Chapter 184: 100. At the edge of life and death, why do I always think of you (2 updates 2)
Suffocation.
In that moment of life and death, a raging fire surged before Shi Nian’s eyes. Yet there was a person, a pair of hands, resolutely pushing her through the narrow air vent to escape.
Time was pressing, and she knew if she escaped, that person would surely perish in the fire. So she tightly grasped that hand, crying out loud: "Tell me who you are, what your name is. I don’t want to forget you, I’m afraid I might never find you again..."
His fingertips slid through her palm, and in the rush, she couldn’t identify what those strokes were. Then there was a loud boom... Her vision went white, and she couldn’t see anything, her palm was empty.
Together with those strokes she couldn’t recognize in time, together with that hand!
Please...
I don’t want to die yet.
I still haven’t found you...
Mark smiled cruelly. From the dislocation of the fourth cervical vertebra to the suffocation death caused by the relaxation of the respiratory muscles, there would still be a few minutes of time difference... Let her struggle for those last few minutes.
Shi Nian slowly collapsed, her body sliding down.
At that moment, a tall figure seemed to emerge from the ground, silently approaching Mark from behind, raising a cane and fiercely striking the back of Mark’s neck!
The cruel smile at the corner of Mark’s lips hadn’t finished when he was struck down, falling to the ground before Shi Nian.
The soft fallen Shi Nian slid into a pair of arms.
In a haze, Shi Nian murmured: "Mr. Tang, is it you?"
Is it him? Is it him, right?
Otherwise, why does this embrace feel so familiar, and—why would he leave a kiss on her lips?
Shi Nian’s world plunged into silence, so silent that she could only feel that embrace, only feel the lips pressed against hers.
In reality, the world was in chaos, and soon someone had called the police. Police cars and ambulances arrived swiftly within minutes, filling the road with flashing lights.
She was gently lifted and placed on a stretcher, carefully taken onto the ambulance by emergency personnel.
.
Shi Nian could only feel she was having a long dream. Yet the dream was fragmented, lacking logical connection from beginning to end. At one moment, she dreamt of her childhood, holding Dad’s hand and walking into the police station’s quiet corridor; the next, she was standing at the doorway of Yanwu Square’s corridor, suddenly turning her head, seeing herself in school uniform in the mirror... But the next second, she was walking with eyes closed in that long corridor of Kangchuan University’s dormitory building. Looking up ahead, at the end was the campus police office, Sean covered in blood standing there, glaring at her with gray-blue eyes.
With a low exclamation, she finally opened her eyes.
The bumping of her body reminded her she was in the ambulance. The nurse pressed on her, extending fingers for her to recognize the number...
She only asked insistently: "Who brought me up just now? Where is that person?"
The nurse, seeing she was truly awake, smiled to comfort her: "Luckily, that gentleman performed artificial respiration in time, or you would have suffocated."
"Where is he?"
The nurse smiled: "Don’t worry, he said he would escort you all the way."
.
The answer was revealed when Shi Nian arrived at the hospital.
A black Rolls-Royce, akin to a phantom, quietly arrived as well.
Shi Nian was taken into the emergency room, and after preliminary examination, she was fine. While waiting for the CT scan, the surroundings suddenly quieted. The doctor and nurse were persuaded to leave by two elegantly dressed men in black suits, and then a tall figure silently walked in.
At that moment, even the air was silently still.
Shi Nian froze.
That person was already silently seated by the bed, lowering his gaze to look at her.
The difference this time was, he wasn’t holding a wine glass, but a cane. The top of the cane was a crystal skull, with a bright red rose held in its mouth.
Shi Nian hurriedly tried to sit up: "Director, is it really you?"
Indeed, it was the mysterious director of Kangchuan University’s Board of Trustees, Huangfu Huazhang.
"Lie down." He reached out to press her arm: "The doctor said your cervical vertebra might be injured, requiring a CT scan. Don’t move around."
Shi Nian had to lie back, feeling a small disappointment pass through her heart.
Why isn’t it him?
"Why would the director be alerted? I’m really sorry. Besides, the person who saved me, couldn’t it have been the director just in time?"
Huangfu Huazhang gazed at Shi Nian’s eyes: "It’s a coincidence, I happened to be going to the school. As the car passed that spot, I noticed something unusual. And I just happened to recognize you, so I got out to save you. It was really lucky; the doctor said another minute or two and your breath would have stopped—it would’ve been too late."
"I see." Shi Nian said gratefully: "Thank you for saving my life."
Huangfu Huazhang smiled silently: "But it seems you’re not happy. Why, isn’t surviving something worth celebrating?"
Shi Nian had to cover up a little: "No, it’s just because I’m still in shock."
