Chapter 74: Meddling in Other People's Business
After a while, Meng Yier nervously glanced around, her bright eyes casting a pitiful and innocent look at Yan Yichen.
“There… aren’t really snakes here, are there?”
Of course, she knew that snakes preferred cool, damp environments. This place was ideally suited for them.
“Are you scared?” Yan Yichen watched her with a half-smile, amused by her attempt to appear calm.
“Who’s scared? You must be joking, I… I’m not afraid at all.” Instinctively, Meng Yier edged closer to Yan Yichen and whispered, “Can we leave now?”
No sooner had she spoken than Yan Yichen’s phone vibrated. He pulled it from his pocket, glanced at the caller ID, pressed his lips together, and answered with a frosty impatience.
“Mo Bei, have you arrived?”
“Good. Drive a thousand meters further along that road, stop by the roadside, and wait for me.”
Yan Yichen issued his instructions coldly, not wasting a single word.
“Can we go now?” Meng Yier looked at him in surprise.
He hung up, nodded, and took her wrist, leading her out of the narrow passage.
“Let go of me, I can walk by myself…”
Meng Yier struggled with all her might and finally freed her wrist from his grip. But her effort misjudged the step, and her foot landed on the slippery moss beneath the artificial rock.
With a splash, both of them gasped. Before Yan Yichen could catch her, Meng Yier tumbled gracefully into the pond below the rocks.
Though it was summer, the water was shockingly cold. Her slender form thrashed desperately in the water.
“Help… help!” Meng Yier cried out instinctively.
The water barely reached her chest, but she’d fallen in so suddenly and unprepared that she was badly startled, her limbs weak. In her panic, she even forgot she could swim.
Yan Yichen stood frozen for a moment, watching the scene unfold. When his gaze fell on her frantic struggle in the water, his lips twitched, and his usually composed face was now filled with anxiety. Without hesitation, he jumped in after her.
He didn’t pause, not even to remove his jacket or shoes, leaping straight into the icy water.
Exerting himself, Yan Yichen hauled her out of the water and onto the bank, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
“Meng Yier, are you alright?” He gasped, paying no mind to his own bedraggled state, his eyes fixed anxiously on the pale, trembling woman in his arms.
Meng Yier wrinkled her nose at the smell clinging to her, her throat itching and feeling sick. She coughed, then snapped angrily, “Who asked you to rescue me? Meddlesome…”
A blaze of anger ignited in Yan Yichen’s icy eyes.
“Meddlesome? Who was it just now shouting for help?”
“Was I?” Meng Yier feigned ignorance, unwilling to let this annoying man look down on her.
“Ask yourself.”
“If you hadn’t grabbed me, I wouldn’t have fallen into the pond! It’s all your fault…” Yan Yichen shook his head in resignation, then glanced sideways at the roadside. “Fine, blame me if you must. The car’s here, let’s go.”
—
Inside the RV
Yan Yichen’s handsome face was dark, and he cast a cold glance at Mo Bei, who looked as though he were enjoying the spectacle.
“Get the blanket from the car.”
Mo Bei nodded mechanically, answering, “Alright,” but his gaze lingered on Meng Yier’s awkward and embarrassed face.
“Hurry up—” Yan Yichen’s crisp, chilly voice was filled with impatience.