The sea breeze blew in through the door, carrying a strong salty smell. Xu Qingqing stepped forward and closed the door.
In such a dreadful weather with such heavy rain, Xu Qingqing was already feeling nervous just staying in the well - lit cabin. She couldn't even imagine how Huang Tonghai and the others were faring on that rickety small boat.
Huang Tonghai and his companions couldn't have gone far. If they kept sailing, they would cross the coastline, and they didn't have the guts to leave the area. They just had to wait for them to come back on their own.
Sure enough, just as Xu Qingqing had predicted, Huang Tonghai's boat encountered a storm right after setting sail.
The already scattered fishing boats were being tossed around by the gale on the sea and were extremely difficult to control.
Moreover, the three of them were not professional boat drivers, so they simply couldn't manage the boat.
Gu Anrou clung tightly to the mast and tried to furl the sail. The bean - sized raindrops hit her body painfully.
The boat kept moving forward. It was about to cross the coastline. The other side was the territory of another country, and if their fishing boat sailed there without permission, they would be punished.
Huang Tonghai didn't dare to take the risk. He had no choice but to turn the boat back.
Now they had only two options. One was to escape through the large whirlpool, and the other was to take a detour and leave from the route blocked by Xu Qingqing's yacht.
With the storm so fierce at sea, Huang Tonghai didn't dare to take the whirlpool route.
Even experienced fishermen had to do their best to steer the boat well in such conditions. Huang Tonghai simply didn't dare to take the chance.
"To save our lives, let's go back the way we came!" Huang Tonghai shouted at the other two at the top of his voice.
A purple lightning bolt split the sky, intensifying the fear in the three of them.
Huang Tonghai, looking like a wilted bean sprout drenched by the heavy rain, squatted on the deck, covering his head with his hands.
Hearing that Huang Tonghai wanted to go back and fall into the trap, Gu Anrou disagreed. She stamped her feet and shouted, "I was once captured by Xu Qingqing before, and she sent me straight to prison!"
"If we go back, she definitely won't let us off. We can't go back!"
She didn't want to suffer in prison again. She had had enough of prison life!
Even if she died in this storm, she didn't want to go back in disgrace.
Gu Anrou rushed forward to grab the helm from Huang Tonghai, trying to change the direction. But Huang Tonghai wasn't going to tolerate her nonsense. He pushed her away forcefully.
"Stop acting recklessly now!"
Huang Tonghai told his uncle to come over and hold Gu Anrou down so that she wouldn't cause any more trouble.
"We have to go back. If we don't, it's a dead end!"
Just as Huang Tonghai finished speaking, a huge wave crashed over, drenching the three people on the deck to the bone.
The deck was filled with sea water, and the whole boat started to sink.
The crisis was urgent!
If they didn't leave quickly, they would really die at sea!
The uncle immediately tied Gu Anrou up with a fishing net.
"Son of a bitch, let me go! Get out of here! Don't touch me!" Gu Anrou cursed and kicked at the uncle.
Hearing the continuous stream of insults from Gu Anrou's mouth, the uncle stuffed a smelly salted fish that had fallen on the deck into her mouth.
The stinky and fishy smell filled Gu Anrou's mouth. She was immediately nauseated by the foul smell and vomited.
It was so disgusting!
The acid in Gu Anrou's stomach kept surging. White mucus flowed out from the corner of her mouth.
Finally, unable to bear the disgusting smell any longer, Gu Anrou tilted her head and fainted.
The big waves kept pounding against the fishing boat. The flimsy boat was shaking violently.
A wooden plank from the cabin was knocked onto the deck by a huge wave, smashing a big hole in the deck. It was a heart - stopping sight.
Huang Tonghai was startled. His desire to escape reached its peak. He fixed the helm with a rope and then, together with his uncle, started to scoop water out of the boat with basins.
They had to escape!
But amateurs were amateurs. They didn't know how to sail properly, and the boat hit a hidden reef in the river.
With a loud crash, the flimsy cabin collapsed instantly.
The groggy Gu Anrou was woken up by the noise. The wooden plank that had been supporting the cabin fell less than half a meter away from her. It had almost hit her leg.
Gu Anrou didn't dare to argue anymore. Her determination not to go back had disappeared. All she wanted was to get back quickly.
She wanted to go home!
A large part of the boat's bottom was stuck on the reef, and the boat couldn't move forward anymore.
Huang Tonghai tried his best but couldn't move the boat an inch. Seeing the water on the deck rising higher and higher, it had already reached his calves.
It wouldn't be long before it reached his waist. By then, it would be too late to run.
Huang Tonghai took out a diving suit and a life buoy. There were no other rescue equipment on the boat for his uncle and Gu Anrou.
As he put on the diving suit, Huang Tonghai told his uncle to quickly untie the fishing net from Gu Anrou.
"The boat can't move anymore. We have to swim back. I hope Xu Qingqing is still there..."
If Xu Qingqing was still there, they could get on her boat and be saved.
This was the first time since their break - up that Huang Tonghai was so eager to see Xu Qingqing.
The uncle casually threw a pair of scissors to Gu Anrou and told her to cut the fishing net off herself.
It was a race against time for survival. He didn't have the time to take care of Gu Anrou.
"Son of a bitch! I curse you all to drown!"
Gu Anrou spat out the salted fish in her mouth forcefully. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, her eyes turned cold. She cursed angrily and then tried hard to reach the scissors with her feet.
By the time Gu Anrou got the scissors in her hand, her uncle and Huang Tonghai had already put on their diving suits. They hugged their life buoys and jumped into the sea.
The water on the deck had already reached Gu Anrou's waist. She held the scissors and desperately cut the net that was wrapped around her.
But the waves didn't care that she had no means of escape. Wave after wave crashed onto the boat, drenching Gu Anrou from head to toe.
By the time Gu Anrou finally managed to break free from the net, there was no time for her to put on the diving suit. She could only grab the life buoy and jump into the sea.
At the last moment, the boat was smashed to pieces by the huge waves, and the wooden planks scattered in all directions.
The three of them swam towards Xu Qingqing's boat in a sorry and embarrassing state. At this moment, they didn't care at all about what would happen if Xu Qingqing found them. Their only thought was to survive.
In contrast to the three people's desperate escape on the sea, it was much more peaceful on Xu Qingqing's yacht.
Lao Hong had secretly hidden a small piece of porcelain on his body, planning to sell it. But unexpectedly, he was caught by Xu Qingqing.
To reduce his guilt, Lao Hong voluntarily handed over the porcelain to Xu Qingqing.
"Ma'am, this is the porcelain I found underwater. I'm willing to hand it in. I'm willing to turn myself in. Please spare my son!"
The dark - skinned old fisherman's eyes were full of panic. At this moment, all he wanted was to get his son out of this mess.
"Dad, I was also involved in this. How can I let you take all the blame?" Xiao Hong said anxiously.