Xu Gui had no idea how terrified she had been for the people on the ship in those short ten minutes. She even felt a little regretful; she had originally wanted to swim a little longer, but the staff wouldn't allow it and forcibly pulled her ashore.
Luckily, on her way up, she bumped into a fish and quickly grabbed it.
She knew at a glance that the fish must be of good quality—it was a fish she had never eaten before.
When the staff came to help her aboard, Xu Gui gave them the fish first: "Take my fish up first!" Then, with the help of others, she climbed onto the cruise ship. As soon as
she came aboard, she saw Kuang Ming standing in front of her.
"Are you alright?" Kuang Ming asked her immediately.
Xu Gui was a little confused. Yuan Lu wrapped a large bathrobe around her, which she pulled tighter, saying, "Of course I'm fine." If she were really alright, why would she be standing here unharmed?
Kuang Ming's expression was still somewhat unpleasant. He said, "Do you know how long you've been holding your breath underwater? Seeing you hadn't come up for so long, I thought something had happened to you."
"...How long?" Xu Gui felt a little guilty. She wondered if she had been underwater for more than twenty-two minutes.
Kuang Ming took a breath, pointed to the time on his watch, and said, "Fifteen minutes! A full fifteen minutes."
Hearing this, Xu Gui was relieved and said, "Only fifteen minutes? Aren't there people in this world who can hold their breath for twenty-two minutes?"
Kuang Ming: "..."
The staff member who came up from behind Xu Gui twitched at her words, thinking: When others hold their breath underwater, they really hold their breath, unlike you who just swims around underwater.
You know, once a person moves, the need for breathing increases even more. Xu Gui had been underwater for fifteen minutes on just one breath.
Staff member: "...Ms. Xu, you should apply for a Guinness World Record."
Xu Gui: ?
"Miss Xu, you're truly amazing!" With a burst of laughter, Bell, the foreigner, opened his arms again, excitedly trying to hug Xu Gui. Xu Gui politely stepped back a few paces, declining.
—She simply wasn't used to his enthusiasm.
Bell withdrew his hand with some regret, saying, "I was worried that if you couldn't hold your breath, what would happen to the filming? I didn't expect you to be so amazing! You're practically a mermaid!" Even if
Xu Gui was slow to catch on, she now slightly realized from everyone's attitude that holding her breath underwater for so long seemed a bit unreasonable. She thought somewhat guiltily: It's normal for me to be a little confused, it's my first time experiencing life.
"What kind of fish is this?" The fish Xu Gui had asked to be brought up earlier was now lying on the deck, and several staff members were looking at it curiously.
One of the sailors, who was used to going to sea, squinted and recognized it, exclaiming in surprise, "This looks like a grouper!!"
He looked at Xu Gui in utter shock.
No way! They risk their lives at sea and barely catch a single grouper, let alone one this big. And this Miss Xu just went for a stroll and caught one?
And grouper, what happened to the ferocious fish you're supposed to be? How are you ferocious when someone just brought you ashore like that?
"Grouper?"
People nearby couldn't help but gather around upon hearing the name—grouper is a well-known fish at sea. Few people who enjoy eating seafood haven't heard of it. Its flesh is tender, delicious, and highly nutritious, making it very popular.
Of course, with the development of aquaculture, many people farm grouper, but farmed grouper is different from wild one. The one Xu Gui caught was a completely wild grouper—that's incredibly rare.
Even Bell came over to take a look, and after examining it, he exclaimed in amazement, "This really is a grouper? And it's the most prized East Asian grouper!"
It was a red East Asian grouper, quite beautiful, and still full of life from being just pulled from the sea, its tail slapping against the deck with a loud crackling sound.
Bell quickly ordered someone to take the fish to the kitchen, lest it die and spoil the flavor.
"Miss Xu, how did you catch this fish?" Bell asked curiously.
"...I didn't catch it, it just rammed into me," Xu Gui said, then added enthusiastically, "I knew its flesh would be delicious the moment I saw it, so I caught it."
Bell: In some ways, Miss Xu is quite impressive.
*
It was already 2 PM. Xu Gui and the others rested for a while, ate some fruit, and then officially began work.
Before filming began, the person in charge of *fashion* magazine painted a rosy picture for everyone: "...After filming, Mr. Bell will treat everyone to seafood, freshly caught from the sea. Eat it while it's fresh, it'll be incredibly delicious."
Everyone thought about it and couldn't help but think how wonderful that sounded... Instantly, everyone's morale soared.
