The next day, Yi Roujing followed her usual routine to go to school, where Ancheng had made all the necessary preparations around the school. At five in the afternoon, Yi Roujing exited the school gates with the crowd, and Wang Qiushuang waited at the same spot as yesterday, wearing the same clothes. Her smile was slightly more stiff compared to yesterday, and her eyes were somewhat swollen and red. Nevertheless, she was trying hard to maintain a smile.

"Roujing, over here, over here." Wang Qiushuang raised her hand high and waved. The two then walked side by side.

"Where are we going to eat?" Yi Roujing asked.

"I know a private restaurant that’s quite cheap," Wang Qiushuang replied. "Just follow me."

After walking for ten minutes, they went further away, already entering an alley, with fewer and fewer people around.

A casually swinging hand was suddenly grabbed. Yi Roujing felt Wang Qiushuang’s tremble and comfortingly squeezed her palm. She thought it would have an effect, but Yi Roujing clearly felt the hand being held tighter.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and as soon as Yi Roujing heard it, she was pulled into someone’s arms. A muffled "hmph" echoed in her ear. Yi Roujing’s mind froze for a moment, but her body instinctively hugged the person back and moved to hide in the corner of the wall where the sound had originated.

Someone was on the rooftop, standing opposite was more dangerous, which was Yi Roujing’s first decision.

"Bang!" Another gunshot rang out, but this time it came from the opposite side, aimed at the person on the rooftop. Reinforcements had arrived.

Yi Roujing’s heart was beating fast as she looked down at Wang Qiushuang, who was now being held by her. There was a spreading red stain on Wang Qiushuang’s back, the gunshot wound on her left back near the heart. Yi Roujing’s pupils contracted sharply; the bullet hadn’t passed through her body. Yi Roujing took out a clean handkerchief and pressed it firmly on Wang Qiushuang’s wound.

"Wang Qiushuang, Wang Qiushuang, can you hear me? Can you hear me?" Yi Roujing was somewhat panicked. She had imagined many ambush methods she might encounter today, but never expected there would be gunfire. No matter how skilled a person is, it’s impractical to dodge bullets. Even more unexpected was that Wang Qiushuang would take a bullet for her.

"Rou, Roujing, are you, are you okay?" Wang Qiushuang’s face was pale, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat. Yi Roujing knew she was in pain. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"I’m fine, I’m fine, and you will be too. We’ll go to the hospital right away."

Ancheng had arranged for more people, and the opponent was soon subdued.

"Get in the car." Yi Roujing supported Wang Qiushuang with her entire body, helping her stand up. Under the cover of the armed reinforcements, they exited the alley directly into a waiting jeep.

"To Harmony Hospital, quickly," Yi Roujing urged urgently.

"Rou, Roujing, don’t worry about me; just help me, help me find my Niuniu..." Wang Qiushuang spoke weakly, her voice choked with sobs. "A man took her away when I went to the restroom."

"Afterwards, Li, Li Xipei approached me, ugh..." Wang Qiushuang spat out a mouthful of blood, causing Yi Roujing’s eyes to burn.

"I treated you that way before, yet you still help me, save my Niuniu. If I continue to wrong you, I—I would not be human." Wang Qiushuang’s tears slipped down.

"If—if I die, please, please take care of my Niuniu. I don’t trust Ding JianShe," Wang Qiushuang pleaded.

"You have to hold on; Niuniu has already left her father. She can’t lose her mother too. Don’t be pessimistic like you’re arranging posthumous affairs; you have to hold on and think about survival," Yi Roujing said, looking into Wang Qiushuang’s eyes, full of seriousness. "No one can be as good as one’s own mother."

"I—I also want to..." Wang Qiushuang finished speaking and fainted completely.

"Hurry, hurry up," Yi Roujing pressed hard on Wang Qiushuang’s wound, her palm wet and covered in blood, a striking red.

The car sped, honking all the way, taking twenty minutes to reach Harmony Hospital. The driver carried the unconscious Wang Qiushuang in his back, while Yi Roujing kept pressing on the wound behind them, and they rushed toward the hospital.

"Doctor, Doctor!" Yi Roujing shouted loudly as she ran.

The young doctor at Harmony Hospital, who was making inquiries, immediately told them to place Wang Qiushuang face-down on a mobile bed upon seeing the blood-stained woman.

"Gunshot wound?"

"Yes, thirty minutes ago. Her name is Wang Qiushuang, and the bullet is inside."

"We need a blood test and an X-ray. I’ll go call... the Dean?" The speaking doctor shouted in surprise upon seeing a middle-aged man in a white coat with graying hair leading several doctors toward them.

"Take her directly to the operating room; I’ll perform the surgery," Harmony Hospital’s Dean said. His voice had barely fallen before two doctors took over, pushing the mobile bed.

Yi Roujing hurriedly followed, watching as Wang Qiushuang was wheeled into the operating room.

"With the Dean performing the surgery, the girl should be fine," Yi Roujing heard the young doctor’s words beside her, and quickly turned to look.

"Our hospital’s Dean is a divine surgeon in thoracic surgery, mainly operating on important people," the young doctor explained sincerely. "Your friend was injured by gunfire; was it in service to the country?"

Upon hearing the doctor’s initial words, hope surged in Yi Roujing’s heart. She wasn’t concerned about anything else and just kept her focus on the operating room with its red light illuminated.

Seeing Yi Roujing not paying him any attention, the young doctor refrained from speaking further lest he annoy her.

Yi Roujing sat on a wooden chair, her head slightly bowed, feeling somewhat uneasy. Perhaps she’s been too confident in herself.

Uncertain of how long she had been sitting there, the sky outside had completely darkened. With her head bowed, she looked down at the space between her feet, and a pair of familiar black leather shoes appeared in her view.

"Did you catch them?" Yi Roujing asked in a hoarse voice.

Ancheng did not answer, instead he immediately crouched down and wrapped Yi Roujing firmly in his arms.

The arms holding her shook with force that pained Yi Roujing, "Cheng."

"Thankfully, you’re alright," Ancheng didn’t let go for a long time, as Yi Roujing soothingly patted his back.

"I’m alright. Did you capture them?"

"Yes, we caught them." In places Yi Roujing couldn’t see, Ancheng’s eyes were deeply unfathomable.

"Who is Li Xipei’s accomplice?"

"Qi Wenting."

Yi Roujing found this name somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t immediately recall when she had heard it.

"I’ll explain the details to you later; first, drink some water." Ancheng took a military water bottle and let Yi Roujing have a few sips.

"I wonder if Wang Qiushuang will be alright." Yi Roujing gazed at the still-lit red light in the operating room, eyes full of worry.

"With Dean Zhou performing the surgery, there’s no one more reliable than him," Ancheng said, looking at the operating room. His heart was filled with lingering fear and relief, and even more gratitude, for otherwise, it would be his Jing inside right now.

Thinking of Qi Wenting, Ancheng’s eyes filled with darkness. This time it was his mistake, having judged incorrectly.