CH 22

When falling through the wind in mid-air, he felt that all his worries that were entangled around him were finally torn away by the breeze and thrown away, he became so light suddenly.

However, in an instant, he fell into the water.

Shen Wenqiu heard that jumping into the water from a high enough place was similar to hitting the concrete floor. He would faint on the spot, even instantly break the whole body and bleed from the internal organs. It was a very painful way of dying.

He wished he could faint and then drown unconsciously.

But God still wanted him to taste the pain directly. He fainted a little but was still awake. He could clearly feel that he was surrounded by river water. It was so cold that even his bone marrow was shivering and the oxygen in the body was disappearing little by little. He tried to restrain his body’s instinct to struggle and to let himself sink.

Sink down, then continue sinking.

It was best to sink to the bottom.

The boundary line between reality and memory became blurred in the absence of oxygen.

He was embraced by the icy cold water, which silently stripped away the redundancy of his soul and turned him back into a child.

His consciousness was intermittent, it flashed from time to time, slowly sinking into a dazzling and fuzzy illusion and then becoming clear again…..

“Don’t step on the puddles to play, Xiao Baa.” Shen Wenqiu heard a gentle male voice talking.

He lowered his head, the puddle reflected the appearance of a little boy. A cute looking little boy, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and strappy shorts, with snow-white socks and round-toed black leather shoes, which were stepping on the edge of the puddle as dirty water was splashed onto them.

The little boy was himself.

He said to his father sullenly, “I didn’t step on it on purpose.”

His dad came over and wiped his shoes.

He opened his arms, “Daddy, hug.”

His dad picked him up, “Dad knows, Xiao Baa is the most well behaved child.”

Shen Wenqiu hugged his father’s neck with his small arms, leaned on his father’s shoulder and asked, “Dad, where is mommy? Take me to find mommy.”

“I haven’t seen mommy for a long time, I miss her so much.”

His dad was carrying him back to the home where he grew up and his mother was standing among the lush and beautiful flower bushes, looking at him with a smile and utter tenderness. His dad and mom were in the prime of their lives. 

His dad also walked over, and the family of three were reunited. He hugged his mother, ‘How great!…How great.’

After being affectionate for a while, Shen Wenqiu said, “Dad, I want to play on the swing. Play on the swing you gave me.”

His dad agreed and carried him to the swing but he was still too small, his short legs couldn’t reach the ground and he couldn’t hold on to the swing rope firmly.

Mom said, “Xiao Baa, it’s too dangerous, shall we stop playing?”

Shen Wenqiu shook his head, “I’m going to play.”

The swing swayed higher and higher, flying into the air. He swayed and could fall down at any time but he was not afraid at all. He laughed happily. He became louder and louder as he laughed.

The yard was filled with the sound of his laughter.

Mom and Dad stood below, looked up at him and said worriedly, “Xiao Baa, Xiao Baa. It’s too dangerous. Stop playing.”

Shen Wenqiu said, “I don’t want to, I’m so happy. I haven’t been this happy for a long time. Dad, I’m flying, I’m flying so high.”

His dad was worried and sick at heart so he said, “Be careful, Xiao Baa, slow down, slow down. Stop flying up so high, your father can’t catch you when you fly so high.”

At this time, Shen Wenqiu saw a little boy standing abruptly outside their yard. The little boy was dark-skinned, tall and strong, wearing a worn out vest and pants along with a pair of dirty sneakers under his feet. But unlike other children, he had only one hand.

The black boy was stopped outside, his cheeks were tense. He was looking up at himself solemnly and resolutely calling his name, “Shen Wenqiu! Shen Wenqiu!!”

Lu Yong kept shouting, “Shen Wenqiu!”

Shen Wenqiu pursed his lips, did not answer and continued to play on his own.

Mom, “Who is that?”

Dad, “That is Xiao Baa’s best friend, Lu Yong. They had a fight and are having a fall out.”

Dad said, “Lu Yong is a good boy, he treats Xiao Baa very well.”

After that, his dad went to open the door for Lu Yong and Shen Wenqiu shouted anxiously, “Dad, don’t open the door for him! I am no longer friends with him!”

Dad only said, “Stop being angry with Dayong, you obviously like him very much.”

Regardless of his interference, his dad opened the door and let Lu Yong in, “Dayong, please persuade Xiao Baa to get down quickly.”

Shen Wenqiu thought anxiously that the swing was so dangerous and Lu Yong would not dare to come over. But Lu Yong walked up to him without fear, trying to catch him, “Shen Wenqiu, come down, come down quickly.”

Shen Wenqiu scolded him fiercely with a childish tone, “I won’t go down! Get out of here! I won’t be good friends with you anymore. We have not been good friends for a long time. I’m playing alone, so I‘m not taking you to play. “

Lu Yong looked at him steadily for a long time and then suddenly said, “You are obviously not happy at all. If you are happy, why are you crying?”

Shen Wenqiu did not say anything and his tears kept falling.

“It’s none of your business.” Shen Wenqiu said with a sobbing voice, because his facade was destroyed, he was no longer tough, “Get out of the way, be careful! If I fall down, I could smash you to death together. Aren’t you afraid?”

Lu Yong answered bravely and decisively, “I’m not afraid.”

After he finished speaking, he intruded into danger and did not give up even if he was hit. He repeatedly searched for a suitable gap, grabbing Shen Wenqiu with his quick hand and eyes.

Shen Wenqiu was like a leaf in the gale. He was caught, settled down and stabilised. Lu Yong took his hand, “Xiao Baa, let’s go back, and I will protect you.”

…

Shen Wenqiu didn’t understand how Lu Yong found and caught himself in the turbulent river. He did not want to be rescued and struggled frantically.

