"There's no time left, any further delay and we're both going to die." Gao Fei got up and grabbed the steel cable, "Hmm, it's a bit slick, but still grippable." Having said this, Gao Fei turned to look at Su Xiaorou, who was still struggling, "Haven't made up your mind yet?"
"I... I'm scared..." Su Xiaorou bit her lip tightly, her face somewhat pale, "I don't dare to climb... I'm afraid of falling..."
"You really are something." Gao Fei smirked, "You're the Chief Executive Officer of the Su Group, managing tens of thousands of employees. Usually, a single word from you can determine so many people's fates. Someone as badass as you actually has such a small courage?" Seeing the pitiful state of Su Xiaorou, Gao Fei's heart softened, "Alright, I'll do a good deed to the end today. I'll carry you on my back."
"You'll carry me?" Su Xiaorou's eyes went wide, "Are you sure you want to carry me up?"
"Right now you have two options to choose from, first, climb up yourself, second, let me carry you up. Make your choice quickly." Gao Fei said.
"... I choose the second option."
"Then what are you waiting for? Get on my back, quick!"
Having no other choice, Su Xiaorou accepted Gao Fei's offer. She clambered onto Gao Fei's back, then wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on tightly.
"Let's go." Gao Fei grabbed the steel cable with both hands and started to climb up, bit by bit. For Gao Fei, this was a formidable challenge. Any slip-up and both he and Su Xiaorou could fall to their deaths, splattering like meat patties on the ground. After all, they were on the twenty-seventh floor, nearly a hundred meters from the ground. If they fell, survival was out of the question.
The steel cable was slippery, and Gao Fei had to use a lot of strength to keep a firm grip. After he had climbed about three meters, he was already panting heavily, sweat running down his forehead continuously. Tired! So tired!
Especially his hands, which had become raw and bloody, looking somewhat gruesome. The pain when touching the steel cable was indescribable.
If it had been only Gao Fei on his own, it definitely wouldn't have been such a hard struggle. But with the addition of Su Xiaorou, who weighed over a hundred pounds, the situation was quite bad. Supporting more than two hundred pounds with his hands alone, and in mid-air, was just too difficult.
"Are you okay?" Su Xiaorou, lying on Gao Fei's back and unable to see his face, could hear his heavy breathing. She had entrusted her life entirely to Gao Fei. If anything happened to him, she wouldn't survive either. So she was particularly concerned about Gao Fei's condition.
"I'm fine... I can still hold on." Gao Fei said hoarsely.
"Come on!" Su Xiaorou cheered for Gao Fei, "We're very close to the roof now, just a bit more effort and we'll be safe. I promise you a hefty reward once we escape this danger!"
"Can you shut up?" Gao Fei wasn't at all grateful, "Your constant talking distracts me and stops me from focusing on climbing. Let me tell you, if I really can't hold on anymore, then we're both finished." To make Su Xiaorou stop talking, Gao Fei intentionally made the situation sound worse than it was.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop talking." Su Xiaorou immediately closed her mouth.
With no more chattering from Su Xiaorou in his ear, Gao Fei could finally concentrate on climbing. One pull, two pulls, three pulls... The searing pain from the friction on his palm wounds made Gao Fei shudder involuntarily. He told himself in his mind: Hold on! You must hold on! Perseverance is victory! Victory is just ahead!
"Boom..."
A thunderous roar suddenly came from below, ringing in both their ears.
"What's going on?" Su Xiaorou looked down, her face turning white with fear, "The... the elevator... it's fallen..."
"Boom!!!"
Another loud noise came from below, as the elevator crashed to the floor.
"That was close." Su Xiaorou's voice trembled, "We... we're lucky we climbed out... otherwise we'd definitely be squashed flat..." At this moment, Su Xiaorou was filled with gratitude towards Gao Fei. It was his decisiveness that had saved her life.
Gao Fei didn't respond to Su Xiaorou, but just gritted his teeth and climbed slowly upward. If one listened carefully, they could hear a strange friction sound—the noise of Gao Fei's palms rubbing against the steel cable. It was somewhat chilling.
Just then, Su Xiaorou suddenly felt a sticky fluid on her face. She touched it and exclaimed, "Ah! Blood... it's... your hands are bleeding..."
"Can you not scream?" Gao Fei panted, "Climbing with my hands on the steel cable for a long time, it will surely get raw and bleed. It's not a big deal." Gao Fei spoke lightly, as if it was nothing, but the true pain was known only to him. He made it sound casual so as not to put too much pressure on Su Xiaorou.
"It must hurt a lot..."
"It hurts, sure, but I can bear it."
At this moment, Su Xiaorou was deeply shaken by the perseverance displayed by Gao Fei, This man before her was truly extraordinary, clever, brave, and also very determined! He was much stronger than those arrogant rich second-generation and official second-generation, This is what a real man is like!
Through Gao Fei's relentless efforts, the two of them finally reached the peak, but at this moment, there was another problem waiting for them.
