Ye Qingning pulled the rope tighter upon hearing this, and let out a wild laugh, "I never thought that one day I would be able to make Dongfang Junze kneel. I'm truly overwhelmed."
Zhou Jinbai's expression grew serious as he took a few steps forward. A layer of frost seemed to have settled on his face, making it exceptionally stern, with an air of solemnity and gravity in his brows.
Then, he slightly bent his knees, showing a clear intention to kneel.
"Don't kneel to her, Zhou Jinbai, you are not allowed to kneel to her." Lin Xingwan's heart pounded with anxiety, and the growing fear tore her apart like a knife.
He was such a proud and lofty person; it was others who should prostrate themselves before him, how could it be his turn to kneel to someone else?
Especially to kneel to Ye Qingning.
She was not worthy of it at all.
At this moment, Lin Xingwan wished she was worthless in Zhou Jinbai's eyes, that he could just walk away with a flourish.
Zhou Jinbai merely glanced at Lin Xingwan, his thin lips twitching slightly, but then pressing together even tighter.
Zhou Jinbai's knees bent lower and lower, and Lin Xingwan's heart felt like it was about to leap out of her throat.
She absolutely did not want Zhou Jinbai to kneel, not one bit.
But the determined look in his eyes seemed to silently tell her that he had to save her.
Ye Qingning's expression became increasingly smug, as if all the humiliation she had suffered in recent days was about to vanish at this moment.
Suddenly, a tiny dagger flew out from a hidden spot, slicing across Ye Qingning's neck with lightning speed.
The hand holding the rope loosened, and Lin Xingwan felt her body plummeting rapidly.
At the critical moment, a man in a tight-fitting suit quickly grabbed the rope and yanked it upwards with force. Lin Xingwan's falling body was pulled up again.
Her waist was embraced, and a powerful force pulled her towards a certain direction.
Falling from such a height, Lin Xingwan had prepared herself for broken bones. But as she fell together with the man in the tight-fitting suit, the man willingly became a human cushion, allowing Lin Xingwan to land on him.
A muffled groan of pain echoed. Before Lin Xingwan could comprehend what was happening, another powerful force swept her up from the ground. In the next second, she was pulled into a warm and familiar embrace.
"Wife—" Zhou Jinbai's voice trembled. Everything that had just happened occurred in the blink of an eye, but even a slight misstep would have sent Lin Xingwan into a furnace with temperatures exceeding a thousand degrees.
However, Zhou Jinbai had to take the risk, because at Lin Xingwan's current height, if more time had elapsed, she would have been roasted alive by the heat.
The long-lost embrace made Lin Xingwan feel an urge to cry.
"Let go of me, we're already divorced, let go!"
Although Lin Xingwan verbally told Zhou Jinbai to let go, her hands instead hung limply, allowing Zhou Jinbai to hold her with a terrifying strength, as if he wanted to merge her into his very bones.
"Let go of what? I will never let you go in this lifetime!" Zhou Jinbai greedily inhaled the scent of Lin Xingwan, as if only then could his anxious heart find peace.
Lin Xingwan remained silent, while the person who had become a human cushion on the ground got up pitifully, "Young Master, what should we do with that woman?"
The hotel manager and other subordinates of Zhou Jinbai also gathered around them. "Boss, are you alright? The doctor is on their way."
Lin Xingwan, being shy, quickly pushed Zhou Jinbai away.
She turned to the man in the tight-fitting suit and said, "Thank you so much just now. Without you, I would be dead by now."
"Protecting the Young Madam is my duty. Young Madam need not be so polite." The man's expression was stern, his eyes devoid of any warmth, like a thousand-year-old ice.
"He is Xuan Zhu, my personal bodyguard," Zhou Jinbai explained.
It was precisely because he trusted Xuan Zhu's abilities that Zhou Jinbai had made such a risky decision just now. If it were anyone else, Zhou Jinbai would never have acted this way.
"As for this woman..." Zhou Jinbai walked towards Ye Qingning, who was lying on the ground.
The dagger Xuan Zhu had thrown earlier had already cut Ye Qingning's neck. She lay in a pool of blood, her eyes wide with unwillingness, as if she wished to tear Lin Xingwan into a thousand pieces.
