Chapter 331 Let Go
Hearing Shi Wang's words, Jiang Wanning turned her head and met his gaze.
When the man said this, it seemed as if he had used up all his courage in his life.
The usual unattainable look of a flower on the mountain was no longer there between her eyebrows. Her eyelashes were trembling, as if she was carefully praying for Jiang Wanning's answer, but was also afraid to hear a rejection from her.
Shi Wangben thought that he had calculated everything, and for his ultimate goal, he could accept any price.
But it was not until this moment that he realized that he could not accept such an outcome at all.
He simply couldn't, and couldn't do it at all, to watch Jiang Wanning, who once belonged to him alone, walk towards another man.
Shi Wang could not deny that he felt extremely upset and uncomfortable.
A low rumble echoed from the west side of the banquet hall, like the roar of a giant beast deep underground. Then, the air was violently torn apart, and a dazzling white light shot out from behind the wall. A deafening roar accompanied it, and the entire banquet hall's floor shook violently.
The chandelier shook violently, crystal pendants rained down like raindrops, making a sharp cracking sound. The screams of the crowd, the sound of shattering wine glasses, and the sound of toppling tables and chairs mixed together into a chaotic clamor.
Jiang Wanning was knocked to the ground by the massive shockwave. Before she could even scream, she was enveloped by a wave of heat and dust. A buzzing roar filled her ears, and her vision was a blur of white.
Just as she was struggling to get up, a heavy building board crashed down from above.
Xie Yanchuan suddenly pounced on her and held her tightly in his arms with his body.
With a dull thud, the building board crashed down on Xie Yanchuan's back. He groaned, his body slightly bent under the pressure. To make matters worse, a broken steel bar pierced through from under the board and pierced his abdomen.
Blood gushed out instantly, staining his shirt red and splashing onto Jiang Wanning's face. The warm, sticky touch made her shudder.
"Xie Yanchuan!" Her voice was hoarse, filled with uncontrollable fear.
His breathing was rapid and weak, his forehead resting against her neck, his voice so soft that it was almost swallowed by the dust: "Don't be afraid... I'm here."
Dust hung in the air, lights flickered, and the air around them grew heavy and murky. They were trapped in the narrow space between the building panels and the ground, barely able to move.
Jiang Wanning desperately tried to push the board away, but it wouldn't budge. Her fingers scratched the steel bars, leaving bloody marks, but she ignored the pain and just kept calling out Xie Yanchuan's name.
"Don't sleep, Xie Yanchuan, do you hear me? You are not allowed to sleep!" Her voice trembled and tears blurred her vision.
Xie Yanchuan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and his eyes gradually lost focus, as if he would fall into a dark abyss at any time. The pain in his abdomen almost made him lose consciousness, but he tried hard to stay awake because he knew that if he closed his eyes, he might never see her again.
"Wan Ning..." He said with difficulty, "I'm fine..."
At this moment, amidst a sharp tinnitus, some blurry images suddenly flashed through Jiang Wanning's mind -
On a summer afternoon, cicadas chirped. A little boy squatted in the yard, holding a wounded bird and carefully bandaging it. A girl stood beside him, holding a popsicle, her eyes sparkling.
"Achuan, what do you want to do in the future?" the girl asked.
"I want to protect... I want to protect you." The boy raised his head and smiled as bright as the sun.
The scene flashed to a rainy night. The girl was frightened by the thunder and huddled in the corner. The boy walked over, hugged her tightly, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Jiang Wanning's heart skipped a beat. The images were strange yet familiar, like a long-forgotten dream finally awakened.
It turned out they hadn't met in adulthood. She remembered—as a child, she'd lived next door to the Xie family, where they'd played together and spent entire summers together. Later, due to family tragedies, she was forced to leave, and those memories had been buried deep in her heart, only to resurface today.
"Xie Yanchuan," she choked up, "I remember now... We met when we were little. You said you would protect me forever."
The corners of Xie Yanchuan's mouth rose slightly, as if he was smiling, or as if he was comforting her. But his breathing became weaker and weaker, and his face was pale and almost transparent.
"Don't sleep," Jiang Wanning patted his face gently with her hand, "You promised me, you can't break your promise."
She looked up at the ruins and shouted desperately: "Help! Is there anyone here? Someone is injured here!"
But the only responses she got were the occasional groaning in the distance and the creaking of building structures.
Time seemed to be stretched infinitely, and every second felt like walking on the edge of a knife. Jiang Wanning hugged Xie Yanchuan tightly, feeling his weak heartbeat, afraid that the slightest sign of life would disappear at any time.
"Xie Yanchuan," she whispered, her voice filled with unprecedented determination, "Listen, I won't let you die. We still have a lot to do and a lot to say. You must pay me back for the rest of your life."
Xie Yanchuan's fingers moved slightly, as if responding to her. But his eyes had begun to blur, and his consciousness gradually sank into a vortex of darkness.
Just when Jiang Wanning thought everything was over, the shouts of rescuers came from afar -
"Is anyone here?"
As if she had grasped the last straw, she shouted with all her might, "We are here! Come quickly!"
Lights swept across the ruins, and the figures of the rescuers finally came into view. Jiang Wanning breathed a sigh of relief, but then became nervous again - she knew that Xie Yanchuan's life was at its limit, and they had to rescue him as soon as possible.
"His abdomen was pierced by steel bars!" she said anxiously to the rescuers, "Hurry up and save him!"
Rescue workers sprang into action, using hydraulic pliers to cut the rebar and carefully removing the building panels. With each movement, Xie Yanchuan's body trembled slightly, and Jiang Wanning's heart tightened.
Finally, the construction boards were removed, and Xie Yanchuan was carefully lifted onto a stretcher. Jiang Wanning held his hand tightly, refusing to let go.
"I'll go with you," she said firmly.
With the sirens of the ambulance blaring, they finally left the ruins. Jiang Wanning looked at the pale Xie Yanchuan on the stretcher and swore in her heart that no matter what the cost, she would let him survive.
Because he is the most important person in her life, and also the childhood memory she once forgot but now regained.
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