Reservoir Dogs chapter 59
Drowning
When Jiang’s mother left, Xiao Zhou took off the ring and put it back into the box. This gift was too precious; he hadn’t intended to accept it with a clear conscience. Since he couldn’t return it to Jiang’s mother, it would be safer to return it to Jiang Chengyuan.
As for the photo, he hid it away. He thought Jiang Chengyuan might not care about such a small thing.
He wandered around the villa but couldn’t find anyone. Asking the servants, he found out Jiang Chengyuan had gone to the rooftop pool.
He went upstairs. The rooftop was spacious, surrounded by glass railings. The pool water was calm, with a standard swimming lane. He glanced into the distance, feeling a dizzying sense of bottomlessness.
It was empty here, without cover, offering a clear view, but Jiang Chengyuan wasn’t here.
Xiao Zhou frowned, puzzled. Perhaps Chengyuan had finished swimming and gone downstairs to shower and change.
Just as he was about to go down, he suddenly heard a faint sound of water disturbance from further away in the pool.
Calling Jiang Chengyuan’s name tentatively, Xiao Zhou walked over.
By the time he reached the edge of the pool, the water was calm again. He couldn’t see anyone on the surface. Unless they were hiding underwater. But who would be diving in their own pool?
Suddenly, a pair of cold, wet hands grabbed Xiao Zhou’s ankle and pulled hard downwards.
Slipping at the edge of the pool, Xiao Zhou was caught off guard and dragged into the water. He plunged into the water, splashing up huge waves. Before he could even call for help, the rushing pool water flooded over his head. He couldn’t even hold his breath in time, and his nose and mouth were filled with the heavily chlorinated pool water, causing him to cough up bubbles.
Xiao Zhou thrashed his arms and legs in panic, trying to stand up, but someone’s hands forcefully pressed down on his head and shoulders, pushing him deeper into the water.
With his eyes wide open, stinging from the water, he couldn’t see the person trying to drown him, only the white dress floating in the water.
It’s the adopted daughter! He thought in confusion. The pain in his abdomen from holding his breath felt like it was about to burst. He tried to break free from the woman’s grip, but there was no leverage in the water. He couldn’t breathe, and the terrifying memories of nearly drowning in his childhood flooded back, plunging him into overwhelming fear. He even forgot his instinct to survive.
His ears rang loudly, and the roaring of the river’s tide and rushing waves echoed again and again.
Deprived of oxygen for a long time, Xiao Zhou began to lose consciousness. His vision blurred, sounds became distant, and his arms, which had been flailing, gradually lost strength. He felt the sensation of nearing death once more.
He returned to the endless drifting river, feeling heavy as a stone sinking to the river bottom. Unable to reach out for help, he would sink alone into the mud at the bottom of the river, consumed by his own despair, a desperate perseverance without end.
As the past and present merged, he closed his eyes, feeling the woman’s floating dress brush against his cheek. His consciousness faded, and just before his last sense vanished, he heard urgent shouts ringing out, calling his name loudly. Was someone looking for him? He subconsciously tried to respond but didn’t have the strength.
Then, arms wrapped around his chest, pulling him out of the water. A near-drowned person was dragged out of the water and laid flat on the ground. His name was called repeatedly, slapping his cheeks. His chin was lifted, someone leaned close, giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, pressing his abdomen repeatedly in a rhythmic motion, performing CPR over and over again.
Finally, Xiao Zhou’s body twitched, coughing out the pool water he had choked on. He opened his eyes to see Jiang Chengyuan, soaked through, water dripping from his chin into his eyes, causing a stinging, tingling pain.
Xiao Zhou gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently. Then he suddenly sat up, grabbing Jiang Chengyuan urgently. He hugged him tightly, the sound of bones cracking as he did so, almost feeling like he would break apart, as if he were clinging to a dry branch in the river with all his might, completely focused on this one thing.
Jiang Chengyuan’s arms tightened behind his back, squeezing him tightly against his chest, firm enough to make Xiao Zhou feel secure. His overly rapid heartbeat gradually calmed down, no longer pounding like it would burst out of his chest.
“I thought I was going to die,” he buried his face in Jiang Chengyuan’s neck, his cheek against the soaked shirt, his voice trembling slightly. “I almost drowned before, I drifted in the river for so long. I told myself to hold on a little longer, maybe someone would find me in the next minute, but every second was torture….”
Jiang Chengyuan didn’t speak, just held him tighter, stroking his back gently and kissing his hair, forehead, and cheeks with gentle comfort.
Xiao Zhou closed his eyes, gradually relaxing, the fear of being submerged and drowning fading away.
He allowed himself to stay in this embrace for a while, letting the memories of that frightened child drift away in peace.
Only when he was sure he had calmed down, Xiao Zhou took a deep breath and sat up straight. “Did you see that person?”
“Who?” Jiang Chengyuan asked.
“The woman in white clothes. She pulled me down and kept pushing me into the water,” Xiao Zhou spoke quickly. “The last time with the flowerpot wasn’t an accident either. She wanted to kill me. But why? I don’t even know her, I’ve never been here.”
Jiang Chengyuan fell silent, saying nothing.
Xiao Zhou realized Jiang Chengyuan’s reaction was strange. “Do you know why?”
