The surroundings were engulfed in raging infernos.
Lin Xingwan felt as if she had entered an oven, her body so hot it was about to melt.
Thick smoke filled the air, making her cough violently and her eyes burn.
Today was her engagement day, but due to the sudden fire, she was trapped here.
"Help… is anyone there… help…" Lin Xingwan called out weakly.
Prolonged inhalation of toxic gas made her head feel heavy and groggy.
But she couldn't faint, or she would be burned alive.
A tall, imposing white figure suddenly charged into the flames.
Lin Xingwan's anxious and helpless face lit up with joy when she recognized her fiancé, Gu Shaoting.
"Shaoting, I'm here—" Lin Xingwan, lying on the ground, reached out, waiting for the man to save her.
Gu Shaoting's gaze swept quickly over Lin Xingwan, anxiously searching for something.
Upon spotting Lin Shirou, who had fallen not far from Lin Xingwan, he quickly rushed to her side and scooped her up.
"Shirou, wake up, Shirou?" Gu Shaoting shook Lin Shirou. The semi-conscious Lin Shirou struggled to open her eyes.
"Shaoting… you're finally here. I feel so unwell, so scared. Am I going to die?" Lin Shirou cried, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here. I'll take you out now." Gu Shaoting held Lin Shirou's waist tightly and strode towards the exit.
He had forgotten about his fiancée, even passing by her quickly.
Lin Shirou, held by Gu Shaoting, cast a provocative glance at Lin Xingwan, her face filled with the smugness of a victor.
Lin Xingwan stared blankly as Gu Shaoting, carrying Lin Shirou, rushed out of the inferno. Her hand, frozen in mid-air, remained outstretched for a long time.
Her expression shifted from anticipation, to confusion, to shock, to despair, and finally to a calm indifference.
She felt the heart that loved Gu Shaoting shatter into dust.
Heh!
His fiancée trapped in a raging fire, yet her fiancé rescued her younger aunt instead.
How truly ironic!
The pungent, acrid smell continued to assault her nostrils. Lin Xingwan lost consciousness, filled with despair.
In the last second before she fainted, she saw her hand, falling from mid-air, being firmly grasped by another large palm.
—
Lin Xingwan barely managed to cling to life.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a hospital room.
Golden sunlight streamed in through the window. The room was very quiet, save for the chirping of birds.
Tiny dust motes, suspended in the air, exhibited the Tyndall effect under the light.
Lin Xingwan couldn't help but raise her hand to try and grasp the shape of the light. Her slender, orchid-like hand was crystal clear in the sunlight.
Just then, a deep male voice echoed from the doorway, "You're awake? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Lin Xingwan turned her gaze to the unfamiliar man entering the room.
He was at least 1.85 meters tall, wearing jeans and a black tank top. His exposed arms were well-defined, and even through the tank top, she could see his washboard abs.
Even with his buzz cut, the man's handsomeness was undeniable.
He wasn't like those effeminate male celebrities in the entertainment industry, but exuded masculinity and a rugged charm.
"Who are you?" Lin Xingwan looked at the man before her, confused. Her delicate yet indifferent features became animated with curiosity about his identity.
Of course, Lin Xingwan was also wary.
"My name is Zhou Jinbai. I rescued you from the fire at the Century Hotel yesterday. Since I didn't have your family's contact information, I took you to the hospital first." Zhou Jinbai placed a stack of medical reports on the bedside table and then handed Lin Xingwan his phone. "The test results are fine. Call your family. They must be worried sick since they can't reach you."
Lin Xingwan looked at the hand extended towards her. It had a band-aid on it, and some areas were red and swollen.
This man had saved her, and he himself was injured.
Lin Xingwan took the phone but only called her secretary.
"Thank you," Lin Xingwan returned the phone to Zhou Jinbai.
"What time will your family be here?" Zhou Jinbai looked at the frail woman before him. She had a beautiful face, giving the impression of a delicate flower in a greenhouse, yet she exuded a distant coldness from her core.
"In about half an hour," Lin Xingwan replied.
"Alright, I'll wait until your family arrives before I leave." Zhou Jinbai said, then sat on another empty hospital bed and played on his phone.
Lin Xingwan didn't know what to say, so she closed her eyes to rest.
Yet, even so, she could feel the man's constant, invading presence beside her.
If Gu Shaoting gave off a warm, spring-like feeling, then Zhou Jinbai was like the biting winter wind.
Dominating, with a strong presence.
Knock, knock, knock—
Knock, knock, knock—
Knock, knock, knock—
Outside the room, polite knocking was heard, followed by the appearance of a woman in a suit and pencil skirt at the doorway.
