mc-med Chapter 602 Capsized Boat and Falling into the Water: The Ultimate Team Spirit
Chapter 602 Capsized Boat and Falling into the Water: The Ultimate Team Spirit
……
……
The whistle signaling the end of the first task was still echoing under the stadium's dome.
Dong Zijian was shouting and jumping around, so tired that he was hunched over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, and after hearing the whistle, he could finally rest for a while.
He was about to walk towards the rest area on the sidelines, his bottom almost touching the chair.
Who would have thought,
Yao PD's voice came from the control panel, sounding like a ruthless devil:
"The first task is complete. All members and guests, please proceed to the parking lot to board your vehicles immediately. We will be moving to the dragon boat training ground shortly."
"what?"
Dong Zijian, who had just bent over, suddenly straightened up and turned to look at the staff in disbelief.
The staff member gave him a polite but equally wry smile.
"Brother Gu! Brother Gu—"
Dong Zijian spotted Gu Qing in the crowd. "Can't I rest for a bit? I just caught my breath!"
How can you go to the next task location right after finishing a task?
"Is this how you guys film Running Man all along? No buffering at all?"
"Zijian, you need to practice more."
Gu Qing glanced back at him, chuckled, and patted his shoulder. "You're already done for before we've even used any force? Look, Brother Han is perfectly fine."
Dong Zijian followed Gu Qing's gaze and looked at Han Han not far away.
Han Han was leaning against the railing at the side of the field, his expression calm, though there was a little bit of sweat on his forehead.
When he saw the two of them looking over, he pushed up his glasses and made a special gesture at Dong Zijian.
Dong Zijian's face immediately fell; Han Han was more than ten years older than him.
"There's nothing we can do about the tight schedule."
Gu Qing withdrew her hand and patiently explained to him as she walked: "Because we have a lot of people on Running Man, more than a dozen MCs and guests, and everyone has their own schedule, so no one can be delayed."
Therefore, the production team schedules the recording time very tightly, and the time allotted for transitions is timed precisely with a stopwatch. You'll get used to it.
"All right…"
Dong Zijian resigned himself to his fate.
"Let's go, let's set off. You can rest and catch your breath in the car."
The group was guided out of the venue by staff, and the convoy drove out of the stadium gates in a grand procession.
The bus smoothly drove onto the city expressway, and the scenery outside the window changed from the glass curtain walls of high-rise buildings to the reed marshes along the lake.
Gu Qing and Zhao Liying sat close together in the last row of the bus, by the window.
"Xiao Gu, why are you carrying a bag?"
After Deng Chaogang finished going over the next steps with the staff in the aisle, he plopped down in the empty seat on the other side of Gu Qing and noticed that Gu Qing had just taken the cloth bag from the chair onto his lap.
Without a word, Old Deng snatched the backpack, and while peering inside, he said in a teasing tone...
"Like a little girl, carrying a treasure bag when she goes out. Is there something shady inside?"
Everyone's curiosity was piqued by this statement, and their eyes turned to the view from both the front and back rows.
Old Deng rummaged through his bag for a moment, first finding a few books.
He pulled out the top book, squinted, and read aloud the words on the cover: "The Collected Poems of Bai Juyi?"
He flipped through two pages with a strange look, and seeing the pages full of annotations and small pencil writing, his lips twitched. "Little brother, are you really a top student?"
"I'm a genius, I don't need to look."
Chen Chichi took the book from Old Deng and quickly placed it aside with his eyes closed.
"Look at you, so capable."
Deng Chao, annoyed, reached into his bag again.
This time I touched a small glass bottle, flat and oval-shaped.
He held the bottle up to the light coming through the car window. It contained a peculiar reddish-brown liquid, with some dark, flocculent material settled at the bottom.
What is this?
Deng Chao examined the bottle from top to bottom three times, then brought it close to his nose to smell it. The strong herbal aroma made him lean back, sneeze, and ask with a blank expression, "A beverage? But what beverage has sediment in it?"
"Ask Brother Chichi, he knows."
Gu Qing leaned back in his chair and replied casually.
"Xiao Gu, how would I know?"
