Just as He Xiuyuan tried to snatch the life ring again, Su Yu'er grabbed his hair fiercely and shoved him under the water with a vicious force.
He Xiuyuan choked on water through his nose and mouth, a suffocating sensation surging over him.
Pushed down by Su Yu'er, his body kept sinking.
He wanted to swim to the surface, but all his strength seemed to have been sucked out by a giant syringe.
His limbs turned ice-cold, his pupils filled with utter disbelief.
He never imagined that the girl he once risked his life to save would now, to save her own skin, push him into the abyss.
Wait, no!
Su Yu'er's swimming skills should be excellent.
Why was she flailing in the water like a landlubber, just like him?
On the boat, Wen Yan watched the drama unfold for a while, resting her chin in her hand.
[I really wish I could lock these two scoundrels together for good!]
But she knew clearly that if He Xiuyuan really died, she would become a murderer.
Seeing the timing was right, she raised her hand.
The lifeguard on the boat immediately jumped into the water and rescued He Xiuyuan, who was sinking into the lake.
After being pulled up, He Xiuyuan lay on the deck, utterly disheveled.
He coughed and spat out water.
Su Yu'er, having secured the life ring, was in slightly better shape than He Xiuyuan.
However, after the shock wore off, thinking of her own actions moments before, a chill of dread crept up her spine.
"Brother Xiuyuan, I didn't mean to—"
Slap!
Regaining his senses, He Xiuyuan raised his hand and slapped Su Yu'er across the face with all his might.
Su Yu'er was stunned, her eyes immediately welling up with glistening tears. "You... you hit me?"
He Xiuyuan glared at Su Yu'er with eyes wide in fury, wishing he could tear her to pieces. "You're a landlubber yourself! How did you save me back then?"
Su Yu'er's long eyelashes fluttered. "I used to know how to swim... It was because I nearly drowned saving you that I developed a huge fear of water..."
He Xiuyuan was no fool. At this point, he would never believe Su Yu'er again.
In that moment of crisis, she had completely exposed the darkest side of human nature!
The moment she pushed him under, he became painfully aware that she had never loved him.
The only one who was truly good to him, who truly loved him, was Wanyu.
Yet, for the sake of this vicious woman, he had lost the woman who loved him wholeheartedly!
He Xiuyuan was filled with bitter regret, his heart and guts twisting in agony.
"Who really saved me back then? Why did you impersonate that person—" He Xiuyuan stretched out both hands and gripped Su Yu'er's neck tightly.
Seeing He Xiuyuan acting like a rabid dog, intent on killing her, Su Yu'er finally dropped her act. She lifted her leg and kicked him in his most vulnerable spot, her long nails raking across his face.
The two tumbled to the ground, wrestling and fighting.
Wanyu sat not far away, watching the scene with a faint look of mockery in her eyes.
Human emotions are truly strange.
When she loved him, she felt he was her entire world.
Discovering he had Su Yu'er by his side, she felt her world was collapsing in those days.
But looking back now, she felt as if a light boat had passed ten thousand mountains.
He Xiuyuan and Su Yu'er fought until they were both battered and bruised.
Wen Yan looked at their disfigured states and curved her red lips slightly. "He Xiuyuan, do you want to know who really saved you back then?"
Su Yu'er's pupils contracted. "Don't say it! You mustn't—"
Even if she and He Xiuyuan couldn't be together anymore, she didn't want him to know the truth!
He Xiuyuan looked at Wen Yan with intense emotion. "Who? Please tell me!"
Wen Yan glanced towards Wanyu.
He Xiuyuan's gaze followed and landed on Wanyu.
Wanyu walked over. She took a shirt button from her bag and hurled it hard at He Xiuyuan's face.
"I was planning to find a chance to return this button to you," Wanyu said with a self-deprecating curl of her lips. "All these years, I kept it as my lucky charm. Turns out, in the end, its owner was the one who hurt me the deepest!"
He Xiuyuan watched as the button hit his face and then quickly fell to the ground.
He picked it up and examined it carefully.
Soon, his hand holding the button began to tremble violently.
His eyes turned bloodshot, and he looked like a beast that had suffered a tremendous blow.
After the person who saved him that year dragged him ashore with great effort, he vaguely heard her whisper in his ear that she would take one of his buttons as a lucky charm.
When he woke up and saw Su Yu'er by his hospital bed, he naturally assumed she was his savior.
If Wanyu hadn't suddenly thrown the button at him, he would have completely forgotten about it!
So all these years, he had mistaken the wrong person!
The cruel truth pierced his heart like a sharp blade.
His entire being twisted in pain.
Looking at Wanyu's cold expression, He Xiuyuan fell to his knees and shuffled closer to her. "Yuyu, I'm sorry. I was blind. I was heartless. Please give me another chance, okay?"
Wanyu took several quick steps back, her eyes devoid of any admiration or lingering affection. "He Xiuyuan, we are over!"
Even if he now knew she was the one who saved him, there was no way she could reconcile with him.
The wounds were already carved deep into her heart, beyond repair.
Seeing Wanyu's resolve, boundless fear and panic rose in He Xiuyuan's heart.
He refused to believe Wanyu didn't love him at all anymore.
She was just still angry. Once he dealt with Su Yu'er, he would win her back properly.
He Xiuyuan glared at Su Yu'er with bloodshot eyes, stood up, and kicked her hard. "Liar! You deceived me for all these years!"
Su Yu'er dodged the kick and glared back at He Xiuyuan with equal fury, her voice hoarse and strained. "He Xiuyuan, don't tell me you fell for me just because you mistook me for your savior? When we went to bars together, skipped class, got into fights, what did you say? You said those were your happiest, most carefree moments! Being with me was like opening a door to a new world!"
"You said Wanyu was like a block of wood, utterly lacking in charm. You said your parents were strict and harsh, forcing you to do things you hated, that living in that house was oppressive and miserable, and that I was your angel who appeared just in time to save you!"
As soon as Su Yu'er finished speaking, an incredulous female voice rang out. "Xiuyuan, your father and I put all our effort into raising you well, hoping you would grow up capable of shouldering the responsibility as the He family heir. In your eyes, all we did was pressure you? Living with us brought you no joy, only pain and oppression?"
Madam He and Mr. He walked out from the cabin.
They had clearly heard every word Su Yu'er just said.
Madam He's eyes were filled with disappointment and sorrow.
After all, he wasn't their biological son. His heart could never truly be warmed.
Seeing his parents, He Xiuyuan was terrified, his pupils constricting. "Mom, Dad, don't listen to Su Yu'er's nonsense! I was deceived by her all these years. From now on, I'll listen to you, manage the company properly, win Wanyu back, and I won't disappoint you again!"
