Qian Tao could feel herself drowning. She struggled with all the strength she had left.

The man-made pond was shallow with a depth of less than one meter. The school had made it shallow to prevent accidents from happening. Even if she did not know how to swim, she could just stand up and she would be fine but she felt all her energy draining. With her eyes closed, she felt liquid entering her body and she couldn’t move.

Bit by bit, she felt her body sinking to the bottom of the pond.

She vaguely saw a streak of light penetrating to the bottom of the pond. In front of her seemed to be a mirror. The person in the mirror was shining brightly and kept telling her, ‘Don’t struggle anymore. This is an extrication.’

‘An extrication…’

‘Is this an extrication?’

The person in the mirror smiled at her and stretched out her hand.

Qian Tao suddenly felt comfortable and that streak of light slowly turned gentle. She unconsciously stretched out her hands toward her.

An extrication…

That’s right, wouldn’t it be better to free oneself rather than to live in sins?

Just when both their hands were about to touch, splash! The ripples contorted the image of the mirror in front of her. In a while, both the mirror and the light disappeared. Before she fainted, she thought she saw a white figure coming towards her.

***

“Wow, I wish I was the one drowning…”

“That’s right, I envy her! She gets mouth-to-mouth resuscitation! How lucky she is!”

“Tao…Tao!”

In the dark, Qian Tao heard a familiar voice.

“Tao…” Gu Tong was by Qian Tao’s side, looking worried. “Please be alright, I shouldn’t have left you alone…”

Li Hengzhi was all wet. He was earnestly performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Qian Tao and could not hear the comments around him. His gesture was marveled by many.

He raised his voice and shouted at the crowd, “Don’t surround us, move aside!”

Everyone was stunned and moved backwards.

“Ah, Tao!” Gu Tong’s sharp shrill brought his attention back.

Qian Tao threw up a mouthful of water. At last, she had been saved! She slowly opened her eyes.

“Great, Tao, you are fine! What happened to you? How did you fall into the pond? The pond isn’t even deep.” Gu Tong’s tears rolled down her cheeks when she saw that Qian Tao was alright.

“Tong Tong…” Qian Tao coughed for a bit and finally regained her consciousness.

Just then, there were some voices of discussion. “Look, what are those marks?”

“Ah! It can’t be true…did she…”

Qian Tao touched her neck. Her scarf was not there—it must have fallen into the water when she fell. She turned to look at Li Hengzhi. His eyes seemed to be filled with unknown fury but she didn’t care that much anymore. She sat up and threw herself into his arms.

The scene caused an uproar!

Everyone’s faces reflected the same expression. “Qian Tao is coming on to Li Hengzhi!”

Qian Tao, who had just been saved, was trembling all over. Her wet face nestled up against his chest and she muttered under her breath, “Help me…”

Li Hengzhi carried her in his arms and instructed Yan Hai, “Get the car to the hospital!”

“Yes, Mr. Li!” Yan Hai cleared the way for them, “Excuse me, Mr. Li needs to send this student to the hospital!”

“Wait, I’m coming along!” Gu Tong caught up with them.

Behind them, the discussion became more intense.

At that moment, the piece of gossip kept circulating across the school: ‘Mayor’s daughter attempted suicide by jumping into the pond, suspected of having emotional dispute.’