Well, Very Sweet

Fang Qi stared at the ocean in a daze.

Then...

He dashed toward the sea!

"Hey——!!"

The old man's shout came from behind, but Fang Qi could no longer hear it.

All he knew was—

If she was down there, he had to go find her, he had to find her!

The waves crashed against the reefs, and the splashing white foam washed over his ankles.

Cold, piercingly cold!

But he didn't stop.

He stepped on the reefs, stumbling forward!

"Liguang——!!!"

He shouted hoarsely, but his voice was mostly swallowed by the sound of the waves.

"Where are you——!!!"

He stared fixedly at the surface of the sea.

The sunlight made the seawater sparkle, dazzlingly bright.

But he couldn't see anything.

There was only the azure, boundless, silent sea.

The water rose past his waist.

The freezing sensation felt like countless hands dragging him down.

He still wanted to push forward.

Then—

A rough, large hand suddenly clamped onto his shoulder!

A tremendous force yanked him back!

Fang Qi lost his balance entirely and stumbled back two steps!

"Are you crazy!!!"

The old man's voice exploded in his ear, breathless and terrified.

That dark face was now flushed bright red, his cloudy old eyes wide open, glaring at him.

"One more step forward! The water will be over your neck!!"

"The tide is about to come in! Don't you know! Once a wave hits! You'll be swept away!!"

Fang Qi panted heavily.

He stared at the old man, his lips moving:

"Then... then that's perfect."

His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"She's down there..."

"I'll go find her..."

"Then we can... we can..."

He couldn't go on.

He froze for a moment, and then... the corners of his mouth pulled into a curve.

A miserable, self-deprecating curve.

...It's fine to be swept away?

What was he saying...

Just a few hours ago, he had slapped himself in the face.

He had just sworn that he would absolutely not rewind.

He said he wanted to keep this memory... for Liguang!

He wanted to let the future Liguang be able to look back on this elopement with a smile!

But now?

What was he doing?

He was rushing into the sea, wanting to be swept away.

He wanted to be with Liguang...

Together doing what?

Sinking to the bottom of the sea together?

Or... just to force himself to rewind?

"Heh..."

He laughed out loud.

He looked down, staring at the seashell in his hand.

Silver hair and a small star, that was all she had left him.

And those two lines of words:

"Master is a liar."

"But Liguang still loves you."

Wasn't he exactly a liar?

He lied to her that he wouldn't despise her. Lied to her that he would fix her eyes. Lied to her that he would give her a good life.

And the result?

He could only stand here, holding the things she left behind...

Unable to do anything.

The old man's hand was still clamped on his shoulder, with an astonishingly strong grip, his knuckles turning white.

"You..."

The old man's chest heaved violently, panting heavily.

He stared at Fang Qi, an indiscernible emotion in those cloudy old eyes.

After a few seconds, he finally let go.

"You wait here."

He said.

Then he turned around, stepping on the reefs, stumbling back toward the shore.

As he ran, he shouted at the top of his lungs—

"Old Wang——!!!"

"Old Zhang——!!!"

"All of you, get over here——!!!"

Fang Qi leaned against the reef, watching that hunched back run further and further away.

The seawater was still crashing against the reefs, splash, splash.

He looked down at the seashell in his hand; the silver hair and the little star were lying quietly inside.

The sunlight shone on the little star, reflecting a faint glimmer of light.

Fang Qi closed his eyes.

This light was a bit dazzling.

...

He didn't know how much time had passed.

Noisy voices reached his ears.

"Where?!"

"By that reef beach?!"

"Hurry, hurry! Before the tide comes in!!"

Fang Qi opened his eyes.

On the shore, a group of figures was running this way.

There were burly men wearing rubber wading pants, middle-aged men carrying ropes and nets, and a few old men holding long bamboo poles.

The old man ran at the very front, turning his head to shout as he ran—

"Right there! Near the biggest reef!"

"Those of you who are strong swimmers, go down and search around!"

"Be careful!! The tide is coming in soon!!"

The group of people surged toward the edge of the reef beach.

A few of them had already started taking off their jackets, revealing lean upper bodies tanned dark by the sea breeze.

One of the burly men holding a net saw Fang Qi.

He paused for a moment, then frowned.

"Are you the one... looking for someone?"

Fang Qi opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But the burly man had already turned his head away, shouting to the person next to him—

"Old Liu! Drag this guy ashore! Don't let him get in the way here!"

"In his condition, going down there is just a death wish!"

A middle-aged man ran over and grabbed Fang Qi's arm.

"Let's go! Wait on the shore!"

"No... I..."

