The Pretender

On a clear midday, the early winter sunlight was gentle.

After resting in the hospital for a few days, Lu Min was able to get out of bed. He was in good health and had a strong constitution. His minor injuries had almost healed, but he still needed medication for his gunshot wound.

Sang Qi originally wanted Lu Min to rest for a few more days, but Lu Min insisted on getting up. Helpless, Sang Qi could only let him get out of bed and go downstairs for a walk and to get some sun.

Lu Min sat in the small garden downstairs from the hospital building, enjoying the warm and pleasant afternoon sun.

Sang Qi stayed by Lu Min's side, after all, he was injured.

The two sat quietly in the garden, basking in the sun.

At this moment, Sang Qi never imagined that his ordinary journey to the southwest would suddenly turn into a life-or-death escape.

All of this was completely unexpected.

Lu Min is now seriously injured, and the fate of Yin Ya, who came with Lu Min to rescue him, is unknown. Outside, the hordes of thugs are pursuing them relentlessly.

Sang Qizhen had no idea what to do next.

Lu Min was in a good mood, but when he saw Sang Qi troubled by these things, he couldn't help but feel sad.

After escaping from the Red Sea Casino that day, Lu Min lost contact with Silver Fang and didn't know what had happened to her—whether she had escaped or been captured.

With his brother's fate uncertain, Lu Min felt somewhat uneasy and anxious.

Sang Qi knew that Lu Min valued brotherhood, but he was also injured and there was nothing he could do about it. So he advised Lu Min to recover before going to find Yin Ya, saying that Yin Ya was clever and quick-witted and had good skills, so he should have escaped and there was no need to worry too much.

Lu Min stared intently at Sang Qi without saying a word.

After basking in the sun, Sang Qi helped Lu Min back to his ward.

Back in the ward, Sang Qi helped him lie back down on the bed to rest. When Lu Min saw that Sang Qi was about to leave, he grabbed her hand and stopped her from going.

"Stay with me, I don't want to lie in the hospital room alone."

Sang Qi was stunned for a moment, then his gaze fell on Lu Min's hand that was holding him.

She couldn't shake off the urge to resist and nodded as if possessed.

Lu Min lay on the bed with his head turned to the side, staring intently at Sang Qi by the bedside, as if afraid that Sang Qi would run away if he turned his eyes away.

Sang Qi felt a little uncomfortable: "Don't look at me like that."

"Look what's wrong, it's not like I'm taking away a piece of your flesh."

“…”

Sang Qi didn't care and let Lu Min watch her. She closed her eyes to rest, and Lu Min watched her fall asleep.

After resting with her eyes closed for a while, Sang Qi felt a little uncomfortable and thought of lying down on the sofa by the window, but found that Lu Min was not properly covered with a blanket.

She carefully covered Lu Min with the blanket.

That was the first time she had taken the initiative to get close to Lu Min, and the first time she had seen Lu Min up close.

He was asleep with his eyes closed, looking very tired, pale and weak. After running around these past few days, he had grown hard beard, and he looked haggard and worn out.

Sang Qi stared at Lu Min, then unconsciously sat down on the edge of the bed. Seeing that his brows were slightly furrowed, she reached out as if possessed, trying to smooth out his furrowed brows.

Cool fingertips brushed across the man's rough brow, and Lu Min's eyelashes fluttered slightly.

In that instant, Sang Qi quickly withdrew her hand, but no matter how quickly she did, Lu Min had already reacted.

Sang Qi felt her wrist being encircled; it was Lu Min who grabbed her hand as she pulled it back.

With a slight effort, Lu Min pulled Sang Qi towards him. Sang Qi lost her balance and leaned half of her body against Lu Min, almost sinking into his arms.

Strands of hair fell over Lu Min's shoulders and landed gently on his high nose bridge before brushing off, a slightly itchy sensation spreading through every nerve in his body.

At that moment, Sang Qi's heavy, disordered breathing sprayed onto Lu Min's face, and Lu Min did the same; their breaths mingled, creating an atmosphere of lingering ambiguity.

Sang Qi's heart was racing, and with each beat, he could hear the sound of his heart pounding.

"What...are you doing..." Lu Min's eyes were unfocused, and his voice was hoarse and deep, as if he had a kind of magic that stirred up dormant emotions.

Sang Qi avoided Lu Min's gaze, instinctively struggling a few times, only to find that she couldn't break free of his grip on her wrist.

"It was your initiative, don't blame me..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Min leaned closer, and Sang Qi held her breath, instinctively backing away.

Just as Lu Min's nose was about to touch his own, Sang Qi tilted his head, and his jawline brushed against Lu Min's nose. The mere second of contact was enough to give Sang Qi goosebumps all over his body.

She broke free from Lu Min, staggering like a fleeing thief.

Lu Min chuckled, staring at the door of the ward, a smile playing on his lips.

