The huge steel frame shattered around them. To protect her, Mu Shengchen enveloped her small figure in his arms. Just then, a corner of the frame fell on his back.
A severe cut sliced through his back, and blood streamed out from the injury. Everyone gasped and screamed from the sudden ordeal, but he didn't say another word.
Instead, all he could do was stare at the woman in his arms. Despite having fallen unconscious, she was safe–that was all it mattered. His gaze softened, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
His plan had worked!
Stretching out his blood-stained hand, he wanted to trail his fingers down her face. However, as much as he had wanted to move even closer, the strain on his arms prevented him from doing so.
Iron fragments flew everywhere, and dust clouded all their vision. It was like a rain of fireballs had started to fall onto the ground. Some were smashed from the avalanche of fragments. Others had fallen under the dusty mist.
Everyone had been affected. Even the tables and chairs had all collapsed from the earth-shaking impact.
"Quickly! Evacuate the crowd and arrange the rescue team!" Yan Rui directed the assistants in charge of this event before he ran towards Mu Shengchen's fallen frame. "Young Master Chen? Are you awake? Call an ambulance!"
He waved his hand at Assistant Wei who immediately sprinted towards the exit to make a phone call. The couple was practically swimming in his blood.
"Yan Rui," he said weakly, placing his hand above Yan Rui. The man stopped panicking.
"Young Master Chen?"
His voice was so soft that Yan Rui had to lean in closer just to get a hint of what he was saying. "Send Qianyu back to City A and let Ye Xi take good care of her," he murmured. "Don't let her know I'm hurt."
"What? But–" Yan Rui stuttered out, not knowing how to react.
"Did you hear me?" Despite being part of an accident, Mu Shengchen still looked quite intimidating–even with shards buried under his skin.
"Y–Yes, Sir."
Only then did he finally lean against the man's arms, closing his eyes completely. Ning Qianyu was safe. That was all that mattered for now.
On the other side of the hall, Assistant Wei had already called in the medical staff of the company. Before long, the couple was taken out of the company building.
Ning Qianyu felt as if she had fallen into a long, sweet dream. When she woke up and saw a snow-white ceiling, she felt as if she had lived a lifetime.
Her surroundings were quiet, but she could hear faint footsteps sounding from the corridor outside of her room. What was going on?
Her mind was blank as she stared up at the ceiling. She turned her gaze to the right. There was a wide window displayed to her right.
The weather was all right. With the bright sun and cool winds, there wasn't a single cloud blocking the azure horizon. Despite the city approaching a cool winter, everything still seemed summery behind the clear glass.
Her lips curled upwards before looking at the side. There, she could see an infusion bottle hanging right beside her bed. The tube had been inserted at the back of her left hand.
She froze. When had she been infused? Was she sick?
Just as she was about to take a closer look, the door to the ward swung open. Before she could speak, Ye Xi had already entered the vicinity.
His eyes widened momentarily at the sight of her before he reverted to his original stance.
"Madame, you finally woke up," he said in surprise. "Let me call in the doctors."
After a while, he returned with five or six doctors. All of them were adorned with white coats as they immediately surrounded her bed.
She didn't even have the time to ask as they performed a series of tests, from testing her blood pressure to her sugar levels.
When everything finally seemed normal, the old doctor peered at her. "Does your head hurt?" he asked. "Do you feel uncomfortable?"
She shook her head. "What's wrong with me? Why am I here?"
"You don't remember what happened before this?" The doctor raised an eyebrow before he pointed at Ye Xi. "Do you still recognize him?"
"Assistant Ye."
"Good." He turned to Ye Xi. "The patient has suffered no blood clots or memory loss. She had only fainted because of the impact. She might be suffering from a small concussion, but everything's normal. Just make sure she drinks lots of fluids."
"Yes, Doctor." Ning Qianyu blinked. Immediately, the events of the annual event flashed into her mind. The chandelier! Mu Shengchen had jumped at her, but she couldn't remember what happened next. Where was he?
She looked up. "Where's Shengchen?"
As soon as he heard her question, Ye Xi froze. "Something had happened to Yan Rui, so Young Master Chen will be staying in B City to help out with the company affair," he slowly said.
Suddenly, her chest started to hurt. "Is he okay? He's not injured, is he?"
"He's fine." Ye Xi looked away. "Young Madame, are you feeling better? Would you like something to eat?"
Ning Qianyu didn't answer his question. Instead, she sat on the bed in a complete daze as she tried to remember what had happened. She remembered seeing a pool of blood, but she had lost consciousness right after. What the hell happened during that night?
Ye Xi stared at her for what seemed to be a long time before walking away, wanting to report the incident to Yan Rui.
It's a good thing that she wasn't hurt from the blast. Turned out, she had only been unconscious for a day. However, she didn't look fine.
The next day when Ye Xi had arrived, Ning Qianyu looked up at him. "I want to be discharged," she said firmly, leaving room for no arguments.
The man was still worried, so he had asked the doctor to give her a full body checkup. After confirming that she was in very good health, he sent her back to the apartment.
The apartment looked the same as it had been when she left that night. There was no change. Even the egg tarts she hadn't eaten that night were still left on the table. That meant that Mu Shengchen still hadn't returned.
Wanting to distract herself, Ning Qianyu rolled up her sleeves and cleaned the apartment like before. When she had finished, she relaxed on the sofa. "Hm," she hummed to herself as she grabbed her phone to call Mu Shengchen.
"Please try again later. Thank you!"
She frowned as she continued to call. However, no matter how many times she had tried, she was only met with a dead end.
His phone had never been turned off, so why couldn't she reach him?
Whenever she called him, he'd always answer. His pleasant voice would always reverberate from the other end of the line as he assured her that everything would be fine.
But she couldn't get through him now.
Her heart skipped a beat. Why did she feel as if something bad had happened?
At noon, Ye Xi had called her over to ask what she wanted to eat. "It's fine," she responded, sounding dispirited by the suggestion. "I can just cook on my own."
There was silence for about ten seconds before he nodded. "All right."
At noon, Ye Xi brought a few bags of ingredients over. All of them carried potatoes, lettuces, and other vegetables to keep her afloat. On one of the bags, he had different kinds of meat prepared for her.
"Assistant Ye." She glanced up. "When will Shengchen return?"
He stiffened. "It may take a few days."
"Right." She frowned.
Ye Xi opened his mouth. He wanted to tell her about Mu Shengchen's condition, but he didn't dare. After all, his boss's orders were clear enough. "If you have any more concerns, call me directly, okay?"
"Okay." She relaxed on the sofa.
Ye Xi sighed in his heart, before living in a hurry. Sometimes the biggest fights were caused by small miscommunications, but now, he couldn't do anything about it.
After Ye Xi had left, Ning Qianyu sat on the sofa. She didn't move from afternoon till night. She simply stared blankly at the wall, as if in shock by his absence still.
As the night deepened, she couldn't hold it any longer as she fell asleep on the sofa.