Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

"Something's not right. You wait here, I'll go check it out," Chen Ping said, getting up.

He walked quickly in that direction, the stones under his feet hurting painfully, but he didn't care.

The woman was about fifty meters away from him. When he was halfway there, she suddenly took a step forward.

It's not about stepping onto the shore, it's about stepping into the water.

"No..." Chen Ping shouted, and ran away.

But it was too late.

The woman plunged headfirst into the water, splashing water everywhere, and then sank completely.

Without struggling or shouting, it just sank straight down, as if stones were tied to its feet.

Cui Ying screamed from behind.

Chen Ping ran to the rock, threw off his coat, and plunged into the water without even taking off his shoes.

The water was colder than he expected, so cold that it sent a shiver down his spine, but he didn't care.

He opened his eyes; the water was murky, and he couldn't see anything.

He dived down, groping around in the water, and found a clump of hair. He grabbed it and pulled it up.

He pulled the woman up, face down, and she remained motionless.

Chen Ping put one arm around her neck and used the other hand to paddle towards the shore.

The woman was heavier than he had imagined; her clothes, soaked with water, felt as heavy as lead.

He gritted his teeth and kicked desperately in the water. Only when his feet touched the rocks did he finally exhale the breath he had been holding.

Cui Ying had already run over and was standing on the shore, her face pale.

"Give me a hand!" Chen Ping said.

Cui Ying reached out and grabbed the woman's arm, while Chen Ping supported her from below. Together, the two of them pulled her ashore.

The woman was laid flat on a stone, her face was pale, her lips were purple, she was not breathing, and her heart was not beating.

Chen Ping, ignoring his own breath, immediately knelt beside her, crossed his arms, and pressed them against her chest.

One, two, three...

He counted the number of times and pressed hard.

Thirty times, then pinch the woman's nose and blow two breaths into her mouth.

At this point, saving lives is the priority; the concept of men and women not touching each other is no longer relevant.

The woman's chest swelled up and then deflated, but there was no reaction.

Continue pressing.

Thirty times, then blow two more breaths.

Still no response.

Cui Ying squatted down beside her, covering her mouth with her hand, tears welling up in her eyes: "She...she isn't she...?"

"Don't speak." Chen Ping gritted his teeth and continued pressing.

Sweat dripped from her forehead and onto the woman's clothes.

His arms started to ache, but he dared not stop.

If you stop, the person will really be gone.

I pressed it thirty more times and blew on it twice.

The woman's chest swelled and deflated, but there was still no reaction.

Chen Ping's heart sank.

Come again.

Thirty times, two breaths.

Come again.

Thirty times, two breaths.

"cough……"

A muffled sound came from the woman's throat, as if something had been blocked and then cleared up.

Then her chest heaved violently, her mouth opened, and a stream of water flowed from the corner of her mouth.

She started coughing, once, twice, three times, coughing until her whole body was shaking, and water was coming out of her mouth and nose.

"She's alive! She's alive!" Cui Ying's voice trembled, and tears streamed down her face.

Chen Ping slumped to the ground, panting heavily, his whole body soaked, water dripping down his trouser legs.

His hands were trembling, not from the cold, but from exhaustion.

The woman was still coughing. When she finished coughing, she opened her eyes and stared blankly at the sky, the mountains, and the water.

Then her tears fell silently, streaming down her cheeks onto the stones, mingling with the water, making it impossible to distinguish between the reservoir water and her tears.

Cui Ying knelt down and held her shoulders: "Big sister, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?"

The woman didn't speak, she just cried.

Tears streamed down his face, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Her eyes were empty, looking at the sky, at the clouds, at the distant mountains, looking at everything, yet not really looking into anything.

"Big sister, what's your name? Where do you live?" Cui Ying asked again.

The woman remained silent, her tears flowing even more fiercely.

She raised her hand, covered her face, her shoulders trembling, and she was crying so hard that her whole body was shaking.

