Boom!
Upon hearing the dull explosion, Tang Xiaoni, who had been prepared for a plunge into the river, put on a look of panic, waiting for the director to call "action."
She didn't get to hear the director call "action"—
Instead, she witnessed the horrifying scene of the yacht violently shaking with the muffled sound and rapidly capsizing!
"This script seems... off."
It wasn't until Tang Xiaoni finally realized something was amiss that the yacht lurched again.
She, along with many children and several crew members, were uncontrollably flung from the yacht by the violent tremor.
They plunged straight into the icy river.
The crashing sounds were quickly silenced as Tang Xiaoni was submerged.
"There's been an accident! The yacht was actually blown up."
As she sank, Tang Xiaoni understood what had happened.
Despite her panic, she remained calm.
One.
Falling into the water posed no real threat to Tang Xiaoni.
Two.
Before filming, to prevent actors from getting cold in the water, Tang Xiaoni and the others had specifically changed into thermal underwear made of special materials, which could withstand the cold water for a long time.
This duration was enough for Tang Xiaoni to swim to shore.
Or allow her to rescue as many children as possible!
Tang Xiaoni immediately kicked her legs with all her might and broke the surface.
As one of the main actors in this river-sinking scene, the crew had given her a unique fluorescent color for her thermal underwear to distinguish her from other actors.
This also ensured that the cameras could accurately capture her amidst the "many people falling into the water."
Similarly—
The water ghosts (people sent by Lin Xiuyan) who had been lurking underwater could also use this special fluorescence to precisely lock onto her after so many people had fallen in!
Thus.
As soon as Tang Xiaoni vigorously paddled and surfaced, the two water ghosts, dressed in professional diving suits and having waited for a long time, immediately pursued her. They used a pre-prepared torn fishing net to entangle her ankles, and then forcefully dragged her underwater.
Tang Xiaoni struggled instinctively.
But even if she was a good swimmer, it didn't mean she possessed god-like combat power underwater.
She couldn't out-pull the two water ghosts at all and could only be dragged down towards the dark riverbed.
"Someone is plotting against me!"
"They've been waiting for the moment I fall into the river."
"They will create the illusion that I just happened to get entangled in a torn fishing net after falling into the water and drowned."
"Who wants to kill me—"
Using the lights from the river surface, Tang Xiaoni vaguely saw the two dark figures and immediately understood.
She immediately adjusted the frequency of her struggles.
She couldn't let the assassins realize she was an expert swimmer.
Since they had already made their move against her, they would never allow her to leave the water alive!
If they saw she was an expert swimmer and could survive submerged for an unusually long time, they would definitely resort to knives or something similar to finish her off!!
Despite Tang Xiaoni's short stature and being a bit of a "noob" when with Qianfan gege, her intelligence was remarkably high.
After understanding the situation in the shortest possible time, she immediately displayed her superb acting skills, cooperating with the two water ghosts who were trying to assassinate her, putting on a show of finally drowning.
She gradually stopped moving.
Her body floated back and forth with the current in a freefall posture.
However, she was firmly held by the fishing net around her ankles, preventing her from being swept away by the current.
The two water ghosts, carrying oxygen tanks, held onto the fishing net and clung to the rocks at the bottom of the river. They watched Tang Xiaoni, who was floating back and forth above, for a full seven to eight minutes without moving.
"She's dead for sure."
After exchanging glances, the two water ghosts wrapped the fishing net around a rock and then, staying close to the riverbed, swiftly swam away with the current.
These two water ghosts were unaware that the yacht had truly capsized.
Their only objective was to escape the scene as quickly as possible after completing their mission.
Another three minutes passed before Tang Xiaoni, whom the two water ghosts believed to be dead, began to move.
She sank to the riverbed, more than ten meters deep, and untangled the fishing net from her ankles.
However, Tang Xiaoni didn't immediately surface to participate in the rescue of the children.
Because she couldn't be sure—
If the assassins saw that she hadn't drowned, would they immediately use knives or something similar to kill her again!
For her absolute safety, Tang Xiaoni had to allow her panicked agent, Sister Fang, and bodyguards to continue panicking. She was also forced to abandon the idea of rescuing the children and quickly swam away with the current.
Tang Xiaoni swam underwater for more than ten minutes at her fastest speed before quietly surfacing to look around.
The mist was thick, and she couldn't see anything.
She could no longer even hear the panicked cries.
