Salt Layer [Cave Diving | Rekindled Love]

When fresh water and seawater of different densities meet, the boundary between them is called

the halocline.

-

Lin Qianhe has thanked the mother he's never met countless times for giving him a face that looks aloof and above worldly concerns.

It let him easily snag a wealthy boyfriend at university, who taught him to scuba dive.

Then, four years after their breakup, he got lucky and was accepted into a geology graduate program on the strength of the Open Water certification his ex had issued.

Before a field expedition, his advisor pulled some strings to bring in a cave-diving expert known as the "Cave Master" to train them. Supposedly, the expert had taken part in countless rescue missions and accumulated boundless merit. He was a truly compassionate person.

Lin Qianhe was a self-interested person. The more he chased after his own interests, the more he admired people like that.

He was changing into his wetsuit in a cubicle. He'd just taken off his shirt when he faintly heard the expert's voice.

"Lin's skills aren't good enough. Send someone else."

Lin Qianhe: ?

His temper flared. He clicked his tongue, threw on a jacket with his bare torso still exposed, and pushed the door open with a beaming smile.

"Teacher Cave Master, at least give me a reason?"

The man turned around, and Lin Qianhe's mind went blank with a buzz.

"Because I'm the instructor who issued your diving certification, Lin. Student."

Shen Duchuan raised an eyebrow, his eyes as haughty as ever. Then he glanced at the wetsuit hanging from Lin Qianhe's hips.

"Take it off and get out."

That was just adding fuel to the fire.

...You've got to be kidding me. His jerk of an ex-boyfriend had turned into a cave-diving expert.

Compassionate?

More like petty, and very much in love.

-

On their last dive before breaking up, Shen Duchuan floated in the sea, bracing one hand against the boat as he pulled Lin Qianhe close by the neck and asked for a kiss.

"Be good. Come with me one more time."

"How much are you paying, Young Master Shen?"

"I don't have any money." Shen Duchuan's wet bangs brushed across his sharp eyebrows. He suddenly smiled, then pulled him into the sea.

"I'll keep you alive in the water, anytime, anywhere. How does that sound?"

-

Cave diving isn't like recreational diving.

Underwater, you have to stay within my line of sight at all times. If I can't reach you, you're too far away.

Give me your absolute attention, absolute trust, and absolute obedience.

In an unlit cave where visibility is only fifty centimeters, I'm the only one of your kind.

-

Bonus scene

Shen Duchuan was short on water in his destiny, yet fell in love with someone as stubborn as a rock. During the years they were apart, he kept thinking the principles of fate and destiny made a lot of sense: they weren't right for each other.

Until he met Lin Qianhe again, and only one thought remained in his mind.

They say you have to feel your way across a river by touching the stones...

Let me touch you.

Theme: Cave diving is an extreme sport. Please do not try it casually.