Chen Chichi looked completely bewildered. "You suddenly brought that up, making me feel like an accomplice. What is that thing? I've never seen it before."
"Huang Huifeng, Brother Chichi."
Gu Qing spoke in a thick "Hujian dialect," his intonation perfectly controlled, with the last syllable rising in a comical arc.
"Hahaha--"
Sitting on the innermost side, Zhao Liying was amused by this sudden dialect remark and threw her head back, letting out a series of loud, booming laughs.
Not content with just laughing, she casually raised her fist and gave Gu Qing a light punch on the shoulder.
"Sister Liying, you can laugh all you want, but why did you hit me?"
Gu Qing's shoulder was hit and twisted, her body swayed, but she smiled and didn't dodge.
This simple action caused Yang Ying, who was sitting a few rows behind, to tremble slightly.
Her lips drooped slightly, and she couldn't suppress the sour feeling rising in her heart.
What exactly does Qingqing like about her?
Her movements were clumsy and her laughter was as loud as banging a gong. Does she have any semblance of a female celebrity?
Besides being fairly cute, what else does she have?
She felt that Gu Qing deserved better.
Yang Ying's feelings for Gu Qing now are less a pure attraction and more a revaluation after her sense of security collapsed.
When Gu Qing was being attacked online, she remained silent because she believed that her choice was the right one.
At that time, Huang Xiaoming was her best option, a top-tier combination of capital and traffic. Once she had secured that boat, she had no time to worry about the other small boat that was sinking.
But now the wind has changed.
Gu Qing's career took off one project after another, her reputation soared, her data soared, and her popularity with the public became so good that even she, who was constantly criticized for her "poor acting skills" on trending topics, found it irritating.
But her boat started to leak.
Huang Xiaoming stays out all night, going out for walks late at night, I don't know what he's doing, the relationship exists in name only.
Yang Ying sometimes wondered, if she had stood up and said a word back then, even just one word, would she be the one interacting with Gu Qing today?
Will their pairing still be the most popular Saturday couple in the Chinese entertainment industry?
Once the thought pops into your head, you can't suppress it anymore.
……
"Huang Huifeng?"
Chen Chichi frowned, then immediately burst into laughter. Wasn't this Master Huang, his character in "iPartment"?
There's a lot of pretense and a little bit of genuine emotion in the entertainment industry.
Having been in this industry for so many years, he's long been used to people saying "Brother Chichi, long time no see," but then not being able to name all the roles he's played.
Although Chen Chichi did know that Gu Qing had publicly stated on many occasions that she was a loyal fan of "iPartment", and that the main actors of "iPartment" had appeared on Running Man and shared the screen with Gu Qing.
But when Gu Qing casually recited an old-fashioned line that even he himself had almost forgotten, Chen Chichi still couldn't help but feel a surge of warmth and affection.
That feeling wasn't the vanity of being flattered, but the preciousness of being remembered with care.
The things you photograph are actually being watched, recorded, and taken seriously by people.
For actors, this is more effective than any compliment.
"Xiao Gu, you still remember this..."
"Of course, I know Love Apartment by heart."
Gu Qing replied with a smile.
"What? What?"
"I have played Wong Fei-hung, but who is Wong Fai-fung?"
Zheng Kai and the others were completely dumbfounded.
"Heh, and you guys call yourselves my brothers!"
Chen Chichi sneered and retorted, "You haven't even watched my shows. Sure enough, Xiao Gu is the only good brother in this family."
Then, with a touch of smugness, he explained to everyone that Huang Huifeng was a classic supporting character in "iPartment".
"Oh, it's safflower oil—little brother, what are you doing with this?"
Deng Chao suddenly realized what was going on and examined the glass bottle over and over again.
"I prepared a bottle in advance for dragon boat training because I was worried you might get injured."
Gu Qing smiled and took it, saying, "This medicine works quite well. My martial arts instructor specially prepared it for me when I was training for action scenes on set."
I heard it's a family recipe passed down through generations. It's incredibly effective at improving blood circulation and removing blood stasis; the swelling will subside by the next day.
