Chapter 61 Chapter 61 Oti / Warm tears dripping on scar...
Everyone was in chaos, surprised and panicked, completely forgetting about the workers' movement and only paying attention to the three people in the river!
That’s three lives!
Charles lost one of his shoes and turned pale. He yelled at the security guards, "Quick! Go down and save them! Mr. and Mrs. White are down there!"
Everyone: "Mrs. White?! That's Mrs. White?!"
The seemingly calm river became turbulent and icy cold.
The figure who jumped in first was barely visible in the waves. She quickly grabbed Kevin and swam back. When they were about to reach the shore, Kevin struggled subconsciously, causing her to be dragged into the water as well.
"Relax! Kevin!"
Audrey choked on the water.
Kevin stopped struggling, but the water made his movements slow.
Audrey used up almost all her strength to fight against the crashing waves. Finally, someone supported Kevin from behind and worked together with her to push him ashore.
After rescuing the man, Audrey felt relaxed and was about to climb up when a cold wind blew against the turbulent river water, and violent waves hit her again.
"Hermann!"
She had already reached the shore, but the wave pushed the silver-haired figure in the water far away.
Hermann heard a familiar voice, but had no time to answer.
The near-freezing river water made my limbs stiff, and the pain in my right knee gradually spread.
Few people know that Mr. White's cane is just a decoration when the weather is good, but when the weather changes, it is a tool to support his right leg.
For a brief moment, a bad premonition came to my mind - the damn old injury was attacked by the cold and relapsed at this moment.
In the surging river, he seemed to be back in the sea of fire of that year, hit by the collapsed beams, and could only endure the pain and escape.
"Why isn't Mr. White moving?"
"Damn, it must be a relapse of the old injury! Hurry! Rescue him!" Charles, as one of the few people who knew the inside story, reacted immediately and shouted on the shore.
The coldness paralyzed Hermann's whole body, and the sound transmitted into the water was distorted. He held on to his last breath and floated to the surface. The severe pain made his body twitch again.
The oxygen was getting less and less, he floated up and down in the water, trying to breathe, but he could never get close to the shore.
In his blurred vision, the person on the shore looked at him, his water-blue eyes filled with anxiety and uneasiness.
The next moment, there was a "plop" sound.
A familiar figure swam towards him across the waves.
Herman felt like his lungs were about to burst, filled with water. He wanted to yell at her and tell her to get out of there, but he couldn't open his mouth.
At the critical moment of life and death, time stretches out at this moment——
He sank into the water, his silver-gray hair fluttering.
When the oxygen was almost running out, a nimble little fish approached.
Their lips pressed tightly together, she slowly passed oxygen into his mouth and forcefully pushed away the Grim Reaper's scythe.
Hermann stared at those eyes and suddenly remembered the beam of light shining through the cracks in the sea of fire.
Thirteen-year-old Hurley, with wounds all over his body, made his way towards the light.
At this moment, Hermann's scarred left hand was held tightly by another person, and he was struggling to escape from the floating river.
When they were almost at the shore, the security guards finally arrived and rescued both of them.
All the workers gathered around and shouted "God bless you."
Charles was in tears and so frightened that he couldn't even speak complete sentences.
Another carriage arrived with supplies, and Greta hurried into the crowd, "What's going on?"
Audrey was wearing a blanket brought by the workers. When she saw Greta, she immediately said, "Everyone, Mr. White actually asked Mrs. Cooper and me a long time ago to prepare winter supplies for everyone. This is both our thoughtful gesture and our attitude."
"You want to fight for your legitimate rights, please believe that we are working hard for them too." Audrey raised her voice to ensure everyone could hear her. "I hope everyone will give us some time, at least to have a good time through this holiday."
The workers stared in amazement at the truck full of supplies.
Capitalists are the best at pretending.
However, just a moment ago, they saw with their own eyes the couple jumping into the water to save someone, and they were just insignificant workers.
When it comes to risking one's life, there is no possibility of acting.
"Thank you, thank you, Mrs. White."
Rose burst into tears, and Polly supported Kevin and also cried and thanked him.
"Thank you."
The workers could no longer harbor hatred towards a kind-hearted lady.
