Chapter 272

Lu Youwei arrived at Shuixiang Lake, a vast body of water that occupied nearly a third of Shuixiang Town and was one of its defining features.

In the distance, clear lake waters floated with numerous fishing boats.

The job the shopkeeper mentioned was helping these fishermen with odd tasks.

He asked several fishermen, but all waved him off—fishing was hard labor, and though Lu Youwei looked strong, his limp made no one willing to hire him.

“Young man, you’ve come to the wrong place. We fishermen are just trying to make a living like you—if we could do it ourselves, we wouldn’t hire anyone.”

An old fisherman pointed toward the center of Shuixiang Lake and said, “There’s the biggest fish merchant in town over there—you can ask if they need help.”

“Thank you.” Lu Youwei bowed slightly and walked toward the center of the lake, where a large dock appeared noticeably busier than this side.

He had planned to go there anyway; this side was just closer.

After walking a short distance, Lu Fang spotted a pleasure boat ahead—its passengers’ attire suggested they were wealthy. His vision was sharp, and he could clearly see the general scene at the bow.

It seemed like a gathering of noble young ladies on a lake excursion, but the young women aboard were frantically pointing at the water, as if something valuable had fallen in.

Lu Youwei glanced once and immediately looked away—the pleasure boat was far from shore, and others had already jumped in to search; there was no need for him to intrude.

“Someone come quickly! He’s having a cramp—where did everyone else go?!”

The woman at the front of the boat, wearing a long skirt patterned with peach blossoms, shouted urgently—her voice rose sharply from panic.

Though Lu Youwei hadn’t been watching, he’d kept attention on the scene, so he heard the cry. He paused and looked again, realizing a young man who had jumped in far from the boat was drowning—now only his arms remained visible above water.

The others who had dived were likely searching for the lost valuables and hadn’t noticed the surface.

“Sigh. Might as well do a good deed.”

Lu Youwei sighed, kicked off his shoes, and dove into the water like a fish—he was an excellent swimmer, and even with his limp, he moved effortlessly through the water. Soon he reached the vicinity of the pleasure boat.

By then, the drowning youth had vanished.

The peach-blossom-skirted woman was frantically pointing in one direction, while several servants who had just surfaced were confused about what had happened.

Lu Youwei had no such confusion—he had seen everything. He plunged under, exerting little effort, found the drowning youth, and swam behind him, gripping his neck to bring him up.

“He’s been pulled out over there—go help!”

The peach-blossom-skirted woman spotted Lu Youwei bringing the youth to the surface and shouted loudly.

What followed was simple: with the help of several servants, Lu Youwei successfully brought the youth aboard the boat.

Thanks to the timely rescue, the youth soon regained consciousness.

After learning the full story, the youth bowed to Lu Youwei and said, “Thank you, sir, for saving my life.”

“It was nothing,” Lu Youwei replied casually. He glanced toward the shore some distance away and prepared to leave.

The peach-blossom-skirted woman called out to stop him: “Wait—are you planning to swim back?!” She frowned, her peach-leaf brows knitting, and nodded toward the drowning youth. “We were just about to throw him off anyway. Have the boatman dock, and you can get off there.”

The drowning youth grinned shamelessly: “Miss Zhao Weiru, I’ve admired you for a long time—please let me stay on the boat! I promise I won’t cause trouble. Just consider that I nearly died retrieving your fallen hairpin—don’t drive me away.”

The drowning youth grinned shamelessly.

Before Zhao Weiru could speak, her maid snapped: “How dare you say such things? If not for you, would my lady’s hairpin have fallen into the lake? If you dare bother her again, we’ll throw you back in ourselves!”

“Xiao Hui,” Zhao Weiru glanced at the maid, then turned a cold eye on the youth. “Qian Zheng, mind your manners from now on.”

Qian Zheng looked crestfallen, but quickly resumed his smirking grin, showering Zhao Weiru with flattery—so much that Lu Youwei felt goosebumps rise.

It was clear Qian Zheng was deeply infatuated with Zhao Weiru, but his behavior was excessive and burdensome.

“May I ask—is the hairpin you lost very valuable?” Lu Youwei asked Zhao Weiru.

Zhao Weiru sighed: “It was left to me by my mother. It’s not worth much in silver, but to me, it’s more precious than any treasure.”

Lu Youwei’s eyes brightened: “My swimming is excellent—if I can retrieve the hairpin from the lake, will you pay me a reward?”

“Ah!” Zhao Weiru instinctively glanced at his limp, hesitating: “Better not—you might drown too. I…”

Lu Youwei cut her off: “Just say yes or no. Don’t worry about my leg—if I had no skill, I wouldn’t have jumped in to save him just now.”

He shook his head with a bitter smile—he didn’t need to convince Zhao Weiru. He only needed to dive and retrieve the hairpin.

Without another word, he plunged into the water.

“This old man’s being reckless!” Qian Zheng shouted toward the lake: “The water’s deep here—be careful!”

But Lu Youwei, submerged, heard nothing—he focused only on finding the hairpin, to earn some silver for food.

Zhao Weiru stamped her foot in anxiety—she hadn’t expected Lu Youwei to actually jump in.

“You three—go back in and watch him. He’s a cripple—don’t let anything happen to him.” Zhao Weiru ordered her servants.

Three servants nodded and dove back into the lake.

But after waiting, they surfaced one by one—none had seen Lu Youwei.

“We didn’t see him!”

“Neither did I.”

“He should’ve surfaced by now—no one can hold their breath this long. Could he really be in trouble?”

Everyone spoke at once.

“Go back in and search again!” Zhao Weiru urged anxiously.

At that moment, Lu Youwei broke the surface, clutching a delicate plum-blossom hairpin in his hand.