At that thought, Han Zheng replied, “After something like this happened, the school would definitely notify the family. Your sister should already be at the school by now.”
Lin Wansu felt a loud buzz explode inside her head.
She could almost imagine exactly what her younger sister must be feeling right now. Wanning had been terrified of losing the people she loved ever since she was little.
The year their parents passed away, she had barely spoken for several days. During the day, she would sit blankly by the window for hours, sometimes remaining there for the entire day. At night, she would crawl beneath the covers and clutch Lin Wansu’s arm tightly, refusing to let go.
Lin Wansu was now her only family left in this world. If Wanning believed that she had died in the fire…
Lin Wansu couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen next.
“I need to go to the school.”
She immediately turned toward the door. Perhaps the sudden panic had overwhelmed her, or perhaps her body simply hadn’t recovered yet. She had barely taken a single step when her vision suddenly swayed, and her entire body nearly collapsed.
Chen Xu reacted quickly and caught her. “Why are you rushing?”
Lin Wansu looked up at him, and tears instantly welled in her eyes. “My sister knows what happened last night, but I never told her that I’m safe. She’ll be terrified. She must think I’m dead… I have to find her.”
Chen Xu understood how serious the situation was.
He also knew that Lin Wanning wouldn’t merely be frightened. In the original novel, it was only after Lin Wanning confirmed her sister’s death in front of those ruins that she completely descended into darkness and embarked on a path of revenge.
He simply hadn’t expected that, despite having clearly changed the plotline, events would somehow continue unfolding according to the original plot.
Of course, Lin Wansu was still alive now.
He absolutely could not allow Lin Wanning to remain trapped in suffering that should never have happened in the first place.
“We’re going to the school,” Chen Xu said decisively.
Han Zheng nodded and turned to arrange a car.
However, Lin Wansu grabbed Chen Xu’s sleeve, so anxious that her voice carried a faint sob. “I can leave right now. There’s no need to prepare anything else. Please, hurry… I can’t let Wanning worry for too long.”
Chen Xu frowned as he looked at her. “Don’t rush. You’re in terrible condition right now.”
Lin Wansu was indeed extremely weak. Her health had never been particularly good to begin with, and she had barely eaten anything throughout the previous day. The only thing she had consumed was a bowl of porridge early that morning.
If she rushed to the school in this condition, she might collapse before she even saw her sister.
“Eat something first, then change your clothes.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You still have to eat,” Chen Xu said firmly, leaving no room for negotiation. “Do you want Lin Wanning to see a sister who can barely even walk?”
Lin Wansu froze for a moment.
She lowered her head and looked at the oversized pajamas she was wearing, then glanced at her bandaged wrist. Finally, she stopped insisting.
Chen Xu turned toward Han Zheng and instructed, “Bring the car around first and have it wait outside. Only the bodyguards and Dr. Zhou need to come with us. There’s no need to bring too many people. Also, organize all the relevant evidence concerning what happened last night.”
Han Zheng acknowledged the order without another word. He quickly took out his phone and stepped aside to make the arrangements.
As for the evidence, he had already taken care of everything the previous night. He had even found a way to secretly make a backup copy of the school’s surveillance footage.
Chen Xu supported Lin Wansu as they walked toward the dining room.
Two bowls of warm meat porridge had already been placed on the dining table, along with several glossy fried eggs and a few slices of fried ham.
Chen Xu guided her into a chair and placed a spoon in her hand. “Eat.”
Lin Wansu pressed her lips together and reluctantly swallowed several spoonfuls.
She ate quickly, clearly wanting nothing more than to finish as soon as possible and rush to the school.
Just as she finished the porridge, Aunt Zhang appeared beside the dining table at precisely the right moment, carrying a clean set of clothes.
There was a light apricot knitted cardigan, a white long dress, and a pair of white flats.
Lin Wansu noticed an unopened set of underwear tucked among the clothes, and the tips of her ears immediately turned slightly red. However, she knew this was hardly the time to worry about something like that.
“I’ll go change.”
“Mm.”
Chen Xu watched her enter the specially designated changing room before slowly sitting back down.
…
Meanwhile, at Linjiang No. 1 High School, Liu Hong and Li Jian had remained in the security room near the entrance after He Man and the others left. Their eyes were dull as they stared blankly toward the school gate.
They had already abandoned any hope that the principal would help them. All they could do now was pray that Lin Wanning would arrive a little later, delaying the moment when she would have to face those ruthless people.
