At that moment, Lin Fang made his way out of the reeds as he panted and looked at the cane in his hand. In the beginning, he was worried about the slippery ground, so he purposefully found a strong cane for Lu Xiao Shu. In the end, she was fine without it and had long since gone to the middle of the frozen lake!
“Xiao Shu! Xiao Shu! Slow down and watch your steps!” Lin Fang shouted before heading in their direction.
Zhou Yuan, who was deep in his thoughts, finally came back to his senses. Seeing Xiao Xue and her sister on the lake, he yelped and called out, “Wait for me!” Then, he chased Lin Fang to where they were.
Perhaps Zhou Yuan indeed was too plump, or maybe it was his bad luck. Everyone had no trouble, but just when he got closer to the sisters, there was about two meters more to go when they heard a “crack,” and the ice seemed to shake a little.
He froze. After taking a look downwards, his hair stood on its ends. Beneath his feet, the cracks spread out across the ice.
Lu Xiao Shu and Lin Fang’s hearing were sharper than most people. They knew something was off the moment they heard the initial crack. They turned to glance at Zhou Yuan together at the same time.
Zhou Yuan’s heart thumped loudly against his chest. Amid his panic, he raised a foot and walked forth.
“Crack! Crack!” The snapping sound followed his every step. This time, Xiao Xue heard it too. In addition, the cracks beneath his feet not only became more, two of them even grew larger. It was pitch black, and it looked like a demon.
“Ah!!” Color drained from Xiao Xue’s face as she shrieked in fright. It was as if she had fallen into an igloo as an icy feeling took over her.
“Xiao Xue…” Zhou Yuan raised a foot, wanting to take another step forward.
“Stop where you are!” Lu Xiao Shu’s expression turned cold as she snapped. It scared Zhou Yuan, and his body swayed. From minor cracks, they split even more.
While it only split a little more, the entire situation was scary, to say the least. To experience it themselves, they were already shivering from head to toe.
“You, you stand properly and stop moving! Do not move an inch! Do you hear me?” Lu Xiao Shu fixed a look at him as she snapped coldly, “If you don’t want to drown and become fish food, listen to me and stop moving!”
“I…” Zhou Yuan had never experienced this situation before. He was so frightened that his face turned a hue of sickly yellow as he watched Lu Xiao Shu with a sullen look.
Lin Fang finally snapped back into action. He said, “Xiao Shu is right! You need to stand still. Understood? You’re quite heavy, and the ice has cracked. If you simply make a move, the cracks might grow bigger. It might even turn into a hole! If you fell into it and got swept away by the current, we won’t be able to see you and save you even if we wanted to ….”
“Keep your voice down. Why are you so loud?” Lu Xiao Shu rolled her eyes at Lin Fang. Doesn’t this bastard know that sound can cause cracks too? The cracked ice is the frailest now. We can’t afford to disturb it any further.
Zhou Yuan was even more afraid after hearing Lin Fang’s words. He started to weep, “I won’t move! What should we do? You, you must save me!”
“Don’t worry. Why won’t we save you?” Lu Xiao Shu softened her tone, “You should try to relax your stance while you stand there without moving. We’ll think of a way to get you out of there!”
As she spoke, she turned around and told Lin Fang, “Get my sister onto the shore and find me a few long wooden planks. Are there any ropes on the carriage? If not, find a way to get me some rattan and bring the planks here too. I’ll be here accompanying him.”
“No way! You can’t stay here. It’s dangerous!” Lin Fang got worried. Xiao Xue’s tears also started to build up in her eyes.
Xiao Xue was anxious and regretful at the same time. She knew for a fact that this little girl was a troublemaker. She should have stopped her sister from coming at all costs! As expected, trouble arose!
Besides, this was completely different from before. If things went wrong, it was a matter of life and death!
“My body is the lightest. I can stay here in case he gets afraid! Xiao Xue, get up onto the shore. Lin Fang, stop nagging at me! Go find the things I told you, quickly! Do you want to get us into more trouble by dawdling?” Lu Xiao Shu glared at Lin Fang.
Lin Fang had no chance against her. Moreover, they were in a precarious situation where resisting was not a choice. With a glare from her, he had no choice but to surrender and say, “Fine. Don’t worry! I’ll get Xiao Xue up and find whatever you want with Cricket. I’ll be back in an instant!”
“What a nag!” Lu Xiao Shu rolled her eyes at him.
“Xiao Shu, you—”
Xiao Xue had just blurted out a few words before Lu Xiao Shu interrupted her, “Xiao Xue, you need to go with Lin Fang quickly! Or else, I’d be worried about you, and everyone would be in trouble!”
Xiao Xue knew that her sister might be playful and a troublemaker at times, but she could not understand how her sister was the most level-headed in situations like this. Thus, she nodded, “Alright! Just be careful! I’ll leave first!”
“Sure. Walk slowly and be careful.” Lu Xiao Shu nodded lightly.
