Forced to Act out a Strange Script with a Rival - Chapter 19

To better capture the beautiful scenery of the coast, the production team had deliberately rented a spot close to the coastline and far from civilization, where a few steps would take you into seawater deep enough to lap at your ankles.

Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue.

However, this time, they seemed to be unlucky—the tide came in early.

The production team knew the tide would rise, but chose to take a risk for the sake of filming.

The sound of the waves suddenly became fierce, no longer peaceful like before, but instead carrying an undeniable brute force, slamming against the coastal rocks and splashing icy spray meters high.

The shallow water, which had previously only covered their ankles, was as if suddenly sucked away by an invisible giant beast, exposing the wet, shell-covered sand.

Immediately after, even more turbulent and murky seawater returned with overwhelming force!

“The tide is coming in! Retreat now!”

Someone screamed in the confusion, but the voice was torn apart and shattered by the roar of the massive waves.

The production team instantly exploded into chaos.

Cameramen scrambled to haul their expensive equipment, running and stumbling toward higher ground.

Crew members shrieked in panic, pulling and shoving each other as they ran, and the accompanying director’s face was ashen, his arm-waving futile and his voice drowned in nature’s roar.

For the best possible shot, Si Xiaoxiao and Li Ting were the closest to the sea.

The icy seawater rushed up to Li Ting’s calves in the blink of an eye, carrying a powerful suction that tried to pull her into the deep.

“You can put me down now,” Si Xiaoxiao naturally felt Li Ting’s strain.

No matter how physically fit a person was, running while carrying someone else could never outpace the ocean waves.

“Don’t move!”

Li Ting’s voice sounded above Si Xiaoxiao’s head, deep, urgent, and carrying an unprecedented tension and an air of unquestionable command, instantly overriding the surrounding screams and the waves’ roar.

It was completely a “Mother-Protector” level of firmness.

She had somehow ripped off her blindfold; those eyes, usually as calm as a deep pool, were now strikingly sharp, clearly reflecting Si Xiaoxiao’s momentary terror and distress.

The seawater had already surged frantically up to her upper thighs, icy and carrying a powerful impact. Every wave that hit was like countless invisible hands violently tearing and pushing, trying to separate them and drag them into the deeper sea.

As the seawater approached, Si Xiaoxiao instinctively hugged Li Ting tightly, her fingers digging deeply into the other woman’s equally drenched shirt.

Her clothes, soaked by the frigid seawater, clung to her skin, bringing a bone-chilling cold.

But the waist tightly held by Li Ting, despite the wet and cold fabric, conveyed a burning, reassuring stability.

Si Xiaoxiao could clearly feel the tensing and relaxing of Li Ting’s solid arm muscles with every exertion against the tide, full of astonishing power.

The seawater splashing from the rocks blurred her vision, the salty taste choked her nasal passages, and her ears were filled with the deafening roar of the waves and Li Ting’s heavy gasps.

Si Xiaoxiao’s heart was also pounding wildly in her chest, unsure whether it was from fear or from this overly close, gapless contact.

In the face of nature’s might, human strength was so insignificant.

The scene was so chaotic; everyone was fending for themselves.

Si Xiaoxiao suddenly realized that, perhaps, at this moment, Li Ting was her only lifeline.

In the merciless seawater, with her ankle injured, she was the absolute weaker one.

Si Xiaoxiao suddenly calmed down. If this continued, both of them would die.

“The seawater has some buoyancy. Put me in the water; let’s go to those rocks over there. The rocks aren’t far; I can manage.”

Her words convinced Li Ting.

The seawater was no longer gentle; it was icy cold and carried an immensely powerful impact.

Every wave that hit seemed to blot out the sky, as if to destroy the world.

The murky water, laden with sand, gravel, and broken seaweed, mercilessly battered Si Xiaoxiao’s injured ankle. Si Xiaoxiao bit her lip, not wanting Li Ting to notice.

It wasn’t exactly showing off, but she didn’t want her own condition to affect Li Ting further.

She was already exhausted, her slender body bearing the weight of two people, struggling to push away the waves and fight against the unfathomable force of nature.

Because she was carrying the weight of two people, she had to mobilize the strength of every muscle in her body to stabilize herself and avoid being swept away by the current.

Every step was like struggling through a swamp, making progress exceptionally difficult.

“Bang—!”

With a dull thud, a massive force slammed into Li Ting’s back. Her body shook violently, and she instantly lost her footing. Her knee crashed heavily against a sharp, submerged rock.

The intense pain made her vision go black; she clenched her teeth, a suppressed groan escaping her throat. The muscles in the arm half-holding Si Xiaoxiao were tensed to the limit, and her knuckles cracked audibly from the sheer force.

As the wave receded, Si Xiaoxiao coughed violently. The seawater blurred her vision, but she clearly saw Li Ting’s instantly pale face, tightly furrowed brow, and the cold sweat rolling down her temples.

“Li Ting! Are you alright…”

Si Xiaoxiao’s voice was laced with tears and panic.

“I’m fine. We’re almost at the rocks.”

Li Ting’s tone remained gentle, but her violent gasping, like a broken bellows, betrayed her current exhaustion.

