Save her!

Lin Ruizhe remained calm and continued chatting and drinking with them, talking about his past with Song Zhao and Cindy, and then imparting his "industry insights," saying things like "it's good to have a big tree to lean on, and one tree can't support itself," trying to brainwash them in a different way. Nanqi really thought that if this guy didn't work in the entertainment industry, he could do pyramid schemes too.

However, Song Zhao and Cindy were clearly opinionated and determined. No matter what he said, they nodded with a smile while firmly stating that they wanted to leave, thus avoiding an awkward situation while clearly rejecting him. The negotiation was only considered a great success when Lin Ruizhe completely gave up on lecturing him.

Xiao Hou had been waiting outside. When he saw them come out, he quickly drove the car over. Of the three, Cindy was the only one who had drunk too much. Nanqi and Song Zhao helped her into the car and asked Xiao Hou to take her home directly.

After saying goodbye to Xiao Hou and Cindy, Song Zhao put on sunglasses and a mask, took Nan Qi's hand, and hailed a taxi.

Once in the car, Nanqi opened the rear window. The night breeze was cool and refreshing, much more comfortable than the air conditioning during the day.

"Zhaozhao, I want to hug you."

Song Zhao's brows relaxed, and he opened his arms to hug her. "We'll never be apart again."

"Ugh..." Suddenly, the pain on both sides of Nanqi's lower abdomen intensified dramatically, as if a sharp blade was wildly darting and repeatedly tearing at her body, making her internal organs feel like they were being shredded. The intense pain caused her body to spasm, her mind went blank, and she almost lost consciousness.

She grabbed Song Zhao's clothes from the back, gritted her teeth, and tried to hold on until she got home, but her vision grew darker and darker, and soon her hands drooped heavily.

Song Zhao quickly sensed something was wrong. She took off her sunglasses and reached out to touch Nan Qi's forehead. The cold sweat on her hand startled her. Nan Qi's face was deathly pale, and her lips were almost bloodless.

"Nanqi, Nanqi, what's wrong?"

Song Zhao was terrified and yelled at the driver, "Driver, to the hospital! Quickly! To the hospital!!"

"Miss, has your friend fainted? Or...? Is she breathing?"

Song Zhao held her breath and frantically pressed her hand to Nan Qi's chest. The moment she felt Nan Qi's heart beating, her own heart almost stopped.

"Master, please hurry! She's just fainted!"

"Nanqi, Nanqi, hang in there! We're almost at the hospital! We're almost at the hospital!"

Song Zhao called her name again and again, his voice gradually turning from urgent anxiety to a sob, becoming choked with sobs: "We still have to go home, I still have to take you on a trip, we still have so many things to do, Nanqi..."

Her calls went unanswered by Nanqi, not even a tremor of her eyelashes. She couldn't hold back any longer, and burst into tears, clinging to Nanqi, "Don't scare me..."

"Miss, there's been an accident up ahead, the car can't get through!" The taxi driver's voice broke the suffocating silence in the car.

Song Zhao suddenly looked up at the car window and saw a long line of cars stretching as far as the eye could see. Countless drivers were impatiently honking their horns, and the piercing sound of horns rose and fell, but the entire road seemed to be nailed shut, making it impossible to move an inch.

"The city hospital is just ahead, less than two kilometers away. If all else fails..."

Before the driver could finish speaking, Song Zhao had already hoisted Nan Qi onto her back and rushed out. She ran so fast and fast that the bumps from running caused her mask to slip off, revealing a disheveled face. Tears mixed with sweat streamed down her face, ruining her carefully applied makeup. At this moment, she was completely different from the glamorous image she presented on screen.

"That person looks like Song Siwei," a driver in the car said.

"She's a big star, how could that woman be dirty? Are you blind?"

"No, it really is her! Take a closer look."

"Wow, it really is! Hey, who's that person on her back?"

"Take a picture! This is the first time I've seen her in person!"

"Weiwei, Weiwei, look here."

"Damn, how come there are so many people all of a sudden! I can't get a picture!!"

"Those people are all illegitimate children."

Ignoring the stares of others, Song Zhao kept running forward until more and more people gathered around, holding up their phones, completely blocking her path.

"Get out of here!" she growled, each word distinct and sharp, her eyes as fierce as a hungry wolf's.

“How could she do this…” came a murmur from the crowd.

These people stopped pushing her, but they didn't move aside either. She tried to move forward, but couldn't. "What are you doing? Can't you see there's a patient here?! Get out of the way!"

