Zhou Chaosheng had never tried extreme sports like skydiving before, but in that instant of weightlessness, he couldn’t help but recall the feeling of despair when, at five years old, he had been pushed into a three-meter-high fiberglass hydrochloric acid tank by human traffickers.
Just earlier, he had estimated the distance from the cliff to the sea below—about sixty meters, roughly equivalent to the height of a nineteen-story building. An ordinary person jumping down would likely end up paralyzed.
Zhou Chaosheng believed that with his body, it probably wouldn’t come to that. But even so, his fear of deep water and inability to swim were enough to ensure he would die in the sea.
Was he going to die? Perhaps.
After all, falling from such a height onto the water would have nearly the same consequences as hitting concrete—severe cases could result in fractures or internal injuries.
More severe cases would mean death.
The storm in midair wrapped around him, as if the air pressure around him was all pressing down at once. His soul seemed to split from deep within, and he suddenly became very, very light, like a leaf, or a sheet of paper, endlessly falling, endlessly sinking.
Splash!
The moment he plunged into the sea, cold water rushed at him from all directions, like a thousand-pound stone slab, pressing down on his chest and squeezing all the air from his lungs. Within seconds of passing out, he regained consciousness with unbearable clarity, acutely feeling the heart-wrenching pain. Objectively, the impact hurt even more than being hit by a car.
The freezing cold and searing pain seeped into his bones, forcing him to hover at the brink between life and death. Memories flickered through his mind like a spinning lantern—clear ones, blurry ones, painful ones, joyful ones—fragmented like flowers seen through mist, only to be swallowed and engulfed by the surging seawater.
He thought he was about to die.
Until someone suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him upward through the heavy sea—only then did those shattered memories abruptly halt.
Who was it?
Who was saving him?
The first person that came to his mind was Jiang Yuanye.
But then he thought, it was impossible. Who would risk their life to save someone with no blood ties? Even if they had once been inseparably close, when faced with life and death, helplessness was the true nature of humanity.
Even with blood ties, he couldn't be certain that a relative would jump off a sixty-meter cliff just to save him.
So who was it?
Was it a hallucination before death?
Even if it was, his survival instinct still made him instinctively respond—he grabbed that hand tightly without thinking.
He didn’t want to die.
He still had so much left undone. He hadn’t told Jiang Yuanye “I love you.” He hadn’t gone abroad with Jiang Yuanye to get married. He hadn’t even properly said "I'm sorry."
Sorry for always saying the opposite of what he felt.
Sorry for selfishly disregarding Jiang Yuanye’s feelings.
Sorry for not cherishing him properly when Jiang Yuanye loved him the most...
There were too many things he regretted.
So when he finally broke through the surface of the sea and forced open his heavy eyelids, seeing the other person’s face, he couldn’t tell if it was reality or a dream.
“…Chaosheng, Chaosheng, are you okay?”
Buzzing.
His ears felt wrapped in a vacuum, and his vision was blurry. Zhou Chaosheng couldn’t hear clearly; he could only vaguely see Jiang Yuanye’s mouth opening and closing, his face full of worry and solemnity.
Even in the water, Zhou Chaosheng felt like his whole body had been run over by a truck. Only the last shred of reason kept him from struggling—he relaxed his body, allowing Jiang Yuanye to hold him and swim toward the rescue boat.
Seeing the rescue boat speeding toward them, Zhou Chaosheng wasn’t surprised.
He had already guessed that Jiang Yuanye would have a backup plan.
Still, a deep pride and warmth overflowed from his heart.
The person he loved was not only brilliant but was also willing to risk everything to save him.
And what did that mean?
It meant Jiang Yuanye loved him too.
"President Zhou! President Jiang!"
"Are you okay?!"
The rescuers threw a lifebuoy toward them. Jiang Yuanye stretched out his arm, grabbed it, pulled it over to encircle Zhou Chaosheng, and then used the buoyancy to swim the half-meter distance to the rescue boat.
Several rescuers worked together to haul the barely conscious Zhou Chaosheng aboard, while Jiang Yuanye grabbed a rope and climbed up by himself.
Once they were safely on board, Jiang Yuanye quickly stopped the rescue worker who was about to perform CPR on Zhou Chaosheng. He half-kneeled beside the man lying flat, carefully clearing his mouth of debris and fluids with his fingers.
Without the slightest hesitation or disgust, Jiang Yuanye used his fingers to scoop out everything blocking Zhou Chaosheng’s airway. Then he propped up Zhou Chaosheng’s jaw, pinched his nose shut, took a deep breath, and lowered his head to cover Zhou Chaosheng’s lips, performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Only when he saw Zhou Chaosheng’s chest expand did Jiang Yuanye stop to breathe, swiftly moving away before repeating the cycle—about twenty times per minute.
This professional first-aid method left the rescuers standing by a little surprised. They looked at Jiang Yuanye’s tense side profile, then at Zhou Chaosheng, who was beginning to show signs of life.
A minute later, the half-dead Zhou Chaosheng finally opened his eyes.
"Success! It worked!"
"That's great, he's alive!"
"President Zhou truly has incredible luck. Fortunately, he didn't hit any obstacles during the fall into the water."
The noise around him was overwhelming. Zhou Chaosheng regained consciousness surrounded by a crowd. As soon as he opened his eyes and saw Jiang Yuanye, his throat itched unbearably. His face turned pale for a moment before he abruptly turned his head to the side, forcing himself to cough up all the bitter water from his lungs.
Cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough…
After vomiting, Zhou Chaosheng dry-heaved for a long while before he finally escaped the gates of hell.
