Huang Wanqing was also from Harbor City, her family considered among the city’s elite with substantial wealth, only slightly less prominent than the Jiang family, which stood at the top of the aristocratic circle.
But unlike Jiang Ning, Huang Wanqing, as the only child, had been doted on and pampered by her parents since childhood, growing up naive and doing whatever she pleased.
When she wanted to dabble in the entertainment industry, her family paved the way for her.
Despite similar family backgrounds, the treatment Jiang Ning and Huang Wanqing received was worlds apart.
If someone like Huang Wanqing were to encounter misfortune, many would genuinely grieve for her.
Jiang Ning, who had once contemplated death herself, found it almost laughable that she could still feel sorrow for another’s life.
Jiang Ning felt utterly exhausted, her body no longer obeying her commands.
The river water seemed like a merciless beast, relentlessly battering and dragging her body, as if mockingly jeering at her feeble resistance.
A sudden wave of fatigue made her limbs feel as heavy as lead. She knew this wasn’t her true intention—it was just the physical manifestation of her depression taking hold.
Yet she no longer wanted to struggle, like a marionette with its strings cut, allowing the turbulent currents to drag her body toward the abyss.
Suddenly, Jiang Ning was lifted and forcefully pulled out of the water.
Splash—
Jiang Ning instinctively coughed, severe oxygen deprivation and water inhalation causing a deafening roar in her ears.
For a moment, she could hear almost nothing.
She forced open her stinging eyelids and saw what seemed like an illusion—Xi Yue, cutting through the rippling waves in the water, swimming toward her.
As if breaking through time and space.
In her daze,
Jiang Ning heard a voice, muffled by the rushing water.
“Ningning!”
She hadn’t heard that name in six years.
…
Jiang Ning had only fainted from choking on water. She vaguely sensed someone giving her artificial respiration.
If this were a kiss, it would have been incredibly intimate.
But Jiang Ning’s entire body was icy cold. All she could hear were increasingly frantic, trembling pleas.
“Wake up.”
“Please…”
Exhaustion kept her from opening her eyes, so she could only tilt her head slightly in response.
When she finally regained full consciousness, she found Xi Yue had already built a campfire, and her jacket was half-dried by the heat.
It really was Xi Yue.
Not an illusion.
Jiang Ning’s head throbbed with pain, taking a long while to recover.
She heard Xi Yue ask her,
“How do you feel?”
His voice had returned to its usual calm, as if the trembling tones she’d heard in her half-conscious state were nothing but illusions.
Suppressing her discomfort, Jiang Ning struggled to sit up and nodded.
Xi Yue felt the clothes drying by the fire, then picked them up and handed them to Jiang Ning.
“Luckily, I happened to have a flint in my pocket. Change into this first. Take off your wet clothes and dry them by the fire.”
Jiang Ning took the jacket and glanced at Xi Yue again.
Xi Yue showed no intention of avoiding the situation. Seeing Jiang Ning awake and in decent condition, he even seemed in good spirits.
Jiang Ning: “Turn around.”
Only then did Xi Yue reluctantly turn away, muttering under his breath,
“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.”
This silly dog…
Jiang Ning truly didn’t know what to say.
As she changed, she heard Xi Yue say from behind, “I’ve already sent out the location signal. The production team should be here soon.”
Jiang Ning softly replied, “Mm,” and added, “Thank you for saving me.”
Xi Yue probably thought she had run out of strength in the river and started mocking her again.
“Without the stamina, don’t try to play the hero and save people. Do you think trading one life for another is something to be proud of?”
Jiang Ning didn’t say much. After changing her clothes, she turned around.
Xi Yue was poking the campfire with a tree branch, making the flames burn brighter.
Only then did she notice that, to protect her, a long gash had been torn into his arm by a sharp branch in the water.
Blood had soaked his sleeve into a dark shade, spreading out in a large patch.
Jiang Ning had nothing with her, so she could only clean the obvious debris from his wound and tear a piece of cloth from the hem of her clothes to help stop the bleeding.
She didn’t speak to Xi Yue, just lowered her gaze and focused intently on bandaging his wound.
From Xi Yue’s perspective, a strand of hair hung over Jiang Ning’s forehead, her head bowed like dark clouds obscuring the sky or the night descending over the mountains.
Jiang Ning’s appearance had always been flawless.
This face easily captured the hearts of others.
Xi Yue thought coldly.
But the owner of this face was a cold and heartless woman.
He heard Jiang Ning finally speak.
“Is there anything about me worth your relentless pursuit?”
Xi Yue raised an eyebrow, the corner of his eyes lifting slightly. “Really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“Answer one question for me.”
Jiang Ning looked at Xi Yue calmly, signaling him to ask.
Xi Yue: “Do you still like me now?”
Jiang Ning paused.
For a moment, even the howling mountain wind suddenly ceased, as if the entire world had been muted.
After a long while, Xi Yue finally heard Jiang Ning answer softly.
“No, I don’t.”
When Jiang Ning said this, she didn’t look at Xi Yue.
She had thought this answer would anger Xi Yue, making him never curious about such questions again.
But who knew Xi Yue would let out a mocking laugh.
“Then why are you still so fixated on this kind of question?”
A thick, aggressive mischief flashed in Xi Yue’s eyes. “If Miss Jiang is so carefree, not even caring about what others think of you, why bother with what someone you don’t like—someone insignificant—wants to do?”