The two of them were pulling each other and wrestling underwater. He wanted to break free from Lu Yong and sink but Lu Yong was more persistent than aquatic plants. No matter how he fought, Lu Yong would reattach himself to him and use his only arm to catch him, pulling him up desperately.

Time was stretched in the gap between life and death.

It seemed that a long time had passed and it also seemed that it was very short-lived.

Shen Wenqiu was going crazy.

‘Why does Lu Yong have to do this? Can’t he just let him die? He has nothing left to hold on to in this world. He only has this wish to die and Lu Yong does not even allow that? Let him die!

But Lu Yong just persevered in entangling him, using his strong and sturdy arms to catch Shen Wenqiu again and again.

Two people floated up and down in the water. 

Suddenly, Shen Wenqiu felt that Lu Yong’s strength was not as strong as before but he still did not give up and the two of them sank together.

He pushed Lu Yong away but Lu Yong came close again and hugged him in the water.

Shen Wenqiu stretched out his hand and touched Lu Yong once. He suddenly lost his strength and didn’t faint but he realized that Lu Yong was too paranoid and he was ready to fight until his last breath. If this continued, Lu Yong would die.

Either he persisted all the way until Lu Yong was dragged to death by him, or he gave up looking for death and returned to the shore with Lu Yong.

He didn’t care about his life but he could not feel comfortable letting Lu Yong be buried with him.

‘How could a good person like Lu Yong die with a scum like him?’

A group of people surrounded the shore and when they saw them coming ashore, they screamed, “They’ve been saved! They’ve been saved!”

“Where is the police? Where is the police?”

“Did someone call an ambulance? Somebody call an ambulance!”

Shen Wenqiu took a trip to the gate of death, he lay on the ground with all his strength gone, eyes closed and gasping for breath. When he died, he was determined and now that he was rescued, he collapsed and felt lost. Tears couldn’t stop overflowing from the corners of his eyes.

‘It’s so noisy, these people are so noisy, so noisy.

So noisy.’

“Is the person still alive? Is he still breathing?”

“Hey, hey, is there a doctor? Who knows how to give first aid?”

“Hurry up and save them!”

Shen Wenqiu didn’t move and held his breath. The overly-hot sunlight stabbed his eyes through his eyelids. At this time, a figure was covering him, blocking the light.

Shen Wenqiu smelled the same wet smell on his body as his. Even without opening his eyes, he knew who it was.

Lu Yong knelt down beside him, patted his cheek lightly and asked anxiously, “Shen Wenqiu, Shen Wenqiu, wake up… Xiao Baa, wake up.”

His heart was in a chaotic mess but he didn’t make any noise, as if he was dead.

Lu Yong lifted himself up and asked the people around him, “Would you please give me my arm? Thank you. I have learned some first aid.”

Shen Wenqiu heard the sound of him installing his arms. Lu Yong pinched his chin with his prosthetic limbs and made him open his mouth with a little force. Then he stretched his fingers into his mouth and searched for dirt blocking his trachea in his soft, wet and sticky mouth.

‘It’s too uncomfortable.’

Shen Wenqiu couldn’t bear coughing even if he didn’t want to and couldn’t continue pretending to be dead. 

Shen Wenqiu opened his eyes and stared at Lu Yong with a deadly gaze, raised his weakened hand and pushed Lu Yong a bit.

Shen Wenqiu still didn’t budge. Lu Yong sat on the ground and said, “It’s fine if you are still alive. It’s fine if you are still alive.”

The sound of the police car siren drifted from the distance, getting closer and closer.

Shen Wenqiu came back from the dead and was still in a trance. He still felt that he had drowned in the water. At least the old soul stayed dead in that place and he didn’t want to find it back.

“What’s wrong with you? What’s fine? Living is more than just being able to breathe. I have nowhere to survive. You’ve brought me here but I will have to die again sooner or later.” Shen Wenqiu was not grateful to Lu Yong Yong’s life-saving grace and said harshly, “I will definitely not let you see when I die next time.”

Lu Yong let him continue to scold and didn’t answer him. He just stood by silently, staring at him tenderly and implicitly. He reached out his hand to wipe the teardrops on Shen Wenqiu’s face. He wiped and wiped it again but wasn’t able to wipe it till it was dry. Still, he didn’t say that Shen Wenqiu was not allowed to cry.

Shen Wenqiu wanted to slap his hand away but didn’t have much strength.

Lu Yong insisted on wiping his tears, rubbing his wet fingertips on his cheeks, like dropping careful kisses.

Lu Yong was neither susceptible to force nor persuasion.

Shen Wenqiu really didn’t know what to do, “Lu Yong, you can’t save me. Leave me alone. What do you want me to do?”

“You want to save me so much, do you still want to help me repay my debt? Since you are so kind, can you help me pay it???”

“Okay.” Lu Yong replied. He had been waiting for Shen Wenqiu to bring it up by himself.

Shen Wenqiu’s breathing stopped. He was not happy. Instead, his face looked even more ghastly than before. He sat up weakly, stared at Lu Yong and said viciously, “Okay? What is okay? You are crazy!”

Lu Yong restrained himself and withdrew his hand. His broken limb began to ache violently after so many years. He couldn’t tell whether it was real pain or phantom pain. He used all his gentleness to slowly and steadily say, “Shen Wenqiu, just think of your former self as dead in the river.”

“I will help you pay off your debt so don’t worry about it anymore, don’t seek death anymore. If you talk to me, I will help you.”

He had liquidated his current assets, excluding the funds needed to run the company. He added up all his accumulated assets so far in his life, barely able to pay off Shen Wenqiu’s debts.

He was willing to use all of his own in exchange for a chance to reincarnate Shen Wenqiu.

Without asking for anything in return.