A Stolen Romance - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: A Narrow Escape From Death

After a moment of pain, Shi Yuning’s feeling of weightlessness was suddenly replaced by the surging river water that completely enveloped her.

Shi Yuning was overjoyed beyond expectation. She opened her eyes underwater. They had truly, like the protagonists in stories, been blessed with incredible luck! The protagonist’s rule of not dying from a cliff jump had happened!

Below the mist, the bottom of the cliff was a body of water. The river was ice-cold, but Shi Yuning’s heart was on fire. Since she was okay, Xie Zhaoran must be okay, too.

Shi Yuning had grown up in a water town in the south, so she was a good swimmer. As soon as she hit the water, she quickly opened her eyes and began searching for Xie Zhaoran. But after searching all around where they landed, Shi Yuning couldn’t find her. She didn’t know if Xie Zhaoran knew how to swim, and her heart clenched tightly. She surfaced to determine the direction of the wind and the current, took a deep breath, and dived back into the water, swimming toward the northwest. Xie Zhaoran might have been carried away by the current.

…

The moment Xie Zhaoran saw Shi Yuning fall with her, her heart felt like it was being twisted. It was only when they hit the water that a little bit of joy and relief came to her. At least Shi Yuning wouldn’t die. She knew Shi Yuning had grown up in a water town and had heard her talk about her experiences of diving for fish as a child, so she thought Shi Yuning was a good swimmer and would survive.

Xie Zhaoran’s arm was injured. In order to support both their weights, one of her arms was dislocated and completely useless. The various wounds on her body, soaked in the water, ached so much that she was on the verge of fainting. She thrashed a few times, but she realized her right leg was also injured and couldn’t be used, and she began to sink.

Xie Zhaoran didn’t want to die. She couldn’t be sure that Shi Yuning was completely safe, and she had so many things she wanted to say to her. She wanted to tell her that she liked her. She had liked her from the very beginning. But no matter how much she struggled, she kept sinking.

Just before she lost consciousness, she thought of the protagonist’s rule Shi Yuning had mentioned. She was right, only a brilliant person like Shi Yuning should be a protagonist. Thinking of the short few months she had spent with her, Xie Zhaoran’s heart was filled with regret and remorse. Tears mixed with the water on her face, her body grew colder, and her consciousness became more and more blurry. In a daze, she suddenly felt a tight grasp on her foot.

…

Xie Zhaoran woke up from her stupor. Someone was holding her foot, pulling off her heavy, waterlogged boots. She had a guess and struggled to open her eyes. The light of the water shimmered, and she saw a familiar face. Who else could it be but Shi Yuning?

Xie Zhaoran watched as she struggled to pull off her shoes and toss them into the water. Time seemed to slow down a hundredfold underwater. She watched as Shi Yuning got closer and closer. The river water wasn’t clear, but she felt as if she could see Shi Yuning’s face clearly. Her outer robe was in tatters, with only a few strips of cloth left, swaying in the water. Her pure white inner clothes were stained with someone’s blood, a sight that was heartbreaking. The black hair that Xie Zhaoran had tied up for her had lost its hairband and was fanning out like seaweed in the water. Her face was very pale, but her eyes were bloodshot and pitiful.

Even though time seemed to have slowed, Shi Yuning still came to her side bit by bit. It’s so good that you’re alive. Xie Zhaoran closed her eyes, feeling safe and exhausted. She waved away Shi Yuning’s outstretched hand. She knew that being able to swim and being able to save someone were two different things. She wanted to tell her to go, to swim up and leave her, but unfortunately, underwater, she couldn’t utter a single word.

Her body felt lighter and lighter, as if she were floating. She thought she heard the wind, and she smelled a seductive fragrance. She remembered that she had only smelled that gentle yet bright scent on one person.

Xie Zhaoran remembered the first time she met Shi Yuning last year. First, she smelled a special scent, and then she saw a young girl rush out from a corner. Her round face was full of childlike curiosity and innocence. Her eyes were purely black. When she saw her, a look of awe flashed in her eyes. Xie Zhaoran heard her call her “pretty older sister.” She asked her who she was and where the Empress’s palace was.

For the first time, Xie Zhaoran’s heart pounded like a drum. It was the first time she had ever met such a cute girl, like a playful cat spirit who came up to you with a silly look and nudged you for affection. Seeing her get closer and closer, Xie Zhaoran abruptly took a step back and told her not to be rude.

Looking back at the past, Xie Zhaoran regretted it so much her intestines turned green. Why did she have to pretend back then? She should have kidnapped her and taken her back to her mansion, just to hear her call her “pretty older sister” all night long.

“Xie Zhaoran—Xie Zhaoran—”

Who’s calling me?

“Xie Zhaoran! Xie Zhaoran! Wake up! Wake up! Don’t fall asleep! Please, wake up! Don’t leave me alone! Wake up!”

Why does this voice sound like Shi Yuning’s? Why isn’t she calling me older sister anymore? And why would I leave her? I wish I could tie her to me and watch her all the time.

In the dark world, a few flashes of white light gradually appeared. Xie Zhaoran felt her body getting heavier again, and it ached all over.

