The girl lay flat on the deck of the fishing boat, in a long dress of brilliant red, her face covered by long, black, and wet hair, making her features indiscernible.
Old Zhang brushed the girl’s hair aside with his hand, revealing to the three of them a face that appeared to be of a delicate and beautiful young woman, about eighteen or nineteen years old. The three men felt a slight shock in their hearts, never having expected the girl they rescued to be so beautiful. Even in unconsciousness, she remained breathtakingly gorgeous. Her tender and fair face had been soaked in the seawater for so long and yet still retained its rosy and tender hue. Her lips were like blooming peach blossoms, her eyebrows like willow leaves, charmingly curved, and her closed eyes were covered by long, curly lashes, resembling scallops.
Old Zhang and Xiao Zhang looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
A gleam flashed in Old Three’s eyes, his hand clenched at his side.
This beautiful girl would surely fetch a good price, he thought, and then he would be able to pay off his debts and have a tidy sum left over.
Unaware of Old Three’s thoughts, Old Zhang and Xiao Zhang were discussing what to do.
"Old Zhang, why don’t we take her to the police station?"
Xiao Zhang suggested to Old Zhang, who nodded, thinking that this was a good idea.
Old Three narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Old Zhang, Xiao Zhang, let me take her. You’re both tired. I’ll take her to shore later."
Old Zhang and Xiao Zhang nodded, unaware that their younger brother was plotting.
As the fishing boat gradually moved away, no one knew that the sea, where a light had just emerged, shone with another beam of light, spreading far into the distance like a glittering star.
At midnight, a Mercedes drove along the road, which by that time was nearly empty of other vehicles.
"Madam, why don’t you rest for a while? We’ll be home soon," the driver in the front seat said in a low voice to the elegant woman in her forties sitting in the back.
The weary woman rubbed her nose. She had just come from the hospital where her husband was staying due to poor health, and she had been by his side up until now.
"No need. We’re almost home. I’ll rest when we get there," she said, glancing at the driver before leaning back in her seat with a heavy head.
The driver turned his gaze back to the road, driving carefully, when suddenly a white glimmer flashed in the distance. He braked suddenly in panic, his head hitting the steering wheel.
The lady in the backseat was jolted forward. "What’s the matter, Old Zhang?"
Driver Old Zhang squinted into the distance, under the dim streetlight, a white figure lay in the middle of the road. He was puzzled; originally, he was sure he had seen a flash of light, so how had it turned into a human figure? Was he having hallucinations from fatigue?
"Madam, there seems to be someone lying ahead. I’ll go and check; please stay in the car," he suggested.
The middle-aged lady nodded and sat in the back, watching as driver Xiao Zhang got out of the car.
Under the dim streetlight, a woman in a pristine white wedding dress lay sideways on the ground, her long black hair splayed out messily, a few strands covering her face.
Driver Xiao Zhang looked around carefully, seeing nothing amiss, and cautiously approached the woman, "Miss, miss, what happened to you?"
Driver Xiao Zhang called out for a while, but there was no movement from the woman on the ground. Kneeling down, he nervously pushed her and felt her warmth, which made him sigh with relief.
Looking at the unconscious woman on the ground, driver Xiao Zhang thought to himself, it sure was odd to be wearing just a wedding dress in the dead of winter! Wasn’t she cold?
Driver Xiao Zhang knelt down and brushed the hair from the woman’s face. When he saw her features, he was so shocked he couldn’t speak.
"Xiao Zhang, what’s going on?"
After a while, unable to wait, the middle-aged lady got out of the car and walked towards Xiao Zhang, who had his back turned to her.
Turning around, Xiao Zhang’s face still bore traces of astonishment. "Madam... she..."
His tongue seemed tied as the middle-aged lady stepped forward curiously, looking at the woman in front of Xiao Zhang, her heart jolted.
Before their eyes lay a woman who looked to be in her early twenties, her long black hair like a waterfall, parting on each side of her transcendently beautiful and ethereal face, her skin like delicate white jade, with eyebrows arched like crescent moons and lips naturally pink without any adornment. Even with her eyes closed, it was not hard to imagine the astonishment they would spark if she were to open them. In all her life, broad as her experiences might be, having seen countless beautiful daughters of fortune, she could not find words to describe the beauty before her.
"Madam, what should we do?"
Driver Xiao Zhang asked cautiously as the middle-aged lady glanced at the stunning unconscious woman, noting her expensive wedding dress with its exquisite embroidery and countless minute diamonds. She recognized these were real diamonds. On her finger was a ruby ring. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was a top-quality ruby, exceptionally valuable.