As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage was silent for about 0.5 seconds.
Then--
Wow, Gu~ You're so sweet~
"I'm in love! I'll marry Gu Qing if I meet him! He's handsome, talented, considerate, and knows how to charm his girlfriend—"
"So sweet~ Little Gu, mwah~ Love you, love you~"
The men in the car were throwing flirtatious glances in the most affected and greasy manner.
"Damn it... my fist is hard!"
Gu Qingjun's face darkened, and he clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.
The people inside the car could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.
Even the driver sitting in the front seat was shaking his shoulders; if he weren't so professional, the steering wheel would have been wobbling too.
"Band-Aids? Yunnan Baiyao? Wow—White Rabbit milk candy, I was even planning to eat it!"
While distributing the food to everyone, Deng Chao also peeled one for himself.
He closed his eyes and chewed with relish, pulling over a nearby mobile camera as he did so. He tapped the lens with his other hand and said, "Come on, let's get a close-up—this part is not to be cut! Post-production, do you hear me?!"
Look at the brand our little brother endorses! It's a national brand, a time-honored Chinese brand. It's delicious and not too sweet, mmm~ full of milky flavor~.
"Xiao Gu, are you still the spokesperson for White Rabbit?"
Han Han unwrapped the candy and saw the familiar chubby rabbit; his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, lit up.
As a native Shanghainese, who didn't eat White Rabbit candy when they were a child?
Those were truly precious items that children in their time treasured.
"If you were a kid like us, you would be an idol!"
"Even now."
Gu Qing took the candy and handed it to Sister Zhao next to her, then smiled and replied to Han Han.
"Oh—haha!"
There was another burst of laughter and jeering on the bus.
"That's strange, why doesn't it have the same effect when I pour it into a cup?"
The only one who felt a pang of sadness was probably Huang Zitao.
He frowned as he bit the candy in half, making a crunching sound as he ate. The more he ate, the more uncomfortable he felt. "How come Gu Qing always succeeds at pretending to be a pen holder, but I can't?"
"It's just endorsing a food product, right? I've endorsed quite a few products, so why don't I get the same results?"
Huang Zitao couldn't understand it.
During the pleasant journey, the car finally came to a slow stop at the entrance of Xixi Park, a dedicated training ground for dragon boats.
The group walked to a wide wooden platform.
The area had been prepared in advance by the production team, with blue flags of the Running Man cast planted all around. Buoys and track markers swayed gently on the lake at intervals, and several dragon boat props were placed by the water.
"Welcome everyone to Xixi Hongyuan. Legend has it that when Emperor Qianlong toured the south of the Yangtze River, he watched the dragon boat races in Xixi and exclaimed, 'A grand dragon boat festival!'"
Yao PD gave a brief explanation of the historical background before saying, "In order to help you achieve the best results in a short time, I have hired a professional-level coach for you."
Amid cheers,
Xu Yaping, a former world champion in canoeing, stepped forward.
She was about thirty or forty years old, wearing a sports bodysuit, with a beautiful face and a strong physique, clearly a former professional athlete.
Seeing so many big stars applauding and welcoming them,
Hello everyone, I'm your coach for today.
Xu Yaping seemed a little embarrassed.
She clapped her hands, quickly composed herself, and raised her voice a notch.
"First of all, we need to warm up before we start dragon boat training."
You only have five hours of training time in total. Time is tight and the task is heavy, so we can't waste a single minute.
"Come on, everyone, grab your oars and follow me for some warm-up exercises!"
Gu Qing and the others took a wooden oar for training and began stretching exercises in sequence, following Xu Yaping's movements.
However, for the artists who had already expended a lot of energy in the first task, they could be seen grimacing after each set of movements.
Fortunately, the warm-up exercises were not complicated, and Xu Yaping also took into account the fact that the artists are not professional athletes, controlling the intensity just right.
"Alright everyone, before we begin training, I'd like to give you a quick safety lesson."
Xu Yaping put away the oars, raised one finger, and his expression became more serious.
“It’s not uncommon for us to capsize during training. You’re all beginners, so your movements might not be synchronized, your center of gravity might be off, and the boat could capsize at any moment.”
