Su Zhan squinted and was sure that there was someone in there with him. He slowly moved forward as his heart raced until he finally saw the person’s face. Without any warning, he grabbed the person’s hand and exclaimed, “Qin Ya!”
“Don’t touch me!” She pushed Su Zhan away. She was still in complete shock from what had just happened to her. Even a single movement would make her jump in fear. The sight of men reminded her of the henchman who almost raped her.
Su Zhan fell butt first to the floor. He could feel her fear and it pained his heart. Seeing her attire, he clenched his fist tightly as he cursed Number Four in his head.
“Qin Ya…” Su Zhan gently called out. “It’s me, Su Zhan.”
Qin Ya slowly turned around and their eyes finally met. “S-Su Zhan? Why are you here?”
Her carelessness landed her in the pit. She only thought of escaping and ignored what was in front of her. She couldn’t help but wonder why Su Zhan was now in the pit with her as well.
“I’m here to save you…”
Qin Ya stared at the man for a few seconds before mumbling, “Thank you.”
She was thankful that he actually came to save her.
“You don’t have to thank me. I would do anything for you.” Su Zhan meant what he said. All he wanted to do was to mend her broken soul and protect her. “Can you give me a chance? If you still don’t like me in the end, I’ll leave you alone.”
Qin Ya moved further into the corner and shivered when she touched the icy wall. “It’s better if you think of a way for us to get out.”
She never answered his question. After experiencing such a trauma, all she wished for was to live a simple life without the restriction of being in a relationship.
He did not force her to answer him either, as he believed his action would prove his sincerity to her in the end. She’s right. We have to look for a way out first.
He looked around and spotted another hole near to them. It was big enough for a grown man to pass through. He slowly peeked his head out and quickly pulled himself back as there was nothing past the hole, not even a footing. Su Zhan took a peek down for a second and realized he could not see the bottom, while the wall beneath the hole was slippery and impossible to grab onto.
He then turned to look at the hole he came down from. He tried climbing up but realized the wall was slippery as well.
Just as he was running out of choices, he suddenly thought of his phone and quickly touched his pocket. Lucky for him, the phone did not drop out of his pocket when he fell into the pit. “Qin Ya, look! I still have my phone with me! We can call for help!”
He quickly dialed Shen Peichuan’s number, but the call did not go through. He then tried calling Zong Jinghao and his lawyer, but came back with the same result.
“Is there no signal here?” Su Zhan frowned and checked, only to find that there wasn’t even a single line of signal inside the pit.
What now?
With no choices left, Su Zhan stood up and shouted toward the pit he came in from. He shouted and shouted until his voice turned hoarse, but there was no response.
He could feel his strength left his body as he sat back down on the floor. “They’ll definitely find us.”
Qin Ya did not move from her spot. All she did was peek through the other hole and looked into the complete darkness.
She felt as if she were staring at a bottomless pit, something that she’d only read in books. To her, the pit looked like an enormous monster with its mouth wide open, ready to swallow anything that found its way down there.
She gasped in awe at how wonderful nature could be. The inescapable state they were in terrified her.
Will I die here? Why is it so hard to live a normal life?
Su Zhan wanted to move closer to Qin Ya, but he was also afraid that his action might terrify her. In the end, he settled down a few feet away from her and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” Qin Ya turned to him and replied.
Su Zhan really wanted to keep the conversation alive, but he couldn’t find anything to talk about. As they sat quietly in the pit, he could feel the surrounding getting colder and colder. The pit was well-ventilated with the two holes.
When he shivered to the dropping temperature wearing a shirt and jeans, he realized Qin Ya must be freezing. As he didn’t want her to catch a cold, he quickly unbuttoned his shirt.
Qin Ya scooted back. “What are you doing?”
Su Zhan immediately explained, “Wait, I’m just afraid that you might catch a cold.”
“I’m fine!”
“But…”
“I said I’m fine!” Qin Ya insisted.
Su Zhan looked at Qin Ya with his heart broken. “Do you hate me that much?”
She averted her gaze. “I can’t bear the sight of a naked man.”
He looked at himself and realized that he wasn’t wearing anything beneath his shirt. Just as Qin Ya stated, if he really took his shirt off, he would be half-naked. The man quickly buttoned his shirt back on and apologized, “I’m sorry… I didn’t know…”
Since Qin Ya did not respond, the atmosphere turned awkward again. For the next few minutes, they sat quietly until the pit turned into complete darkness.
Now that the only light source was gone, they finally heard a lot of things, mostly bugs, moving around them.
Su Zhan quickly took his phone out and switched the flashlight on as he thought Qin Ya would be scared of the dark.
He held the phone to her and noticed that her legs were bleeding. She also wasn’t wearing any shoes. He was going to reach for her but quickly pulled his hand back as he was afraid she would react in the same way again.
“You’re hurt.”
“It’s just a few scratches.” Qin Ya shrugged. She could not feel the pain anymore.
Su Zhan could not even imagine what it felt like to run in the forest barefooted. “I always thought I had the power to change the world. I was always proud of that. But now… I finally realize how useless I am. I couldn’t even keep my promise of protecting you.”
