It was also because Shen Chuhe had not looked carefully enough earlier that she failed to notice Qiao Wan among those girls.
Jiang Yining asked her, “What’s wrong? That man said he was from the Rong family. Our family has some connections with the Rong family. Let’s rush out now!”
Shen Chuhe grabbed her arm.
“No!”
Suddenly, the door beside their compartment opened.
It was one of the masked men, the same man who had pointed at her earlier and said that he wanted her.
Shen Chuhe stepped forward and shielded Jiang Yining behind her.
“Run.”
Jiang Yining nodded and immediately took off running.
“I’ll get someone to come save you!”
The masked man held up his gun.
“Why aren’t you running?”
Shen Chuhe remained calm and asked directly, “Do you know me?”
“Hah!”
The man merely sneered.
“They’re pouring gasoline outside and setting the place on fire. If you want to escape, get out of here now!”
“Who are you?”
Shen Chuhe had a strange feeling that he really did know her, even though she did not know many people herself.
The man did not answer. He walked straight up the stairs leading to the upper deck.
Shen Chuhe hurried after him and was eventually led to the very top of the ship.
“It’s a shame I can’t take you with me. Remember, my name is A Ji. You are the one I’ve chosen. If you survive, I’ll come find you.”
The man removed his mask and jumped directly into the water.
However, he moved so quickly that Shen Chuhe could not see his face clearly.
His mask remained on the ground.
Suddenly, a burst of gunfire erupted from below the ship.
Shen Chuhe shuddered.
If she jumped down too, would she finally be free?
This was the perfect opportunity.
She could make everyone believe that she was dead!
She took a step forward, only to see thick smoke billowing up from below the ship.
What that man had said about setting the place on fire was actually true.
While Shen Chuhe was hesitating, someone grabbed her wrist.
It was the broad faced man.
“Damn it! You stinking woman! You actually dared to run? Not a single one of you is getting out alive today!”
Biaozi dragged Shen Chuhe back and kicked her into the compartment.
Shen Chuhe tumbled down the stairs, her entire body aching as though every bone had been thrown out of place. Her ankle seemed to have twisted, and when she rolled over and tried to crawl outside, she found that she could barely move.
Biaozi leaned over the top of the ship and watched, laughing viciously.
“Go to hell, all of you! You damn women brought me nothing but bad luck! Luckily, I was smart enough to prepare gasoline beforehand. I knew it would come in handy! Burn! Burn all of you to death!”
The smoke grew thicker and the flames spread rapidly across the ship.
Rong Yuchuan’s eyes were bloodshot.
“I’ll have my men stop. You hand her over, and I’ll let you leave! Otherwise, none of you will survive!”
He had fired earlier and managed to rescue Qiao Wan, but during the chaos, she had unexpectedly been captured by another man and dragged away again.
“Do you think I’ll still believe you? The Rong family? Hah!”
“Ayu, I’m in so much pain. Save me…”
Qiao Wan’s face was streaked with tears as she cried out pitifully.
Rong Yuchuan clenched his fists, the veins on the backs of his hands bulging.
Suddenly, the masked man’s eyes turned vicious. He shoved Qiao Wan forward and was just about to shoot her when Rong Yuchuan saw through his intentions.
“Bang!”
A gunshot rang out.
“Ah!”
The masked man cried out in pain. His wrist was covered in blood, and the gun fell from his hand.
Rong Yuchuan was about to fire a second shot when the man suddenly sprinted forward and jumped into the water.
The people who had been following Rong Yuchuan also jumped into the water one after another.
“Rong Ye, these people…”
“Go after them! Take them alive!”
After giving the order, Rong Yuchuan helped the frightened Qiao Wan to her feet.
“How are you? Are you alright?”
Qiao Wan held her forehead and weakly shook her head.
Rong Yuchuan seemed to remember something and walked farther into the ship.
He opened the door and saw a woman lying on the floor.
Shen Chuhe!
It really was her!
He was just about to step inside when Qiao Wan called out from behind him.
“Ayu, be careful!”
Biaozi was on the upper deck, pulling the trigger of his gun.
Rong Yuchuan’s expression hardened. He acted first, and the bullet struck Biaozi directly between the eyebrows.
