Chapter 8: Dust in the Flame 06
When I learned about Lin Xiang's accident, I was applying for a dormitory at school and planning to move out of Ning Qiyuan's apartment.
Aunt Ning told me in panic on the phone that Lin Xiang seemed to have had an argument with Lin Yonghe in order to persuade Lin Yonghe to apologize to Ning Qiyuan and her. Lin Yonghe lost control and Lin Xiang fell down the stairs, seriously injured and unconscious. In order to retaliate against Lin Yonghe, Ning Qiyuan secretly transferred the seriously injured Lin Xiang away. Now no one knows which hospital Lin Xiang is in. Lin Yonghe was also furious because he couldn't find Lin Xiang, and suddenly had a stroke. Now he is also unconscious and even completely controlled by Ning Qiyuan, and no one can see him.
Aunt Ning can't find Ning Qiyuan now. She doesn't want the adults' feud to involve Lin Xiang and Lin Zhan. They are all innocent.
"So Shuchen, can you call Qi Yuan, look for him, and persuade him?"
I listened to Aunt Ning's words and was so sad that I couldn't say a word. How could I tell her that Ning Qiyuan had broken up with me and he would not listen to me.
I could only comfort Aunt Ning and promised her that I would find Ning Qiyuan and the hospital where Lin Xiang was so that she could rest assured.
After hanging up the phone, I frantically dialed Ning Qiyuan's cell phone number, one after another, but none of them went through.
I didn't expect things would come to this.
I have never wanted to find Ning Qiyuan as much as I do now. I don't want Ning Qiyuan to lose his mind because of hatred and do something to hurt Lin Xiang.
Before I could get through to Ning Qiyuan's number, Lin Zhan called me. Just like Lin Xiang that day, he also cried and begged me: "Sister Shuchen, please help me, only you can help me now." Even the words he said were exactly the same.
The desperation in his voice almost made me unable to bear to continue listening. Even though I had no other options, I still nodded and agreed to his request.
I couldn't find Ning Qiyuan, and couldn't get from him where Lin Xiang was, so Lin Zhan and I went from hospital to hospital, asking at the service desk of each hospital. I never knew that Li City was so small, but there were so many hospitals. I couldn't miss any hospital where Lin Xiang might be. Deep in my heart, I still believed that even if Ning Qiyuan took Lin Xiang away, he would not harm her.
At 3:30 in the morning, Lin Zhan and I ran to almost half of the hospitals in Li City, but not a single hospital had ever had a patient named Lin Xiang suddenly transferred to another hospital.
I was so tired that I could hardly run anymore. Lin Zhan also sat down on the floor of the hospital corridor without caring about his image, looking dejected. I looked at his appearance, took out my cell phone, and continued to call the number that I had not called once. After the mechanical female voice reminded me that it was time to leave a message, I shouted into the phone without hesitation: "Ning Qiyuan, you have achieved your goal, you have successfully retaliated against Lin Yonghe. If you hear my message, can you tell me Lin Xiang's address!"
Can we just stop here?
Can you please not go on?
Can you please not hurt more people?
I held back my tears, turned around and pulled Lin Zhan up: "Let's go, let's go to the next hospital. I don't believe we can't find Lin Xiang."
Lin Zhan nodded with a complicated expression and followed me out of the hospital.
At this time, there were few cars on the road. Lin Zhan and I were waiting for a car on the side of the road. We took out our phones to look at the map and figure out which hospital to go to.
"Sister Shuchen, can we find where Lin Xiang is?" Lin Zhan asked me beside me.
I nodded affirmatively and comforted him: "Yes, Lin Xiang must be in a hospital, but we haven't found her yet."
"Sister Shuchen, are you tired?" Lin Zhan asked me again.
I looked at Lin Zhan's tired face under the street light and shook my head: "I'm not tired."
"Sister Shuchen, thank you, thank you for helping me so much." Lin Zhan's eyes suddenly flashed with tears.
I reached out and patted his shoulder without saying anything. I continued to look down at the map and then said to him, "Lin Zhan, there is a hospital nearby. It's not far away. We shouldn't need to walk there..."
However, before I could finish my words, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. Before I fainted, I saw Lin Zhan holding a wooden stick as thick as his arm .
He watched me fall, threw down the stick in panic, and kept shaking his head and saying to me: "I'm sorry, Sister Shuchen, I'm sorry, I didn't want to..."
Perhaps only when people are in a coma can they see the people they want to see the most. My parents, and Jiang Sijin, they all appeared in my dream, but each of them said sorry to me.
"I'm sorry, Shuchen, mom didn't grow up with you." It was mom.
