“Yanxi!”
Through the smoke, Zong Yanxi vaguely saw someone charging into the building.
Cough cough!
Another bout of harsh coughing shook her body.
Spotting the prone form of Zhuang Zijin on the floor, Tawan bent down to pick her up. Upon exiting the building, the taxi he came with was nowhere to be found. The driver had sped off the moment he realized there was trouble brewing.
Tawan placed Zhuang Zijin down on a patch of grass further away from the building. After that, he dialed the emergency services before dashing into the building again. By then, the fire was a roaring monster. The stench of burning things clouded the air.
Zong Yanxi was completely surrounded by flames. She was also close to falling unconscious from all the smoke she had inhaled. At this point, she was just struggling to hold on to consciousness, trying to see who had saved her grandmother.
“Yanxi!” Disregarding the danger, Tawan threw himself through the flames to get to her.
The smoke had damaged her throat so much that she could hardly speak. Her face was also flushed from the heat. Lifting her heavy eyelids tiredly, she finally got a good look at who her rescuer was. Her lips twitched into a small smile as she rasped out, “It’s… you.”
It was then Tawan realized that she was not bound by ropes but by chains. Metallic chains. Chains that could not be burned off as easily as normal ropes would have.
This is going to be tricky.
He patted her face lightly and reassured her, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll definitely bring you out of here.”
Her lips were so dry they cracked when she insisted hoarsely, “D-Don’t… mind me. G-Get out now…”
“I won’t leave you here!” He dashed through the flames to search for something that could break her chains.
To his immense frustration, he found nothing that he could use. Just as he was wondering what to do next, he spotted a rusty rebar lying in the grass. It was a little over a meter long. Snatching it up, he sped back into the building.
When he returned to Zong Yanxi, she was still clinging on to the waking world. Knowing there was no way she would survive, she croaked, “D-Don’t risk yourself for m-me.”
She did not want to drag him into this mess.
Tawan ignored her, focused on using the rebar to pry open the chains. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.
“Get out!” Her voice was as raspy as sandpaper.
The man stilled. Raising a dirty hand, he cradled Zong Yanxi’s face gently as he stared into her eyes. “I always thought that respecting your decision would be the best thing for you. But now I realize how wrong I was. Oftentimes, being too involved in something makes us blind to what’s really the best for us.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. He continued, “I love you. I truly do. Are you willing to accept me?”
She gazed back at him. She could see herself reflected in his eyes, as well as the raging inferno behind her. Everything was so clear.
While she was incredibly touched by his words, she was well aware of her current predicament.
Tawan pulled her into a hug. It was not that he was taking advantage of her now while she was helpless. No, it was because he had a revelation when he realized he could not save her. He had asked himself whether he would have any regrets if she died.
The answer was yes.
Giving up on her even before he fought for her was a major regret. He did not want to live the rest of his life thinking of what he could have done or what he should have done.
With that thought in mind, he decided it was time to throw caution out the window and fight for what he wanted.
Pressing his lips to her ear, he murmured, “If we survive this, I hope that you’ll be by my side as we take on the world together. Are you willing to do so?”
Perhaps it was because she was not exactly in her right state of mind now that his words touched her so. Or maybe it was because he was able to hug her and say such things even when they were in danger. Whatever the case, she felt how sincere he was. He was not pretending right now.
“Okay…” She managed to squeeze out the word with much difficulty.
Somehow, death was not as terrifying when she was being held close to someone else like this.
