Chapter Ch67 - By Saving Ren Jing, Ye Chen Had Also Redeemed Him.
Editor: Amaris
Ye Chen certainly remembered her. For him, it was an important event in his life.
Even though he couldn’t get out of the bed after being beaten by his father back then, he had always felt quite proud of himself for being able to do such a thing. He kept flaunting it in front of Gu Xi and Yu Xingzhe for a short while.
After all, he had saved an extraordinarily charming ‘little girl’. Maybe this was their predestined fate of marriage.
Well, it was indeed a predestined marriage, just that the ‘little girl’ had grown up into a ma…masculine man.
At that time, Ye Chen lived with his (maternal) grandfather. Because Mother Ye was the youngest daughter, grandpa was already very old by then. After he retired, he went back to his hometown and enjoyed his old age in peace.
His hometown was a pretty lively small fishing village. Because there were military officers guarding the village, it was properly developed and became more bustling than ever.
It took only five or six minutes from grandpa’s house to the seaside. Grandpa was a trainer, he started training his grandson. Ye Chen was really afraid of the training, so he would run away to play and hide as long as he could when it was time for it.
The small fishing village was very safe and Ye Chen had good swimming ability since he was young, so no one would mind him even if he went swimming by himself.
That day, Ye Chen was playing ball and building a sandcastle with his group of little friends. They played joyfully.
By chance, Ye Chen caught sight of the mother and child at a glance.
The mother was wearing a long, white dress. She had a graceful disposition and a very elegant demeanor. The child beside her was probably as old as Ye Chen, ‘she’ stared ahead expressionlessly. She was so pet.i.te that her eyes appeared really big. When she gazed into the sea, her pair of eyes seemed to reflect a great part of the sea.
Ye Chen was in a daze at that moment. He had met a lot of good-looking people, such as his uncle’s children—his cousin-brothers and cousin-sisters, Brother Xinghai, Old Yu, and the no-longer-fat Gu Xi…
But their beauty couldn’t be compared to this ‘girl’ before his eyes. Her hair dangled just over her shoulders, it looked soft and smooth. She had fair skin, her facial features were so exquisite they looked flawless. She was so lovely she looked like a doll.
Ye Chen couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at her. Later, his friends called him to play with them and he finally let it go. He took the ball and had a match with his friends.
Later on, he didn’t know how much time pa.s.sed, but Ye Chen suddenly heard a cry for help.
It was very faint, carrying a deep sense of despair and unwillingness, the cry seemed to seep through the bottom of his heart.
Who is it?
Ye Chen looked around. For some reason, he immediately caught sight of the figure of someone struggling in the sea at a glance.
Someone’s drowning!
Ye Chen didn’t think much back then. He immediately took off his coat and jumped into the water. His physique had been trained very well when he stayed at grandpa’s place these years. Grandpa used to be a soldier, and he still trained regularly even after his retirement. Although Ye Chen always hid from him whenever grandpa wanted to train him, he had grown accustomed to the training as time pa.s.sed.
Therefore, even though he had played at the beach for a long time, he could still swim very fast after jumping into the water.
As he swam closer, he realized that it was that pretty little girl from before who was drowning!
Ye Chen went into a panic. Why did she swim this far if she can’t swim? Where’s her swim ring?
What made Ye Chen even more terrified was, why was she still wearing a T-shirt? Could one go swimming while wearing such attire? If she didn’t intend to go swimming, then…
He couldn’t think too much at the moment. Ye Chen had some knowledge of how to rescue someone. In the case of someone drowning, the rescuer could not swim directly to the drowning person, because the drowning person would panic and cling onto the rescuer. When this happened, the person wouldn’t be able to be rescued, and they might drown together instead.
The best way to rescue someone was to approach from the back, put his arm under her armpits to grip the other’s chest, then stick her head closely to his own chest while pulling her out of the water, and lastly, to swim to the other side of the water with one of his hands.
As Ye Chen approached her, he shouted, “Don’t be afraid! I’ll save you. Don’t move recklessly, you mustn’t move recklessly. I’ll take you ash.o.r.e!”
He was afraid that the girl would be too scared and that she would squirm with all her might, but to his surprise, the girl was very calm. She quietly let Ye Chen grab her and went along when Ye Chen swam to the sh.o.r.e while holding her.
After they landed on sh.o.r.e, Ye Chen panted heavily as he asked, “How are you feeling? Is everything alright?”
The girl stared at the horizon blankly. Her beautiful eyes seemed to be entirely filled with water.
