Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Faster!”

Like putting dumplings into boiling soup, the rescuers jumped into the water one after another. On their backs, they brought along the injured and the sick as they moved along the metal rope, then swam towards the other end of the lake.

Bai Muchuan looked at Xiang Wan who was still standing by the lake. “You go ahead first with Cheng Zheng…”

“I’ll go with you!” Xiang Wan cut him short. “You’ve promised me you won’t let me wait anymore.”

“…”

Bai Muchuan was dumbfounded.

After a while, he let out a sigh.

“Aye! Seems like you won’t listen to me anymore!”

Xiang Wan smiled and limped over to him.

She was actually enjoying the moment of going through thick and thin with Bai Muchuan.

Cheng Zheng left with the sick and the injured group. Lima did not know how to swim, so she stood by the lake shaking in fear. She didn’t dare grab the metal rope and couldn’t move a step at all…

Mei Xin was carrying the medical equipment on her back. She stretched her hand out to Lima.

“You can go with me!”

It moved her as this female Medical Examiner was very compassionate toward her.

However, Lima didn’t feel safe after looking at Mei Xin’s skinny build.

“I… I’m scared!”

“Oh, then you cross over by yourself.”

Mei Xin put her hand down. That offer was already the best she had done as she had a cold personality. Since Lima rejected her help, she wouldn’t ask a second time and wouldn’t coax Lima.

Splash!

Mei Xin got into the water with her medical equipment.

Lima trembled. “…”

Standing on the shore, she continued to shake in fear. However, she turned around to look at Bai Muchuan instead.

“Captain Bai, can I… go with you…?”

Normally, a man would not bear to reject a woman like her, who was similar to a harmless and pitiful rabbit.

However, before Bai Muchuan could reply, Xie Wanwan had already walked over to Lima. With a sneer, she put her arm around Lima’s shoulder.

“You can go with me! I’m a good swimmer! I saved Salimu earlier…”

“Ah!? I…” Lima was in a daze as she looked at Xie Wanwan’s pale face.

“Well, I said you’ll go with me.” Xie Wanwan squinted her eyes where she revealed a cold glint. She also lowered her voice where only Lima could hear her. “Don’t shamelessly try to stick to them and create discord! It’s disgusting!”

“What did you say? I never thought about that.” Lima’s expression changed immediately upon hearing those words.

“Do you think that I don’t know you well enough?” Both women were in the same film set after all. Lima joined them shortly after the film set arrived in Nanmu. Xie Wanwan knew what Lima was up to. “Bai Muchuan’s not the type of man you’ve slept with!” She mocked. “He’s not interested in you or your body!”

“You—” Lima felt humiliated and was enraged.

Her beautiful but flirtatious looking eyes were glaring at Xie Wanwan angrily, wishing she could deal with Xie Wanwan.

“… I’m better than you. Back in the villa at Vulture’s Mouth, he personally said… that he wanted me… and that I have a great figure!”

Xie Wanwan seemed surprised for a moment but suddenly gave a sly smile. “Oh, is it?”

Lima was talking softly when she raised her voice as she replied. “You can go ahead and ask… Ah!”

Ask my foot! Xie Wanwan dissed inside her head. She did not give Lima any chance to finish talking. She just sneered disdainfully at Lima. She then held her waist and pulled her heavily into the water.

Splash!

Splash!

The two of them dove into the lake at the same time.

“AH!”

Lima’s terrified scream could be heard!

She was a non-swimmer. After she landed on the cold, chilly water, she was so frightened as if death was holding her neck firmly. She flapped her arms frantically, unable to find the metal rope, and her body was sinking fast into the lake…

“Just look at your useless self! Do you really think Bai Muchuan will sleep with you?” Xie Wanwan grabbed Lima’s hair and pulled her up. “If you don’t want to die,” she said in a harsh tone, “you better grab hold of the metal rope!”

The desire to live superseded everything else.

After drinking a few mouthfuls of lake water, her mind had went blank.

She only wanted to survive!

She panted heavily once her head was out of the water and grabbed the metal rope tightly. She looked at Xie Wanwan and couldn’t say a word.

“Not moving?” Xie Wanwan looked at her casually. “If you’re not moving, I’ll go ahead first!”

“I’ll move—” Lima was chattering in the cold.

At that moment, she regretted that she didn’t leave with Mei Xin…

This woman, Xie Wanwan, had always been an overbearing person from what Lima had seen for herself when they were at the film set…

“This evil woman… why… why didn’t she die in the explosion?”

Lima was mumbling when Xie Wanwan suddenly turned around, glaring at Lima. “Mm? Did you say something?”

Lima’s face instantly drained of color, paler than earlier. Her hands that were holding onto the metal rope were trembling as she looked at Xie Wanwan’s unfriendly expression. She was so terrified she couldn’t say a word.

Xie Wanwan smirked haughtily as she moved toward Lima. “Don’t be afraid, little beauty, I’ll protect you—”

“Ah!” Lima fell into the water as she struggled and drank another mouthful of lake water.

“You won’t die! Don’t make a fuss!”

“… You did that on purpose!”

“Shut up!”

