In the thick smoke, Qin Tianyi could no longer discern the direction. Relying on the path he remembered upon entering, he rushed out of the open gate with Susu.
Also rushing out with them was a subordinate of Shu Yan, whose body was like a fireball, still sprinting forward.
With the choking smoke gone, Susu realized that Tianyi's back was also on fire. She cried out in alarm, "Tianyi, take off your jacket quickly!"
Qin Tianyi had only been focused on escaping with Susu and hadn't felt his back catching fire. He immediately pushed Susu aside and took off his jacket, but the flames then leaped onto his pants.
At this moment, Su Kangxi ran over to help him extinguish the fire, shouting, "Don't run, get down and roll!"
Qin Tianyi calmly fell to the ground and rolled a few times. Su Kangxi, holding a fire extinguisher from the police car, sprayed him continuously. He turned completely white, and the fire on his body was finally extinguished.
At this moment, continuous explosions came from the warehouse. The entire roof was blown off, and raging flames shot straight into the sky, dyeing half the sky red.
Everyone outside the warehouse quietly watched the sky, which was like a crimson glow. The fire was unstoppable, and it was impossible for anyone to escape.
The sounds of fire trucks and ambulances broke the brief silence...
Susu squatted beside Qin Tianyi, who looked like a snowman, and wiped the white foam from his face. Seeing his eyes tightly shut and motionless, she was so scared that she hugged him as if she were breaking down and cried uncontrollably, "Tianyi, Tianyi, what's wrong? Open your eyes! You'll be fine, you'll be fine..."
Hearing her voice, Qin Tianyi struggled to open his eyes and said weakly, "I've lost my strength, can't you let me rest for a while?"
Susu wiped away her tears and said, "You can't scare me like this."
The paramedics were all gathered around the person who had rushed out of the gate with them. Unfortunately, that person had already been burned to death.
Because his entire body was on fire, the person had been running against the wind, which only intensified the flames. By the time he collapsed from exhaustion, he was beyond saving.
Qin Tianyi leaned weakly in Susu's arms and gently touched the scratch on her neck, asking, "Are you injured anywhere else? Are you okay?"
Susu touched her neck. The blood had already clotted. She smiled and said, "Mine is just a minor injury. It's good that you're okay."
As she spoke, she immediately turned her head and shouted to the paramedics not far away, "Come quickly! Come quickly and check on my husband's injuries!"
...
Early in the morning, Jia Nanfang was having breakfast with Shu Zhongze.
She placed the steamed cake she had just learned to make onto Shu Zhongze's plate and said softly, "Try this steamed cake. Do you like the taste?"
Shu Zhongze didn't even look up, his gaze fixed on a piece of news in his hand, his expression becoming increasingly grim.
Jia Nanfang sensed something was wrong and, not knowing what major event had occurred, also opened her phone. Seeing a trending news item, her breathing became rapid.
"A major explosion occurred in a warehouse at a suburban abandoned fertilizer plant. Investigations indicate arson. Firefighters battled until the early hours of this morning to extinguish the blaze, and no damage was sustained by surrounding residential buildings. Search and rescue personnel found multiple charred bodies at the scene. One female victim was identified as Shu Yan, a wanted fugitive. The identities of the remaining male victims are unknown. According to internal police sources, this fire was caused by the fugitive Shu Yan kidnapping the CEO couple of our city's Aoxiang Group. Fortunately, the couple only sustained minor injuries..."
Shu Zhongze looked up and saw Jia Nanfang's eyes beginning to redden. He slammed the fork in his hand down and asked angrily, "How did she become a fugitive! I never knew she had such capabilities to escape the police's watch and kidnap Qin Tianyi and the others... This is her own doing!"
Jia Nanfang's tears flowed uncontrollably. She slumped down, unable to answer him.
After cooperating with the person's plan, she had been on edge since yesterday, wondering if everything was still going smoothly after Shu Yan escaped from the psychiatric hospital.
She dared not contact Shu Yan easily and could only suppress her anxiety and wait for news, hoping that Shu Yan could leave Lancheng safely and escape as far as possible.
When she first heard about the plan, she thought it was a bit risky, but after careful consideration, she realized it was the only way to save Shu Yan, so she readily agreed.
Now, seeing what the news reported, she didn't know how it had come to this. What happened after Shu Yan escaped from the psychiatric hospital?
Why didn't Shu Yan directly smuggle herself out of Lancheng, but instead ran to kidnap Qin Tianyi and Gu Susu, and then set the warehouse on fire, leading to such a tragic death for herself.
Soon, both Shu Zhongze's and Jia Nanfang's phones began to ring incessantly. Jia Nanfang covered her face and sobbed, having no mood to answer the calls.
Shu Zhongze's eyes were slightly red. He took a deep breath and answered two consecutive calls.
The first was from his company assistant, informing him that reporters had surrounded the company building early in the morning, eager to interview him about Shu Yan's incident, and advising him to avoid coming to the company that morning to prevent being cornered by them.
The second was from the police station, asking them to identify the body and confirm the identity of the deceased, Shu Yan.
Shu Zhongze looked at his still ringing phone and completely turned it off. Listening to Jia Nanfang's intermittent sobs, his heart was filled with a mix of grief and emotion. He had been a playboy for half his life, and all the women he had been involved with wanted to use their children as leverage and aim for his Shu family's fortune. Therefore, he was very indifferent to his children, and only a few had their relationships acknowledged.
Only Shu Yan had grown up by his side and was doted on by him like a princess. Yet, she was so disappointing, even her death was so dramatic, as if she were afraid of not ruining the Shu family's reputation enough.
Making them, the parents, send their child to the grave, and also placing them and the Shu family in the spotlight, he said coldly to Jia Nanfang, "Is crying useful now? Go change your clothes, and we'll go to the police station to identify the body..."
"Yes, we'll go identify the body." Jia Nanfang immediately wiped away her tears, her eyes regaining a glimmer of hope. "Yan wouldn't die. The person who died must not be her, it can't be her... I'll go change now."
Saying this, Jia Nanfang stumbled to her feet and walked towards the second floor. Despite only climbing a dozen steps, she fell twice, almost crawling her way to the second floor.
...
In the hospital, after Susu's few wounds were treated and bandaged, she stayed by Qin Tianyi's side.
The scratch Shu Yan had inflicted on her with a small knife was only a superficial wound. Qin Tianyi was much more seriously injured.
In addition to the burns on his back, he also had injuries from being struck. The doctor feared that the location of the blows might have affected his internal organs, requiring him to stay in the hospital for a few days of observation.
Susu insisted that he lie in the hospital bed and rest, not allowing him to move around freely.
During Shu Yan's torment and in that great fire, Tianyi had once again, like a god, sacrificed himself to protect her...
He had always been so outstanding, so proud, yet for her, he had repeatedly humbled himself and risked his life... How fortunate she was to have met such a man who loved her.
She looked at his sleeping face and couldn't help but shed tears again. The tears dripped onto his cheeks like pearls from a broken string.