Therefore, life jackets are the most important!
"When boarding a ship, life jackets must be properly worn, fastened, and checked at all times. This is an ironclad rule."
At this point, her gaze naturally fell on Gu Qing's face. Pointing to the ship behind them, she said, "Handsome, could you get me a life jacket? I'll demonstrate how to wear it correctly."
"life jacket?"
Gu Qinggang had just finished warming up and looked up. His eyes met Xu Yaping's, but before he could take a step...
"Life jackets! Life jackets!"
Huang Zitao has already taken the first step.
And at the same time,
"Life jacket, life jacket..."
Chen Chichi, Deng Chao, Li Chen, and Zheng Kai followed closely behind.
Even Dong Zijian, who had just been standing to the side groaning that his back was about to break, and Han Han, who was usually not very active, turned around at the same moment they heard the word "handsome guy".
That tacit understanding
The rhythm is so much better than when I was paddling earlier.
After they had all taken three or four steps, they belatedly realized that there were a lot of "handsome guys" in their group.
"Oh dear, they're calling me! They're calling me!"
Deng Chao reacted the fastest, shoving Chen Chichi, who was standing next to him, aside.
"Who called you? You were clearly calling me!"
Chen Chichi wasn't about to give in, and they pushed and shoved each other forward, neither willing to yield.
"Haha, all the handsome guys have gone when I call them?"
Little Zhao laughed heartlessly, putting her little hand on Gu Qing's shoulder, "The most handsome guy hasn't even made a move yet."
"Sister Liying, being honest can be hurtful sometimes. Do you want to be criticized again?"
Faced with Zhao Xiaodao, who talks faster than he thinks, Gu Qing, holding the oar, helplessly tried to help him out.
"Hey! Let's get him!"
"Arrogant! Too arrogant!"
"You little rascal, you've become quite narcissistic since I last saw you."
"The truth? Where's the truth? Point it out to me!"
A group of people rushed towards Gu Qing aggressively, surrounding him and punching and kicking him.
"Exactly, where's the truth?"
Huang Zitao walked over with a disgruntled expression, and happened to come face to face with Da Baobei.
The two people's eyes met in the air. Without thinking, he flipped up his hair with his hand. With a confident curve on his lips, he tilted his head towards Yang Ying, "Baby, am I handsome?" "Uh... I'm going to give Qing Qing a few beatings first. This kid is becoming less and less modest now."
Yang Ying's gaze drifted, she brushed a stray hair behind her ear, nodded at the air, and left with light steps.
Huang Zitao: "..."
After the commotion,
Everyone put on life jackets as instructed by Xu Yaping.
"Remember, if the boat is about to capsize, jump overboard first. When the boat capsizes, the keel will buckle downwards, which is extremely dangerous!"
Xu Yaping stood on the shore, holding a megaphone, and reminded everyone: "Finally, the people sitting on both sides should be close together to avoid capsizing."
"Chen Chichi, you're the last one to go!"
Standing beside the dragon boat, Deng Chao rolled up his trousers and turned to shoo away Chen Chichi, who was trying to be the first to jump onto the boat and get a good spot.
"Wait until we've finished adjusting everything before you come over. With your size, the boat will tilt halfway if you sit on it alone."
"Li Chen, come and wait with me."
Chen Chichi looked aggrieved but had no words to refute, so he could only turn his head and fix his gaze on Li Chen.
"Am I as fat as you?" Li Chen's eye twitched.
"Wait a moment, I'll adjust my position."
Deng Chaozheng was racking his brains trying to figure out the order.
Gu Qing took off her headset, walked over, and whispered a few words.
His action made Yang Yingmei's eyes show a hint of curiosity and surprise. "What is Qingqing saying to Brother Chao?"
"okay, I get it."
After listening, Deng Chao nodded and said, "Kai Kai, we weigh about the same, so you can sit on either side of me for now."
"Zhu Lan, you and Zi Jian will line up behind us."
“Xiao Gu, you sit with Liying and Baby. The combined weight of the three of you should be heavier than Chen and Chichi.”
