A Message from the Deep

Uncle Pang, witnessing Ah Jin’s words straying further off course, quickly pulled him aside.

“That’s enough, let the young one rest properly. After being submerged in the water for so long, he needs to take medicine before sleeping to avoid a fever tomorrow.”

Uncle Pang gazed at Jian Ye with a benevolent expression, truly treating him like a minor.

Jian Ye, however, was too preoccupied to offer an explanation. He was anxious about the situation outside. His rescue was surely unknown to the director and crew. Were they still out searching for him?

Jian Ye yearned to call and reassure them. He tentatively inquired, “Could I borrow a phone? I’d like to make a call.”

At these words, the genial expressions of both men instantly shifted. Ah Jin’s demeanor turned alert, while Uncle Pang, though still smiling, now wore a deeply meaningful look. They offered no verbal reply, merely handing him cold medicine and gesturing for him to take it.

Under Uncle Pang’s watchful eye, Jian Ye swallowed the medication. Later, the old doctor left without a word, leaving Jian Ye with an unsettling sense of eeriness about his rescuers.

As soon as Uncle Pang departed, Ah Jin laid down the law. “Don’t blame us. The Young Master only instructed us to look after you, and that doesn’t include providing you with any communication devices. We can only do so if we receive an explicit order from the Young Master.”

“I feel fine now. I’d like to leave, and I will certainly repay Young Master Qin in the future,” Jian Ye tried a different approach.

To his surprise, Ah Jin grew even more agitated. “Absolutely not! The Young Master isn’t back yet; you cannot leave.”

“Why must I wait for your Young Master Qin to return? I’ll leave my contact information. Surely that’s acceptable?”

Ah Jin shook his head. “Unless the Young Master gives the order for you to leave, I cannot let you go.”

[Jian Ye: …This guy is utterly stubborn, as rigid as an ox!]

[Jian Ye: Tell me honestly, kid, does your Young Master enjoy playing at kidnapping?!]

Jian Ye silently scrutinized Ah Jin, a growing unease settling in his stomach. These so-called ‘good people’ were now making him deeply uncomfortable. He felt less like he had been rescued and more like a puppy picked up by dog meat vendors, caged and awaiting its fate of being skinned and cooked.

Ah Jin, too, was observing Jian Ye. The boy’s immediate request for a phone upon waking had certainly piqued his suspicion. It wasn’t unheard of for spies to infiltrate the Qin family in the past. To have one appear in the Young Master’s own home made him even more cautious; the Young Master’s address could not be exposed.

More importantly, with what had happened to the Young Miss, they, as subordinates, had gravely failed. Ah Jin couldn’t afford any more mishaps while the Young Master was away.

Jian Ye contemplated making an escape but, glancing at Ah Jin’s fierce eyes and bulging muscles, he instantly abandoned the idea. His dancer’s physique was no match for a boxer.

Jian Ye found himself increasingly curious about this Young Master Qin. Both were domineering CEOs, yet their approaches were entirely different from Yi Siyu’s. Young Master Qin’s subordinates exuded an air of having run in rough circles, whereas Yi Siyu’s bodyguards were all retired soldiers, radiating integrity.

Jian Ye dared not confront them forcefully at this moment. He simply lay down and pretended to be asleep. Seeing the young man return to bed, Ah Jin pulled a chair to the doorway and dozed off. This was the only exit from the room, and the windows were locked tight; any forced exit would create a disturbance.

It was almost dawn. Why hadn’t the Young Master returned yet?

****

Jian Ye lay on his side, his back to the door, determined not to let the person outside realize he was feigning sleep. Everyone here seemed incredibly wary. He couldn’t fathom what threat he, a seemingly helpless ‘child’ in their eyes, could possibly pose.

They had saved him, yet they treated him with such intense suspicion. It was truly contradictory. Jian Ye sighed inwardly, pondering what strategy to employ against these people. He couldn’t possibly wait indefinitely for their Young Master Qin to return, could he?

If the other party didn’t come back for ten days or half a month, he would be imprisoned for just as long. Even if Yi Siyu didn’t go mad, Jian Ye certainly would.

[Jian Ye: Tsk, pretending to be sick won’t work either. There’s an old doctor here; he’d see through my trick in an instant.]

[Jian Ye: Flirting definitely won’t work. The muscular guy outside is a die-hard fan of that Young Master, a big idiot who blindly follows orders!]

[Jian Ye: In this godforsaken place, my green tea attributes are utterly useless? The system is also failing me at a crucial moment; it’s truly pouring when it rains…]

[System 748: Ah!]

Jian Ye was startled by the voice in his mind, then immediately overjoyed.

[Jian Ye: System 748! You’re finally alive!]

[System 748: Host, the system isn’t dead. The system merely entered a dormant state, just like when the Host was unconscious in the water earlier.]

The system recounted the situation in the water, and only then did Jian Ye realize that it had slowly pushed his body towards the shore, where it was caught by a protruding branch. This allowed people to find and rescue him.

[Jian Ye: Thank you, System 748. Your love is like a mighty river, unending.]

[System 748: Oh, Host, please don’t be like that~]

[Jian Ye: So, my dear System 748, can you help me send a message to the outside world?]

The system felt it had been mistaken; the Host’s declaration of love was, once again, a plea for help.

[Jian Ye: System 748, why isn’t there even a phone available in the mall? There are so many random things, but why not that?]

[System 748: I forgot to mention, items in the mall are supplied randomly. A product available yesterday might be delisted today. The Host’s current level isn’t high enough, and the mall’s memory is limited, so many items cannot always be present.]

To put it simply, there wasn’t enough space, so memory had to be cleared.

[Jian Ye: Give me a straight answer. Can you or can’t you transmit a message? I’m currently under house arrest here.]