Jiang Chengyuan looked oddly at him, his hand touching Xiao Zhou’s bruised lips. Xiao Zhou was all wet, his clothes sticking tightly to his body. Jiang Chengyuan said, “Alright, let’s talk about this later. Go take a shower, change your clothes. It’s chilly here, you might catch a cold.” There was warmth in his voice as he pulled Xiao Zhou’s arm and helped him stand up.
They walked downstairs together.
Xiao Zhou was full of doubts. There must be some secret about that woman, but Jiang Chengyuan didn’t want to tell him.
They entered Jiang Chengyuan’s room, both soaked. They stripped naked and squeezed into the shower under one shower head, closing their eyes as hot water sprayed down from above, reddening their skin.
The temperature rose, and steam filled the air. Xiao Zhou’s body was still trembling, shivering from the cold seeping through his bones, teeth chattering. He stood under the hot water for a while until his whole body turned red, then turned around to face Jiang Chengyuan, watching the water flow down his high brow, wetting his eyelashes. Xiao Zhou stared at him for a moment, then leaned closer, hands cupping his cheeks, and kissed him.
They quickly found harmony. The slight pain from biting lips and teeth brought Xiao Zhou a sense of real existence. Hands exerted pressure, rubbing and heavy breathing, all mixed in the noisy splashing of water. The relief of escaping death, the rapid release of dopamine, his heart beating violently, yet there seemed to be a huge void inside his body, an uneasy emptiness needing to be filled with something.
Jiang Chengyuan’s hands slowly roamed over him, fingertips like fire, setting everything ablaze in their path. Then, gripping his waist tightly, he pushed him sideways, pressing against his back, Xiao Zhou’s chest against the cold porcelain tiles, his body suddenly chilled, involuntarily shrinking. Jiang Chengyuan kissed his neck from behind, grinding his teeth on the glands, one hand gripping his thigh, swirling around the base of his butt, seeming to want to enter, but stopping each time.
Xiao Zhou’s body tensed like a bowstring, stretched to its limit. Impatiently, he opened his eyes under the hot water, “What are you waiting for?”
Jiang Chengyuan looked at him through the water, his thick black eyebrows and eyes exuding a fascinating handsomeness. He said, “I need to be sure you like this.”
Xiao Zhou’s face quickly flushed red, wrinkling his brow awkwardly, “That’s childish.”
Jiang Chengyuan just smiled, stroking him gently, then kissed his hair. “I need to hear you say it. I want both of us to enjoy it.”
This person held a grudge. Just because of the incident in the shower that time, he had been refusing to touch him.
Xiao Zhou gasped lowly, and the patience on the verge of the edge made him all red, the pheromones became more intense under the high temperature, bit by bit eroding his reason, and the instinct of the omega was shouting submission and being filled. He grabbed Jiang Chengyuan’s upper arm, blinked, everything before him dampened by the water.
As if finally making up his mind, “Jiang Chengyuan,” he took a deep breath, calling his name heavily, then felt kisses fall from his neck to his back, like the wind stirred by butterfly wings, landing on his shoulders and back.
He grabbed Jiang Chengyuan’s fingers to the point of cramping, his legs were a bit weak. He took a breath again and said, “Tell me, who is that woman?”
The kiss stopped, right at the hollow of his spine. Jiang Chengyuan murmured behind him, “I don’t want to hear that.”
Xiao Zhou let go of his hand and turned around, still held in Jiang Chengyuan’s embrace against the wet bathroom wall. He observed Jiang Chengyuan’s expression, knowing from his annoyed face that this was not the right time to ask this. But he just relaxed, leaning his back against the wall. “Why don’t you want to tell me about it?”
Jiang Chengyuan straightened up, water flowing down his straight, sturdy shoulders. “You always have to dig deep,” he said, stepping back briefly to rinse off before stepping out of the shower.
Xiao Zhou followed closely behind, hurriedly grabbing a towel to wrap around himself. “She wants to kill me. I have to know why.”
Jiang Chengyuan put on a bathrobe and walked into the bedroom, their discarded clothes scattered on the floor. “We’re leaving tomorrow. I can assure you that you won’t be harmed again.”
Xiao Zhou persisted, stepping closer. “How can you guarantee that? Didn’t you say she’s locked away right now?”
Jiang Chengyuan turned around. “Today is my mother’s birthday. The servants let her downstairs as a surprise, against my wishes, but she managed to escape halfway. Don’t worry, there won’t be a next time.”
Xiao Zhou stood firm. “So it was really her? And you knew?”
Jiang Chengyuan hesitated, eyebrows raised slightly, realizing he had deceived him. “I thought you saw her.”
Xiao Zhou sat on the edge of the bed, not minding that his wet body was dampening the sheets. “She pushed me underwater. Besides her floating clothes, I couldn’t see anything.” He wrinkled his nose uncomfortably, still feeling the aftermath of nearly drowning.
Jiang Chengyuan softened his gaze, lowering his eyes as he reached out, fingers running through Xiao Zhou’s damp hair as if comforting a puppy. “Alright, if you really want to know, I can tell you.”
Xiao Zhou hadn’t expected this turn of events. Jiang Chengyuan didn’t do things he didn’t want to do; no one could force him.
But now, things were changing, and he looked up in surprise.
Jiang Chengyuan said, “Do you remember the woman I was engaged to?”
Xiao Zhou paused, then nodded.
Jiang Chengyuan’s tone turned cold. “Why do you think she holds a grudge against you? Because you’re with me.”