Her body was in severe pain from the burns.
It felt like her entire body was about to burst into flames.
Through her half-closed, blurred vision, apart from the firelight, she seemed to see a dark figure.
"Xiao You, Xiao You—".
Someone picked her up and covered her body with clothing.
Feeling his skin and breath through the intense heat was familiar.
How could it be possible, she struggled to open her eyes and vaguely made out the handsome face illuminated by the fire: "Lian—, are you crazy, hurry up and leave—".
"We'll leave together," Yin He Lian said, picking her up with one sweep of his arm, kicking open the door ablaze, and finding a gap to slip through. The ceiling was also set alight.
A burning painting fell down in front, luckily Yin He Lian dodged quickly, but his body, holding her, became much more strained.
"You should hurry up and leave, if this continues... both of us will die...", He Lan You pushed against him, barely able to breathe, she... for the first time felt so weak, sensing that she was about to give up.
"We'll die together..." Yin He Lian embraced her, from this moment on, he truly and intensely realized that he had fallen in love with her, for her he rushed into the fire without a second thought, for her he could even speak of life and death.
"Lian... why..."
"He Lan You, without my permission, you are not allowed to have an accident."
"What if something happens to you, what will Xiao Xun do?"
"What would I do if something happens to you, neither I nor Xiao Xun can afford to lose you."
"I haven't had the chance to tell you that I've accidentally fallen for you."
"How can you die irresponsibly—".
...
The roaring sound seemed to come from far away, hazy, indistinguishable from reality or illusion, until his voice could no longer be heard, and her consciousness seemed to have slept for a very long time. Until someone called out to her again by her ear.
"Xiao You... Xiao You... Xiao You..."
The only person in the world who would call her name like that is one person.
"Lian..."
"Lian..."
When did she start to take every word and action of his to heart, when did this person quietly walk into her heart.
Probably, if he couldn't see her, he would scold her with that fierce tone and a worried look in his eyes.
Struggling to open her eyes, she vaguely saw a hand reaching over.
"Lian...", subconsciously reaching out to grasp it, the thick palm, the familiar temperature, yet somehow unfamiliar, her consciousness slightly awakened, her scattered expression focused, and she saw the owner of the hand.
Blue suit, handsome features, dark brown... At the moment he saw her waking up, his eyes were filled with a surprised light.
"Duan... Duan Xu...", He Lan You uttered weakly, it wasn't him... A sense of loss welled up in her heart, her gaze shifted away from him to the little girl beside him.
"Mommy—", she threw herself into her arms with a crying tone, "Mommy, Xiao Xun thought you wouldn't want me anymore, boo-hoo—".
"How could I, how could I not want you," she almost thought she was dead, having gone through the edge of life and death, she cherished and cared for the little one in her arms even more.
"By the way, Xiao Xun, where is your daddy?" She blurted out anxiously, not paying attention to the address, nor noticing the sudden change in Duan Xu's face, she only remembered seeing Yin He Lian in her unconsciousness.
"Daddy he—Daddy he—".
"What happened to your daddy?" Did something happen, He Lan You disregarded the pain in her body, "whoosh" sat up, anxiety and loss overwhelmed her, "Did something happen to him?"
"He's fine, luckily the firefighters arrived in time," Duan Xu held her, "You are very weak now, you can't move around."
"Well, where is he?" Could it be that he also fainted like herself.
"Oh, he... he went out for something," Duan Xu looked at her with complicated eyes, "Are you married?"
"Ah—", He Lan You was stunned, then recalled what Duan Xu said before the fire rescue, and couldn't help but be more vigilant towards him, turning to Xiao Xun, she said, "Xiao Xun, mommy is thirsty, can you get a glass of water for mommy?"
"Okay, mommy, wait a moment," seeing the back of Xiao Xun, Duan Xu lowered his voice, "I heard that you left the He Lan family three years ago, and that child looks four or five years old, it's not your own, is it?"
"I have long regarded her as my own," He Lan You replied softly.
"What about that man, is he the child's biological father, did you marry him?"
He Lan You was slightly stunned, not understanding why Duan Xu would think Lian was the biological father of Xiao Xun, "I think you got it wrong, it's not what you think, Xiao Xun just calls Lian daddy," her eyes sharpened, "Duan Xu, you knew my real identity a long time ago, right? That's why you let me protect you, what's your real purpose?"
"Correct, you are the only daughter of the He Lan family, and you will inevitably be the heir of the He Lan family. I wanted to take this opportunity to get close to you, what do you think of this purpose?" Duan Xu said with interest, his eyes deep, indistinguishable from true or false.
He Lan You glanced at him, her face smiling, but her eyes were cold and distant, "Then I think you've got the wrong person, I'm just an ordinary police officer now."
"You will go back," Duan Xu said with certainty, "Once the heir of the He Lan family turns twenty-three, they must inherit the family business, so He Lan Houyuan will definitely join hands with the other three major families, using all manpower and material resources to find your whereabouts. In addition to the assassination attempt by Yang Jinsheng this time, your heroic rescue has been reported in the newspapers, and they will soon track you down."
"You did this on purpose," He Lan You's every cell stood on end, gritting her teeth and looking at Duan Xu, damn it, so she was designed by him from beginning to end.