Guan Ming Xu burst through the private hospital doors with Song Qi Nian on the stretcher. His heart pounded against his ribs as he watched them wheel her into surgery, his clothes drenched in sweat, lungs burning from the sprint.
Of all the ways he'd imagined finding her again, this wasn't one of them. The sight of her unconscious form made his stomach turn.
"Please," he whispered, pressing his palms together. "Just let her be okay." He almost laughed at himself - here he was, bargaining with the universe, ready to renounce everything if it meant she'd pull through.
But wasn't that just their story? Every encounter marked by her injuries, by his helplessness. The questions haunted him: Who was she really? What darkness kept finding her?
Two hours crawled by before the surgeon emerged. Song Qi Nian had made it. The breath Guan Ming Xu had been holding finally escaped his lips as he arranged for her transfer to a VIP room.
Standing by her bed, he traced the bruises marring her face - evidence of violence that had preceded his accidental hit. Rage coiled in his chest. Whoever had hurt her would pay dearly for it.
He took her hand, careful of the IV line. "I won't lose you again," he said softly. "Not this time."
The universe had given him another chance, and he intended to make it count. Whatever demons haunted her past, they'd have to go through him first.
...
Lin Qiu Tong's eyes fluttered open briefly before darkness claimed her once more.
Shen Chi Yan kept vigil beside her until morning, but she never stirred again. The entire Lin family had crowded into the hospital, their faces drawn and exhausted from the sleepless night.
Lin Xing'an touched his arm. "Chi Yan, we should be grateful she woke up at all, even for a moment. There's no telling when it'll happen again. You need to rest."
Shen Chi Yan studied Lin Qiu Tong's face. Three years in a hospital bed had left her gaunt and colorless. At least she'd opened her eyes - it eased some of the guilt he'd carried all this time.
His phone buzzed. Seeing Shen Ke Qin's name, he excused himself to the hallway.
"What?"
"Is it true about Lin Qiu Tong? Did she really wake up?"
Shen Ke Qin was usually dead to the world at this hour. But a full bladder had forced her awake, and checking her phone afterward, she'd found her feeds swamped with news about Lin Qiu Tong's brief return to consciousness.
Worried, she'd fired off several messages to Song Qi Nian. After two minutes of silence, she tried calling - only to find the phone switched off.
"Since when do you care what happens to Qiu Tong?"
"I don't! I care about my sister-in-law!"
At the mention of Song Qi Nian, Shen Chi Yan's stomach tightened.
His silence told Shen Ke Qin everything. "Don't tell me you abandoned my sister-in-law to run to Lin Qiu Tong's bedside?"
"Watch your tone."
That confirmed it. If he weren't her cousin, she'd have torn into him properly.
"Listen here, her phone's dead and Zhang Ma says she never came home. You might not give a damn about her, but if anything's happened to her, we're done. I mean it."
She hung up before he could respond.
Shen Chi Yan froze at the busy signal, then rushed toward the hospital entrance, phone still pressed to his ear as he dialed Gao Kunlun. Song Qi Nian was missing.
Zhang Qiaoqiao had watched Song Qi Nian leave, dressed beautifully for what she assumed would be a romantic evening with Shen Chi Yan. She had no idea Shen Chi Yan hadn't even shown up.
At Ozone Restaurant, Shen Chi Yan reviewed the surveillance footage. The staff told him Song Qi Nian had waited until after 10:30 before leaving alone. His jaw clenched, anxiety and anger building as his expression darkened.
The surveillance cameras led them to the taxi driver. Gao Kunlun kicked in the driver's door to find the man, wearing red shorts, going through Song Qi Nian's bag. Her phone lay on the table nearby.
Gao's fist connected with the man's face before he could react. He grabbed the driver's collar, voice raw. "Where is she? What did you do to the woman who owns this bag?"
Blood seeped through the bandage on the driver's nose. He clutched his face, shouting, "Who are you? This is breaking and entering! I'm calling the police!"
Shen Chi Yan picked up Song Qi Nian's phone from the table, wearing black gloves. The pain in his chest was nearly unbearable.
"Where is Song Qi Nian?" His voice cut like ice, his presence making the driver shrink back trembling.
"I... I don't know..."
One look from Shen Chi Yan, and Gao Kunlun unleashed a brutal assault. Each blow landed without mercy until the man's face was a mess of blood from his nose and mouth.
Terror finally broke him. He sobbed, begging, "Please! I really don't know! Some men in sports cars took her!"
"License plates?"
"Too dark—I couldn't see!"
"Then explain the bag and phone."
"I—"
"Tell the truth or I'll kill you myself!"
The man's voice cracked as he realized he was trapped. "She was beautiful, alone... I thought... But I didn't get anywhere! She fought back—broke my nose! And then—"
Shen Chi Yan cut him off, his voice deadly quiet. "You're lucky you failed. You'd be dead if you hadn't. Gao Kunlun, handle him."
"Yes, sir."
As Shen Chi Yan walked away, Gao Kunlun's fist connected again. "You're meant to protect your passengers. Instead you tried to—" His face twisted in disgust. "Can't control yourself? Then you won't have anything left to control."
Gao's final blow landed with brutal force. The man's screams filled the building.
Elsewhere, after more than ten hours unconscious, Song Qi Nian's eyes fluttered open. Every part of her body ached. Through the fog in her mind, she remembered the crash during her escape. She was in a hospital now—that much was clear.
When she tried to move, she felt someone holding her hand. Before she could focus on who it was, the man sleeping beside her bed jerked awake.
Their eyes met. Hers held confusion and wariness. His lit up with pure joy.
Guan Ming Xu pulled her into a tight embrace, his voice unsteady. "Little Sweetheart, you're finally awake!"
Song Qi Nian's mind felt wrapped in cotton. That nickname—"Little Sweetheart"—tugged at something in her memory, but she couldn't place it.
The stranger's embrace made her skin crawl. She pushed against him, her hands shaking as she signed, "Who... are you? Where am I?"
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