"Sister Qin," Lin Xingwan called out weakly upon seeing her secretary, Liu Mengqin.
"Xingwan, are you alright? Do you know how worried I was when I couldn't reach you from yesterday until now? You scared me to death." Liu Mengqin, in her high heels, rushed to Lin Xingwan's side and hugged her tightly.
"I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm fine," Lin Xingwan quickly explained.
"How can you be fine? Do you know how terrifying that fire was? An entire hotel was destroyed, and six people died." Liu Mengqin started to cry as she spoke. "I thought you… you also…"
Lin Xingwan found herself comforting Liu Mengqin.
Zhou Jinbai looked at the two women embracing and said, "Since your family is here, I'll be going now."
"Mr. Zhou, wait," Lin Xingwan quickly said, "How much are the medical expenses? I'll pay you back."
"It's not much. Just some IV fluids. No need to repay."
This time, the man gave Lin Xingwan no chance to speak, and his figure disappeared at the doorway.
"Wow, who is that man? Is he your friend?" Liu Mengqin, only now realizing, looked at the empty doorway with astonishment. The words 'unparalleled in beauty, unmatched in the world' immediately came to mind.
Despite wearing ordinary clothes, his features were sharp and resolute, and he exuded an innate noble coolness that made him unforgettable.
Lin Xingwan shook her head. "Not a friend. This man saved me yesterday."
"So it was a hero saving a damsel in distress! I thought so. I've known you for so long, and if he were your friend, how could I not have met him? Even though he refused our payment for the medical expenses, he risked his life to save you. We should visit his home to thank him."
Liu Mengqin was five years older than Lin Xingwan. Lin Xingwan didn't understand much about social etiquette, and Liu Mengqin could teach her.
"Okay." Even if Liu Mengqin hadn't suggested it, Lin Xingwan had intended to.
"Have you called Gu Shaoting since you woke up?" Liu Mengqin asked.
"I haven't told him, and I don't want to. The thought of him makes me feel sick now." The memory of that scene in the fire had chilled Lin Xingwan to the bone regarding Gu Shaoting.
For years, she had stood by Gu Shaoting through his most difficult times, helping him salvage his nearly bankrupt company.
To allow Gu Shaoting to focus on his work, she had put aside everything at the Lin Group and wholeheartedly joined Gu's family's Huanyu Company.
She led her team through countless late nights, endured illnesses on her own. She was fighting for her future with Gu Shaoting, hoping for their happiness.
For business dinners, she drank until she had a gastric hemorrhage. She had been taken advantage of by investors countless times, but what did she get in return?
On her twenty-second birthday, he abandoned her to pick up Lin Shirou from the airport upon her return. She faced her birthday cake alone.
At her twenty-third or twenty-fourth birthday graduation ceremony, he abandoned her to pick up a drunk Lin Shirou from a bar.
At her twenty-fifth engagement banquet, he directly abandoned her to save Lin Shirou.
She didn't enjoy being mistreated by Gu Shaoting; she just felt that the boy in the white shirt she once loved should not have turned into this person.
She had given him chances, and he had disappointed her time and time again.
She remembered how, when she learned Gu Shaoting had gone to pick up Lin Shirou at the airport, Lin Xingwan's stomach had hurt terribly, and she had argued with Gu Shaoting, leading to a cold war for days. But now, she felt a profound calm.
So calm that… Gu Shaoting should have always put Lin Shirou first.
Liu Mengqin looked at Lin Xingwan's calm demeanor and seemed to understand something. "It's good you didn't tell him. It would just be disgusting. Do you know how upset I was watching the replay of the fire? I saw Gu Shaoting charge into the flames and thought he was going to save you, but who would have expected him to carry out Lin Shirou? I even saw them get into the ambulance, and the Lin family members had all left.
I'm not lying to you at all. I used a magnifying glass to play the video in slow motion, and I couldn't find any other Lin family members who stayed behind. These people are simply beasts. You are also a member of the Lin family, and you've contributed so much to the Lin family over the years, yet they don't even consider you. Instead, Lin Shirou, the illegitimate daughter, is thriving in the entertainment industry, living a better life than the true daughter.
Xingwan, with your looks, your figure, your intelligence, and your drive, what kind of man can't you find? Why do you have to cling to Gu Shaoting, that crooked tree? Don't look at him being the CEO of Huanyu now. Honestly, in my eyes, he's just a greasy man who relies on women and pretends to be virtuous. Without everything you did in the past, who would Gu Shaoting even be!"
Liu Mengqin became more and more indignant, but Lin Xingwan's voice was resolute, "Not anymore."
The fire yesterday had burned away the last vestiges of her hope for love and family.
A valley that offered no echo was not worth lingering in.