At that time, it was already evening outside the window, the sun was setting, and the rose-red sunset was particularly magnificent.

Suddenly, the sound of overlapping footsteps came from outside the ward. The footsteps were hurried and chaotic, and the sound of them coming one after another made people feel alert.

The smile on Lu Min's face vanished instantly, replaced by his usual stern and cold expression, his gaze sharp as a hawk fixed on the ward door.

As the footsteps grew louder and louder as they approached, the hospital room door was kicked open...

...

There are many vendors outside the hospital, selling fruits, snacks, and other treats after nightfall. The area is quite lively with many people passing by.

Sang Qi, who ran out of the ward, looked terrified, and it took her a long time for her expression to return to normal.

As she passed by the fruit stand, she saw that the fruit was fresh and plump, and just one glance made her suddenly feel hungry.

Without hesitation, Sang Qi bought some apples and took them home, thinking she would peel one for Lu Min later.

On the way back to the ward, Sang Qi saw several fierce-looking, tall men in black suits searching around.

Now, whenever Sang Qi sees someone dressed like that, her nerve cells go on full alert.

She carefully hid herself, trying not to expose herself.

The men searched all around but found nothing, so they went east together.

Having escaped the search, Sang Qi thought of Lu Min in the ward and felt a sense of foreboding. She hurriedly ran towards the ward.

Whether it was anxiety or something else, Sang Qi ran all the way from downstairs in the hospital building back to her ward without even feeling her face turn red or her breath catch in her throat.

The corridor outside the ward was quiet and empty. The incandescent cold light made the corridor as bright as day, but passers-by could still feel a chill in the air.

Sang Qi ran quickly through the corridor and returned to the ward. The room was empty, the window was wide open, and the wind made the curtains flutter. The whole room was chilly.

Sang Qi bit her lower lip, feeling unbearably anxious.

Lu Min was nowhere to be seen in the ward. Had he been captured or escaped?

If those people break in, Lu Min should be able to handle them.

Although Lu Min's injuries had not yet healed, he was more than capable of dealing with a few thugs.

Sang Qi looked around the room and saw that everything was as usual and there were no signs of a struggle. She concluded that Lu Min should not have been captured, but rather that Lu Min had sensed something was wrong and hid on his own.

Sang Qi was about to call Lu Min when she took out her phone and realized it was out of battery and turned off.

She clicked her tongue a few times, annoyed that she had forgotten to charge it.

After feeling annoyed, she put away her phone as she walked out of the ward. As she looked up and walked forward, she saw the same group of men walking towards her.

"It's her! Don't let her get away!" The men realized that the woman in front of them was the one they had been searching for, and they immediately swarmed forward.

Sang Qi was so frightened that she turned and ran away.

The man behind him was chasing desperately, so Sang Qi could only run as fast as he could, not daring to stop for even a moment.

The hospital corridors are long and winding, with many wards, and some corridors have a lot of people coming and going, making it very easy to hide.

Turning from the quiet, deserted corridor into a slightly more lively one, Sang Qi carefully hid among the pedestrians.

All I could hear was the man cursing behind me, but he didn't stop walking.

Sang Qi thought that running away like this was not a solution at all; they couldn't escape, and there were too many of them, so he couldn't win in a physical contest.

As Sang Qi passed by the nurses' station, she paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up as she quickly came up with a brilliant idea.

She glanced around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to her, quickly slipped into the nurses' room.

After hiding in the nurses' station and finding no one inside, she casually opened a locker, put on her nurse's uniform, cap, and mask. Only after disguising herself as a hospital nurse did Sang Qi dare to walk out confidently.

Several nurses happened to be passing by in the corridor. Sang Qi followed them closely and blended in.

At that moment, the men who had just chased after them were searching for Sang Qi's figure, glancing at any woman they saw.

Ignoring the people behind him, Sang Qi kept his head down and walked straight ahead.

Ahead is a corridor at a crossroads.

The nurses who had just followed him all went to the left, but Sang Qi went to the right.

Because the stairwell of the inpatient building is on the right, one can slip out of the inpatient building from there and escape.

However, as Sang Qi turned right, a tall and familiar figure came into view.

The man in front of her was wearing a clean white coat and a medical mask. He had his hands in the pockets of his coat and his head was slightly lowered as he walked towards Sang Qi.

Even though he was wearing a mask and only the upper half of his face was visible, Sang Qi could still recognize that the person in front of her disguised as a doctor was Lu Min.

Hearing light footsteps ahead, Lu Min unconsciously looked up at the approaching woman. He recognized her as Sang Qi from her eyes, which were as bright as moonlight.

The two recognized each other in just a brief glance.

"Stop!" A shout suddenly rang out.

The men chasing after them looked past Sang Qi's back and at Lu Min, who was walking straight towards them.

They sensed something was slightly amiss.

The men's roar startled Sang Qi.

They jogged towards Lu Min, their eyes fixed on him.