Xu Gui took a big gulp of water and, following the staff's instructions, went back into the water.
The filming crew also went into the water, but compared to Xu Gui's mermaid-like figure and her purely aesthetically pleasing costumes, the crew was well-equipped with diving suits and oxygen tanks.
In addition, there were professional underwater safety personnel to prevent accidents.
This was also the first time Bell and the others had seen Xu Gui swimming underwater. Unlike others who held their breath and seemed somewhat uncomfortable, her underwater posture exuded an extremely relaxed and natural ease.
Snow-white skin, long, dark green hair flowing like seaweed behind her, and the not-too-dim light of the seawater made her appear almost otherworldly when she turned to look at him.
In the distorted light, the inhuman creature seemed to have stepped out of another dimension.
"That's right, that's right!!" Bell's eyes shone with excitement. "This is the feeling I wanted!!"
Bell's camera clicked rapidly, capturing almost every frame. In the underwater world, colorful schools of fish stirred, swimming around Xu Gui. Xu Gui reached out her hand, and the fish, like devotees to a king or believers in a god, surged towards her fingertips.
The brightly colored fish, gathered together, resembled a beautiful, fragrant flower blooming beneath Xu Gui's index finger. Xu Gui lowered her eyes, her expression cold, her long, dark green hair flowing behind her head, making her look as icy as snow.
"Oh, this is fantastic!" Bell was completely caught up in the excitement, constantly choosing angles to shoot, feeling an endless stream of inspiration in her mind.
During the shoot, the staff would occasionally offer Xu Gui an oxygen tank to take a few breaths to prevent her from suffocating. Although Xu Gui felt she didn't need it—after all, she wasn't a real human and didn't need to breathe underwater—she obediently took a few breaths to avoid startling everyone.
As for the staff's shock and confusion upon reaching the shore and discovering that the oxygen tank hadn't been used much, that was none of Xu Gui's concern. After
filming the underwater scenes, everyone prepared to move to another location. However, at that moment, with the cries of seagulls overhead, the seawater seemed to suddenly become turbulent. Xu Gui and the others, still in the water and not yet on the surface, were the ones who could best feel the unease in the seawater.
"My God..." Suddenly, the crew members on the cruise ship exclaimed in horror.
Below the ship, a gigantic black shadow was swimming beneath it. It was an enormous creature; their cruise ship was small, and the shadow seemed even larger than their vessel.
Those still in the water were filled with terror as they watched the massive creature swim past them and then burst out of the water.
"Whew—"
With a soft murmur, a huge creature surfaced, creating a massive spray of water that crashed down like a torrential downpour onto Xu Gui and his companions.
Someone cried out in astonishment, "A whale? No, aren't we in shallow water? Why is there a whale here?" There aren't even many large schools of fish in this area; how could there be such a huge whale?
The crew on deck, regaining their senses, quickly called to those still in the water, "Quick, everyone, get up!"
Although whales don't typically eat people, their sheer size means even a flick of their tail could cause irreparable harm.
"Whoosh~"
the whale cried out again, its call ethereal and clear. However, unlike its delicate, melodious voice, its massive body made it all the more terrifying. After its cry, it turned and swam towards Xu Gui and the others once more.
Seeing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
"Quick, quick, get up!" Those on deck were terrified, while those in the water were even more so.
Xu Gui, watching the large whale joyfully swishing its tail as it rushed towards him, was certain that the whale had come because of his presence.
She was a Xuan Turtle, a sacred beast of the water, possessing an extraordinary attraction not only to creatures in the ocean but also to aquatic life on land. This whale was originally in the same sea area as them, but in a different place. However, after sensing Xu Gui's presence, it swam directly to her.
Seeing the big guy's excited appearance, Xu Gui glanced at the panicked people around her, then suddenly dove underwater.
Kuang Ming, afraid of water, hadn't gone in before and had been on the deck. After Xu Gui and the others came out of the water, he had been watching Xu Gui's figure closely. When he saw Xu Gui suddenly disappear on the surface, his heart tightened, and he shouted loudly, "Xu Gui! Xu Gui?!"
"Woo~"
The whale's excited cry drowned out his shout, and the seawater it stirred up splashed onto the deck, soaking everyone.
One by one, the people underwater were pulled to the surface. Just then, someone suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "My God, what's that? Is that Miss Xu?"
Kuang Ming, whose eyes were still scanning the water for Xu Gui's figure, suddenly looked up and saw a figure emerge from the sea in front of the whale in the distance.
