Su Zhan immediately took the water and uncapped it before giving it to Qin Ya. He urged her in a low voice, “Qin Ya, wake up. Have some water.”
Qin Ya didn’t respond at all. No matter how many times Su Zhan shook her or called her name, she didn’t utter a word.
The man in camouflage uniform reminded him. “Pinch her philtrum.”
Su Zhan shifted the water bottle before pinching that exact body part.
Soon, Qin Ya stirred awake. She still seemed weak, as if she would faint anytime. Su Zhan handed her the water and whispered, “Have some water.”
Qin Ya’s lips were so wrinkly and dry that blood started trickling down the corner of her lips when she parted her mouth. She felt so thirsty – her throat was literally burning and sucking up all the liquid in her body. The moment her lips touched the water bottle, she immediately gulped down the water greedily.
The half-filled water bottle couldn’t satisfy her need, but at least she felt better now.
“We searched in pairs, so my partner was right beside me when I fell. He must be calling for help now. Don’t worry,” the man explained.
Upon hearing a stranger’s voice, Qin Ya swiveled her head around before realizing someone else had arrived. Oh, so he was the one who gave us the water.
“We will be saved. Hang on,” Su Zhan declared happily.
Qin Ya blinked, her long lashes fluttering slightly. She could see how excited Su Zhan was through the dim sunlight that filtered through the opening above the pit.
Upon recalling what he had just revealed to her, she lowered her gaze.
Right then, someone shouted above them, “Is there anyone in the pit?”
The newcomer stood up promptly and gave an affirmative yell. A rope was then flung down the opening, and instructions were given to them. They were told to give the rope a slight tug when it reached the ground. That was how the people above them would know when to stop.
The man waited at the opening for the rope to reach them. When everything was ready, he looked at Su Zhan and said, “You can leave now.”
Su Zhan took off his shirt and wrapped it around Qin Ya. He tidied her up before striding to the opening with the woman in his arms. The man grabbed the end of the rope and headed to Su Zhan. He glanced at Qin Ya before suggesting, “She seems alright, but I don’t think she can take care of herself when she’s pulled up. Why don’t both of you head up together?”
Su Zhan nodded.
The man tied the rope to his waist and informed him, “Press your body to the wall and place her in front of you so she won’t get hurt.”
There were wounds all around Qin Ya’s thighs and calves – she was frail and weak. Su Zhan had to pay extra attention to her lest her condition worsen.
Su Zhan nodded in response. Hence, the man tugged at the rope to inform the people above that they were ready.
Only three people were tugging on the rope, but they soon realized there was more than one person tied to the rope, so they hurriedly asked two more people to join in.
Su Zhan’s upper body was naked, so his skin scraped against the rock wall. It was bearable at first, but he soon felt as if his entire back was burning.
He frowned slightly and ignored the pain. His only wish was to escort Qin Ya up safely and send her to the hospital.
After some time, the people above the pit saw them and pulled the rope to the middle of the opening so Su Zhan’s skin wouldn’t be scraping against the rocks. Shen Peichuan stood there and watched as they got pulled up. He then bent down and reached out. “Give her to me.”
Su Zhan looked up and passed the woman in his arms to him.
With the help of the others, Su Zhan was rescued. Once his feet touched the ground, he immediately tried to untie the knot around his waist. The leader told him, “I’ll do it. You can’t untie it.”
Ordinary citizens wouldn’t be able to untie specialized knots like this one.
Su Zhan urged, “Please hurry up.”
The leader said nothing as his fingers picked up the pace. Soon, the knot was untied. Su Zhan walked over to Shen Peichuan and stretched out his hands. “I’ll take her.”
Shen Peichuan glanced at him. He wasn’t in a good state, so Shen Peichuan was afraid he’d collapse before bringing her out of the woods.
“I can do it,” Su Zhan assured him.
