The yacht was truly on fire, the flames raging. In a mere ten seconds, the entire stage was engulfed.
The six male models on stage were shirtless. Two of them had their pants catch fire. To save their lives, they ripped their pants off and discarded them.
Everyone panicked, screaming as they rushed off the yacht. Someone, without knowing who, pulled Qin Yige, who was frozen in place.
The crew opened several fire extinguishers, but the fire was too intense to be of any use. The speed was so rapid that even the backup inflatable life rafts were burned up before they could be salvaged.
The yacht was now at least several hundred meters from shore. Swimming back was not impossible, but it would be very difficult.
Regaining her senses, Qin Yige took out her phone and dialed the fire department, reporting their approximate location.
Everyone frantically put on life jackets, ready to abandon the ship at any moment.
There were always a few people in a group who couldn't swim. Looking at the panicked and crying women, Qin Yige felt incredibly fortunate that she knew how to swim.
The rescue team was delayed. Seeing that the fire was uncontrollable, everyone, under the captain's command, jumped into the water one after another.
Inside a VIP suite at the Swiss Five-Star Hotel, the phone on Shang Sheng's table vibrated incessantly.
It was Qin Shirao calling. He picked up his phone and went outside to answer.
"Dad, it's me."
"Xiao Sheng, have you seen the news?"
"I have a dinner engagement tonight." He meant he hadn't seen it.
Qin Shirao was very anxious: "Director Liu's yacht caught fire. I heard the fire was fierce, and Yige was on board. Firefighters and rescue teams are already there, but I'm still worried..."
He wasn't in Gang City tonight, and they all knew that.
Shang Sheng's eyes darkened slightly, and he simply replied, "I know."
Qin Shirao feared that he wouldn't want to go, as the two children didn't have much of a relationship, and Shang Sheng's lack of concern for Yige was understandable.
Thinking this, Qin Shirao regretted it a little...
He said indirectly, "Mr. Shang, Yige can be a bit willful sometimes, but she has no bad intentions. She's also your newly registered wife. For propriety and reason, you should go. Don't let outsiders gossip, which would be bad for us and the company."
Shang Sheng replied, "I'll go."
With his confirmation, Qin Shirao's heart was half at ease. "Good, go quickly. If you need anything, contact me anytime, and I can come back at any time."
"Dad, don't worry. Qin Yige can swim."
"I know, but you know that river in Gang City. At its widest, it's one to two kilometers..."
"Okay."
Shang Sheng put away his phone, returned to the suite to collect his belongings, and said proactively, "My apologies, everyone. There's an urgent family matter, and I need to leave early."
"Mr. Shang, is something so urgent that you have to leave?"
Shang Sheng strode towards the door, explaining lightly, "Yes, something has happened to my wife. I will entertain you properly another day."
"I see. Mr. Shang, please drive carefully on your way."
Exiting the suite, Chen Ling hurried to catch up with the man, saying anxiously, "Mr. Shang, Director Fu is about to discuss prices. Leaving at this time means giving up..."
The man's thin lips were tightly pursed, and he didn't speak, his steps towards the exit unwavering.
"I don't know what happened to your wife. How about I go see her for you while you stay here and continue talking with Director Fu? I'll report anything to you immediately."
Because his pace was too fast, Chen Ling was already panting.
Shang Sheng suddenly stopped and turned to look at the woman: "Secretary Chen, there are many things you cannot do for me."
With that, he strode away, disregarding her reaction.
Chen Ling stood there, panting, watching the man's noble and imposing back, her eyes slightly moist.
Didn't he say he disliked Qin Yige?
Why did he marry her? Was it really due to Madam Shang's pressure?
When Shang Sheng arrived at the site of the yacht fire, it was surrounded by police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. The fire on the ship in the distance had already been extinguished.
He found a police officer and asked, "Hello, I'm a family member of a passenger on the yacht. Where are they?"
"There were over twenty people on the boat, and fewer than twenty were rescued. Six or seven people are still missing. The rescued people are over there; you can ask them."
"Thank you."
Shang Sheng went to the group of rescued people and found a somewhat familiar face. "Liu Er, where is Qin Yige?"
The second son of the Liu family, having just been rescued, shivered and replied in panic, "Mr. Shang... I don't know yet."
Damn it, if he had known something like this would happen, he wouldn't have offered his yacht for Qin Yige's party, not even if he were beaten to death.
"You don't know?" The man's brows furrowed, his tone growing colder, and the surrounding atmosphere instantly dropped several degrees.
"But don't worry, Mr. Shang. Yige can swim and was wearing a life jacket. She should... she should be fine." The second son of the Liu family tried to appease him, mustering his courage.
"Should?"
"..." Young Master Liu fell silent.
Shang Sheng stood by the river, gazing at the dark river surface in the distance, silent.
Casually, his peripheral vision caught the logo of a dessert shop. Realizing a possibility, he quickly walked forward.
Shang Sheng hadn't driven; he walked along the riverbank, paying attention to any movement in the water.
After more than ten minutes, he reached the riverbank near the dessert shop and stopped after gazing at the bright sign of the shop for three seconds.
However, his prediction seemed wrong. After waiting for a few minutes, there was still no movement on the river, nor could he hear any cries for help.
He observed the terrain nearby and was about to move to a different spot when the calm water beside him began to stir.
Shang Sheng stared intently at the water for a while. He was sure and certain that the person in the water, getting closer and closer to the shore, was a human.
He parted his thin lips and raised his voice, "Qin Yige?"
Faintly hearing someone calling her name, Qin Yige, excited, put in a great effort. Looking up at the dark sky, she desperately called out, "It's me, it's me!"
Her strength was long exhausted. Now, wearing a life jacket, she lay on the water, completely relaxed, letting herself drift towards the shore.
Shang Sheng first made a phone call, then directly entered the water. When he reached a depth of about waist-high, he grabbed the girl who was still trying to drift back.
Seeing him appear in the darkness, Qin Yige almost burst into tears.
She weakly pleaded, "Shang Sheng, save me quickly!"
The man looked at the girl, soaked like a drowned rat, with a blank expression, saying nothing and showing no reaction.
Qin Yige grew anxious, "I'm your legal wife now. You can't just watch me die!"
"Mm."
Mm? What did "mm" mean? Save her quickly!
However, she had no strength left and could only make the softest sound.
"I know you don't want to marry me. If I die, it will be just as you wish. But Shang Sheng, you must know that saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. If you save me, Guanyin Bodhisattva will bless your career with prosperity, your fortune with abundance, and you will forever be the richest man in Country K. In addition, she will give you eight sons, each handsome and dashing..."