My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Water rushed in from the small hole on the bottom of the yacht. By the time they went out, it had already reached their ankles. Splashing sounds accompanied as they rushed their way forward, bumping and staggering into lots of falling things and furniture.

The hand holding Lei Liqiu was firm and warm, but at this moment, there was a huge bruise at the back of it and blood trickled down his wrist. "Mr. Xu!" The rims of Lei Liqiu's eyes reddened. "You...Your hand…"

Xu Binchen turned his head sideways, revealing his cheek that had a long graze on it. "Worry about yourself!" 

"Binchen! Binchen! Here!" Wang Chengbing hung on a rope tied to the metal fence, an orange life jacket encased his body. Clinging onto his arm was a pale and horrified Yu Li'er, also wearing a life jacket. "I have some life jackets here with me! Oh gosh!" He stared at the half conscious Si Yusheng. "What happened to him?!"

Xu Binchen directly threw the man over to Wang Chengbing. "Take care of him!" He then grabbed a life jacket and pulled Lei Liqiu forward, slipping it into her body. "Listen to me." His eyes held nothing but calmness and determination amidst the screams and chaos around. "When you fall into the sea, pull this string here and the life jacket will inflate. Okay?"

Wang Chengbing had Si Yusheng hung over his shoulder as he shouted. "Come on! The yacht can't hold on any longer!"

Lei Liqiu stared at him in panic. "H—How about you?! You haven't worn it!"

The elegant and sophisticated people who wore suits and gowns had been reduced into a mess. They scrambled to grab a hold of anything, sliding and clawing on the ground, screaming. The luckier ones had already escaped through the limited lifeboats which were currently floating above the dark, terrifying sea.

"Help! Help me!"

"Give me your life jackets! I will give you one million dollars in return!"

"Scram! Don't push me, bastard!"

The chaos didn't have anything to do with Lei Liqiu. She grasped Xu Binchen's arms tightly, her body trembling. The man's visage slowly turned into a blur amidst her tears. "Mr. Xu…"

All of a sudden, Xu Binchen yanked on her wrist, pulling her to the side as a man slid across the 45 degrees ground, screaming as he plunged into the sea head on. He grabbed onto the hull, his teeth gritted. "Don't be afraid." He stared into her eyes and said softly. "You can do it."

"No, wait…"

"I will let go in three. One, two, three—"

"Aaaaaah!" A sense of weightlessness overcame Lei Liqiu and the only thing she could cling onto was Xu Binchen. The man protected her in his embrace as their body slipped off the yacht and sank into the sea. Water rushed in through Lei Liqiu's mouth, nose and eyes. She gasped and involuntarily inhaled some of it into her systems. 

It was dark and heavy. She couldn't see anything nor could she sense the surface. Like a helpless ant in the face of a colossal mountain, she struggled helplessly and flailed her limbs to no avail. Her mind was devoid of any thoughts but panic and fear. The seawater clung onto her limbs, shackling her movement as she slowly sank deep, water bubbles blew out of her mouth.

Help! Help her...she couldn't swim…

Her sight slowly became a blur and what remained in front of her was an endless darkness. Until someone grabbed her arm all of a sudden and pulled her out of the water with a swoosh. Lei Liqiu gasped and coughed hard, almost coughing her lungs out. Her chest hurt and her ears buzzed, unable to discern her surroundings.

"Yes, I have caught another survivor. Heading to the nearby motorboat" An unfamiliar male voice rang out close. "Miss, are you okay?!" 

Lei Liqiu forced her eyes to open amidst her tears and saw a man with a complete diving suit, large goggles and oxygen tank behind his back. The man activated the life jackets for her and Lei Liqiu could finally float by herself, albeit aimlessly. "I am from the police. We will soon head to a safe place. Please hang on!"

Lei Liqiu grasped onto the man weakly, gasping. "Mr. Xu...There's still Mr. Xu Binchen…"

However her voice was too small compared to the raging waves, humming machines, shouts and screams of help. Lei Liqiu was dragged along helplessly as the diver parted the sea, heading straight into the nearby motorboat which held people in life jackets. From the man's walkie talkie, she could hear the reports coming one after another.

"We have secured the main target. The target is still alive but he has a severe blood loss and a gunshot wound on his leg! The possibility of hypothermia is huge, we have to hurry and bring him to the hospital!"

"The hacker has been secured. Safe!"

"Where's Detective Xu?!"

Lei Liqiu was pushed up onto the motorboat as a blanket was draped over her shoulder. Another man in a police uniform asked. "Miss, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?!"

Taking a dive into the sea in late autumn wasn't a joke. Lei Liqiu shivered violently and white mists puffed out of her mouth with her every breath. It was getting harder to breathe and her throat felt so parched it was painful. She hadn't felt anything more agonizing than this moment. But her mind was clouded in panic as she grabbed the policeman. "Mr. Xu Binchen…" She wheezed, head throbbing in pain. "Mr. Xu Binchen was just right by my side!"

"We have got Detective Xu!" Another diver climbed up the boat dragging a large, wet body. "He's unconscious!" 

Xu Binchen was laid flatly across the boat, his entire body drenched. No color was seen on his face and his lips had turned purplish blue. His hair stuck to his face and his teeth were chattering, almost frozen. 

Lei Liqiu's pupils dilated. "Mr. Xu!" She scrambled down and kneeled by the man's side, tremblingly reached out for his face. She couldn't detect any temperature because her sense of touch had also turned numb. "Mr. Xu, no! Please wake up!" Tears streamed down her face. Second ticked by but the man remained motionless.

The medical team connected him to the vital monitor and exclaimed. "Not good! His temperature is dropping too fast! Go back! We have to send him to the hospital as soon as possible!"

Numerous motorboats surrounded the capsized yacht, pulling with them the lifeboats with frightened and pale faced people. The engine roared and brought them back to the shore. By then, the entire area had been taken over by the police. Ambulance sirens pierced through the silent night, carrying along the chaos and turmoil of the huge incident.

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A/N: omg Xu Binchen QAQ and finally the operation is done! Can it still be considered a success though hmm....