Flames surrounded her, tongues of fire lunging at her like ferocious dragons. Huo Jiayuan's consciousness grew increasingly blurred, but the searing pain in her body became ever clearer. She struggled to get up; she was in excruciating pain, but several attempts were futile…
Something was pressing down on her foot, and stones kept falling.
She couldn't even manage to shout.
In that instant, many images flashed through her mind, each frame featuring Meng Yan's face... She remembered the time they spent together in Biandu, how he went from initially disliking her to later protecting her with all his might, and how he gently patted her head and called her "silly girl"...
"Meng Yan, I'm afraid I must take my leave now..."
The fire was raging and explosions were happening one after another; she could no longer hold on.
He Chen, standing to the side, was in no better condition.
He couldn't see anything clearly in the blazing firelight, so he could only grab Huo Jiayuan's arm by feel. He coughed from the thick smoke, his voice hoarse, but he still insisted on calling her name: "Yuanyuan... please don't fall asleep..."
That's what he said, but he closed his eyes first.
"He Chen..."
"Yuan Yuan, you have to hold on." He Chen mumbled incoherently, "Someone will come to save us, keep going..."
The two men fell into the sea of fire, and then the factory exploded with another loud bang, sending a pillar of fire shooting straight into the sky!
...
Meng Yan rushed into the firelight and was slightly taken aback.
He clenched his fist, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably. He tried to breathe deeply, but thick smoke filled his throat as soon as he opened his mouth.
Fires were everywhere, and explosions were happening all around...
Meng Yan covered his ears, but he quickly put his hands down and continued running forward.
Just now, the nightmare seemed to return. Firelight, thick smoke, and explosions intertwined, taking him back to that battlefield where blood flowed like a river… Meng Xi's face reappeared on the battlefield, his father mocking his incompetence, arrogantly pointing a gun at his head, shouting hoarsely, “If you’ve got the guts, then kill your own father!”
Meng Yan ran as fast as she could, trying to leave the nightmare behind.
"Foolish son, no matter how fast you run, you can't outrun your life!" Meng Xi's voice seemed to come again. "You can't save her! Even if you did, do you think she wouldn't mind this past? You're someone who can even kill his own father; she'll never respect you for the rest of her life!"
"No!"
Meng Yan shouted, stopping to catch his breath. When he looked up again, his eyes held not only the firelight but also a profound determination.
"I will save her..."
"I won't let anything happen to her!"
"Yuan Yuan—"
Without hesitation, Meng Yan rushed into the sea of fire.
...
Huo Jiayuan thought she was about to die.
In that blurring moment of consciousness, she was scalded awake by the flames. She jolted awake and heard someone's voice coming from within the firelight:
"Yuan Yuan! Yuan Yuan!"
She couldn't believe her ears, "Meng Yan?"
"Meng Yan, I'm here..."
She waved her hands frantically and shouted with all her might, but her voice was drowned out by the flames and thick smoke. Just when she was in despair, a pair of large hands caught her slender body, and the next second she was in the embrace that had given her a sense of security countless times!
"Meng Yan?" Huo Jiayuan was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears, "Meng Yan... is it really you?"
"It's me, don't be afraid!" Meng Yan picked her up. "I'll take you away from here, everything will be alright soon!"
"I thought I was going to die..."
"No!" He looked into her eyes. "With me here, I won't let anything happen to you!"
How did you end up here?
"Let's go outside first and talk about it later!"
"Hey, wait a minute..."
Huo Jiayuan pointed to the other side.
Laughter was not appropriate at such a critical moment, but Meng Yan still laughed—the young prince fell to the ground in an extremely comical posture, and the two of them almost forgot about him!
"Don't worry," Meng Yan said in a low voice, "I won't let anything happen to him."
He had Huo Jiayuan lie on his back and hug him tightly, then he picked up He Chen. He Chen was a big guy, and it took him quite a bit of effort to lift him.
However, he still moved them both to a safe place.
Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars rushed to the scene, their sirens piercing the sky and startling a flock of birds into flight.
The fire was quickly extinguished, and Huo Jiayuan and He Chen received timely medical treatment. Fortunately, their burns were not too severe, and even more fortunately, neither of them had burned their faces.
When He Chen woke up, he could clearly feel the bandage wrapped around his head and a burning pain on his skin. His heart skipped a beat, and he almost cried.
"Tell me the truth, am I disfigured?!"
Several nurses nearby remained silent, secretly chuckling to themselves.
"Oh no! Ahhh!"
He Chen was in utter despair, about to burst into tears to mourn the death of his handsome face, when the ward door opened. The doctors and nurses bowed respectfully upon seeing the newcomers. "General Meng, Miss Huo!"
"You may all leave now," Meng Yan said with a light laugh. "I'll have a word with the young prince."
The doctors and nurses had all left, but He Chen covered his face, refusing to let anyone see him. Huo Jiayuan smiled and brought him a mirror, while Meng Yan gently tried to persuade him, but he remained immersed in his grief.
"He Chen!"
Meng Yan's gentle voice turned into a gruff and loud one.
This roar instantly transported He Chen back many years, to when he trained with the Meng family army. Meng Yan, the person in charge, often yelled at him like this: "He Chen, step forward!"
"I……"
"Put your hand down!"
"No... I'm already like this, and you still..."
He glimpsed Meng Yan's serious face through the gaps between his fingers.
Although his face was serious, the smile in his eyes was obvious.
He Chen hesitated and put his hand down. Huo Jiayuan took the opportunity to hold the mirror in front of him. He was startled at first, and then saw himself in the mirror with his head wrapped in gauze.
And that face was completely unharmed!
He Chen was stunned for a long time, then suddenly burst into tears of joy.
He's never liked his face this much before!
"Hey, why are you crying!" Huo Jiayuan chuckled. "Look, I'm more injured than you, but I haven't cried!"
He Chen noticed that Huo Jiayuan's arms and legs were wrapped in gauze. Although it didn't hinder her movement, these burns would take a while to heal.
He was the same. His head was bruised and his legs were scraped, but thinking about how miserable he was in the fire that day, he felt a sense of joy at surviving a disaster.
"Meng Yan saved us!" Huo Jiayuan took her sweetheart's arm and laughed with great joy. "He saved both of us that day! As soon as we escaped, the house behind us collapsed."
“So if it weren’t for General Meng, we would all be dead.” He Chen looked at him gratefully. “Many years ago you saved our country, which was the same as saving me, and this time… it was you who saved me again.”
Meng Yan smiled slightly and gently embraced the little woman beside him.
"Hey," Huo Jiayuan looked at He Chen, "He not only saved you, he carried you out in a princess carry!"
"Huh?" He Chen was dumbfounded.
"I think you should stop being a prince and become a princess instead!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