Old Deng ignored Chen Chichi and the other man's protests.
the other side,
Little Zhao didn't hesitate, following him around like a little shadow.
Deng Chao's words hadn't even finished when
Her hand had already grabbed Gu Qing's life jacket from the back, and once she held on, she didn't let go, and she boarded the ship with him.
Yang Ying pursed her lips and stood still.
"Come on, baby, be careful—"
After settling comfortably behind Gu Qing, Zhao Liying turned around and reached out her hand to Yang Ying on the shore, palm up—a very friendly and considerate gesture, with a sweet smile on her lips.
Yang Ying: "..."
Sister, what are you so smug about?
She always felt there was something off about Zhao Xiaodao's enthusiastic smile.
"Okay, thank you, Liying."
The darling smiled, her lips curving into a gentle, sweet, and flawless smile.
She reached out and grasped Zhao Liying's fingers, like two close sisters, as they boarded the ship.
Rowing training officially began.
Xu Yaping, holding a megaphone on the shore, shouted out the rhythm word by word: "Forefoot support, buttocks against the back, hands don't move—lift your waist, kick your legs, keep the rhythm! Keep it up!"
The training process was surprisingly tedious.
There were no fancy techniques, and none of the unexpected twists and turns often seen in variety shows, like "a big boss suddenly appears to cause trouble."
It's just endlessly repeating the same action.
Insert the oar diagonally into the water, pull hard, lift the oar out of the water, return it to its original position, and then insert it back into the water.
Each movement must maintain the same angle, the same amplitude, and the same rhythm.
At first, everyone was chatting and laughing.
But as time went by
The laughter stopped quickly.
The sun shone directly overhead; although it was winter, the afternoon sun was still intense.
The heaviness of the paddle as it enters the water travels from my fingertips to my wrist, from my wrist to my elbow, and then all the way to my shoulder and back, forming a clear line of pain.
Let alone celebrities who are used to a life of luxury, even students experiencing university military training for the first time couldn't handle it.
"No, no—my hand is going to break!"
"Brother Chao! Are you slacking off? Paddle, paddle already!"
"I'm paddling, I'm paddling—can't you see? My paddle is in the same depth as yours!"
"Ouch, my back... Director, I can't take it anymore...!"
The Running Man cast members screamed in agony.
"Coach, can't we take a break for a bit?!"
Huang Zitao put the oars on the deck and slumped into his seat, his arms aching so much he couldn't even lift them.
He opened his mouth several times before catching his breath, his voice full of complaints and dissatisfaction.
"No, why are you resting right after starting? Keep practicing!"
Xu Yaping's voice drifted over from the shore, leaving no room for negotiation.
"Stand firm with your front foot, don't move your hands, hurry! Keep the rhythm!"
"I guarantee it—"
Huang Zitao had never been scolded in such a tone before.
He really wanted to say, "I'm not paddling anymore, whatever," then throw the paddle away and turn to leave.
Ultimately, however, the remaining intelligence prevailed.
Neither of the two girls said they wanted to stop; he was the one who gave up first.
Huang Zitao could almost imagine what the comments would look like after the show aired.
He could only swallow his displeasure, his face darkening, and grab the oar again, thrusting it forcefully into the water, splashing water onto his own face.
He continued paddling the oars in frustration, each stroke filled with the force of venting his anger.
A few more minutes passed.
"Sister Liying, can you still hold on?"
Gu Qing sat in front of Zhao Liying and could clearly hear the heavy breathing behind him.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and the oars he held in his palms were worn red from the friction, indicating a significant decline in his physical strength.
"No...it's okay, little brother...I can do it."
Zhao Liying's voice came from behind, her breathing somewhat labored.
She had to stop and catch her breath after every two words.
Zhao Liying's chest heaved violently, her face was flushed red from the sun and covered in sweat, and her slender wrists were trembling. Despite Gu Qing's concern, she still gritted her teeth and rowed the boat with all her might.
She couldn't let Gu Qing lose face!
When it comes to promoting "Riding the Waves," she has to make it perfect no matter what, so that Gu Qing doesn't lose money.
