Chapter 46
At the same time, Song Mu was pushed out by a huge force. The force was so strong that he fell to the ground, and the person who pushed him also fell forward and fell heavily beside him.
The flowerpot struck the ground with a resounding thud, shattering into countless shards that flew everywhere. The dirt within the pot scattered across the ground, covering the thin layer of snow that hadn't been swept from the stone pavement in time, like dark petals growing from a pristine white leaf.
"Mr. Tang, Mr. Tang..." Song Mu looked at Tang Ruxin who had pushed him away in shock, then looked at the flowerpot, his tongue becoming unresponsive.
Tang Ruxin ran over and pushed him away without even slowing down. She managed to save Song Mu, but the rough gravel on the ground scratched her arm, leaving several bloody wounds. The pain made her utter a string of curse words.
"Are you okay?" Song Mu came to his senses and hurriedly got up to help Tang Ruxin.
Tang Ruxin said with a grin, "Call the police."
"What?"
"I told you to call the police!" she yelled, then pushed Song Mu away, covering her arm and rushing towards the unit door farthest from them.
Song Mu was stunned for a moment, his mind a mess. By the time he realized what was happening, the voice-activated lights in the hallway ahead had already illuminated the second floor. He frantically searched for his phone, which had flown away. Tang Ruxin had hit him so hard, and he was on the phone at the time, so the phone naturally flew off.
It took him a while to find his phone, which was still on the line, in a snow-covered flower bed not far away.
Tang Ruxin had reached the fifth floor. Her down jacket made noises when she moved, so she took it off and threw it on the second floor. The higher she climbed, the slower she climbed. When she heard faint footsteps from above, she stopped and ducked behind some debris at the corner of the stairs.
The man's footsteps were so light that he didn't even activate the voice-controlled light. He stopped after walking a few steps and looked downstairs to make sure there was no movement before continuing downstairs.
——Very cautious and calm.
Tang Ruxin, lurking in the shadows, was unsure. She'd guessed that the man, upon seeing the flowerpot hadn't hit Song Mu, would immediately leave the scene, choosing the corridor entrance farthest from where the flowerpot had landed. But she hadn't expected him to be so calm. Either he'd already thought of an excuse for when he was caught, or he was certain he wouldn't be caught. Either possibility was unfavorable to her.
Tang Ruxin didn't have a mobile phone, and this multi-story residential building didn't even have an elevator, let alone a camera.
The dull footsteps were getting closer, but she still hadn't figured out a plan. She swallowed hard, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly, her heart pounding and her palms sweating.
In the darkness, a figure in a down jacket appeared at the corner of the upper staircase. He wore the jacket's fur-trimmed hat and dark sneakers. Judging by his silhouette, he was a man, about 1.8 meters tall. Beyond that, Tang Ruxin couldn't discern any other features. He was dressed excessively, the long, baggy down jacket practically covering his entire body, making it impossible to tell whether he was thin or fat.
The man glanced down the hallway before slowly descending the stairs. His steps were steady, his hands in his pockets, not touching the handrail. He reached the entrance to the floor where Tang Ruxin was hiding, glanced left and right, and continued down.
When Tang Ruxin was closest to him, she could see a few streaks of muddy white wall dust on the cuffs of his down jacket. Seeing that he was about to disappear from her sight, Tang Ruxin quietly stood up and followed him down one floor. She had originally intended to follow him out of the building; with Song Mu outside, her chances of containing him would be better.
However, Tang Ruxin forgot one thing: her down jacket was still lying in the corridor on the second floor.
It is not conspicuous in the dark, but if you look closely you will find that this piece of clothing appears very abruptly. If the person has a good memory, he will also find that he was not wearing this piece of clothing when he went up.
The man really noticed the dark gray down jacket. He paused for a second, then took out his hands, supported himself on the handrail of the stairs, turned over and jumped down, trying to jump directly to the first floor.
Tang Ruxin's reaction was not slow either. She had been watching his every move intently. When he jumped into the air, Tang Ruxin's shoes had already thrown out with force, and she followed him downstairs in two steps.
The man's head was hit hard by the heel of a shoe. Even though it wasn't a high heel, he groaned in pain and fell to his knees. He didn't look back, but immediately climbed up by the handrail, jumped down the last few steps in front of the hallway door, and rushed towards the unit door.
Tang Ruxin also ran to these steps at this time. Seeing that the man was about to leave the building, she gritted her teeth and jumped down, rushing directly to the man's back. Only then did she see that the man was wearing a black mask.
As if he hadn't expected Tang Ruxin to be so desperate, the man was thrown forward by her. Just as he was about to hit the half-open security door in the corridor, he suddenly turned around. As a result, Tang Ruxin, who had been lying on his back using him as a cushion, was forced to crash directly into the door.
They both fell sideways out of the corridor door, both injured. Although the force was the same and the fall was in the same position, Tang Ruxin took a greater impact. This was because the man was wearing a fluffy down jacket, while Tang Ruxin was only wearing a sweatshirt.
The collision and fall caused Tang Ruxin so much pain that she couldn't get up for a long time, and tears were welling up in her eyes.
The man also fell hard, but when he saw Song Mu running towards him not far away, he immediately got up and staggered to the other side.
Tang Ruxin refused to let him go, and she endured the pain and stood up to chase him.
Song Mu had already rushed over and grabbed her arm, "Don't go, it's too dangerous!"
She shook his hand off and chased after the man regardless. A cry of pain came from behind, and Song Mu seemed to have been pushed down by her, but she didn't care.
She had to catch up with that person. She finally had an answer. She finally knew who the person was who had tortured her so much, who had made her experience pain, despair, powerlessness, and nothingness all in such a short period of time, who had almost made her deny everything about herself.
He was so close that she could even touch him.
How can I not chase him? I must catch him even if I die!
However, Song Mu's intervention caused the man to turn the corner in an instant. Tang Ruxin followed suit, turning in the direction he might be heading. The man ran very fast, but Tang Ruxin was a bit slow in comparison because she was only wearing one shoe.
Through her rapid breathing, she could occasionally hear Song Mu's calls, as he chased after her and yelled at her to stop. Tang Ruxin naturally ignored him, but the cold air late at night in winter was particularly irritating to her respiratory tract. If she continued running like this, she would vomit.
In order to get rid of her, the man began to cross the community flower beds.
The snow-covered flowerbed was naturally harder on the feet than the concrete pavement. Under the snow lay broken branches and hard rocks, and a single step would have made her foot bleed profusely. He knew Tang Ruxin had just taken off one of her shoes and hit him.
Tang Ruxin rushed towards the flower bed without hesitation.
At this moment, she had only one thought in her mind: even if she died here today, she would not let him escape. She gritted her teeth and jumped up, stepping into the snow-covered flower bed.
At this moment, an arm suddenly stretched out from the side, wrapped around her waist and stopped her in mid-air.
"Let me go! Song Mu, let me go!" Tang Ruxin struggled and shouted loudly, her voice hoarse.
She breathed in so much cold air that her throat was irritated and her voice changed.
"Shh, shh—keep your voice down, you're disturbing others."
The voice was soft and covered the earlobe, and the exhaled breath was warm.
Tang Ruxin looked up in a daze and saw Yu Lei raised his hand and gestured towards the front, as if he was giving directions to someone.
"Don't worry, he can't get away."
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