Chapter 106 Who fell into the water because of self-conceit?

After coming out of the KTV, it started to drizzle. Xu Sirui called two taxis and sent the people he was traveling with back home first. In the end, he was the only one left, sitting alone in the third taxi he had called.

The car was driving on the road, and small round raindrops were moving backwards on the car window.

He held his chin and stared blankly at the traffic light in front of him. He glanced to the side inadvertently and seemed to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure by the south moat through the green belt.

Zhu Yingning was recognized primarily because of her schoolbag. Before the start of her first semester of high school, she'd bought one at a nearby stationery store. Her aesthetics were questionable; she'd discarded the standard styles and opted for a black one with fluorescent yellow accents. From a distance, it looked like a warning sign. Later, Xu Sirui asked her why she'd chosen that design, and she said the fluorescent yellow was bright enough to allow her to walk at night without worrying about getting hit by a car.

Thanks to this strange reason, Xu Sirui easily recognized her in the dark, mainly because he firmly believed that there was no other student in Beijing who was willing to carry a backpack of this style and color.

Didn’t she leave early? Why was she staying by the river instead of going home?

As I was thinking about it, I saw the bright fluorescent yellow change its original standing posture and lie on the ground at a tricky angle.

Xu Sirui didn't want to pay any attention to it, but the fluorescent yellow piece lay on the ground and then became motionless.

...What is she doing?

Listening to the earth? Fell asleep? Fainted? Possessed?

He was so curious and worried that when the light was about to turn green, he finally spoke up and said to the driver, "Just take me here."

"ah?"

Before the driver could react, fifty yuan was thrown into his pocket. Xu Sirui said, "No change needed," opened the car door, got out, and walked to the zebra crossing.

The cold raindrops hung on his face, making it itchy, but he couldn't scratch it because the itch was fleeting and disappeared as soon as he raised his hand.

He felt quite annoyed as he walked towards the river in the drizzling rain.

If that wasn't Zhu Yingning, wouldn't he look foolish rushing over? If that was Zhu Yingning, wouldn't he look even more foolish rushing over? It seemed like no matter what he did, she would laugh at him. Although Zhu Yingning wouldn't laugh at him, and he was judging others by his own standards, he couldn't help but imagine her with devil horns, shaking her head and sneering in his ear.

They are still in the Cold War.

However, after arriving at the destination, Xu Sirui no longer had time to think about these trivial things.

He finally understood why the schoolbag had been lying on the ground for a long time, because Zhu Yingning had thrown the schoolbag on the ground.

She is not here.

Not only was she gone, but her schoolbag, coat... everything that wasn't suitable for the water was left on the shore. These things undoubtedly belonged to her, so even if he wanted to deceive himself and think he had recognized the wrong person, there was nothing he could do.

His heart was beating irregularly in his chest. The uncomfortable and frightened feeling was just like the day when he came home from participating in a variety show in the mountains and Xu Zhengkang told him with a serious face that something had happened at home.

He leaned on the iron railing and looked down. The surface of the river was covered with fine ripples caused by raindrops.

The area was sparsely populated, and most people wouldn't choose to visit the river on a rainy night. After all, strolling in the rain was a taste only enjoyed by a select few, fueled by a little impulse at the right age. Of course, there were no lifeguards, as is often the case with swimming pools. Whenever Xu Sirui went swimming, he always doubted whether the lifeguards could actually swim, as he'd never seen them in the water. But regardless of whether they could swim or not, the presence of a lifeguard at least gave him peace of mind. Now, he didn't even have that tiny bit of peace of mind.

Maybe he should calm down and call the relevant authorities for help.

But he didn't think about anything at the time.

He climbed over by holding onto the guardrail.

**

The first feeling when the river water floods up is cold, freezing cold.

Xu Sirui flapped his wings a few times and steadied himself in the water. All he saw was black, black water and black sky. Except for the occasional fish floating on the surface of the river, there was no sign of any living creature.

He swam around the guardrail a few times in a daze, not caring about any swimming style, as long as he could swim. He called out tentatively: "...Zhu Yingning?" His voice was stiff and cracked from the cold, and his upper and lower teeth chattered together.

No one responded to him. The only sounds in his ears were the sound of raindrops falling into the river and the sound of vehicles' wheels rolling over the puddles on the road in the distance.

His mind was frozen and he thought slowly, could it be that she has sunk to the bottom of the river?

How deep was the river? Two meters? Three meters? Time was of the essence, especially for saving lives. He held his breath and sank down, enduring the pain of his eyeballs being eroded by the water. He opened his eyes underwater, only to find total darkness. Not even a ghost could be seen.

Fear was gradually ignited by the thick darkness. When he poked his head out of the water, he could even imagine the tragic scene of her body being washed downstream by the river.

My hands and body were shaking violently, I didn't know if it was because of the cold or something else.

"Zhu Yingning——" He called out again tentatively, this time the voice was louder and trembling more fragmented and unrecognizable.

Still no one answered.

He suddenly went crazy, cutting through the water and shouting heartbreakingly: "Zhu Yingning, hey Zhu Yingning! Please don't scare me, okay? Where are you?! If you hear me, just answer me! Zhu Yingning!"

Please, even if it's just a weak cry for help, at least let him hear her voice.

Perhaps the heavens heard his prayers and bestowed a measure of mercy upon him. A few seconds later, her voice actually rang out. Muffled by the rain, it didn't ring true. Upon closer listening, it actually came from mid-air: "...Xu Sirui?"

He looked up and saw her standing outside the railing on the shore, looking down at him in shock, as if she couldn't understand why he appeared in the river.

**

After Zhu Zhiwei left, Zhu Yingning lay alone on the guardrail, staring at the swirling river water below him. For a moment, he did have the thought of jumping in.

