He immediately imagined the scene: himself leaning back on the sofa, his feet surely propped up on You Mingxu’s thighs. She would use those delicate, soft fingers to gently massage the soles of his feet. She would be smiling, and he would probably feel wonderful.
Suddenly, he felt a tingling current shoot up from the soles of his feet, through his thighs, and straight into his lower abdomen. He felt a strange swelling sensation that was exciting yet agitating, leaving him somewhat at a loss. Though he didn’t know why, he instinctively understood that this feeling was absolutely something You Mingxu must never know about. So with a slightly flushed face, he continued looking around for people.
After climbing over the mountain, a vast view opened before them—a valley with clusters of green trees and a lake that reflected rippling moonlight on its surface.
You Mingxu’s clothes were soaked with sweat as she stood on the hillside, slightly out of breath, taking in the scene before her with a moment of tranquility. Yin Feng, looking at the view before him, thought this place seemed quite fun. The lake was quite large with lots of water plants, but You Mingxu definitely wouldn’t let him play in the water right now… he thought dejectedly.
As his gaze wandered around the lake, he suddenly froze, pointing at a dark shadow near a large tree. “Ah Xu, is that a person? Or something else?”
You Mingxu, already focused on searching, looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a shadow. Though somewhat distant, they could still see the dark figure move slightly. You Mingxu’s heart tightened, and she immediately made a gesture for Yin Feng to be quiet as they slowly made their way down the mountain to get closer.
Unexpectedly, that person stood there like a wooden post for quite a while, seemingly wiping away tears. Just as You Mingxu and Yin Feng were about to reach the lakeside, the figure suddenly jumped into the lake with a splash.
You Mingxu burst out from the bushes, shouting, “Yin Feng, call for help!” She ran to the lake’s edge in a few steps and jumped in. Yin Feng hadn’t even processed what was happening before both figures disappeared. He suddenly felt terrible and instead of following her instructions to call for help, he ran straight to the lake’s edge, craning his neck to see.
The lake was dark and shadowy. You Mingxu had already dived in to rescue the person, with only a few bubbles remaining on the surface.
Yin Feng felt bewildered and instinctively wanted to jump in, but a thought stopped him: he couldn’t swim.
Damn it, he actually couldn’t swim! How useless was his former self! Not only did he have poor taste in clothes and women, but he hadn’t even learned such a basic skill as swimming!
Then some images flashed through his mind: a man with long limbs and well-proportioned muscles, wearing only swimming trunks and goggles, splashing around in the water, swallowing several mouthfuls. Finally struggling to surface, he managed to grab the pool edge thanks to his long arms. Chen Feng handed him a towel, looking like she wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. The man—himself—gave a cheeky smile, waved it off, jumped out of the water, grabbed a glass of red wine from nearby, and walked away, giving up on learning!
Yin Feng felt extremely frustrated and annoyed, but ultimately could only blame himself!
Just then, there was movement on the water’s surface. Yin Feng’s eyes widened, but he only caught a glimpse of You Mingxu’s face as she surfaced. Her long hair clung wet to her face, which appeared pale in the darkness. She saw him too, and their eyes met briefly before she took a deep breath and dove back in, disappearing.
Yin Feng stood frozen in place. You Mingxu’s image from moments ago flickered before his eyes. A wave of uncomfortable emotions suddenly welled up inside him, and he remembered the time in Tibet when You Mingxu had been knocked down by Gu Tiancheng, with a knife at her throat. He had used the blade she had secretly given him to help everyone escape. Everyone had only thought of saving themselves, and You Mingxu had lain there on the ground, watching them leave with that same calm expression as if nothing mattered.
He decided to jump in!
Yin Feng crouched down, swinging his arms back and forth, preparing for a long jump. But despite his determination, looking at the gleaming water surface made him inexplicably nervous. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and just as he was about to take the plunge, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind him.
Had help arrived?
In the middle of the night in this wilderness, it couldn’t be anyone else. He opened his eyes and turned around eagerly.
Several dark figures emerged from the bushes.
—
Liu Ruyu was already unconscious. You Mingxu held him from behind, struggling to drag him to the surface. The boy had fought desperately in the water earlier, nearly pulling her under. You Mingxu was now exhausted, swimming toward the shore with one hand.
But when she raised her head and saw the scene on the shore, she froze completely.
On the bank, in the moonlight, stood five men wearing black masks. Two of them had forced Yin Feng to his knees, while another stood behind him holding an iron rod. When Yin Feng struggled, the man behind him struck his leg with the rod. Yin Feng let out a low, beast-like groan and remained kneeling without moving.
He raised his head and met You Mingxu’s gaze across the seven or eight meters between them. You Mingxu saw the anger and pain in his eyes, and the tears he was fighting to hold back. Her heart felt as if it had been struck heavily, leaving her momentarily blank.
However, she only paused for a few seconds on the water’s surface before continuing to swim toward the shore with Liu Ruyu, her face expressionless.
The other two men stood to one side. As soon as You Mingxu reached the shore and started pushing Liu Ruyu up, they reached out to pull him onto land.
You Mingxu crawled out herself, lying on the ground and taking several heavy breaths. When she raised her head, the iron rod was already at her throat. Yin Feng stared at her intently and said, “Ah Xu, run quickly.”
You Mingxu remained silent and turned to look. The unconscious Liu Ruyu was already being held by the two men, with a dagger at his throat.
You Mingxu asked, “What do you want?”
The man holding the iron rod said, “Nothing much. It would be best if the young lady didn’t get involved—this has nothing to do with you. This pretty boy stole something from our boss’s home. We’re here to collect the debt.”
Yin Feng’s eyes widened as he said, “You’re talking nonsense! I’ve never stolen anything! I don’t even know you people!”
The man smiled and said, “If I say you stole it, then you stole it. It was our boss’s most precious possession, and you dared to take it.” He glanced at You Mingxu, “It seems you won’t remember without a lesson.”
You Mingxu felt all her muscles slowly tensing, a powerful urge building inside her that might break loose at any moment. But the iron rod above her head and the dagger at Liu Ruyu’s throat were stark reminders of reality.