After swimming a long distance forward with her in his arms, Lu Qianzhou finally surfaced with her.
Yan Xia clung tightly to Lu Qianzhou. She poked her head out of the water and gasped for breath.
After regaining her composure, her eyes involuntarily lingered on his face. His face glistened with water, and droplets kept dripping from his hair ends. He looked like a charming demon. It was so hard to see him again, but she couldn't manage a smile at all.
"Why did you come..." was all she wanted to ask. "You know very well that if you hadn't come this time, you could have secured the best way out for yourself. But once you're here, you can't get away unscathed."
Didn't he know she was scheming against him? Didn't he know all about her deal with the police? Then why did he come and fall into the trap?
Lu Qianzhou stared deeply into her eyes, the corners of his lips curving upward. "You're here, facing life - and - death trials. How could I not come? Besides, isn't this exactly the purpose of your return?"
The moment he said this, it was as if a needle had stabbed into Yan Xia's heart.
"Lu Qianzhou, I know everything now." Whether it was because she was too cold or because of the regret in her heart, her body trembled slightly. "You shouldn't have hidden it from me, let alone acted willfully. Even if you had told me the truth before this deal, we wouldn't have ended up like this."
Lu Qianzhou still looked at her with a smile.
To him, it didn't matter anymore.
"Even if I know that my father was such a despicable man, it doesn't matter. What matters is... now I only care about the harm his actions brought to you."
There was a clear reflection of her in Lu Qianzhou's eyes. He hated it most when others looked at him with such pity. He loathed such looks and wanted to tell everyone that he wasn't the poor soul others saw.
Not far away, the warehouse was still ablaze with a raging fire. The flames almost illuminated the entire port.
Just as he was about to say something, two other people suddenly surfaced not far away.
Shangguan Yao tightly protected the bureau chief and dragged him out of the water.
"Chief Gu, hold on a little longer." Perhaps because he had exhausted all his strength, his voice trembled.
"Shangguan Yao..." Yan Xia called out to him.
"Yan Xia." Shangguan Yao turned his head to find her. "Come and help."
Saving people was the top priority, especially when the person in question was the bureau chief. This operation had already gone terribly wrong. Not only had so many police officers been lost, but even Long Tao was dead. Without any witnesses, it seemed difficult to use Long Tao to arrest Lu Qianzhou.
Moreover, she was also involved in this operation. To avoid more trouble for herself and Lu Qianzhou, Yan Xia decided to help.
She gently stroked Lu Qianzhou's face, as tender and lingering as if she were caressing the face of her lover.
"Admit the crimes you've committed, but never admit to things you haven't done. I believe that at heart, you haven't made too many mistakes. Anyway, let's clarify things. No matter how long your sentence is, I'll wait for you."
After saying that, she turned around and swam towards Shangguan Yao.
However, just as she finally reached Shangguan Yao's side, the warehouse not far away suddenly exploded for the second time. A huge shockwave swept in. Yan Xia was almost immediately pulled into the water by Lu Qianzhou, who had followed closely behind her.
After the shockwave had passed, they all surfaced again.
Shangguan Yao gave Lu Qianzhou a long, hard look and pursed his lips tightly. For whatever reason, he always disliked Lu Qianzhou.
The group worked together to drag the bureau chief to the shore. Once on land, Shangguan Yao performed CPR on him. Fortunately, after repeating the actions several times, the bureau chief coughed up a mouthful of water and regained consciousness.
Both Shangguan Yao and Yan Xia heaved a sigh of relief.
Just then, the fire trucks roared in, followed by ambulances and police cars. With all these people arriving at the same time, Shangguan Yao called for help and immediately sent the bureau chief to the ambulance for emergency treatment.
Yan Xia followed Shangguan Yao all the time, helping him with small things like a considerate little angel.
The sea breeze blew gently. The temperature at the port dropped sharply at night, making people shiver with cold.
Only then did she clearly see that Lu Qianzhou's back was injured. Perhaps when he had jumped into the sea with her in his arms, he had used his body to block all the impact and the flames.
The flames had burned his clothes. His back was a mass of bloody flesh, with wood chips embedded in his skin. It was a terrifying sight.
"You're injured..." Yan Xia was a bit dazed.
"It's not a big deal." He still had his former confidence.
Yan Xia wasn't in a much better situation. Her palm had been shot through, and the wound was constantly hurting. After soaking in the sea water, there was still blood dripping from her fingertips.
"Yan Xia." Lu Qianzhou's voice sounded very constrained. "I didn't mean to hide those things from you. I know it's too late to say this, but I just hope you can understand that there are some things I had to do for my mother."
Yan Xia's eyes welled up with tears. She wanted to cry. She said again, "What exactly was that thing..."
But before she could finish, she heard a familiar call in the distance.
"Cheng Yanxia."
Yan Xia instinctively turned to look. Who else could it be but Fang Jiangyi, who was rushing over with a group of people?
She had always thought he was dead, or at least critically ill and on the verge of death. Now seeing him standing in front of her unharmed, she couldn't believe her eyes.
A strange sense of joy welled up in her heart. Seeing this man who had been entangled with her for half a lifetime and was like a family member reappear in front of her.
Since Fang Jiangyi wasn't dead, it meant that Lu Qianzhou's charges could be reduced by one degree.
The joy made her forget everything else. When Fang Jiangyi and his men came over, she rushed over and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.
Fang Jiangyi was only stunned for a moment, then he hugged her back without hesitation.
The moment he saw her unharmed at the dock, the heavy stone in his heart finally dropped. He had been worried about her safety. After failing to contact Lu Qianzhou, he had waited for an hour as he had promised. When he didn't get any response, he had come here on his own initiative.
His eyes met Lu Qianzhou's in the distance over Shangguan Yao's shoulder. At this moment, Lu Qianzhou's face was as pale as a homeless ghost, pale and full of powerlessness.
"Weren't you critically ill? Since you were critically ill, why are you standing in front of me unharmed now?" Yan Xia let go of Fang Jiangyi and suddenly took a few steps back. "Are you... hiding something from me?"
Fang Jiangyi showed a look of apology.
"Sorry for making you worry, but everything we did was to protect your safety and draw out the mastermind behind the scenes." Fang Jiangyi explained. "Only when you believed it could we deceive others."
It was just that he hadn't been able to hold on until the end because he was worried about her safety.