"I'm telling you for the last time, I won't... what's that noise?" An Shi was arguing with An Ning when he suddenly heard a commotion in the crowd.

A girl was clearly frightened and shouted to everyone:

"Someone fell overboard! Somebody help!"

Some people called for a lifeguard, while others shouted for someone to ask the captain to slow down, afraid that if the ship sailed too far away, the people in the water would be as good as dead.

An Shi knew his instincts had always been accurate and rushed to the railing.

The ship had already put some distance between itself and them. Fortunately, they had fallen from the first deck, so the drop hadn't been very high.

William was grappling with someone in the water. Lin Xingye watched anxiously from nearby, but never mind helping-he had already swallowed who knew how many mouthfuls of water.

An Shi knew the limits of his swimming ability. He had wanted to get a lifeguard to help, but none of them had arrived. With no other choice, he grabbed a lifebuoy and jumped in.

"Gah! Who was it? Fuck!" Lin Xingye was on the verge of cursing someone's mother. He had been peacefully admiring the view when some bastard shoved him from behind.

Like a diver who had failed to make the team, he had plunged into the water in a way no one should have to witness.

Fortunately, no one had seen it, or he would have died of embarrassment.

If William hadn't insisted on swimming over and hauling him up, he might have sunk.

No matter what, I must leave this world with my dignity intact.

Where's my phone? Where's my phone?!

What's covering me?!

"Stop yelling! Grab on!"

Before An Shi could even swim over to him, his noise was already driving him mad. At a time like this, he still had the leisure to worry about those things!

As Lin Xingye struggled, he realized he was floating. Looking at An Shi, whose hair was soaked through, he was moved almost to tears. "An An..."

Some bastard pushed me, boohoo.

A real man is made of tofu. Now I'm a man you can wring water out of, too.

An Shi took his hand and placed it on the lifebuoy. "Star, hold on tight. Don't let go!"

Knowing that An Shi was going to help William, Lin Xingye nodded vigorously and gripped the lifebuoy, unwilling to cause them any more trouble now.

Moving underwater was difficult. The man clung tightly to William, acting like a shameless thug who knew he couldn't win a fight and had decided they might as well die together.

William squeezed his neck hard, tightening his fingers, his gaze vicious. "What, you followed me all the way here? Who sent you?"

The man wrenched his hand away and lunged at him with a savage grin. "Go die-glub, glub!"

Thud!

The sound of the blow underwater was heavy and muffled.

The man let go in pain, curling up with his face twisted.

An Shi pulled William backward through the water. This was hardly a good time for a fight.

"Do you know him?" He swept his soaked bangs back. Beneath his high nose, his thin lips had turned pale from the cold, and his usually cool face finally showed some emotion.

William shook his head.

As if he knew the man.

Before they could breathe a sigh of relief, the surface of the water rippled slightly.

Not good, An Shi thought. The man had submerged and was swimming rapidly toward Lin Xingye.

He even knew to pick on the easiest target.

From Lin Xingye's perspective, a dark shape was speeding toward him.

Sweet mother of mercy.

Please don't be a big shark.

The moment the dark shape approached his feet, fear made him kick out hard.

I'm dead either way. Eat my kick, you shark bastard!

He didn't feel any sharp shark teeth, but he couldn't tell what he had kicked, either. Was it the shark's skin? Wasn't that supposed to feel smooth?

Bubbles rose with a gurgle from beneath the calm water in front of him.

Don't tell me that was a person.

Please don't.

An Shi: ...

William was showing off fancy swimming moves, looking utterly relaxed. "Wow, Lin, you're pretty good~"

In keeping with the principle of saving lives, An Shi still fished the unconscious man out of the water.

The ship was also heading back toward them.

"Are you all right?" Cheng Yu arrived first in a lifeboat and helped pull them aboard. "What happened?"

The moment Lin Xingye climbed aboard, he started cursing. "I don't know which bast-cough, I don't know who pushed me. As for William, I have no idea."

William let his shirt hang open. It was already soaked and had been pulled apart during the underwater fight, leaving his perfect eight-pack generously on display before them.

Before Lin Xingye could say a word, someone covered his eyes.

Lin Xingye: ?

What's wrong? I deserve to see this!

He pried Cheng Yu's hand away. Cheng Yu looked deeply aggrieved. "Star, wasn't feeling me up enough for you?"

Lin Xingye: !

What are you saying?! What are you saying in front of everyone?!

William looked amused and let out two chuckles loaded with meaning.

An Shi couldn't be bothered with him. He checked the man's pulse, afraid he might have drowned.

"This guy probably came for me. As for the person who pushed you, I caught a glimpse of him from behind." William recalled the figure he had seen fleeing in a panic. "I think it was a man."

"He was wearing a blue jacket. I think his pants were white. Black hair, a buzz cut."

He described the person he had glimpsed in that chaotic moment as carefully as he could.

Saving people had been his priority at the time, so he hadn't gotten a clear look at the man.

But plenty of people were wearing colorful clothes that day, making him hard to distinguish.

The hairstyle might have been easier to identify, except that looks competitions had recently become popular online, and many young men had gotten buzz cuts to prove themselves.

They had seen quite a few just the day before.

Cheng Yu felt a headache coming on. If they couldn't find this man, he would remain a hidden danger in their midst.

"Huang Dao?" A name flashed through Lin Xingye's mind. "Isn't he Hu Kai's close friend?"

Hearing that Lin Xingye had a suspect in mind, An Shi thought back to the people he had seen that day and confirmed his guess. "It was him. I saw him today."

William whistled beside them. "An, you actually remembered?"

An Shi turned his cold face toward him, his voice equally cool. "Thank you?"

This discovery strengthened Lin Xingye's doubts about Qin Ke's "death." Anyone connected to Hu Kai would certainly have had a chance to come into contact with Qin Ke.

Just as I thought, he isn't dead!

He might be hiding somewhere right now, waiting to ambush me.

Li Hanwen's disappearance must have something to do with him.

At the thought that those two might be hiding somewhere, enjoying themselves as they waited to watch him suffer, the dark thoughts in his heart bubbled over like boiling broth, impossible to contain.

William watched the three of them fall silent, each lost in his own thoughts, and felt rather like the only sober man among a drunken trio.

What's going on? Do you have some way of communicating behind my back?

Unwilling to let the silence continue, William tugged at Cheng Yu. "How did you get here so quickly?"

At that, Cheng Yu's expression darkened. "It was really strange. As soon as I noticed you'd fallen overboard, I went to get help, but all the lifeguards suddenly came down with diarrhea, one after another.

"There was no one to help, so I took a lifeboat out myself."

There's no way that's a coincidence.

Someone must be pulling strings behind the scenes!

William's expression was unreadable, and a wicked smile curved his lips. "Who do you think they're after?"

An Shi glanced at him. "You're implying something."

"Well, you all look like you've got something on your minds~" He smiled innocently and spread his hands helplessly. "I don't know anything at all."

Lin Xingye's brow twitched. Right. Since they couldn't find anything, why not let William try?

"No!"

Cheng Yu suddenly spoke, then went pale. Damn it, I said that out loud.

Lin Xingye: ?

William pulled a miserable face. "I didn't even ask anything. That really hurts my feelings."

Pretending to be upset, he tried to lean his head on An Shi's shoulder beside him, but An Shi raised a hand to hold him off.

William caught his trembling arm, his expression turning serious. "An?"