"In that case, why don't we just send Ning Xian along with him and get rid of him too? Wouldn't that solve the problem?" It's a win-win situation. Not only will we get rid of Bai Dashen, but we'll also send that girl far away and see if she tries to hook up with Feng again!
The other three looked at each other and exchanged a few glances—it's feasible!
And so, some operation began in secret...
...
Having failed to steal food from his own kitchen, Ning Xian naturally wouldn't compromise and continue to go hungry—if he couldn't steal from his own kitchen, he would steal from the kitchen of Paradise!
And so, this person, who never learns from her mistakes, sneaked into Paradise for the third time. Okay, she admits, she had a few thoughts... At the very least, she wanted to find Feng and get to the bottom of that kissing incident that turned her into a pariah, right?
Hungry and listless, she climbed over the wall of the Paradise Garden. Fortunately, having learned from her previous two experiences, Yu Lin knew that this habitual offender would do it again and again, so they had agreed on a secret code beforehand.
Sure enough, not long after the signal was given, Yu Lin rushed over, looked around, and quickly pulled her up.
"Ning Xian! It's still broad daylight, why did you come here?" You're getting more and more reckless...
"Alright, stop nagging now, find me something to eat first..."
He led Ning Xian back to his room and said, "Wait for me, I'm going to check on the kitchen. Don't wander off."
"Understood, little housekeeper..."
Although someone had given instructions and clearly said "I know," Yu Lin still didn't see the person who should have been waiting in the room when he returned with two stuffed pancakes he had retrieved from the kitchen, wrapped in oil paper. He sighed, sat down, and sure enough, he soon saw Ning Xian climbing back through the back window—his room's back window was right next to Feng's, so it was really easy to see the guy's movements.
Ning Xian unceremoniously took the pies from Yu Lin's hand and started biting into one. With his mouth busy stuffing with pies, he could only blink and look at Yu Lin.
"Feng isn't in his room. He's been... well, something's been going on lately."
Then blinked again.
"Well... it's not a problem to take you there, but it's during the day, what if someone sees us..."
Blink hard.
"Okay, I'll take you to see him. Don't blink so hard, or your eyes will cramp..."
Two figures sneaked out of Yu Lin's room. To Ning Xian's surprise, they headed towards the back of the mountain, gradually becoming more secluded, so they didn't have to worry about being discovered.
"What is Feng doing here?" She had already finished the first pie and was holding the second one, ready to eat.
Yu Lin led the way and replied, "I don't know what's wrong with Feng either. She suddenly started learning to swim recently."
"Splash—" Swimming? Why is he learning this? To make up for his shortcomings? Or does he want to learn to swim so he can finally "sever all ties" with her?!
Yu Lin walked to the edge of a lake and stopped. "This should be it."
Huh? Here? Where is everyone??
Ning Xian held the pancake in her hand, stuffing it into her mouth while looking around. Apart from an outer garment hanging in the tree, she couldn't see anyone. "Where is he?"
Yu Lin pointed to the water.
"Uh... well, swimming probably refers to..."
"Yes, I talked to Feng about it, but he just couldn't float no matter what... so, we switched from learning to swim to practicing holding his breath..."
"...You mean, he just stays submerged in there, and that counts as his 'swimming'? What happens when he wants to come up?"
“Oh, well, Feng said that as long as he can hold his breath long enough, it will be enough for him to walk up from the bottom of the water.”
Ning Xian was speechless. It turned out this guy was not only a terrible swimmer, but also a complete blockhead. "If you want to practice holding your breath, just fill a basin with water and plunge it in. Why did you have to come all the way to the lake? Did he even check the bottom of the lake? There's no silt, is there?" How could he even think of walking up? If he stepped into the silt, wouldn't he just sink in?
"..."
"..."
Yu Lin's expression darkened slightly, and Ning Xian's expression also turned serious—"Um, how long has he been down there?"
"He had just taken a breath when I saw your signal... I don't know if he came up to take a breath after that..."
"..."
"..."
Ning Xian tossed aside the filled pancake in her hand. "I'm going downstairs to take a look!"
"Ning Xian, be careful!"
The moment Ning Xian stepped into the water, she regretted it—she hated her impulsive decision to jump in without a second thought, forgetting that she hadn't eaten for two meals and was feeling weak. She'd only eaten a small pie; she should have finished the other one before coming in…
(By the time you finish eating, that damned thing will be dead...)
She searched helplessly in the water, trying to find someone's outstretched arm or a tuft of hair in some muddy puddle, when suddenly she felt a sharp tug on her ankle—she screamed, "Ah—!!"
—Could it be the legendary water ghost seeking a substitute?!
When she realized she was still in the water, she hurriedly covered her nose and mouth, inevitably wasting most of the air... She quickly looked down at her feet and saw a hand tightly gripping her ankle, and the owner of that hand... Mother! Feng had turned into a water ghost to take her as a substitute!!
She flailed wildly, completely forgetting the essentials of swimming and wasting her energy pointlessly. Feng grabbed her ankle and pulled her towards him, stopping her flailing limbs. His warm body temperature was especially noticeable in the cold water. Ning Xian was startled. Wasn't he a water ghost? Looking again, Feng showed no signs of drowning... Well, she was just being nosy. She had actually forgotten that a master like Feng, with proper preparation, could hold his breath for an hour or two without any problem.
He didn't drown, but she couldn't hold on any longer—feeling the air in her lungs running out, she thrashed about, trying to swim to the surface, but Feng pulled her back again, one hand holding her waist, the other pressing her head against him—when that breath came in, she didn't think of the several breaths they'd exchanged, but rather of that light, feather-light kiss from before…
The hand that had been pressing on the back of her head loosened, and Feng smiled arrogantly at her. She only felt the surrounding water surge violently, and the two of them had already leaped out of the water and landed on the shore. Feng's hand still hadn't let go of her waist, and their two wet bodies were pressed tightly together. From Feng's disheveled and soaked collar, one could even see her beautiful collarbone and chest, making one feel dizzy for a moment. Feng said with a half-smile, "This time, we're completely even, hmm?"
"W-what do you mean by 'even'... I only went down there to save you..."
"But in the end, it seems I was the one who saved you?"