Jiang Xi felt a jolt in her heart. Before she could react, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. Jiang Xi lost her strength and rushed into the arms of the person next to her.
The man held her tightly in his arms, his hand covering the back of her neck.
"Why?"
His voice was stern, and his gaze was fixed intently on her, meeting her eyes across the darkness.
Yan Zheng felt as if lava had passed through his heart, with a hidden anger about to erupt.
The person in front of him always manages to lift his heart high at any time, and then slam it down hard, trampling on his true feelings like a dispensable toy.
"You left of your own volition back then, so why now?" As if to get a definite answer, he suppressed his anger and asked again.
Jiang Xi's whole body stiffened, and she dared not move.
She couldn't answer.
Over the years, she could always hear Yan Tongqing's words in the quiet of the night.
"Xiao Xi, you heard it too, he said it himself."
"Since you've broken up, don't bother him anymore. He's different from you; he has no choice but to go into fencing."
Her hands clenched unconsciously, her thumbs digging into her index fingernails. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, and many words remained unspoken. The resolve she had made in the first place now seemed like nothing more than an attempt to shirk responsibility.
Seeing that she remained silent, Yan Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly, glared at her fiercely, pushed her away a little, and raised his hand to clamp her chin.
In the darkness, his eyes swept over her silhouette, as if determined to punish her. He leaned in, pressed down on the back of her neck, and bit her lip, forceful and brooking no refusal.
The slight sting brought Jiang Xi back to her senses, but before she could even utter a sound, he swallowed her whole.
They directly attacked and seized territory, robbing her of her very breath.
Jiang Xi's body went limp, her hands desperately searching for a point of support, but he grabbed them and pinned them behind her back, while his other hand pressed against her neck, holding her tightly in his arms.
Everything happened so fast that it caught her off guard.
The kisses descended from her lips to her neck, delicate and rapid, fierce and urgent, carrying a hint of revenge, and finally stopped at her ear.
"You don't need to be afraid of me."
His voice was harsh, hoarse, and restrained: "Obey me, and I'll take you out."
Jiang Xi's heart trembled slightly, and her body turned cold because of those words.
He could see it, he could see her fear and apprehension, and he even used it to threaten her.
What made her feel like she had fallen into an ice cave was that at this moment she was willing, and she never felt that being intimate with him was a wrong thing.
"Yan Zheng, please don't..."
The man didn't care about her reply; before she could finish speaking, her words were swallowed up by an even deeper kiss.
After a long while, he leaned close to her cheek and emphasized in her ear, "I don't care who you have in your heart."
"From now on, forget about him. I'll take you out of here."
His low, husky voice carried an undeniable coldness, a persuasive allure, and a hint of helpless self-mockery.
The man's silhouette in the darkness was tall and imposing, his hand gripping mine strong and powerful, a far cry from the figure in my memory.
Jiang Xi's face was deathly pale. Her head was throbbing, and she felt like she had swallowed a bitter pill. She tried hard to see his eyes, but she couldn't see anything.
But the next moment, the silhouette pressed against her again, kissing her until she was dizzy and breathless, and she fell into a deep sleep without realizing it.
——
In the middle of the night, Jiang Xi heard a pattering sound, but she couldn't make it out clearly. She wanted to open her eyes to see, but her eyelids felt heavy and swollen.
She had many dreams: the boy riding a bicycle from her memories, the boy who brought her an umbrella in the rain, and—
A pine nut candy in the palm of my hand.
Yan Zheng woke up in the middle of the night and heard Jiang Xi's murmurs. He touched her forehead.
I have a fever.
At this moment, a light rain began to fall outside, and the air was quite chilly.
Some rainwater seeped in through the dense branches piled up at the doorway, and half of the already small recess was soaked in water.
Yan Zheng lit a lighter, took out fever-reducing medicine from his backpack, and fed it to Jiang Xi with the remaining half-bottle of water.
He wrapped her in his arms again, and covered them both with two down jackets.
In a daze, Jiang Xi felt herself being held, her forehead covered in a fine layer of sweat, and she felt weak all over.
One moment you're feeling the breeze on a cloud, the next you're being roasted in hell.
She regained consciousness for a moment and realized she was being held. She had many questions on her mind, and taking advantage of the opportunity, she murmured them out.
"Do you know where this is?"
She pinched her thigh hard, her nose suddenly stinging, and her voice, feigning strength, betrayed her weakness: "You saved me, didn't you?" She wanted to use herself once again to get the truth.