Kuang Ming stared, feeling a wave of dizziness, and almost fainted.
"That girl!" he gritted his teeth, gripping the deck railing so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "She's incredibly audacious! How dare she go up to the whale?"
He knew beforehand that Xu Gui wasn't a peaceful person, but he never expected her to be this bold, daring to provoke a whale.
"What is Teacher Xu trying to do?"
"My God, this whale looks huge! Will Miss Xu be swallowed by it?"
"What should we do? Should we go save Miss Xu?"
The people on deck were discussing among themselves. Bell wiped the water from his face, and when he saw Xu Gui reaching out her hand towards the enormous creature in front of her, he was shocked and suddenly ordered the staff around him,
"Quick, set up the equipment!"
He took his camera, pointed the lens at Xu Gui, and stared intently.
The seawater stirred up by the whale had already receded, and the remaining mist formed a rainbow in the air. At this moment, a seagull flapped its wings and flew across the azure sky, which was as clean as if it had been washed with water.
And below the sky, beneath the rainbow, Xu Gui reached out her hand towards the enormous creature in front of her.
"Woo~" The whale happily swung its tail, bringing its round head close to Xu Gui's face, making soft woof noises, and trying hard to nudge her palm with its head.
Xu Gui, suddenly thrown off balance: "..." Clearly, this little guy had no idea of its own size.
The whale, completely unprepared for its thrust to send Xu Gui flying: "Huh? Huh?"
For the first time, the humans realized they could actually read "bewilderment" on the whale's face; it practically had three huge question marks on its forehead.
"Xu Gui!" Kuang Ming's heart tightened, and his body unconsciously leaned forward.
Fortunately, Xu Gui's figure, which had disappeared on the surface of the sea, reappeared shortly after. As a former powerful and resourceful Xuan Turtle, now merely a human, Xu Gui silently swam towards it.
"Waaah~" The whale swam towards her again.
Seeing the giant about to reach her, Xu Gui quickly reached out to stop it: "Wait! Stay there and don't move."
The whale: "Huh?"
It looked at Xu Gui blankly, its tail almost whipping around.
Xu Gui was surprised to sense a very clear emotion from it, something she had never been able to perceive in other creatures she had encountered before.
"This little guy might be quite intelligent?" Xu Gui couldn't help but think.
She swam to the baby whale and reached out to touch its head—or rather, its head, because compared to the whale's massive body, Xu Gui looked incredibly small.
But strangely, despite being as insignificant as a speck of dust in front of the whale, Xu Gui's presence was very strong, as if she and the whale were on the same level.
Beside them, the rainbow was about to fade, the seven-colored light looking sacred and magnificent.
"Click!"
Bell's camera captured this scene directly, his eyes wide, his expression extremely excited as he watched the image.
"This is truly breathtaking..." he murmured.
Indeed, the feeling this scene evoked was more of awe than beauty; those present remained stunned for a long time.
Xu
Gui played with the little whale for a while before calming it down and returning to the cruise ship.
As soon as she stepped aboard, she was met with countless pairs of intensely focused eyes, causing her to look puzzled.
Yuan Lu brought a bathrobe that had been prepared beforehand and wrapped it around Xu Gui. Xu Gui was soaking wet, wearing fishtail-style pants, and everyone wondered how she had moved so freely and comfortably in the sea.
"Miss Xu, are you alright?" everyone asked.
Xu Gui replied, "I'm fine."
"Miss Xu..." someone else asked curiously, "That whale, why does it seem so obedient to you? When you reach out your hand, it rubs its head against you, just like a dog."
A bystander rolled their eyes and said, "How did you connect a whale and a dog? Do they even look alike?"
The person who spoke said, "I'm not talking about appearance, it's about personality. What's the difference between that whale rubbing against Miss Xu's palm and my dog rubbing against mine?" It's not that they're completely unrelated, but they're practically identical.
Hearing this, everyone recalled the scene from just now and couldn't refute it for a moment.
Yes, it really does look like a dog… except this "dog" is stronger; with one rub, it sent Miss Xu flying.
Xu Gui, being discussed and talked about for being thrown around like that in front of everyone: ...This time she really lost face. If her clan knew, the turtles would laugh them to death.
"So, Miss Xu, do you know this whale?" everyone asked again. "It seems to listen to you."
It's still circling around their cruise ship and hasn't left yet.
