Before he could take a few more glances, he was enveloped in a soft, warm body, his feet leaving the water and his entire body rising into the air.
The piercing pain dissipated with the cool water, and the warm sunlight shone on him, driving away some of the chill.
The noise around me gradually faded away, replaced by two rapid, alternating heartbeats.
Not just one wave, but two.
One came from Wen He, and the other from Ji Chi.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Wen He opened his mouth but was suddenly hit by a gust of cold air that made his throat itch, and he couldn't help but cough.
"Don't speak...!" Ji Chi gritted his teeth, his lips trembling, and carried the person all the way to the hotel.
Jiang Ye, holding onto the lifebuoy with one hand and Zhang Shengsheng in the other, stood still, watching them disappear into the distance, his heart filled with mixed emotions...
It took me almost half an hour to get there, but only five minutes to leave.
It wasn't until her back touched the cool porcelain jar that Wen He came to her senses.
Ji Chi turned on the tap and rinsed off the mud and sand that had gotten on Wen He's body.
A steady stream of hot water gradually rose from the bottom of the bathtub.
Ji Chi gripped the bathtub with both hands, lowering his head to calm himself...
Almost... so almost, almost the events of my dream would have happened again.
"Didn't I tell you not to go near the river?!"
Ji Chi gritted his teeth and looked up at Wen He. When he met her somewhat bewildered and lost eyes, his heart gradually calmed down and softened.
Why don't you listen?
Wen He's pale face gradually returned to normal under the warm water. Looking at the angry Ji Chi in front of him, he opened his mouth, but the words he wanted to say seemed to be stuck in his chest, heavy and suffocating. In the end, he closed his mouth and remained silent.
The grievances in his heart overflowed like warm water from a bathtub, sliding down and splashing all over Ji Chi's sneakers.
Ji Chi's face was filled with anger and frustration.
He was angry because he knew this would happen, yet he still let the other person approach the river.
I regret not staying by his side, I regret being so harsh with him... even though he was the victim...
Finally, the anger that had been building up in his chest transformed into a fist, which he slammed into the pool.
Water splashed all over Wen He's face. Wen He tried to reach out and grab Duan Yueyang's fingertips, her left hand gripping the rock tightly, but she couldn't overcome the other's struggle. In the end, the two clasped fingertips were washed away by the flowing water.
"Help!"
" Shengsheng!"
" Xiao He!" Jiang Ye quickly jumped into the water and ran towards Wen He. Amidst Wen He's shocked shout, he turned his head to look at Zhang Shengsheng in the center of the pool, the person closest to him.
Jiang Ye swam straight to the center of the pool, trying to pull Zhang Shengsheng out, but the other person struggled too hard, and Jiang Ye also swallowed some river water. Wei Xun went to help.
Xie Zhengci had already swum towards Duan Yueyang's direction earlier.
Zhou Siyu, pale-faced, collapsed on the riverbank, still reeling from the accident. The staff around her rushed to her rescue and led her away from the pool.
One by one, lifebuoys were tossed into the clearest, yet most dangerous, pool in the center.
Wen He clung tightly to the rocks with both hands, a tearing pain shooting through her right hand.
They couldn't stop it... Why couldn't they stop the Yangyang... Why did this happen...!
Suddenly, water splashed around her, and droplets of water spread across Wen He's cool face.
As her fingertips touched that warmth, Wen He He's hands were firmly held against her chest, and the fishy smell at the tip of her nose was replaced by a warm sensation...
Is it Ji Chi?
Wen He looked up, her gaze unfocused, towards the other person's jawline, then down to the prominent Adam's apple, and a small black mole on the left side...
I'd never noticed it before, but now, bathed in the moisture, it's all the more apparent.
Ji Chi withdrew his hand. The little figure in the mirror raised its head, its face deathly pale, and even its round eyes became vacant, making it look like it was terrified.
He turned and walked towards the door, saying softly, "Wash yourself clean..."
Wen He stared at the other person's slightly disheveled figure, and her calm heart was stirred at this moment.
Ji Chi's lower body was completely soaked. He stood on the balcony, half of his body leaning against the railing, and took out his phone to call his assistant.
Wen He looked at the constantly gushing warm water, and with trembling hands, she reached out and turned off the tap.
A sudden itch in his throat made him cough loudly, and red blood splattered on the water's surface before finally dissipating.
Wen He's mind went blank. He slowly climbed out of the bathtub, his clothes soaked in warm water.
He struggled to stand up straight; his knees were scraped and swollen. He took off his clothes and turned on the shower to wash away the chill.
My mind began to replay the last scene of leaving the riverbank.
It seems that Yangyang was rescued by President Xie...?
Ten minutes later, he stood in the bathroom, at a loss.
His dirty clothes were thrown into the bathtub, and he had no clothes to wear.
There were bath towels on the shelf, but they were clearly used.
He called out softly, " Ji Chi... Ji Chi, are you still there?"
No sound... not outside?
Wen He turned on the heater in the bathroom and called Ji Chi over and over again.
Even after the water droplets on my body had completely dried, there was still no response from outside.
He glanced down at the towels on the shelf, then looked away, a surge of pent-up frustration welling up inside him. A wave of pain washed over him in his knees, stinging his eyes...
Tears fell one by one to the ground.
Wen He picked up the clothes from the bathtub, intending to wring them out and put them on, but found that her right arm ached terribly when she exerted any force.
The boy stood helplessly in the bathroom, the dirty clothes piled on the floor slowly absorbing the tears that fell on him.
" Wen He?"
There was a knock on the bathroom door; it was Ji Chi's voice...
Wen He leaned against the glass, trying to hide herself, and responded to the doorway with choked sobs.
"I am here..."
Ji Chi felt uneasy listening to the slightly muffled and trembling voice.
"I've come in?!"
The bathroom door wasn't locked, Ji Chi pushed it open and entered. Wen He hid behind the inner glass partition, covering her private parts with her hand...
A layer of condensation clung to the glass, obscuring everything except for a smudged white mass. Ji Chi placed the paper bag on the sink and then left.
Wen He, his ears red, stepped out from behind the glass and quickly took the clothes from the paper bag and put them on.
The clothes inside were what he left in the tent... Did Ji Chi go back? No wonder he wasn't outside when I called him earlier.
Wen He took a soft breath to calm himself down. He used cool water to wash away the tear stains at the corners of his eyes, trying to make himself look less disheveled.
He pushed open the bathroom door and saw Ji Chi wearing a bathrobe, leaning against the sofa, his hair still wet and dripping water, looking like he had just washed it. He was also holding a bottle of iodine and studying it.
Hearing the Ji Chi, Ji Chi looked up at the other person. Their wet hair was limp and stuck to their head, and their nose and the corners of their eyes were red. It was clear at a glance that the other person had been through something.
Did you cry?