By now, almost everyone gathered around the school entrance had been dispersed, leaving only a handful of scattered people.
Suddenly, a silver-gray van entered their field of vision and screeched to a halt outside the gate.
The door had barely opened when a girl rushed out.
Li Jian’s expression changed immediately. “Wanning!”
Lin Wanning didn’t hear him at all.
She rushed through the half-open school gate, her gaze sweeping across the athletic field before finally settling on the charred ruins in the distance.
A fire truck was still parked there, although the firefighters had temporarily gone to the offices to rest.
The smell of smoke and scorched debris still lingered heavily in the air, refusing to fade.
Lin Wanning’s footsteps gradually slowed.
The red-hot iron door from her dream seemed to appear before her eyes once again.
Li Jian moved even faster than the security guards and hurried toward her, intending to stop her before she went any farther.
However, Lin Wanning raised her head and looked at him. Her voice was unnaturally calm as she asked, “Where is my sister?”
Li Jian’s throat tightened.
He didn’t want to lie to her, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice the cruelest possibility either.
“The firefighters are still checking…”
Lin Wanning stared at him, and the final trace of hope in her eyes gradually faded into darkness.
She walked around Li Jian and ran toward the area beyond the warning tape.
“Wanning, don’t go over there! The warehouse has been severely damaged, and it could completely collapse at any moment!” Li Jian hurriedly grabbed her.
Lin Wanning didn’t struggle.
She merely turned her head and looked at him.
There was nothing left in those eyes now but emptiness and deathly silence.
“Teacher,” she asked softly, “my sister might be inside. If I don’t go in there to find her, where else am I supposed to go?”
Li Jian’s grip slowly loosened.
Even Aunt Wu and Uncle Wang, who had followed her inside, fell silent.
Lin Wanning didn’t look at anyone again. She turned and was about to walk toward the ruins.
However, she had barely taken two steps when an angry shout came from the distance.
Luo Wenxiang hurried over, his forehead drenched in sweat, with Zhou Mingyuan following behind him. Neither of them looked particularly pleased.
The two of them hadn’t gone to the lounge with He Man and the others earlier. Instead, they had gone elsewhere to receive the firefighters who were taking a temporary break. They had only just come out when they saw what was happening near the school gate.
Zhou Mingyuan glanced at Lin Wanning standing near the entrance and gave a slight nod.
After all, Lin Wanning was one of the finest students at Linjiang No. 1 High School. Her admission to either Tsinghua University or Peking University was practically guaranteed, so as the principal, Zhou Mingyuan naturally knew who she was.
However, when his gaze shifted toward Aunt Wu and Uncle Wang, his brows immediately furrowed.
As far as he knew, the Lin sisters were orphans and had no relatives.
Zhou Mingyuan turned toward the elderly security guard stationed at the gate and reprimanded him, “Did you not take what I said earlier seriously? Why are there still so many unrelated people inside the school?”
Aunt Wu’s expression immediately changed when she heard this. “What do you mean, unrelated people? I’m the Lin sisters’ neighbor. We’re the ones who brought the child here!”
Uncle Wang also spoke up, “Something this serious happened to her family, and she has no one else to rely on. We were worried about her, so what’s wrong with coming inside to check on her?”
Luo Wenxiang’s expression became impatient. “I understand how you both feel, but the school is currently dealing with a fire incident, and we need to maintain order at the scene. Neither of you is a student’s guardian, and you have nothing to do with this incident, so please leave the school for now.”
Aunt Wu immediately became furious. “I watched Wansu grow up! We don’t even know whether that child is alive or dead right now. What gives you the right to drive us away?”
“Aunt Wu,” Lin Wanning suddenly called out.
Her voice carried an indescribable exhaustion.
Aunt Wu froze and turned toward her.
Lin Wanning stood motionless, her face almost completely drained of color. In her hand, she was still tightly clutching the Nokia phone that refused to turn on.
“You and Uncle Wang should go home first.”
“Wanning, but you’re here all alone…”
“I’m not alone,” Lin Wanning said.
She raised her eyes toward Li Jian and Liu Hong, then looked toward the charred ruins of the warehouse in the distance.
“My sister is still inside.”
Aunt Wu’s eyes instantly reddened.
She wanted to say something else, but Uncle Wang gently tugged on her arm.
Uncle Wang could already see what was happening. The school officials were clearly determined not to allow the two adults to interfere.
If they continued arguing, the security guards would probably throw them out by force.