Chapter 61: Drowning
“…What…do you want to do…”
Looking at the basin of water in front of her, Lu Zhiyin’s shoulders trembled uneasily, her eyes filled with an unknown fear.
Why? When did everything start to deviate from the script?
She propped herself up on the ground with her hands, trying desperately to lift herself up.
However, Qin An had no intention of letting her go so quickly, and increased the pressure on Lu Zhiyin’s back with her foot.
As a girl with disabled legs, Lu Zhiyin could only rely on her arms to exert force. How could she possibly break free from Qin An’s foot?
From time to time, people passed by in the corridor. However, upon seeing Qin An and her two followers, the students who passed by unanimously chose to ignore Lu Zhiyin’s suffering.
No one dared to oppose Qin An.
Gradually, Lu Zhiyin began to feel despair. Her arms, weakened by useless struggles, slowly went limp as her strength rapidly drained away.
Only when Lu Zhiyin completely lost her strength did Qin An lift her foot.
“Do you know how long a normal human can hold their breath?”
Squinting her eyes, Qin An squatted down, grabbed the girl’s hair, and lifted Lu Zhiyin’s head.
Looking at the girl’s eyes, which were once again gathering tears, Qin An’s excitement grew.
On the weekend, she had browsed some topics about drowning online, and breath-holding time was naturally the most important aspect.
Lazy as Qin An was, she had still managed to remember a few numbers.
“…”
On the ground, Lu Zhiyin was about to reply when Qin An covered her mouth.
Perhaps due to frequent fighting, Qin An’s fingers were somewhat rough, with a thin layer of calluses on the surface.
“About thirty seconds. More capable people can hold their breath for two minutes.”
“Well, I’m not exactly a devil. As long as you can stay in the water for a minute and a half, I’ll let you off this time. How about it?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Qin An removed her hand from Lu Zhiyin’s mouth.
Her words caused Lu Zhiyin’s brain to freeze again.
“It’s impossible… right… No, you… are you saying the money isn’t enough? You… you let me go, I can borrow it, let me go… Please…”
With her hair held, looking at the basin of water in front of her, Lu Zhiyin shook her head incessantly.
She had never experienced the feeling of drowning, but she knew it must be very uncomfortable. Lu Zhiyin had not trained herself to hold her breath, and she didn’t believe she could last a minute and a half in the water.
Unfortunately, Qin An would not listen to her pleas.
“Please… please…”
Just as she was about to continue begging, before Lu Zhiyin could finish speaking, Qin An impatiently pushed the girl’s head into the water.
“Mmph… mmph… cough cough…”
Pushed into the water without any preparation, Lu Zhiyin inevitably choked on several mouthfuls of water. She coughed, but coughing meant more cold water would enter her mouth.
The cold water touched Lu Zhiyin’s face. She felt cold, uncomfortable, her chest felt tight and a little sore, and she couldn’t breathe.
Her arms gripped the edge of the basin, trying desperately to move the basin or tip it over, but of course, this was all futile.
Noticing the girl’s struggle, Qin An applied more force to Lu Zhiyin’s head.
In the basin, her nose touched the bottom of the basin.
In panic, she tried to tightly close her lips as much as possible, trying to prevent more water from entering her body.
This was difficult, as Qin An outside was still applying force.
Her white hair was messily spread on the surface of the water, some strands deepening into the water, sticking to her face and causing a ticklish sensation.
Qin An noticed that the water level in the basin had decreased slightly. Perhaps Lu Zhiyin had drunk a lot, or perhaps her hair had absorbed some.
Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter.
“You guys, who wants to bring more water?”
Squatting by the basin, Qin An, while pressing down on Lu Zhiyin’s head, commanded her followers.
As her words fell, her followers returned to the classroom, mengambil their water bottles, and quickly ran to the restroom to fill them with water.
The corridor was temporarily left with only Qin An and Lu Zhiyin, as most students had already entered the classroom.
“…Mmph… ha… cough cough cough…”
Under the water, because she had choked on several mouthfuls of water at the beginning, Lu Zhiyin couldn’t even last thirty seconds and opened her mouth again.
Thus, the cold water rushed into her mouth and nose again.
Her eyes felt sore, her throat and nasal cavity were very uncomfortable, it hurt, or was it some other sensation? Lu Zhiyin’s consciousness was becoming blurred, and she could no longer distinguish her senses.
Her neck felt as if it were being choked by an invisible hand. Long deprived of oxygen, Lu Zhiyin gradually sank into complete despair.
Due to the lack of oxygen, her brain began to lose consciousness little by little, and her already blurred vision began to flicker on and off.
Behind her, someone poured cold water from the back of her head. The cold water did not help her regain any clarity.
In a daze, she felt like she was constantly falling, and the hands gripping the edge of the basin gradually loosened.
Am I… going to die?
This question arose in Lu Zhiyin’s mind, but she had no time to find the answer.
Just as she was about to drown, Qin An pulled her out of the water.
“Hoo… cough cough… Hoo… Hoo…”
Her body greedily sucked in the fresh air from the outside, coughing continuously while gasping for breath, Lu Zhiyin coughed out the water that had been forced into her body.
Her body had completely lost all strength due to what had just happened. She couldn’t even move a finger, let alone struggle.
“Tsk, looking like this, so stupid.”
Looking at the disheveled Lu Zhiyin, Qin An couldn’t help but chuckle again. The girl’s long hair was soaked and naturally hung down due to gravity.
From the ends of her hair, small water droplets fell with a rustling sound. Because it was already pouring rain outside, this sound of water was not easily heard.
Looking at Lu Zhiyin, who looked like a drowned rat, Qin An held her hair and let her breathe the air.
Is it… finally over?
And Lu Zhiyin, whose hair was being held, had no capacity to care about Qin An’s verbal insults.
She was still gasping for air. She didn’t want to die; she wanted to live. She wanted to go home; she still had family.
What would happen to her family if she died?
Lu Zhiyin didn’t want to make her family sad. At the same time, after experiencing the near-drowning, she felt an unprecedented fear of death.
After breathing with her hair held for a long time, until her senses gradually recovered and her body slowly regained sensation, allowing her to feel the pain on her scalp again, Lu Zhiyin thought it was time to ask Qin An to let her go.
However, just as she was about to speak, Qin An pushed Lu Zhiyin into the water again.
“Tsk, you really don’t think you’re free now, do you? Come on, you didn’t even last a minute.”
Accompanying Qin An, besides her mocking words, was the familiar suffocating sensation she had just experienced.
This time, not only her mouth and nose, but also her ears filled with water.
Once again, Lu Zhiyin fell into despair.