Ye Chen approached her, then called out, “Little girl, are you alright? Do you feel uncomfortable somewhere? You don’t have to be scared, everything’s alright, everything’s already alright.”
Ye Chen’s voice had hardly faded away when large drops of tear welled up in the girl’s eyes.
She didn’t make any sound at all, but her tears kept falling down in torrents like the seawater, intensely flowing down.
Ye Chen inexplicably felt distressed for her. He hugged the ‘girl’ and comforted her, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid… It’s alright, everything’s alright already.”
The ‘little girl’ let him hug her as she stood motionlessly. She didn’t even sob or choke with sobs. She was so stiff like a cold porcelain doll, only her tears were boiling hot. It spilled over Ye Chen’s shoulder, carrying a trace of burning heat.
After some time had pa.s.sed, the little girl finally spoke, “She’s dead.”
Ye Chen was startled. He barely heard what she said.
At this time, when the adults rushed over and saw the two children, they hurriedly wrapped them up in a towel and sent them home.
Later, Ye Chen finally knew the whole story.
The little girl’s mother accidentally suffered a cramp in her leg when she went swimming. When the little girl saw her mother struggling (in the water), she rushed towards her without considering whether she could swim or not. As a result, she almost died.
When the mother’s corpse had been retrieved from the water, she still looked very graceful. Dressed in a swimsuit when she died, she looked very much like a hopeless mermaid.
He heard that the little girl had nowhere to go, so Ye Chen took the initiative to take her home.
After a few days had pa.s.sed, the girl didn’t speak at all. She refused to approach anyone but Ye Chen. When Ye Chen asked her name, she would shake her head. When he asked where her home was, she would also shake her head.
The doctor diagnosed that she suffered an extreme shock and went into a kind of self-isolation state, recovery would take some time.
Ye Chen accompanied her and spoke to her patiently. Because he didn’t know her name, he kept calling her “little girl”.
Later on, Ye Chen was forcefully dragged home by Father Ye because he heard that Ye Chen ‘almost drowned’. Father Ye was really angry that he beat his child until he couldn’t get out of bed. Ye Chen didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to the girl.
A few days later, he heard that the little girl had left, too. It seemed that she finally spoke and told them where she lived.
A lot of years had pa.s.sed since then, but Ye Chen still remembered her. However, he never got to meet her again.
Ye Chen compared Ren Jing and the ‘girl’ in his mind for a little, then noticed that their features were really similar indeed.
This is really…truly…unbelievable!
Ren Jing’s voice sounded again, “Chen Chen, could you open the door?”
Ye Chen immediately opened the door and saw the tall and handsome man before his eyes. His head was filled with this: Impossible, this is completely impossible. How on earth could the short, little ‘girl’ from that time had grown this tall!? This is too unreasonable!
Ren Jing was shocked when he saw Ye Chen. His eyes were filled with anxiousness as he asked, “Why are you crying?”
Ye Chen recklessly wiped the tears away, then he asked, “Are you really her?”
Ren Jing said, “I remember every single word you said to me back then. If you don’t believe me, I could repeat all of them for you.”
Ye Chen opened his eyes wide. Because he cried for quite awhile, the moment he widened his eyes, it made him look all the more pitiful.
Ren Jing felt really anguished seeing Ye Chen like this. He took Ye Chen into his embrace, then kissed his forehead. “Don’t cry… Chen Chen, don’t cry.”
Ye Chen was still at a loss. “Are…Are you really her?”
Ren Jing paused for a moment before he hugged Ye Chen tightly as he softly whispered the words which already felt very distant:
“Don’t be afraid! I’ll save you. Don’t move recklessly, you mustn’t move recklessly. I’ll take you ash.o.r.e!”
“How are you feeling? Is everything alright?”
…………
……
“You don’t like to eat carrots? But you obviously look like a little bunny.”
“Little bunny, little bunny… I won’t call you ‘little girl’ anymore, I’ll call you ‘the little bunny who doesn’t like carrots’.”
Ren Jing unexpectedly repeated everything Ye Chen had said to him without missing a single word. He slowly repeated the words Ye Chen had said to him at that time.
Ye Chen’s eyes were filled with astonishment. He actually couldn’t remember them clearly anymore, but now that Ren Jing repeated all of them, it evoked countless memories, causing the dusty scenes to gradually become clear again.
It was really Ren Jing. The ‘little girl’ he saved 13 years ago was actually Ren Jing!