Xu Gui glanced at the large creature in the water and said without changing her expression, "I don't know it. It's just that this guy is smart; it understands what I mean as soon as I speak."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but start discussing again:
"I think I did hear someone say that whales are very smart, that their intelligence is comparable to that of a seven or eight-year-old human?"
"So, they can understand human speech?"
"...Are you all overthinking it? Just because they're smart doesn't mean they understand human speech. They haven't studied foreign languages!"
"..."
What a humorous statement! Studying foreign languages? For whales?
While everyone was discussing, Xu Gui dried herself off and slowly moved to the edge of the deck. She looked down and saw the whale happily chasing their cruise ship. When it saw Xu Gui, it even sprayed water from its back, soaking her completely.
Xu Gui: "..."
"We need to go ashore. The closer we get to land, the less suitable the environment becomes for them to survive, so we can't let this whale follow us anymore," a cruise ship staff member said. "Ms. Xu, do you have a way to stop it from following us?"
Xu Gui wiped the water from her face and said, "I'll try." She didn't guarantee anything.
She placed her hands on the railing, bent down, and stretched her right hand down, calling out to the whale below, "Hey, stop following us! We're going back to land; it's not suitable for you there."
She had already discovered that this whale was truly intelligent; it possessed a certain level of intelligence, so Xu Gui could communicate with it without any problems. Therefore, upon hearing Xu Gui's words, the whale let out a soft "woof woof."
—It must be said, the whale's call was truly melodious, almost like listening to celestial music, instantly brightening one's ears. The only downside was its enormous size, which exerted a great deal of pressure.
Standing a short distance away, everyone watched Xu Gui's interaction with the whale. Seeing Xu Gui's seemingly human-like manner of communication, they couldn't help but wonder: Could the whale understand what she was saying?
Like that person had said before, whales, though intelligent, hadn't studied foreign languages, so how could they understand human speech?
However, they soon realized that the whale seemed to truly understand Xu Gui. After swimming about a hundred meters, it stopped and remained in place, watching Xu Gui and her cruise ship depart.
"Eek~"
Even after their cruise ship had sailed far away, the whale's ethereal and melodious call could still be heard. For a moment, everyone felt a pang of loss.
To them, the scene they had just witnessed was like a dream, a dazzling and beautiful dream, and the whale was a fantastical creature existing only within that dream.
But after the initial disappointment, everyone quickly became excited again.
"I'm going to tell my friends when I get back, they'll never guess what we encountered at sea!"
"Me too! By the way, did you take any pictures? I was so surprised I forgot to take any, ahhh! How could I forget to take pictures, what a waste!"
"Hahaha, I took pictures, even a picture of me and the whale! As soon as we get ashore and there's net, I'll post it on WeChat Moments."
"Send me the photos! Quick!"
Everyone was already excitedly discussing it, while Xu Gui went into the dressing room that had been arranged for her to take a shower and change her clothes—she wasn't really used to wearing these clothes, they felt very awkward.
Before showering, the makeup artist from *fashion* magazine removed her makeup.
"The hair color is a short-term dye; it should fade in about a month," the makeup artist said while removing her makeup. As she removed the makeup, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Ms. Xu, your skin is amazing! It's flawless, not even a single acne scar… How do you maintain it?"
Xu Gui thought: Here we go again, the routine every female lead gets praised during makeup—yes, she'd recently developed a new hobby: reading novels. She practically knew many of the plots by heart.
So, she really was the protagonist, right?
Xu Gui thought to herself.
"Actually, I haven't really done much skincare," she replied, touching her face, "maybe it's because I'm young."
After saying this, she realized: Actually, no, it's just because I'm not human. If you weren't human, your skin would be great too. But she definitely couldn't say that out loud.
Hearing her answer, the makeup artist couldn't help but exclaim, "Youth is definitely an asset! Your skin is so radiant!"
Xu Gui smiled but didn't say anything.
…
After removing her makeup, Xu Gui went to the bathroom to shower.
Having just emerged from the sea, the seawater on her skin turned into salt crystals as soon as it dried, which felt very uncomfortable. She took a refreshing shower, which finally made her feel better. By the time she finished showering, the sun had already set.
The day's filming was also over.
The equipment on the deck had all been packed away. Everyone who had gone into the water, like Xu Gui, had also showered and were all very clean. A large table had been set up on the deck, laden with freshly served seafood.
Xu Gui suddenly remembered the promises the *fashion* staff had made to them before they went into the water.
This wasn't a promise after all?