Winter Returns

Chapter 239 Deep Diving (Part 2)

12 month 30 day.

The weather forecast was accurate for once; the best weather was yesterday, and today the sky is full of clouds.

Zhang Shutong stepped out of his house. For once, he didn't settle for a quick breakfast. He found a mutton soup restaurant, where it was said that drinking this soup with added medicinal herbs would keep him warm all day. He knew it was mostly a placebo effect, and he didn't particularly like the gamey smell of mutton, but he went anyway.

The most useful item was actually chocolate; he grabbed a bunch from the shelf, paid for it, and planned to eat it before boarding the ship.

He was organizing his plans in his mind. Tomorrow was the 31st, and he had to attend classes and hold a party, so it was impossible for him to sneak out to catch foxes. The day after tomorrow was January 1st, and Lu Qinglian had to stay on the mountain. The temperature would drop and it would snow in the next few days, and the lake would be completely frozen over by then. He thought he had plenty of time, but upon closer inspection, he realized that only today, Sunday, was left.

He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt today. Zhang Shutong put the hood on and silently chewed gum. A gust of wind blew by, the bubble popped, and he spat it out listlessly and wrapped it in a piece of paper.

When they returned to the entrance of the residential area, Lu Qinglian was already waiting there.

Zhang Shutong inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

How's your arm?

"Fortunately."

"Have you got a meal yet?"

"Ah."

This is how their conversation is going now.

Lu Qinglian was worried that the lake would freeze over, but now she herself felt like she was covered in a thick layer of ice.

Pushing open the door, Zhang Shutong saw equipment spread all over the floor and introduced it one by one:

"...This is a hovercraft. I rented an electric air pump, and we'll inflate it when we get to the lake. This is a rubber paddle; you can familiarize yourself with it too."

"Life jackets and life rings, just in case. This is a diving suit; try it on in your room later. Oh, and you'd better tie your hair up beforehand."

Lu Qinglian still had her long hair hanging down to her shoulders today.

Then Zhang Shutong took out a map:
"This time, we'll board the ship at a different location and try to stay away from that area of ​​water."

"When to set off?"

"Let's trust the weather forecast," Zhang Shutong said, glancing out the window. "The sun has just come out; let's wait until the lake is warmer around noon before going."

It's nine o'clock.

This means they have two or three hours to prepare.

Zhang Shutong sat on the sofa and suddenly scratched his head. From noon yesterday until now, everything had happened so fast that it caught him off guard. From entering the police station to getting clues and then locking down the location of the sunken ship, it all seemed to have happened in the blink of an eye.

Lu Qinglian was changing clothes in the room. He looked up at the ceiling light. The heating in the living room was very warm, but soon they would be in the freezing cold water.

Zhang Shutong didn't know how cold the lake water was in winter. Yesterday, he reached his hand out over the railing on the boat and immediately shivered, leading the staff to think that he was about to commit suicide at such a young age.

Soon, Lu Qinglian came out of the room wearing a black, tight-fitting wetsuit. Her figure was slender and graceful, especially highlighting her long legs.

She lifted her long hair behind her head, and countless strands of black hair cascaded through her fingers.

"How is it?" Zhang Shutong asked. "Don't compromise if there's anything that doesn't suit you."

"It fits fairly well." Lu Qinglian asked, pointing to another wetsuit, "Are you going into the water too?"

"of course."

“Wait on the shore.” She frowned and said in a tone that left no room for negotiation.

"I can swim too."

Zhang Shutong took out her swimming certificate from the third grade of elementary school.

But Lu Qinglian completely ignored his jokes meant to lighten the mood, and instead said coldly:

"What if we encounter an accident like the one that happened back then?"

You talk as if nothing bad will ever happen to you. Zhang Shutong thought to himself:

"At least we can look out for each other if anything happens."

“Wait for me on the shore,” she repeated slowly.

The atmosphere became tense; they started fighting amongst themselves even before they had set off.

What a cold and arrogant woman.

