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“Help! Please… please, I beg you… save my child, please . Please save my child!”

I didn’t hesitate for a moment . I didn’t care whether others would help the child or not . That was their business; it had nothing to do with me . I, however, had to save the child . It was my obligation and mission . I didn’t need to think . I only needed…

I had just taken off my shoes and thrown my clothes onto the ground when a girl zipped past me and leapt into the river . She was so quick that I didn’t even have time to respond . She dove into the freezing cold river without any hesitation and then surfaced in a fas.h.i.+on similar to a fish . She quickly swam toward the child waddling in the centre of the river . She tightly grabbed the young child but found herself stuck in the same predicament the child was in . Sadly, she was too small . As a result, the current instantly pulled her down . She struggled back to the surface . She sunk, but she managed to go with the current and push the child up to the surface . Wait…

While the scene looked perfectly fine, something was bizarre, and the feeling was very strong . I felt as though I was reliving a day from the past, but the day deviated considerably to how I remembered it .

“What exactly is the problem? What happened? Why do I have this feeling? Shouldn’t the day have panned out this way? Under normal circ.u.mstances, though, this day should never have taken place . This shouldn’t have happened . It’s strongly unlikely no matter how I think about it,” I a.n.a.lysed .

As I initially said, her small size made it difficult for her to pull the child along . She desperately swam toward the sh.o.r.e; but nonetheless, it was evident it was an arduous task judging from her facial expression . The moment I spotted despair flit across her countenance, I shoved aside the people around me and jumped into the river .

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The freezing cold water was comparable to iron blades cutting my skin . The current threw me around several times before I could regain my footing, and get my head out of the water . I quickly grabbed the muddy step by the sh.o.r.e and reached my other hand to the girl desperately swimming over . I shouted, “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry and grab my hand!”

“Mm!!”

The girl finally managed to grab hold of my hand . I firmly grabbed her small, freezing hand . We clasped each other’s hands tightly in case the current pulled us apart . She dragged the child along with me as her anchor . The onlookers finally gave their applause after seeing the child reach the sh.o.r.e safe and sound .

I pulled the young girl in . Suddenly, I felt a feeling of familiarity for some reason . It really was a familiar and intimate feeling that I couldn’t describe with words . It was as if I had held her hand countless times before . Holding hands with her felt incredibly natural . I had an impression there was a point in time where I could wake up with her hand in mine every morning . Every day . Her hand would be within reach for me every day .

The girl lifted her head out of the water . Her wet, black, short hair stuck to her pale face, thereby resembling strings of seaweed . She looked up at me with her surprised green eyes . She was slender and her long ears…

“Lucia?!” I instinctively shouted her name .

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Lucia’s panic was visible in her gaze . Startled, she questioned, “Your Highness?! Your Highness, why are you here?! Wait… Where exactly is this…? Why am I here…? Why are you here, Your Highness?”

The familiar and intimate voice blew away all the confusion shrouding my mind . The air around, the voice, the warmth, the cold and everything returned to me .

“I lived here . I, originally, lived here . I understand this place . I’m familiar with this place . I understand all of this . This is where I lived as Zhu Liangzhe . Is this… real life?” I quickly pondered .

I grabbed the step in front of me with all my might . The people above rushed over . They all tried to pull us up . The three of us finally reached the sh.o.r.e . People rushed over and tightly wrapped us up with blankets . Accompanying their applauses were the sounds of cameras and praise . The police brought over cups of hot water . They gave me big pats on my back and complimented me . I ignored them, though .

I was concerned about Lucia, who sat on the ground and s.p.a.ced out . She scanned the crowd in a fl.u.s.tered manner . The crowd scanned her with the utmost curiosity and whispered amongst themselves . Her unusual appearance – from their perspective – probably surprised them . Maybe they thought she was a foreigner .

“Look, look, she looks to be a foreigner . She’s so pretty . Her pet.i.te look makes her so adorable . ”

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“But look at her ears . Her ears look different . Even foreigners would look human . ”

“No, no, no, she might be different . People have different shaped ears . ”

“You think she can’t understand your slander?”

“She’s a foreigner . I doubt she can understand Chinese . ”

Someone’s abrupt sobs dispersed the crowd . A woman bolted over and hugged the child lying on the stretcher . She was the child’s mother . On the other side, a man knelt down next to us in tears . He sobbed and expressed, “Thank you . Thank you for saving my child . Thank you!!”

“No, no! Don’t do this; don’t do this . I only did what I should . I only did what I should . Please get up . Please . You don’t need to do this . You don’t have to . ”

I quickly helped the man up . He tightly grabbed onto me and cried . All around were applauses and flas.h.i.+ng lights . I gave him light support until two policemen helped me persuade him to leave . A doctor came up to me and inquired, “How do you feel? Do you need a check-up at the hospital?”

“No, please check on her instead . ” I pointed to Lucia .

The doctor knelt down and tried to speak in English to see if Lucia understood . She looked at him confused and refused to let him touch her . The doctor asked me, “Do you know her?”

I bobbed my head: “Leave her to me . I’ll take care of her . She’s my girlfriend . Please take the child away first . We are all right . ”

“Okay, okay . If something comes up, come to our hospital, and we will provide you with a free checkup . ”

“Thanks . ”

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