Chapter 2: Falling Into the Water

“Final stop, Mochanghu. We have arrived. Please take your belongings and disembark in order…”

Final stop…final stop?

Shi Yue suddenly woke up and looked around. There were hardly any people left in the carriage.

Oh no, I missed my stop!

Shi Yue slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and hurriedly jumped off the bus, craning her neck to check the bus stop sign. Sure enough, it was the Mo Changhu District in the suburbs. Shi Yue’s home wasn’t too far from school, just five subway stops away. But Mo Changhu was in the suburbs of Huangzhou, far from home. Shi Yue glanced at the time and realized that she had not only missed her stop but had also taken the last subway train! It was already midnight.

“What bad luck!” Shi Yue thought, feeling extremely annoyed. She rushed out of the station, intending to first try to hail a taxi, and if that didn’t work, she would try booking a ride using her phone. Unfortunately, she was very unlucky; no one was online, and she couldn’t find a taxi on the street.

The evening breeze rustled, the shadows of the trees on both sides of the road were dappled, and the sky in the suburbs was unexpectedly bright with stars, but Shi Yue kept her head down and walked quickly. The pale streetlights were cut into pieces by the tangled branches and scattered haphazardly on the ground.

Although she was alone, Shi Yue wasn’t too afraid. While Mo Changhu was considered a suburb, it wasn’t like those chaotic areas; it was close to an affluent neighborhood. It was a high-end community comprised of villas, complete with commercial streets, supermarkets, private schools, and the renowned Mo Changhu Park, built by the prestigious Huangzhou Jinli Group. If it weren’t for the firefight caused by the Northern Yan Kingdom’s special forces infiltrating the park last month, it would have been quite lively!

“You should be able to get a taxi at Mochanghu Commercial Street, and even if you can’t, there are decent hotels to stay in.”

Thinking this, Shi Yue quickened her pace. The route from the subway station to the commercial street passed Mo Chang Lake Park, and soon the beautiful scenery of the lake came into view.

The park closely resembled the wetland parks Shi Yue had seen in television commercials. Even in the dim light of midnight, one could glimpse the calm, icy lake and the retro arched bridges spanning it. These bridges connected small islands, each with a pavilion. The pavilions stood side by side, with the bridges winding and intersecting like dragons emerging from the water. The jagged, overgrown weeds outlined the reflection of the suburban starry sky on the lake’s surface, as if concealing turbulent undercurrents.

Shi Yue happened to be passing by the lakeside and only glanced at the scene. She was just a few hundred meters from the bustling commercial street when she suddenly spotted several figures in the distance. At first glance, they all looked like students. Shi Yue couldn’t help but look closer and quickly realized that two boys and a girl were a group, ganging up on another girl. One of the girls was pointing at the girl being attacked, muttering and cursing incessantly, occasionally kicking her. Another boy, who seemed to be her boyfriend and was close by, echoed her, occasionally hitting and hurling insults. There was also a tall, handsome boy who kept reaching out to touch the girl, even physically assaulting her!

Those people were on Shi Yue’s usual route, so Shi Yue had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk closer. Shi Yue shrugged her shoulders desperately, trying not to attract attention. As she passed by them, she overheard the details of their conversation.

The two female students seemed to have some personal conflict, so they had originally planned to have a late-night snack together to resolve it. However, the girl who had assaulted the other girl had no intention of a peaceful resolution. Instead, she called her boyfriend, lured the other girl to a secluded spot, and brutally beat her up. Not only that, she also maliciously called another boy, a spoiled brat who idled away his time and had a group of shady friends in the shopping district who enjoyed preying on innocent young girls. Now that this wicked girl and her boyfriend had vented their anger by beating the other girl, they planned to have the rich boy kidnap her for further revenge.

“OK, younger brother and sister, just hand her over to me. I’ll get a few brothers to take care of her and help them vent their anger! I’ll take some photos and send them to you later. You can use those to blackmail her, and I doubt she’ll dare to call the police.”

The young master skillfully directed the two men to help hold her down. The girl screamed and struggled desperately, and the group quickly became entangled in a struggle. Seeing that they couldn’t break through her defenses, the young master pulled out a spray bottle from his pocket in the chaos and sprayed it into her mouth and nose indiscriminately when she wasn’t paying attention. Before long, the girl’s struggles became weaker and weaker, and she gradually went limp.