…

Xiang Wan was right about Xie Wanwan.

As she had proven for countless of times, Xie Wanwan was trustworthy, brave, and loyal.

The only thing that could make her irrational would be her feelings toward Bai Muchuan.

The group of people slowly swam across the lake.

Although Xiang Wan did not hear the conversation between Xie Wanwan and Lima, her intuition as a woman could not be taken lightly… some things could simply be felt.

She stood there for a moment before turning to look at Bai Muchuan’s side profile.

“Are you alright?”

She could clearly see that at this very moment, Bai Muchuan was putting on a brave front.

What would happen to his wound when soaked in the water for a long period of time? Xiang Wan did not dare to think about it. He was the spiritual figure of the group whom everyone looked up to. He was their source of motivation and morale…

Thus, Xiang Wan did not show her worry when everyone was around lest it would affect their morale.

Bai Muchuan was expressionless.

He gave her a glance and held her hand.

He squeezed her hand tightly before asking Xiang Wan with a smile. “How is it? Was that strong?”

Xiang Wan nodded. “…”

Bai Muchuan smiled. “With you by my side, I’ll be fine.”

Xiang Wan looked at him. His hair was messy and she could see droplets of water on his forehead. She lifted her arm and used her sleeve to wipe them off for him…

“You don’t have to act tough! There are no outsiders here.”

These were not water from the lake. They were perspiration.

The weather was very cold wherein they could feel the blow of cold breeze. Yet he was actually perspiring in such an environment.

Xiang Wan placed her palm on his forehead. The burning sensation made her hand quiver a little.

“Bai Muchuan, you’re running a fever!”

Sure enough, her fears came true.

Xiang Wan was so worried that she also, began to perspire. However, Bai Muchuan still acted as though there was nothing to be worried about. The smile on his face was still so charming.

“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry! Even if I’m sick, I can still take care of you…”

“You…” Xiang Wan was already at a loss of words.

At a place that lacked medicine and medical care, besides being worried, what else could she do?

Xiang Wan held his arm tightly and anxiously as she looked at the opposite bank of the lake.

As the fog on the surface of the lake was heavy, they were unable to see any of their teammates now.

Xiang Wan was worried about Bai Muchuan. She swept a glance at the assault rifle still in Bai Muchuan’s hand… At that moment, he looked like a hero in her eyes.

She stayed silent for a moment. “Let’s cross too…”

“Let’s wait a while more!” Bai Muchuan looked at the metal rope wrapped around the huge rock. “Let’s wait for all of them to get on land.”

Once they reached the opposite bank of the lake and were safe, even if the metal rope were to fall back into the lake, Bai Muchuan believed he could still swim across the lake successfully…

“You know how to swim?” He suddenly thought of this and asked Xiang Wan.

“Yes,” Xiang Wan seemed a little embarrassed. “But I’m just an average swimmer.”

“What do you mean by average? To me, a duck flapping on the water is considered average.”

“…” Xiang Wan felt speechless at his remark. “Better than the duck a little.”

“That’s okay.” Bai Muchuan laughed. “Seems like you are protecting me as well.”

His voice sounded weaker with each word he said. Xiang Wan noticed that his hand quivered as he held his rifle.

Xiang Wan tightened her grip on his arm a little. “Are you feeling uncomfortable? Why not do this? You cross the lake first, I’ll watch here…”

“Aren’t you silly!” Not sure when, but Bai Muchuan’s gaze was filled with gentleness. “You told me you don’t want to wait for me, it’s the same for me too.”

“…” Xiang Wan felt a tingling sensation in her nose, unable to say a word.

“Don’t stand there in a daze, get ready to enter the water.” Bai Muchuan lowered his head to look at her. “Are you afraid of the cold? Xie Wanwan’s wearing your scarf now.”

The two of them could not talk to each other in the earlier chaotic situation.

Xiang Wan did not think Bai Muchuan would take notice of little things like that.

However, in actual fact, even such small detail did not escape his eyes.

Xiang Wan felt her heart went a little warm as she looked at him fondly.

“In order to be the woman in your life, I have to make myself stronger. This cold is nothing!”

Bai Muchuan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He patted her on the head. “You already are. You’re my woman.”

There was silence.

There were winds by the lake.

The breeze blowing on her face was supposed to be cold. However, at that moment, Xiang Wan felt that her cheeks were burning hot.

“You silly!” Bai Muchuan continued, “Quick, do some warm-up exercises. Once you’re ready, we’ll get in the lake.”

Xiang Wan nodded and looked at her leg. She gritted her teeth in determination as she replied, “Okay.”

Throughout her life, Xiang Wan had not experienced such hardships, nor was there a need for her to act this tough before.

Sometimes pain and fear were scarier than death itself…

Even though she was mentally prepared, when she really got into the cold, chilly lake in winter, that experience was really a test of her mental strength.

Xiang Wan was chattering, but she was trying to suppress it as she did not want Bai Muchuan to worry about her. However, her teeth did not obey the signals her brain sent at all. She gritted her teeth, but the muffled chattering sounds were still there. Her body went stiff in the cold water, and her arms could hardly move…