The piercing wail of the ambulance siren was sharp and urgent, its red and blue flashing lights hurting the eyes.
The ambulance stopped beneath the dilapidated building.
Wei Jingzhou arrived by car and saw this very scene.
The voices of nurses and doctors dispersing the crowd, the shrill siren, the chattering of onlookers – everything presaged something bad happening.
They pointed and whispered, discussing amongst themselves.
Wei Jingzhou sat in his car, his lips pale, a sudden sense of dread and unease filling him, making his breathing shallow.
He gasped for air, but the suffocating feeling persisted.
When he opened the car door and stepped out, Wei Jingzhou realized his legs felt weak, each step becoming incredibly difficult.
He walked step by step, his thin lips trembling slightly.
As if seeking reassurance, he fumbled for his phone with trembling hands, his fingertips tapping several times before the call connected.
"Beep— beep— beep—"
Every second seemed to pass excruciatingly slowly. Wei Jingzhou held his breath, only hearing the frantic thumping of his heart in his chest, as if it wanted to break through his ribs. His mind was consumed by intense panic.
He even prayed, like a madman, begging the heavens—
Answer the call quickly.
Just answer it.
Just hearing her voice would be enough.
Don't ring… not here…
"Ring, ring, ring—"
A familiar ringtone sounded.
Not far away.
Wei Jingzhou's eyes widened, his vision rapidly reddening. His entire body tensed and trembled.
His feet felt heavy as lead, each step like a knife cut. The roar of the ambulance deafened him, and his vision blurred.
He looked towards the direction of the ringing phone, pushed through the crowd, and saw a scene of crimson – a pool of dark red blood on the ground.
That color flooded his vision, painting his entire world red.
A dark red.
With a bang, something exploded in his mind, a sharp pain and suffocation making his vision even redder.
His throat felt dry, as if he had swallowed a needle. He opened his mouth to call someone's name, but no sound came out, only a deafening echo in his ears.
A path was cleared through the crowd. People in white moved a stretcher past him.
The man’s eyes moved stiffly. He saw the blood-soaked white sheet and a pale-faced girl.
In that instant, the nerves that had been taut in his mind seemed to snap. His chest felt as if it were violently ripped open and torn apart by invisible hands, the pain so intense he couldn't even cry out. He couldn't form any expression, yet he could feel another self screaming in hysterical collapse.
All sounds around him vanished, leaving only an extreme white and a glaring red.
How could this have happened?
Why did it turn out this way?
Why could Shen Yue be so cruel to him?
How could Shen Yue do this to him?
A mist clouded Wei Jingzhou's vision, his mind a blank, with only that eerie red and the suffocating fear. The crimson blood was like sharp blades, piercing his eyes and causing warm liquid to flow, like blood.
Blood, not yet cleaned up, still stained the hospital floor, dripping all the way to the emergency room.
It dripped from the girl's fingertips.
The pale light on the white walls added to the chill.
Flashing red signs portended ill omens.
The man stood at the doorway like a puppet, his face deathly pale, his expression blank, his eyes vacant and soulless, like a rotten, lifeless old tree.
Tang Zhe also rushed over. He was in another emergency room and had waited for two hours before the door finally opened.
Lin Xiaojun was out of danger. The floor wasn't high, only the third floor, but her lower body might be paralyzed.
Tang Zhe said nothing about this outcome; the important thing was that she was alive.
He didn't stay long and intended to leave, but he suddenly remembered that the person who had notified him had mentioned another woman had also fallen.
The two must have experienced something that led to them both falling.
Tang Zhe thought for a moment and decided to retrace his steps to check on the other victim.
Taking the elevator up, Tang Zhe inexplicably thought of the girl who had called him earlier, asking if he was willing to marry her.
His ear tips, beneath his dark hair, flushed slightly, but he immediately recalled the girl's next words – that she was joking. His expression then turned grim.
He had to find the girl and get an explanation. Once words were spoken, they couldn't be taken back. People had to keep their word.
He had to be responsible for what he said.
Thinking this, a silly smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
Ding—
The floor was reached, and the elevator doors opened.
Tang Zhe walked to the emergency room and saw an unexpected person.
"Wei Jingzhou?"
The man, who had been like a puppet, gradually focused his gaze. He stared blankly at the flashing red emergency room lights, which caused a piercing whine in his ears. Strangely, he was not injured, yet he felt a soul-devouring ache spread through his limbs.
It was sharp, as if tearing him in half.
Seeing Wei Jingzhou like this, Tang Zhe was suddenly struck by an inexplicable panic. He remembered that the woman who fell with Lin Xiaojun was also a woman.
And Wei Jingzhou's current deranged appearance made him even more flustered.
He couldn't control his voice as he roared.
"Wei Jingzhou! What happened? Where is Shen Yue? Where is Shen Yue!"
Wei Jingzhou couldn't hear, not a single word.
After a while, the emergency room door was finally pushed open.
"Who is here for Shen Yue's family?"
Wei Jingzhou numbly responded.
Then, he vaguely heard.
"We're sorry, we did our best."
Followed by Tang Zhe's heartbroken, soul-rending cry.
"Impossible! The other person who fell from the same third floor is fine! How could Shen Yue not make it! Can you even treat people properly?!"
"Sir, Ms. Shen was pregnant, and she had a massive hemorrhage…"
Wei Jingzhou jolted, lifting his head dazedly. He saw Tang Zhe weeping uncontrollably, his whole body trembling.
The next second, Tang Zhe's face contorted with rage as he lunged forward and punched Wei Jingzhou. The strong, tall man was sent crashing to the ground with a single blow.
"It's you!"
"You killed her!"
Vicious, violent roars echoed throughout the hallway, even reverberating.
Wei Jingzhou's mind remained a complete blank, unable to process anything. He didn't retaliate, letting Tang Zhe hit him. The doctors couldn't pull them apart. Soon, Wei Jingzhou was beaten until his face was bruised and swollen.
Finally, security guards rushed in and restrained Tang Zhe.
"You killed her—"
That voice, like a vengeful ghost, spoke words that would haunt him for eternity.
Wei Jingzhou shakily got to his feet, his eyes bloodshot, like a cornered beast. He seemed to be smiling, yet also crying.
"Impossible…"
Wei Jingzhou smiled gently, "Impossible…"
He walked in slowly, looking at the figure lying on the operating table.
Apart from being a little pale, the girl looked no different from usual.
Still so beautiful.
He carefully picked up the girl, his demeanor eerily gentle.
He smiled, but tears slid down from his eyes.
"Don't be afraid, I'll take you home."