Yan Zheng paused, his arm around her pausing, and sighed helplessly, patting her back.
"It's another world."
Yan Zheng tucked the back of her clothes in and said, "You're sick. I'll tell you all about it when you're better."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xi's heart suddenly raced. She had finally touched the edge of the truth. She wanted to ask more questions, but the effects of the drug kicked in and she gradually fell asleep, her tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxing.
Yan Zheng stayed up for most of the night until dawn broke and the rain gradually stopped, at which point Jiang Xi's fever subsided.
When she woke up, she was covered with two thick down jackets, and the air was filled with the scent of earth and grass after the rain. She got up and moved around and found that her head still hurt a little, but the fatigue in her body had lessened considerably.
Emerging from the cave, Jiang Xi saw Yan Zheng chopping wood by the fire, his back to her. He was shirtless, with his short-sleeved shirt hanging to dry beside the fire. The golden light of the morning sun shone on his honey-colored back, highlighting his clear and hard muscle lines, broad shoulders, narrow waist, and distinct cleavage.
Hearing her voice, Yan Zheng turned around to look at her.
How are you feeling physically?
"Much better."
Jiang Xi lowered her head, and she could clearly feel her face burning.
"Thank you for yesterday."
Yan Zheng said indifferently, "That's why I said your physical condition is poor. You can get a fever from just a gust of wind and lose consciousness."
Jiang Xi didn't know how to answer, so she lowered her head and walked towards the fire.
Yan Zheng picked up the short-sleeved shirt he was warming by the fire and put it on.
Jiang Xi sat down by the fire, her face still flushed, and asked him eagerly.
What did you mean by what you said yesterday?
She licked her lips: "What do you mean by 'another world'?"
Yan Zheng was surprised that she still remembered. He cleared his throat and sorted out his thoughts.
"The time I was hospitalized during my junior year of college."
She remembers; how could she forget?
Early that morning, she suddenly received a call from Yan Zheng, who told her that he was giving up fencing and was coming to find her. Shocked, she sat up all night but he didn't come.
The next day, still worried, I called Professor Yan and learned that he had been hospitalized. He said that he had developed a mental illness due to the pressure of the competition and needed to be hospitalized for treatment.
"I'm not sick, I just came into this world after being injured and unconscious."
Yan Zheng put down his axe, added some firewood to the fire, and spoke each word with extreme caution: "Have you ever seen a science fiction documentary? Parallel worlds."
His expression was serious and earnest.
"If I'm not mistaken, the world we live in now is a parallel universe."
He added, "I found you during the snowstorm, then I passed out, and when I woke up I found that we were here together."
"I'm sorry, I lied to you that day. I was just afraid that if I told you the truth, you wouldn't be able to get over it."
Many times, people are holding on by sheer willpower. When they feel there is hope, they can go a little further and work a little harder. But once they lose that will, the chances of success become very slim.
This answer was unexpected for Jiang Xi. When the topic turned to parallel worlds, her gaze slowly swept across Yan Zheng's face, staring into his dark and calm eyes, afraid that she might have missed something.
The atmosphere was somewhat silent, and it took her a long time to process what he had said.
How ridiculous, yet so real, she couldn't help but believe him, because she was experiencing it all firsthand.
Jiang Xi asked, "A parallel world? Is it the same as our world?"
"Same."
Jiang Xi asked, "Is there another you and me in this world?"
Yes, there is.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Xi couldn't help but ask again, "Can we go back?"
After thinking for a while, Yan Zheng said, "Maybe it's possible. I don't know if there are any natural disasters in this world right now. If we survive the disasters, there's a chance we can go back."
"Of course, I don't want to hide it from you either, because I know very little about all of this."
“But I will stay with you and do my best to ensure your safety,” Yan Zheng added.
Jiang Xi's thoughts were in turmoil. A voice told her that this was impossible, that it was too absurd, but her heart told her that maybe he was right.
Dandelions with pink flowers, yellow foxtail grass, and a mysterious feeling of being deep in a primeval forest.
Although this fact is incredible, the various differences indicate that this is not the original world. If she hadn't actually participated in this forest escape, she would have definitely thought that Yan Zheng was really sick.
She felt her mouth was dry and her mind was in turmoil. She had many questions and a multitude of thoughts swirling in her mind, yet her head ached so badly she couldn't make sense of them.
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