Chapter 26
Shi Xing followed Yoda's direction, ensuring the two were within reach.
They felt a bit cold and were a little reserved when they first entered the water, but as the waves gently swayed them, they relaxed. Yoda floated on the surface of the water thanks to the buoyancy of his life jacket.
The waves gently surged, and people swayed with them. Bathed in sunlight, Yoda suddenly wished that people could be like seaweed, needing no thought, no resistance, just rising and falling with the waves. Looking at Shixing to the side, she said, "It's so comfortable. When we renovate our house, we must install a bathtub. I feel like all my worries disappear when I'm soaking in water."
Shi Xing nodded, his mind starting to wander to the style of the bathtub—fan-shaped, rectangular? And the material—acrylic, ceramic, or metal? But it would be best if it had a heating function; otherwise, the water temperature would drop after a while, making it easy to catch a cold.
Yoda was just saying it casually, unaware that Shi Xing had already made a choice in her mind. The next second, her thoughts shifted to Shi Xing's place: "The rented house you're living in now is so primitive. What was the landlord thinking, renting it out like this?"
Shi Xing temporarily interrupted his thoughts and casually replied, "I didn't rent it, I bought it."
Perhaps because he was floating in the water, Yoda's shock sounded light and airy: "Ah, you bought it? I thought the landlord decorated it for you. I didn't even want to complain before, how could it have this style? You bought it, why didn't you design it properly and redecorate it?"
Shi Xing rummaged through long-forgotten memories. The house wasn't like this at first; it was simple, but it had basic furniture. Back then, Shi Xing had already given up hope that Yoda would wake up, but he never imagined that Yoda would leave.
Feeling that he would stay by Yoda's side at the hospital, he bought the house. After the purchase, the original owner said he would take his belongings with him, but Shi Xing didn't pay much attention at the time, because he felt that as long as he had a place to live, he could let the landlord take his things.
I never expected that the landlord would not only take away all the original furniture, leaving only an unwanted sofa, but also pry up and take every single light switch panel. He said that those socket panels cost a lot of money during the renovation and he couldn't bear to part with them.
Yoda complained, "What kind of socket board is this? It's so expensive."
Shi Xing shook his head; he didn't know either. His memories of that time were always hazy. When he returned to his residence and found it completely empty, he simply asked around, and after receiving a reason, he didn't think about it anymore. He just tidied it up a bit; as long as it was habitable, that was fine.
Yoda: "That old sofa in the living room should also be taken away. If it's still there, it will take time to get rid of it."
As the two chatted, they slowly moved towards deeper water, like seashells, following the waves from where they were initially in shallow water. Although there were other people playing in the distance, and they were both wearing life jackets, they felt completely unsupported in the water, which made them feel quite uncomfortable.
After a moment of hesitation, she gently urged Yoda, "That's enough, let's get ashore. The water is too cold, staying too long won't be good for your health."
Yoda was getting drowsy in the water and didn't want Shixing to worry. After getting in the water, the two stopped holding hands, and a distance gradually grew between them. Yoda steered his body towards Shixing's direction. It was much harder to maintain a fixed direction than to drift with the current.
As the waves surged in, Yoda bobbed up and down on the water, and a current pushed him off course. Wearing a life jacket was safe, but the buoyancy was too great, making him easily affected by the current.
The more he tried to change direction, the less effective it became. A wave rolled over, and Yoda, caught off guard, felt as if a giant hand had shoved him into the water.
However, Yoda wasn't worried, as he was wearing a life jacket. He just needed to hold his breath and wait for the water to calm down before he floated to the surface.
"Ugh, gurgle gurgle." Yoda had been silently counting to a few seconds to stay calm. Suddenly, he felt a twitch in his calf, and the instant pain made him forget how many he had counted to.
The rhythm was disrupted, and in an instant, seawater choked my nasal cavity, rushing down my respiratory tract, causing a burning pain in my nose. Fortunately, the waves had receded, and I suddenly floated to the surface.
Whew, whew whew, whew whew.
My nose burned, my throat burned, and my cramped calves ached. With each breath came pain everywhere, but my instinct made me breathe even more rapidly.
Yoda didn't care where he was anymore; he kept shaking his head and breathing heavily, trying to get the seawater out. It was so uncomfortable. His cramped calves didn't care about posture; they could only stretch out in the water in the direction of his toes.
He struggled, relying entirely on the buoyancy of his life jacket.
Faintly, he could hear Shi Xing calling out from the side. Yoda waved his hand, too uncomfortable to speak, but it wasn't a big deal. He'd rest a bit longer, and the pain would subside.
Before Yoda could even catch his breath, he saw Shi Xing rushing towards him. Yoda instinctively thought: "Idiot, he can't swim, moving around will only make him go further away."
