“Grill it yourself.” Gu Yuan didn’t indulge him and leaned lightly against the rattan chair. “Once I have a partner in the future, you’ll have to BBQ on your own.”
“Ah? Can’t you grill for both of us?” Zhou Chiyu feared the charcoal fire and had never done grilling skewers or peeling shrimp. “I’m scared of this.”
He tentatively reached out and immediately got singed by the grill’s heat, wrinkling his face in grievance.
Seeing this, Gu Yuan immediately came over to check. “Did it get burned red?”
“No, just hurts.” Zhou Chiyu took the chance to complain. “You don’t even have a partner yet, and you’re already disowning this brother of yours. You said you’d carry me for life, huh? Looks like that promise can’t be kept either.”
Gu Yuan fetched an ice pack and gently applied it for him, chuckling to himself at his words. “Once I have a partner, how can I carry you for life?”
“And besides… if you in the future…”
Gu Yuan’s voice grew lighter and lighter as he spoke.
He didn’t want to entertain such hypotheticals.
“How will I be in the future?” Zhou Chiyu tilted his head to look at him.
“Nothing.” Gu Yuan held his breath. “Let’s eat. I’ll grill for you.”
Zhou Chiyu revealed a victorious smile and contentedly leaned back in the camping chair, leisurely saying, “Then I’ll have to trouble Brother.”
…
After eating, Gu Yuan needed to discuss some academic matters with his professor, so he took his laptop and got busy.
Bored lying on the bed by himself, Zhou Chiyu went to find Wu Chen and the others to play.
“Going today?”
After hearing Wu Chen’s suggestion, Zhou Chiyu pondered. “But my brother is busy.”
“We can go scout the path first and call the others tomorrow night.” Wu Chen wanted to create a chance for Zhou Chiyu and Xie Lin to be alone. Since Gu Yuan was busy, the timing was perfect.
“Alright.” Zhou Chiyu simply packed his things. “Then we’ll go early and come back early.”
At the shore, Xie Lin was already waiting on the wooden boat. Seeing Zhou Chiyu arrive, he eagerly took his schoolbag. “Little Fish, I brought you a cushion. You can sit on it to rest.”
The wooden boat had an electric motor below, so they didn’t need to row themselves, but Wu Chen still arranged for staff to accompany them to prevent accidents.
Zhou Chiyu thanked him, his gaze falling on the life jackets.
“Xie Lin, do you know how to swim?”
That childhood drowning incident had left a big shadow on Zhou Chiyu, making him afraid of water for a time.
“Yes.” Xie Lin was thrilled at the chance to go to Jinshan Cave alone with Zhou Chiyu to look for minerals. After the staff delivered them to the cave entrance, he went up first and extended a hand to Zhou Chiyu. “I’ll hold you.”
“Thanks.” Zhou Chiyu gripped Xie Lin’s wrist and slightly let go after stepping into the cave. “Wow, this place is too beautiful.”
As they went deeper, the stone walls faintly glowed with pretty blue light. Zhou Chiyu held up his camera, beaming. “A friend of mine who studies mineral resources seems really interested in this stuff. I plan to take some back for him.”
“Of course. I’ll help you.” Xie Lin held the flashlight and rummaged in his schoolbag. “It’s a happiness to be your friend.”
Zhou Chiyu was entirely focused on these rare minerals and slowly said, “You’re my friend too.”
“Little Fish, I forgot to bring the tools for mining the minerals.” Xie Lin was annoyed. “Wait here for me. I’ll go get them now.”
Zhou Chiyu pressed the shutter. “OK, no problem.”
Xie Lin returned to the cave entrance, called the staff over, and took the boat away.
This cave entrance was at the base of a cliff, surrounded by seawater. During high tide, the entrance could even be submerged.
Back on shore, he saw the sea surface rippling with fine silver scales, and the sound of the waves seemed to grow louder.
“I’ll be quick.”
After Xie Lin left, the staff guarded the boat and noticed a hazy gray line appearing about five nautical miles from the shore.
He frowned warily, suspecting the high tide might come earlier than expected.
A minute later, that blurry gray line became clearer, surging toward the shore like an avalanche, crashing against the rocks.
“Not good!”
The staff quickly notified his colleague, who rushed to the living room to report to Wu Chen. “Young Master, the tide is rising, but Young Master Zhou is still in the cave. We need more manpower to rescue him quickly.”
“The tide is rising?” Hearing those words, Xie Lin dropped all the tools he had barely gathered and hurried over. “What about Little Fish!”
Wu Chen’s mind went blank, and he ran to the shore with Xie Lin. By the time they arrived, the tide had already overflowed the outer coconut trees on the beach.
“You guys hurry and take the boats to save Little Fish!”
“Get the helicopter ready too!”
Wu Chen was, after all, just an eighteen-year-old kid, flustered as he directed the rescue.
What if something really happened to Zhou Chiyu?
Wu Chen’s face paled, and he muttered, “Quickly call Gu Yuan over too!”
The salty sea mist around them grew thicker.
Xu Moting and the others ran over, seeing the cave mouth battered by wind and waves, and anxiously asked, “Can we contact Zhou Chiyu? We have to tell him not to go deeper into the cave.”
“No contact.” Xie Lin held his phone, his arm trembling slightly as endless guilt surged in his heart.
After all, he was the one who had brought Zhou Chiyu along.
Soon, urgent footsteps sounded from the shore.
Xie Lin, head hanging low, saw Gu Yuan heading straight for an empty boat.
“Gu Yuan!”
Wu Chen tried to stop him. “There are already three boats gone to save Little Fish. The tide is about to come in; it’s too dangerous for you to go like this.”
“Don’t need you to worry.”
Mixed with the damp, fishy smell gradually soaking his clothes, Gu Yuan tightly pressed his lips, his eyes bloodshot.