Shen Peichuan couldn’t say anything to refute him. He knew it was the best time for his friend to show his concern. When he was about to hand Qin Ya to Su Zhan, she parted her lips and whispered, “Can you bring me out?”
She was looking at Shen Peichuan.
Shen Peichuan instantly looked at Su Zhan. He had helped take Qin Ya from Su Zhan because there was no stretcher here. Besides, someone had to carry Qin Ya out of the pit.
He was certain Su Zhan wouldn’t let other men touch her, so he had stepped forward to do it.
But now, as Qin Ya refused to let Su Zhan hold her, he was afraid the latter might misunderstand.
Su Zhan pursed his lips and remained silent.
“Is that alright?” Qin Ya looked at Shen Peichuan and asked again.
She was too weak to leave the woods alone, so she had to rely on someone else’s help.
Qin Ya knew Su Zhan must’ve gotten hurt when they were pulled up from the pit. She didn’t want to owe him anything. Even though he had revealed his darkest secret to her, she never wanted to reconcile with him.
The past should stay in the past.
Besides, my body…
“Since you won’t help me, let me down. I can walk out myself,” Qin Ya said stubbornly.
“You should take her out,” Su Zhan cut in before Shen Peichuan could react.
Shen Peichuan pursed his lips as he glanced at Su Zhan. He knew the man was worried about Qin Ya. As they both were hurt, he didn’t want to delay any longer. Turning to the leader, he ordered, “You’re in charge now.”
With that, he swiveled around and left with Qin Ya in his arms.
Su Zhan was afraid the branches would slow Shen Peichuan down and scrape Qin Ya, so he hurried ahead and cleared the path for them.
Qin Ya leaned on Shen Peichuan’s shoulders, her eyes half-closed. As Su Zhan was ahead of them, she could see the wounds on his back, either bleeding or swollen.
Her heart ached slightly for the man, but it wasn’t enough for her to soften and reconcile with him.
She would never get back together with him again.
Hence, she closed her eyes and stopped staring at him.
The journey wasn’t long, but the path was steep as they were above a mountain. It took them over an hour to walk out of the mountain.
Knowing which car belonged to Shen Peichuan, Su Zhan scurried over to open the door, allowing Qin Ya to enter the car easily.
Shen Peichuan was about to put her down when Su Zhan said, “Give me the car keys. I’ll drive.”
He was afraid Qin Ya would refuse to be with him, and he didn’t want to waste time.
Shen Peichuan placed Qin Ya in the back seat and handed the car keys to Su Zhan, who entered the driver’s seat promptly.
Meanwhile, Shen Peichuan entered the back seat to take care of Qin Ya. He took out two bottles of water from the back pocket and gave one to Su Zhan. “Drink some water.”
Su Zhan didn’t even bother looking back as he replied, “Give it to Qin Ya.”
Shen Peichuan extended his hand. “I have more here.”
The two of them had been stuck in the pit for some time; Su Zhan should be extremely thirsty by now.
Su Zhan took the water from him after knowing there was more. He downed the bottle of water in one go. Then, he flung the empty bottle out before starting the car.
Shen Peichuan handed the other bottle to Qin Ya. “You should drink some water too.”
Qin Ya stretched out her arm to take the water bottle from him.
Meanwhile, at the villa, Lin Xinyan woke up late.
She didn’t know whether it was because of her pregnancy, or whether it was because she had always slept soundly when she was with Zong Jinghao.
When she woke up, Zong Jinghao had already left. After breakfast, Zong Yanxi began complaining, saying that Baymax’s fur was dirty. Hence, she asked Aunt Yu to bathe Baymax in the courtyard together. She also wanted Aunt Yu to bring her out to buy some dog food.
Aunt Yu smiled and agreed to all her requests.
Lin Xinyan stood in front of the window, smiling at the sight of Aunt Yu bathing the dog with her kids.
She took out her phone and was about to call Shao Yun when she noticed the TV on. She picked up the remote control to switch it off, only to realize that the person in the news seemed familiar to her.