Shi Yuning used all her strength to press on Xie Zhaoran’s abdomen more than ten times. Seeing that she was still unresponsive, she held back her tears, pinched Xie Zhaoran’s face, and gave her a few breaths. She wiped her tears and continued to press hard on her chest more than ten times.

“Cough, cough.”

Thank goodness. Seeing Xie Zhaoran finally cough up a few mouthfuls of water, Shi Yuning was overjoyed. She patted Xie Zhaoran’s face. “Xie Zhaoran, Xie Zhaoran, you’re awake! This is great! You’re not dead!”

Xie Zhaoran felt that her condition was very bad. Everything on her body ached, and even when she tried to comfort Shi Yuning, her throat hurt so much she couldn’t make a sound. After coughing up a few more mouthfuls of water, Xie Zhaoran was finally able to open her eyes fully.

Shi Yuning’s hair was dripping wet, and the wet bangs stuck to her face, making her look disheveled. Her eyes were bloodshot and looked extremely pitiful. Xie Zhaoran felt a pang of pain in her heart and coughed up a few more mouthfuls of water.

Shi Yuning was completely relieved, and the taut string inside her snapped. She leaned forward and hugged Xie Zhaoran tightly. “You scared me to death! I almost thought you were going to die just like that. If you had, what would I have done?” Shi Yuning began to cry uncontrollably. The things they had encountered today had been too dangerous. They were so close to never seeing each other again.

Xie Zhaoran’s right arm was dislocated and couldn’t move, so she used her left arm to hug Shi Yuning back. She tried to force a smile. “It’s—it’s okay. I won’t leave—leave you.”

Shi Yuning sniffled hard and stopped crying. She knew this was not the time to cry. Although Xie Zhaoran was awake, her condition was still very bad. When she was pulling her up, Shi Yuning had noticed that her right arm was dislocated and her right leg seemed to be broken from hitting a hidden rock. There were countless large and small wounds all over her body. If they didn’t find a doctor soon, the situation would be dire.

Although it was summer, they had been in the river for so long that their clothes were all wet. When the wind blew, Shi Yuning shivered from the cold. They had to find dry clothes immediately, otherwise the severely injured Xie Zhaoran might get a fever.

“We have to leave here right away.” Shi Yuning staggered to her feet and looked around. She had pulled Xie Zhaoran up to the nearest shore. This area looked like a shallow beach, surrounded by mountains, with no signs of human life. It was desolate and didn’t seem like there would be any medical clinics around. She looked at Xie Zhaoran and knew she couldn’t leave her here alone to find help.

After thinking about it, she made a decision. Shi Yuning went over, helped Xie Zhaoran to her feet, squatted down with her back to her, and with great effort, carried her on her back.

Xie Zhaoran, in her daze, was taken by surprise. When she realized Shi Yuning was carrying her, she said in a hoarse voice, “I can wait here…”

Shi Yuning interrupted her before she could finish. “I don’t trust it. Don’t talk. We fell from so high and didn’t die. We’ll be fine.”

Xie Zhaoran weakly rested on Shi Yuning’s back. She tried to say something, but her vision went black, her head tilted, and she fainted on Shi Yuning’s back.

Shi Yuning didn’t hear her say anything else. She carried Xie Zhaoran and began walking forward with great difficulty, one stumbling step at a time. She walked in the direction away from the river, and when she couldn’t hold on anymore, she would kneel to rest. After finding out Xie Zhaoran had passed out, she didn’t rest anymore. She kept going, even after her shoes were torn and her feet were bleeding. She didn’t think about anything else. She had only one thought: she had to make sure Xie Zhaoran survived.

When she saw a field of green crops and a village in the distance, Shi Yuning was worried she was having an illusion. It wasn’t until she was sure it was a real village that she knelt on the ground, her legs giving out, and she began to cry. “Xie Zhaoran, I told you you’re the protagonist. There’s always a way out.” Shi Yuning laughed, and tears streamed down her face. Without bothering to wipe them, she carefully placed Xie Zhaoran by the side of the road and ran toward the village, stumbling.

Auntie Tian’s daughter was about to give birth. After entrusting her chickens and ducks to a neighbor today, she took a shortcut to the town of Qingshan, thirty miles away. She suddenly saw a girl covered in blood running toward her. It scared her so much she almost dropped the jar of chicken soup she was bringing to her daughter to help her recover.

“Auntie, Auntie, help!” Shi Yuning didn’t have time to explain. She begged the first person she saw to help Xie Zhaoran. “My sister is injured! Please, Auntie, save her!”

“You, you, who are you? Where did you come from?” Auntie Tian was shocked. She thought to herself that she had never seen such a pretty girl in any of the ten villages nearby. When Shi Yuning led her to Xie Zhaoran by the side of the road, Auntie Tian was completely stunned. “Oh my goodness, how did this happen? She’s so badly hurt.” “Quick, quick, come with me.”

After hearing that Auntie Tian was willing to help, Shi Yuning felt like a precarious wall whose pillar had been removed. She collapsed with a crash. Her physical strength had long since reached its limit. If not for the thought of saving Xie Zhaoran, she would have collapsed long ago.

In the last moments before she fainted, Shi Yuning thought, If we both survive this, I’m going to confess my feelings to Xie Zhaoran. This debt of gratitude, even if Xie Zhaoran doesn’t agree to marry me in return, she at least has to give me a chance to pursue her!

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