Most importantly, the White family's high-profile funding of them was a disguised statement of their position. Within an hour, everything that happened here would reach the ears of other businessmen.
The purpose of the demonstration has been half achieved.
Thinking of this, everyone no longer hesitated and followed the people arranged by Greta to collect supplies.
A storm was thus averted.
Audrey breathed a sigh of relief, and the next moment, someone grabbed her hand and pushed her forcefully into the carriage.
Isolated from the severe cold outside, the two wet people faced each other, staring into each other's eyes.
Greta and Charles soon returned to the car.
"Oh! You are so impulsive! Quick! Go back and call a doctor!" Greta understood the whole story and burst into tears. "It's winter! You just jumped into the water to save someone like that!"
For once, Charles was not in the mood to joke, and he watched the driver speed up.
Audrey lowered her head, her wrist held tightly by Herman.
On the way back, he didn't let go, didn't speak, and his face was tense.
After arriving at the manor, Audrey was caught by Lucy who received the news and asked to take a shower and change clothes, and then the doctor gave her medicine to prevent a cold.
After all the trouble, I came out and opened the door, only to be met with Hermann's gloomy face.
Audrey shuddered and subconsciously took two steps back.
"Why are you here?" She forced a smile and asked casually, "Have you taken your medicine?"
Hermann was silent, took a step forward and closed the door.
Audrey stared at his completely smileless face, struggled for a moment, and said honestly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have disrupted your plans without your permission."
Shortly after Hermann left, she told Greta about her plan. If they donated supplies in the name of the White family, they could make their attitude clear to the workers, ease their emotions, and avoid intensifying the conflict.
Greta also sympathized with the workers and agreed to the plan.
Audrey changed into a maid's clothes and slipped out with the carriage. When she arrived at the scene, she saw the chaos that had broken out and Hermann surrounded in the middle.
At that moment, she knew very well that if she didn't stop it, the situation would be out of control no matter which side took action first.
So when Kevin fell into the water, she went to save him without hesitation.
As she expected, the workers calmed down their anger, but... they offended another person.
"Herman." Audrey lowered her eyes and explained seriously, "I know you might want to stand with Brusen and the others, but I don't think this alliance is very solid, so I made this decision. Can you... please don't be angry?"
"Oh." Herman chuckled coldly, his face expressionless. "You think I'm angry about this?"
"Didn't I tell you not to go out?" He took a step closer.
"But..." Audrey was about to speak, but was interrupted again.
"Did I ever tell you that you're not allowed to go to Haddonfield again without my permission?"
For a moment, Audrey was frightened by the ferocity in his eyes.
However, the hostility in Herman's eyes did not subside, but became even more terrifying and cold.
"Do you know what the weather is like now? Do you know how many people have been drowned in the River Vene? How dare you jump in like that, Isabel Norman!"
Audrey was stunned when a cold shout rang in her ears.
This was the first time she saw Herman lose his temper. He was stunned for a long time before he said dryly, "Kevin is sick and he can't swim. If we don't save him, he will die..."
"What does his death have to do with you?!" Herman narrowed his eyes and sneered, "I treated him, gave him money, and gave him so-called respect. Isn't that enough? Do you really want to risk your life to save a lowly ant?"
Audrey stared at him in disbelief with her eyes wide open.
"Lowly ants?" Her voice was dry. "Hermann, your factory has the best workers in Harbin. They may seem insignificant, but they are your most valuable assets. How can you say such a thing?"
"Wealth?" Herman's eyes darkened as he chuckled. "Naive young lady, ants are not wealth. If they can't climb out of the dark swamp, they deserve only to die under someone else's feet. This is the law of the jungle!"
"Ants, ants, ants! You keep calling them ants, but isn't that how you climbed up? You've clearly walked the same path as them, so why aren't you willing to show them even a little mercy?"
"Because I'm a complete villain, don't you understand?!" Herman shouted coldly, approaching step by step, with a sinister look in his dark gray eyes. "Look carefully at the person in front of you!"
"You think I'm a gentleman? Sorry, that's just a disguise." He chuckled. "Tear off this human skin, and you'll know what they said is absolutely true."
