Chen Yuan clung tightly to Shen Nanyue’s leg.
Gritting her teeth, Shen Nanyue lifted her foot and kicked Chen Yuan hard in the head.
Chen Yuan’s vision went dark, and she lost consciousness.
Finally free, Shen Nanyue glanced at her only once before picking up Xiaogu and running toward the warehouse exit.
The warehouse doors had already been shut, but fortunately, years of exposure to the elements had left them old and dilapidated.
Shen Nanyue raised her leg and delivered a powerful kick.
The doors burst open.
Outside, the thugs were in the middle of lighting the fire.
“Stop!” Shen Nanyue shouted.
The thugs hesitated for a moment, but it was too late.
The flames touched the gasoline and spread instantly.
Before Shen Nanyue could make it out of the warehouse, she saw the fire racing toward her.
“I’m sorry, Xiaogu!”
Before the little boy could react, his body suddenly left the ground.
He was thrown with all her strength.
“Ouch!”
Fortunately, Xiaogu landed on a patch of soft grass.
The little boy instinctively covered his head and curled himself into a ball while falling, displaying surprisingly good self-protection instincts.
As a result, he wasn’t injured.
But when he got to his feet, the warehouse entrance had already been swallowed by flames.
“Pretty Sister…” he murmured.
Through the wall of fire, he could see Shen Nanyue’s slender silhouette.
A wave of despair spread through his heart.
She hadn’t escaped.
The fire was so large.
How could he possibly save her?
Nearby, the thugs weren’t standing guard at the entrance.
Instead, they were carrying gasoline cans from the edge of the warehouse and slowly approaching the doorway.
Spotting them, Xiaogu quickly hid in a patch of tall weeds.
“That crazy woman actually kept her word. She already paid us the rest of the money.”
“Rich lunatic. This is the first time I’ve seen someone spend money to buy her own death.”
“Who says she only bought one death? She dragged a woman and a kid down with her.”
“Poor kid. Got caught up in all this for no reason. Forget it, let’s get out of here before anyone shows up.”
“…”
The men turned and left.
Only after the sound of their vehicle faded into the distance did Xiaogu crawl out of the weeds, crying.
By then, the warehouse was completely engulfed in flames.
“Pretty Sister! Pretty Sister, I don’t want you to die! Wait for me! I’ll find water and put out the fire! I’ll definitely save you!”
With that, he ran forward on his short little legs.
The child had never run on mountain roads before.
He stumbled almost every step of the way but refused to give up.
“Where is there water? Grandpa Heaven, Mommy said you help people. Can you help me, please?”
As he ran, he wiped away tears and kept calling out for water.
At the end of the road, a pair of bright headlights appeared.
Xiaogu instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes.
A screech of brakes echoed through the night.
“Xiaogu?”
A familiar voice came from beside the car.
The moment Xiaogu saw Zhou Yushen, it was as though he had found a savior.
He rushed over and hugged Zhou Yushen’s leg.
“Uncle! Do you have water? Pretty Sister is trapped in the fire! Please save her!”
Not far away, the burning warehouse illuminated the night sky.
Tongues of flame danced like ghosts in the darkness.
Zhou Yushen’s face turned pale.
His heart sank to the bottom of an abyss.
He immediately lifted Xiaogu and placed him inside the car.
“Wait here.”
Then he grabbed two blankets and several bottles of mineral water from the back seat.
As he ran toward the warehouse, he poured water over both the blankets and himself.
Shen Nanyue, you have to hold on!
Inside the warehouse, Shen Nanyue had been forced by the flames into the center of the building.
Standing beside Chen Yuan, she pulled away all the dry grass surrounding her in an attempt to prevent the fire from spreading closer.
But it was useless.
The advancing flames showed no sign of slowing.
There was no water inside the warehouse.
She tore part of her dress and covered her nose and mouth, then used another piece to cover Chen Yuan’s as well.
