Chapter Eighteen: Swimming

Thank you to my brother jly69 for his generous reward. There’s not much to say—Half-Immortal will do his best to write a good story.

The Mexicans broke out of prison. This was a big deal, at least for Paso City. Originally, they were held in a private prison, heavily guarded and equipped with fairly advanced technology. Unfortunately, a powerful drug lord was being temporarily detained there—a Mexican, captured near the Texas border, scheduled for transfer to the state federal prison after a short stay. No one expected trouble in the final days.

Since many of the inmates were Mexican migrants, it was easy for the drug lord to incite unrest among them. With inside help, the commotion quickly turned into a disaster. The drug lord took advantage of the chaos, grabbed a few henchmen, and escaped through a secret tunnel.

The secret tunnel was dug previously, and the drug lord had it finished. In total, six people escaped, including the Mexican whom Qiu Fengyu had captured.

As for how the Mexicans would seek revenge, Qiu Fengyu wasn’t concerned. Covington, however, made a point of coming to warn him, showing the female officer was indeed a good person. In fact, she truly was.

He had planned to live quietly in America for a while, but things had gotten complicated anyway. He was acting on his instincts, and Qiu Fengyu felt this might not be entirely right, though he couldn’t say exactly what was wrong.

Should he have watched Brit get taken out by the Mexicans? Stood by as Searsha and David were murdered by the Russian mob? He thought it over, found no answer, and decided not to bother thinking about it. Once home, he went straight to bed.

Yet lying in bed, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, he couldn’t sleep. If there were skewers on the streets of America, Qiu Fengyu would surely have gone out for a few, washed down with beer, then slept soundly. He struggled until dawn, finally catching a bit of sleep. When he woke, it was already ten o’clock. His eyes were still a bit red as he lazily opened the door and started to prepare breakfast.

His phone rang. It was Alisa. Her laughter came through immediately—a cheerful girl, the more you got to know her, the more you appreciated her personality.

“Let’s go swimming this afternoon. Together.”

“Just the two of us?”

“What are you thinking? It’s a group—some friends, all the girls have partners, except me. So you’ll be my partner. I’ll pick you up around two!”

“I’ll think about—” The call cut off. Qiu Fengyu was stunned; she didn’t even give him a chance to respond.

The two million dollars didn’t have a lasting impact. Once the Japanese left, no one discussed it anymore. The final conclusion was that the Japanese had gained significant benefits from the negotiation, acquiring Sean’s ranch at a low price.

Qiu Fengyu kept selling noodles. Despite the Japanese saying he was worth two million, his little noodle shop didn’t suddenly become priceless. People still came for twenty-dollar bowls. No one talked about regrets anymore.

Not everyone could afford to eat noodles every day for twenty dollars. But every two or three days was fine. The town had over 700 residents, and Qiu Fengyu didn’t sell many portions, so he usually sold out early.

Around two in the afternoon, a flashy Ford pickup roared to a stop beside the noodle shop. Alisa popped her head out the rear window, shouting loudly to Qiu Fengyu. Soon after, a Chevy SUV parked nearby, its windows open, revealing a group of young men and women inside.

“Hey, Qiu, get in!” Alisa beckoned.

“I don’t have swim trunks,” Qiu Fengyu said, stepping outside and spreading his hands.

“I knew it! These are yours.” Alisa suddenly pulled out a pair of swim trunks from the car and waved them in the air like a flag, drawing laughter and sharp whistles from the hormone-charged crowd.

So Qiu Fengyu locked up and jumped into Alisa’s pickup. “Hey, man, we’re heading to the Rio Grande, just a little branch, but it’s nice. You’ll love it,” said the blonde girl driving, petite and lively, freckles across her face, with a personality not unlike Alisa’s.

In the back seat sat a young man in his twenties, energetic and bright. He reached out to Qiu Fengyu, who was also in the back: “Hey, man, Tom Mason. Nice to meet you. I heard you turned down two million dollars to stay here? I gotta say, you made the right choice.”

Alisa, pleased, turned to Qiu Fengyu and winked, clearly having bragged about his “noble integrity” to her friends.

“That’s what I think, too,” Qiu Fengyu accepted the praise without hesitation.

The girl at the wheel smiled, glanced at him in the rearview, then turned to grin at Alisa.

The river was indeed a branch, clear but not wide—maybe two or three hundred meters across, wrapping around the town like a strong arm. It was about six or seven miles from the town, the banks thick with trees. They parked along a narrow woodland road, just wide enough for the car. After a few twists and turns, the group got out.

“We’ll change clothes over here, you guys go over there, and don’t even think about peeking,” the petite driver said to the boys. “Go, shoo!”

The boys laughed and headed off. Alisa, not trusting them, went inside the car to change. When she reappeared in a bikini, the others were already in the water.

“Why aren’t you in?” Alisa spotted Qiu Fengyu.

“You look great,” he said, giving her a once-over.

Alisa smiled, spun around for him, then walked lightly to the riverbank and from the simple dock, dove gracefully into the water. She was a true mermaid.

Swimming was delightful, especially with beautiful women and long legs. The boys kept teasing the girls, who fought back fiercely—laughter echoed across the river.

Qiu Fengyu enjoyed himself. He rarely spent time with these young people, and it almost felt like rediscovering childhood.

“How’s it feel?” Alisa, free from the boys’ antics, swam over and grinned. “I thought you wouldn’t fit in, but you’re adapting well. They all like you.”

“It’s great. I like them too,” Qiu Fengyu smiled. He was genuinely happy, thankful to Alisa for freeing him from his recent gloom.

“I was runner-up in swimming at school!” Alisa boasted. “Can you keep up?” With that, she darted away, quickly leaving the shore behind.

Qiu Fengyu followed, a bit concerned. He swam after her.

One swam ahead desperately, the other gave chase. Soon, they left the others behind. Alisa reached the river’s center, suddenly shrieked, and sank, calling out just once, “Help!” before her head disappeared.

She hadn’t been underwater more than a few seconds before Qiu Fengyu grabbed her and lifted her up.

“Your acting isn’t convincing,” he said after bringing her to the surface, spitting out water. “You’ve never really drowned, or you’d know what it’s like.”

“Oh, you’re no fun!” Alisa complained, exposed, and swam back. But when they returned, there was nobody else in the water.

There were strange sounds from the grass, and the pickup parked nearby rocked rhythmically.

“Damn it!” Alisa cursed. Everyone knew what was happening. She was mortified. She glanced at Qiu Fengyu, who remained composed, smiling at her.

“Don’t even think about it. I won’t—” Alisa reacted instinctively.

“I’ll go change,” Qiu Fengyu avoided flirtation, heading straight into the woods. Soon, he emerged, dressed, his underwear wrapped in a plastic bag.

“What shall we do now?” Alisa asked awkwardly.

“I don’t think we need to do anything, just watch them. Or maybe we should head back? It’s only six or seven miles to town—we can walk.”

“Alright,” Alisa agreed.

So they began to gather their things. Fortunately, Alisa’s clothes were in the other car, so she grabbed them and they set off on foot.

“I’m going to Los Angeles tomorrow,” Alisa said.

Qiu Fengyu nodded. “You’ve mentioned it many times.”

“Don’t you want to say something to me? Or do something?” Alisa gave him a mischievous look.

“I’ll make you ramen for dinner tonight,” he replied.

“And after ramen?” Alisa pressed.

“I wash the dishes—and you go home,” Qiu Fengyu replied seriously after some thought.