She couldn't see anyone else. The two water ghosts who were also drifting with the current would also not be able to see her once they lost the guidance of the crew's lights!
The current flowed east.
North is up, south is down, west is left, and east is right.
Tang Xiaoni quickly determined the south and north banks of the Han River based on the direction of the current.
Sister Fang and the children's parents were on the south bank of the Han River.
Tang Xiaoni worried that there might be assassins hidden among the crowd on the shore who would target her, so she definitely couldn't go to the south bank.
She began to paddle vigorously and swam towards the north bank.
She successfully reached the shore.
Because she had been swimming with all her might, Tang Xiaoni's blood circulation was rapid. Combined with the special thermal underwear she was wearing, she didn't feel cold at all.
After getting ashore and walking onto the embankment, she first observed her surroundings.
What if she saw those two water ghosts? She would be in trouble.
There wasn't much fog on the road, the streetlights were quite bright, and there were even wailing police cars rushing towards the location of the yacht accident.
"I still can't show myself."
"Right now, I can't even trust Sister Fang and the others."
"It's because they were completely unaware of the assassination attempt on me."
"What I can do now is to endure until dawn alone before contacting my family."
"The key is that I cannot show myself before my family arrives in Hancheng, letting anyone know I am still alive!"
"Otherwise, dangers will follow one after another."
"Even after my family finds me, I cannot suddenly appear in a short period of time."
"I need to use this time to secretly observe who exactly wants to assassinate me."
Tang Xiaoni became increasingly calm and quickly formulated a plan.
Taking advantage of a passing car and the temporary absence of other vehicles on the road, Tang Xiaoni quickly crossed the road.
Her petite and alluring figure quickly disappeared into the commercial district on the other side of the river.
Dawn broke.
A world-shattering piece of news spread rapidly across the globe via the internet with various headlines.
"Evil Hancheng Film Crew Yacht Capsizes, Over a Hundred Actors and Extras Fall into River, Unaccounted For!"
"Dense Fog in Hancheng Severely Hinders Rescue Efforts!"
"Reportedly, Tang Xiaoni, a top-tier star from the Eastern Land who made a guest appearance in the 'Evil Hancheng' film, also fell into the river in the early hours!"
Long before this news spread worldwide online, the main officials of Hancheng, led by Cui Linzhi, had already arrived at the rescue scene.
However, the white fog over the river remained, and the luxury yacht had long since sunk.
The crucial point was the fast current of the Han River. Anyone or anything that fell into the water and was swept away by the current had already been carried far downstream.
Even at the mouth of the Han River, the bodies of several victims were discovered!
Hancheng was shaken.
Asia was shaken.
The world was shaken—
"What?"
Li Qianfan, who had stayed up until past three in the morning and had intended to sleep until noon, fulfilling his desire to never hold court again, was awakened by Chu Yazhi. Upon hearing the news of Tang Xiaoni's accidental fall into the river while filming in Hancheng, he jolted upright in bed.
Chu Yazhi was unaware that Li Qianfan had been hiding behind the door with a doll, letting her hum proudly while he vigorously pounded away.
However, Chu Yazhi knew that the Tang family of Sijiu was one of Li Qianfan's supporters.
Tang Xiaoni's full brother, Tang Wenyuan, was even one of Li Qianfan's "loyal generals."
Therefore, when news of the Tang family's little princess being in trouble arrived from Hancheng, Chu Yazhi would inform Li Qianfan immediately.
Li Qianfan snatched her phone and stared intently at the screen.
The news of the Han River yacht sinking, immediately after being confirmed by Hancheng officials, had rapidly become the world's hottest news.
After all, there were so many blossoming youths on that yacht!
"Little Tang Mi—"
After reading this breaking news, Li Qianfan closed his eyes in pain.
He didn't know what to say.
But he knew he had to rush to Hancheng as quickly as possible.
Li Qianfan tossed his phone aside and started getting dressed: "Zhizhi, book me the fastest flight to Hancheng right now, quickly!"
"Okay."
Chu Yazhi didn't dare to delay. She picked up the phone Li Qianfan had discarded from the bed and began searching for the fastest flights to Hancheng.
Ring, ring—
Li Qianfan's phone vibrated urgently.
While dressing quickly, Li Qianfan grabbed his phone without even looking at the caller ID and put it to his ear: "Hello!"
"Qianfan gege—"
A girl's voice, deliberately lowered, clearly came from the phone: "It's your Little Tang Mi."