And... most importantly.
"Hey lady, are you a robot? Say something!"
The big baby behind her was completely still; she could only hear breathing and the sound of oars moving.
Zhao Xiaodao was almost in despair.
I'd rather lose to you than anyone else!
The two women fought tooth and nail, neither willing to lose to the other.
In this silent struggle, the dragon boat slowly paddled five or six meters, moving straight toward the wide opposite shore of the lake.
But everyone was a novice. When they had plenty of energy, they could barely manage to do a decent job by listening to the chants, following the rhythm, and entering and exiting the water in unison.
But now everyone is exhausted, and the force in their hands is uneven. Some people are fast and some are slow. The rhythm is like a piece of cloth stretched to its limit. It looks fine on the surface, but it could break at any moment.
"Left! Lower the left oar—right, slow down! Right, slow down! Wait for the left!"
Xu Yaping shouted through a megaphone on the shore, but his voice was broken by the lake wind and some words were blurred by the time it reached the boat.
I don't know whose oar suddenly changed the depth of the water, but the boat suddenly lost its balance in the lake and swayed a foot or two to the left.
Deng Chao quickly shouted, "Steady up, steady up, don't move!" Everyone frantically adjusted their strength and finally managed to pull the boat back.
But the next second a gust of wind blew by, and the small waves that were already on the lake pushed the boat.
It's not enough,
When Dong Zijian, who had reached his physical limit, rowed too hard, he took a half step forward with one stroke, and the boat sank sharply to the right, with lake water pouring in from the lower part of the side of the boat.
The green water just covered the edge of the boat's gunwale, splashing onto everyone's shoes, the cool dampness creeping up their socks.
"Ahhhh-"
The girls' screams were the first to erupt. Zhao Liying instinctively pulled her feet back, and Yang Ying also gripped the edge of the boat.
Then there were the men, the core fighting force of this ship, whose reactions at this moment were no more dignified than those of the women.
"Stop! Stop! Don't move! Don't move!"
Xu Yaping held the megaphone as close to his mouth as possible on the shore, and the sound boomed like thunder, stunning everyone.
With a furrowed brow and her gaze fixed on the still swaying boat, she calmly and steadily, with the composure characteristic of an instructor, brought everyone to a halt to any impulsive actions.
"Keep the rhythm! Your leg kicking rhythm is wrong!"
"Teacher, our rhythm is already on point!"
Chen Chichi cried out in agony, "My legs are about to break and you're still not in the right rhythm—what's the right rhythm?!"
"Yeah, Coach, we really tried our best—"
Others echoed this sentiment, and cries of agony rose and fell across the ship.
Li Chen sat in the middle of the boat towards the back, exhausted just like everyone else.
Hearing everyone groaning again, I felt like I'd lost a screw and instinctively stood up.
He patted his dark trousers, which were now soaked through with lake water, pointed to the wet fabric, and shouted towards the shore:
"Coach, look, my pants are all wet. I really didn't slack off."
In an instant, Li Chen saw that the facial expressions of all his teammates had switched from "exhausted to numb" to "pupils wide open" in the same second.
"Chen! Sit down!!"
Old Deng roared with all his might, grabbing the oar beside him and trying to pull Li Chen's trouser leg, but his hand grasped nothing in the air.
It's too late!
"thump--!!"
Li Chen was the first to fall into the water. His feet slipped on the deck a few times, and he staggered backward, crashing into the water like a cannonball, creating the biggest splash.
The overturned boat landed upside down, and swirling green lake water surged up from all directions, engulfing everyone in an instant.
"Ahhhh-"
Zhao Liying's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
She heard the creaking sound of the wooden structure as the boat capsized, and felt herself lose her balance and fall forward.
The scene before me overlapped with the edge of that swimming pool from last year in a single frame.
She used all the strength she could muster to take a deep breath, but before she could exhale, the icy lake water had already submerged her head.
All the members fell into the water like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
The bright orange life jackets burst open on the water's surface, creating blinding splashes of color, while onlookers screamed.
"It's over, it's over!"