Ren Jing had liked Ye Chen since then until now…
Was there such a miraculous thing in the world?
Ye Chen suddenly recalled one more thing. “Ring… That ring…”
Ren Jing, “Yes, it’s the one you gave me.”
Ye Chen finally recalled that he was indeed the one who gave Ren Jing that ring.
That ring wasn’t Ren Jing’s mother’s, but Ye Chen’s mother’s. It was obviously not a wedding ring, just one of Mother Ye’s many rings.
At that time, in a sudden moment of insight, Ye Chen simply grabbed one of the rings that his mother had ‘lost’, went to find Ren Jing and said, “Take this.”
The ‘little girl’ version of Ren Jing lifted her head up and looked at him.
Ye Chen said with a serious expression, “This ring is still very valuable. You could sell it later and get a lot of money from it!” The way Ye Chen thought was actually very simple. Since the girl’s mother had pa.s.sed away, her family circ.u.mstances might not be very good. It would be too eye-catching to give her money, but she could hide it if he gave her a nearly one carat diamond ring.
Ren Jing took out the ring. Ye Chen didn’t have a deep impression of it, but truth to be told, this ring was his and the girl’s secret. No one but the two of them knew about this.
So Ren Jing…is really ‘her’…
Ye Chen had completely believed him. He now believed that the feeble ‘little girl’ he saved had become a big…big…grown man…
Ren Jing kissed him and said, “Thank you.”
The feelings embodied within these words were indescribable. After going through countless tough, complicated twists and turns for years, he simply concluded his feelings into such simple words in the end.
Hearing him say these words, Ye Chen’s heart became heavy. He shook his head, then his eyes were in a curve as he smiled. “You’ve always liked me?”
Ren Jing replied, “Yes.”
Ye Chen asked, “For fourteen years?”
Ren Jing, “Fourteen years and twenty five days.”
Ye Chen chuckled. “How could you remember it so accurately?”
Ren Jing replied, “It’s impossible for me to forget the day when I received a new life.”
Ye Chen’s heart warmed up. His voice became softer as he said, “Since you’ve liked me from long ago, why did you not tell me earlier?”
Ren Jing lowered his eyesight, then said in a low voice, “I’m not good enough for you.”
Ye Chen was stunned. When he realized that Ren Jing was serious, he immediately became furious. “What nonsense are you talking about!?”
Ren Jing held him tight again. His voice trembled so slightly it was almost unnoticeable when he said, “Chen Chen, you’re so amazing, I’m really…”
“No more nonsense!” Ye Chen pushed Ren Jing away, then gazed into his eyes as he said, “You’re the most outstanding, hardworking, strongest, bravest, and the most handsome person I’ve ever met!”
Ren Jing kept staring at him without blinking. His thin lips opened slightly, all that could come out of it were chants of his beloved’s name, “Chen Chen…”
Ye Chen didn’t disclose the whole story, but they were both aware of the secret.
Ren Jing’s mother committed suicide back then, and she also even wanted to kill Ren Jing at the same time.
She kept on struggling after drowning into the water and shouted at Ren Jing for help. Ren Jing could swim, thus he immediately went into the water, thinking of saving her.
But his mother dragged his feet using both of her merciless hands, like a demon from the bottom of the sea, trying to drag him into h.e.l.l.
An awful childhood didn’t make Ren Jing feel sorrowful, but it was the malice from his mother that made him feel completely disappointed with everything.
The person who had given him life wanted him to die.
Was there anything much more sorrowful than this for such a young boy?
Him being born to this world was a sin.
What was the meaning of being alive while carrying such a heavy burden?
Ren Jing didn’t know the answer to that question, but he still kept on strifing with all his might to fight against the ‘demon’ under his feet. Eventually, Ye Chen came.
He was a ‘treasure’, gleaming with a gentle radiance, bringing light to Ren Jing who was currently on the edge of the pitch black h.e.l.l.
Ye Chen illuminated the dark road and showed him the way to get out of the darkness. He also took his hand and led him out step by step.
By saving Ren Jing, Ye Chen had also redeemed him.
The author has something to say:
I took longer to write this chapter because the plot is more serious this time. Smooches!
T/N: I remembered reading the comment on JJWXC and saw someone commented something along this line: “When you lifted the little girl‘s skirt, you noticed that s/he got a bigger pp than you” AND I LAUGHED SO MUCH HAHAHAHAHAHA;;;;; I’m supposed to be big sad but that comment made my day LOL