"I'm a devil from the slums of Elmi. I've walked the same path they've walked. You're compassionate, but you can't see the darkness beneath the earth. An ant has to step on the corpses of countless companions in order to crawl out!"
Outside the house, heavy snow suddenly fell, and the cold wind blew the glass windows, making a creaking sound.
In the warm bedroom, they faced each other, neither of them looking back.
Hermann's silver hair was half dry, but the ends were still wet, and water droplets sank into the carpet, soaking it all.
"Who doesn't want to get out of the swamp and see the sunshine?" He panted, and suddenly chuckled, "They want to get up and break out, just like today, seize the opportunity to defeat me!"
"If you succeed, you can use my corpse as nourishment and become a new me. If you fail, you deserve to be trampled under my feet and accept your fate." Herman stared at Audrey and forced a smile. "This is the world of us ants, bloody and cruel, unworthy of your help." Audrey's expression gradually calmed down. She looked at Herman and suddenly said, "Shouldn't I save you too?"
"Yes, you should run away." Herman held her hand, the rough scar on his left hand particularly obvious. "No one is worth saving, including me."
His voice was cold and there was undisguised darkness in his eyes.
Just as he said, the devil finally took off his human skin and revealed his true face.
Audrey stared at him blankly, unable to speak for a long time.
Herman looked into those aqua-blue eyes and didn't miss her panic.
His anger gradually subsided and his rationality returned, but he was too lazy to pretend again.
"Isabelle, if you're scared, that's perfectly normal," he said slowly. "If you want to leave..."
He raised his arm, his palm still holding her hand.
The next moment, he suddenly let go.
"This is the last chance."
The cold wind blew open the window, and snowflakes sneaked in through the gaps.
The dark grey eyes reflected the silvery light outside the house, as well as her stunned expression.
Silence stretched, and Hermann guessed the answer.
From the last carriage dispute, it seemed that this day was foreshadowed.
He reveals his dark soul without reservation and does not expect anyone to understand.
After standing there for a long time, Hermann lowered his eyes.
It's all over.
Suddenly, just as he put down his left hand, someone grabbed his fingertips.
Audrey took his left hand again.
There was an ugly and hideous scar like a centipede running through the palm of her hand, but she looked at it so carefully.
Hermann never shied away from the past, but at this moment, he subconsciously wanted to hide the scar.
The next second, she gently put her cheek close to the scar——
The soft and warm touch instantly swept from the scar to his heart, so hot that it made him tremble.
"What are you doing?" Herman heard his voice dry.
Audrey looked up and was silent for a moment. "I'm feeling sorry for thirteen-year-old Hurley."
Hermann was stunned and slowly raised his eyes.
The cold wind blew his silver hair, but he was unaware of it.
The last bit of unwillingness in my heart was completely seen through by those eyes.
The world of ants is full of fighting. When he saw her jump down to save Kevin and speak up for the workers, he seemed to hear the roar in the sea of fire.
The sun is high in the sky, why doesn’t it shine on the young boy from back then?
Now that he has walked out of purgatory and has his own sun, why, why should those ants who are as lowly as him and struggling in the sea of suffering be warmed by it?
Why are those eyes looking at others? How do they deserve all this?
Hermann chuckled briefly, and his dark grey eyes couldn't suppress the twisted sinisterness.
"Do you know what you're talking about, Isabel?"
Audrey looked him straight in the eye. "I know."
"If I could meet thirteen-year-old Hurley, I would risk my life to save him, just like I did today."
"I'll tell him, don't be afraid, don't be sad, you will be a great man in the future." Warm tears dripped onto the scar, and she kissed it gently. "You will be successful, have a lot of wealth, and someone will love you."
"Love? Can you see my love clearly?" Herman said each word clearly. "Today in the water, there was a moment when I thought, if I can't survive, I will drag you to death with me. Aren't you afraid of this kind of love?"
Audrey lowered her eyes and thought for a long time.
"I'm a little scared."
Hermann paused.
"But..." She held the hand tightly and said softly, "I believe I can swim to the other side."
"No matter when." A smile appeared in his aqua-blue eyes. "I will always save you and myself like I did today."
The snow outside the window stopped and the sun shone on the windowsill.
He looked into those eyes, his heart exploded, and the world fell silent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
