Liao Ruoli didn’t know how to swim at all. After falling into the river, she started flailing desperately.
Chen Bin didn’t dare hesitate. He quickly ran to the riverbank, undressing while observing Liao Ruoli’s condition.
In no time, she had already been swept more than ten meters downstream.
Her head was above water, but her body was gradually sinking.
Once Chen Bin was down to just his underwear, he immediately took a leap and jumped into the water.
Having grown up in the countryside and frequently swum in rivers as a child, he had excellent swimming skills.
Swimming up to Liao Ruoli, he quickly grabbed her slender waist from behind and swam toward the shore.
After they reached the riverbank, Liao Ruoji rushed over in a panic.
Seeing her sister lying lifelessly on the ground, Liao Ruoji immediately burst into tears.
Chen Bin wasted no time. He quickly cleared the debris and water from Liao Ruoli’s mouth and nose.
Then he turned her face down, hoisting her onto his shoulder, and shook her repeatedly.
When she coughed up a significant amount of river water, he laid her flat on the ground once more.
Realizing she still wasn’t showing signs of consciousness, Chen Bin urgently removed her outer clothing.
Placing his hands on her chest, he applied continuous compressions while administering artificial respiration.
After two or three minutes, Liao Ruoli finally groggily regained consciousness.
However, the moment she opened her eyes, she was met with the sight of Chen Bin kissing her.
In shock, she slapped him hard across the face.
Chen Bin had been planning to ask if she was okay the moment she woke up.
But the sting of the slap made everything crystal clear to him.
Her energy was strong—definitely fine!
Seeing Liao Ruoli finally wake up, Liao Ruoji immediately hugged her tightly and began sobbing.
But even as she cried, she began scolding her.
"Why can’t you listen to me? I told you not to go near the river, but you insisted! Are you trying to scare me to death?!"
Liao Ruoli didn’t express gratitude for her narrow escape. Instead, she struggled out of Liao Ruoji’s embrace.
Pointing at a nearly naked Chen Bin, she unleashed her fury.
"You bastard! Why did you kiss me? Were you trying to take advantage of me?!"
Chen Bin really didn’t feel like arguing with this little brat. He smirked dismissively and headed back toward his fishing spot.
Just as he was putting his clothes back on, Liao Ruoli was still relentless.
"You pervert! That was my first kiss, and you..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Liao Ruoji intervened.
"Ruoli, can you stop making a fuss? Chen Bin was giving you artificial respiration just now. If it weren’t for him, you could’ve been in real danger."
After hearing that, Liao Ruoli’s anger significantly subsided.
But she still kept grumbling.
"Did he have to give artificial respiration to save me? Clearly, he just wanted to take advantage of me!"
Because of the earlier incident, none of the three felt like continuing their fishing.
Chen Bin resumed cleaning the fish, preparing them for grilling.
Liao Ruoli sat nearby, glaring at him with her big eyes, still seemingly sulking.
It wasn’t long before the picnic officially began. Watching the sizzling fish glisten in oil on the grill...
Liao Ruoli swallowed her saliva and decided to temporarily stop arguing with Chen Bin.
As the three of them were enjoying their meal, a voice suddenly came from not far away.
"Well, if it isn’t County Magistrate Chen. Skipping work during office hours, yet still in the mood to grill fish? Seems the rumors about you were spot on!"
Turning around, Chen Bin came face to face with Tan Rongxi’s smirking yet insincere expression.
Chen Bin had no fond feelings toward this man and didn’t bother responding to him.
Watching Liao Ruoli devouring the grilled fish, Ye Pei, standing next to Tan Rongxi, spoke up.
"Miss, how about we become friends? I could treat you to fish every day."
Liao Ruoli particularly detested sleazy guys who tried to take advantage of girls. In response to Ye Pei’s advances, she snorted coldly.
And snapped, "Get lost!"
Ye Pei’s face darkened as a flicker of menace flashed in his eyes.
In Dragon Mountain County, aside from Cai Lixia, there wasn’t a woman he’d set his eyes on that he couldn’t have.
