Si Jiangchen helped me drag the strange fish that had taken the bait onto the shore.
I understood what Ma Su was aiming for this time.
She wanted to kill someone in front of a million viewers in the live - broadcast room! To create a terrifying cult!
This Su Guohua was an unknown amateur.
He worked in this nearly - bankrupt water park, earning only a few thousand yuan a month.
He craved exposure and fame!
With popularity, fame and fortune would surely come knocking...
So, he agreed to what Shi Anbang had arranged as a so - called eye - catching segment in the variety show. It not only portrayed him as a just and environmentally - conscious person but also made everyone worry and be tense about his disappearance.
However, neither he nor the director Shi Anbang had expected that this was a well - designed trap. Ma Su had exploited Su Guohua's extreme desire for fame to set up this scheme.
Su Guohua was already dead! The body of this scaleless big fish was the final resting place for his soul.
Looking at the fish's upturned white eyes, I thought sadly to myself.
"Slap!" "Slap!"
The fish out of water thrashed its tail fin unwillingly. The bracelet with Su Guohua's initials engraved on it glistened under the light. It seemed to be desperately proving that it was the real person, the Su Guohua who had gone to retrieve the clothes.
"Director, what should we do?!"
An Hong walked over cheerfully. She reached out and touched the fish's mucus - covered skin. "It's a rare scaleless freshwater fish! It should be very delicious!"
"Ugh... Sister An Hong, stop talking. It's so disgusting!"
Asa had kept his distance from us since earlier. He seemed like a real vegetarian who didn't kill or eat meat.
Now, hearing An Hong's words, he covered his mouth and was almost about to vomit.
"I'm going back to change my clothes!"
Those little hands that had reached out from the water earlier had been scared away by Si Jiangchen and had splashed into countless water droplets, drenching my T - shirt and shorts. Even my hair was sticking to my cheeks in strands. The wind made my nose itch, as if I was about to catch a cold.
I said to the staff, "Don't touch this fish. It's best to keep it in a net bag in the water."
"I think we should just let it go," Asa insisted on maintaining his kind - hearted persona.
I rubbed my nose and sneezed softly.
Si Jiangchen had already wrapped me in a blanket. "Don't mind them! Don't get sick!"
Under the spotlight, those people were still discussing what to do with the fish. I was already being carried by Si Jiangchen to the villa area of the water park.
In the afternoon, Si Jiangchen had asked Ji Chen to rent a villa here for a short - term stay. He had also brought over the nanny who took care of Si Tong.
The nanny was waiting for Si Tong in front of the villa.
Si Tong pouted unhappily and looked at us. "I still want to watch Sister Xiaohe!"
The dinner session hadn't started yet, and Si Tong didn't want to rest with the nanny.
"Little mud monkey, you've had enough fun today. It's time to take a bath and go to bed!"
Si Jiangchen looked at his watch. It was already ten o'clock. He said to Si Tong, "Otherwise, I'll ask Aunt Liu to take you back tomorrow, and you won't be able to watch Sister Xiaohe play games."
Si Jiangchen had looked at the schedule for tomorrow, which was a competition of some special projects in the water park.
Si Tong originally didn't want to go to bed, but when she heard that there would be games tomorrow, she immediately nodded like a pecking chick. She dragged the nanny's hand and ran upstairs.
"Sister Xiaohe, you should go and take a shower too. The river water is cold and smelly. Be careful not to catch a cold!"
Si Tong blew me a kiss from the stairs. "If you get sick, Dad will be worried!"
After saying that, she grabbed the bath towel and ran into the bathroom.
"I... I don't need to take a shower!"
Only Si Jiangchen and I were left in the living room on the first floor. The cold air from the central air - conditioner made me sneeze again.
Si Jiangchen reached out and wiped my cheek, brushing off a string of glistening water droplets from my hair.
"What if you catch a cold? I'll be worried," Si Jiangchen imitated Si Tong's words, but his voice was hoarse... In the ambiguous light, his look made my heart pound so hard that it seemed to jump out of my chest.
It seemed that he especially liked the bathroom...
Ugh...
The scene of the first time he carried me flashed through my mind...
"What's going on in Xiaohe's mind?"
Si Jiangchen put his arm around my waist and nibbled gently on my earlobe. His laughter was deep and intoxicating, making my heart tingle.
My fingers involuntarily grabbed the T - shirt on his chest. To avoid his encroachment, I could only bury my head in his arms. I didn't dare to answer him now.
My mind was filled with all those naughty thoughts of him bullying me. I was afraid that if I made a sound, it would be a soft moan.
Seeing that I didn't say anything, Si Jiangchen simply picked me up and carried me into the washroom. He placed me on the washstand.
"Ah... You, you..."
The position of sitting on the marble counter with my legs spread made me both embarrassed and flustered. "No, don't do this! The live - broadcast is still on outside..."
"Xiaohe, what do you want me to do?"
Si Jiangchen picked up a long - pile towel and put it on my wet hair. "I'm just helping you dry your hair and change into clean clothes. What do you think... I want to do, huh?"
As he said that, he leaned closer to my cheek, and his straight nose gently rubbed against the tip of mine.
"I, I thought you wanted to do this!"
I was not willing to be bullied by him. Suddenly, I put my arms around his neck and kissed his slightly cool thin lips hard. "Si Jiangchen, you know... You know what I want you to do!!"
"Little thing!!"
Si Jiangchen took the initiative, holding the back of my head and kissing my lips until they turned bright red. Then he gasped slightly and let me go. "Wait for me tonight!!"
...
It only took me about half an hour to change into dry clothes and blow dry my hair.
Si Jiangchen still followed me. We went back to the picnic site by the water together.
Before we even got close to the bonfire, I could smell a strong, sweet fragrance, different from the usual smell of grilled meat and fish.
That sickly sweet smell gave me a bad feeling!
I quickly took a few steps and ran to the bonfire.
I saw An Hong and Bai Ruoyun chatting and laughing as they turned the barbecue rack over the fire.
On the stainless - steel grid rack, there were slices of that scaleless white fish!
Licked by the hot flames, the golden fat sizzled and dripped onto the dark red charcoal, rising in small wisps of white smoke.
"Miss Du, you're back!"
An Hong looked up and saw me. A rather smug smile appeared on her face.
"You're just in time. The fish is almost grilled. Do you want to have a piece and take a taste?!"