Ai Sen was heartbroken and quickly checked his sister's knees, which were red and scraped.
He couldn't help but blame them, "What were you thinking? What's wrong with catching my sister? You guys are so in sync, dodging together. My sister isn't a virus!"
Shen Qingqing glanced at Ai Qi, who seemed very embarrassed, her head lowered, avoiding their eyes.
"I'm sorry, I have an injury on my leg."
Ai Sen froze for a moment, his lips moving, a flicker of awkwardness in his eyes. He then looked at Fu Jingshu, "And you? You're injured too!"
"No."
"Then why were you..."
"I have a wife."
Ai Sen, who had been about to speak, choked. He clutched his throat and coughed. He wanted to retort but didn't know how.
Having a wife, indeed, it was appropriate to maintain distance.
He glared at Fu Jingshu, then took his sister's hand. "Come on, let's get away from them."
"I don't want to!"
To his surprise, his beloved sister didn't appreciate it. She flung his hand away, walked to Shen Qingqing's side, glanced at her and Fu Jingshu, and said in a soft but firm voice.
"I want to be with the pretty sister."
She had a pretty sister. Shen Qingqing frowned slightly, "My surname is Shen."
Ai Qi: "Mhm, mhm, I know, pretty sister."
Shen Qingqing: "..."
Fine, she couldn't be bothered to correct her.
After walking for a while, her leg had already started to ache faintly. She asked Fu Jingshu to help her find a clean spot not far from the crowd to sit down.
Everyone had come out of the sea, and they didn't know how long they had been submerged. They smelled strongly.
With so many people, their mingled scents were indescribable.
Even though they were some distance away, her gaze swept through the crowd, quickly counting the numbers. Excluding the old man who was sleeping, there were fifteen others.
This did not include Mr. Z, the butler, or King.
"Old man!" she called out.
The old man, who had been sleeping soundly, immediately opened his eyes and looked around. "Girl, has the girl come up?"
He had a peculiar temper, and everyone avoided him. He occupied a corner by himself. Upon seeing Shen Qingqing, he immediately abandoned his corner and walked towards them.
He examined Shen Qingqing from head to toe. Seeing the wound on her leg, his expression darkened.
"How did you get injured? Kid, how did you protect her?"
The reason he could sleep so soundly was his trust in the girl's abilities to come up safely.
Moreover, in the last moments of falling into the sea, Fu Jingshu had held her and protected her firmly.
Who would have thought she would still get injured.
"I am truly disappointed in you!" he reprimanded.
Fu Jingshu remained silent, his eyes fixed on the wound on his wife's leg. He was also annoyed. He had protected her so well, but unexpectedly...
After scolding for a while, the old man found it tedious. He took his backpack and began to treat the girl's wound.
Shen Qingqing obediently complied, not mentioning that she had already treated it. She just watched Fu Jingshu being reprimanded without a word, finding it novel.
"Aren't you angry?" she asked him in his ear.
"Not angry, I deserve to be scolded," he replied softly.
Shen Qingqing caressed his handsome profile and, when no one was paying attention, kissed his thin lips. She whispered, "Fortunately, I had you, otherwise I wouldn't have made it back..."
No matter how capable she was, she couldn't fight against the dizziness from excessive blood loss.
Even if there had been wood at the time, it wouldn't have sunk, but being submerged in water would have caused her wound to fester. Furthermore, she couldn't apply medicine in the water, and she would still have died.
The corners of his mouth curved upward. He didn't speak, just held her tightly, his gaze fixed on the pale wound.
Next time, next time he must protect her well, never let her get injured again.
Although no one spoke, many people were watching them. Seeing the old man grumbling with a displeased expression while gently treating the wound, everyone was filled with envy.
Some people among them were also injured, but the old man's treatment of wounds was not this gentle.
He was sharp-tongued, and his hands were heavy.
He would make people wince in pain.
Ai Qi sat beside her brother, hugging her knees, her gaze drifting between the pretty sister and Big Brother Fu. She couldn't help but bite her lip. "They really are a good match."
"Hmm?"
Ai Sen hadn't heard clearly.
Ai Qi repeated herself.
Ai Sen ruffled her hair. "Whether they are a match or not has nothing to do with us. Don't worry, brother will definitely take you away safely. When we get back, brother will find you the most outstanding man in the world!"
Ai Qi pouted and idly plucked the grass on the ground.
Seeing his sister's demeanor, Ai Sen couldn't help but sigh silently. His sister had grown up and had worries, but he, as her brother, couldn't guess them.
He figured it was because she was afraid they wouldn't make it out.
"It's alright, don't be scared," he comforted her.
Ai Qi responded softly with a hum.
Pei Ji stepped forward after the old man finished treating the wound. "Mrs. Fu, it's good that you're safe. We were all very worried."
Shen Qingqing nodded. "Thank you."
"Is the wound alright?"
"It's fine."
Seeing that Pei Ji was genuinely concerned, Shen Qingqing naturally wouldn't refuse him. Although she was a bit cold, she at least responded.
Pei Ji smiled. "I think we should wait a little longer to see if anyone else comes up."
"Okay."
They certainly had to wait. Her teacher and Z hadn't come up yet. The latter was the one who could save her son's life. They had to see him alive, or find his body.
A hint of ferocity flashed in her eyes.
Fu Jingshu's warm palm patted her back, silently comforting her. Her inner anxiety gradually smoothed out.
She was getting a bit anxious.
Suddenly, there was a "plop" from the crowd, followed by exclamations.
"Old Ruan, are you okay?"
"What's wrong? Why did he suddenly faint?"
A commotion arose in the crowd. Shen Qingqing asked Fu Jingshu to help her stand and walk over slowly. Pei Ji instinctively walked ahead to clear a path, dispersing the crowd.
After doing all this, he came to a belated realization and chuckled wryly.
He felt like he, a prince, was becoming more and more like a servant to that couple.
A man lay on the ground, dressed in a wrinkled suit. His eyes were tightly closed, his lips were purplish, and his breathing was rapid.
"Old man, quickly see what's wrong with him. He was fine just now..."
The old man frowned slightly and stepped forward to examine the man's exposed skin. There was no abnormality, only his complexion grew increasingly pale.
He even began to emit groans, as if in extreme pain.
Shen Qingqing reminded him, "Old man, take off his clothes."
The crowd was stunned by this request. Then they saw the old man do as he was told without a word. With a rip, the clothes were torn open. His chest showed nothing unusual, so he flipped the man over.
The crowd was instantly dumbfounded.
Someone couldn't help but cover their mouth and immediately vomited.
On his bare chest, several insects were crawling. The largest was only about the size of an infant's index finger, somewhat like a caterpillar, but colorful.
Most importantly, it had two extremely long antennae.
At this moment, the antennae were slowly entering the flesh. As the antennae twitched, a crimson hue began to flow beneath the skin.
As the blood flowed, the insects' bodies also grew larger.
"They are blood-sucking insects!"