"I'm sorry, Shuchen, Dad didn't say hello to you before he left." It was Dad.
"I'm sorry, Shuchen, I always knew that it was my father who killed your father, but I didn't tell you..." It was Jiang Sijin.
"I'm sorry, Sister Shuchen, I'm sorry, I didn't want to..." It was Lin Zhan.
It doesn’t matter, it really doesn’t matter.
The sky suddenly brightened and the people in front of me disappeared. I opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar room.
I moved and tried to sit up, only to find that my hands and feet were tied, neither loose nor tight, but making it impossible for me to break free.
It’s Lin Zhan.
Without having to think too much, I immediately understood what he meant and I smiled bitterly.
At this moment, the door of the room opened and Lin Zhan walked in, holding the breakfast he had just bought, which was still steaming. When he saw me wake up, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes, and then quickly disappeared.
"Sister Shuchen... I bought you... breakfast." Lin Zhan whispered as he sat down next to me, helped me up, and then brought hot soy milk to my mouth.
I didn't think much about it and just lowered my head and started drinking.
Lin Zhan peeled another egg and fed it to me.
He didn't say anything, and I didn't ask him to let me go. I knew that this would make him feel more at ease and he wouldn't hurt me.
After I finished the breakfast he bought, Lin Zhan said to me guiltily: "Sister Shuchen, I know that what I did was wrong, but I can't think of a solution. I know that my father is sorry for Brother Qiyuan, but I can't see my father and can't find Lin Xiang. I am really worried about them..."
"You don't have to tell me, I know everything." I interrupted him, "If this method can help me find out where Lin Xiang is, I don't blame you, Lin Zhan."
After I said this, Lin Zhan's eyes instantly turned red. He apologized to me many times, then he tremblingly took out my phone, took a photo of me, and sent it to Ning Qiyuan.
After a while, my cell phone rang.
Lin Zhan quickly picked up the phone, and Ning Qiyuan's cold and angry voice came out: "Lin Zhan, you are so brave!"
When I heard Ning Qiyuan's voice, I suddenly had an urge to cry, not because I was afraid, but because at this moment, I realized how much I missed him and how much I wanted to see him.
Lin Zhan seemed to be frightened. His face turned pale. He looked at me anxiously and said loudly to Ning Qiyuan, "Sister Shuchen is here with me now. Brother Qiyuan, I know my dad has done a lot of things to let you down, but Lin Xiang has not! As long as you tell me where she is, I promise that I will release Sister Shuchen immediately!"
"Lin Zhan, you are awesome!" Ning Qiyuan seemed to be extremely angry, almost gritting his teeth as he spoke, "Do you think that I will tell you where Lin Xiang is and let you go see Lin Yonghe? Lin Zhan, is this the first day you've known me? What I hate most is being threatened."
His voice clearly reached my ears, and my mind was suddenly in a mess. I had never thought that he really didn't care about me. Wasn't he afraid that Lin Zhan would hurt me? Lin Yonghe could no longer do anything to him. He had paid the price for everything he had done, even Lin Xiang...
Is it possible that in his heart, I am not as important as revenge?
I closed my eyes, not wanting Lin Zhan to see the tears that were about to flow from my eyes, or my undisguised vulnerability and sadness.
Ning Qiyuan, Ning Qiyuan, how could you do this to me...
How could this be……
I didn't want to listen to their conversation anymore. I didn't know what Ning Qiyuan said . Lin Zhan suddenly said to him fiercely, "Brother Qiyuan, if you don't tell me, I will make sure you never see Sister Shuchen again!"
I opened my eyes startled by his voice, but saw Lin Zhan with a fierce look on his face. He looked at me sadly, his face full of tears, like a poor child who was at his wits' end.
Then I saw him hang up the phone and turn off his phone.
I called him: "Lin Zhan..."
Lin Zhan looked up at me, said nothing, and just shed tears silently.
I moved the corners of my mouth, wanting to comfort him, but I found myself not knowing what to say, because I wasn't sure whether Ning Qiyuan would tell Lin Zhan and Lin Xiang where they were for my sake...
"Sister Shuchen, am I really so useless..." Lin Zhan said sadly, "I wanted to protect Sister Sijin, but Sister Sijin is gone... I wanted to protect Lin Xiang, but something happened to her... I can never protect the people I want to protect, I am always so useless..."
"No, Lin Zhan, this..."
Lin Zhan ignored me, wiped the tears from his face with his hands, and looked at me quietly for a long time. Finally, he seemed to have made some kind of decision, turned around and walked out. After walking a few steps, he stopped again and took out a roll of tape from the drawer. He quickly tore off a strip and sealed my mouth with the tape without hesitation.
