"Su Ming! Su Ming! Wake up!" Qiu Tong shouted in terror, rushing to the edge of the pond.

The boy in the water lay motionless, a faint trace of dark red visible on his forehead. Qiu Tong was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't swim and didn't dare to jump in recklessly, so she could only shout desperately, "Help! Somebody help!"

The surroundings were silent, with only the sound of insects responding.

Qiu Tong bit her lip and tentatively stepped into the shallow water by the pond, trying to reach out to pull Su Ming. But the moss was too slippery, and she lost her balance with a splash, her whole leg sliding into deeper water, her body tilting dangerously.

At that moment, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Cousin!"

Su Ming had woken up at some point. He shook his groggy head, the pain in his forehead making him grimace, but he didn't loosen his grip. Seeing Qiu Tong half-leaning over the water, he ignored his drenched state and pulled her toward him with force.

Qiu Tong, still shaken, was pulled into Su Ming's arms. The cold pond water soaked her pants and the hem of her T-shirt, but what scared her more was the fear she had just experienced. Instinctively, she clung tightly to Su Ming, burying her face in his wet shoulder, sobbing softly.

"It's okay now, cousin, it's okay..." Su Ming awkwardly patted her back, still feeling a lingering fear himself.

After a few seconds, Qiu Tong calmed down, embarrassedly letting go, her cheeks slightly flushed. "I... I thought you..."

"I'm fine, just bumped my head and got a bit dizzy." Su Ming forced a smile, looking down at their disheveled state, then suddenly bent down, scooping her legs with one arm and wrapping the other around her back, lifting her up effortlessly.

"Ah!" Qiu Tong exclaimed, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.

Carrying her, Su Ming steadily walked back to the shore. Pond water dripped from his pant legs, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the muddy ground. The night breeze blew, and Qiu Tong shivered slightly in his arms.

She looked up, studying Su Ming's profile in the distant streetlight. The boy's jawline still held a hint of youthfulness, but his tightly pressed lips and focused gaze exuded an undeniable resilience.

"Kid, you're something! Quite strong!" Qiu Tong suddenly said softly, her tone carrying surprise and a hint of admiration. "You look thin, but you're strong enough to carry me so steadily."

Su Ming felt a bit embarrassed and replied honestly, "I'm from the countryside, used to farm work since I was young. Besides... you're not heavy."

As they spoke, he carried her to the dry cement road. The night wind was even cooler, and their soaked clothes clung to their bodies, making them shiver involuntarily.

Su Ming stood there, seemingly forgetting what to do next.

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Qiu Tong waited a few seconds, seeing he had no intention of letting go, she couldn't help but laugh softly, teasing, "Are you planning to hold your cousin out here in the cold wind all night?" She paused, lowering her voice with a hint of teasing, "Does it feel... really good to hold me?"

Su Ming snapped back to reality, his face turning crimson. He hurriedly set her down gently, stammering, "Cousin, I-I didn't mean to! I just saw you were scared and your feet were wet, so..."

"Alright, alright, just teasing you." Qiu Tong giggled, waving her hand, then sighed, "Look at us, such a mess. Let's go back, take a hot shower, change into dry clothes, then grab a late-night snack to calm our nerves and get some sleep!"

Su Ming shook his head, "No, I haven't picked the purslane for you yet!"

"Forget it, it's too dangerous," Qiu Tong said, still shaken, glancing at the dark pond. "We'll do it tomorrow!"

"It's fine," Su Ming smiled. "I was just worried about getting my pants wet earlier, but now they're already soaked." With that, he turned and quickly jumped back to the pond's edge, this time much more carefully. He crouched down, swiftly pulling up a handful of purslane, holding it high. "Done!"

The tender green leaves dripped with water in his hand, looking especially vibrant in the night.

Qiu Tong watched his proud expression and couldn't help but laugh again. At that moment, this straightforward and stubborn boy gently touched a soft spot in her heart.

"Let's go home," she said softly.

The two walked side by side back, their wet pant legs slapping against their calves, their footsteps echoing clearly in the quiet night. The cool moonlight stretched their shadows long and thin.

Neither spoke again, but a subtle atmosphere quietly spread in the damp, cold night breeze.

They returned home close to midnight. After another quick shower, they went downstairs together, finding a nearby late-night food stall. They ordered two fried rice noodles and a bottle of beer, enjoying a couple of drinks before heading back to their rental apartment. The clock on the wall pointed to ten past two. The night was deep and quiet, the hallway's motion-sensor lights casting a dim glow.

"You should sleep first," Qiu Tong said softly.

Su Ming glanced at her, "Cousin, aren't you going to sleep?"

"I'm not sleepy, I'll sit in the living room for a while," Qiu Tong said, sitting on the sofa and picking up the remote to turn on the TV, keeping the volume low. "You go ahead and sleep."

Su Ming was indeed tired, so he agreed and went into the bedroom.

The cool air from the air conditioner quickly enveloped him as he lay down on the mat, closing his eyes. Outside, the occasional sound of distant vehicles and the low murmur of the TV in the living room reached him. He drifted off to sleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a pressing need to use the bathroom woke him. The room was pitch black, with only a sliver of light from the living room seeping through the door crack. He vaguely heard a soft "thud thud thud" sound, like the pounding of a pestle in a mortar.

Oh right, the purslane... Is cousin making medicine?

He got up quietly, opening the door. The bright white light in the living room was blinding, and Su Ming squinted, freezing in the doorway as his eyes adjusted.

Qiu Tong was sitting sideways at the dining table, her upper body bare, her fair back glowing delicately under the light. Her shoulder blades were clearly defined and beautifully shaped. Her long hair was draped over one shoulder, revealing her slender neck. She was slightly turned, accentuating her alluring figure.

Su Ming swallowed hard, his heart racing wildly.

At that moment, his cousin was dipping her fingertips into a bowl of greenish liquid, carefully applying it to the red, swollen skin on her chest.

Her movements were gentle and focused, completely unaware of the presence behind her.

Su Ming felt a rush of heat to his head, his cheeks burning hot. He instinctively wanted to retreat to his room, but his feet felt rooted to the spot, his eyes glued to her fair skin.

The light was too bright, revealing everything too clearly. Her delicate finger movements as she applied the medicine, the slight sheen on her skin from the liquid, and the faint, full curves of her chest as she turned...

"I can't keep looking, this isn't right!" Su Ming muttered to himself, wanting to retreat to his room but unable to resist stealing another glance.

"Clatter!"

Qiu Tong set down the small wooden stick she was using to apply the medicine and stood up, turning toward the room.

Damn, no, cousin is coming back to the room!

Su Ming panicked, stumbling back into the bedroom, quickly lying down on the mat, facing away from the door, eyes tightly shut, his heart pounding as if it would leap out of his chest.

Footsteps approached. Qiu Tong opened the door, closing it casually behind her.

Su Ming held his breath, not daring to move. He sensed his cousin standing by the bed, pausing for a moment, then heard the rustling sound—she seemed worried about staining her clothes with the medicine, so she lay down on the bed topless.

She didn't go to sleep right away but picked up her phone to play with it.

"Really need to pee! What should I do?"

Su Ming lay stiffly on the mat, his whole body tense. The urge to pee was getting worse, his lower abdomen uncomfortably full, but how could he move? His cousin was lying less than a meter away, bare-chested. If he got up to use the bathroom now and she saw him, she'd think he was spying on her...