It wasn't that she wanted to commit suicide, but because of what Zhu Zhiwei had said—she said she felt like she was drowning every day, and sometimes, while walking by the river, she wanted to jump in and end it all. She didn't know how to comfort her, as words seemed especially pale in the face of true pain. She just naively and foolishly hoped that she could jump in for her and try, then tell her that the river was too cold, so cold that it hurt her bones, so please don't jump, okay?

But this thought only lasted for a moment. Zhu Yingning could not do such a thing to trouble others. As soon as she thought that her madness might exploit the kindness of passers-by and cause them to sacrifice their time to rescue her, she completely wilted.

But the pain in her heart was hard to relieve. She wanted to cry loudly, but she couldn't. It seemed that her tears had dried up. The rain replaced the tears and flowed freely on her face, but it couldn't wash away the depression in her internal organs.

Let’s run, she thought.

Running is Zhu Yingning's instinct.

**

She took off her bag and coat, which were in the way, and ran along the river, past the People's Health Building, and ran towards an unknown distance, running until she was exhausted, and finally turned back the same way.

Her mind was empty, with nothing to think about. The rain covered her face, forming a cold mesh that then fell down her face and neck. Her wet shirt clung to her body like a moth's cocoon, tightly wrapping her up and making it difficult to breathe.

After running this lap, she still hadn't figured anything out.

She didn't become stronger, more powerful, or smarter because of running. She was still the same person.

Still so weak, still so dull.

She picked up her schoolbag and coat, planning to go home, shower, and sleep. Just like Scarlett Johansson said at the end of Gone with the Wind, tomorrow is a brand new day. Perhaps a good night's sleep would help her figure it out.

At this moment, she heard someone calling her name like a ghost -

Wishing Yingning.

Zhu Yingning...

Wish Yingning!

The sound was almost like crying.

She followed the sound and saw a person floating in the river.

"...Xu Sirui?"

She gaped, her fingers resting on the railing, her upper body leaning outward. Xu Sirui's presence here was like a game character glitch, respawning on a map that didn't belong to him. She spent a full three seconds absorbing the shock of this sudden, unprepared blow, and another three seconds formulating a reasonable and urgent explanation for the situation—he'd fallen into the water.

He is asking for help.

After regaining her composure, her helpful radar began to buzz, and she yelled at him, "I'm coming right here, don't move, I'm going down to save you now!" Then she kicked off her shoes, threw away the backpack and coat she had just picked up, and jumped nimbly.

thump.

They fell into the river like dumplings, splashing huge water.

When she hurriedly swam to Xu Sirui's side, she found that he was not panicking as someone who fell into the water should be. On the contrary, he floated easily on the water. Although his expression was dazed, he did not show any panic.

"Ah." She stopped moving and floated in front of him, finally reacting a little late, "...So you can swim."

After thinking about it, I became even more confused. "Then why are you staying in the water?"

Yes, why would I be in the water if I had nothing to do? Xu Sirui also wanted to ask.

Should he tell the truth and say that he was being sentimental and thought that she had quarreled with him and jumped into the river out of grief?

Damn, he'd rather die than say that.

The two people stared at each other, their bodies rising and falling as the river surged.

No one knew how much time had passed. Just when Zhu Yingning was about to say, "It's really cold in the river, why don't we go out first," a loud shout suddenly came from the distance: "Hey, hey, hey! You two! What are you doing in the water?! Don't you know you can't swim here?! Don't you know it's raining now?! Are you trying to kill yourself—!"

Following the sound, they saw two patrolling urban management officers holding fluorescent batons, rushing towards them from a distance, like two agile cheetahs.

Swimming is prohibited in this section of the river. If you are caught swimming, you will be fined. Moreover, since they are minors, they might even be taken to their workplace for criticism and education. Xu Sirui was startled by this shouting and completely sobered up. He cursed inwardly, raised his hand to push Zhu Yingning's shoulder, and urged urgently: "Hurry up! Hurry!"

"……oh oh."

Zhu Yingning hadn't figured out the situation yet, and instinctively reached out to climb the guardrail at the edge of the river. After climbing up, he pulled Xu Sirui and dragged him to the shore. The two of them climbed over the guardrail in a panic, with water still pouring down their bodies, and they had to run away.

After running forward a few steps barefoot, she suddenly remembered that her schoolbag, shoes and other things were still there, so she hurried back to get them.

Xu Sirui caught a glimpse of her going back out of the corner of his eye, and was so anxious that he almost vomited blood. Seeing that the urban management was about to catch up, he had no choice but to follow her. The moment she got her schoolbag, shoes and coat, he grabbed her and ran away holding her wrist.

She had her schoolbag and other things tucked under her arm and kept chattering behind him. Sometimes she would chirp, "Xu Sirui, I haven't put on my shoes yet, let me put them on first." Sometimes she would get excited and say, "It's not good for us to run away like this. We have to be punished for doing something wrong. Why don't we go back and sincerely admit our mistakes to the urban management."

This was the first time Xu Sirui saw someone deliberately rushing into the muzzle of a gun. Not only did he not run away from the urban management, but he actually walked into the trap.

"Will you just shut up and run with me!?" he yelled angrily.

"Yes, yes..." They ran to the lawn. Spring grass had no other characteristics, except that it pricked your feet. It was extremely prickly. She grimaced, her expression ferocious, and she gasped with a hiss, wanting to cry but not tears, "But my feet hurt so much."

“…”

Xu Sirui really wanted to ask any deity why every time he and Zhu Yingning met, things always turned out so strangely. Could it be that their zodiac signs were incompatible?

He didn't slow down, but just put his arm around her waist and picked her up sideways.