A live stream that dramatically transformed a depressed schoolgirl shocked netizens across the count

The Tuojiang River overflows the low stone piers, waves lap against the stone surface and roll away a fallen leaf.

The eastern entrance was cordoned off with caution ropes. Scenic area staff used megaphones to guide tourists to the elevated access road.

"Stop walking on the lower level. Visitors whose shoes are slippery should hold onto the railing and not rush across!"

Two rows of stepping stones stretch across the river. The higher row protrudes half a foot above the water, while only a few stones of the lower row remain, their outlines still discernible.

Water seeped through the cracks, crashed against the stone piers, and splashed onto the trouser legs of the people on the bank.

Shen Qingci stood in front of the first stone block, her shoe tip sticking out, then pulling back.

Chen Lang stood to her left and behind her, his hands in his coat pockets.

"Navigator, you're stuck on the very first step?"

Shen Qingci stared at the spacing between the stone piers.

"I'm calculating my stride."

"Do we need to build a mathematical model just to cross a river?"

"Shut up."

She lifted her foot and stepped onto the first stone block. As soon as her shoe touched the ground, the water rushed past on both sides. Her shawl was lifted by the river breeze, and the silver bells jingled on her backpack zipper.

The second step was too large, and the body tilted to the left.

Chen Lang supported her elbow.

Shen Qingci used the momentum to steady herself and immediately pulled her arm back.

"Don't touch me, I can walk."

"Okay, you can do it."

Chen Lang took a half step back, his gaze falling on her feet.

"Relax your knees and don't tense your waist. Lean your shoulders in the opposite direction as you lean to one side."

"What if it falls?"

"I'll get you out of here."

"Can't you say something auspicious?"

"I wish Shen a perfect score on the Tuojiang Jumping Rock Practice Exam."

Shen Qingci pursed her lips and stepped over the next stone block.

She paused for the first few steps. Each time she landed, she would look down to check the position of her shoe, her shoulders taut. As she walked past the shadow cast by the riverbank, sunlight fell on the stone surface, and her steps quickened.

The sound of water rushing past my feet.

She stepped across a relatively wide gap, her shoe soles firmly planted on the center of the stone block, and turned back to raise her chin at Chen Lang.

"It's not that difficult."

Chen Lang was still standing outside the three stone piers.

"Who was writing their thesis proposal on the shore just now?"

"A person who scores 250 on the college entrance exam is not qualified to participate in academic discussions."

"Alright, Professor Shen, you can go first."

The live-streaming levitated ball retreated above the riverbank, capturing the stepping stones, stilted houses, and rooftops on both sides of the river. Morning light fell on the Tuo River, the water's surface parted by oars, and in the distance, a vendor selling ginger candy lifted a steaming cloth, steam rising from the eaves.

Shen Qingci stopped staring at her feet.

She stepped over a low stone block, splashing water from the edge of her shoes onto her trouser legs. She glanced down, but instead of stopping, she ran a few more steps forward.

The silver bells rang all the way to the heart of the river.

There was no timetable to rush her, no guidebook to specify how many minutes to stay, and no one required her to take every step correctly.

She turned around in the middle of the river, her ponytail swinging over her shoulder.

"Chen Lang, hurry up!"

"Why are you rushing me? I'm not going to lose it."

"If you slow down any further, I'll walk by myself."

"You're not eating blood duck anymore?"

Shen Qingci had already stepped onto another row of stone piers on her way back when she heard this and stopped.

"Those are two different things."

"Come back, and have another bowl."

"Add glutinous rice and chili sauce."

"That's blatant price gouging."

"I'll come back once the deal is done."

Chen Lang raised his hand.

"make a deal."

Shen Qingci turned around and ran back, stepping on the stone steps. Her shawl billowed from behind her shoulders, and her laughter mingled with the sound of water, carrying all the way to the shore.

The number of viewers in the live stream exceeded 800,000, and the screen was filled with comments.

She laughed many times today.

[She didn't even dare to lift her head on the bridge, but now she dares to stand in the middle of the river like a wave-pushing god.]

The wandering god rescued her from that bridge, and she walked here step by step on her own.

This is what travel should be like: tear up the itinerary and go wherever you want.

[A top student scoring 700 points publicly outmaneuvered someone scoring 250; this move by the "Blood Duck" (a popular online personality) has been instrumental.]

[I suggest that Lang Shen start a class called "How to Win Back Your Navigator with a Meal."]