"Who is the person on your back, and what is their relationship with you?"

Why are you here? Have you been drinking?

Please answer this.

"Yes, please answer."

At that moment, someone held up their phone, pointing the camera at Nan Qi, almost shoving it into her face. Song Zhao trembled with anxiety, her eyes red as she screamed, "Don't touch her! Get away, all of you get away!"

She gasped for breath, her voice almost pleading, "She's very sick, I need to go to the hospital, I need to go to the hospital! Can't you hear me? Why are you stopping me?!"

Song Zhao's voice was filled with anger, despair, and pleading, but the people surrounding him ignored it. More and more phones were raised, flashes of light went off one after another, like countless pairs of lurking demonic eyes, revealing the coldness of humanity in the night.

Just when she was at her most helpless, the taxi driver ran over with a long-handled umbrella. He swung the umbrella around, making a whooshing sound, and shouted in a rough voice, "Get out! Get out! All of you, get out!"

He waved his hand forcefully a few times, and the crowd dispersed, but they still refused to make way. He took out his phone, turned on the recording, and shouted, "Human life is at stake! If the person on her back dies, none of you will escape!"

The people who were taking photos were suddenly being photographed themselves, and they instinctively avoided the camera, quickly clearing the road ahead.

Song Zhao didn't even have time to say thank you. She just gave the driver a grateful look and then carried Nan Qi on her back and continued running towards the hospital.

There's only one intersection left, Nanqi, you have to hold on, you have to hold on!

God, listen to me. I, Song Zhao, can give up everything, I can lose everything. My future, my wealth, even a peaceful and prosperous later life, I don't care. I just want Nanqi, I just want her to be safe.

If anything were to happen to her today, I would not let a single one of those who stood in my way get away with it. I would make them all pay with their lives!

As if heaven had truly heard her tearful prayer, Nanqi nestled against her neck and let out a low, painful groan.

Song Zhao's pupils widened in shock. "Nanqi? Nanqi?" She called out to Nanqi again, but there was no response.

Song Zhao's pace quickened abruptly, as if the previous fatigue had been completely dispelled by this glimmer of hope. With a burst of energy, she sprinted towards the emergency room building.

"Doctor! Doctor!" Song Zhao struggled to break open the glass door of the emergency room. "Quick! Save her! Save her!"

Song Zhao finally got her into the emergency room. In her hazy state, Nan Qi felt many glaring lights shining on her, and there were many noisy sounds around her, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. The excruciating pain from before had also temporarily subsided.

She wanted to open her mouth to tell the people around her that she was still awake, but her eyelids felt as heavy as lead and she couldn't open them no matter what she did, and her lips were so stiff that she couldn't make a sound.

Gradually, drowsiness overwhelmed her like a tide, and she fell into a deep sleep. In her dream, Song Zhao held her tightly, whispering in her ear. For some reason, Song Zhao cried as he spoke, and she felt extremely distressed. She wanted to wipe away Song Zhao's tears, but when she reached out to touch him, his face was icy cold, as if it had no warmth at all.

She hurriedly cupped Song Zhao's face in her hands, wanting to transfer the warmth of her palms to her.

Don't cry, don't cry.

"don't want…"

After a whole night, she finally left the dream. As consciousness returned, she felt weak and unable to move. She struggled to lift her eyelids, the blinding white light causing her to squint instinctively, her nostrils filled with the smell of disinfectant.

"Don't move, you just had surgery."

Hearing the sound, Nanqi turned her head and opened her eyes, calling out somewhat uncertainly, "Mom?"

Nan Yue and Song Zhao quickly came to her side, and Song Zhao asked anxiously, "How are you? Is anything bothering you?"

"stomachache…"

"The doctor said this is a normal reaction after surgery and it will be fine in a couple of days," Wu Hua said kindly.

"thirsty…"

Wu Hua quickly brought over the cooled water, with a straw in the cup. She reached out her slightly rough hand and carefully supported Nan Qi's neck. "Drink up, you need to drink more water. You're such a grown-up, how come you don't know how to take care of yourself?" Wu Hua said, her voice slightly choked.

Nanqi then noticed that they all had tears in their eyes, and thought to herself: I just had a brush with death?

"The doctor said you have kidney stones and were in so much pain that you fainted," Nan Yue said, her eyes red.

Nanqi silently murmured "oh," then grinned, revealing a faint smile: "I'm fine now. Zhaozhao saved me."

