Gu Chen protected Shen Xian all the way, leaving behind the noisy crowd to arrive in a quiet corner of the office park, where he had her sit down on a bench.
"It's safe now,"
the man said in a low, emotionless voice.
Shen Xian was hunched over, the brim of her hat covering more than half of her face. From Gu Chen's perspective, she looked particularly gaunt, her sharp chin, slender frame, and slightly trembling body made her seem nothing like someone who could risk their life to defuse a bomb on the brink of death.
"Thank you."
Shen Xian's voice was a bit hoarse. She didn't look up, her hands tightly gripping the edge of the bench as if it made her feel more secure.
Gu Chen didn't leave; instead, he sat down beside her.
"You were very brave just now. Can you tell me your name?"
"Shen Xian," she replied after a long silence, squeezing the name out between her pale lips.
Gu Chen actually had many questions he wanted to ask her. Why was she defusing a bomb? Why did she have everyone leave but stayed herself? Why would she risk her life for strangers when she was clearly scared... But in the end, he only managed to ask the simplest one.
Shen Xian's workwear over her shoulders had been torn at some point, revealing her snow-white skin and part of an ugly, unsightly scar.
Seeing that she wasn't talking, Gu Chen reached out to help pull up her clothes.
This action, however, seemed like an invasion to Shen Xian. She dodged the man's hand as if she had been electrocuted, looking at him warily.
Gu Chen felt a bit embarrassed and retracted his hand, hanging in mid-air.
"Weren't you scared just now? Why didn't you run?"
Finally, Gu Chen couldn't help but ask the question he was most curious about.
After calming down a bit, Shen Xian met the man's bright eyes. Sharp in contrast to his calmness, she asked, "Didn't you run too? Did you stay just because the one trapped was your assistant? If it had been an ordinary staff member, would you have stayed there?"
Gu Chen was taken aback. He hadn't considered this question. But one thing he was certain of was that the person trapped was not just his assistant but also his brother in life and death!
At that moment, he wouldn't have abandoned him.
"If you can't answer the question yourself, don't ask others. Some things, they aren't a choice. Danger doesn't give you that much time to choose."
Seeing Gu Chen silently, Shen Xian didn't want to say more and stood up, ready to leave.
"Wait a moment!"
Gu Chen stood up and took out his business card from the inner pocket of his suit, "I think, you shouldn't just be stuck in a warehouse. This is my card, you can call me any time to put forward your requests, and as long as it's within reason, I'll try to satisfy them."
Shen Xian didn't take the business card Gu Chen was offering, "I quite like my current job, and there's no need for any reward for today's incident. Thank you!"
After saying this, she intended to leave.
Seeing this, Gu Chen quickly stuffed the business card into the pocket of Shen Xian's workwear, "You can take your time to think about it. My offer today will never expire."
Shen Xian didn't want to argue further, so without rebutting him, she turned and left.
Gu Chen watched her retreating figure, his eyes growing deep, and he dialed a number on his phone.
"Send someone immediately to assist the police in their investigation; also, check on a person for me..."
The early autumn breeze was somewhat chilly on the skin, but the bare skin and scar on Shen Xian's shoulder felt as though they were scorched and aching from the autumn wind.
She didn't go back to the warehouse but sent a message to her supervisor asking for leave, then left the bustling warehouse park.
Shen Xian didn't take a taxi, didn't ride the subway, and didn't take the bus either; she still wore a hat to cover her face, carrying her old bag containing her damaged work clothes. She walked briskly along the street, her head lowered.
She was like an emotionless walking machine! It seemed only by doing so could she quiet the restlessness, fear, apprehension, and turmoil within her.
In this manner, Shen Xian walked from the blazing sun until nightfall. Her legs felt as though they were weighed down with lead, but she never stopped. It was hard to tell whether the wetness on her face was sweat or tears. Her lips were cracked; her eyes, hollow.
So mechanically, she marched on, crossing the noisy streets, stepping over the illuminated bridges in the twilight... until she finally reached her tiny abode.
She dropped her bag, grabbed two bottles of chilled beer from the refrigerator, and staggered up to the rooftop terrace. There, she collapsed onto a stone bench and began to guzzle the beer, tilting her head back.
The streetlights, oh, they gradually lit up before her eyes.
The city continued to shine brightly as ever, with few people caring about the unknown corners where someone might have lost their life or where an accident might have happened.
As long as it wasn't their concern, to them the world was still peaceful and wonderful!
But what about Shen Xian? Was her world wonderful?
"Shen Xian,"
a voice, familiar yet slightly distant, echoed from the entrance to the rooftop.
Shen Xian's body trembled, stopping her from chugging the beer. Yet she didn't turn around, as if she were afraid of something, or as if she were desperately denying the existence of the voice she'd just heard.
She tilted her head back and took another fierce gulp of beer.
The footsteps grew closer, and Shen Xian drank even more frantically.
A slender hand reached around from behind and took the beer bottle from her grip.
"Shen Xian, it's been three years. I've finally found you."
The man's voice was clear and pleasant to hear, magnetic and strong as he whispered gently in Shen Xian's ear.
Just that one sentence, and Shen Xian's eyes quickly reddened, a mist forming, making everything before her seem hazy and unreal.
The man took the beer from Shen Xian's hand and stepped in front of her. He wore black clothes that made him blend into the dark night. His figure was tall and sturdy; he exuded an icy steel-like presence, contrasting starkly with the tenderness of his voice just moments ago.
"Zhou Mu, you've come,"
Shen Xian said in a calm tone, her eyes misty as she gazed at the man before her, as though it was destined, knowing that he would come.
Zhou Mu sat down on the bench opposite Shen Xian, leaning forward slightly, gently wiping away tears she herself seemed unaware of shedding.
"I saw the media reports about Shen Fei Group," Zhou Mu paused before continuing, "and your photos."
Even though those photos only captured half of Shen Xian's face, he, who knew her so well, recognized her at first glance. Following the lead of Shen Fei Logistics, he swiftly found Shen Xian's residence.
Three years, and at last, he had found her.
Looking at the woman in front of him, now far too thin, he struggled to restrain the tumultuous emotions inside him.
"Shen Xian, you've lost more weight."
"You still look the same." Shen Xian managed a faint smile as she observed the man, as cold and solemn as the night, "That smile, it was uglier than tears."