The scorching air pressed closer and closer against her skin.
The oxygen was running out.
She felt that this was where her life would end.
At the brink of death, countless memories flashed through her mind.
She saw the days when her father and mother had treated her like a princess.
She saw the journey she had shared with An’an and Zhu Yuan as they struggled together for their dreams.
And then…
There were all the moments she had spent with Zhou Yushen—every frame, every second.
She froze.
Why, at a time like this, was she thinking of Zhou Yushen?
People often said that before death, the people most important to you in life would appear in your mind.
A self-mocking smile curved her lips.
Sure enough, she could deceive herself and deceive everyone else, but she could never deceive her own heart.
The flames had already spread to her feet.
Curling herself into a ball, the little survival instinct she had left was nearly gone.
She silently swore that after she died, she would drag Chen Yuan’s soul straight into a boiling vat of oil and fry her for eternity.
“Shen Nanyue? Shen Nanyue!”
As Shen Nanyue sat on the ground holding Chen Yuan, her consciousness fading, she thought she heard Zhou Yushen’s voice.
She assumed it was just an illusion.
Perhaps whenever she was in danger, a part of her always hoped that Zhou Yushen would come to save her.
“Shen Nanyue!”
The voice became clearer and clearer.
Finally, Shen Nanyue emerged from her despair and returned to reality.
She saw a dark figure approaching through the flames.
As she recognized the man’s face, her eyes widened.
“Zhou Yushen…”
It really was him!
In just a few strides, Zhou Yushen reached her side.
Without wasting a word, he immediately twisted open a bottle of mineral water and poured it over both Shen Nanyue and Chen Yuan.
At the same time, he wrapped the two women in a soaked blanket.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll get you out.”
His deep voice fell into her ears.
For no reason at all, she felt reassured.
And for no reason at all, she felt wronged.
Tears suddenly streamed from her eyes.
Zhou Yushen paused for a second.
Remembering what Shen An’an had told him—that Shen Nanyue was traumatized by fires—he assumed she was terrified.
He raised a hand and gently wiped away her tears.
Then he softly pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Nanyue, don’t be afraid.”
Shen Nanyue only allowed herself a brief moment of vulnerability.
Seeing the flames growing stronger by the second, she had no time to scold Zhou Yushen for recklessly charging into the fire.
She moved to help Chen Yuan stand up.
“We’ll settle the score after we get out of here!”
Zhou Yushen smiled at her.
Then he took Chen Yuan from her arms and lifted the unconscious woman himself.
“I’ll go first. Hold onto my clothes and don’t let go.”
When Shen Nanyue noticed that he wasn’t covered by a blanket, she tried to take off hers and give it to him.
But Zhou Yushen didn’t give her the chance.
“Hurry. Once all the dry grass catches fire, none of us will get out.”
The flames around them had already gained momentum, burning hotter and fiercer with every passing second.
Zhou Yushen swept his gaze across the warehouse.
His eyes settled on an area where there was less dry grass and the fire wasn’t as intense.
Pulling Shen Nanyue along, he headed toward a sheet of metal walling.
The scorching heat burned against his body.
Dust and smoke filled his lungs.
The oxygen available to breathe was growing thinner and thinner.
Frowning, Zhou Yushen reached the metal sheet where the flames were weaker and kicked it hard.
The rusted metal wasn’t strong enough to withstand the impact.
A gap quickly opened.
As the burning sheet of metal fell, its sharp edge accidentally sliced a deep gash across his calf.
Blood immediately poured from the wound.
He merely frowned slightly, as though he felt nothing at all.
Ignoring the injury, he motioned for Shen Nanyue to go out first.
Shen Nanyue climbed through the opening.
Taking Chen Yuan from Zhou Yushen’s arms, she carelessly dropped her onto the ground before quickly reaching back and pulling Zhou Yushen out of the warehouse.
— The end of the Chapter–
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