The steel cable was two meters away from the stairway entrance, making it somewhat difficult to climb up.
Gao Fei thought for a moment and then had an idea, "Listen, I'll shake the steel cable in a moment and use inertia to get closer to the stairway entrance. You need to jump up when the timing is right."
"Ah?" Su Xiaorou stammered, "I... I'm too scared..."
"You have to jump even if you're scared!" Gao Fei said with a stern face, "I'll tell you the truth, I can hardly hold on any longer. If you continue to hesitate, the two of us can only fall down and die." Gao Fei was telling the truth, he had been drained for a while now, and was currently relying solely on his willpower.
"But..."
"There are no buts! You must jump!"
Su Xiaorou bit her pale lips and then nodded, "Alright, I'll try."
"Remember, you only have one chance. If you succeed, we'll all be overjoyed, but if you fail... it would be terrible." Gao Fei said with a grave expression, "Are you ready? I'm going to shake the steel cable now."
"Okay... I'm ready... Go ahead." Su Xiaorou's palms were sweating with nervousness, she had never faced such a difficult decision in her life.
"One, two, three... go!" Gao Fei used all his strength to shake the steel cable, and with the sudden burst of inertia, they moved toward the stairway entrance: "Now's the time, hurry and jump!" Gao Fei was very clear in his mind, he needed to get Su Xiaorou onto the stairs first, and then he would slowly figure out a way to climb up. Under the circumstances, it wasn't realistic for both of them to jump together, as that would only result in falling.
Su Xiaorou mustered her courage and leaped off Gao Fei's back... Getting closer, and closer! "Thud!" Su Xiaorou's feet firmly landed on the stairs, "I made it, I really made it!!!"
Gao Fei, hanging from the steel cable, let out a long sigh of relief. His efforts had not been in vain. That's when the unexpected happened.
"Ah!" Su Xiaorou suddenly slipped, and her entire body lurched backward. In that moment, her mind went blank. Was she going to die... I don't want to die, I really don't want to die...
Just when Su Xiaorou was in utter despair, a large hand stretched out from the side, barely grabbing her wrist. Su Xiaorou, who was on the verge of plummeting, was abruptly suspended in mid-air.
At the critical moment, it was still Gao Fei who saved Su Xiaorou's life.
"You useless woman! You're going to be the death of me with all this worry!" Gao Fei griped as he pulled on Su Xiaorou with one hand and clung to the steel cable with the other, his face looking very displeased. Su Xiaorou was just too clumsy; even after landing on the stairs, she could still manage to fall again, truly the world's number one oddity.
"I... I just... slipped..." Su Xiaorou's emotions finally collapsed. Tears streamed down mercilessly, "I was so afraid... I nearly died just now..." Today's experience was truly too thrilling, so much so that Su Xiaorou lost control.
"Enough, stop crying." Gao Fei shouted, "I'll send you over again. Remember, this is your last chance. If you can't hold on... then there's nothing more I can do." As he said this, Gao Fei clenched his teeth, glared with wide eyes, and fiercely swung his arm. "Whoosh!" Su Xiaorou, suspended in mid-air, was immediately sent flying towards the opposite stairway entrance, "Grab the stair rail! Quick, I can't hold on much longer!"
"Ah!" Su Xiaorou understood that this was a dire moment and could not afford even the slightest mistake. With her right hand held by Gao Fei, she could only stretch out her left to grab the stair rail that was in reach. "Snap!" Su Xiaorou successfully grabbed the stair rail. She then retrieved her right hand to also grasp the rail, and only when both hands were securely on the rail did Su Xiaorou's tense heart slowly settle. Heaven was being good to her, offering two chances to escape danger.
"What are you dazed for? Climb up now!" Gao Fei shouted urgently.
"Oh, I'm climbing now." Su Xiaorou, coming back to her senses, immediately climbed up the stairs. At this moment, Su Xiaorou was safe.
Seeing that Su Xiaorou was okay, Gao Fei's mood relaxed. It had been so dangerous just now, only one wrong move, and Su Xiaorou might have lost her life.
"Hey, you come up quickly too." Su Xiaorou shouted to Gao Fei, "You jump, and I'll catch you."
Gao Fei repeated his previous action, vigorously shaking the steel cable once more, swinging towards the stairway entrance with inertia, and at the right moment, he released the steel cable and leaped down, betting everything on this one jump.
"Snap!"
Gao Fei's jumping angle might have been slightly off, and in the end only one foot landed on the stairs, the other dangling in the air... Not good! Gao Fei's expression changed as he attempted a correction, but it was too late, the strong inertia sent him leaning backward. At this critical juncture, Su Xiaorou ran over without hesitation, wrapped her arms around Gao Fei, and with a strong pull, the two of them fell onto the stairs together.
Author's note: I recommend the new book "The Road to Becoming a Powerful Man," a thrilling tale of an impoverished young man's rise to success. Please give it your support! Thank you, everyone!