Shao Qihai had been paying attention to them the entire time. Therefore, he noticed that something was amiss immediately and quickly dived into the water to swim toward them.
He tried his best because he could already tell who the person who had appeared was.
His nickname was ‘Old Fish’, a nickname he had been given because he was ridiculously proficient in the water, just like a fish. Anyplace with water was his territory.
That was the person they had been looking for all this time. Jiang Feng had been chasing after him.
Old Fish and his gang were all fugitives. Shao Qihai had faked his death so that his family wouldn’t be involved in such a dangerous situation. However, fate had played a trick on him. Mu Jingzhe and Shao Xi had still ended up in the hands of such a person.
Shao Qihai’s heart turned cold as unprecedented panic engulfed him. All he could think of was that he had to be faster.
However, he had to swim over from the shore, so it was simply too far away and it didn’t seem like he was going to make it.
It was too late for the rescuers, Jiang Feng, Shao Qihai, or Ji Buwang.
Shao Xi was suddenly caught because Old Fish was being chased by someone, and because of the thing Old Fish was carrying on him, he was just randomly trying to grab someone to protect himself. At that moment, Shao Xi had come into view, so he made for a convenient target.
After all, Shao Xi was only a kid and seemed easy to control. However, he had never imagined that he would encounter Mu Jingzhe, who didn’t care about her own life.
Mu Jingzhe held onto Shao Xi tightly and refused to let go. Old Fish kicked her several times but still couldn’t kick her away.
Mu Jingzhe was strong and had an advantage on land. However, she had completely lost this advantage in the water. Because she wasn’t good at swimming, it was difficult for her to even protect herself. She was kicked so hard that she instantly drank several mouthfuls of water and almost sank.
The only reason she didn’t let go completely was the sheer power of her determination.
“Let go of Shao Xi!” Shao Xi didn’t know how to swim, so he bobbed up and down and drank a few mouthfuls of water. Seeing that the situation was getting worse, Mu Jingzhe was extremely anxious.
Old Fish was even more anxious. Every second he delayed would cause him endless trouble. He could tell that Mu Jingzhe wasn’t good at swimming, so he reached out and pressed Mu Jingzhe into the water.
Shao Xi’s expression changed drastically when he saw this, and he ruthlessly bent Old Fish’s fingers.
Old Fish was in pain and could only free up his hands to save his fingers. The more he looked at Shao Xi, the angrier he got. Originally, Shao Xi’s head had been exposed outside, but the angry Old Fish now pressed him into the water as well.
Mu Jingzhe finally managed to stick her head out and started coughing. However, when she saw this, her expression changed, and she ruthlessly hit Old Yu, pulling Shao Xi up.
The fist landed squarely on Old Fish’s head, making him feel dizzy for a moment. Viciousness appeared in the depths of his eyes as he took out a knife.
Shao Xi’s expression changed when he saw the knife. He shouted, “Mommy, run!”
Mommy couldn’t get hurt. Shao Xi struggled and shouted in spite of the water choking him. “Mommy, leave quickly!”
His eyes were filled with pleas. He didn’t want Mu Jingzhe to be in danger. He was already very grateful that she had been trying this hard to save him. He couldn’t allow Mu Jingzhe to be injured because of him.
But how could Mu Jingzhe let go? She resisted the Old Fish’s knife-wielding hand with great difficulty. “Let him go!”
As soon as she said that, she kicked his lower body ruthlessly.
Old Fish didn’t think that Mu Jingzhe would dare to retaliate. He wanted to break free from Mu Jingzhe’s hand, but he discovered that her strength was abnormally great. He couldn’t break free at all, and the kick was particularly painful.
He held Shao Xi with one hand while his knife-wielding hand was gripped by Mu Jingzhe. Mu Jingzhe gripped Old Fish with one hand and snatched Shao Xi with the other.
Neither of them could move their hands, so they were in a deadlock. They could only rely on their feet.
Old Fish was very proficient. Mu Jingzhe was kicked again and again. Besides, there was a sharp weapon hidden by his feet, so blood quickly appeared.
He was waiting for Mu Jingzhe to give up, but he never expected Mu Jingzhe to refuse to let go even though she was about to faint.
She had used too much force, and that slap was painful. In the end, she actually managed to snatch Shao Xi back from Old Fish.
After Mu Jingzhe snatched Shao Xi back, she exerted her last bit of strength and kicked Old Fish fiercely. She aimed a palm strike at Old Fish’s throat and watched him sink before bringing Shao Xi back.