"Wh... why... why..." Ye Qingning could barely utter a few words. She couldn't understand why every time she tried to deal with Lin Xingwan, that bitch, she ultimately failed.
She had clearly been given a chance to turn her life around this time.
But... Lin Xingwan had still been saved.
"He who does much evil will meet a bad end. This is what you deserve today." Xuan Zhu was the first to reach Ye Qingning and stepped on her. "Who did you provoke? You dared to provoke the Young Madam. If you don't die, who will?"
As Xuan Zhu slowly increased the pressure of his foot, Zhou Jinbai said calmly, "Don't kill her yet."
Xuan Zhu immediately withdrew his foot.
"Who let you out?" Zhou Jinbai lowered his gaze, casting a look of disgust and disdain at Ye Qingning. This woman was not only ugly on the outside but even more so on the inside.
"I... I won't tell you... Dongfang... Dongfang Junze... I will never tell you." Ye Qingning finished speaking, fixing a venomous gaze on Lin Xingwan.
Her eyes were more vicious than those of a vengeful ghost in a horror movie. If looks could kill, Lin Xingwan would have been reduced to ashes by now.
Lin Xingwan even felt a chill down her spine because of Ye Qingning's gaze.
She had never actively done anything to wrong this woman, so why did this woman hate her so much?
"Lin Xingwan, I... I will die with no regrets, because... because... your fate will be even worse than mine, hahahaha..."
After speaking, Ye Qingning crawled towards a nearby extremely hot pit.
Xuan Zhu tried to stop Ye Qingning, but Zhou Jinbai said calmly, "Let her be."
Soon, Ye Qingning crawled to the edge of the pit. Her skin was already scorched by the high temperature, and a burnt smell emanated from her entire body.
But Ye Qingning continued to crawl forward, until... just before she was about to fall into the pit, she revealed a sinister smile to everyone.
At the same time, explosions began to be heard from outside the warehouse.
Everyone turned their gaze in the same direction. The site of the explosion was particularly noticeable in the darkness of the night.
Everything happened so quickly that they could only run in another direction.
The booming explosions continued unabated, and eventually, Lin Xingwan even felt an intense, scorching heat wave wash over her.
"Wife, be careful—" At this critical juncture, Zhou Jinbai knew they could no longer run forward. He directly shielded her from behind, holding her in his arms.
If they could not grow old together, he was willing to sacrifice his life to protect the one he loved.
The pain from the explosion made Lin Xingwan feel as if her skin was about to split open. Especially her internal organs, which seemed to have suffered severe trauma.
The pain that reached the depths of her soul left her consciousness blank. A ringing in her ears followed. Although Lin Xingwan was not dead, the excruciating pain from the explosion was no different from death.
Time seemed to slow down at this moment.
When Lin Xingwan regained her senses, there was a 'heavy object' pressing down on her.
Her body was covered in a warm sensation. Besides the smell of gunpowder from the explosion, there was also a strong scent of blood in her nostrils.
Lin Xingwan looked at Zhou Jinbai, who was covered in blood, with horror. Blood was flowing from his nose and ears, and even his eyes were slowly turning red.
"Zhou Jinbai..." Lin Xingwan's face instantly turned pale upon seeing this. Her eyes widened, and an uncontrollable despair spread across her frightened face.
"I..." Zhou Jinbai tried to comfort Lin Xingwan, but as soon as he uttered a word, the sweetness rising in his throat could no longer be contained, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood.
Lin Xingwan was so terrified that she turned cold all over, and tears gushed out. "I'll take you to the hospital, I'll take you to the hospital right now."
For many years, Lin Xingwan had only felt such fear after witnessing her mother's death.
But when she saw Zhou Jinbai, covered in blood and leaning weakly against her, the same feeling from the past instantly overwhelmed all her reason.
At this moment, Lin Xingwan had only one thought in her heart: as long as Zhou Jinbai was alright, she would forgive him, even if he had deceived her.
"I'm... I'm fine... Wife... don't cry..." Even though Zhou Jinbai coughed up a lot of blood with every word he spoke, he couldn't bear to see the woman in front of him cry.
That feeling was more unbearable to him than death.
"Don't talk, please, don't talk anymore."
Lin Xingwan tried to support Zhou Jinbai with her slender body and walk towards the exit.