Si Xiaoxiao had always felt Li Ting was a “white lotus” who liked to fake gentleness.

Unexpectedly, facing such peril, she could still remain emotionally stable, even softening her tone to, in turn, comfort her—the burden.

“Li Ting, I won’t dislike you anymore.”

Si Xiaoxiao spoke in a muffled voice.

Li Ting was almost amused by her: “Why do you suddenly say that? You can still dislike me; there’s no need to feel guilty.”

“But, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been hurt at all,” Si Xiaoxiao was still a sensible young girl.

“I was the one who let you fall just now, so let’s call it even,” Li Ting didn’t want Si Xiaoxiao to feel guilty. In her view, little lionesses like Si Xiaoxiao were better off being energetic.

“I…” Complex emotions surged in Si Xiaoxiao’s eyes.

“Don’t worry about that for now. Let’s figure out how to get onto the rocks. If you really feel you owe me something, just agree to one condition of mine later.”

Li Ting felt that her physical condition was not promising.

Her gaze was locked desperately on the nearby rocks, thinking quickly.

That impact just now clearly injured her badly; her left leg was trembling slightly in the icy seawater.

They couldn’t afford to delay any longer.

Just before the next, terrifying wave was about to form, a flash of desperate madness crossed Li Ting’s eyes!

She took a deep breath and, using every ounce of her remaining strength and astonishing willpower, she threw and pushed Si Xiaoxiao—as if tossing a precious treasure—toward the higher part of the slick rock.

Si Xiaoxiao felt a massive force enveloping her; her body was airborne for a moment before she heavily crashed onto the hard, cold, but relatively safe surface of the rock.

The rough stone scraped her elbows and knees, causing a burning pain.

But compared to the near-drowning moment before, this was heaven.

She scrambled to sit up and look back, and a heart-stopping scene came into view.

In the recoil from pushing her, Li Ting lost her balance and staggered backward. And just at that moment, the newly formed, even more terrifying wave was opening its monstrous maw, seemingly ready to swallow her whole.

“Li Ting—!!!” Si Xiaoxiao’s scream was heartbreaking, sounding so desperate against the backdrop of the thunder and lightning.

In this moment of crisis, Li Ting displayed astonishing core strength and reaction speed.

Being someone who regularly exercised, she quickly bent her body, forcefully slapped the water surface with her hands, using the counter-force to forcibly twist her body.

At the same time, she kicked her long legs, using the power of the surging current like a flexible, explosive fish, narrowly scrambling onto the edge of the rock.

Her lower body was still submerged in the icy seawater, and her hands desperately clung to the rough crevices of the rock, her fingertips white from the exertion.

Si Xiaoxiao practically crawled and rushed over, grabbing Li Ting’s soaked arm with all her strength, dragging her onto the rock.

With the help of the person onshore, Li Ting gave a final push, and with a body dripping with seawater and heavy gasps, she completely pulled herself onto the relatively safe rock platform.

Both collapsed on the cold, hard stone, their chests heaving violently, greedily sucking in the salty air, thoroughly drenched and disheveled, like two fish cast ashore.

This was indeed a heart-stopping escape from death.

The seawater surged violently beneath the rock; waves constantly splashed up, wetting their pant legs and shoes, but they were safe for the moment.

However, the crisis was not over; they were trapped on this solitary, island-like rock.

Li Ting struggled to sit up. Ignoring the scrapes on her own knees and elbows, her first action was to look at Si Xiaoxiao’s ankle.

The redness and swelling looked even more alarming after being soaked in the icy seawater; the skin was taut and shiny.

Her brows were tightly knitted. She wanted to reach out, but was afraid of accidentally hurting the other person.

In the end, she only gently brushed away the wet hair and bits of seaweed clinging to Si Xiaoxiao’s cheek.

“How are you? Can you still move?” Her voice was hoarse from the gasping, but her eyes had returned to their usual cool scrutiny.

In contrast to her calmness, Si Xiaoxiao was still shaken, her heart still pounding wildly in her chest.

Her throat felt blocked by something; the image of Li Ting, who had selflessly pushed her onto the rock and almost been swept away by the wave herself, repeatedly flashed in her mind.

For a moment, her heart was filled with mixed feelings.

She opened her mouth, wanting to ask if her knee was hurt, and wanting to say “thank you”… Countless complex emotions surged, but she ultimately didn’t know how to begin.

“I’m no great saint. If I had kept you with me waiting for the next wave, we both would have died here. But if I got you onto the rock first, then someone would be able to pull me up.” Li Ting’s mind was extremely keen; she naturally knew what Si Xiaoxiao was thinking right now.

She continued, her tone nonchalant: “Besides, if I really died saving you, then my name could be tied to yours forever.”

Si Xiaoxiao understood Li Ting’s meaning, silently turned her face away, and sullenly, with an almost imperceptible nasal tone, mumbled: “You really are a heavy woman.”

Li Ting smiled gently, and in turn, teased Si Xiaoxiao: “Don’t you also say you’re willing to die for me?”

Si Xiaoxiao was startled at first, then realized she was referring to the joke made by mean netizens when she trended on a hot search earlier.

So, she fought back without showing weakness: “Then you’re admitting we’re a match made in heaven, are you?”

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