Ten minutes later, two thirds of the water in the swimming pool had been drained and we were both free to breathe at the same time.

Our bodies were suspended in mid-air; I was below while Xiaotao lay on top.

My current position was extremely hard to bear, with my entire upper body tilted downward so the blood rushed to my head. I tried lifting myself by grabbing onto the shackles, but without the buoyancy of the water, my body felt as heavy as lead and my muscles ached after maintaining this posture for a while.

"Song Yang, I really don't know what to say," muttered Xiaotao, unable to hide the gratitude in her voice.

"You don’t have to say anything,” I gave a weak, watery laugh. “With how close we are, why be so polite with me? Do you need to use the restroom?" I joked.

Xiaotao remained silent. In truth, I had the urge to pee, though it wasn’t urgent. Besides, if I tried peeing in this position, I would only get it all over me so I’d rather endure it.

Although our lives were saved, we were still trapped here, body cold, joints aching and skin burning. This combination of unpleasant sensations was uncomfortable beyond description.

Suddenly, I heard a low hum come from Xiaotao as the room soon echoed with a tune that I did not recognize.

"What are you humming?" I asked.

"The Three Bears,” she replied. “I learned the song when I was still a trainee in the police academy. Alas, at the time, I yearned for the future but I never imagined that one day I would be in such a sorry plight."

"Do you think we would have been friends if we had known each other back then?" I asked.

"I doubt we’d have anything to talk about,” laughed Xiaotao. “Back then, I was like a little peacock who walked around with my nose in the air. Have you ever had the impulse to kill yourself?"

"Hmm, I have to say I think I’m rather narcissistic,” I grinned. “When I was a child, I was a cute, pink-cheeked little fella. I don’t want to kill him at all!"

"You have to come visit my place when the case is finally over!" suggested XIaotao.

"That’s a promise!" I nodded.

The conversation lapsed and we fell into silence. But after a while, Xiaotao suddenly declared, "Song Yang, actually, I hope you can be a little bolder!"

The meaning in her words were clear as day, sending my heartbeat into complete disarray. When we solved the case, I was going to express my feelings for her and end the ambiguity between us. I didn’t care if the sky fell or if aliens invaded the earth; I had to let her know how I truly felt.

After experiencing countless dangerous situations together, even life-threatening ones, the precariousness of our lives weighed heavily in my heart. Perhaps the words I so desperately wanted to say might go unspoken one day.

Xiaotao broke into violent coughs, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to our grim situation. The rusty odor of blood filled my nose. I pounded the surfboard and cried, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, it’s just a cough."

"You‘re lying! You just vomited blood. Are you poisoned?" I panted, heart in mouth as I waited for her reply.

But Xiaotao kept mum, her silence further exacerbating my worries. "What's wrong with you?” I shouted. “Answer me!"

"I’m fine,” whispered Xiaotao. “It’s really nothing!"

I gritted my teeth. The frustration of being so close to her yet powerless to help gnawed away at me. She might have choked on some water earlier and swallowed some of the chemicals. Although the concentration of chemicals in the water wasn’t large and would not be fatal, it might leave sequelae if left untreated until dawn.

At this moment, there came the sound of footsteps from outside.

"There’s someone out there!” I exclaimed. “We have to call for help!"

At first, we were a little embarrassed to scream like helpless little girls. After all, this was the first time in our lives that we had to shout for help. But on second thought, who cared about that? Compared to our lives, a little humiliation was nothing! Thus, we yelled at the top of our lungs, praying our voices would be loud enough to attract attention. Fortunately, the footsteps seemed to get closer and closer until a dull thud reverberated around the room–someone had pushed the door and entered.

As the footsteps slowly approached, a nagging doubt emerged in my mind. Could this be the murderer who returned to make sure we were dead? I certainly didn’t have the energy to play any more of his games.

But just as the thought crossed my mind, I suddenly caught sight of a familiar face–it was Song Xingchen!

Upon seeing our situation, his eyes widened with disbelief and fury, hand clutching the hilt of his Tang sword. "I’ll kill that son of a bitch!" he cursed.