The reputation points kept rolling at the edge of Chen Lang's field of vision.

He did not bring up the control panel.

The upstream water diversion has reached the stepping stones. The waterline, which was originally stuck at the waist of the stone pier, has climbed up two fingers, and the drifting dead leaves have turned halfway and are rushing downstream along the low stone pier.

Titan's report came through the headset.

The flow velocity in the middle section of the jumping rocks increased by 21%.

[In three minutes and forty seconds, the low-lying stone piers will be submerged by the water flow.]

[It is recommended to leave the river center area.]

Chen Lang raised his hand and beckoned to Shen Qingci.

"Navigator, return to base."

Shen Qingci stepped over a stone block.

"Two bowls as promised."

"Even if there's not a single grain of rice, it's considered a breach of contract on my part."

She lifted her foot and stepped towards the elevated passageway.

A scream suddenly came from the east entrance.

"return!"

A little boy with a blue backpack crawled through the safety rope and jumped onto the low stone pier next to him. He was about seven or eight years old and waved to his mother.

"Mom, this way is closer!"

The first stone pier at the bottom of the embankment was already submerged. The child stepped into it, his shoe scraping against the moss, and his blue schoolbag swung towards the river.

His mother, holding an umbrella and a camera bag, lunged at him and grabbed his clothes, managing to pull only half of the shoulder strap.

The schoolbag fell into the water first.

The current lifted the schoolbag and dragged it downstream. The child was pulled over the stone pier by the shoulder strap and his hands fell into the river.

The woman threw down her umbrella, knelt on one knee on the slippery stone surface, and reached out to grab the child. Her heel got stuck on the edge of a crevice, her knee hit a stone block, and she was pulled into the water along with the child.

Nearby tourists dispersed to both sides.

Some people raised their phones, others reached out to pull, but with two stone blocks between them, no one could reach them.

"Grab the rope!"

The staff blew their whistles and rushed towards the low-level exhaust inlet.

The current propelled the schoolbag downstream, the shoulder strap tightening around the boy's neck. The boy opened his mouth and choked on the water, slapping his hands against the stone surface several times, but failing to grab the edge.

Chen Lang was only three stone blocks away from the mother and child.

He stepped across the gap in the middle, his right foot planted firmly in the center of the high stone pier, his waist and hips sinking down. His left hand gripped the back of the pier, and half of his body pressed against the river surface.

He reached out with his right arm and grabbed the boy's collar with his five fingers.

The water was still tugging at the schoolbag.

Chen Lang didn't pull the child away forcefully. Instead, he used the back of his hand to support the child's chin, allowing his mouth and nose to leave the water.

"Keep your arms close to your body and don't kick your legs."

The boy coughed up some water, his legs still kicking wildly.

The backpack straps were tightened even more.

Chen Lang flicked his wrist and grabbed the shoulder strap buckle. The plastic buckle came off, and the blue backpack was swept away by the current, crashing into two stone blocks and drifting downstream.

Without being dragged, the boy's body pressed close to the stone surface.

Chen Lang bent his elbow and lifted the boy onto the high stone pier. The boy lay on the stone, coughing, his hands tightly gripping Chen Lang's legs.

The mother is still hanging on the edge of the low-lying area.

She braced herself against the rock with one hand, while searching for a foothold in the water with the other. The current hit her waist, and her body slid half a foot outward.

"The child is up here, don't move around."

Chen Lang pushed the boy toward the arriving staff, his feet still planted in the same spot. He turned halfway around, supporting the woman's shoulder with his hand, and pushed her forward with force in the direction the water was flowing.

The woman flipped back onto the stone surface, her knees hitting the edge of the high platform.

Chen Lang grabbed her backpack strap, lifted her up, and brought her to the boy's side.

From the moment the child slipped and fell until the mother and child returned to the high row, the warning over the loudspeaker was only repeated a second time.

Chen Lang's right foot did not move out of the center of the stone block.

Shen Qingci stood two steps behind him, first grabbing the railing to steady herself, and then raising her hand to stop the tourists who still wanted to get closer.

"Don't push forward, leave a way for the staff."

A tourist holding a selfie stick was pushed and stumbled by the crowd behind him. Shen Qingci grabbed his wrist and brought him back to the center of the high row.

"Put your phone away and watch your step."

She turned toward the shore, her voice drowning out the sound of the water.

