Pet King

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Salem had really thought he had died. The last memory he had before he opened his eyes was his body sinking towards the dark depths of the water, continuously sinking, like he could never stop sinking, and then…

His memory was cut off there.

Some of the memory fragments seemed to have a strange figure rushing towards him from above. The figure was like a fish yet also like a human with a huge tail. It was also like a human holding a big fish.

It was originally dark in the water, and the yellow sand was also covered by the sun, and he could not see much at all.

Other memory fragments did not have that strange figure—there was the bright light shining on his head, his body floating lightly. He was drifting towards the strong light. It was not painful at all, but very comfortable, like the tribal legend when a person was about to ascend to heaven after death.

He did not know which was the correct memory. Perhaps all of them were real. Perhaps all of them were his imagination.

Oxygen-deficient brains could create all kinds of hallucinations, and it wasn’t surprising to see himself turning into a fish.

He raised his head laboriously and saw Zhang Zian’s purely Oriental face, and he tried to activate his stiff brain to think about it. It seemed that he remembered. “You are that…”

Zhang Zian smiled. “I came over here before you. At that time, we had waved to greet each other.”

Yes, Salem recalled. His thoughts were like water trickling into depleted wheat fields. He remembered his purpose in coming to the beach, the black and white kitten he saw, the pleasure of galloping on the waves, the harmattan wind and the yellow sand all over the sky, and… The pain of drowning and remorse for abandoning his surfboard.

“Can you stand up? Do you need me to help you call an ambulance?” Zhang Zian pretentiously lifted his eyelids to observe his pupils.

“No! Don’t call an ambulance!”

Salem’s dazed eyes were suddenly bright, and his body tensed up as he yelled, worked up.

Zhang Zian was scared, thinking that he had gotten a seizure. He hurriedly pressed on his body and comfortingly said, “Alright! Alright! I won’t call an ambulance! I won’t call an ambulance!”

He thought, Could it be that this person cannot pay for the ambulance fees and is very against an ambulance?

That was also possible. After all, Egyptians were very poor. Although Egypt had implemented free medical care for all, with Egypt’s economic level, the effect of free medical care could be imagined, but those with better economic conditions would choose private hospitals.

Egypt had also implemented free education for all. Except for a few majors, such as law, medicine, and tour guides, no tuition fees were charged for other majors. As for why these majors were exceptions, it was because other majors could not earn money, and these majors could really earn money after graduation.

And it was like a public hospital. The public university standard was also…er, it was hard to talk about it.

Receiving the confirmation from Zhang Zian, Salem lay down without energy again and muttered, “I can’t let people know that I almost died. Otherwise, I can’t surf again…”

Zhang Zian said in his heart that this person was really strong, having almost died and still thinking about surfing, but he must be reminded. Otherwise, he may encounter similar dangers in the future, and at that time he would not be so lucky to encounter Galaxy.

“Do you remember what happened just now? Do you know why you met with danger?” Zhang Zian asked.

Salem shook his head in confusion. “It’s like there was a torrent under the sea, pulling me to the bottom…”

Zhang Zian gestured repeatedly to explain the characteristics and dangers of offshore currents to him. Especially when encountering offshore currents, he should never abandon his surfboard and try to swim back by himself.

Salem tried his best to understan and continuously nodded, and he remembered this thing in his heart.

“Ah! I haven’t thanked you yet… You’re the one who saved me, right?” He suddenly remembered the most important thing and looked around at his surroundings, and as expected, he did not see other people.

Zhang Zian hesitated for a while and still shook his head to say, “I gave you CPR. The one who saved you from the sea was not me.”

Salem also noticed that Zhang Zian’s shirt was still dry, and only his pants were half wet.

“Ah? The person who saved me—is it a lady?” he asked.

Before he woke up, he seemed to have heard two people talking, a man and a woman. They were speaking a language he did not understand, but that female voice was very gentle and nice, as nice-sounding as the sounds of nature.

“A lady…I guess so,” Zhang Zian said vaguely.

“Where is she…? I want to thank her…” Salem’s movements were bigger, and he tried his best to raise his head to look around again.

When Zhang Zian saw that his strength had recovered a little, he held his back and helped him sit up. “She has something to do, so she left already. You don’t have to look for her anymore. She asked me to tell you there’s no need to be thankful. Anyone in that situation would’ve tried to rescue you.”

Although Sihwa did not say those words, she used her actual actions to show that point in the situation when everyone was trying to convince her not to go.

“So it’s like that…”

Salem looked down at his right hand and felt sad. There seemed to be some soft touch in his palm.

Teenagers were always longing for a romantic encounter with a beautiful girl in their hearts, especially when the girl saved him. It should have been the beginning of a relationship. This is what happened in movies.

Zhang Zian could not bear to tell him the cruel truth and break his fantasy. He would’ve said that it was actually a mermaid and that it was only a mermaid who liked rich, tall, and handsome men. The poor boy who couldn’t even call an ambulance should give it up.

“Come on, let me help you to the shore. It’s not a good thing to always soak in the water. Are there any other discomforts for you?” Zhang Zian put his arm out and helped him up.

Salem looked like he’d woken up from a dream. “Ah, no! I should also thank you! It’s the two of you who saved me! Right, I’m called Salem.”

Zhang Zian casually said, “Call me Jeff. I’m a tourist from China.”

“China…” Salem’s eyes were filled with longing. “I’ve heard of that place, far away. The great Great Wall of China, the great palace, the great country… Is the girl who saved me also from China? I hear that you seem to be speaking Chinese…”

“That…I guess so.”

Zhang Zian smiled bitterly. It was really not that he intended to perfunctory—he did not know how to answer this question.

Salem was silently helped ashore by Zhang Zian and sat down on a rock. Suddenly, determined, he said, “I will go to China in the future!”

“Alright.” Zhang Zian saw that he had not given up on Sihwa. He smiled and said, “Don’t you need me to call your family and let them pick you up?”

“No, don’t!” Salem shook his head. “They won’t like the fact that I’m surfing at the seaside, and they will drag me back into the desert, like our Bedouin ancestors.”