Chapter Thirteen: How Dare You Bite Me?

I clung to him like a greedy leech, his breath filling me with overwhelming hope. As someone lifted me to the surface, I gripped the wooden post tightly, coughing violently. Wiping my face, I finally caught sight of the person sitting on the plank, smiling at me—it was that lunatic, Jia Baoyu, from the airport yesterday.

He was actually quite handsome, especially in this half-lit, half-shadowed glow, like a damp, princely figure of mixed blood. I exhaled shakily, limbs splayed and powerless on the plank, gazing up at the star-filled sky. The sensation of surviving another brush with death was far from pleasant.

My coughing felt as though my organs might burst forth, yet that madman kept smiling at me. As I recovered some strength, I lashed out with a sudden kick—damn you, if you hadn’t appeared out of nowhere to startle me, would I have been so pathetic?

He stumbled off from my kick, but to my horror, he managed to drag me down with him, determined not to go alone. As I sank, panic made me cry out, “Damn you, you lunatic—” The rest of my words were lost as icy lake water flooded my mouth, and terror, magnified a thousand times, swept over me once more.

I panicked. Where was that lunatic? Had my kick killed him? Why wasn’t he coming to save me? I struggled to the surface, but he was nowhere to be seen. Just then, something grasped my ankle and tugged me downward.

I fought desperately, but whatever it was pulled relentlessly, and soon I was submerged. It was those same eyes. This time, I didn’t dare defy him; when his teeth closed on my lips, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He seemed emboldened, prying my lips apart and biting my tongue with fierce intent. He bit down hard, yet perhaps terror had seized my mind so completely that I felt no pain. I clung to him, craving more air.

I don’t know how long it lasted, but finally, he surfaced with me, once again helping me onto the plank. I shook violently with cold, coughing and sneezing, my mouth full of the taste of blood, my clothes icy and clinging to me. It was unbearable.

I looked at the lunatic—he was only wearing a shirt, still smiling at me like some infatuated fool. I didn’t dare kick him again; I had no strength, and besides, I feared provoking him—what if my corpse floated up the lake in a few days, like a dead fish?

He wiped his lips, the smile at the corner of his mouth growing sharper. “Dare to bite me?”

I shivered in fright. “You lunatic, you bit me first.”

He glared at me, and I shrank back. “Hey, I’m warning you, before coming here I called my friend. If he can't find me, he'll call the police. If you dare to kill me, you’ll end up in prison, you hear?”

He sneered. “Try calling your friend now.”

I reached for my phone, only to realize it was gone—must have fallen into the lake earlier.

The lunatic stood, bending over as he approached me. I shrieked in terror, seeing the clear lines of his abs beneath his wet shirt. He could probably toss me into Lan Mirror Lake as easily as a scrap of paper.

He gripped my shoulders, his voice icy. “Since you insist on calling me a lunatic, I'll show you what that really means.”

He actually lifted me up, and all sense of dignity vanished—I clung to his neck with my arms, wrapped my legs around his waist.

If he dared to throw me in, I'd drag him with me.

I was not above pleading, even if it was insincere—after all, it wasn’t as though heaven would strike me down for it.

“Hey, handsome, I’m sorry, it was a slip of the tongue. Please, be generous and forgive me. I have family to care for and debts up to my ears…”

His smile deepened, and I abruptly fell silent, for he stepped to the prow of the boat.

And I hung on him like a koala.

Both of us were soaked, my teeth chattering with cold, but this lunatic seemed immune—as if he were some spirit of the water. The most bizarre thing was, his body was warm, and I couldn't help but want to steal his heat.

He spoke impatiently, “Let go.”

I clung stubbornly. “My clothes are all wet. Find me something dry and I’ll let go.”

He didn’t answer. Suddenly, the world spun, and he tossed me into the covered boat.

I covered my head in fear, bracing for pain, but none came. Instead of cold, hard wood, my hands touched something soft, like a quilt.

And here, it was warm and scented, a comforting refuge.