Chapter 11: Saving a Life

Ran Xing was about to reply when she saw a white car speeding toward her in the distance.

Too preoccupied to converse, she focused all her attention on the steering wheel, trying to control her speed and direction to keep as far away from the oncoming vehicle as possible. The driver of the white car, failing to notice that her vehicle had spiraled out of control, did not slow down.

Just as the cars were about to collide, Ran Xing yanked the steering wheel hard.

With a loud thud, her car slammed into a tree at the side of the road and immediately began to smoke. Fuel leaked profusely from beneath the tires. The force of the impact threw Ran Xing against the steering wheel. The stench of blood and gasoline quietly filled the cabin.

Ran Xing’s vision began to blur. Her body went limp in the driver’s seat; it took every ounce of her remaining strength just to keep her eyes half-open.

The driver of the white car cautiously approached. Peering through the window and seeing the woman covered in blood and slumped over the steering wheel, he started shaking his head tremulously.

"It wasn't me! I didn't hit you; you crashed into the tree yourself."

Hearing the voice, Ran Xing’s eyelids lifted, a glimmer of hope igniting within her. She forced two words from her throat, her lips moving weakly:

"Save me..."

The man looked around. Seeing no surveillance cameras, he averted his eyes and muttered, "If I save you, what if you try to frame me for this? You... you’d better pray for yourself."

With that, he fled, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. As the sound of his footsteps faded into the distance, Ran Xing’s consciousness began to sink. Her eyes desperately wanted to close. Beneath the wheels, the spilled gasoline had formed a pool.

Just before she lost consciousness entirely, the voice of Xu Ting drifted into her ears without warning, piercing straight to her heart.

"Big sister~"

It was as bright and crisp as it had been three years ago.

A hot tear traced a path down the corner of Ran Xing’s eye, rolling over the bridge of her nose and onto her hand. She shook her head in agony, whispering to herself:

"No! I cannot die yet! I absolutely must not die! Zhang Tong is still at large; I cannot leave like this!"

With this thought, Ran Xing fought through the excruciating pain, pulling herself up from the steering wheel. She scanned the darkness through the windows, searching for any sign of light. Unfortunately, after hitting the tree, her car had rolled into a secluded area off the main road. Furthermore, this stretch of road was rarely traveled.

With no hope for rescue, Ran Xing pinned her final hopes on the door handle. She winced in pain, gritted her teeth, and dragged her arm toward the door. But alas, the seatbelt held her firmly in place, and her lower body was completely immobilized.

***

In desperation, Ran Xing decided she had to find a way to unfasten the seatbelt. She set her sights on a shard of broken windshield glass and began sawing at the belt. During the struggle, her palm was gashed by the glass, blood pouring out in a steady stream.

Ran Xing, however, seemed to have lost the ability to feel pain; she became numb, her movements quickening as her hair was soaked in a mixture of sweat and blood. The moment the seatbelt snapped, she finally managed to catch her breath, her body going limp as she collapsed back into the driver's seat.

Her face was as pale as a sheet. Pain surged into every part of her body from all directions, gnawing at her marrow like a swarm of ants. The only sound in the car was her own faint, ragged breathing.

But before she could regain her strength, the pungent smell of gasoline reached her nose. The intense, stinging scent cleared her mind for a moment. She grabbed the door handle and pushed with all her might.

The moment she tumbled out, a figure slid across the ground and scooped her into his arms. Ran Xing curled into a ball, and as she looked up, she fell into the man’s burning gaze. Seeing that he was breathless, with sweat rolling from his forehead down to his pulsing Adam's apple, her weary eyes were filled with shock.

All her suppressed grievances broke through the dam at that moment. She croaked in a weak, hoarse voice:

"Xiao Yi..."

Then, she lost consciousness.

Seeing sparks flying from the gasoline puddle behind them, Xiao Yi ignored his own exhaustion, hoisting her into his arms and sprinting toward the road. Less than a minute later, a thunderous explosion erupted behind them. In the night sky, sparks scattered as thick black smoke billowed upward. In the blink of an eye, the car was engulfed in flames, leaving nothing but a twisted metal frame.

In the darkness, Xiao Yi held a flashlight between his teeth, cradling Ran Xing as he took heavy, determined strides forward. No one saw that his eyes had turned blood-red; a surge of uncontrollable fury roiled within his chest, letting hatred gnaw at the very last remnants of his reason.

***

It was three days later when Ran Xing finally regained consciousness. She cleared her throat, but feeling a sticky dryness in her throat, she rasped:

"Water. I want water."

Hearing her voice, Xiao Yi, who had been dozing by the bedside, jolted upright. He strode to the sideboard to pour a glass of water.

"You want water? I'll pour some for you right now."

Recognizing that it wasn't Xiao Yuan's voice, Ran Xing frowned slightly and opened her eyes. She was stunned to see who it was. She couldn't fathom why Xiao Yi was the one here.

When Xiao Yi brought the straw to her lips, Ran Xing took a sip. After her throat was moistened, she finally asked the question that had been bothering her.

"Why are you here?"

Xiao Yi placed the glass on the nightstand, a smile on his face, though his eyes looked weary.

"Sister Ran, have you forgotten? Three days ago, I was the one who brought you to the hospital."

"What? Three days?"

Ran Xing tried to sit up, but cried out in pain. Only then did she notice her right leg was in a cast and suspended in the air, while her right hand was wrapped in bandages like a bundle.

Xiao Yi hurriedly propped up the pillows and helped her find a comfortable position.

"Sister Ran, please don't get excited. The doctor said it's fortunate your life is not in danger."

Ran Xing began to replay the events of that night in her mind, eyeing the man before her with suspicion. He had a layer of stubble on his chin, and his eyes were bloodshot. He clearly hadn't been resting well.

Seeing his attentiveness, Ran Xing decided to cooperate. After all, she had to keep this life of hers.

When the man sat by the bed and began peeling an apple for her, Ran Xing couldn't help but ask:

"Have you been here the whole time?"

"Yes. I was afraid that if you woke up, there would be no one around." Xiao Yi grinned, his hands never stopping.

"And... what about Xiao Yuan?"

"She has resigned; she asked me to pass that on to you."

Ran Xing offered a bitter smile. In three years, she hadn't even earned a single visit from her.

As if sensing Ran Xing's thoughts, Xiao Yi consoled her:

"Some people leave so that better people can enter your life."

Ran Xing raised the corners of her mouth, a hint of guardedness hidden behind her playful tone.

"And what about you? How did you find me?"

Xiao Yi smiled calmly. "It seems you really have forgotten, Sister Ran. You called me that night, and you were the one who told me you were on Hongrui Avenue. That’s why I rushed over."

Seeing his sincerity, Ran Xing began to doubt herself. Had she really said that? She had no memory of it at all. But if she hadn't said it, there was no way Xiao Yi could have found her.

After pondering for a moment, she decided to believe him and thanked him.

The man, however, looked serious. "Sister Ran, was there something wrong with your car? Why would it just crash into a tree like that?"

Ran Xing’s eyes lit up, her gaze sharp as a blade. She blurted out: "If I’m not mistaken, the brakes failed."

"The brakes were fine, how could they just fail?"

Ran Xing recalled how Wen Xiaoning had insisted on dragging her into her house that night, and she already had the answer.

Her voice was cold as she said:

"It was Wen Xiaoning!"