Volume 1, Chapter 27: Falling into the Trap

Meanwhile, Lin Tingyuan had made thorough preparations.

First, recalling the spectacle he witnessed last time in the cafeteria—women vying for Jiang Ming’s attention with jealousy and drama—he found inspiration to create an “accident” to use the same tactic on Susan.

Second, several attempts to test Susan had been thwarted by Jiang Ming, whether intentionally or not, so this time he planned ahead. Knowing Jiang Ming’s habit of solo extra training on Sunday mornings, Lin Tingyuan deliberately arranged to meet Susan in the afternoon. He also sent Yan to follow Jiang Ming that Sunday afternoon, with strict orders to stop him from approaching the pool at all costs.

Finally, Lin Tingyuan prepared a response plan based on the test result.

If Susan turned out not to be the paparazzo from that night, Lin Tingyuan would show utmost sincerity during the interview, present a prearranged gift, apologize gracefully, and maintain his dignity. But if she was indeed the culprit, he was ready with a full set of threats, determined to strike a bargain with her.

To Lin Tingyuan, everything had a price.

Gold medals could be converted to prize money; the media and image could be transformed into traffic, which in turn could be exchanged for endorsements and other ancillary income. Paparazzi sought only scoops—scoops that translated into clicks, and clicks that meant money. Therefore, by paying a sufficient hush fee in advance, he believed all problems could be solved.

What Lin Tingyuan did not anticipate was that due to Susan’s concern and advice, Jiang Ming unprecedentedly turned off his alarm that Sunday morning, allowing himself to wake naturally. After breakfast in the cafeteria, he returned to his dormitory, applied medicinal oil for massage, practiced briefly with small equipment to maintain his fitness, and never went to the pool for extra training. After lunch, he continued applying the medicinal oil, took a peaceful nap for an hour, and only then picked up his sports bag and headed to the training hall.

At 2:50 p.m., Yan noticed Jiang Ming’s movements and hurriedly messaged Lin Tingyuan, but by then Lin Tingyuan was already meeting Susan and had no time to check his phone, let alone reply.

“Reporter Susan, you’ve arrived earlier than our appointment.”

Lin Tingyuan stood by the poolside, wearing swim trunks with the team jacket draped over his shoulders, polite and smiling broadly.

“Captain Lin, you’re even earlier. I apologize for the slight discourtesy.” It was just courteous small talk, and Susan was adept at that.

“Habit, to get accustomed to the environment ahead of time.”

“Are we conducting the interview here, or up in the stands?”

“Here is better—the blue pool in the background suits the theme.”

“As expected of Captain Lin, experienced as always.”

As she spoke, Susan began setting up her equipment.

Since this was a formal interview, unlike before when she used portable recording gear, today Susan had brought a professional camera and tripod, displaying both professionalism and pragmatism. Considering the overtime was impromptu, and with some intent to test Lin Tingyuan, she did not call for colleagues’ support, shouldering the interviewing and filming all by herself.

“Reporter Susan, this is quite formal! If I’d known, I shouldn’t have been so cocky last night—I should have prepared an outline; otherwise, what if I say something wrong later?”

As Lin Tingyuan spoke, he began to approach Susan. His voice remained warm, but the cold, sinister gleam in his eyes betrayed his ulterior motives.

Unfortunately, Susan failed to notice.

“Captain Lin is too modest. You’ve seen big scenes and handled all kinds of cameras with ease. If you wish, I can let you review the outline first before we start, and if any questions arise during the interview, we can pause anytime.”

Focused on adjusting her equipment, Susan responded earnestly. She then placed her bag by her feet and pulled out an L-folder containing the interview outline.

“Reporter Susan, you’re very meticulous. Let me have a look…”

As Lin Tingyuan spoke, he slithered toward Susan like a venomous snake. Suddenly, his footing slipped; he lost balance and collided with her.

Before Susan could react, she fell into the pool.

“Ah…”

“Sorry, Reporter Susan, my foot slipped.” Lin Tingyuan apologized profusely, looking down at Susan struggling in the water.

“Captain Lin… help me! I… I can’t swim!” Susan slapped the water, pleading intermittently.

“All right, first answer me—are you really just a reporter?” Lin Tingyuan refrained from rescuing immediately. Since he was staging this, he needed to see the result of his test.

At that moment, Susan realized everything was no accident.

“I… I’m a… landlubber…”

“Help me… Captain Lin…”

Susan tried to tread water, flailing and crying for help. Regardless of whether she could swim or not, at this moment, she had to pretend she couldn’t.

Susan knew Lin Tingyuan must have anticipated this.

Thus, as the beauty struggled in the water, calling desperately for help, the usually warm and kind Captain Lin showed only cold indifference.

He was waiting—waiting for Susan to reach her breaking point. Because only in desperation does one reveal their true self.

Unfortunately, he underestimated Susan’s stubbornness.

After floundering for half a minute and seeing Lin Tingyuan’s merciless heart, Susan began to despair. Overwhelmed by immense fear, her strength drained, and she involuntarily started to sink. Though she held her breath desperately, her maximum breath-holding capacity was only about thirty seconds. Could she hold out until dawn?

Would she endure until Lin Tingyuan’s heart softened, or wait for a divine intervention?

Just before her consciousness faded, she felt as if she saw Jiang Ming—the cold expression on his face tinged with anger.

“Am I dying? Or hallucinating? Even dead, still thinking about my handsome guy… Single, can’t take this. And he’s too much—never gentle even at death…” Susan thought bitterly.

But when her lips touched genuine softness, and a steady flow of oxygen filled her lungs, Susan struggled to open her eyes, meeting the handsome gaze so close to hers, filled with worry deeper than anger. Only then did she regain some clarity.

He had come—truly come—just as she was about to drown. Her savior had arrived.

…

Five minutes earlier, Jiang Ming reached the pool entrance and faintly heard Susan’s voice. Before he could react, Yan stopped him.

“Brother Ming, why are you training this afternoon?”

“Isn’t it allowed?”

“No, no, it’s not that it’s forbidden… just—please don’t go yet.”

Yan hadn’t received a reply from Lin Tingyuan and was unsure how best to cooperate, but he had to complete the task assigned by Lin Tingyuan. His orders were clear: no matter what happened, by around 3 p.m., Jiang Ming must not approach the pool by any means.

“There was no notice about water changes or restrictions.”

“Yes, I know. That’s just…”

Yan hesitated, then suddenly looked toward the gym and had an idea.

“I wanted to ask you to come with me to the gym. I’ve been increasing my bench press these past two days and want you to check my form and help me spot. It won’t take long—at most fifteen minutes…”

Seeing Jiang Ming furrow his brows in doubt, Yan quickly corrected himself.

“Ten minutes, ten minutes is fine!”

Although they weren’t under the same coach and weren’t close friends, they were on the same team, so Jiang Ming couldn’t refuse outright and silently nodded.

“Ah…”

Just a few steps away, Jiang Ming heard a faint cry and immediately stopped. The barely audible sound seemed to be Susan’s.

Yan clearly heard it too and grew even more nervous. He only knew Lin Tingyuan was testing Susan, but hadn’t expected such a commotion. Now, he just wanted to hurry Jiang Ming away, fearing he wouldn’t know how to handle the fallout otherwise.

“Brother Ming, let’s go quickly.”

Yan grabbed Jiang Ming’s sports bag strap and tried to hasten their departure.