Remorsefully, Lu Xiao Shu thought to herself: Why are we just so unlucky? It was fine at first, but this fatty just had to be so heavy. Everyone else had no problems, but when he came along, the ice started to crack…
“Xiao Shu, nothing will happen to us, right?” Zhou Yuan’s body was stiff and rigid. Making sure he did not move was also a very tiring task, especially when he was very anxious.
“We’ll be fine! But if you keep moving, I can’t guarantee anything.” Lu Xiao Shu replied.
“I’m not moving! Look, I’m not!” Zhou Yuan promised.
“Okay. Just keep maintaining that. Keep it up. You can do it!”
“Oh…”
After a moment, Zhou Yuan added, “Xiao Shu… what if, what if I really— you know what, could you tell Xiao Xue that I’ve always—”
“I’m not helping you!” Lu Xiao Shu was a little irritated, “Why don’t you tell her yourself? I already told you that we’d be fine. Just stand there. What’s the use of thinking of that nonsense?”
After she told him to knock it off, Zhou Yuan shrunk back, not daring to utter a word.
Lu Xiao Shu felt a little bad for him as she watched him. She even went so far as to pity and comfort him in a gentle voice, “To be honest, my sister doesn’t really hate you. So, you should stop imagining stupid things.”
“Really?” Zhou Yuan looked up in surprise. Who knew that his sudden excitement caused the ice to shake under his feet. Another “crack” drained the color out from his face. He composed himself and asked carefully, “Does Xiao Xue really not hate me?”
Lu Xiao Shu chuckled, “Don’t get too worked up, or else this might be the end of us! I know my sister the best. If she hates you, she wouldn’t even bat an eye at you. Besides, if she hates you, why would I let you hang around with us? I’d beat you up into a pulp! It’s just that she’s sensitive and thoughtful. If you keep rushing her, she might shy away. Anyway, my parents are going to find her a match in two years. You just have to send a matchmaker when the time comes!”
After hearing all this, Zhou Yuan was so happy. It felt as if he had just taken a bite of ginseng, feeling as if he could float away in glee. Hastily, he nodded and replied, “Alright, I’ll listen to you! Don’t forget to let me know when the time comes!”
Lu Xiao Shu chuckled, “I won’t!”
Zhou Yuan’s mood took a 180 degree turn as he smiled brightly and chatted to Lu Xiao Shu about Xiao Xue. He asked everything about Xiao Xue. Lu Xiao Shu noticed that he was temporarily distracted by this. Besides, he was not a bad person other than just being a little plump. What was important was the fact that he was loyal and good to her sister. If her sister married a guy like this, she probably would not suffer, so Lu Xiao Shu gladly chatted with him.
Of course, she would never spill too much information that would betray her sister. Despite that, Zhou Yuan was already delighted as he was grinning from ear to ear.
Unexpectedly, things went wrong just as Zhou Yuan was pleased. Momentarily, he forgot about the danger he was in. With a gust of cold wind, he could not help himself from sneezing forcefully!
The sneeze shook his entire body, and he unconsciously took a heavy step back.
That did it!
“Crack! Crack!” Two loud snaps followed, and the cracks under his feet became an inch wide.
“Xiao Shu!” Zhou Yuan trembled with a sob. Suddenly, there was a cold feeling under his feet. Looking down, the lake water had silently crept onto the surface of the ice.
How could he hold it in? Without a second thought, he yelped and ran forward anxiously.
What he did not know was that at least half a meter of ice around him was fragmented and could not withstand his force.
The layer of ice quickly split open, and Lu Xiao Shu was shocked. She lost her footing and slid backward, putting more distance between him and her. She hastily called out, “Don’t move! Stop moving!”
At that moment, Zhou Yuan was really frightened, and there was only one word in his mind: Run!
It was impossible for him to listen to Lu Xiao Shu’s words. Seeing the ice break, the desire to escape only grew stronger.
The crack grew more prominent, and there was a loud noise. Then, he seemed to have gotten shorter, but actually, half of his body was submerged in the ice hole!
The other half leaned on the ice surface as he struggled to grasp onto the surface. Zhou Yuan looked upwards in panic as he could not see Lu Xiao Shu. he stammered, “Help… Help me…”
The other half of his body that had fallen into the hole had lost its senses as it soaked in the icy lake water. He could not feel anything from the bottom half of his body.
Now, Zhou Yuan did not dare to struggle and move any more!
Darn that Lin Fang! Why is he not back yet? Lu Xiao Shu was so worried that she was getting furious.
If everything had gone according to her plan, as long as they could get a plank across, it would ease the pressure that was forced onto the ice. With some ropes for him to hold onto, it could easily help to calm him down. As long as Zhou Yuan was careful enough, they could bring him out of the danger zone without any problem.
However, she did not expect this to happen!
“Calm down. You, you’ll be fine! Just don’t, don’t move! I’m coming to save you!” Lu Xiao Shu knew that they could not keep waiting any longer. There was no guarantee how long the ice around Zhou Yuan would hold. If it breaks, that would be the end of him! Besides, half of his body was submerged in the icy water! If they delayed any longer, he might freeze to death even before the ice breaks!
