On an autumn afternoon, the sunlight, having shed its summer heat, has taken on a lazy golden hue. The vast glass dome of the Guanghua University Natatorium filters in soft light, casting shimmering specks of light across the clear blue-green water.
The pool was empty and quiet, with only the sound of waves lapping against the pool wall and a few occasional whispers from the corner.
During this period of time, there are few students visiting, only a few members of the school swimming team are conducting regular training in the distant lanes.
Mu Xinrong was sitting alone on the steps by the pool in the shallow end. He had just finished a refreshing swim and was now enjoying a leisurely soak in the waist-deep water, his back resting against the cool pool wall.
He tilted his head slightly, closed his eyes, and felt the warmth of the sunlight shining on his face through the glass dome. Tiny water droplets hung on his eyelashes, trembling slightly with his breathing.
A few golden ginkgo leaves floated in from somewhere, swirling and gently landing on the water, like a few swimming fish.
Chao Youye stood quietly at the edge of the deep water not far away. He was wearing simple dark swimming trunks, and his figure was thin and upright. Water droplets rolled down his smooth shoulders and back.
He did not go into the water, but just stared quietly at the water line created by the training team members in the distance, as if he was thinking about something, or simply enjoying the tranquility away from the hustle and bustle.
The sunlight outlined the profile of his face, which was cold and aloof, as if he was out of touch with the world.
Only occasionally, his gaze would inconspicuously sweep over the figure resting with eyes closed in the shallow water, and a barely perceptible warmth would flash across the depths of his violet eyes.
Mu Xinrong had rested enough, opened his eyes, and his gaze fell on a complete and beautiful ginkgo leaf floating on the water not far away.
He stood up, waded over carefully, bent down, and reached out to pick up the leaf.
The moment my fingertips were about to touch the edge of the leaf—
The tiles on the bottom of the pool where he was standing suddenly slipped, perhaps because they had become extremely slippery from long-term soaking, or because of the residual bath foam!
"Ah!" Mu Xinrong only had time to let out a short cry of surprise before his body instantly lost its balance! As if being yanked backwards by an invisible force, he fell face-down into the deep water!
“Plop!”
A huge splash of water suddenly exploded! The cold pool water instantly rushed into his mouth and nose from all directions!
Everything happened so fast! Mu Xinrong was completely stunned! He fell into the deep water without any preparation. The violent coughing made him instinctively open his mouth to breathe, but he poured in more icy water.
My eyes were stinging with pain, and my ears were filled with the dull sound of water and gurgling bubbles.
He waved his arms frantically, trying to grab something for support, but there was nothing under his feet. Only the cold liquid wrapped around him and dragged him down.
His lungs were burning with pain, and the suffocating feeling of lack of oxygen was like a cold vine, instantly wrapping around his throat and heart.
Terror! A bone-chilling fear gripped him instantly! His vision blurred, and his consciousness began to blur like a piece of wet paper. You Ye...
At the moment when overwhelming despair spread like thick ink—
A figure, like white lightning tearing through the water curtain, plunged into the water with a resolute speed that almost tore through space! A huge splash of water exploded behind him, and was quickly smoothed out by the current!
It’s Chao Youye!
In the zero-tenth of a second when Mu Xinrong lost his balance and fell back, his calm gaze had turned into a sharp blade. As Mu Xinrong's scream was swallowed by the water and his body fell into the deep water, the muscles all over his body suddenly exploded like a spring compressed to the extreme!
All thoughts, all distance, all concerns were completely cleared at that moment! All he could see was the figure being swallowed by the cold blue waves, sinking helplessly.
His violet eyes were incredibly sharp underwater, instantly penetrating the slightly turbid water and accurately locking onto the figure struggling in vain, whose consciousness was being swallowed by darkness.
He kicked the pool wall hard with his legs, and his body was like an arrow, breaking through the heavy water flow and shooting forward at an incredible speed. The water formed a white torrent behind him.
The gray mark on the inside of the wrist seemed to flicker extremely faintly in the dim light underwater, like a candle that was about to burn out, and then disappeared completely.
Closer! Closer!
Mu Xinrong had stopped struggling, his body curled up slightly, floating weakly in the azure water.
A few strands of black hair floated like seaweed beside his pale cheeks. His eyes were half-open and out of focus. Only tiny bubbles like broken pearls silently escaped from his slightly open lips.
The shadow of death enveloped him gently and coldly.
Chao Youye's heart seemed to be gripped by an invisible, cold hand, and it suddenly stopped beating! A huge fear and a despair more piercing than the pool water instantly swallowed him up.
No! Absolutely not!
He used up all his strength, stretched out his hand, and grabbed Mu Xinrong's sinking wrist! The touch was cold and soft, with a sense of the fragility of life passing away, which made him feel terrified.
He pulled the man into his arms with all his strength, and his other arm, like the strongest chain, tightly and unquestionably wrapped around Mu Xinrong's thin and cold waist, holding his unsupported body tightly against his violently heaving chest.
Then, without any hesitation, he entered the cold, silent, deep blue world where only the water ripples.
He lowered his head and kissed Mu Xinrong's bloodless, slightly opened lips precisely and with unquestionable determination!
Their icy lips touched! With the slightly salty taste of pond water and a chill that penetrated deep into the bones, this wasn't a kiss of lust, but rather the most primitive and purest form of redemption at the critical moment of life and death, the only way to ignite the flame of life.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
