The early summer morning was cloaked in mist.
The bamboo groves along the road rustled, and the roses climbing and winding on the railings blossomed into clusters of pink flowers.
The leaves, soaked in dew, appeared lush and vibrant, and the delicate petals seemed to invite one to reach out and touch them.
Zhou Bai, wearing headphones, ran along the morning path, feeling a sense of comfort.
The faint mist rising from the moat on the right side of the railing gave the entire river surface an ethereal beauty, leaving one feeling at peace.
He slowly slowed his pace, his eyes fixed on the lake's surface, feeling as though he were among the clouds.
In the next second, a gentle breeze brushed the ethereal scene, revealing a corner of it.
A person?!
Floating on the water!!!
He snapped back to reality, his back drenched in cold sweat that the morning breeze chilled to the bone.
But no matter the situation...
A human life is at stake!
Without a second thought, Zhou Bai quickly ran to the nearest section of the river, grabbed onto the railing to take a closer look, confirmed it was a person, and helplessly looked around—
It was the Labor Day holiday, but unfortunately, the small road here was narrow, and not a busy area.
The ladies who usually danced in the square or practiced Tai Chi sword never came here, and with the nearby section above the river being a construction site, there wasn't a single person.
He shouted loudly while fumbling for his phone to call the police, hesitating whether he should jump in—
By logic, he should be going into the water, but he couldn't swim!
Besides, if the person was already floating, could it be that they're...
Just when he was about to dial the number, somehow, the person had already drifted to the shore.
Through the railing, he could even make out that it was a young girl, her face bearing a blue and white pallor, her features rigid, devoid of any sign of life.
She was very pretty, what a pity...
That thought had just flashed by when her originally bluish-white face suddenly came alive, with a faint human flush gradually spreading across her cheeks.
At that moment, the lake surface, which had felt like a fairyland, suddenly turned eerie, and Zhou Bai even felt his steps stiffen.
In his fear, he saw the girl on the water surface, close at hand, suddenly open her eyes, her pupils lively and spirited, turning sharp as they fixed firmly on him:
"Hey, give me a hand."
Zhou Bai fell back onto the ground, sitting.
...
It was indeed May; the morning river still carried a bit of chill, and Zhou Bai, trembling, reached out from the railing, and when he touched her cold hand, his heart nearly froze with fear.
Luckily, though cold, the joints still felt supple, allowing him to slightly relax.
The girl's petite hand gripped his, and somehow, without feeling much of a pull, her entire upper body lifted from the water, and her other hand quickly gripped the railing.
It wasn't until she climbed over the railing, landing safely on the ground, that, under the rising sun, Zhou Bai saw her long shadow on the ground and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The girl stood there, her posture straight, like a green pine by the cliff, or a poised, sharp sword, giving off a particularly keen impression.
Where was the eerie terror from before?
Zhou Bai even forgot about the strange transition in her complexion from pale to rosy—probably it was just a trick of his eyes.
"You..."
Before he could finish, he abruptly shut his mouth, his gaze darting away.
Because she had already taken off her soaking black and red coat—brazenly, as if not minding that beneath she wore only a simple, thin, and old T-shirt, in which once soaked, revealed the outlines of her undergarments.
She twisted the dripping uniform jacket with both hands, the sound of splattering water accompanying her regretful glance at her long pants, and under Zhou Bai's cautious, averted gaze, she didn't take them off directly.
The early summer morning breeze was enough to make one's hair stand on end, and when she shook the jacket open and wore it again, the cheap embroidered characters on it stood out so clearly.
Zhou Bai was dumbfounded—
"Tianshui Second High School... Which year are you in? Didn't you have a holiday for Labor Day?"
He hurriedly followed up: "How did you fall into the water? Where are your family? Contact them quickly so they don't worry."
Meanwhile, he was frantically searching for his phone, lost in his earlier panic:
"Wait a bit. I'm looking for my phone..."
She paused in her action.
Against the light, Zhou Bai couldn't see her eyes, but at that moment, he felt an inexplicable sense of dread, as if a giant beast had its claws on him, making his scalp tingle.
In that brief silence, the girl, like a green pine, fixed her eyes on him, then suddenly flashed a brilliant smile at him, like the warm glow of a young sun.
She reached out her hand, speaking gently:
"Hello, my name is Chu River."
"The 'River' from the vast Star Sea."
...
Zhou Bai was taken aback by this skilled handshake gesture.
Are high schoolers so mature nowadays?
The social mannerisms are so business-like!
Was it only a delusion, or was this handshake performed with a sense of superiority...?
Even as she proposed a handshake, her eyes still focused intently on him, making Zhou Bai shiver. He instinctively wiped his hand on his pants before cautiously reaching out to hold hers.
A brief touch and they parted.
This atmosphere was too peculiar.
Zhou Bai forced a laugh, to be honest, he didn't feel any sense of heroic pride; instead, he felt a belly full of anxiousness like he was about to give a report.
Thinking it over, he could only initiate the conversation:
"The River from the vast Star Sea? Wow, that's a grand name. I'm Zhou Bai, 'Zhou' like the not-zhu mountain, and 'Bai' like the white color—Hey, where's my phone?"
He groped around.
...
Chu River lowered her head.
In the mind jumbled with mixed memories, a memory quickly emerged—
A man in a wheelchair raised his head:
"The vast Star Sea? Lush and expansive is called vast, unclear borders use boundless—General, did you pass your cultural courses for the military academy?"
Even today, despite the turbulent brain and the intense, chaotic pain from scrambled memories, this scene was vividly clear and deep.
Yet Chu River's gaze remained unchanged, maintaining a composed expression, with not a hint of change, quickly setting aside the past, focusing on Zhou Bai's words.
Her eyes scanned the surroundings, swiftly locking onto the black four-cornered object on the railing's edge:
"Is that your phone?"
She seemed to inquire casually, but her eyes never left Zhou Bai's face, seemingly waiting for his reaction.
But Zhou Bai didn't mind, quickly darting over to pick up his phone—
It must have been placed aside in his earlier panic.
He muttered as he went:
"Ah, good thing it didn't fall into the water. I scheduled it on the official website for over ten days, just got it yesterday!"
He spoke as he unlocked and handed over the phone:
"Quick, call your family! Falling into the water is no small matter..."
Chu River stared at the unlocked phone screen for quite a while before reaching out; the next instant, the touchscreen's feedback vibration seemed to awaken her.
Holding the phone with both hands, after a brief hesitation, her thumbs alternated quickly, leaving Zhou Bai, watching her, stunned—
"Does it take so much to make a call?"
Side note: Don't worry about the brainwaves not matching with Weiwei. I can't write exactly the same thing.