Chapter 10

Chapter 10

If there’s a swimming pool…

Then he wouldn’t have to go out to practice holding his breath underwater!

Jiang Jining had returned to that old site four times, whether day or night, and could stay under the lake for at most three or four minutes.

Bian Jiacheng comforted him, saying his comfort in the water was already quite good.

But it wasn’t enough.

He had tried many methods before—

Whenever someone accompanied him or he used oxygen equipment, his sense of security would vanish without a trace, and his anxiety grew even more severe.

He had to do it alone.

Jiang Jining remained convinced of this.

There was also one remaining unknown:

The duration he could stay in the lake after entering the water was still uncertain.

For one, his memory was fuzzy; for another, the points of exchange between the two worlds were too unpredictable to pin down.

Swimming was undoubtedly a good excuse. Even if he practiced at Fu Yuze’s home, it wouldn’t seem strange at all.

Jiang Jining was lost in his own world, briefly amazed by the food in his mouth. After chewing, he began thinking about his plan again. By the time he snapped out of his reverie, the two of them had pretty much polished off the entire table of dishes.

He blinked. He hadn’t picked up his chopsticks many times, yet his stomach was already full.

Fu Yuze was now really about to leave. “If you need anything, have Aunt Tao let Uncle Lu know. If it can’t be resolved, call me.”

Jiang Jining gave a slight nod.

Fu Yuze and Bian Jiacheng had quite different ways of doing things.

Even though both were entrusted by someone, Bian Jiacheng would remind him a hundred times to call him personally first.

“There’s nowhere in my home you can’t go. Make yourself at home.” Fu Yuze left one last sentence: “I’ll have dinner made and sent over from Shishu. I have a business dinner tonight and might not return. We’ll see.”

Jiang Jining thought that was perfect!

He had arrived at dusk, when the lake depths held little light, leaving them dark and gloomy. Diving in at that hour always added an extra layer of psychological pressure compared to daytime. Practicing at night would be more effective.

Fu Yuze left without looking back.

Only then did Jiang Jining ask Uncle Lu, “Does he also have business engagements?”

“Yes, he usually goes back to the Fu Corporation to handle official business.”

Uncle Lu immediately understood his misunderstanding and smiled. “Shishu is just a restaurant brand he founded privately—more of a hobby. He doesn’t go there to cook every day. He’s also a pillar of the corporation.”

Jiang Jining mused.

That made sense. A family fortune couldn’t be built solely on a chef’s hands.

“I’m done.”

Jiang Jining announced after he’d eaten his fill.

He first went to the study to practice calligraphy for a while, extensively exploring the bookshelves on the second floor. Aunt Tao came to bring him some snacks.

Outside the window, a few strangers were moving about.

“The workers are here for regular pool maintenance.”

Aunt Tao was slightly plump, with a round face. She wore a white apron over her housemaid’s uniform. Seeing him staring at the backyard, she said, “The sun is scorching at this time. You’ll sweat easily and get tanned. Wait until the sun sets to swim.”

Jiang Jining was too pale.

He looked too delicate for the sun.

He lowered his eyes again to flip through the book, took a bite of gingerbread, and nodded obediently. “Then I’ll go take a nap first.”

In Aunt Tao’s eyes, he was like a beautiful pedigree kitten. Taking care of him wasn’t complicated, but required meticulous attention to every detail—but the emotional reward from his looks and temperament made people more than willing to oblige.

He napped for two hours.

After waking up, Aunt Tao immediately came to bring him swimwear.

A full white set with both top and bottom, along with a change of long-sleeved loungewear. She specifically explained, “The central air conditioning is always on at home. You’ll feel cold when you get out of the water.”

Jiang Jining was very receptive to advice. “Thank you.”

Aunt Tao also told him, “The whole room right before the pool is a shower room. No need to run back specifically to change and wash up. The butler and I won’t just wander into the backyard.”

Jiang Jining: “Okay.”

…

Night fell.

The black copper gate of the outer garden slowly swung open.

Flowers were in full bloom, night dew like flowing pearls. The car’s headlights first swept over a circle of flowing spring water, the passing halo illuminating the splashes.

The night was so quiet the car's low hum was barely audible.

“You didn’t ask once all afternoon?”

A magnetic, low male voice came from the car speakers.

Fu Yuze turned off the engine, switched the call to his phone, and got out of the car. “How much hand-holding did you think he needed?”

“Aren’t you the best at handling kids?” Bian Jiacheng’s tone was lazy but annoyed. “Do you know Ningning didn’t answer all afternoon, and your phone was off too? You two are going to be the death of me.”