Somehow, her gaze still slipped towards Huangfu Huazhang’s lips. His lips were also very thin, somewhat resembling Tang Yanqing’s; however, those lips were always tightly pressed into a straight line, unlike Tang Yanqing’s which often curved expressively upwards or downwards into various angles.
— At the corner of his lips, there was still a bright red mark.
That bright red was exactly the color of the lipstick she used today.
Shi Nian felt a bit dizzy, unable to help recalling the artificial respiration he had performed on her — which meant that the hazy situation she experienced wasn’t an illusion, she was truly kissed lip to lip by this cool and distant man several times.
This made her feel very embarrassed.
Seeing her turn her gaze away and lower her eyelashes, Huangfu Huazhang slightly furrowed his brows: "I can’t stay long, so I must take my leave. I need to go to the police station today to cooperate with the police for a statement. If there’s nothing more on your end, I’ll leave first."
Shi Nian quickly nodded: "Goodbye, Chairman."
Huangfu Huazhang then stood up and left.
Shi Nian thought for a moment but still raised her voice to call: "Chairman... please wait a moment."
"Hmm?" Huangfu Huazhang stopped and turned around, a hint of surprise seemed to flow through his narrowed eyes.
Shi Nian took a deep breath and pointed towards the corner of his lips.
He was taken aback for a moment, then reached up to wipe away the lipstick stain with his fingertips, only noticing it when he brought his fingers up to his eyes. He suddenly smiled, his gaze passing over his fingers to look at her.
At this moment, that cool and mysterious man was almost — warm.
Shi Nian quietly sighed, "Goodbye, Chairman."
Huangfu Huazhang slightly raised his eyebrows, said nothing this time, turned directly around, stretched his long legs, and left. He never paused again.
.
Shortly after Huangfu Huazhang left, Tang Yanqing arrived.
He abandoned his usual composure and elegance, on the verge of knocking over several people along the way, and ran straight to her.
There, seeing her, confirming she was alright, he finally caught his breath.
Ignoring the doctors and nurses around, he stepped forward and grabbed her hand.
Something crystalline flickered in his eyes, yet he smiled as he asked her, "Hey, Sleeping Beauty, do you remember who I am?"
Shi Nian recalled that when she first woke up in the ambulance, the nurse extended her fingers to ask how many there were, so she couldn’t help but hum, "You? Let me think. Oh, I remember, I recognize you — you’re Dennis Wu, aren’t you! Ah, I watched you in ’Sweet Spy’ when I was in middle school, I was crazy about you..."
Tang Yanqing immediately lost his breath, coughed while bending over the bed rail.
Once he finally stopped coughing, he spoke seriously to the doctor: "Please conduct a full body check-up, especially a brain scan."
Shi Nian nestled under the blanket, quietly rolling her eyes.
Watch him not dare to chase her anymore...
.
The doctor dared not delay, so quickly arranged the check-up. Only then did Shi Nian softly say, "Doctor, I’m fine. I know who he is, I just wanted to scare him earlier."
Tang Yanqing stood with his hands on his hips, staring at her for a full three minutes.
No need to teach behavioral analysis in the future, it seems that concern leads to confusion; he didn’t detect any of her lying body language at that moment.
Shi Nian clutched the sheet covering half her face, showing only her eyes staring at him: "Mr. Tang, are you planning to arrest me? Why so fierce?"
The nurse came to inform them that they were ready for the CT scan.
Tang Yanqing then couldn’t be bothered to argue with her, insisted on personally accompanying her to the CT room, and the doctor kindly advised him to leave, fearing he’d "get in the way," but he sternly said he wasn’t afraid.
Shi Nian covered half her face again, leaving only her eyes peering at him, then "kindly" said to the doctor: "It seems this gentleman’s brain might have some issue too. It wouldn’t hurt to scan it as well."
The doctor finally caught the joke, giving a kind smile.
This time Tang Yanqing didn’t hold back, flicked her forehead playfully.
The doctor hurried: "Sir! She hasn’t even been scanned to confirm she’s okay!"
Tang Yanqing withdrew his hand, crossed his arms, and huffed, "Hmph, she’s fine. If there was something wrong with her head, could she have fooled even me?"
Despite his words, he dutifully insisted on accompanying her into the scanning room more than anyone.
Right before entering the machine, she felt a bit nervous.
Tang Yanqing gently squeezed her hand, "It’s not an injection, it won’t hurt."
"No," Shi Nian shook her head, closed her eyes trying to smile: "I just remembered that I’ve been to such a place before."
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Thank you to Sky and Ocean for the red envelopes and monthly tickets
Thanks to Breeze, Cai for lots of monthly tickets, and to Zhangrong for the monthly tickets