In this moment, Jiang Nannan quivered, and anything that was said couldn’t compare to the shock she felt when Xu Sanshi shed those tears in front of everyone.
She definitely knew how Xu Sanshi had been to her over these years. She also knew that what Xu Sanshi said to her wasn’t just for fun, and that he would actually give his life for her—but why did she care so much about what had happened in the past? Was what happened back then worth the fuss and dispute? However, that time left an impression in her that was far too deep.
It had been more than a minute since Xu Sanshi had left his original spot, but nobody hurried him.
No matter how this segment of the Sea God’s Fate was supposed to be arranged, everyone was willing to wait for this scene of true emotion and feeling. Everybody’s eyes were fixed on Jiang Nannan, who was ten meters in front of Xu Sanshi.
Jiang Nannan bit down on her lower lip, and stared at Xu Sanshi’s tear-filled face. She stared at his face that was as calm as ever, and there were several times when she wanted to speak, but nothing came out in the end.
“I understand now.” Xu Sanshi didn’t wait for too long. A sad smile broke out on his face, and he extended his arms to either side while his entire body fell backwards, as if he had lost all strength and balance.
Even as he was falling backwards, his gaze was fixed upon Jiang Nannan from beginning to end. Tears flowed from his face, and there was too much love, unwillingness, and grief in his eyes.
Kerplunk!
Xu Sanshi dropped into the water and water splashed everywhere. Xu Sanshi and his Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle disappeared in a streak of lightning. His fall into the water meant he was out of this event, and his tears never stopped flowing even as he collapsed into the water.
Men had tears, but they didn’t come easy; they came from the deepest of heartaches.
Xu Sanshi had known Jiang Nannan for six years, all the way till today. Xu Sanshi had been chasing her for six years without giving up, and he had been confessing to her continuously. However, all he got was rejection, as he had made a mistake six years ago that left a dark shadow in Jiang Nannan’s heart that just wouldn’t go away.
He had put in too much effort over the past six years, but he had been rejected from beginning to end.
Xu Sanshi had always been waiting. He had always been waiting for the clouds to part and for the sun to shine through the heavens, but the answer was always “no”. He was still rejected.
Jiang Nannan stared with slack eyes as Xu Sanshi plummeted into the water, and her soul seemed to have departed her body. She felt her legs go weak, and she crumpled back onto the water lily. If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao had frozen her leaf into ice, she would have probably fallen into the water as well.
“Bastard, bastard, bastard!” Jiang Nannan suddenly started to bawl, and she seemed to have lost herself as tears cascaded like a waterfall down her face.
“Why? Why are you always teasing me? Why? I’ve rejected you so many times, but why don’t you give up? You’re a big man now, why are you crying? Why do you have to cry?”
Everyone fell silent as they watched Jiang Nannan’s cries and her tears. The girls around her wanted to console her, but they didn’t even know where to start. In the end, nobody knew what exactly had happened between her and Xu Sanshi.
Jiang Nannan lay down on the water lily, and her voice became a little hoarse—her heart was also filled with countless stifled passions and emotions.
She stared at the gleaming reflection on the lake’s surface. She suddenly muttered with a trembling voice, “Don’t you go, you little shit…”
Xu Sanshi had shown her meticulous care and concern over the past six years. He had placed himself in peril and risked his life for her countless times—he had defended her against formidable enemies, and protected her against the dangers of the world. She was also a human made from flesh and bone, and how could she not be aware of all this? However, there was no way she could accept him, and that was because the dark shadow in her heart ever since that moment was engraved too deeply within her.
However, today, just now, when she saw the typically jocular and whimsical fella calmly shed tears for her, she could no longer control the repressed feelings and emotions in her heart.
Her emotions crumbled, and she finally lost control over herself. In that moment when she watched Xu Sanshi fall into the water, she felt as if she were about to lose him forever. She felt overwhelming helplessness and panic in that moment, and she almost feel hopelessness rising in her heart.
“Don’t you go, you little shit…”
Jiang Nannan sobbed weakly, but the hopelessness in her heart only became stronger. She finally understood—she understood that she could never lose that scoundrel that hounded and annoyed her every day.
“Whoosh!” The sound of water moving suddenly appeared in the cold ice beneath Jiang Nannan, and a head emerged from the surface.
Jiang Nannan immediately stopped mumbling and glanced over with a pair of dazed and blurry eyes.
He wiped the water from his face with his hands. His eyes were red and swollen, but there was a deep and warm smile on his face. “The little shit is here.”
Jiang Nannan was momentarily stunned as she stared at the impish smile on that pesky fella’s face—but she didn’t find it annoying and contemptuous anymore.
She went from helplessness to getting everything back, and the emotions in her heart erupted like a volcano. She suddenly leapt forward and plunged into the water as she forced that bastard back into the water.
