At eleven PM, the rescue team arrived at Beiji Island.

Beiji Island was located directly north of Haidu Port, with substantial fish farming operations surrounding the island.

For transportation convenience, docks were built on both the island’s north and south sides.

In recent years, the vacation trend of private islands as secluded paradises had emerged, and Beiji Island had opportunistically developed premium customized tours, specifically providing sea fishing services for angling enthusiasts.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. Due to inadequate service resources and substandard environmental facilities, tourist numbers gradually dwindled. Slowly, only devoted fishing enthusiasts like Old Shen, who didn’t mind sleeping under the open sky, would still charter boats to come here.

The rescue team captain was very familiar with these waters. Spotting Beiji Island in the distance, he called to the sailors to prepare for docking.

“When Beiji Island first developed tourism, I brought my wife and son here. Unfortunately, the water quality in these coastal waters wasn’t suitable for developing marine projects like those in Sanya or Qingdao.” The rescue captain gripped the railing, gazing at Beiji Island blending into the night. “Without clear, transparent water, you can’t do snorkeling. The surrounding waters have many undercurrents, and deeper areas are unsafe for diving – it’s only suitable for fishing.”

“My child didn’t like it either, thought the fishy smell by the shore was too strong. Basically, everyone who came to Beiji Island was deceived by tourist brochures. Unless they were fishing fanatics, visitors wouldn’t return for a second time.” He sighed, continuing: “Later, as tourist numbers decreased, boats couldn’t find business and gradually stopped taking jobs.”

He lightly gripped Ji Qinghe’s shoulder reassuringly: “Don’t worry too much. If the old gentleman comes here regularly, he’s probably on the island now waiting for a boat to pick him up.”

His intention was to tell Ji Qinghe that Beiji Island had once been a tourist attraction, with surrounding waters relatively stable and safe compared to other areas.

But being tongue-tied, after talking for so long without getting to the point, he simply gave up.

The rescue team’s boat docked at the southern pier of Beiji Island, leaving only the captain and two sailors while everyone else, including Ji Qinghe, disembarked to conduct a carpet-style search along the coastline gradually moving toward the island’s center.

Night was high tide time.

Seawater rolled onto the beach, pounding rocks and pebbles, creating wave after wave of tidal sounds.

Beiji Island retained many abandoned amusement facilities, with broken tables and chairs piled under trees. This was just after landing – going deeper, the path revealed dilapidated cabins long in disrepair and neglected public restrooms.

Under flashlight beams, these once-prosperous facilities resembled discarded toys – old and decaying.

Moving deeper, they gradually saw some island buildings and steps made of reef stones. Occasionally, flashlight beams from nearby could be glimpsed through the forest, mixed with unknown insect chirping and bird calls, creating eerie sounds.

The captain couldn’t help sighing: “In just a few short years, Beiji Island has become so desolate.”

Ji Qinghe looked up slightly, his gaze falling on a wooden cabin ahead. The cabin had very faint candlelight, like a tiny firefly glowing quietly.

He asked: “Is anyone living on Beiji Island?”

“Yes.” The captain pushed aside branches hanging in front of him, warning teammates to watch for mosquitoes, snakes, and ants while saying: “There’s always been an old man in his sixties or seventies watching the island. He doesn’t live on the island permanently – during fishing moratoriums he takes leave to return to town for drinks with friends.”

“Isn’t it fishing moratorium time now?” Ji Qinghe’s gaze fixed on the candlelight moving closer to a window. He smiled slightly, directing his flashlight straight toward the row of low buildings ahead: “Let’s check there.”

After finishing her meeting, Shen Qianzhan sat in the wicker chair on the balcony.

The cramped, stifling air and smoke smell indoors made her feel utterly disgusted, like being trapped in a glass bottle full of swamps, with miasma and poisonous fog burning and scorching, making it impossible to stay even a moment longer.

The night was deep and quiet, with gentle breezes.

She lay in the wicker chair, looking up at the night sky.

Tonight’s sky wasn’t beautiful – like ink-washed patches, heavy and unevenly distributed.

In the distance, dark clouds seemed to press down, brewing an approaching storm.

Nearby, within her sight, neon lights flashed – this city’s nightlife remained completely unaffected.

But none of this prevented her from continuing to gaze at the night sky.

After a busy day, this moment of quiet felt stolen, making every minute and second precious.

She emptied a corner of her mind, reviewing this chaotic day torn open by phone ringtones.

As she thought, her heart involuntarily calmed.

Gradually, her eyelids drooped, slowly closing. Somehow, carried by the night’s cool breeze, she fell asleep.

In her dream, Shen Qianzhan was awakened by phone ringing.

When she opened her eyes, she was lying alone on the hotel’s large bed.

On the phone screen, the four words “Mother Dearest” were glaringly prominent, instantly awakening some unpleasant memories.

Shen Qianzhan answered the phone. As if already knowing what had happened at home, she immediately asked: “Where’s Old Shen? Still no contact?”

The sob that had reached Shen’s mother’s lips was swallowed back. She asked in surprise: “How did you know?”

