Chapter 130: We Will Surely Make It Out Together

Dense, billowing smoke was thick with the suffocating stench of gasoline.

Si Nan tried hard to move, but the effort only brought more excruciating pain as his body remained pinned beneath the heavy bricks.

His vision grew increasingly blurred. Suddenly, Si Nan thought of his older brother, Si Dong. He wondered if his brother, who had perished in a sea of flames years ago, had felt just like him—knowing that escape was impossible, yet remaining without regret or resentment.

At this thought, Si Nan let out a silent smile. Finally, there was one thing he had done just as remarkably as his brother.

"Si Nan... *cough, cough*... Si Nan, where are you?"

A frantic white shadow flashed through the gates of the purgatory that had severed the world in two.

"Si Nan! Si Nan!"

"Lin Xiaowen?"

Lying on the ground, Si Nan assumed he was hallucinating from the oxygen deprivation caused by the thick smoke. It was only when Lin Xiaowen found him beneath the collapsed wall and struggled to call his name that he realized it was truly her.

"Si Nan, are you alright? *Cough, cough*... I’m going to... get you out of here!"

Lin Xiaowen knew Si Nan was severely injured and buried halfway under the rubble. Through the flickering firelight, she saw his face was a mangled mess of blood and flesh, yet his eyes held a look of contented joy she had never seen before.

"You fool, go... get out of here..."

Si Nan was too weak to even muster the strength to cough. He continued, "You alone... you can't save me. Go out and find help..."

"No, I can do it!" The stubbornness in Lin Xiaowen’s eyes brought Si Nan both comfort and heartache.

Her small hands nimbly moved the bricks pinning his body, one by one.

"Don't worry, just hold on. The police have already arrived... we’re out of danger, you know? We’ll be out of here in just a moment..."

Lin Xiaowen rambled, her eyes wide but vacant. Her hands were covered in countless cuts, yet she felt no pain. She simply knelt beside Si Nan, mechanically moving the stones.

*Boom!*

With a thunderous crash, the flames surged closer as a beam in the inner room collapsed.

"Xiaowen, Xiaowen..."

The sound jolted Si Nan from his hazy stupor. He forced himself to speak, "Leave now, don't worry about me. Do you hear me? I... I am talking to you!"

Si Nan roared with all his remaining strength. Lin Xiaowen paused for only a second, then muttered with a blank expression, "I won't leave you behind. This time, we will definitely make it out of here together..."

Si Nan was slightly stunned, but immediately, the crackling sound of burning wood rang in his ears. He looked up from the ground and followed the direction of the ceiling—the burning beam was teetering on the edge of collapse.

"Go, hurry!"

Si Nan raised his hand to push Lin Xiaowen away, but at the same time, she cried out, "I'll help you up, hurry!"

It turned out she had already cleared most of the rubble from his legs. She believed that if she could just get him standing, they could leave immediately. She did not realize that Si Nan’s legs were already beyond his control.

"Xiaowen... go. You can't lift me. Get them to help!"

Si Nan tried to persuade her to leave, but Lin Xiaowen looked at his face as if struck by lightning, unable to move.

"Xiaowen, go! Get them to come in and help. You can't save me by yourself..."

These were the last words of Si Nan’s life, and the most beautiful lie he had ever told.

"No, I can!"

Shaking her head vigorously, Lin Xiaowen gritted her teeth, knelt up, and pulled on Si Nan’s arm. Helpless, Si Nan allowed her to drag him. But when he looked up again, the charred beam was ready to fall at any second.

"Careful..."

Lin Xiaowen gave it her all. Si Nan struggled to stand; his left leg was numb, but fortunately, his right leg could still bear weight.

Lin Xiaowen was so happy she nearly wept. Si Nan, too, felt grateful he hadn't given up easily. He pulled her thin shoulders close and whispered, "Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Lin Xiaowen wrapped one arm around his waist and draped his arm over her shoulder. They had taken only two steps toward the door when the beam hanging above them finally gave way.

"Watch out!" In her scream, Lin Xiaowen shoved Si Nan toward the exit with the greatest strength she had ever exerted—the very last of her life force.

Si Nan stumbled over the burning threshold and fell outside.

As for Lin Xiaowen...

The speed at which the beam fell gave her no time for any other escape maneuvers, other than pushing Si Nan through the door.

"...Xiaowen... Xiaowen!"

In a daze, Si Nan scrambled to get up and crawled toward the door. Yes, he crawled. It was a movement and a humiliation he had never known in his life, nor would he ever have imagined.

But now... where was the trace of the cold, all-powerful President Si Nan of the Randong Group?

Chaotic footsteps approached from the distance.

"Sir, are you alright? Is there anyone else inside?"

"There is, there is... hurry and save her! Xiaowen is still inside..."

Si Nan was frantic and disoriented; he had no idea who was speaking to him.

"Alright, don't worry, our team will begin the rescue immediately..."

"Hurry, hurry and save her!" Si Nan roared and struggled.

"Stretcher, stretcher! We have a casualty here, get the medical team over now!"

...

Inside the ambulance.

"Doctor, I'm really fine. I can't leave, my girlfriend is still in there..."

Cheng Yishu’s face was deathly pale as he clutched his abdomen, pleading urgently with the medical staff, though his voice grew weaker with every word.

"Still fine? Your intestines are practically spilling out, and you say you're fine?" Chen Kai, who had tossed aside his crutches, watched Cheng Yishu in a fit of exasperated fury, his heart aching with helplessness.

"Doctor, let's get to the hospital quickly. He's still bleeding, don't listen to him!"

"No..." Because he was too agitated, Cheng Yishu tried to sit up, only to gasp in pain. "I'm not leaving. I need to see Xiaowen come out... no, I have to go save her myself!"

"Can you stop causing trouble!" Chen Kai raised his hand, but couldn't bring himself to strike. He slapped his own knee instead, his voice laced with bitterness. "Rest assured, the firefighters and police are all there; I guarantee there will be no problem. Don't you trust the police the most? Behave and lie down, or you'll bleed to death if you keep moving!"

Chen Kai signaled to the doctor, who understood instantly.

"I'm not at ease. If I don't move, will you go see if Xiaowen is out yet? And Si Nan... I, I..."

Cheng Yishu was nearly begging, but he couldn't finish his second "I" before the doctor administered a sedative, and he obediently drifted off to sleep.

Cheng Yishu’s hand, which had been clutching his wound, slowly fell away. Chen Kai looked at the wound, which was still seeping blood despite the doctor’s simple bandage, and sighed.

"Doctor, let's go!"

"Understood! Heading to the hospital immediately!"