The majority of the plot of 《Water People》 unfolds aboard that dilapidated fishing boat. Meng Zhen and Gu Ting spend their entire days inside it, from morning to night, and even though neither of them gets seasick, their bodies can’t endure the constant rocking.

Each time they finished a day’s shooting, Meng Zhen felt as if all her strength had been drained. She would slowly make her way back to the hotel along the shoreline.

That day, Meng Zhen had fewer scenes to shoot and finished work by eight o’clock. When she left the crew, the sky was pitch black, with a few stars faintly twinkling.

Meng Zhen walked to the steps of the hotel and suddenly saw a figure. The person was extremely thin, and her deathly pale face looked exceptionally eerie in the dim light. Who else could it be but Xu Xuero?

Xu Xuero stared fixedly at the woman in front of her. In the few months since they had last seen each other, Meng Zhen’s features had grown even more beautiful, and even without makeup, Meng Zhen was still striking. This person seemed born to be her adversary. If Meng Zhen disappeared from the world, perhaps everything would return to its proper course.

“What are you doing here?”

Meng Zhen furrowed her brows, a strange feeling rising in her heart. The results of the college entrance exams should be out around this time and Xu Xuero shouldn’t have appeared there. Could it be that she had failed the exams?

With this thought in mind, Meng Zhen decided not to tangle with Xu Xuero any further. She gripped the railing with one hand and started to climb the steps. She had just taken five steps when Xu Xuero suddenly went berserk. She rushed forward, wrapped her arms tightly around Meng Zhen’s waist, and tried to push Meng Zhen down onto the rocks below.

Even after a long exhausting day, Meng Zhen’s reaction time was still quick. She swiftly turned her body and pried Xu Xuero’s arms away, dodging the attack. As a result, Xu Xuero, having exerted too much force, tumbled down the steps herself, her thin back slamming hard against the sharp rock wall.

Perhaps the pain was too intense, as Xu Xuero let out a pained wail. The hotel staff hurriedly ran out, looking at the young woman lying on the ground and then at Meng Zhen, whose face was cold. For a moment, they couldn’t figure out what had happened and could only call emergency services.

“Call the police. She just tried to push me down.”

Upon hearing that, the staff members standing nearby gasped in shock. Though the hotel had good security measures and incidents of customers falling from the steps onto the rocks were rare, if someone intended to harm, the hotel’s unique design could become a deadly trap. Adding to the concern was Meng Zhen’s status as a popular celebrity. The potential consequences of any mishap were unthinkable.

At this moment, although Meng Zhen wasn’t injured, it was still a criminal case. The hotel hurriedly called the police and also contacted Cao Lei, the filming crew’s director.

When Cao Lei received the call, he was looking at the monitor screen. As he listened to the words on the other end, his expression grew darker and darker, until finally he slammed the thermos he was holding onto the ground with force. “How could there be such a ruthless person, trying to push Meng Zhen down onto the rocks? This is attempted murder. Is she insane?”

Hearing his words, Gu Ting’s pupils constricted, his face instantly turning grim. He stiffly turned around, his voice extremely hoarse. “What did you say?”

Cao Lei had known Gu Ting for quite some time now and had never seen his good friend lose his composure like this. The Gu Ting of the past was always calm and collected. Now, upon hearing the news about Meng Zhen, his face looked disturbed. Could it be that he……

“Don’t worry, Meng Zhen isn’t injured. It was her sister who fell from the steps. The ambulance has taken the person to the hospital, but I’m not exactly sure what happened.”

Gu Ting’s face looked serious, and he said in a deep and steady voice, “My scenes are almost finished. Let’s wrap up for tonight.”

As a director, Cao Lei naturally understood that it was impossible to achieve high-quality shots when the artists weren’t in a good state. He had no intention of stopping them and simply waved his hand to let everyone go.

As Gu Ting drove away from the set, Meng Zhen was at the police station giving her statement. The hotel’s surveillance footage couldn’t be tampered with, and investigators knew that Xu Xuero had deliberately attacked Meng Zhen. Therefore, their attitude was notably gentle.

Half an hour later, as Meng Zhen stepped outside, she noticed a familiar Hummer parked in front of her. Gu Ting got out of the car and immediately grasped her arm, his brow furrowed with unmistakable concern.

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Gu Ting’s grip on Meng Zhen’s arm was somewhat firm, but she didn’t feel any pain. Instead, she found herself enjoying the feeling of being cared for.

“Don’t worry, Teacher Gu, I’m fine.”

Carefully assessing the young woman in front of him and confirming that Meng Zhen was completely unharmed, Gu Ting’s suspended heart finally settled.

The two returned to the hotel, but before Meng Zhen could even go upstairs, she received a call from Xu Youheng. The man’s impatient voice came through the other end, “Meng Zhen, what’s going on? Why is Xu Xuero at Beihai? And why is she in the hospital?”

“Mr. Xu, I’ve already told you, I don’t want to be a part of your Xu family, nor I don’t want to get involved in your family’s affairs. Xu Xuero has violated the country’s criminal law, and regardless of her identity, she will have to face the consequences of her actions. This outcome is beyond anyone’s control.” After saying that, Meng Zhen expressionlessly pressed the end call button.