But all he saw was Yoda's pained expression, and memories of the past resurfaced. Waves of fear washed over him, and the lurking shadows grew ever larger. He tried to get closer to Yoda, but the inflated life jacket kept pushing him away with the waves.
Seeing that Yoda's pain showed no signs of abating and that he continued shaking his head, Shi Xing's anxiety reached its peak. Without hesitation, he unfastened his life jacket. He was already familiar with the structure of the life jacket to ensure safety, so unfastening it was now easy for him.
The next instant, Shi Xing began to thrash around. Before Yoda could even scream, a figure that had appeared behind her without her noticing rushed past.
Amidst the chaos, Yoda looked at Shi Xing, who was being pulled back to shore and was still in a daze, and asked anxiously, "Xing, are you alright?"
Shi Xing coughed a few times, clearing the water that had gotten stuck in his throat. Feeling a little better, he looked at Yoda and asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you alright?"
When Yoda heard Shi Xing speak, even though he was the one who almost drowned, Shi Xing acted as if nothing had happened and came to ask him questions. But at least he could talk; Yoda immediately collapsed onto the beach.
I forgot about the pain in my calves because I was nervous, but now that I've relaxed, I realize that my calves still hurt a lot.
The lifeguard standing to the side stared at Shi Xing, laughing in exasperation.
The lifeguards were already patrolling their assigned area. Seeing Yoda's reaction, they knew he had a leg cramp, but since he was wearing a life jacket, he was probably fine.
Just as I was about to go over and pull the person who had cramped up back, good heavens, the people next to me went crazy, took off their life jackets and rushed into the water.
He was instantly terrified, breaking out in a cold sweat. His previously calm and confident swimming style suddenly accelerated, and he rushed over to rescue the person. Unexpectedly, even after he had the person under control, the other person still tried to swim back into the water. He could only say he was really unlucky today, encountering someone who didn't care about their life.
He forcefully pinned the person down from behind, and it took considerable effort to pull him back. The scientifically sound approach would have been either to wait until he was exhausted from struggling, or to simply knock him unconscious. However, this was a tourist area, with so many people watching from the shore; neither method seemed appropriate.
If it weren't for the lifeguard's familiarity with the area, the other colleagues on shore to assist, and my own strength to bring the person back, it would have been incredibly dangerous.
Seeing that the person who had been pulled ashore had regained consciousness, he immediately began to berate them: "Do you know how dangerous what you did was? There are warnings everywhere; even if you can't swim, you should wear a life jacket. How could you take it off yourself? Are you crazy?"
Yoda also looked at Shi Xing, having been pulled back by someone nearby. Shi Xing's state had startled her. She was perfectly fine herself, and couldn't believe Shi Xing would do such a thing. But now wasn't the time to dwell on these things.
After the scare, the lifeguard, seeing the person was awake and alright, snorted and turned to leave. I'll have to be careful today; these kinds of things seem contagious. If I encounter one who doesn't listen, I might run into others later. I need to get back to my post and keep an eye on things quickly.
After what happened, neither of them was in the mood to play anymore. Not to mention, they were now covered in sand, seawater, and sweat, making them feel sticky and uncomfortable.
Shi Xing helped Yoda up, letting her lean her full weight on him. This rendered Yoda speechless, and she sighed helplessly. The two walked back in silence, leaning on each other.
Back in his room, Yoda stared at his wet clothes, lost in thought. Thinking of Shi Xing's reckless actions, he felt no gratitude, only a lingering fear. So close, so very close! If it weren't for the lifeguards everywhere on the beach, that action would have been incredibly dangerous.
Yoda couldn't understand why, even though he was perfectly safe, wearing a life jacket, a leg cramp wouldn't cause any harm; he'd just stay in the water a little longer. Realizing he couldn't get help, shouldn't the normal course of action be to go ashore and find a lifeguard to pull him back?
But Shi Xing acted as if he were in some life-threatening danger, showing no regard for his own safety. Yoda stood up and gathered his clothes. He decided to have a serious talk with Shi Xing. This couldn't continue; it was wrong.
Yoda knocked on the wall as he entered the door: "Hmm, are you done? May I come in?"
After a brief silence, Shi Xing's somber voice came from inside: "I'm not feeling well. I won't eat dinner. You go ahead and eat. I want to rest for a bit."
Yoda approached the doorway: "Are you feeling unwell? Is it because you choked on water earlier? Let me come in and take a look."
Shi Xing remained silent. Yoda knew he was trying to escape, but Yoda wouldn't allow himself to do so, even if this silence didn't harm him.
Yoda couldn't get the door open, so he pressed his head against the door and began to cry out in pain: "But my leg hurts so much! I just got a cramp in the water. I was in a rush and didn't pay attention. Now it hurts so much I can't walk. It really hurts!"
"Please help me! I'm about to cry!!"
"Oh my!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com