Chapter 72 Rescuing a Drowning Child
After leaving the family compound, Lu Zhanming led Gu Baobao in a less crowded direction.
He remembered the stares from those unwanted admirers during the day and didn't want his baby to be surrounded by them again at night.
The evenings on the island are beautiful.
The sky was a gradient of blue and purple, with a lingering orange-red glow where the sea met the sky in the distance.
A salty, damp sea breeze blew in, ruffling Gu Baobao's loose hair and her oversized coat.
She took a deep breath, feeling as if the free sea breeze had cleansed her lungs.
"That feels so good."
She couldn't help but sigh softly.
Lu Zhanming walked beside her, keeping a half-step distance, which was enough to protect her without making her feel pressured.
Hearing her sigh, he turned to look at her.
In the twilight, her profile was soft, her eyelashes were long and curled, and her eyes, gazing at the distant sea, sparkled with curiosity and joy.
His heart was incredibly tender.
"Do you like the sea?"
He asked.
"Um!"
Gu Baobao nodded, turned to look at him, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
“Back in my hometown, it’s all mountains and fields. I’ve never seen such a big sea. It feels… vast and free.”
Her smile was pure and bright, and Lu Zhanming felt his heart be gently bumped again.
"I'll bring you here often from now on."
He promised, his voice filled with a doting affection that he himself didn't even realize.
The two walked slowly along the path, and gradually they could hear the sound of waves crashing on the beach.
After passing through a windbreak forest, an undeveloped beach came into view.
The sand was a light golden color, not very fine, and mixed with some seashells and pebbles.
The seawater turned a deep blue in the twilight, with layers of white waves surging up and then receding.
To Gu Baobao's surprise, the beach was not deserted.
Many women, elderly people, and even teenagers in the military compound were carrying wooden buckets and small shovels to collect seafood on the beach after the tide receded.
Clams, small crabs, sea snails, and even stranded small fish.
This is a seaside night view that is unique to this era and full of life.
"Commander Lu? Oh, it really is you! You're discharged from the hospital already? Your hand isn't fully healed yet, is it? You must take care to rest!"
A cheerful and enthusiastic female voice came from inside.
Gu Baobao looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman who looked to be in her fifties. She was wearing faded coarse cloth clothes, her hair was neatly combed, and she was carrying a small bucket of clams. She was smiling and greeting Lu Zhanming.
Lu Zhanming stopped, his hard features softening slightly, and nodded to the old woman:
"Aunt Li, it's nothing, I just came out to digest my food. Are you here to go beachcombing too?"
"Yes, let's collect some clams while the tide is out, and make soup for the kids tomorrow."
Li Jinhua, Xiao's deputy regimental commander's mother, said with a smile, her gaze naturally falling on Gu Baobao next to Lu Zhanming.
Upon seeing this, Li Jinhua's eyes widened.
"Ouch!"
She couldn't help but gasp, looking Gu Baobao up and down.
"Who...whose daughter is this? She's so beautiful! She looks like a celestial being who stepped out of a painting!"
In all her years, whether in the countryside, the city, or the military family compound, she had never seen such a beautiful and charming girl!
Gu Baobao felt a little embarrassed by the stares and lowered her head slightly.
Lu Zhanming naturally stepped aside, pulled Gu Baobao closer to him, and introduced her:
"Aunt Li, this is Battalion Commander Gu's younger sister, Comrade Gu Baobao."
Then he lowered his head and said softly to Gu Baobao:
“Baby, this is Aunt Li, the mother of Deputy Regiment Commander Xiao of the Third Regiment. She lives in the two courtyards in front of us.”
Gu Baobao raised her head, smiled politely, and said in a sweet voice:
Hello, Aunt Li.
"Okay! Good! Good!"
Li Jinhua readily agreed, her smile widening and her eyes filled with delight.
"Girl, you're too kind! If you ever need anything, just come to me! I live upstairs! Oh, you must be that little miracle doctor? I heard you saved the old expert, that's amazing!"
Once Li Jinhua started talking, she was about to offer a few more compliments and ask a few more questions...
"Help me—!!!"
A shrill, distorted scream, belonging to an old woman, suddenly rang out from the other side of the beach!
"Someone please save my grandson!!!"
