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

The crowd dispersed on the long street.

Shen Qingci was still being led by Chen Lang.

She walked down the stone steps, the Buddhist prayer beads on her left wrist hanging outside her sleeve.

Normally, she would pull her prayer beads down to cover that small section of skin.

Not tonight.

The wooden beads clashed together with each step, making a soft, tinkling sound.

The van used in the attempted kidnapping has been impounded by the police.

She's still standing here, and she's still walking.

They are still choosing where to go next.

Chen Lang glanced down at their clasped hands.

"Captain, I've lent you my hand for so long, by Phoenix standards you should start charging interest."

You still haven't paid me back for the ginger candy you owe me.

"Then put it in the book."

"You already owe three strings."

"Add a hand-holding fee, and it'll be a round number."

Shen Qingci moved her wrist, but did not actually break free.

She turned her face to the side.

"When did you start charging this kind of interest?"

"Someone just tried to take you away, and I suffered emotional distress."

"What loss did you suffer?"

"I almost didn't keep an eye on him."

Chen Lang spoke in a lazy tone.

His gaze, however, swept silently over the street corner, under the eaves, and in the shadows of the bridge arch.

Titan has taken over the nearby public security cameras.

Four overt trackers were taken away by the police, but two unusual signals still persisted.

A signal lingered near the teahouse for twenty-seven seconds before being disconnected.

The other signal did not leave the city gate, but moved downstream along the riverbank.

The enemy did not completely withdraw; they simply changed positions.

Chen Lang did not tell Shen Qingci.

Tonight she has been forced to walk a tightrope between life and death.

He didn't intend to cramm every shadow into her eyes.

But Shen Qingci suddenly stopped.

"Is there anyone else?"

Chen Lang tilted his head: "What?"

"When you held my hand, your thumb kept moving."

"This is a newly discovered massage technique."

"You're counting your pulse."

Shen Qingci looked directly into his eyes, her voice very soft, but without the slightest hesitation.

"There are still people watching us, aren't there?"

Chen Lang dropped his nonchalant expression.

"The captain is getting harder and harder to fool these days."

"answer."

"Two signals have not disappeared."

"Shall we still go shopping?"

"visit."

Why?

Chen Lang gripped her hand tightly, his knuckles avoiding the red mark on her wrist.

"Because they want you to be so scared from tonight onwards that you'll ask someone else for directions before you even take a step."

He raised his chin and pointed to the dim, yellowish surface of the river in the distance.

"I'll make them see that you can go wherever you want."

Shen Qingci looked at him for two seconds.

She turned and walked downstream.

"Then let's take a boat."

Downstream from Nanhua Gate, far from the main street, there are few tourists.

Several old boats were moored on the riverbank, and the wooden stakes on the shore made hollow, soft sounds as the water lapped against them.

An old man sat at the bow of a covered boat, pulling in the rope, with a bamboo basket at his feet.

Chen Lang raised his hand and tapped on the side of the boat.

"Sir, is the boat still accepting passengers?"

The old man looked up and glanced at them, his gaze lingering on their clasped hands.

"No walk-in customers tonight."

Chen Lang took out two packets of ginger candy from his down jacket pocket and placed them on the bow of the boat along with a box of hot glutinous rice balls.

"Bring your girlfriend to avoid the storm, half an hour, name your price."

Shen Qingci's ears burned.

She was about to speak when Chen Lang looked over.

"Captain, raise your objections now. Once we cross this dock, I'll take it as tacit agreement."

She glanced at the old man, then looked down at their clasped hands.

"Half an hour, don't go over the time limit."

The old man grinned.

"Young man, you can talk. Get on the boat."

Chen Lang jumped onto the boat first.

He tested the load-bearing points on the deck to make sure it wasn't loose before turning around and handing his hand to Shen Qingci.

She didn't mention the injury, but simply placed her hand on it.

The covered boat left the shore.

The sound of oars cutting through the water's surface, the lights on both banks gradually receding into the distance.

Shen Qingci sat on one side of the cabin, her notebook resting on her lap.