"Don't let anyone else in on the east side, the low-lying chutes are already submerged. Tourists with children should leave first, and those with wet shoes should hold onto the ropes."

Staff rushed over the cordon and picked up the boy.

The boy coughed up two mouthfuls of river water, then turned and hugged his mother's waist. The woman knelt on the stone bench, one shoe had come off, and water dripped from her trouser leg to her knee.

She held the child in her arms, her lips parting several times before she managed to squeeze out a sound.

"Thank you... thank you all..."

Chen Lang shook the water off the back of his hand.

"The child didn't inhale much water. Let's get him ashore, change his clothes, and have the medical staff listen to his lungs."

He picked up the umbrella that was stuck in the crevice and handed it to the staff member.

"The low-level discharge is sealed off. Water is still being released upstream, and the water velocity will continue to increase."

The staff member glanced at the rising waterline and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"East entrance closed! All tourists must evacuate from the west bank!"

The whistle echoed across the river.

Shen Qingci took a towel out of her backpack and wrapped it around the boy's shoulders. She squatted down in front of the boy and tightened the towel around his shoulders.

"Can you stand by yourself?"

The boy tapped his teeth together twice and nodded.

"Sister, my schoolbag is still in the water."

"The backpack can be retrieved, but the person cannot go down with it."

She pointed to the patrol boats downstream.

"The staff will handle it. You should go with your mother to shore first."

The boy gripped the towel tightly and reached out to hold his mother's hand.

As the woman stood up, her knees buckled. Chen Lang lifted his foot to block the other shoe that was floating by against the stone pillar, and the staff member supported her arm.

She took two steps with her child, then turned back and bowed.

Chen Lang pointed towards the exit.

"Go to the medical station first. Don't wear your shoes anymore; the moss on the soles will make them slippery."

The mother and child left the jumping rocks under the escort of staff.

The live stream's floating projector hovered high up, not capturing the child's face directly. The comments section scrolled rapidly.

The water was up to the child's neck; I almost dropped the cup in my hand.

The key is the moment when the teacher first unties the backpack straps; pulling too hard will choke the child.

[By pressing down on a stone pier with one foot and reaching out to save two people, his core strength leaves everyone speechless.]

Qingci didn't hesitate; she stopped everyone behind her.

[The family has two team leaders, one in charge of the water and the other on the shore.]

[Low-emission areas are closed. Visitors should follow staff instructions and refrain from using safety devices to film or take videos.]

The crowd is still moving towards the west bank.

Umbrellas, backpacks, and tour group flags crowded the aisle, cutting the view into sections.

A gray raincoat approached against the flow of people.

The man held a tissue in his hand, his hood pulled down over his baseball cap, revealing only his chin and half of his mask.

"Hey girl, wipe yourself clean, the baby just threw up on your shawl."

Shen Qingci lowered her head to check the shawl.

There were only a few water droplets on it.

She had barely looked up when the man slipped a tissue into her palm. Underneath the tissue was a strip of paper folded into a square, with a photograph attached to the edge.

Shen Qingci's wrist stopped at her waist.

Without waiting for her response, the man turned and squeezed into the tour group.

"stop."

Shen Qingci raised her voice.

The man in the gray raincoat pushed aside two tourists and stepped onto the stone steps by the shore.

Chen Lang turned his body to the side, blocking the tourists surging behind him. He did not rashly chase after the crowd, but followed the raincoat through three umbrellas and stopped at the west bank exit.

Titan's recognition frame locked onto the man's back.

[Target confirmed.]

Gait matching accuracy: 97.8%.

The target is carrying two communication devices.

The high density of people at the west coast exit could lead to a stampede as people chase each other.

[We have accessed public surveillance cameras along the coast and are continuing to monitor the situation.]

The man in the gray raincoat turned into the alleyway above the stone steps and disappeared behind a delivery tricycle.

Chen Lang turned to Shen Qingci.

"What were you given?"

Shen Qingci unfolded the note.

Three printed black characters remain on the paper.

Dad is critically ill.

Her breath hitched.

A photo was pasted on the back of the note.

Shen Jianguo lay on the hospital bed, a breathing mask over his face, and the monitor beside the bed was flashing a red light. The blue logo of Jiangcheng County Hospital was visible in the lower right corner of the photo.

Shen Qingci gripped the edge of the paper and looked up to find the gray raincoat.

The other party had already disappeared into the crowd on the shore.