After making the emergency call, Xie Wanyin never expected him to be the one who came.
Zhou Ruotan.
Her childhood sweetheart—and ex-husband of five years.
Xie Wanyin’s heart was caught off guard and pierced. An indescribable bitterness instantly spread through her entire being.
“Give me your hand.”
The moment Zhou Ruotan saw her, his pupils contracted sharply, but the reaction soon disappeared behind his cool, austere features.
He reached out and pulled her from the elevator where she was trapped. “How long have you been stuck?”
“One hour.” Xie Wanyin smiled, maintaining the dignity expected of an adult. “My phone only got a signal fifteen minutes ago. I didn’t expect the firefighter who came to be you.”
Zhou Ruotan nodded, his dark eyes dropping downward.
After a long while, he finally spoke slowly. “Your leg… Is it all right?”
Xie Wanyin suppressed the redness around her eyes and said nothing.
Ever since the earthquake three years ago, her left leg had never recovered.
The earthquake had struck without warning. Before Xie Wanyin could even react, she had been crushed beneath the building.
She trembled uncontrollably. It felt as though every bone in her body had shattered, her blood was flowing backward, and none of the parts of her body belonged to her anymore.
The pain in her left leg was so intense that it had gone numb.
The taste of rust filled her throat. Xie Wanyin’s vision went black, and she fainted.
When she opened her eyes again, Yuan Qian, who had also been pinned down nearby, suddenly cried out.
“Brother Ruotan, I’m here! Save me!”
Hearing her voice, Zhou Ruotan came running.
All the color had drained from his face. Even his usually cold features had twisted into a deep frown.
One of the team members behind him shouted, “Brother Zhou, there’s no time! The experts said there’ll be another aftershock in fifteen minutes. We can only save one person first!”
Xie Wanyin endured the pain, cold sweat beading on her forehead. “Zhou Ruotan…”
She had barely spoken when Yuan Qian cut in. “Brother Ruotan, I’m in so much pain. I can’t breathe anymore, sob…”
Everyone thought Zhou Ruotan would save her first. Even Xie Wanyin herself had thought so.
After all, she was Zhou Ruotan’s childhood sweetheart and, more importantly, had been his wife for five years.
But Zhou Ruotan merely closed his eyes for a moment, his voice freezing like ice. “Save Qianqian first.”
When the rescue team tried to save Xie Wanyin afterward, the aftershock struck.
After that, Xie Wanyin remembered nothing.
When she woke again, she was already in the hospital. She heard a doctor sigh. “I heard she was also a famous dancer. What a shame. If only we’d had another ten minutes… It’s such a pity.”
What was a pity?
Xie Wanyin soon found out. Her left leg could no longer exert any strength.
What a pity that she would never be able to stand on a stage again for the rest of her life.
At the thought, Xie Wanyin suddenly felt like laughing.
She suppressed the smile at the corners of her lips. “Thanks. I’ll send a commendation banner to your fire station later.”
But she had barely taken a few steps when a broad hand suddenly yanked her back.
Her vision lurched, and her body was pinned between the wall and Zhou Ruotan.
The veins on the back of Zhou Ruotan’s hand stood out, but his tone remained as indifferent as ever. “Three years ago, why did you leave without saying goodbye? Where exactly did you go? Do you know that I’ve been looking for you all this time?”
Xie Wanyin gave a bitter laugh and countered, “Aren’t you the one who knows best?”
Zhou Ruotan’s brows drew tightly together, his eyes dark and gloomy.
“I’ve explained it countless times.”
“The situation was extremely urgent. We could only save one person. Qianqian’s health was poor, and her condition was more serious than yours, so I could only save her first.”
“Besides, Qianqian is my sister. There was no way I could abandon her.”
His fingertips brushed the corner of Xie Wanyin’s eye. “Xie Wanyin, you know perfectly well that I had no choice back then. Are you really going to hate me for this for the rest of your life?”
Yes. There had been too many things he supposedly hadn’t had a choice about.
Xie Wanyin lowered her eyes, the corners of her lips curving faintly.
During the six months she had spent hospitalized and undergoing treatment, Zhou Ruotan had visited her very few times.
When she had undergone more than ten surgeries, Zhou Ruotan had been celebrating Yuan Qian’s birthday.
When rehabilitation had made her suffer so much that she wished she were dead, where had Zhou Ruotan been?
The corners of Xie Wanyin’s lips flattened. “Zhou Ruotan, we divorced a long time ago. Why are you still being so aggressive with me?”
Zhou Ruotan’s entire body stiffened. He had not expected that answer.
He had once imagined what it would be like to see her again. Perhaps Xie Wanyin would act pitiful. Perhaps she would burst into tears.
But he had never imagined this.
There was only indifference and exhaustion in Xie Wanyin’s eyes.
Zhou Ruotan pressed his lips together, his expression ugly.
When Xie Wanyin had left without saying goodbye three years ago, he had assumed that she was hurting and had therefore given her plenty of time.
But three years had already passed. Even if she had merely been throwing a tantrum, that was long enough.
He did not believe Xie Wanyin could simply let go of their relationship. If she could, she would never have spent more than ten years following after him.
Zhou Ruotan did not understand. What more did she want?
But the Xie Wanyin before him now was too unfamiliar.
So unfamiliar that he did not even know how to begin speaking to her.
Zhou Ruotan’s gaze sharpened. “Xie Wanyin, can’t you just talk properly? Why are you always like this? You were like this as a child, and you’re still like this now that you’re grown up?”
“Xie Wanyin, I never signed the divorce agreement. We aren’t divorced. Legally, we’re still husband and wife.”
As he spoke, Zhou Ruotan unconsciously tightened his grip.
The strength around her wrist suddenly increased, and Xie Wanyin let out a muffled groan of pain, instinctively furrowing her brows.
“We can still make it today,” she said calmly. “The Civil Affairs Bureau closes in an hour. If that doesn’t work, then tomorrow. I’ll come whenever you call.”
With that, Xie Wanyin tried to break free and leave.
But the next second, the hand filled with anger yanked her back again. He dragged her all the way into the underground parking garage.
Unable to shake him off, Xie Wanyin stumbled after him. “Zhou Ruotan, what exactly are you trying to do?”
Zhou Ruotan shoved her into the passenger seat. “We’re going home. We need to talk properly.”
“I’m not going.” Xie Wanyin struggled desperately against his grip.
But Zhou Ruotan was too strong and forcibly pushed her inside anyway.
Xie Wanyin tried to open the car door, only to discover that it had already been locked.
She took a deep breath. “What are we going to talk about? You and Yuan Qian, or the fact that we’re going to get divorced tomorrow? Actually, there’s no need to go to all that trouble. You just need to sign the divorce agreement.”
Zhou Ruotan bent down and said impatiently, “I’ll say it again. Yuan Qian is only my sister. There’s nothing between us.”
Xie Wanyin looked at his face.
“But you aren’t related by blood.”
“Zhou Ruotan, do you think I’m still throwing a tantrum? You’re always like this. You think all I ever do is make a fuss.”
Zhou Ruotan’s face looked as though it had been coated in shards of ice, his lips pulled into a straight line.
“Xie Wanyin, actually, back then…”
Before he could finish, a coquettish voice sounded behind him.
A familiar figure strode over. Yuan Qian swept her long hair aside, her face full of a sweet, coy smile.
“Brother Ruotan, I finally found you. Weren’t we supposed to take our wedding photos today?”