"Quick!" I shouted, overjoyed. “Help us get out of these shackles!”

Song Xingchen scanned the room as if he were looking for something.

"Hey, stop wasting time!" I said, anxious to be freed from this uncomfortable position.

Song Xingchen circled the room and walked over to us, taking off his trench coat. It suddenly dawned upon me that he was looking for something to cover Xiaotao’s body since she might be naked.

Song Xingchen draped his trench coat over Xiaotao and drew out his sword, slicing the nylon rope in a swift downward motion. As we dangled from the surfboard, Song Xingchen supported my torso with one hand and broke the shackles with the other.

Only after I was free did I manage to observe the state Xiaotao was in. Her legs were bare under Song Xingchen’s trench coat, pants having been stripped by the suspect. All she had on was a pair of panties and a white shirt that had turned transparent from the wetness. The outline of her lace bra was clearly visible under the shirt and her chest was stained with splotches of blood.

When she noticed my line of sight, Xiaotao flushed crimson.

"I'll look away," I quickly assured her.

"No!" she cried, rushing up to wrap her arms around me in a tight embrace, head leaning on my chest. After slight hesitation, I enveloped her body with mine and gently patted her on the back as I comforted, "We’re alright, we’re alright!"

When we finally gained composure, Song Xingchen took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and handed it over. "Drink this," he instructed.

The bottle contained the Song family’s special poison antidote. I gulped down half of it and left the rest for Xiaotao. The effects were nothing short of miraculous and I felt better instantly. I noticed that Song Xingchen's trousers were covered in mud suggesting that it had taken him quite an effort to find us. So I couldn’t bear to badger him about the delay in our rescue.

"Do you have a cell phone?" I asked.

Song Xingchen handed me his BlackBerry but I froze, unsure of whom I could call. The only number I knew was my own and Xiaotao’s. I hadn’t even bothered to memorize Dali's.

Xiaotao grabbed the phone from my hand and quickly dialed a number–it was the Bureau’s.

It turned out that we had been missing for three hours, sparking panic back at the station. Upon hearing Xiaotao's voice, the officers broke down in relief and asked for our location so they could send a car to pick us up immediately.

After hanging up, we heaved a sigh of relief. Xiaotao returned Song Xingchen’s phone but refused to let go of me. Our bodies were cold as ice after being soaked in water for such a long time. But even then, I could feel the subtle heat of her skin and smell the tempting fragrance from her body.

Holding Xiaotao in my arms seemed to solidify the reality that we had made it out alive. Her touch and warmth was the steady anchor upon which my dangling heart found solid ground.

We sat at the bottom of the emptied swimming pool, eyes filled with each other’s reflection. Previously, we were still lamenting how slowly time passed, but now we only hoped time could stop at this exact moment forever. Song Xingchen stood motionless as he watched over us.

When the sounds of sirens came from a distance, Xiaotao slowly left my embrace. Our narrow escape from the gates of death had given birth to deeper emotions that were reflected in her gentle eyes.

"Let's go back," she said.

As soon as I stood up, Song Xingchen dropped to his knees, lowered his head and apologized, "This was negligence on my part. According to the Song family laws, you have the right to punish me."

"Punish you?" I laughed. "Go get us two cups of bubble tea then!"

Song Xingchen got up and quietly left. When we exited the building, we saw several ambulances and police cars parked at the gymnasium. Bingxin ran over, tears streaming down her face as she wailed, "Song Yang-gege, Xiaotao-jiejie, you both had me scared to death! How could you suddenly disappear while we were eating?! I thought something happened to you two!"

Dali also came running towards us. "Dude, what the hell happened to you? Why do you look so terrible?"

The others gathered around us, firing question after question but I was too exhausted to answer them right now. "Let us rest for a bit before we continue," I sighed.

"No, now’s not time to rest!” Xiaotao retorted. “The suspect must be in the vicinity. We have to catch him!"

Right then, Wang Yuanchao interjected, "Chief, the suspect has been arrested!"