However, she was not someone who did physical labor. When Zhou Jinbai leaned his entire weakened body on her, Lin Xingwan was already struggling to maintain her balance.
"I'll carry Young Master. Young Madam, you can drive, right?" Xuan Zhu's head also had a bloody gash from the explosion, with blood flowing out from it.
But Xuan Zhu seemed to feel no pain and directly carried Zhou Jinbai on his back, running out quickly.
Lin Xingwan dared not waste any more time at this point. She endured the pain in her body and followed behind Xuan Zhu and the others.
Soon, Xuan Zhu carried Zhou Jinbai to the car, and Lin Xingwan drove away.
She had no idea where she was, and her mood was extremely flustered and anxious. In the end, she had to rely on Xuan Zhu to guide her through the GPS.
The roads in Qingxi Town were very difficult to navigate. Lin Xingwan watched Zhou Jinbai's face grow paler and his consciousness begin to blur in the rearview mirror. Her head throbbed as if it would split.
That unbearable pain felt like it would make her collapse at any moment.
But another voice kept telling her: do not collapse, now is not the time to collapse, Zhou Jinbai's life was in her hands.
Along the way, Lin Xingwan seemed to have forgotten the pain in her body until an ambulance appeared in their sight.
It was a rescue team that the hotel manager had found.
Lin Xingwan stopped the car, and the rescue team quickly carried the unconscious Zhou Jinbai into the ambulance.
Xuan Zhu and Lin Xingwan also sat in the ambulance. Listening to the doctors' conversation, they said that Zhou Jinbai's condition was very dangerous.
Lin Xingwan held Zhou Jinbai's hand. If it were in the past, this man would have definitely squeezed her hand back and kissed it repeatedly.
But now, all that responded to Lin Xingwan was a chilling coldness.
She could no longer feel the reassuring warmth from this man, nor could she see his affectionate eyes.
"Zhou Jinbai, can you wake up? Zhou Jinbai..."
"I'm not angry with you anymore, please wake up. Let's make up, I won't be angry anymore, and we won't get divorced."
Lin Xingwan could no longer control her emotions and began to sob uncontrollably.
Xuan Zhu wanted to comfort Lin Xingwan, but in this situation, he couldn't find any words of comfort.
He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
All the way, the doctors were trying to save Zhou Jinbai.
Lin Xingwan didn't even know how they got back to the hotel and then took Su Mo Yao's helicopter to Yanjing.
The helicopter landed on the rooftop of Yanjing's most authoritative hospital, where a global top medical team was waiting by the elevator.
As soon as Zhou Jinbai was placed on the bed, he was quickly pushed into the elevator and taken directly to the emergency room.
Although Xuan Zhu was very worried about Zhou Jinbai and wanted to go downstairs quickly, he saw that the Young Madam was standing alone, looking as helpless as a child. Xuan Zhu walked up to Lin Xingwan and said, "Young Madam, let's go down. It's windy on the rooftop, and... your hand is still bleeding."
Xuan Zhu's gaze fell on Lin Xingwan's hand. She was wearing a light-colored outfit, which was covered in mottled bloodstains, making it impossible to tell whose blood it was or if it was Lin Xingwan's own.
But seeing that blood was still dripping from her fingertips and had formed a small pool on the ground where she stood, Xuan Zhu knew that the Young Madam was injured.
It had been over an hour since the explosion.
It was certain that the Young Madam's wounds were not minor, otherwise, she wouldn't have been bleeding until now.
"I'm fine. What floor is the emergency room on? I'll wait at the door," Lin Xingwan asked anxiously. Her mind was filled with the image of Zhou Jinbai using his own body to shield her during the explosion.
Didn't he already have a fiancée?
Wasn't he about to get married to his fiancée?
Why... why did he save her?
Zhou Jinbai, if you want to be a scumbag, why can't you be a complete scumbag?
The elevator door on the top floor opened again. This time, standing inside was Fucha Wanrong, dressed in splendid attire. She leaned on a dragon-headed cane with one hand, and the other hand was supported by Jia Yanzhen.
"My darling granddaughter-in-law..." Fucha Wanrong's heart ached when she saw Lin Xingwan covered in blood. She quickly got out of the elevator.
Lin Xingwan wanted to say something, but before she could open her mouth, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.