“Damn you, damn you!”
Xu Sanshi said nothing at all, as he was pressed underwater and just blowing bubbles.
But those were bubbles of happiness.
The girls gawked with astonished eyes and slack jaws. The girl closest to Jiang Nannan felt tears well up in her eyes as she said, “Too passionate and touching! It’s so nice to have your own little shit.”
Xu Sanshi hugged Jiang Nannan tightly in his arms, and it took some effort for him to resurface from beneath the water. Both of them were already drenched at this point.
They gazed into each other’s eyes in the water. Xu Sanshi gently pushed away the purple hair on Jiang Nannan’s forehead that was covering her eyes.
“You were the one who called me back! You have to be responsible.”
Jiang Nannan’s face instantly blushed, and she lowered her head and whispered, “I’ll think about it.”
“I’ll wait for you even if you need a lifetime to think about it.” Xu Sanshi hugged her tightly in his arms once more as he spoke. Jiang Nannan feebly tried to resist, but then buried her head in his shoulder and didn’t want to lift her head anymore.
“Clap, clap, clap…” Everyone began to clap. Both the guys and the girls used thunderous applause to bless and celebrate the lovebirds before them.
Xu Sanshi raised his left hand and waved his fist in the air. He turned around and looked towards Huo Yuhao, and gave him a thumbs-up.
Xu Sanshi wasn’t a god, and everything he had done couldn’t have been a pretense. How could he return at the crucial moment? There was only one reason—he had the aid of Spiritual Detection Sharing.
Huo Yuhao had communicated Jiang Nannan’s reaction, and even her voice, to him through Spiritual Detection. Xu Sanshi’s hopelessness was converted into bewildering exhilaration, and he returned to Jiang Nannan’s side in the nick of time and finally took her hand and won her over. If he had missed this opportunity, or if Jiang Nannan eventually recovered her rationality, he would probably have to put in effort to try again yet another time. Furthermore, he wasn’t sure if he could have the same passion as before after today’s deep hopelessness.
Therefore, there was only heartfelt gratitude for Huo Yuhao at this moment. What did brotherhood mean? This was what it meant to be brothers, to aid each other in times of need.
Huo Yuhao flashed a faint smile. His blood was riled up too as he watched Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan’s embrace in the water. He could feel that his emotions were also rippling vigorously, and desire began to rise from his heart.
Bei Bei was the host, but he turned around and away from everyone. Tears could be seen in his eyes as well, and there was a deep longing for the person he loved at this moment. Where are you, Xiao Ya?
“Hey, you two are spoiling the rules. This is just the third segment, but the two of you can go directly into the last segment.” Zhang Lexuan smiled as she spoke.
Xu Sanshi laughed and said, “It’s all my fault, eldest senior sister. I will apologize to you later, but we’ll make a move first.” He didn’t intend to let everyone see what Jiang Nannan was like drenched, so the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle transformed into a dense black streak that enveloped the two of them and glided toward the shore on the other side.
Zhang Lexuan waved as she smiled. “Bless the two of you—do remember your confession to Jiang Nannan before this.”
“Definitely.” Xu Sanshi’s voice echoed in the distance.
Zhang Lexuan glanced at Bei Bei, who still had his back turned, and she whispered, “Are you alright?”
Bei Bei nodded and tilted his head upwards slightly. When he turned back around, a faint smile had returned to his face, but Zhang Lexuan could vividly see the dash of despondence in the deepest recesses of his eyes.
Zhang Lexuan’s body froze momentarily, but she quickly returned to normal. She smiled and said, “We shall begin the fourth segment soon. We have been through Mutual Feelings, Love at First Sight, and Love at Second Sight. It’s time to keep your love for three lifetimes, so the fourth segment is called Three Lifetimes of Fate.”
“The girls will take turns to introduce themselves in this segment, and they will choose the man that they like, and proceed to his side. The guys will be separated after this, so this allows for the charming guys to attract more than one girl. After this round, if one or several guys aren’t selected, then I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave the event. Those that remain will proceed to the final segment.”
There was no question that more guys would be forfeited in the fourth segment. Jiang Nannan had left the seventeen-strong lineup, and sixteen girls remained. Even if every girl chose a different guy, there could only be sixteen people who could remain out of the twenty-three male students. The girls had the initiative during the fourth segment of the Sea God’s Fate, and this was in line with the common saying, “ladies first”.
“You may begin. A point to note for the three girls who still have your conical bamboo hats—when you introduce yourselves later on, you may choose to take down your hats to reveal your appearance. If you still don’t reveal yourselves or if you only give clues, then in the final segment, and unless the guys choose one of you, then you can’t remove your bamboo hats till the end of the event. Now, can the girl with the first number tag introduce herself and make her choice?”
