It was extremely fast—there was nowhere to retreat, no weapon to fight back with, and no way to escape.
Xie Yanhan’s muscles tensed instantly.
But in the next second, Jiang Sui grabbed his collar and yanked him forward.
So she was going to use him as a meat shield after all? So much for that so-called guilt—it meant nothing.
Xie Yanhan raised his left hand and pressed it against her shoulder near her neck. One more inch, and he could’ve grabbed that thin, fair throat.
But in that moment—
He was suddenly pulled into a warm, soft embrace.
He froze.
Jiang Sui tightly hugged his lean waist and dragged him down. Both of them fell to the ground and rolled under the bed.
The infected lunged at empty air, then roared in rage and grabbed the hospital bed, shaking it violently.
Panting, Jiang Sui shoved him forward urgently.
“Run!”
Xie Yanhan’s legs were broken; he couldn’t stand. But rolling was still possible. That was their only way out.
Yet he didn’t move.
He lowered his head slightly and looked at her with a strange gaze.
Jiang Sui nearly panicked.
“Are you scared stiff? Run! Move!”
The bed was flipped over. The infected reached toward her. There was no more space to dodge—she prepared to fight desperately.
At that moment, Xie Yanhan’s intact left arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back just in time, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The infected missed and roared in fury. It lowered its body and opened its mouth, biting straight at her face.
Jiang Sui nearly screamed.
But she clearly saw Xie Yanhan reach out from behind her, blocking the bite.
Blood-stained teeth slammed into the plaster cast on his right arm.
Crack.
The hard cast split open.
She heard him let out a low muffled groan.
The infected roared again, trying to drag them out.
At the critical moment—
Gunshots rang out.
The infected was hit by a barrage of bullets. It howled, climbed up the wall to evade, but the shots followed it. Finally, with a loud bang, its head exploded.
The blood-splattered body crashed to the ground.
The danger was finally over.
Jiang Sui’s tense body relaxed immediately. She quickly turned to Xie Yanhan.
“Are you okay?”
He looked down at her, his dark eyes deep and cold—like they could swallow her whole.
“I’m fine,” he said after a second.
“And your hand?” Jiang Sui grabbed his right arm lightly. Her eyes were still misty from fear, looking like she might cry.
“Were you bitten?”
Xie Yanhan frowned. Irritation flashed across his face.
He pulled his hand away coldly.
“I said I’m fine.”
Seeing his mood turn sour, Jiang Sui stopped talking.
Then she turned toward the shooter.
It was a fully armed soldier, tall and imposing, wearing a black military uniform. He had a tactical helmet and camouflage face paint, but even so, his features looked sharp and strikingly attractive.
Cold, defined bone structure—an aggressive, commanding face.
Jiang Sui’s eyes widened slightly.
Her heart started pounding.
This was… the male lead, Huo Linchuan.
Her luck was incredible—she had already met the male lead this early!
This was the second golden thigh of the story. She had to cling to it.
“Are you injured?” Huo Linchuan asked from the doorway.
Jiang Sui quickly shook her head.
“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, my friend and I would’ve been killed.”
Huo Linchuan smiled lightly. The cold sharpness in his features softened a little.
“That’s my job.”
He tilted his head and signaled his men to remove the infected corpse.
Jiang Sui quickly introduced herself.
“My name is Jiang Sui. I’ll remember your life-saving favor. If we meet again, I’ll repay you.”
She mainly wanted him to remember her surname—Jiang—so he’d associate her with the female lead.
Huo Linchuan still smiled, but it didn’t feel sincere.
“Alright. See you if fate allows it, little beauty.”
He turned and left.
Jiang Sui watched his back, recalling how in the original story, he had acted the same way when he first met Jiang Shuangxue—casual and indifferent.
Later, he became fiercely devoted, jealous, and possessive.
She turned back—and met Xie Yanhan’s silent, dark gaze.
He was staring at her coldly, clearly disapproving of her attempt at conversation.
Jiang Sui awkwardly touched her ear.
“I just wanted to know him. The outside is so chaotic. Maybe we’ll run into them again, and they could help us.”
More importantly, she remembered that when South City completely fell into chaos, survivors formed convoy groups to escape together.
The largest convoy was led by the male lead, and the female lead later joined it.
Jiang Sui planned to join them too.
So building familiarity early was important.
And then there was this big villain beside her.
She glanced at Xie Yanhan again.
He looked cold, indifferent, and deeply hostile. His right arm cast was cracked, with a bloody bite mark on it.
But thinking about it… she felt a little grateful.
If he hadn’t blocked that bite with his arm, it would’ve been her face instead.
So he wasn’t completely cold-hearted after all. At least he didn’t just watch people die.
“I’ll go call a doctor,” Jiang Sui said.
“Your arm needs another check. The cast is cracked—what if the bone got injured again?”
Xie Yanhan watched her worried expression.
Something dark flickered in his eyes.
He swallowed the words he had been about to say and gave a faint “Mm.”
Jiang Sui noticed his reaction and immediately asked, “Does it hurt?”
Of course it hurt. His bone was already fractured and now bitten so violently.
But Xie Yanhan didn’t care about pain.
Pain meant nothing.
No one cared whether he hurt or not anyway.
“It must hurt a lot,” Jiang Sui murmured. She hesitated, as if wanting to touch his arm but not daring to. She pulled her hand back.
“I’ll go get the doctor and nurse right away.”
She turned and ran out of the room.
Xie Yanhan remained where he was, staring at her disappearing figure for a long time.