Extraordinary Realm from Persuasion System

Then, under her expectant gaze, the frightening and hideous face of Chu Renmei had suddenly appeared on the big screen without any warning! That sight had immediately brought the young and naïve Sophia Zhou, still unaware of the wickedness of the human heart, to tears. It had left an indelible shadow on her psyche. She had thought that after so many years, she had finally come to terms with this childhood trauma. But she had never imagined that today, this nightmare would come sweeping back. And this time, it wasn't on a screen, but in reality!

Watching that head moving with increasing intensity, watching the lake surface it stirred up, Sophia Zhou trembled uncontrollably, her pupils dilating involuntarily.

URK—

Then, a breath caught in her throat. Sophia Zhou staggered and plunged straight into the artificial lake in front of her.

SPLASH!

A huge, muffled sound echoed.

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Beixing, who was practicing his Hidden Force skills in the artificial lake of Shi University, happened to look over. He saw a woman face down in the water near the shore, her condition unknown.

This startled Zhang Beixing. What the hell was that? How did someone suddenly appear behind him while he was minding his own business, practicing his martial arts?

Just as Zhang Beixing's skin prickled with goosebumps and he prepared to flee, he noticed the all-too-familiar clothing on the person. His eyes narrowed, sensing something was amiss. After a moment of thought, he mustered his courage, swam over, and turned the person around.

Instantly, Sophia Zhou's face came into view.

Seeing this, Zhang Beixing stared in utter confusion. He didn't understand why Sophia Zhou would appear here at this time, but that wasn't important. What mattered was that Sophia Zhou was drowning.

The water by the shore was actually very shallow. However, because her face had plunged into the lake and Zhang Beixing hadn't turned her over yet, it meant that water had flowed unobstructed into her respiratory tract while he was swimming over and turning her around. Sophia Zhou was now struggling to breathe.

Seeing this, Zhang Beixing didn't dare hesitate. He quickly lifted Sophia Zhou and hurried toward the shore. Still, it had to be said, dragging a girl who was a full 1.7 meters tall was indeed laborious. Thankfully, Sophia Zhou had fallen close to the shore. With just a few steps, Zhang Beixing was out of the artificial lake.

He laid Sophia Zhou flat on the ground. Driven by urgency, Zhang Beixing no longer cared about the proprieties between men and women. He pried open Sophia Zhou's mouth and checked inside to ensure nothing was blocking her airway. He pressed her forehead, lifted her chin, pinched her nose, and began artificial respiration. After giving rescue breaths, he released her nose and observed her chest, confirming it was rising and falling. Zhang Beixing repeated this five times.

Seeing she still wasn't waking up, Zhang Beixing was about to undo her collar to start chest compressions. However, he had just unbuttoned her collar and placed his hands on her chest, not yet having started compressions, when...

COUGH! COUGH!

GASP... WHEEZE...

Urgent coughing sounds erupted, accompanied by deep gasps for air. Sophia Zhou regained consciousness.

Seeing her like this, Zhang Beixing froze for a moment, then quickly drew back his hands. "Sophia," he asked, "how do you feel? Are you alright? What happened just now? Why did you fall face-first into the lake? Were you overworked from training today?"

Hearing Zhang Beixing's words, Sophia Zhou was momentarily stunned. Then, recalling what had just happened, her expression abruptly changed. Ignoring her disheveled clothes where Zhang Beixing had unbuttoned them, she scrambled up from the ground and grabbed his hand. "Beixing, something's wrong here! Run!"

With that, she grabbed Zhang Beixing's hand and, using her long legs, pulled him away, fleeing without a backward glance. Her vigorous movements caused her partially unbuttoned shirt to flap about, but fortunately, she was quite flat-chested, so it wasn't very noticeable.

Seeing Sophia Zhou act like this, Zhang Beixing was utterly bewildered, unable to grasp the situation. He was about to say his bag was still on the other side of the lake, but he stood no chance against Sophia Zhou, who was clearly in a full-blown panic.

By the time Zhang Beixing snapped back to reality, Sophia Zhou had already dragged him out of the woods.

Looking at Sophia Zhou—flushed, gasping for breath, her usually flat chest heaving violently—Zhang Beixing was completely at a loss.

"Beixing, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Maybe you should fix your clothes first?"

But at this moment, hidden nearby and even more confused than Zhang Beixing... was none other than Chen Rourou. She stood outside the copse of trees, watching him and Sophia Zhou in utter perplexity.

Chen Rourou had figured that Zhang Beixing would have finished his training and left by now, leaving the woods empty. She had planned to sneak in for some extra practice, hoping to quickly master the Northern Sect's Eight Pieces of Brocade and return home to make her family proud and amaze everyone.

However, just as she arrived and before she could even begin her practice, she was confronted by the sight of Zhang Beixing and Sophia Zhou running out of the woods—disheveled, red-faced, and panting.

Chen Rourou's eyes widened, her mouth hanging slightly open in utter shock.