The terror and despair in that voice instantly shattered the tranquility of the beach at dusk.
Gu Baobao reacted almost reflexively, her body moving faster than her brain!
She turned her head sharply to look at the source of the sound.
In the distance, where the beach meets the sea, an old woman is stumbling and staggering into the water, while not far in front of her, a small figure is struggling and bobbing in the waves!
Someone has fallen into the water!
It's a child!
"Baby!"
Lu Zhanming's expression changed, and he was about to rush over.
However, his arm is still "injured," which inevitably limits his movements.
Just as he took a step, Gu Baobao grabbed him!
"Your hands aren't up to par! I'll do it!"
Her voice was fast and urgent, carrying an undeniable decisiveness.
Before she finished speaking, she had already dashed towards the sea like an arrow released from a bow!
"Baby--!"
Lu Zhanming's pupils contracted sharply. He wanted to call out to her, but Gu Baobao had already run several meters away.
As she ran, she quickly blew off the cumbersome plastic sandals on her feet—the kind of slippery shoes common in those days.
Lu Zhanming was extremely anxious. He didn't care about his disguise anymore. He used his uninjured left hand to rip off the military jacket that Gu Baobao was wearing, which was his own, and followed closely behind!
Gu Baobao rushed to the beach and, without the slightest hesitation, jumped into the still somewhat chilly seawater with a "plop"!
Her movements were swift and precise, clearly indicating she was an excellent swimmer:
In my previous life, I was a descendant of a family of doctors, so first aid and survival skills in the wild were compulsory courses, and swimming was a basic skill.
She quickly swam toward the struggling little figure.
The waves were not large, but they could be fatal to a child.
Gu Baobao quickly swam to the child's side. It was a boy of about six or seven years old who had choked on water, was disoriented, and was struggling with less and less strength.
She wrapped one arm around the child's chest from behind, and with the other hand paddling, she used the strength of her legs to swim back to the shore.
Lu Zhanming had already reached the water's edge; the seawater was above his knees.
Seeing Gu Baobao approaching with the child, he immediately reached out his left hand to help take the child and carry him ashore.
Gu Baobao also climbed ashore, completely soaked.
The light blue dress clung tightly to her body, outlining the girl's slender and graceful curves. Her wet hair clung to her cheeks and neck, and water droplets rolled down her fair skin.
But she couldn't care less about herself.
"Quick! Lay it flat!"
Her voice was breathless, yet unusually clear and calm.
Lu Zhanming immediately laid the child flat on the beach.
The child's face was bluish-purple, his lips were black, he had stopped breathing, and his chest was not rising or falling.
The people who were out gathering seafood nearby all came over, and when they saw the child like this, they all gasped in shock.
"It's Old Lady Qian's grandson, Gou Dan!"
"Oh my god, he's not breathing!"
"What a tragedy..."
The old woman who had just screamed, Granny Qian, scrambled over and, seeing her grandson like this, plopped down on the ground, slapping her thigh as she was about to wail.
But Gu Baobao was faster than her!
She knelt beside the child, quickly cleared the mud and seaweed from the child's mouth and nose, and then began cardiopulmonary resuscitation without hesitation!
Standard chest compressions combined with artificial respiration.
Her movements were steady and powerful, with a clear rhythm, exuding a reassuring sense of professionalism.
Her soaked clothes clung to her body, outlining her taut and focused lines as she moved.
Water droplets dripped from her lowered eyelashes, mingling with the moisture on her forehead—whether from sweat or seawater, it was hard to tell.
Everyone held their breath, watching this stunningly beautiful girl who had suddenly appeared and was desperately trying to save a child's life in a way they had never seen before.
Lu Zhanming stood beside her, his whole body tense.
He looked at Gu Baobao's focused profile, at her skin that appeared even paler after being wet with seawater, at her arm that trembled slightly as she pressed hard... and felt an overwhelming pang of heartache.
His baby girl, who is still a little girl who needs to be loved, is doing everything she can to save others.
He wished he could pick her up immediately, dry her off, wrap her up tightly, and not let her suffer any fatigue or be exposed to any wind.
But he knew he couldn't disturb her now.
He could only stay by her side, using his tall frame to shield her from the sea breeze and the surrounding gazes.
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