The temperature was simply too low, ten or so degrees below zero.
Yan Heqing shivered.
He made quite a racket taking down his tent. Lu Lin raised his wrist slightly to check his watch.
3:12 a.m.
Leaving this early.
Lu Lin's eyelids flickered slightly.
After packing his things, Yan Heqing looked toward the hole he had drilled in the ice that morning. Snow had completely covered it.
But only he knew that beneath the ice and snow was a trap that would collapse underfoot.
He would fall through it, into the icy water.
He had made precise calculations for that hole in the ice.
If Lu Lin failed to save him in time, he could still ensure that he could climb back onto the ice himself.
But the lake water was freezing. No matter what, he could not avoid exposing his body to the cold.
He knew.
But to gain something, he had to give something in exchange.
It was worth it.
Carrying his bucket, Yan Heqing walked steadily toward the hole he had drilled himself.
Then.
Thud!
With a heavy thump, the red bucket fell onto the ice. Two fish spilled out, flopping violently across the surface.
The thin ice shattered, and the slender figure stepped into the hole.
"H-help..."
This was the first time Lu Lin had heard Yan Heqing's voice.
It came with the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
Lu Lin immediately grabbed the rescue rope and rushed out of his tent. The snow had eased considerably. A little red bucket lay on the ice.
Without hesitation, Lu Lin rushed toward the little red bucket. As he drew closer, he saw Yan Heqing caught in the hole, both hands desperately gripping the ice.
The ice cracked and snapped. Lu Lin did not venture any closer.
He stopped and threw the rope precisely toward the hole. "Don't panic. Grab the rope."
The winter lake water was bone-chilling. The instant Yan Heqing fell in, his limbs stopped feeling like his own, going numb and stiff. Even his vision seemed to freeze beneath a layer of mist. He struggled to stay calm and judge where the rope was. When he heard something land to his left, he mustered every bit of strength he could use and reached out with stiff fingers, touching the rope on his first try.
Feeling tension on the other end of the rope, Lu Lin encouraged him, afraid he would lose consciousness midway. "You're doing very well. Now slowly tighten your grip. That's right. Don't be afraid. You'll be all right soon..."
Ice began forming on Yan Heqing's eyelashes, and his vision grew increasingly blurred. He followed Lu Lin's instructions and slowly tightened his grip.
"Very good." Lu Lin continued encouraging him while discreetly pulling the rope. "Hold on tighter. Yes, just like that..."
The boy was astonishingly light. Lu Lin pulled him out of the hole effortlessly, then dragged him a little farther forward. Once he judged that the ice here had not been affected and was thick enough, he dropped his end of the rope and hurried over to Yan Heqing.
The boy lay face down on the ice, his clothes soaked through. Unable to tell what condition he was in, Lu Lin crouched down and placed a hand on his shoulder, first helping him up. "You-"
The next second, the boy raised his head, and a face so pale it had turned purplish came into Lu Lin's view.
Yan Heqing trembled all over, his vision blurred by the cold. Without hesitation, he threw himself into Lu Lin's arms and clutched his collar in a death grip, both lips already frozen a dark blue.
Holding him was like holding a refrigeration unit. Cold kept assailing Lu Lin.
His thin knit shirt soon became soaked as well.
He lifted Yan Heqing with one arm and hurried back to the tent.
It was warm inside the tent. Lu Lin pulled open the thin down blanket and spread it on the ground mat. He was about to set Yan Heqing down when he saw that his eyes were tightly shut, his hands clinging to him, his body shaking violently.
Lu Lin did not forcibly pull Yan Heqing away. He drew the thin blanket over him, then grabbed his phone and called the hospital first. The valley had its own private hospital, right at the foot of the mountain.
After the call, Lu Lin tossed his phone aside, grabbed his insulated flask, and unscrewed the lid. The steaming scent of ginger rose from it. Yan Heqing was not fully conscious, his mouth tightly closed, so Lu Lin forced the boy's lips apart and poured a few mouthfuls of hot ginger soup into his mouth.
After drinking the hot ginger soup, Yan Heqing improved a little. Though he was still in bad shape, his face was no longer so frighteningly pale.
Only while waiting for the ambulance did Lu Lin have time to look Yan Heqing over.
He had performed ice rescues more than once or twice and had encountered anglers falling through holes in the ice several times. This was his first time encountering someone who stayed so calm and cooperative after falling in.
And the boy was only eighteen.
Just then, Yan Heqing murmured a few times and suddenly burrowed hard into Lu Lin's arms, fine beads of cold sweat covering his full forehead. Lu Lin took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the sweat away.
The ambulance arrived twenty minutes later.
Yan Heqing was still in Lu Lin's arms. When the stretcher bearer tried to take him and put him on the stretcher, Lu Lin strode straight into the ambulance.
The stretcher bearer was bewildered. Only after following him into the ambulance did he understand why.
The boy clung tightly to the man. Even the emergency doctor and nurse working together could not pry his fingers loose.
"Examine him first," Lu Lin interrupted them, briefly explaining Yan Heqing's condition.
The doctor nodded and immediately crouched down to examine Yan Heqing.
"No bumps or external injuries." The doctor finished his examination. "For the specifics, we'll have to go back to the hospital for a
comprehensive
examination."
The ambulance siren echoed through the snowy valley. Soon, it sped out of the valley and reached the private hospital at the foot of the mountain.
With several nurses working together, they finally pried loose Yan Heqing's hands from around Lu Lin's waist.
They placed Yan Heqing on a transport trolley.
"Whew." The head nurse was breathless. "Quick, take him for tests."
The other nurses ran off, pushing the trolley.
"Come with me to pay the fees." The head nurse glanced at Lu Lin.
It was minus twelve degrees, and he was wearing only a thin knit shirt. The head nurse felt cold just looking at him.
But Lu Lin's bearing was so imposing that she did not dare look a second time. She left as soon as she had brought him to the payment counter.
The doctor at the payment counter tapped away at the keyboard. "Patient's name."
Lu Lin called Xie Yunjie.
"The name of the bartender at Og."
It was terribly noisy on Xie Yunjie's end. He hurried somewhere quiet. "What?"
Lu Lin asked again.
The doctor at the window stole a glance at Lu Lin.
Xie Yunjie was utterly baffled, but answered first anyway. "Xiao Yan? Yan Heqing..."