[System 748: Transmitting messages to others is not allowed, but by converting Green Tea Value, some of the Host’s requests can be fulfilled, as long as they don’t violate the rules.]

[Jian Ye: I remember all my Green Tea Coins were used up. How much Green Tea Value do I have left?]

[System 748: Previously, 250 Green Tea Value was consumed for plot exchange, leaving 1750 Green Tea Value. However, because of the Host’s heroic act of jumping off the bridge to save someone, which moved many people, the system recorded an additional 1000 Green Tea Value at that time. The current total is 2750 Green Tea Value.]

[Jian Ye: Jumping off a bridge can earn so much Green Tea Value?]

He truly was a master at harvesting Green Tea Value. With so much, sending a message out was surely enough. However, the system’s next words nearly made Jian Ye bolt upright from the bed.

[System 748: The system transmitting messages to others is inherently disallowed. This time, it’s an exception to fulfill the Host’s request, so the price is very expensive. It’s charged per character.]

[Jian Ye: How much Green Tea Value per character?]

[System 748: 250 Green Tea Value per character.]

Pfft—cough, cough, cough!!!

[Jian Ye: Why don’t you systems just rob people?! Also, are you guys obsessed with the number 250? Everything is 250!]

[System 748: Alas, these are all rules set by the higher-ups. We, the bottom-tier tool systems, can do nothing about it.]

Then, the system added another sentence.

[System 748: Additionally, the recipient’s phone number must be known for the system to transmit the message.]

[Jian Ye: If it’s sent, will your side, System 748, display the phone number?]

[System 748: No, messages sent by the system will display an anonymous number. So, Host, you need to think carefully about the content you wish to transmit.]

Jian Ye never memorized others’ phone numbers, but at this moment, he was thankful he remembered Yi Siyu’s. He had committed it to memory when he first added Yi Siyu’s contact information. Knowing Yi Siyu was the Protagonist Gong, he had been careful and remembered the number, never forgetting it since. Today, it had become his lifeline.

[Jian Ye: Just send “Brother Siyu; Safe; S City Qin family.” Ten characters, punctuation doesn’t count, right? Settle it quickly!]

[System 748: Host, please wait. The system is currently converting—2500 Green Tea Value consumed. After deduction, 250 Green Tea Value remains.]

[Ding—Message sent!]

[System 748: The Host can now rest assured.]

Jian Ye truly breathed a sigh of relief. He had gone to great lengths to send this message. Yi Siyu should understand his meaning, right? He hoped it wasn’t a complete waste. After taking the medicine, sleepiness gradually enveloped Jian Ye. With a weight lifted from his mind, his consciousness relaxed, and he slowly drifted into slumber.

****

The message arrived on Yi Siyu’s phone at six in the morning. At this time, Yi Siyu was being urged by his elder brother to return to the hotel and rest.

“I’ll just stand guard here, Big Brother. I’m fine.” The man’s voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot.

Yi Sizhe stated gravely, “Your presence here is futile. If you insist on waiting, I will wait in your stead.”

“No, Big Brother, really, it’s not necessary. I know you want me to rest, but even if I go to the hotel and lie down now, I won’t be able to sleep. I…” Yi Siyu paused, his tone suddenly softening. “You might not believe me, but I have a strong feeling that Ah Ye is fine. He’s just trapped, waiting for me to rescue him.”

Huo Kai felt his friend was suffering from delusions. His heart ached; without this incident, Siyu would never have become mentally unstable. He agreed with Yi Siyu’s elder brother that waiting there served little purpose. Apart from Yi Siyu, everyone now believed Jian Ye couldn’t have survived. One would have to be a mermaid reincarnated to live in water for so long.

Huo Kai was about to help Yi Sizhe persuade his brother when he noticed Yi Siyu’s phone, resting on the car seat, light up. Normally, incoming text messages would display a notification, but this particular message on Yi Siyu’s phone automatically opened to the message page without being clicked, and the font even enlarged itself?!

Huo Kai was certain that Yi Siyu, being young, wouldn’t use elderly-friendly font sizes. Witnessing such a bizarre scene, he nudged Yi Siyu, pointing at the phone. “Quick, look at your phone! Has some little punk hacked it? Why are the letters still flashing!”

Upon being alerted, Yi Siyu also noticed the strange phenomenon. His phone had never been set to stay on, yet the screen now showed no signs of dimming. It was as if… the sender was terrified he wouldn’t see it.

Yi Siyu devoured the message content in an instant. His pupils contracted sharply, and his heart pounded fiercely.

[Brother Siyu; Safe; S City Qin family.]

He suddenly exclaimed, agitated, “Ah Ye is fine! He’s been rescued!”

Huo Kai was stunned. “You’re not going to say this text message is from Jian Ye, are you? How could that be! He… he’s already…”

Yi Siyu asserted with firm conviction, “It must be him. There’s no mistake.”

In this world, only Jian Ye addressed him that way. If the sender had simply written ‘Jian Ye,’ Yi Siyu might have hesitated, but they wrote “Brother Siyu.” In his mind, he could only recall Jian Ye’s puppy-like appearance the first time he called him ‘Brother.’

He had to admit, Jian Ye understood him. His spouse was truly amazing. Jian Ye was likely unable to contact him directly due to uncontrollable circumstances. The fact that the message didn’t even form a complete sentence suggested Jian Ye was being monitored and couldn’t use a phone for long. Despite this, he had still managed to convey the most crucial information.

At least now, Yi Siyu knew definitively that his darling was safe. His intuition hadn’t been wrong after all. This message, like a spring of life in the desert, re-energized Yi Siyu’s nearly withered soul, bringing him back to life.