Rong Yuchuan was about to step forward when Qiao Wan suddenly rushed over and threw her arms around him.
“Ayu, are you alright? Thank goodness you came! Sob, sob! I was so scared!”
Rong Yuchuan patted her shoulder and comforted her gently.
“It’s alright now. I’m here.”
“As long as you’re alright, I…”
Rong Yuchuan had just been about to push Qiao Wan away when her eyes suddenly rolled back and her body collapsed toward the floor.
“Qiao Wan! Qiao Wan!”
Rong Yuchuan crouched down, but Qiao Wan had already completely lost consciousness.
“Rong Ye, Miss Qiao is physically weak. She faints whenever she is frightened. She doesn’t know how much suffering she has endured over the past two years. We need to get her to the hospital immediately!”
Li Qin spoke urgently.
“The fire is getting bigger! Miss Qiao’s body can’t take much more!”
“Rong Ye, the ship is going to be destroyed! We have to leave now!”
Rong Yuchuan’s expression tightened. After hearing this, he immediately picked Qiao Wan up into his arms.
He hurried away.
Amid the raging flames, Shen Chuhe’s entire body was in pain, but her shoulder hurt the most. She reached behind herself and touched it, finding her hand covered in something wet and warm with the smell of blood.
It hurt so much…
She lowered her head, her eyes narrowing until only a thin slit remained.
Through her blurred vision, she saw a familiar figure. Rong Yuchuan was carrying the unconscious Qiao Wan in his arms, his steps hurried and disordered as he left without ever looking back.
He did not spare the woman behind him a single glance.
In truth, he had been just as heartless throughout those seven years. He had never changed.
In her previous life, she really had been deluding herself.
“Good. In this life, the two of you should love each other well.”
She would live well too.
They would never cross paths again.
In her previous life, Shen Chuhe had known that Qiao Wan was the woman Rong Yuchuan had always loved most, but seeing it with her own eyes was an entirely different experience.
He really did care about Qiao Wan.
He cared about her more than anything.
Fortunately, she no longer loved him.
That was good.
Jiang Yining appeared at that very moment.
She hurried over to Shen Chuhe and crouched down beside her.
“I’m sorry! I wanted to find someone to save you, but they had already started fighting. I had no choice but to hide somewhere. I’ll carry you out now!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Chuhe completely lost consciousness.
“Hiss!”
“It hurts!”
In her hazy state of consciousness, Shen Chuhe murmured, fine beads of sweat covering her forehead.
“Where is the anesthesiologist? Put her under general anesthesia.”
A man’s voice spoke as he held her hand.
“It’s alright. We just need to remove the bullet.”
His voice was calm and gentle, soothing enough to put her at ease.
Shen Chuhe slowly opened her eyes and saw nothing but white. She turned her head and saw a blurry figure beside her, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not make out his face.
In the end, she could not hold on any longer and passed out.
……
“Ah!”
With a scream, Shen Chuhe suddenly sat upright in the hospital bed.
She touched her forehead, which was covered in sweat.
It had only been a dream!
She covered her chest and took several deep breaths before finally calming down.
“What did you dream about?”
The man’s voice startled her again.
She turned her head and met Rong Yuchuan’s dark eyes.
She said nothing.
As the dream came back to her, tears welled up in her eyes.
It had been a dream that mixed together her past and present lives.
She dreamed that she was in a hospital, lying on an operating table while several people held her body down and removed the seven month old fetus from her womb. When she raised her hand, it was covered in blood.
She dreamed of Qiao Wan’s face as she said, “Your life and your daughter’s life were meant to exist for us in the first place. You deserved to die!”
She dreamed of Rong Yuchuan smiling tenderly and considerately at Qiao Wan, only to turn around and face her with a cold, gloomy, and heartless expression.
She dreamed that she was burned alive in a raging fire.
She clutched her chest, unable to suppress the overwhelming pain.
“It was a dream!”
“It was all just a dream!”
She murmured the words, trying to comfort herself.
Rong Yuchuan frowned and walked toward her.
“Shen Chuhe…”
“Ah! Don’t come any closer!”