Zhang Shutong conceded:

"The shore is too far, I won't go into the water, I'll just wait for you on the boat, is that alright?"

Lu Qinglian withdrew her cold, hard gaze. After a long while, she nodded her chin, which was taken as agreement.

With plenty of time before the operation, Lu Qinglian went back to her room to change into her own clothes. A few minutes later, she came out wearing a green military overcoat. Yesterday, Zhang Shutong had asked her to find the thickest coat she could find, and this was it.

Zhang Shutong boiled a kettle of water, poured her a cup, and Lu Qinglian took it, thanked him, and held it in her hands.

Both of them had excellent memories, so they memorized the map after looking at it once and sat silently on the sofa.

Zhang Shutong suggested watching some TV, but the response was naturally a refusal.

He shook his head and said nothing more, then searched for a popular science article about rescue on his phone, treating it as a last-minute cram session.

Not long after, Zhang Shutong rubbed his temples. His mind was a bit of a mess. He felt like he had made all the preparations, but he also felt like something was missing. He wanted to talk to Lu Qinglian about it, but when he looked up at her, Lu Qinglian had her eyelashes gently closed, as if she was resting.

Like the position I was in at the hospital yesterday, maybe I was asleep, maybe I wasn't.

The not-so-bright sunlight shone on her face, and only at this moment would the icy shell on Lu Qinglian's body melt a little.

Zhang Shutong watched for a while, then slowly closed his eyes.

"……time to go."

A faint voice sounded in his ear, and when he opened his eyes again, Lu Qinglian, dressed in a diving suit, was standing in front of him.

I checked my phone; the alarm I set hadn't gone off yet, and there were still ten minutes until the agreed time.

Looking out the window again, the clouds on the horizon gradually dispersed, finally revealing a large expanse of sunlight.

It was time to go. He rubbed his face, his eyes regaining their clarity. Zhang Shutong found two bottles of Red Bull, tossed them over, and said:

"Maybe it will be useful."

As he spoke, he opened the can, intending to drink with a touch of heroic spirit, but in reality, he didn't. The icy liquid slid down his throat, and the warmth that had accumulated in his body gradually faded away.

Lu Qinglian didn't seem to be used to the taste of Red Bull. Zhang Shutong knew that she would squint her eyes when she ate something she liked, but she just gulped down the drink as if she were swallowing some necessary medicine.

"Shall we have a celebration banquet tonight?" Zhang Shutong wiped his mouth.

Lu Qinglian simply placed the empty can on the table.

Together, they secured the equipment to the motorcycle. Zhang Shutong and Lu Qinglian bit into the chocolate and put down their helmets and goggles.

The boarding location this time was not in the restricted area, but a little south of it. Their blood boiled with the roar of the engine. At noon, they stopped their car in the suburbs.

It seems that everything that needed to be said has been said, and the things that shouldn't have been said should have been swallowed back down. The rest is quite busy. Zhang Shutong taught Lu Qinglian how to inflate the boat, while he tied a rope to the stern.

It was midday on an ordinary day, the end of the year was approaching, and they were like a young couple out for a boat trip, but there hadn't been a private boat on this lake for a long time.

People traveling will not be without smiles on their faces.

Zhang Shutong watched as Lu Qinglian silently tied her hair up. Her long hair was neatly coiled behind her head, looking almost the same as when she rented the wig. For a moment, Zhang Shutong felt a little dazed, as if time had reversed. He moved his lips.

“Zhang Shutong, you should hesitate less.” Lu Qinglian’s tone was completely flat.

"...let's go."

A call came in on my phone; it was Qingyi.

"I'm almost there, how are you guys?"

"Get ready to board the ship."

“I just called an ambulance. They said someone is drowning,” Qingyi said. “They should be there in about twenty minutes. That means if you don’t come up by then, someone will come to rescue you. Of course, if everything goes smoothly, you’ll have to pay an extra hundred yuan for the ambulance and get a scolding.”

"it is good."

Zhang Shutong made a gesture towards Lu Qinglian.