“That…drug?” Shi Yue was displeased, but she only focused on walking quickly. As she passed those people, she caught a glimpse of the girl being drugged. Not wanting to cause any more trouble, she just wanted to get away from the trouble as quickly as possible. She walked right past them, and they didn’t seem to make any other moves. Shi Yue wanted to run away on the spot, but she still had to stay steady.

Pretend you didn’t see it, pretend you didn’t see it…

By this time, Shi Yue had left the others several steps behind. She breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that at least she hadn’t gotten involved. Just then, she suddenly heard the young man behind her shout:

“Hey, you! Stop right there.”

“…”

Shi Yue ignored him and continued walking with her head down. But the young master wouldn’t let it go, taking a step forward and grabbing Shi Yue’s shoulder forcefully: “I told you not to leave.”

The sudden pressure on her shoulder startled Shi Yue. She turned around abruptly and saw that the couple had also come over and stood on either side of the young master. The three of them stood together like three fences.

“You saw everything! Trying to run away?”

“No…” Shi Yue immediately feigned panic and said, “No… what was I looking at?”

Shi Yue just wanted to get rid of him, but the young master was not convinced. His gaze fell on Shi Yue’s face with amusement: “Hmph, whether it is true or not is another matter… You pour it for me too.”

Having said that, the guy casually raised the spray, intending to give Shi Yue a good thrashing as well. However, to his surprise, Shi Yue didn’t dodge or flinch, but instead curled two fingers and stabbed him in the eye!

“Ah!” The guy managed to close his eyes in time, but Shi Yue had still managed to pierce his heart, causing him to stagger backward. Then, Shi Yue aimed at the spray in his hand, delivered a high kick, sending the spray flying in a beautiful arc before it splashed into the water. Influenced by her father, Shi Yue usually enjoyed exercising, but at this moment she didn’t want to linger in the fight; she just wanted to avoid trouble. However, her backpack made her quite cumbersome, and she was caught up by the wicked girl and her boyfriend after only a few steps. Shi Yue injured the young man twice, and the boyfriend was already intimidated, but the wicked girl wouldn’t let it go, shouting and chasing after her. The man was suddenly emboldened and pounced on her from behind!

The young master had recovered and rushed forward, grabbing Shi Yue and beating her. He landed two heavy punches on her cheeks and abdomen, but Shi Yue was incredibly strong. She struggled desperately to break free and kicked the young master squarely in the stomach, making him cry out in pain. Shi Yue broke free from the three men and then pressed down on them again, repeating this cycle. Before long, Shi Yue was covered in sores, but in the struggle, the men were also bruised and battered by her headbutts and kicks. Under the streetlights, their shadows intertwined and tore at each other. The three of them managed to barely hold Shi Yue back with their bare hands, but they still couldn’t escape her kicks and punches. In the chaos, the wicked woman cried out first:

“Push the water in…let her drown!”

Upon hearing this, the two men seemed to wake up from a dream. The young master responded, “Push harder!” The three of them worked together to push Shi Yue hard towards the lake shore. As Shi Yue was pulled, she was gradually pushed to the water’s edge, and in an instant, she was half-lying on the railing!

“That’s enough… let go…”

Looking down at the pitch-black lake, Shi Yue panicked completely. She had no doubt that these guys really wanted to kill her to cover it up! Students are prone to acting without thinking, and Shi Yue herself was a middle school student. She knew that once she acted impulsively, she wouldn’t consider the consequences at all!

If time could be stopped at this moment, Shi Yue might be wondering if this was retribution for her impulsive murder years ago, but right now, all she could think about was how to survive. With her hands and feet restrained, she shook her head desperately, trying to ram it against them, and frantically shook her body to force them to let go. Her boyfriend, trembling, said, “Maybe we should just give up,” but his girlfriend wouldn’t have it. “What are you cowardly for? Push her down!” The young man chimed in, “Push her forward! Give it your all!” The three of them used every ounce of strength they had to push and shove, finally managing to push Shi Yue out of the railing!

It’s over.

The momentary weightlessness caused Shi Yue’s mind to freeze. She felt a lightness at first, and then fell rapidly and uncontrollably. The dark clouds and starlight reflected in the clear water magnified rapidly in her vision until she plunged into it.