He had just opened his mouth to speak when teardrops fell heavily onto the back of his hand, leaving him at a loss. He quickly turned his head to look but hadn’t yet clearly seen the tears welling up in Jiang Yuanye’s amber eyes before being pulled tightly into his arms.
Seeing this scene, the surrounding people sensibly stepped away to give the two of them some space.
At that moment, Li Nan was also rescued, but he wasn’t as lucky—he had hit his head on the rocks and landed poorly. Even after CPR, he did not regain consciousness and had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Zhou Chaosheng withdrew his gaze and focused entirely on the person hugging him. He could feel that Jiang Yuanye’s hands were trembling, and so was his body.
The fear lingering in his body could not be faked.
"……" Zhou Chaosheng could feel the deep fear and relief from Jiang Yuanye’s tight embrace and ragged breathing.
For Jiang Yuanye, it was a recovery after near loss.
But for Zhou Chaosheng, it was the final proof that Jiang Yuanye truly had feelings for him.
He was probably not a very normal person because, at this moment, he was actually grateful that Li Nan had lost control and pushed him off the cliff.
If it weren’t for that push, he might never have seen this look of fear on Jiang Yuanye’s face.
And honestly, he liked it very much—the expression that said Jiang Yuanye couldn’t bear to lose him.
Only then could he truly feel Jiang Yuanye’s deep love.
"…Don’t cry." Zhou Chaosheng rasped out, his voice hoarse.
He grasped Jiang Yuanye’s shoulders, trying to push himself up to wipe away the other’s tears.
But Jiang Yuanye seemed unwilling to let him see him crying and stubbornly locked him tightly in his arms.
"I’m not crying..." Jiang Yuanye mumbled defensively.
Zhou Chaosheng didn’t let him off the hook—instead, he teased him a little wickedly:
"You’re lying. You’re obviously crying."
"...I'm not."
Jiang Yuanye retorted, but his words were mixed with soft sobs.
Zhou Chaosheng suddenly felt a little guilty. After a brief silence, he reached up and gently rubbed the other’s head.
"…Weren't you scared?"
His voice was very soft; Jiang Yuanye almost didn’t catch it.
Zhou Chaosheng had to raise his voice:
"You jumped down from such a high cliff. Weren't you scared?"
"I was."
"Then why did you still…"
Jiang Yuanye continued,
"But I was more afraid of losing you."
It was as if the wind had frozen still, and all sounds disappeared—even the insects in the forest fell silent.
Zhou Chaosheng braced himself and stared fixedly at the person in front of him.
Jiang Yuanye moved his lips but made no sound.
Zhou Chaosheng, too, stayed silent.
In the midst of this silence, their fingers brushed lightly together on the ground—amid the wet soil and scattered stones, they rubbed against each other.
Zhou Chaosheng lovingly nudged Jiang Yuanye’s fingers, then slipped his own between them, intertwining their fingers tightly.
"Do you know what I want to do right now?" Zhou Chaosheng asked softly.
Jiang Yuanye held his breath:
"What do you want to do?"
Zhou Chaosheng chuckled, his gaze shining like shattered starlight—brilliant and much gentler than before.
"I want to kiss you."
"May I?"
The moment those words fell, a low humming sound echoed continuously from the depths of Jiang Yuanye’s heart.
He blinked and then whispered,
"You can…"
With Jiang Yuanye’s consent, Zhou Chaosheng took the hand they had been holding and placed it around his waist, guiding Jiang Yuanye to lean all his weight against him.
Then, with his free hand, he cupped Jiang Yuanye’s face and, with a gentle pull, closed the distance between them until their eyes reflected each other’s image perfectly.
Only then did he lower his head and kiss the lips he had long yearned for—gently and reverently.
Even though just three nights ago, before the kidnapping, they had been intimately tangled together, at this moment they both missed each other’s scent so desperately that the kiss quickly turned passionate.
Their lips and teeth clashed and rubbed against each other intensely but skillfully avoided biting and injuring the tender flesh, directly seeking out the sensitive spots that evoked the most primal reactions—dragging each other deeper into the abyss of desire.
In this remote area, the rescue team had already driven away long ago, leaving only the two of them, a walkie-talkie placed to the side, and two sets of clean clothes.
In the silence of the deserted mountains, Zhou Chaosheng could no longer suppress the longing he had accumulated over the past days or the instinctive craving he had for Jiang Yuanye.
He wanted Jiang Yuanye.
He wanted Jiang Yuanye. He wanted him badly, desperately.
"Xiao Ye..."
The breathless whisper was clearly audible between his parted lips.
Jiang Yuanye’s eyelashes trembled at the sound of that nickname. It had been a long time since he had heard Zhou Chaosheng call him that. Usually, it was only when Zhou Chaosheng was coaxing him to spread his legs, or to raise his hips high, or when he wanted to fuck him, that he would call him so intimately by his childhood name.
Seeing that Jiang Yuanye didn't respond, Zhou Chaosheng leaned in closer to his ear and called him again.
In the end, Jiang Yuanye couldn’t resist and answered him, "...I'm here."
Zhou Chaosheng chuckled softly, "Have you ever had sex outdoors?"
Jiang Yuanye’s ears twitched, "…Nonsense, how could I have?"
Zhou Chaosheng curved his eyes into a smile and pressed in closer step by step: "Then... do you want to try?"
Jiang Yuanye trembled even harder. "Try... try what?"
"Try—"
Zhou Chaosheng bit each word lightly, drawing out every syllable slowly and clearly, his voice even laced with a hint of a lingering, teasing tone, as if it were a hook pulling Jiang Yuanye straight into the trap he had carefully set.
"To have sex with me... right here."