Events unfolded exactly as she had anticipated, repeating themselves at this moment.

Shen Qianzhan held the phone between her ear and shoulder while changing clothes, asking hastily: “Where did Old Shen go fishing?”

“Beiji Island.” Shen’s mother sobbed quietly, pleading in a low voice: “Deng Deng, you can’t abandon your father. Think of something quickly.”

Shen Qianzhan gripped her phone and stepped out of the room. In her urgency, she didn’t notice the scene before her suddenly changed to the harbor.

Standing in front of her was a rescue team captain whose features couldn’t be clearly seen.

The captain had a loud voice and was gripping the boat’s rigging rope, urging her to hurry aboard: “If you’re any later, my boat will leave.”

Shen Qianzhan repeatedly apologized. She stepped on the wooden plank, jumped onto the boat, and followed the rescue team out to sea to save Old Shen.

From dawn to dusk, all she could see was the lone boat and blazing sun.

On the vast ocean, besides a few seagulls, not even a passing fishing boat was visible.

Puzzled, she leaned against the mast and asked the captain: “Didn’t they say there were many commercial vessels in the waters around Beiji Island? How come we haven’t seen a single one after traveling so long?”

The captain bit his cigarette, glancing at her sideways: “Who told you that?”

She suddenly couldn’t remember the name, as if an eraser had completely wiped away all traces of his existence. She clearly remembered such a person had existed, but everything about him was obscured by thick fog, hazy and unclear.

She immediately felt alarmed, with a subconscious feeling that she had forgotten someone very important and precious.

But no matter how she searched through her memories, this person remained like ethereal morning mist, leaving her only with a shadow so faint it would disappear instantly under sunlight.

Suddenly, day and night reversed abruptly.

A storm arose at sea, with fierce winds whipping up waves that rocked the boat like a fallen leaf floating on water.

Shen Qianzhan stumbled several times, falling onto the deck and getting soaked by oncoming waves.

The cabin deck immediately became chaotic.

In the wind and waves, lanterns hanging on steel wires were knocked down by huge waves, and the entire ship creaked under the wave walls, nearly breaking apart.

Just then.

A sailor spotted a small boat in the distance being pushed toward them by waves. It was so tiny, like a simple bamboo raft bobbing up and down in the waves.

So, facing the giant waves, some salvaged while others rescued. Soft ropes and rope ladders were thrown down from the ship’s side all at once.

Finally, that bamboo raft was pushed by waves right before them.

Only then did everyone discover that this seemingly fragile raft remained majestically unmoved in the wind and rain.

The man stood tall and elegant under the sail, as if possessing the power to control waves, walking on solid ground in the turbulent waters.

He looked up, his gaze precisely finding Shen Qianzhan standing at the bow, and smiled calmly: “I’ve come to get you.”

He extended his hand, his slender fingers seemingly magical, enticing her to walk forward step by step.

She climbed onto the ship’s rail, looking down at the young man in the storm’s center who, like a deity, could command the four seas. Beyond his bamboo raft’s small space, waves towered like walls, swallowing the endless darkness on the sea.

He smiled, his gaze serene, nodding slightly to her: “Still don’t trust me?”

Seawater splashed, scattered by wind, and the spray hit her face.

She was surrounded by the sound of rain falling into the sea, completely soaked.

She looked at him, as if bewitched, leaping from the bow straight into his arms.

In the weightless sensation of rapid descent, he reached out, steadily catching her in his embrace. The wind and wave sounds in her ears instantly receded. He looked down, seemingly reproachful, his voice slightly heavy: “I said I’d bring Uncle back. Why did you still go to sea?”

“I was worried about Dad.” Her heart was concerned about Old Shen, anxious and restless.

A giant whale leaped from the sea surface, its call like a cosmic flute, ethereal and profound.

She turned to look.

To her shock, she saw Old Shen struggling and calling for help in the huge waves. Her face lost all color, and just as she was about to rescue him, phone ringing pierced through the fog, persistent and unending.

Shen Qianzhan suddenly awakened.

She opened her eyes to see street lamps not far away, their dim yellow light illuminating torrential rain exactly like the downpour in her dream.

She was dampened by water vapor drifting onto the balcony, completely wet. The wind made her feel bone-chillingly cold.

Shen Qianzhan got up to get her phone.

The ringing had stopped, but the screen was still lit, showing a missed call from an unfamiliar number.

Just as she wondered who had called, her phone vibrated with several incoming messages—

“No signal on the island, borrowed a star to tell you.”

“Uncle found, trapped on Beiji Island. Uninjured, all safe.”

“Storm at sea, cannot return tonight. Rescue team decided to stay on Beiji Island overnight, returning tomorrow morning.”

Shen Qianzhan’s suspended heart finally settled.

She read these three messages repeatedly, her fingertip gently tracing the screen, about to reply something.

Her phone vibrated slightly as Ji Qinghe sent another message using this “star”—

“Carrying a lantern into dreams. Tonight the light won’t go out – come to my dreams.”