"I can walk," Zhou Yuxi said, stubbornness flaring for a heartbeat, a spark of the woman she had been before the sea tried to claim her. She took one step forward on her own, bare feet—still streaked with sand and dried blood, the cuts invisible beneath the grime—meeting the cool concrete of the dock ramp.
Her legs chose that exact moment to buckle, knees softening like they'd forgotten their purpose after hours of fighting currents and rocks, after miles of stumbling along the coastline with nothing but adrenaline and fury and love keeping her upright.
Tang Yuze was there instantly, one arm sliding around her waist with practiced care, catching her before she could even register the fall. His hand was warm against the cold of her side, steady as the tide had not been. "Gurney it is," he said, voice low and final, the faintest hint of fond exasperation threading through the worry in his eyes.