“Blocking you is standard procedure to avoid harassment.” Fu Yuze approached and input his fingerprint, unlocking the gate to his courtyard. “I didn’t get any call from him, and Uncle Lu didn’t notify me either. Nothing happened. Don’t be so snoopy.”

Bian Jiacheng shot back: “I’m snoo— Damn, you ask Brother Fu and his wife, if Xing Zai were living alone in someone else’s house, wouldn’t they worry?”

“That’s shifting the goalposts.” Fu Yuze said as he walked. “Are you treating Jiang Jining like your son?”

The line went quiet. After a long pause, Bian Jiacheng replied, utterly exasperated, "No matter how much of a kid Ningning seems, he's an adult. If he can't tell the difference, I certainly can."

Fu Yuze remarked, "You don't sound too hopeful."

Bian Jiacheng clicked his tongue. "I really can't give my sister a proper explanation. Doesn't it mainly depend on Ningning's own wishes?"

Fu Yuze stopped walking. "Then you're out of luck."

Bian Jiacheng: "..."

"Bro, can't you say something nice?"

"The facts are right in front of you," Fu Yuze called him out. "You know you can't win him over. I've never seen you so spineless."

Bian Jiacheng spoke to him heart-to-heart: "Ningning was entrusted to me by my sister in the first place. That extra layer of responsibility and care really ties my hands. Everything has to be taught from scratch... Do you know I can't even touch him?"

Fu Yuze halted his steps, frowning sharply. "What did you do?"

A terrible thought occurred to him.

Then he thought it couldn't be that. Bian Jiacheng was a bit of a player, but not to that extent.

Recalling Jiang Jining's utterly unyielding demeanor, Bian Jiacheng lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. It had been a long time since he'd tasted this, and he'd missed it like crazy. "Didn't I give you the manual? Do you remember the first rule?"

"I have to follow it to the letter myself."

Fu Yuze saw the butler approaching.

For some reason, he put his hand over the mouthpiece as the butler reported, "You're back, sir. Xiao Ning has already had dinner and is playing alone in the backyard."

After saying this, Uncle Lu went about his business.

Fu Yuze stepped onto the stone stairs leading to the backyard and picked up the call again. "Something came up just now, I didn't hear you. Say it again."

"I said I'm hitting a pub with friends."

Bian Jiacheng couldn't be bothered to repeat himself, simply adding, "Have Ningning call me back later. Make it a daily thing."

In Fu Yuze's view, this was avoiding reality. "Does his dislike of men getting close have something to do with you?"

Bian Jiacheng, who was taking a fierce drag on his cigarette, nearly choked upon hearing this. He stubbed out the cigarette and said, "Are you deaf? If I had done anything, my sister would have fought me to the death long ago! Ningning steered clear of men on the street even before he came to my house!"

"Got it."

Fu Yuze nodded.

Such a thing was indeed beyond Bian Jiacheng.

Come to think of it—

That day Jiang Jining fainted at the sight of blood was a real mess.

Afraid Song Shi might have some contagious disease, Fu Yuze used Bian Jiacheng as an excuse to take him to the hospital for a blood test. But Song Shi, initially elated, then doused with cold water, grew increasingly unstable mentally and ended up attempting suicide on the rooftop.

The situation was critical.

Fu Yuze ultimately called for reinforcements.

Bian Jiacheng arrived on the scene in just ten minutes, personally stepping in without any safety measures to pull Song Shi back from the ledge where he was already halfway over. Everyone was terrified.

Song Shi, convinced he had succeeded, clung to Bian Jiacheng like a leech, refusing to let go for a second.

Right in front of him, Bian Jiacheng called home, clearly informing both sets of parents that the person had been found, that he would no longer be responsible for him in the future, and that he voluntarily renounced his status as heir to Jiasheng Group, refusing the arranged marriage as well.

Song Shi's parents were at the Bian family home at the time.

Song Shi's father was one of Jiasheng Group's long-standing partners of over thirty years. For his increasingly extreme youngest son, he had gone to the Bian family to plead, just wanting Bian Jiacheng to meet with Song Shi.

And now he got his meeting.

Bian Jiacheng and Song Shi would have nothing to do with each other for the rest of their lives.

Unable to be restrained even by his entire family, Song Shi had exhausted all his tricks and had no choice but to accept it.

Remembering this, Fu Yuze stepped onto the final stone step and asked, "So you're really not coming back?"

"Splash—"

Light and shadow shimmered in layers, ripples continuously spreading.

