The sea wind, mixed with chill, continuously poured into the cave. Zhou Chiyu was organizing the photo album, his footsteps unsteady from the gusts that swept in.
He shielded his forehead with his hand and looked toward the cave entrance. He discovered that the light at the opening grew dimmer and dimmer, as the entire sky was about to be swallowed by the waves.
His phone buzzed in the schoolbag. He leaned against the cave wall, answered Wu Chen’s call against the raging wind.
“Little Fish! You finally picked up!”
“The tide is rising! Hurry to the cave entrance and wait for us to rescue you!”
Upon hearing the words “tide is rising,” Zhou Chiyu quickened his steps and rushed to the entrance. Sure enough, seawater surged inward along the opening, nearly submerging his shoes.
“Brother!”
Zhou Chiyu panicked. He stood at the entrance, anxiously peering outside, but the waves were too high—he couldn’t see anything clearly.
Memories from a few years ago flashed repeatedly in his mind. He instinctively stepped back, only to realize that the cave sloped downward continuously, with the entrance at the highest point.
“Brother.”
Zhou Chiyu gripped his phone and dialed Gu Yuan, but after a long wait, it was just a busy tone.
“Brother…”
He tried his best to stay calm. Since Wu Chen said they had sent people for rescue, he would definitely be fine.
The sea wind tore all surrounding sounds into fragments.
Gazing at the waves that rose higher and higher, Zhou Chiyu felt a terrifying sense of being trapped in the center of the ocean.
His throat was dry. He clung desperately to the cave wall, his lips nearly turning purple from the sea wind: “Brother…”
At that moment, the only thing on his mind was Gu Yuan.
The crest of the rising tide already crashed against Zhou Chiyu’s chest. He hesitated, picked up his phone, and quickly sent a message to the Corporation’s internal system.
[I am now trapped in a cave. If anything happens to me, I am willing to leave all my assets under my name to Mr. Gu Songyuan and his grandson, Mr. Gu Yuan.]
After drafting it, he affixed his name seal and silently awaited rescue.
With a “boom,” a massive wave crashed wildly toward the entrance. Zhou Chiyu was soaked through by the salty seawater, bending over in a fit of coughing.
Time ticked by agonizingly. He realized the seawater had risen to his calves.
Shivering all over, he prepared to record a voice message for Gu Yuan.
The sound of cracking stones mixed with the roar of the waves. Zhou Chiyu’s icy hand gripped the phone tightly: “Brother, I seem to be really unlucky—I’ve run into another bad thing. If I end up going to the heavens to be with my mom, dad, and grandpa, you have to burn some good food for me every Qingming Festival. I don’t want to go hungry.”
“And… Brother, you have to be happy every day.”
“I’ll protect you from up there.”
The last few words were swallowed by the howling sea wind.
Zhou Chiyu was inadvertently swept by seawater that surged past his chest and fell against the sharp, cold stone wall, wincing in pain.
“Brother…”
He struggled desperately, clinging tightly to a protruding rock at the entrance. Just as he was about to be submerged, he vaguely saw a familiar figure in his daze.
“Little Fish!”
Gu Yuan and the rescue team had arrived at the entrance, but staring at the cave filled two-thirds with seawater, his fingers dug deeply into his palms.
A helicopter circled overhead. Several staff members furrowed their brows, eyeing the pitch-black entrance uncertainly about how to proceed with the rescue.
They hadn’t brought diving gear. Rashly entering the cave without knowing the terrain inside could be life-threatening.
Moreover—
At the current rate, in another five minutes, the cave would be completely flooded.
“Where might Young Master Zhou be positioned?”
“How deep is the cave? Has he already been swept further in?”
The staff on the boat discussed the rescue plan animatedly. Gu Yuan stared fixedly at the cave, grabbed a bundle of rope without hesitation, tied one end to the boat and the other around his waist, and plunged in.
“Hey! Young Master Gu!”
“My god, he’s lost his mind.”
Gu Yuan had already submerged into the sea and swam toward the entrance.
Bitter, foul seawater assaulted his mouth and nose relentlessly. He held his breath as his clothes were whipped up by the turbulent waves.
In this season, the seawater was piercingly cold.
Gu Yuan forced open his stinging eyes with all his might, his trachea feeling stabbed by countless silver needles.
Suddenly—
He saw a pair of slender arms clinging tightly to the stone wall.
Little Fish!
He struggled to swim in that direction but was struck by a sudden whirlpool. He couldn’t help choking on several mouthfuls of water and slammed into the cliff wall.
A faint bloody scent permeated the surroundings. Gu Yuan’s eardrums throbbed with increasing pain, and his vision blurred more and more under the seawater.
It’s fine…
He could do it…
This time, he wouldn’t repeat the same mistake.
He would definitely reach Zhou Chiyu.
…
The waterlogged phone kept flashing message notifications. In the quiet bedroom, everyone awaited the doctor’s examination results.
“Gu Yuan, go change into some dry clothes first.”
Wu Chen paced dejectedly with his hands behind his back, not daring to meet Gu Yuan’s eyes.
Suggesting they go mining for minerals had been his idea, and failing to predict the tide time was their fault.
Seeing Gu Yuan drenched to the bone filled him with guilt: “You’ll catch a cold like this, and your back is injured.”
Xie Lin stood right behind Gu Yuan and could clearly see the bloodstains washed repeatedly by the seawater.
The responsibility for this incident lay with him.
He had no idea how to face Zhou Chiyu.
“Doctor, how is my brother?”
Gu Yuan ignored Wu Chen’s reminder and asked hoarsely.
