Four Seas

Under the cover of night, the ancient alley was bathed in moonlight, silent and still.

The two, who had just escaped death, walked silently one after the other in the night.

“You…” Sang Qi turned around and suddenly froze.

Lu Min emerged from the narrow alley, his face pale, his arm slashed open with blood.

"You're injured!" Sang Qi rushed over to support Lu Min's bleeding arm.

Lu Min smiled and said, "It's a minor injury, a bandage will do."

"I'll take you to see a doctor."

As Sang Qi spoke, he took out tissues from his pocket and folded several layers of tissues to cover the bleeding wound. However, the tissues were instantly soaked with blood as soon as they were placed on the wound.

At this moment, Lu Min's face was pale and bloodless, clearly indicating excessive blood loss. Sang Qi didn't waste any more words and helped the injured Lu Min to find a clinic.

Seeing Sang Qi's nervous expression, Lu Min couldn't help but smile.

………

Nighttime, at the hospital.

Sang Qi sat on a white bench in the hospital corridor, her head against the wall, and fell asleep.

She hadn't had a good rest these past few days, and with today's series of thrilling escapes, she was almost completely exhausted, both mentally and physically.

Now that she has a slight chance to catch her breath and rest, she falls asleep.

As soon as Lu Min came out after getting his stitches done, he saw Sang Qi sitting and asleep.

He didn't wake Sang Qi, but carefully draped his coat over her shoulders and then sat quietly beside her.

Lu Min tried to make all his movements as light as possible.

He knew that she was just a young girl, and this was the first time she had encountered something so dangerous. She must have been terrified and needed to rest. So he sat down next to Sang Qi and stayed by her side, letting her sleep peacefully for a little while.

Lu Min couldn't help but turn his head to look at Sang Qi when she was fast asleep. Under the cold white light, Sang Qi's skin looked even whiter, and her lips appeared very pale, lacking any color.

Her eyes were closed quietly, her long, narrow eyelashes like soft feathers casting a light shadow. There was little sound around; it was very quiet. Lu Min could only hear Sang Qi's soft breathing.

Lu Min suddenly laughed. He found the scene exceptionally beautiful. For a moment, he wished the night could last indefinitely, because only then could he stay by Sang Qi's side and preserve this beautiful moment.

………

About ten minutes later, a patient was hurriedly pushed through the corridor by medical staff, making a loud noise. Sang Qi was awakened by the chaotic and hurried footsteps.

She was in a dazed, half-asleep state, just after waking up.

"woke up?"

Sang Qi turned her head to look at Lu Min, staring at him intently, trying hard to wake herself up from her lazy sleepiness.

"Did I sleep for a long time?"

"Soon, just over ten minutes."

Sang Qi rubbed his temples: "Why didn't you wake me up?"

Lu Min smiled but didn't say anything.

"By the way, how's your hand?"

Lu Min glanced at his injured hand: "It's alright, you won't be crippled."

"..."

……………

It was quite late when we got back to the guesthouse, but there were still quite a few guests drinking and chatting in the common area, and a few were even playing guitar and singing, creating a great atmosphere.

When Zaxi saw Lu Min return with his injuries bandaged, he asked in surprise, "What did you do?"

Lu Min raised his injured arm and said nonchalantly, "There was a little accident, just a minor injury."

Zaxi looked at Sangqi, who had returned with him, with a puzzled expression. Sangqi shrugged and remained silent.

Lu Min took out a cigarette case from his pocket. When Sang Qi saw it, he said unhappily, "You should smoke less. You're injured and you're still smoking like this."

Lu Min scoffed, pretending not to hear, and continued to take out a cigarette and light it.

Seeing him like this, Sang Qi sighed helplessly, too lazy to pay him any attention, and went upstairs.

After going upstairs to her room, Sang Qi first took a shower. When she came out of the shower, she heard a knock on the door.

Upon opening the door, Lu Min was there.

"Why did you come to me instead of going home to rest after you got injured?"

Lu Min squinted at her, his gaze casual: "I just wanted to see you."

"..."

"What? Is it not allowed?" His voice sounded slightly hoarse.

"Fine." Sang Qi gritted her teeth. After all, he had saved her tonight and had done her a favor. She couldn't very well keep him at arm's length with a dark expression.

"Then let me come in and have a seat." Lu Min raised his chin.

Sang Qi made way for him.

Lu Min lazily sat down on the sofa, watching Sang Qi walk from the doorway to him, and said with a half-smile, "Do you know how uncomfortable you made me today in that narrow alley?"

Sang Qi's face was a little stiff.

