CMWKSD -Chapter 198 Jiu Yue’s Heart Stirred

Several of the more timid people on the bank let out shrill screams, and quite a few began to sob.

Only when a few officials and soldiers who were evacuating the civilians ran over did they realize that Ji Yiqing had actually jumped in.

Everyone stood on the bank, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Jiu Yue stopped breathing altogether for a moment. She herself couldn’t clearly explain why she felt this way.

With a loud splash—

Amid the surging river water mixed with churning mud, a figure suddenly burst out from the middle of the river.

“Good! Good! Good!”

The people on the bank all shouted encouragement for Ji Yiqing.

Ji Yiqing had already shed his cumbersome outer robe, leaving only a thin inner garment on his body.

Now soaked through with muddy yellow river water, it was impossible to tell its original color.

Watching Ji Yiqing’s hands churn through the water as he exhausted all his strength to swim toward the little child—

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Thump thump thump!

Jiu Yue held her breath until her face turned slightly red.

Her returning soul and breath, mixed with the thunderous pounding of her heartbeat, gradually came back to her body.

Jiu Yue stood there blankly, experiencing—more vividly than ever before—what it meant for one’s heart to be moved.

Though it was utterly inappropriate.

That fearless, self-sacrificing figure rushing forward without hesitation—

Made Jiu Yue hear her own heartbeat.

She had never thought she would be moved by anyone.

After all, she had always believed she didn’t have a heart.

But now, that restless pounding told her—

Not only did she have a heart, it could still be moved for someone.

Even when reading novels, Jiu Yue had always sneered at descriptions of hearts being stirred.

Yet she had imagined it too—if her heart were ever moved—

It would have to be at a specific time, in a specific place…

Petals filling the sky, drones overhead, dozens—no, hundreds—of yachts forming a heart…

A priceless photograph taken from the air…

In any case, she’d thought that her heart being stirred would have to be like that.

The other person would have to be tall and handsome, brilliant, with combat strength even higher than hers…

In short, as extravagant as possible—and the man as formidable as possible…

In such an atmosphere, with pink heart-shaped light shining in his eyes, he would tell her he liked her.

Maybe then she would deign to let her heart flutter just a little.

After all, timing, setting, and people—none of it could be missing.

She had never imagined—never imagined—that she would be moved by an ancient man.

A frail scholar who couldn’t even truss a chicken, who didn’t even know how to wield a blade.

Yet the stirring of her heart came so abruptly.

Ji Yiqing had only glanced at her—there hadn’t even been time to speak.

And most importantly, the moment he leapt in without hesitation, it wasn’t for her.

But Jiu Yue still couldn’t stop her heart from racing.

For that tall man who plunged into the raging river to save a baby who was crying so hard he was nearly losing his breath.

That man—

Was her husband.

The only man in her lifetime who had ever moved her heart.

So it turned out that being moved was an acknowledgment of someone’s character.

It was her acknowledgment of Ji Yiqing.

No longer standing still, Jiu Yue hurried forward two steps.

She reached the riverbank and grabbed hold of the rope tied around Ji Yiqing’s waist.

No one ever complained about too many people pulling a rope.

Ji Yiqing held the baby tightly against his chest. “Hold on tight.”

The baby wrapped both arms firmly around Ji Yiqing’s neck.

Ji Yiqing choked slightly from the pressure but said nothing.

Reaching back, he used the rope to secure the baby onto his own back.

The moment he released the tree branch, it could no longer bear the strain and disappeared from sight with the river.

Jiu Yue’s heart clenched. She quickly wrapped the taut rope around her hand—

Once, twice—again and again.

Before long, Ji Yiqing was close.

One in the river, one on the bank.

Ji Yiqing surged upward in a powerful stroke.

The first thing he saw was a dazzling, beaming smile.

Those foolishly grinning eyes that showed only Jiu Yue—who else could they belong to but Ji Yiqing?

Her happiness was unmistakably genuine, her joy overflowing, reaching deep into her eyes.

Seeing Jiu Yue so happy, he looked as though he wanted nothing more than to grab her and kiss her dozens of times in a row.

Someone reached out and hauled Ji Yiqing onto the bank.

Others hurriedly helped lift the baby down from his back.

Ji Yiqing gasped for breath. With so many people around, the two of them couldn’t do anything intimate.

But Ji Yiqing’s hand seemed to have eyes of its own.

Reaching behind him, he swiftly and lightly squeezed Jiu Yue’s hand.

Jiu Yue laughed softly and scratched his palm in return.

They didn’t even exchange a glance, yet they smiled at the same time.

The baby was placed into his mother’s arms.

Jiu Yue hurriedly squatted down. “I’m a doctor—”

But there were no further gentle words, no moment of tenderness.

The two of them worked in perfect tacit understanding, each doing their own task.

Jiu Yue quickly examined the baby and confirmed there was no danger to his life.

Ji Yiqing, meanwhile, led the officials and soldiers in escorting the civilians to the encampment.

When they arrived, they saw Ji Chaomian already working there.

The brothers looked equally disheveled, with no regard for appearances.

Yet every civilian looked at the soldiers with deep gratitude.

Fortunately, the rain had stopped, and many people gathered around the campfires.

Jiu Yue said nothing more, simply deciding to do what she could now that she was here.

She soon began treating the injured civilians she encountered along the way.

By the latter half of the night, snores rose and fell throughout the camp.

Only then did Jiu Yue finish treating all the wounded and straighten up.

She saw Ji Yiqing in the distance, rubbing his own shoulder.

He looked utterly exhausted.

Only then did the realization of her stirred heart surge back belatedly.

Jiu Yue was the kind of person who acted the moment she knew what she wanted.

In just a few strides, she reached Ji Yiqing’s side.

Ji Yiqing felt a soft, tender bundle suddenly slip into his palm.

The familiar touch made him tighten his grip instantly.

Turning his head, he was dragged away from the crowd by Jiu Yue.

Stumbling along, Ji Yiqing was pulled to the very edge of the camp.

In a place with no one around, before any pent-up longing could be spoken—

Jiu Yue rose on her toes, wrapped her arms around Ji Yiqing’s neck, and pulled him down.

Ji Yiqing was forced to bend lower.

“I’m dirty—mmph…”

A fierce, burning kiss—beyond the power of words—came crashing down like a deluge.

Ji Yiqing was pressed against a tree trunk.

Caught off guard by Jiu Yue’s urgency, he froze for a split second, then curved his lips into a smile.

His hand slid to her back, pulling her waist tight against his body.

As if turning the tables, he shifted their positions—

Pressing Jiu Yue against the tree instead, leaving only the sound of wet, breathless kisses in the air.

All the unspeakable emotion and intense love poured into a storm-like kiss.

A kiss initiated by Jiu Yue and guided by Ji Yiqing.

Only when Jiu Yue went weak all over, cradled in Ji Yiqing’s arms and gasping for breath, did it end.

Her tongue was numb and sore, her lips barely felt like her own anymore.

This man…

He was even more ruthless than she was.

Ji Yiqing held Jiu Yue tightly.

Only heaven knew how happy he had been the instant he saw her on the riverbank.

Yet he hadn’t dared to call her name even once.

He was afraid—afraid that he might die while saving someone.

And in that moment, what he thought of wasn’t anything else—

But how could he possibly let Jiu Yue witness his death with her own eyes?

He truly deserved to die.