After she got into the boat first, Zhang Shutong followed closely behind, worried that she might row away. The hovercraft wasn't very big, and the two of them sat facing each other and started paddling with rubber oars. There was no wind or waves today, and the small boat silently sailed towards the center of the lake.

Lu Qinglian faced the center of the lake and steered the boat toward the reef. Zhang Shutong couldn't see what was ahead, so he could only look down at the water. Shallow ripples spread across the surface, and for a moment, only the sound of water could be heard.

Although there was sunlight, the sky was pale and the lake surface was a murky yet transparent color.

A faint fishy smell entered my nostrils, and as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but water; I could see neither wild ducks nor fish.

They gradually moved away from the lake shore. Zhang Shutong calculated the distance, which was about ten meters. The motorcycle gradually shrank in his field of vision.

Lu Qinglian's right hand injury affected her ability to exert force, so she had to use her entire shoulder to row, causing her body to tilt. Even so, the boat moved slower than expected.

"Don't force it."

"Fortunately."

She said it again, so calmly, her neatly combed hair now disheveled with sweat.

The surroundings were utterly silent; even the faintest sound seemed much louder. Then, a flashlight flickered across the lakeshore. Zhang Shutong knew that Qingyi had arrived.
"By the way, how's everything going with New Year's Day preparations?"

Lu Qinglian remained silent.

She looked up and said:

It's cloudy.

Zhang Shutong also looked up. A few minutes ago, the sun had peeked out from behind the clouds, but a few minutes later, the clouds moved and blocked it again, turning the lake water a deep blue-green color.

He reached out to test the water temperature; fortunately, the water had enough heat stored up, and the two quickened their pace.

How far is it?

"One quarter."

The lakeside scenery almost disappeared from sight, and similarly, from Qingyi's perspective, they shrank into a small black dot.

They stopped the boat and began making final preparations. Lu Qinglian took off her coat, revealing her diving suit underneath. The rope that was tied to the boat had one end tied around her slender waist.

Zhang Shutong turned around, and the black dot-like reef in the photo finally revealed its true form, only about ten meters away.

Its rugged surface was empty. Zhang Shutong sighed inwardly, "As expected, the fox still sank into the water. This body of water had no big waves, almost like stagnant water, which meant that the statue would not deviate too far."

The boat drew closer, and Zhang Shutong stood up and threw a second rope far away. He tied the rope into a loop and successfully looped it onto the reef.

Then things became much easier. They put away the oars and pulled the ropes to bring the boat closer to the reef. Zhang Shutong looked at the blackness getting closer and closer in his field of vision, wondering whether he should hope that the last leg of the voyage would end well.

If things don't go smoothly, it can be considered an ominous sign, and you should turn back.

From the moment they boarded the ship until now, everything has been incredibly smooth, as if even the heavens wanted them to bring the fox ashore.

They eventually got close; the rubber hull hit a reef and rocked slightly.

Zhang Shutong took off the watch from his wrist. It was a digital watch, a gift for his fifteenth birthday. It was said to be able to function properly underwater at a depth of fifty meters. How could a cool boy not have a watch? So he loved it very much back then.

He silently tossed his watch to Lu Qinglian, who in turn tossed him a life jacket from the stern of the boat. They didn't exchange a single word throughout the entire process.

She still seems to doubt her own ability to go into the water.

"One minute."

Zhang Shutong put on his life jacket, held up one finger, and said, word by word:
“I don’t care how long you hold your breath, you have to come up and breathe every minute, whether or not I notice.”

Lu Qinglian had already turned around, and judging from the way her hair swayed, she must have nodded slightly.

She was doing light warm-up exercises, her slender figure stretching out. Zhang Shutong said nothing more, staring straight at the gloomy sky. When he came back to his senses, he heard Lu Qinglian's voice as she entered the water.

If this was a farewell, then they deliberately ignored this scene.

A white splash appeared on the lake's surface, slowly returning to calm, and Lu Qinglian disappeared before his eyes.

(End of this chapter)