Seeing that Sang Qi didn't speak, Lu Min smiled and said, "What are you doing? You're not a child anymore. Can't we talk about things that adults should talk about?"

"..."

"Not again." Lu Min disliked Sang Qi's indifferent attitude towards him; it was utterly uninteresting.

"Alright, alright, I'm not kidding anymore." Lu Min's playful tone and smile faded, and he asked seriously, "Have you offended someone?"

"Hmm?" Sang Qi blinked her big eyes at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm asking you a question." Lu Min chuckled.

Sang Qi shrugged: "Who can I possibly offend?"

Lu Min's eyes darkened as he pondered, "That shouldn't be the case. Those people who came to arrest you were obviously thugs involved in organized crime. You haven't messed with any gangsters, so they wouldn't target you for no reason."

This is also something that puzzles Sang Qi.

"I bet you were targeted as soon as you arrived in Lijiang," Lu Min said.

"Huh? That can't be right." Sang Qi couldn't believe it.

Lu Min pursed his lips, seemingly deep in thought.

The car following us at Lijiang Airport, the stalking in Lijiang Old Town, the snake at the Snow Mountain Inn, and the thugs tonight.

From beginning to end, all these things were aimed at Sang Qi, and they followed him all the way from Lijiang to Shangri-La.

Thinking of this, Lu Min couldn't help but look at Sang Qi with a deep gaze.

"Sang Qi, oh Sang Qi, what have you done or what secrets are you hiding?" Lu Min thought to himself.

Seeing Lu Min's strange look, Sang Qi awkwardly touched her neck and asked, "What exactly happened?"

Lu Min asked again, "Are you sure you haven't offended anyone? Or have any of your family members had any grudges against anyone?"

Seeing that Lu Min's expression was serious and not like he was joking, Sang Qi became inexplicably nervous.

“No.” She pondered for a moment. “I’ve been abroad for the past few years and have had almost no contact with people in China. As for my family, I don’t have a father, and my mother passed away two years ago. She didn’t have any enemies before she died.”

This left Lu Min bewildered, his eyes seeming to be veiled by a thin mist.

"Am I in danger?" Sang Qi seemed to have realized the seriousness of the situation.

Lu Min gave a muffled "hmm".

Sang Qi gasped, "Are they here to kill me?"

"It's still unclear." Lu Min frowned.

It is the unknown danger that is frightening.

"So what should we do now?" Sang Qi asked.

Lu Min relaxed his brows, his gloom dispelled, and looked steadily at Sang Qi: "What can we do? Let nature take its course."

"ah?"

"Now that the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, we can only react to their moves as they come," Lu Min said.

That makes sense, so Sang Qi could only nod.

"Alright, I won't disturb your rest any longer." Lu Min stood up.

"Wait a minute," Sang Qi called out to him.

"What?" Lu Min turned around.

Sang Qi thought for a moment and said, "When we first met, weren't those people following our car? That's why we drove to the countryside to shake them off."

Lu Min just said that she was being watched as soon as she arrived in Lijiang. The first thing that came to mind was the day she arrived in Lijiang, when Lu Min sped into the wilderness, as if he was deliberately shaking off someone.

Lu Min chuckled, "You just realized that?"

“…Indeed.” Sang Qi said helplessly, “I thought you were going to…”

Lu Min sneered: "Did you think I'd lure you to some desolate wilderness to rape you?"

Sang Qi nodded honestly.

Lu Min chuckled and poked Sang Qi's head with his finger: "Am I really that unlike a good person?"

Sang Qi nodded obediently.

"...Fine, I wasn't a good person to begin with anyway."

"Good to know," Sang Qi muttered.

Lu Min glanced at Sang Qi and smiled, "If I wanted to sleep with you back then, I would have done it in the car. There was no need to go through all that trouble to go to the wilderness."

"..."

"However... field combat is also possible."

"..."

...

A few days later, it was a cloudy day with strong winds and heavy dark clouds.

Looking out the window from the second floor at the sky above the ancient city, the view was gloomy and somewhat oppressive.

The wind was a bit chilly, so Sang Qi closed the window and listlessly lay back on the bed to play on her phone.

The original plan was to go to Napa Lake today, but Lu Min had to rest for a while due to an accidental injury.

Lu Min rested and recovered at the inn, eating his fill and then lying in bed, not going anywhere. Sang Qi was also extremely bored these past few days because someone wanted to capture her, so she didn't dare to go out into the ancient city alone and could only stay in her room by herself.