Lu Min lowered his eyes, slowed his pace, and gripped the scalpel in his pocket tightly, ready to pull it out and attack at any moment.

At this moment, Sang Qi calmed down and her mind raced. Before the men could get past her, she called out to Lu Min, "Dr. Li, Dr. Li."

Lu Min was startled when he heard Sang Qi call out "Dr. Li" and his gaze focused on Sang Qi.

Sang Qi ran over to Lu Min with a look of surprise and delight, grabbed Lu Min's hand and said excitedly, "Dr. Li, that's great! We've finally found you! Your patient has woken up, go and see him!"

Lu Min quickly understood and hurriedly replied, "Oh, really? Then let's go take a look."

As he spoke, Lu Min pulled Sang Qi toward the stairwell, ignoring the men who had been shouting behind them.

The men watched as a tall, burly doctor and a petite nurse walked away right under their noses, and they immediately felt something was amiss, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it.

Just as they turned to walk back, the man in the lead suddenly realized: "Shouldn't we go into the wards to find patients? Why were those two walking out of the hospital building?"

"Brother, we've been tricked. They've covered for us and slipped away." The subordinate belatedly realized what had happened.

"Damn it, chase after them!"

The group turned back noisily and chased after Lu Min and Sang Qi in the direction they had just slipped away.

...

Downstairs in the hospital building.

Sang Qi and Lu Min quickly removed their disguises and hurried towards the parking plaza in front of the hospital building.

As Sang Qi walked, he said, "Why did you turn back just now? If I hadn't been alert, you probably wouldn't have been able to get away."

“I discovered someone was chasing me in the ward, so I hid outside the inpatient building to try and call you, but your phone was off, so I had to disguise myself as a doctor and go back to find you,” Lu Min explained.

"Never mind all that, let's just drive off." Sang Qi quickened his pace.

The car he drove when he escaped from the Red Sea Casino is now parked in the parking lot in front of the hospital building.

Although the car was badly damaged by Sang Qi, it was still drivable. Sang Qi took out the car keys, quickly opened the door, and got in. Lu Min had a leg injury and couldn't drive, so he sat in the passenger seat.

After the two were seated in the car, they simultaneously pulled down their seatbelts. Just as they were buckling their seatbelts, Lu Min's gaze darkened, and he stopped what he was doing.

After fastening his seatbelt, Sang Qi noticed Lu Min's strange expression and couldn't help but ask him, "What's wrong with you?"

Lu Min looked down at the storage compartment in the middle of the car seat and noticed a red dot flashing.

Lu Min squinted and carefully tried to pry off the light spot, but he couldn't get it off no matter what he did. He had no choice but to look down and examine it. After a few glances, Lu Min's expression changed drastically: "Damn, it's a tracking device."

Sang Qi's expression also changed drastically, and he exclaimed in surprise: "No wonder they were able to lock our location so quickly and accurately, it turns out they installed a locator in the car."

Lu Min hurriedly said, "The locator is fixed inside the car and can't be removed. We can't keep this car. Get out of the car and think of another way to escape."

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Sang Qi dared not linger in the car any longer and quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out.

After abandoning the car, the two heard a group of men chasing after them from in front of the hospital building. Lu Min frowned, grabbed Sang Qi's wrist, and ran frantically towards the hospital entrance.

At the hospital entrance, a large group of men in black suits stood guard or wandered around, their cold eyes scanning everyone who came in or passed by.

Seeing so many people lying in ambush at the entrance, Sang Qi's heart clenched, and sweat beaded on his forehead with anxiety: "What should we do? There are so many people."

Lu Min tightened his jaw and cursed viciously, "Fuck you, you're pushing people to their deaths!"

Sang Qi anxiously turned around to see where the pursuers had gone. At that moment, Lu Min's eyes lit up, and he pulled Sang Qi aside.

"I have an idea." Lu Min beamed with joy.

"Um?"

Lu Min raised his chin behind him.

Not far behind Lu Min, a small light truck loaded with goods was parked. There was a container behind the truck, and a curtain was placed behind it. It was probably going to the hospital to deliver medicine.

The light truck is currently parked inside the hospital, only a few hundred meters from the hospital gate. The driver is smoking a cigarette nearby, and it will probably be able to drive away soon.

Lu Min pulled Sang Qi and hid inside the container behind the light truck. The curtain was drawn to block the outside view, and it was pitch black inside, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

After Sang Qi and Lu Min hid inside, they carefully lay down in the container and secretly peeked out from behind a corner of the curtain to observe the situation outside.

Suddenly the car engine started to vibrate, and the driver was about to start the car.

As the car started moving, watching the figures of the thugs guarding the entrance gradually recede into the distance and become blurry, Sang Qi and Lu Min unconsciously exchanged a glance, their eyes meeting, and then they smiled brightly.

The light truck drove out of the hospital gate, onto the highway, and quickly merged into the dense traffic, continuing along the road until its destination became unknown.