Ling turned away from the pool.
Enough spectacle. Enough noise.
He walked toward the private changing corridor glass doors sliding open at his presence. His father's university. His rules. His space.
Behind him, the air shifted.
Mira slowed her steps just half a beat then stumbled.
"Oops..."
"Sorry..." Mira said softly.
Her hand pressed into Rhea's back.
Rhea didn't have time to react.
She fell.
The splash was loud wrong violent. Water closed over her head.
For a second, everyone laughed.
Then seconds passed.
Rhea didn't surface.
The laughter died.
Rhea struggled beneath the water arms breaking the surface once, slipping again.
She tried to grab the edge, fingers scraping tile, but panic made her movements clumsy. Water filled her lungs faster than thought.
Mira's smile vanished.
Her breath hitched.
This wasn't supposed to go this far.
"Someone..." Mira's voice cracked. "Someone help!"
No one moved.
They never did.
Then Mira screamed sharp, desperate, real.
"LING!"
Ling heard it. The sound tore through him like a blade.
He turned and saw the water churning, empty where a body should be.
His heart dropped.
Ling didn't think.
He ran.
Shoes abandoned. Towel discarded. He dove fully clothed, clean and brutal, cutting through water with terrifying speed.
His body moved like a weapon built for precision powerful shoulders slicing the surface, broad chest driving forward, defined arms pulling through water with controlled force.
Every movement efficient. Dominant. Unstoppable.
He found Rhea at the bottom.
Still.
Eyes closed. Hair floating like dark smoke.
Something in Ling snapped.
He wrapped an arm around Rhea's waist and kicked upward, muscles tightening across his core, abs flexing hard as he surged to the surface in one powerful motion.
They broke through.
Students scattered as Ling dragged Rhea to the edge and hauled her out strength raw, controlled, undeniable.
Rhea collapsed onto the tiles.
Unconscious.
Water streamed from her hair, her lips faintly blue, chest terrifyingly still.
Ling knelt.
Water clung to him, tracing down his sharp jaw, sliding over his neck, across his broad shoulders and defined chest beneath the soaked fabric. His breathing was steady but his eyes weren't calm anymore.
Hands steady. Mind racing.
"Rhea," Ling said sharply. No response.
He pressed two fingers to Rhea's neck.
Pulse weak.
"Breathe," Ling ordered, as if command alone could force it.
Nothing.
Once.
Twice.
Ling pressed down on Rhea's chest hard, precise.
Again.
Again.
"Don't you dare," Ling muttered, anger bleeding into panic. "Not like this."
Still nothing.
Ling hesitated.
Just a fraction.
Ling Kwong didn't touch people like this.
Didn't cross lines.
Didn't lower himself to vulnerability.
But Rhea's lips were pale. Parted slightly. Too still.
Ling exhaled sharply, leaned down
Pressed chest.
Once.
Nothing.
He pulled back, jaw tight, pressed again harder.
Still no response.
His chest burned.
His hands trembled just once.
"Damn you," Ling whispered.
Then he leaned in and as his lips touched Rhea's
The contact hit him like electricity.
Rhea's lips were softer than Ling expected. Warmer. Alive in a way that made his breath stutter despite himself.
For a split second, the world narrowed to that impossible sensation.
Then Rhea coughed.
Violently.
Water spilled from her mouth as her body convulsed, lungs dragging in air like it was being stolen back from death.
Ling jerked away instantly, heart hammering, face unreadable.
Rhea gasped, coughing, eyes fluttering open in confusion and shock.
Ling sat back on his heels, fists clenched so tight his nails cut into his palms.
Relief crashed into him violent, overwhelming, unwelcome.
Mira stood frozen a few steps away, face white.
"Ling... I..." she began.
Ling didn't look at her.
His eyes were locked on Rhea.
Rhea's gaze slowly focused.
Met Ling's.
Water dripped from his hair, framing a face too sharp, too composed for what had just happened handsome in a way that felt almost unreal, controlled even now, but cracked just enough to show something raw beneath.
And Mira, watching from the side, understood something too late
She hadn't pushed Rhea into water.
She had awakened something in Ling Kwong that no one including Ling himself could control anymore.