Everyone stared at Shen Mo in stunned disbelief.

Five minutes.

Staying submerged in a dark, freezing, oxygen-depleted environment for over five minutes — and coming out completely unharmed?!

Shen Mo wiped the water from his face, tossed a bag of plastic bags onto the corridor floor, drew a measured breath, and said, “When I opened the cabinet, everything inside had floated free because of the buoyancy. It’s very dark down there. Finding the plastic bags took some time.”

He paused when he saw everyone still staring at him, then added, “It might have something to do with the fish we just ate. Staying under for a while longer didn’t seem to cause any problems.”

“Is that true?! Let me try!” Tan Xiao waded excitedly into the water and then immediately leaped back out with a full-body shudder. “What the — the water is freezing!”

Shen Mo said, “Warm up first before going in. If your body temperature drops too suddenly, you’re prone to cramping.”

“Oh…” Tan Xiao half-understood and started doing chest-opening and leg-lifting warm-up exercises on the corridor.

Cheng Weicai handed Shen Mo a dry towel. “Go inside and change out of those wet clothes — don’t catch a chill.”

Shen Mo took it and dried himself off a bit, then raised his eyes to look at Bai Youwei in the attic.

She was staring at him, dazed.

He walked up the steps with the towel in hand, studied her face, and asked, “Were you worried?”

Bai Youwei opened her lips: “…A… a little.”

She immediately noticed her tongue and mouth were completely numb — even speaking came out as a stammer.

She had been far more than worried.

She had been afraid. Terrified. Because she could not even imagine what she would do without Shen Mo.

That panic was not only the helplessness of objective, practical circumstances — it was also the collapse of a pillar that held up her whole inner world.

When had it started?… Without her noticing, he had become the irreplaceable one in her heart.

……

Shen Mo reached over and pressed the back of his hand to her cheek.

She was ice cold, colder even than he was after just coming out of the frigid water. The back of her clothes were wet through — drenched in cold sweat.

He was quiet for a moment, then said, “I was going to let you all know, but I was afraid that if I moved, the plastic bags would be even harder to find.”

— Imagine it: searching underwater in complete darkness for a cluster of plastic bags drifting and swaying on the currents.

“I understand…” Bai Youwei took a slow, deliberate breath, trying to ease the stiffness in her body. “Go change your clothes… I… I’m fine.”

“All right.” He placed the towel in her hands and said, “Wipe the sweat off.”

Bai Youwei gripped the towel and gave a small nod.

After Shen Mo went to change, she sat at the attic doorway in a kind of daze for a while. She didn’t know what was going through her mind — perhaps it was emptiness, perhaps it was something she hadn’t consciously registered — but when she came back to herself, she found that Tan Xiao and Yan Qingwen had both changed into dry clothes on the second floor.

Su Man had changed too.

She had shed the cumbersome party dress and changed back into her blouse and jeans, ready to dive with the others.

Apparently having reconsidered — since they would be going underwater again — Shen Mo, who had gone to change, came back still wearing his wet clothes.

The group going underwater this time numbered four.

Shen Mo took Tan Xiao; Yan Qingwen took Su Man. Each pair was fastened together with one rope.

They agreed with Cheng Weicai and Pan Xiaoxin, who were above keeping watch on the ropes: a tug every minute. If the people below were all right, they would tug back as a signal — this way they could confirm everyone’s safety on both ends.

Everything was ready. The four, each carrying a flashlight sealed inside a waterproof plastic bag, slowly submerged into the water…

This time it was longer than five minutes.

Cheng Weicai and Pan Xiaoxin tugged the ropes every minute, and every time they received a response.

Time passed steadily, and no one panicked anymore.

Shen Mo could stay in the water that long alone — that was his natural gift. But this many people, all surpassing five minutes — that confirmed the fish had genuinely worked.

Getting a reward was reason to be happy, but the current crisis was still unresolved. Otherwise this would be a proper occasion to celebrate.

—