Chen Ping sat down beside her, catching his breath, and looked at the woman.

She had no ring on her hand, but a scar on her wrist, an old, shiny white scar that looked at least a few years old.

Although the clothes were wrinkled, the material was of good quality; they weren't cheap, low-quality stuff.

The slippers on my feet were new, and the soles were still clean.

They are not homeless, nor are they scavengers.

He has a family.

"Don't ask yet, let her calm down," Chen Ping said.

Cui Ying nodded, took off her coat, and draped it over the woman.

The woman didn't react; she continued to cover her face and cry, her shoulders trembling.

Chen Ping stood up, walked to the side, picked up his coat, and draped it over his shoulder.

A gust of wind blew by, and his soaked clothes clung to his body, making him shiver.

Cui Ying walked over, stood next to him, and glanced back at the woman.

"What if she's still having second thoughts?" Cui Ying asked softly.

"I don't know. Let's keep an eye on her for now. Once she's calmed down, we'll ask her where she lives and take her home," Chen Ping said.

"Why do you think she did this..." Cui Ying didn't finish her sentence.

Chen Ping did not answer.

He looked at the woman, at her covering her face and crying, at her thin shoulders trembling, and he couldn't describe the feeling in his heart.

The woman cried for a while, then her sobs gradually subsided, and her shoulders stopped shaking.

She lowered her hand; her eyes were badly swollen, and there were streaks of tears on her face.

She looked at Cui Ying, then at Chen Ping, her lips moved, and finally she uttered a sentence.

"Why...why did you save me...?"

The voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, but Chen Ping heard it clearly.

After the woman finished speaking, she started crying again, her voice not loud, but her tears wouldn't stop.

Chen Ping wrung out his coat, draped it over his shoulder, and squatted down to look at her.

"Big sister, what's your name?"

The woman didn't answer; she covered her face, her shoulders trembling.

"You don't have to tell me."

Chen Ping's tone wasn't harsh, but very steady. "But you almost died in the water just now, and we pulled you out. If you don't want to live anymore, wait until we leave before you jump; no one will stop you. But you have to tell us why first."

The woman's crying stopped for a moment, then resumed, but was softer than before.

She lowered her hand, her eyes swollen like two peaches, looked at Chen Ping, her lips trembling several times before she managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"My surname is Sun, my given name is Sun Xiuying, and I'm from Sunjiagou next door."

"Sister Sun, why are you trying to kill yourself?" Cui Ying squatted down next to her, her voice very soft.

Sun Xiuying's tears fell again. This time she didn't cover her face, they just flowed down her cheeks to her chin and dripped onto the stone.

She opened her mouth as if trying to pull something out of her body, but after a long while, she finally managed to utter a single sentence.

"Life is meaningless."

Cui Ying glanced at Chen Ping, who remained silent and waited.

Sun Xiuying wiped her face, her hand covered in tears and snot, but she didn't mind. She just kept wiping. After she finished, she took a deep breath, her voice trembling, but clearer than before.

"My husband's name is Zhao Dezhu. He was known for his competence when he was young. He could do the work of two people in the fields all by himself."

"We've been married for twenty years and have never had a serious argument. He's good to me and good to our child. Our child studies in town and gets good grades. The teacher says he'll be able to get into the county's top high school."

Her voice gradually calmed down, as if she were talking about something from long ago, something that had nothing to do with her.

"A year ago, someone in the village introduced him to gambling. At first, it was small bets, tens or hundreds of yuan, but later the bets got bigger and bigger. When he lost, he wanted to win back his losses, and when he won, he wanted to win more."

The family savings were gone, the grain had been sold, and even the tricycle had been sold. I tried to reason with him, but he hit me. The first time he hit me, I thought it was an accident, but it got more and more frequent, happening every few days.

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her arms.

It was covered in bruises, with new ones pressing on top of old ones, some areas scabbed over, and others still swollen.

Cui Ying gasped, her hands clenching involuntarily.