Upon hearing her words, Song Zhao burst into tears.

“Yes, it’s all thanks to Zhaozhao.” Wu Hua continued, still feeling a lingering fear. “She risked her life to get you to the hospital and called us immediately so we could get here in time.”

"Zhaozhao, don't cry." Nanqi's voice was weak, but still warm.

Song Zhao wiped away her tears. "I should have brought you to the hospital sooner. It was all my negligence."

"You silly goose, if I weren't with you, I might have just fallen asleep at home alone and no one would have known. You must have owed me something in your past life to have to go through so much trouble to save me in this life. If I want to live in the future, I'll have to cling to you like glue."

Song Zhao burst into laughter through his tears, "From now on, I'm going to keep you tied to my waist and watch you every moment."

Nan Yue said, "And me too, I'll be keeping an eye on you too."

Nanqi turned around and looked at Wu Hua again. She hadn't felt her mother's love for a long time. Wu Hua had aged rapidly in the past few years, with deeper wrinkles around his eyes and a lot more gray hair.

"Mom, I..." Nanqi hesitated, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, "I'm sorry, I've disappointed you again."

Hearing Nanqi's words, Wu Hua felt a pang of heartache. "No, it's Mom's fault for not taking good care of you..."

"Mom, don't cry, people will laugh at you."

Wu Hua held her hand and said, "Okay, Mom won't cry. After you're discharged from the hospital, Mom will take you home and take good care of you."

"Yes, sister, you haven't been home for a long time, why don't you come home and visit?"

Nan Yue realized that Song Zhao was still beside her after she finished speaking, so she put her arm around Song Zhao's shoulder and said, "And Sister Zhao Zhao, my mom has been talking about you a lot over the years."

Wu Huaping composed himself, turned to Song Zhao, and said, "Yes, Zhao Zhao, you've suffered so much these past years. You've helped our Nanqi so much, and we've never had a chance to properly thank you."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhao felt a mix of emotions. "Auntie, Nanqi is very good to me, really very good. We don't need to be so calculating with each other."

"Mom." Nanqi paused, looked at Wu Hua, and said with a barely perceptible tremor in her voice, as if she had made a huge decision. "I... I'm with Zhaozhao."

"..."

"..."

"What did you say?" Wu Hua wondered if there was something wrong with his hearing, staring blankly at Nan Qi.

Nanqi's sudden confrontation caught Nanyue and Song Zhao off guard. Both felt a pang of anxiety, fearing their hard-won mother-daughter relationship would break down again. Song Zhao quickly explained, "Auntie, Nanqi didn't mean that..."

"That's what I mean, we're in love." Nanqi's voice wasn't loud, but every word was firm.

Those few words struck Wu Hua like a hammer blow hard against her chest. She trembled, nearly collapsing, and hurriedly grabbed the edge of the bed beside her, her gaze fixed on Song Zhao, a lingering trace of self-deceiving hope in her eyes. But Song Zhao kept her head down, her long eyelashes concealing a complex mix of emotions, too ashamed to meet her gaze.

She turned to look at Nan Yue, but Nan Yue also hurriedly looked away, avoiding her gaze. "You've all been hiding this from me?"

"Auntie, I'm sorry." Song Zhao's voice was low and hoarse, full of apology.

Wu Hua couldn't accept this information. Her mind was a mess, filled with anger, shock, and confusion. A multitude of emotions surged and intertwined, making her chest feel tight, yet she had nowhere to vent them. Whether facing Nan Qi in the hospital bed or Song Zhao, who had always been genuinely devoted to her, she couldn't bring herself to say anything accusatory. Clutching the bag in her hand, she walked unsteadily towards the door, completely lost and disoriented.

“Mom…” Nanqi looked at her back and called out in a choked voice.

Wu Hua waved wearily behind her. She really didn't know how to face her daughter and said weakly, "Yueyue, take good care of your sister."

After Wu Hua left, Nan Yue complained in bewilderment, "Sister, you're confused because of your illness. Why did you have to say it now of all times?"

"Alright, Yueyue, stop talking." Song Zhao sat by Nanqi's bedside, holding her hand and looking at her with heartache.

“I don’t want to lie to Mom anymore, I can’t do it…” Nanqi couldn’t help but sob, tears suddenly rolling down her cheeks. “I can’t say that Zhaozhao is just my friend.”

Song Zhao gently wiped away her tears with a tissue and comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, Auntie will accept us sooner or later."

"Uh-huh…."