A slender, tall figure dove into the blue pool with a graceful, light posture, like a fish.

Fu Yuze was deeply drawn to it.

On the other end, Bian Jiacheng frowned, puzzled. "Otherwise? Should I let others control my feelings and marriage? I'm not useless."

Fu Yuze quietly admired the scene for a while.

His gaze unconsciously followed the figure moving in the water. "Why does Jiang Jining dislike men?"

Bian Jiacheng: "..."

"How did you circle back to this again?"

Fu Yuze spoke his mind: "Just consider me particularly curious."

Bian Jiacheng was somewhat speechless but still answered, "I asked him a long time ago. Ningning said it's been a rule since he was little. His family never allowed him to interact with men from outside, saying they had ill intentions."

So that was it.

Then why press forward knowing the road was dead?

Bian Jiacheng never made decisions like that, no matter what methods he used to verify... Jiang Jining's path was definitely not a dead end.

Fu Yuze leaned lazily against a stone pillar. "Good. Running into you finally gave it a purpose."

"Psycho." Bian Jiacheng's face darkened.

"Gotta go, I have things to do."

Fu Yuze was only afraid of missing more beautiful scenes.

The backyard had a full lighting design, including lights within the pool itself. When turned on, the night could be as bright as day, but currently only the poolside lights were on, twinkling like stars.

Fu Yuze sat down on a lounge chair in the distance.

Stars dotted the night sky, circles of water rippled in the pool, gradually growing calmer and calmer.

A familiar sight.

Jiang Jining must have been a mermaid in his past life.

……

……

Time crept by.

The pool was huge, and the deep end took up a good two-thirds of it. The cypress trees lining the outer edge of the yard rustled softly in the summer breeze.

The warm pool water brushed against every inch of his skin and senses, blurring the line between dream and wakefulness. As his oxygen ran out, leaving only the faint light above, Jiang Jining wanted nothing more than to sink deeper into the water.

Just a little longer.

It was warm here. Up there was no escape; down here was.

"Gurgle…"

Jiang Jining accidentally disrupted his breathing.

He quickly adjusted, sinking deeper to sit pressed against the wall, with only the water for company.

After three and a half minutes had passed, Jiang Jining exhaled a small amount of air, thinking it was enough for today. He pushed off from the pool wall and headed for the surface.

"Ningning…"

Jiang Jining froze, wondering if he was hearing things.

But then he heard it again—a low, muffled "Ningning."

Father? Or Big Brother!

Jiang Jining recognized the voice as deep, like the low toll of a bell.

Was he… going home?

At that moment, Jiang Jining no longer wanted to surface. His face paled slightly, but his gaze remained resolute. He turned and sank back to the bottom, reaching out to search his surroundings.

…Nothing?

Jiang Jining’s fingers brushed against the ceramic wall. Panicked, he looked around, closed his eyes, and listened intently, but he couldn’t hear anything anymore.

A sense of suffocation washed over him…

His consciousness began to fade.

Perhaps this was another chance to return?

Jiang Jining thought despairingly that this might be for the best—better than any other way. After all, he had arrived in the water…

Amidst the drifting and sinking, his waist suddenly tightened!

Jiang Jining instinctively swam upward. The moment his feet touched the shallow end, he lifted his head above the water. Oxygen rushed in, and he took a deep breath, coughing violently. "Cough, cough, cough—"

The back of his head was gently supported.

Suddenly, his hair fell loose and wet.

"Who on earth taught you to swim like this?" came a tone that was far from gentle.

Under the shifting light, the man’s features were deep and striking, his hair still dripping with water. His gaze held a mix of helplessness and concern as he looked at him.

Jiang Jining grabbed onto him, his pale pink knuckles clutching the soaked shirt, turning white with tension.

"Just now… cough!"

As soon as he spoke, another fit of coughing overtook him.

Fu Yuze steadied him, patting his back with his palm before guiding him toward the edge of the pool.

"Was it you calling me?"

Jiang Jining stared at him intently, forgetting to push him away.

Water was soft and deceptive, capable of embracing and swallowing all recklessness and impropriety.

Half a month ago, Fu Yuze had watched from the shore, but now, submerged in the water with him, he saw nothing but urgency, unease, and pleading in Jiang Jining’s eyes. A seed of tenderness took root in his heart.

"It was me."

Fu Yuze had no reason to deny it.

He thought Jiang Jining must have his own reasons.

If he choked on water, he would know to come up for air. It was like raising a little fish—forcing him to surface might backfire and only frighten him further.

Fu Yuze wanted to apologize.

But at that moment, the person before him burst into tears.