Ji Donghun had been rowing the boat and following them. Thus, he saw it the moment Mu Jingzhe brought Shao Xi out.
“This way.”
Mu Jingzhe pulled the oar that Ji Buwang handed over and leaned to put Shao Xi back on the boat.
When Shao Xi was back on the boat, Mu Jingzhe heaved a sigh of relief. However, she had choked on too much water. Previously, she had relied solely on her willpower to hold on. After heaving a sigh of relief, she felt her vision turn black and fainted.
“Mu Jingzhe!” Ji Buwang watched Mu Jingzhe sink into the water, his hand grabbing nothing.
“Mommy!”
Shao Xi, who had been in a daze, got up with a pale face when he heard Ji Buwang’s shout, only to see Mu Jingzhe sinking.
Just as Ji Buwang was about to jump down in despair, he heard the sound of water splashing as Mu Jingzhe was pulled up by someone.
It was Shao Qihai, who had swum over with all his might and saved Mu Jingzhe.
The boat was too small and made resuscitation difficult. Shao Qihai ignored Ji Buwang’s shouts and swam directly to the shore.
The people on the shore threw a lifebuoy over. When Shao Qihai grabbed it, he returned to the shore as fast as he could.
After slapping her back to try and make her spit out the water and seeing that Mu Jingzhe was still unconscious, Shao Qihai laid her down and was about to perform CPR on her when Ji Buwang and Shao Xi also came ashore.
“What are you doing?” Ji Buwang stopped Shao Qihai.
Shao Qihai said impatiently, “Saving her.”
Just as he was about to lower his head to perform CPR on her, he was stopped by Ji Buwang. “I know how to do it too. Let me do it.”
To think Ji Buwang was still pulling a stunt like this at such a critical moment! Shao Qihai couldn’t help but push Ji Buwang away. “Don’t get in my way while I’m saving a person.”
This was his wife. He would be the one to save her.
As Shao Qihai was about to continue, he turned around and saw that while they were arguing, Shao Xi had already begun to save her.
Shao Qihai and Ji Buwang: “…”
Although Shao Xi was only a child and didn’t know how to swim, Mu Jingzhe had taught them first aid before, so he couldn’t be bothered waiting for the two of them.
He didn’t even see Shao Qihai and Ji Buwang quarreling. He only wanted to save Mu Jingzhe.
“Mommy, please… Please wake up.”
Looking at Shao Xi, Shao Qihai and Ji Buwang instantly felt somewhat guilty. What were they doing just now?
After Shao Xi finished performing CPR, he raised Mu Jingzhe’s head and pinched her nose. As he was about to continue, Mu Jingzhe coughed out a mouthful of water and woke up.
“Cough, cough…”
“Mommy, you’re finally awake.”
Feeling tense, Shao Xi watched as Mu Jingzhe opened her eyes and slumped on the ground.
“You scared the hell out of me, Mommy. You scared the sh*t out of me. Do you have any idea how scared I was earlier? I was afraid you’d die trying to save me…”
Shao Xi’s voice trembled. He didn’t dare imagine what he would have done if Mu Jingzhe had died while saving him.
He had promised to treat Mu Jingzhe well and repay her. He had promised her so much, yet he hadn’t yet had the chance to do all those things for her. He had promised his grandmother so much and had even promised to give Mu Jingzhe a pension. If Mommy were to die because of him now, how was he supposed to continue living?
At the thought of this, Shao Xi couldn’t help but wail. “Mom, don’t take any risks in the future. Don’t save me again…”
Mu Jingzhe had just woken up when she was alarmed by Shao Xi’s wails.
“I’m not dead yet, am I?” She tried to comfort him.
When she said this, Shao Xi became even more agitated. “But you almost died. You almost died. If you die, how will I face Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle? How will I explain it to them? How will I explain it to Little Bei and the rest?
“You just taught me that even if you know how to swim, you can’t save people unless you are trained. Why didn’t you do what you preached? You clearly haven’t mastered swimming yourself either. Why did you still try to save me?”
How could his life compare to hers?
In the past, when Shao Xi had seen parents fighting for their children, he had been envious of them for having such good parents. Now that he had such a mother, he was afraid.
He would rather not have such a mother.
A child like him, who had been abandoned by even his biological father, wasn’t worth Mu Jingzhe risking her life for him.
“Mom, promise me you won’t take any risks for me. I’m afraid…” Shao Xi was scared. He’d freaked out when he had seen Mu Jingzhe sink to the bottom.
He was more scared than he’d be if he were to die.
He would rather die than have Mu Jingzhe face that kind of danger.
