Zhou Xuying climbed to the top of the Sunset Tower.
Xia Tian was tied to a stool, covered in injuries, her thin lips parched. The tissues stuffed in her mouth were soaked with blood. As Zhou Xuying approached, she struggled violently, unable to speak clearly, only crying and trembling.
She was afraid. She felt a visceral, psychological, and physiological repulsion toward all men.
“I will not hurt you,” Zhou Xuying said softly.
Frowning slightly, he walked over with limited patience and removed the paper from her mouth. Xia Tian’s crying stopped, though her shoulders continued to shake uncontrollably. He untied the ropes. She curled her body, looking at him through tearful eyes with a timid, dazed expression, as if she had suffered a severe shock and was losing her lucidity.
“I am taking you back,” Zhou Xuying said.
Xia Tian nodded blankly, her pale lips pursed, looking fragile and obedient. Zhou Xuying walked ahead, and she followed. Just as they reached the stairwell, Zhou Xuying felt the footsteps behind him lighten.
When he turned around, Xia Tian was rushing toward the railing like a madwoman, jumping off without hesitation!
Her thin body plummeted from the heights. For a brief second, time seemed to freeze, frame by frame. Zhou Xuying’s breath stopped. The thunder, the rain, the dark clouds; memories overlapped in his mind. The scene before him struck his heart with heavy force.
“He Qian!”
Without a moment of doubt, Zhou Xuying rushed forward, chasing after that falling body.
Zhou Xuying was eager to be the Zhou family’s illegitimate son? He Qian was confused. Zhou Xuying had clearly been invited back by the Zhou family to acknowledge his ancestors.
The capital had been abuzz back then. People joked about how the Zhou family’s eldest son suddenly had to share his inheritance after twenty years, followed by the power struggle where Zhou Xuying sent his elder brother to prison.
As He Qian was lost in thought, two dark shadows plummeted rapidly before his eyes. One after the other, they crashed into the sea!
Startled, He Qian immediately pulled open the car door and ran out. The oncoming sea breeze turned his nose red and made his eyes ache. A light rain began to fall. The tide would likely rise.
He Qian ran faster, climbing onto the reef to search for them. His slender body was nearly pushed back by the wind. Zhou Xuying surfaced, holding Xia Tian under her arms with one hand as he swam toward He Qian.
Terrified, Xia Tian grabbed Zhou Xuying’s arm and bit down frantically, her whole body shivering. He Qian noticed the bandage on Zhou Xuying’s left hand was bleeding.
Xia Tian continued to bite with force while struggling in the water. Because of the rain and the rising tide, swimming against the current was grueling; moving five meters forward only to be pushed back three. At this rate, neither Zhou Xuying nor Xia Tian would make it back alive.
He Qian grew anxious. He kicked off his shoes and removed his down coat, sneezing from the sudden cold. He jumped into the sea and swam toward them. He helped Zhou Xuying restrain Xia Tian, but her struggles intensified, causing He Qian to choke on a few mouthfuls of water.
Zhou Xuying looked back at the waves layering over one another. He was almost out of strength. Tightening his grip, he looked at the nearby reef.
“He Qian.”
Zhou Xuying looked at He Qian with a burning gaze. He Qian was too exhausted to look back. Zhou Xuying swallowed the words on his lips. Just before the next wave surged, a beam of light broke through the clouds and fell upon He Qian’s shoulder, shining brilliantly.
Zhou Xuying gave them both a forceful push, using the momentum of the tide to send them safely onto the reef. Xia Tian hit her head on the rock and fainted.
He Qian gasped for air. Once he steadied himself, he looked back, but there was no sign of Zhou Xuying.
Zhou Xuying sank into the deep sea. The light withdrew, refracting into the water. Above, the surface shimmered; below, the murky water swirled into a vortex, sweeping away all uncleanness. Through that cloudy reflection, he looked at He Qian.
He was in the rotting mud, admiring a gorgeous flower. Standing in the abyss, he watched everything calmly.
This time, he chose He Qian’s life over his own. Zhou Xuying hoped He Qian would become the best lawyer, hoped his life would last beyond twenty-four years, and hoped his path would be bright.
Splash!
He Qian jumped into the sea again. Zhou Xuying’s light had come to find him.
In the hospital.
When He Qian woke up, his mouth felt terrible, filled with a metallic taste. He struggled to open his eyes, and a familiar face entered his vision.
Zhou Xuying handed him a glass of warm water. He Qian propped himself up to sit, holding the glass and drinking.
“I thought,” He Qian began.
“You thought I would stand by and watch you die?” He Qian interrupted. “I originally planned to do just that.”
It could even be said that when Zhou Xuying was drowning, that thought was the first to emerge. Humans always consider themselves first; it is human nature. He Qian hated Zhou Xuying and wished he were in prison. That was a fact. But He Qian could not let someone die without trying to save them.
His upbringing had instilled in him a strong sense of morality. He hated owing favors, let alone a life. Zhou Xuying had drowned while trying to save him and Xia Tian. If he had really stood by, he would never have found peace.
Zhou Xuying’s gaze was deep. “Why did you not do it?”
“I have a conscience,” He Qian replied with a hint of sarcasm.
“That was your only chance to leave me.”
Zhou Xuying took a sip of water, set down the glass, and left. He Qian’s morality was a shackle. He was destined to be bound to Zhou Xuying’s side, never to leave. Letting him die in the sea was indeed He Qian’s only chance to escape him.
This was no lie. Soon, Zhou Xuying would make He Qian accept his fate, leaving him too afraid to even try to run. Of course, since He Qian chose not to leave him at that critical moment, Zhou Xuying felt he should grant a reward. For example, agreeing to a reasonable request, a gift, or perhaps a wedding.
These were the things Zhou Xuying thought about after his debridement surgery. The seawater had been too dirty, washing sand into his wounds, which inevitably became infected, especially the gunshot wound on his chest, which was festering.
Back at the Zhou residence that night, Zhou Xuying took a bathrobe from the closet to head to the bathroom.
He Qian stopped him. “You cannot bathe right now.”
“I need to apply medicine.”
“I will help you.”
Zhou Xuying, with his back turned, paused. Thinking he had not heard, He Qian repeated, “I will help you.”
He had been there when the nurse applied the medicine earlier. He had learned how; it was not difficult.
“Okay.”
Zhou Xuying took off his shirt. The black fabric was stained with blood. It was not obvious to the eye, but the fabric over his chest was stiff where the blood had dried. He unbuttoned and removed the shirt with his back to He Qian.
The tattoo was revealed without any concealment. He Qian looked at the traditional characters on the coffin. He was certain that the small string of text was a date.