———pr

Xu Xuero had never experienced such intense pain before. On the way to the hospital, she fainted from the pain. When she regained consciousness, she met the doctor’s complex gaze. Her heart tightened, and in a hoarse voice, she asked, “Doctor, I’ll be okay, right?”

“Ms. Xu, when you fell from the steps and hit the rock wall, your spine suffered a severe injury. You may not be able to stand up in the short term.”

An eerie silence fell over the hospital room. Xu Xuero couldn’t believe what she had just heard. How could she have become paralyzed? It couldn’t be true! The doctor must be lying!

Looking at her pale, sunken face, the doctor couldn’t help but sigh. Despite being so young, this girl’s heart was evidently filled with extreme malice. She tried to push her own sister off the rocks, and now, she had ended up in this state, which can be considered as reaping what she had sowed.

“Don’t lie to me! I’m the daughter of the Xu family’s CEO. I can afford the best doctors in the world. You quack doctor, get out of here! Get out!”

Xu Xuero angrily cursed and hurled the water glass on the table at the doctor. Her eyes were bloodshot, giving her a frightening appearance.

She spent the entire night in the hospital room tossing and turning. The next morning, Xu Youheng and Zhao Rong rushed to Beihai. Seeing his adopted daughter in such a state, Xu Youheng only felt a blazing rage welling up inside him. He strode forward and slapped Xu Xuero hard across the face.

“The Xu family has raised you for so many years, never treating you unfairly, and this is how you repay us? You plan to kill Meng Zhen? Have you lost all sense of conscience?”

Xu Xuero’s mouth had traces of blood and her left cheek was swollen like a bun. Her eyes glared at Xu Youheng, bloodshot as she shouted, “It’s all because of you! If you hadn’t been so cruel to me, treating me like a tool for your own vanity, I would never have ended up like this!”

Xu Youheng had lived for many years without ever being defied. He clenched his fists tightly, glaring at the disheveled Xu Xuero. Suddenly, he sneered coldly, “Fine. I made a mistake in raising you all these years. From today onwards, you are no longer a daughter of the Xu family. No one will ever force you again!”

After speaking, Xu Youheng didn’t linger. He tightly grasped Zhao Rong’s wrist and led his wife out of Beihai City Hospital.

“Old Xu, I just asked the doctor. She said Xuero is paralyzed. With her injuries so severe, she can’t stay in Beihai. Even if you want to sever ties with her, you can’t just leave her alone in a strange city, can you? After all these years together, you may be able to let go, but I can’t……”

Seeing Zhao Rong in tears, Xu Youheng’s temples throbbed, his expression contorted, looking extremely fierce. “If you want to act stupid, don’t implicate the entire Xu Group. Xu Xuero tried to harm your biological daughter, she’s a criminal! I can’t keep an adopted daughter like that. If you can’t bear to part with her, move out of the Xu family, but don’t drag Ruixi down with you.”

The Xu couple had a heated argument over Xu Xuero’s matter. On the day she was discharged from the hospital, it was unknown how, but the hotel’s surveillance footage somehow leaked online. Fans watched in horror as a crazed woman attempted to push Meng Zhen off the rocks. Their hearts clenched, and many couldn’t bear to watch any further.

【That woman must be crazy! Why would she want to harm our Zhenzhen? Police, please hurry up and arrest her!】

【Oh my goodness, she’s our school flower and always had good grades. Did she go crazy because she didn’t do well in the college entrance exam?】

【There must be more to it. I was in the same class as Xu Xuero. She’s the adopted daughter of the Xu family, while Meng Zhen is CEO Xu’s illegitimate daughter. The illegitimate daughter must have done something disgusting, otherwise Xu Xuero wouldn’t have been driven to this.】

【Upstairs, can you please stop spreading rumors? Over a decade ago, the Xu family’s daughter got lost, and that child was Meng Zhen. She’s not some illegitimate daughter but the true blood of the Xu family. I think Xu Xuero, as the adopted daughter, is jealous of Meng Zhen, which led her to take desperate measures.】

Zhao Jin was a staunch fan of Meng Zhen and couldn’t stand anyone defaming his idol. He spent the whole night in front of his computer countering the negative comments and supporting his idol.

Netizens were astonished when they saw his comments.

【Come on, if Meng Zhen really is the daughter of the Xu Group, why would she struggle so hard in the entertainment industry? She’s faced several rounds of online criticism and almost got forced out of the industry.】

【I don’t know about the Xu family’s affairs. All I can guarantee is that what I’m saying is the truth. Whether you believe it or not is up to you.】

Some skeptics went to the official account of the Xu Group to seek verification. Although the Xu Group did not admit to the matter, they also did not refute it, indicating that what the netizen said was likely true.

The online public opinion continued to buzz for several months. After Xu Xuero’s injuries were stabilized, the prosecutor’s office filed charges against her. She was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted murder. However, due to her paralysis and inability to care for herself, Zhao Rong applied for medical parole on behalf of her adopted daughter. She bought an apartment on the outskirts of the city and hired a caregiver to look after Xu Xuero’s daily needs.

Zhao Rong believed she was fulfilling her duty as a mother, but little did she realize that her actions had thoroughly enraged Xu Youheng.