I opened my eyes wide in panic, but could only make "hmm" sounds.
Lin Zhan said, "Sister Shuchen, don't worry. As long as Brother Qiyuan tells me where Lin Xiang is, I will come back immediately or ask Brother Qiyuan to find you." After saying that, he didn't even look at me again, ran out of the room like he was escaping, and locked the door.
"Uh-huh, um-huh!" I called him anxiously, but got no response.
Soon, Lin Zhan's footsteps faded away.
I lay dejectedly on the bed. What if... what if Sakimoto still insisted on not telling him, would he really just abandon me here and ignore me?
That child is now at the end of his rope...
I didn't dare to think further. I just kept my eyes open and watched the sunlight in the room, watching it go from bright to dim, and then into the long night. The food that Lin Zhan fed me in the morning had long been digested. My stomach was growling with hunger, and my mouth was dry. I closed my eyes and tried hard to make myself fall asleep. Only in this way would I not feel so uncomfortable.
I don’t know how long I slept, but I vaguely heard the sound of a key opening the door, and I became conscious instantly. Then the lights came on, and I opened my eyes in a daze, and saw Ning Qiyuan running towards me in a hurry.
When he saw me, there was a moment of relief and heartache on his handsome face.
I stared at him blankly, letting him untie the ropes that bound me and tear off the tape on my mouth. I reached out to touch his face, my voice hoarse and aggrieved: "Ning Qiyuan..."
Ning Qiyuan grabbed my hand, silently hugged me into his arms, and said repeatedly: "I'm sorry, Shuchen, I'm sorry, I'm late..."
I buried my head in his shoulder, shook my head, and said with great emotion: "It's not too late. It's never too late to come. It's just that I'm very thirsty and hungry now. I really want to eat..."
"Okay, wait for me, I'll go buy it now." He let me go and ran out at a very fast pace.
In less than 10 minutes, he came back with a nearly stale fast food and milk.
"Eat quickly. I'll make you something delicious when we get back." Ning Qiyuan opened the package and handed the chopsticks to me.
I smiled and nodded. Just as I was about to eat, I was surprised to find that the food that looked so good had suddenly disappeared. I panicked and called him quickly, "Qiyuan, what's going on?"
But when I looked up, I found that Ning Qiyuan, who was there just now, had also disappeared. Then, everything in front of my eyes disappeared one by one until it became dark.
"Sakimoto! Sakimoto!"
I called out to him loudly, but there was no other voice except my own.
An indescribable despair surged in my heart. I think I will never forget the feeling at that moment, as if I had been abandoned by the whole world.
Sakimoto, have you really given up on me and don't care about me anymore?
I was so heartbroken that I cried out loud, like a child who had lost everything.
As I cried, I found that I could only make a "woooo" sound, and the air around me seemed to be slowly becoming turbid, with thick smoke constantly pouring into my nostrils. I coughed hard in pain, and my brain became completely clear at this moment.
It turns out that what happened just now was just a dream.
Ning Qiyuan didn't come.
I coughed a few times and finally realized that the thick smoke was real.
Is there a fire somewhere?
My heartbeat suddenly accelerated. I twisted my body to try to sit up, but found that I couldn't do it at all. The smoke was getting thicker and thicker, and I was choking and could hardly open my eyes.
I often see on TV that when a fire occurs, many people are not burned to death, but choked to death by the thick smoke.
So... am I going to die like this too?
No, absolutely not!
I still have a lot to say to Ning Qiyuan. I also want to go out and beat him up and tell him that I really hate him for being like this...
But my eyes hurt so much, and I was coughing so hard that I could hardly think. I couldn't find my direction and could only twist my body by feeling, like a caterpillar. Then, I fell heavily to the ground on my elbows. The severe pain made my brain dizzy for a moment, and tears welled up again.
Gradually, I couldn't make any sound and could only cough involuntarily, and my consciousness began to become really blurred.
I feel like I'm really going to die...
I really can't accept this! I really can't accept this!
I'm unwilling to leave this world like this, and I'm unwilling to not even see Ning Qiyuan for the last time.
If I can still leave here, I will definitely not break up with him, even if it's just temporarily. Breaking up and disappearing once is enough. I don't want the breakup to really become a farewell forever.
I am only 21 years old this year. We still have a lot of time to spend together. We still like each other...
As I thought about it, I finally lost the strength to even cough. The pain and exhaustion of not being able to breathe invaded my brain, blocking all my senses. I could only faintly hear the sound of hurried footsteps and that desperate call -
"Shuchen, Tong Shuchen!"