Lu Min anticipated that Sang Qi would be bored, so he knocked on her door and said to her, "Come downstairs for tea and a chat when you have nothing to do. Don't stay cooped up in your room all day."

At first, Sang Qi was somewhat resistant, as she felt she had a slight case of social anxiety. But when she was extremely bored, she decided to go downstairs for a walk.

Yunnan, the land of colorful clouds, Shangri-La, is the sun and moon in the hearts of many, as well as poetry and distant places.

This secluded Tibetan paradise nestled on the plateau attracts travelers from all over the world. Here, Sangqi has seen many different kinds of travelers and tourists.

In the public area on the first floor, she did nothing but sit quietly in the corner, listening to the men and women around her chatting about everyday life or sharing their travel stories.

Most of them were strangers to each other, and they only came together because they stayed at the same inn. This was somewhat of a coincidence, so they could chat freely.

Sang Qi found this relationship quite wonderful; even if you are a lonely traveler, at this moment, there is someone you can share your emotions with.

The public area becomes truly lively at night.

After dinner, back in the guest room, Sang Qi sat alone in a corner of the common area, drinking a fruit wine and cocktail with low alcohol content. They were sweet with a hint of alcohol and tasted quite good.

Sitting next to her were several young men and women; the men were all ugly, while the women were all incredibly hot.

Their conversation almost exclusively revolved around topics like romantic encounters, one-night stands, and relationships. Sang Qi wasn't interested in this and didn't listen attentively.

She sat lazily by herself for a while, then wanted to go back to her room. Just as she stood up, she was bumped into by someone running past her and stumbled.

Sang Qi was almost knocked over, but luckily the boy next to her helped her up and kept her steady.

She came to her senses, and the boy quickly let go of her hand, smiling shyly: "Sorry, I just wanted to help you up."

Upon seeing this, Sang Qi smiled politely and said, "It's nothing."

The boy was tall and thin, fair-skinned, wore glasses, and had a scholarly air about him, like a recent college graduate.

"Are you alone?" Sang Qi asked, taking the initiative to speak.

“Yes, alone.” His face seemed to flush slightly.

Sang Qi thought this boy was even shyer than the girl; in school days, this kind of boy was the cutest.

"Judging from your appearance, are you a recent graduate?"

He nodded honestly: "I'm graduating this year and I'm planning to go back to my hometown to take the civil service exam."

"Taking the civil service exam is a good idea."

"And what about you?" he asked, as if he had mustered up his courage.

"I just graduated too."

The boy's eyes lit up, and he suddenly asked enthusiastically, "Which university did you go to?"

“...Just an ordinary university, nothing to mention,” Sang Qi replied vaguely.

She doesn't like to talk about her university or academic qualifications, whether she mentions it voluntarily or when answering questions. She feels embarrassed about it.

The boy was tactful; seeing Sang Qi's answer, he didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he changed the subject and asked, "Are you alone too?"

"I……"

At this moment, Sang Qi couldn't help but think of Lu Min.

I still remember when we were in Baisha Ancient Town, she went drinking alone and someone hit on her. Someone asked her if she was alone, and she said yes. Then Lu Min appeared. That scene is something Sang Qi still can't forget.

Can you hear me?

Sang Qi, who had been lost in thought, was about to speak when suddenly an arm was draped over her shoulder.

Sang Qi felt a weight on her shoulder and turned her head to look, only to see Lu Min leaning towards her.

Lu Min saw Sang Qi chatting with a male college student from afar, and she even had a smile on her face.

He frowned slightly, his face showing displeasure, and a pang of sadness began to rise in his heart. So, he walked over and broke their conversation.

Lu Min suddenly put his arm around Sang Qi's shoulder, and Sang Qi shoved him, but he pressed his hand firmly on Sang Qi's shoulder, making it impossible for her to push him away.

“You…” Sang Qi glared at him.

The boy was somewhat bewildered by Lu Min and Sang Qi's behavior.

Lu Min raised an eyebrow: "She's not alone, I'm her team leader."

"Oh, I thought she was alone like me." The boy laughed awkwardly.

Sang Qi pushed Lu Min away forcefully: "Why are you standing so close to me?"

"What's wrong? You're already disgusted with me?"

Sang Qi frowned slightly: "I think I've always disliked you."

"You know how heartless you are," Lu Min retorted.

"..."

Watching Sang Qi and Lu Min chatting away, the boy couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you two a couple?"

"certainly!"

The word "of course" was uttered simultaneously by Sang Qi and Lu Min.

Sang Qi then added the second half of the sentence: "No."

Lu Min smiled smugly and said, "The future is uncertain."

"..."

………