Chen Lang leaned against the ship's pillar and lifted a corner of the tarpaulin to let in some fresh air.

The next moment, an electronic notification sound exploded in his mind.

[Urgent Mission: Resolve the crisis at the covered bridge.]

[Task Evaluation: Exceeded expectations.]

[Reward: 200,000 Reputation Points.]

[Gained skill: Divine-level intangible cultural heritage drumming synesthesia.]

An unfamiliar musical score unfolded in my mind in an instant.

The material of the drum shell, the tightness of the drumhead, and the position where the mallet falls.

Even the lingering sound corresponding to different levels of intensity seemed to have been etched into his muscle memory long ago.

Even if there's only one sound from afar, he can tell from the echo whether the drumhead is damp.

Chen Lang lowered his eyes and tapped his knuckles casually twice on the deck.

thump.

thump.

The dull echo traveled along the wood grain, precisely hitting some kind of drumbeat that was faintly heard in the distance.

The old boatman turned around abruptly: "You know how to play the drum?"

"I've just learned a little bit."

"You learn really fast."

"It's mainly because the teachers are good."

Shen Qingci looked up.

"Are you going to claim all the credit for yourself again?"

"I'm talking about the old man."

The old man smiled and rowed, no longer asking any further questions.

Shen Qingci took the broken lotus lantern out of her bag.

The paper lamp was wet, and the edges were wrinkled.

She placed the candle in the lamp base and lit the lighter.

A gust of river wind swept through, and the flame, barely lit, slanted to one side.

She protected the lamp base and lit it a second time.

Just as the flames subsided, the boat was pushed again by the current.

Chen Lang took off his black Arc'teryx windbreaker and propped it up on either side of the bow of the boat.

"Put it on."

"I'm not cold."

"Put them on."

"Captain, you're getting more and more adept at giving orders these days."

Chen Lang handed over the clothes, then stood in the wind holding the two sides of the garment.

The oversized coat blocked the river wind, and the flame in the lamp paper finally stabilized.

Shen Qingci stared at that fragile light.

"When I was little, if I made anything even a little dirty, Zhao Yulan would make me stand in the music room as punishment. If I broke something, I had to stand there until dawn."

"She's quite free."

She said rules can make people better.

Chen Lang leaned against the boat awning, his gaze fixed on her tightly clenched wrist.

"Rules are made for those who dare not overturn the table."

His tone was calm, yet it revealed a wildness.

"If all you know is to obey the rules, what's the difference between you and a dead piece of wood sitting in the music room?"

Shen Qingci's knuckles turned white.

"So, how do you think people should live?"

"Survive first."

"After you survive, then you can decide who to kill. Only then do others have the right to talk about principles. Those who want you to shut up are not qualified to talk to you about rules."

The cabin was so quiet that only the sound of water could be heard.

Shen Qingci picked up the lotus lantern and leaned towards the edge of the boat.

Chen Lang reached out and supported her elbow, only letting go after she regained her balance.

The lotus lantern fell into the river and drifted downstream with the current.

The lamp paper was wrinkled, the lamp frame was crooked, but the flame remained burning brightly.

Shen Qingci watched for a while.

"It can still walk."

"It didn't sink even though it's broken like this; it's tougher than you," Chen Lang commented.

"I used to throw it away."

"And now?"

"I can't bear to part with it."

Chen Lang laughed out loud.

"Then keep it."

"What's the point of keeping it when it's so broken?"

"At least it tells you that something breaking doesn't mean it's useless."

Shen Qingci did not respond.

She sat back in the cabin, pressing her palm against the string of Buddhist prayer beads.

She moved the wooden beads one by one.

Suddenly, the movement stopped.

She raised her left hand and slowly pushed the prayer beads up to her wrist.

A series of light-colored cuts were revealed.

The lights on the river swayed, illuminating the traces clearly.

Chen Lang didn't ask her if she was in pain, nor did he show any sympathy or try to cover for her.

"I used to feel ashamed of these marks."

Shen Qingci stared at her wrist.

"But today I realized that I'm lucky to have survived until now."