All the staff on the shore stood up, and several security guards rushed to the water's edge. PD Yao almost stood up behind the monitor and knocked over the platform in front of him.
Lake water poured in from all directions.
Zhao Liying's body instinctively tried to struggle and thrash the moment she entered the water.
She knew exactly how to paddle, but her rationality failed her the moment she fell into the water.
Especially when cold water pours into your back from your collar, surrounds your entire body from your neck, and squeezes in from all sides.
Her fear of water surged through her like a burst dam, overwhelming all thoughts that could calm her down.
"Gurgle—"
A mouthful of lake water choked her, the cool and salty water relentlessly pouring into her nasal cavity and throat, a burning pain spreading from her trachea all the way to her chest.
That feeling was so familiar, exactly the same as when I was drowning in the pool last year.
She opened her mouth to try to inhale, but couldn't inhale anything; only water poured in.
But in that instant,
Suddenly, an arm appeared around her waist, passing through the water on her left side and wrapping around her waist, its palm pressing firmly down on her lower back.
"puff--"
The water broke open, and Zhao Liying was forcefully lifted out of the water.
She coughed up two large mouthfuls of lake water, droplets dripping from her chin, as she gasped for air.
Zhao Liying suddenly turned around in fright, her soaked hair scattering tiny water droplets, and through the shimmering water, she saw Gu Qing's face.
Gu Qing had just raised her chin and poked her mouth and nose out of the water, before she could even take a proper breath of air.
Because her entire body weight was pressing down on the arm that was supporting her waist, he sank down a bit.
The lake water reached his cheeks, but his waist and arm remained motionless.
"younger brother!!"
Zhao Liying's fear was completely overwhelmed by another, stronger emotion in that instant.
She didn't have time to be afraid.
She clung tightly to the overturned boat with one hand, while desperately reaching out with the other to grab Gu Qing.
"Sister Liying, please help me steady..."
Gu Qing struggled to regain her footing in the water.
The training water was not deep, only a little over 1.5 meters. When his feet touched the mud at the bottom of the lake, the water only reached a little above his chest.
It was only because of the panic of suddenly falling into the water that I was briefly submerged.
Gu Qing spat out a mouthful of lake water, quickly wiped the water droplets from his face with his hand, and swept the wet, stray hairs from his forehead back, revealing his defined brow bone.
Just as he was about to comfort the frightened Zhao Liying, a violent splashing sound came from the water next to him, with water spraying and making a crackling sound as it hit the surface.
Yang Ying tilted her head back and struggled to surface, managing to spit out the lake water that had choked her. Strings of water droplets clung to her eyelashes, rolling off in the blink of an eye.
Gu Qing gritted his teeth and suddenly exerted force with his left arm to gently push Zhao Liying towards the back of the boat, making her more stable against the overturned hull.
Then he took a deep breath, reached forward with his right hand through the water between them, spread his fingers, and grabbed Yang Yingsu's pale, cold wrist.
Before Yang Ying could react, she was pulled to Gu Qing's side.
"catch!"
Gu Qing held his breath, his nostrils sinking into the lake, and with his arms outstretched, lifted Yang Ying to the side of the overturned boat.
After settling her in, Gu Qing tilted her head back up from the water, wiped the water from her nose, and took a deep breath of fresh air.
He shook his wet hair vigorously, and without pausing for a second, Gu Qing turned around and swam quickly toward Deng Chao.
The dragon boat, capsized, floated upside down on the water, its orange-red life jackets bobbing in the waves, while the staff on the shore ran desperately toward the water.
And beside the capsized ship,
Zhao Liying and Yang Ying each gripped one side of the edge of the boat, their wet hair sticking to each other's cheeks and necks, water droplets dripping down their hair and hitting their life jackets with a pattering sound.
Both of them had all their makeup washed away by the lake water, leaving them with bare faces. Their skin, soaked in water, actually looked even clearer.
Their cheeks were flushed slightly from the lake water and the cold wind, and they stood about two body lengths apart, their wet hair and slightly shivering shoulders visible.
At the same time, she raised her eyelashes.
Their gazes met in the air filled with the shimmering moisture.
……
...(End of this chapter)