Tan Rongxi remembered there were important matters to attend to at the reservoir, so he chose to ignore Chen Bin.
He gestured to Ye Pei, saying, "Let’s go!"
After the two left, Liao Ruoji couldn’t help but curiously ask Chen Bin.
"County Magistrate Chen, who were those people? How dare they talk to you like that."
Still busy with the grilled fish, Chen Bin answered in a flat tone.
"One’s the County Public Security Bureau chief, the other’s the son of the secretary of the County Committee."
Frowning slightly, Liao Ruoji’s face showed some signs of guilt.
"Did we cause trouble for you?"
"It’s fine. There’s already a long-standing grudge between us—one more incident won’t matter."
After finishing their meal, the three cleaned up the barbecue supplies and loaded them into the car.
Then, the two sisters continued taking pictures around the area with their cameras.
It wasn’t until around five or six in the evening that Chen Bin drove them back toward Qinghe Town.
While on the road, Chen Bin suddenly noticed a police car closely following behind.
It wasn’t until they arrived at the guesthouse in Qinghe Town that the police car finally turned around and left.
On the way back to the county, Tan Rongxi recalled the two sisters he had seen earlier. A glimmer of greed appeared in his eyes.
"Those two women just now were quite beautiful."
Ye Pei, who was driving, nodded repeatedly. "Indeed, how could that kid Chen Bin be so lucky to be surrounded by such beauties?"
Rubbing his chin, Tan Rongxi started analyzing.
"With Chen Bin’s current position, if he was spending work hours with them, it suggests their backgrounds might not be ordinary."
Grinning, Ye Pei slightly shook his head.
"That’s not necessarily true. They might just have some unusual relationship with him."
"True. To prevent County Magistrate Chen from making mistakes, I think it’s necessary to investigate them. If needed, we can take enforcement measures..."
At the guesthouse, Liao Ruoli accidentally twisted her ankle while showering.
Although it wasn’t too serious, she had to rest for several days.
This left Liao Ruoji stuck in the room to take care of her, unable to go anywhere.
After staying in for three days, Liao Ruoji started feeling restless.
It was her first time visiting the countryside, and she was eager to explore everything.
But since she had to take care of her sister, staying cooped up in the room felt stifling.
Chen Bin noticed this, and during lunch, he made a suggestion.
"I’ll be visiting some of the towns in the area for inspection this afternoon. Why don’t you come along?"
The suggestion made her eyes light up, but she hesitated and asked.
"Won’t that be inappropriate? I’m not a government worker—what if someone questions it?"
"I can say you’re a journalist. Besides, with me accompanying you, who’d dare investigate?"
"Alright, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work, I’m happy to tag along."
After lunch, Liao Ruoji informed Liao Ruoli about accompanying Chen Bin in the afternoon.
Her sister appeared rather displeased.
"Even with me , you’re still not staying to take care of me? What kind of big sister does that?"
Liao Ruoji held her sister’s hand and reassured her.
"It’s rare for us to visit the countryside—we can’t spend all our time cooped up in a room. I’ll take pictures for you while I’m out, okay?"
Sighing, Liao Ruoli reluctantly replied.
"Alright, but bring back fried chicken for me tonight!"
Nodding enthusiastically, Liao Ruoji responded happily.
"Don’t worry! When have I ever gone out without bringing you food?"
She then quickly changed into a dress and prepared to head out.
On the way to the county, Chen Bin asked.
"Once Liao Ruoli’s ankle heals, I assume you two will leave soon?"
"Yeah. Actually, we hadn’t planned to visit Tianhai at all—we decided to come when we saw reports about you online."
Chen Bin let out a bitter smile and asked.
"So after you leave, will you ever come back?"
"That... probably not."
Nodding slightly, Chen Bin half-jokingly asked.
"What if I transfer to work in the Imperial Capital? Will we get a chance to meet again?"
Liao Ruoji turned to look at him, and their gazes met.
In that instant, an indescribable spark seemed to flow through them.
She didn’t reply, but a faint blush slowly spread across her beautiful face...