Fang Qi tried to break free, but the man was incredibly strong, pulling him right up from the reef.

"You what you! Do you know how to dive? Do you know how fast the currents are around here?"

"You going down there will only cause trouble! We'd have to fish you out too!"

As he spoke, he dragged Fang Qi toward the shore.

Fang Qi stumbled as he was dragged along; his already exhausted body had no strength to resist.

He could only look back toward the reef beach.

The group of people had already entered the water.

One by one, the strong figures plunged into the sea, splashing white water before being swallowed by the waves.

Fang Qi was dragged onto the sandy beach and pressed down to sit on a rock.

The middle-aged man patted his shoulder.

"Wait here."

Then he too turned around and ran toward the reef beach.

Fang Qi stared blankly at the sea.

The sunlight was fierce, burning the back of his neck.

They really were a group of good people.

But he...

He couldn't do anything at all.

The sea breeze blew past his ears, salty and bitter.

In the distance, occasional shouts came from the reef beach.

"Over here! We've checked over here!"

"Switch to that side!"

"Watch out for the currents! Don't go too deep!"

Fang Qi listened to those shouts without moving an inch.

His mind was in utter chaos.

Could they find her... Could they...

Was she in the sea... Sunken beneath which reef...

Was that amber left eye still open?

Or... was it already closed. Then what was the last thing she saw?

Fang Qi pressed the seashell against his chest.

Through his soaked clothes, that small clump of silver hair he had hidden away all night pressed together with the star she had left.

It felt a bit cold.

This was all she had left behind.

...

He didn't know how much time had passed.

Over by the reef beach, the group of people gradually came up.

Each of them was completely drenched and exhausted.

Fang Qi saw them shaking their heads, waving their hands at the old man.

And the old man stood there, his hunched back motionless for a long time.

Then he turned and walked toward the sandy beach.

Step by step, walking very slowly.

Fang Qi continued to quietly hold that seashell.

He knew...

They hadn't found her. They hadn't found anything.

The old man stopped beside him, silent for a long time.

Then that rough, large hand patted Fang Qi's shoulder without saying a word.

Then the old man stood up, turned around, and walked away.

Fang Qi listened as the man's footsteps faded into the distance, along with the voices of the crowd on the shore.

Eventually, only the sound of the ocean waves remained.

Crash. Crash.

Fang Qi sat quietly on the reef.

The setting sun cast its light over the sea, dyeing the entire ocean in warm hues.

...But what about beneath the surface? What color was it down there?

Fang Qi didn't know.

This time... it seemed he had completely lost her.

"Hey—!"

A shout rang out from the shore.

"Look, quick! What is that?"

Fang Qi's head snapped up!

Over by the rocky beach, a burly man who had just come ashore was standing in the shallows, pointing out at the sea.

Fang Qi followed the direction of his finger.

On the warm-toned surface of the water, a tiny black dot was slowly drifting toward the shore with the rising tide!

Fang Qi's heart skipped a beat!

Pushing himself up from the sand, he stumbled to his feet.

He staggered wildly toward the water!

Is... is it her?

Is it her??

Closer, it was getting closer...!

The outline of the black dot grew clearer and clearer.

Fang Qi's footsteps suddenly came to a halt.

Standing in the seawater, he stared blankly at the object drifting in.

It wasn't her.

But... it was connected to her.

It was a wooden raft.

The raft they had built together.

Three meters long, two meters wide, lashed together with wood and vines—rough and simple, yet very sturdy.

The one he and she had built together... their first home after eloping.

The raft floated quietly on the sea, inching closer with each wave.

Fang Qi gazed at it in a daze.

There was nothing on the raft. Not her. Not the silver-haired girl.

Only...

Stuck in the crevices of the raft, there seemed to be something.

Something very small.

Wading through the water, Fang Qi walked over step by step.

He reached the edge of the raft, extended his hand into the gap... and pulled the object out.

...It was a piece of fruit.

Deep purple, its skin slightly wrinkled, turning a bit pale from soaking in the seawater.

...It was the fruit she had picked for him.

The ones she had gathered on the island, wrapped in leaves, and placed on the raft, saying, Save these for Master to eat on the journey.

Later, when it rained heavily, she had used the leaves as an umbrella, leaving the fruit piled up on the raft.

Now...

This single remaining fruit had gotten wedged in the raft's crevices and drifted back with it.

The fruit had gone a bit soft from the seawater, its skin wrinkled.

But it was still intact—not rotten, not crushed.

Fang Qi took a gentle bite.

The juice burst in his mouth, mixed with the salty tang of the sea.

Mmm... it was very sweet.