Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Where do you want to go?”
Zhuang Xiaodie’s clothes were not the best-suited for the quick pace at which they were walking. However, it would have been inappropriate to slow down their travel pace. When Zhang Zian was not paying attention to her, she took advantage of that in order to change into sneakers.
“You’ll know in a minute,” he said without looking back at her.
The butterflies and moths in her stomach were a tell-tale sign of how she was feeling. Nevertheless, she looked forward to enjoying the unknown place that Zhang Zian was going to bring her to.
After they had turned a few corners, her eyes went wide at what she saw.
The sea!
A long coastline suddenly appeared.
Foamy waves washed onto the beach, and the strong wind blowing from the sea made her hair dazzle.
Seagull calls emerged from the air as they used the updraft to fly high in the skies. Their motionless wings looked very relaxed.
Perhaps it was because of the cold October weather or the water, which made swimming unsuitable, but there were few tourists by the sea.
Some figures could be seen flying kites in the distance. They resembled a family of three bringing their children with them.
“Why did you want to come here?” she asked.
“Look! Is that girl over there in danger?” Zhang Zian pointed to a figure between the rocks. From behind, she appeared to be a young girl wearing a light-blue sleeveless dress, her white arms and shoulders shining in the sun like flowers.
Her slim back was sufficient to excite anyone about seeing her face.
However, the beauty in this was that the girl was not walking amongst the rocks. She was seated in a wheelchair. It seemed that her legs were paralyzed, a fact that could make anyone feel injustice towards the creator.
The girl was wearing a dark green broad-brimmed hat, covering some parts of her face and her hair.
She needed to take good care of the hat. The strong sea breeze could have easily blown it away at any time, so she had to hold it firmly with one hand.
Had she come alone?
Had she rolled her wheelchair to the rugged rocks alone?
Maybe someone had pushed her there and left. This person had left her, a girl who couldn’t use either of her legs to walk, alone on the beach. All by herself.
There was no one else around her, and Zhang Zian could only assume or, rather, imagine another possibility. Maybe she could not bear the torture or the inconvenience of being unable to walk and planned to commit suicide.
The tide was rising.
The tide surged, and each wave was rushing up the shore, one after another. The water had already passed the bottom of the wheelchair, submerging her feet and legs, and the water was still rising.
The wheelchair was now being hit by the seawater and in danger. If a fierce wave came, it could overturn it.
Whether she wanted to commit suicide or not, Zhang Zian could not possibly let her die here. Furthermore, even if she wanted to commit suicide, she would be regretting the decision by now. In addition to her hand holding the hat, the other hand was trying to shake the wheelchair. It seemed that she wanted to turn the wheelchair around and wheel back to higher ground on the coast. However, the wheel was stuck deep in the sand, and the wheelchair was constantly being shaken by the seawater. Her efforts were proving to be futile.
Zhuang Xiaodie’s clothes were not suitable for running on the beach. Zhang Zian let go of her hand and hurriedly said, “Wait here for me. I’ll push her back to the shore.”
At that moment, there was no time to say more or argue with him. Without waiting for Zhuang Xiaodie’s response, he had already rushed to the girl, taking off his shoes while running towards her. He was ready to save her before she was swept away by the sea.
A larger wave hit. The wheelchair was shaken and tilted nearly 45 degrees.
The girl struggled so hard that the hand holding the hat ended up letting it go. She waved her hands frantically to try and maintain her balance on the wheelchair.
Her dark green hat was blown away by the wind, her long black hair fell down like a violent waterfall, and the wheelchair was about to topple…
A hand reached out in time, tightly holding the handle on the back of the wheelchair, followed by another hand.
Zhang Zian stood knee-deep in the water, resisting its impact and supporting the wheelchair with all his might, his head and face wet from the spray.
“Don’t be afraid! I’m here to help you!” he cried loudly over the deafening sound of the waves as salty water gushed into his mouth.
There was a short pause between the tides. He steadied the wheelchair against each wave and pulled it back vigorously before the next wave came.
The girl’s hair had also been made wet by the water from the sea. She covered her cheek with her palm to avoid being hit by the spray.
As the sea rose rapidly, Zhang Zian pulled the wheelchair to the bank. The water had remained at knee level. He pulled the wheelchair back ten meters, and the water level was soon at his feet.
Now, they were finally out of danger. He pulled the wheelchair back a few meters until he stepped on the somewhat-dry beach. There he stopped breathlessly, his strength nearly all gone.
He didn’t care to talk. He could only breathe heavily.
Probably because of her inability to move freely, the girl had not turned around to look at him. She wiped the water away from her face and continuously looked left and right as if searching for something that she had lost.
Zhang Zian noticed that her wide-brimmed hat had been blown to the shore by the wind. It lay quietly on the beach a few feet away, so it only took him a few steps to get it back and hand it to her.
“Are you looking for this?”
The girl reached out for the treasured hat, stretched out her arms, and placed it on her head.
As her light blue dress was drenched in seawater, it had become translucent and figure-hugging. Zhang Zian deliberately did not look at her directly, so he did not see her body, although he supposed she was a very beautiful girl based on his view of her back.
After taking a deep breath, he looked at Zhuang Xiaodie and saw that she was also slowly coming over. He waved to her. It might be more appropriate for Zhuang Xiaodie to attend to the girl because her clothes were dripping wet.
“Are you okay? Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?”
Before Zhuang Xiaodie reached them, he looked around her and asked this.
Looking at her out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw her shake her head.
“Did you come to the seaside alone? It’s extremely dangerous to be so close to the sea! Don’t you know that the sea will rise at high tide?” he asked.
This time around, she did not shake nor nod her head. Instead, she raised a jade-like arm and pointed into the distance.
Zhang Zian stood on tiptoe and looked in the direction she pointed. Far into the ocean, barely visible, a small boat was rocking back and forth with the waves. It seemed to be engine-powered. A figure sat in the boat, but because it was too far away, no other details could be seen clearly.
“Oh, did you come with that man?” Zhang Zian guessed what she meant.
She lowered her arm and nodded. “So you will stay by the sea until he comes back?” he asked her.
She nodded again.
