The acrid smell of burning skin and the bloody smell of broken wounds mingled together and rushed into Tang Ning's nostrils. Apart from his initial scream, Qi Lie was probably too overwhelmed by the pain to make any sound. He collapsed towards Tang Ning, unable to support himself any longer.
Seeing the scene before her, and Qi Lie's face turning deathly pale, Tang Ning felt as if she had been torn in two. After a slight ripple in her heart, she quickly regained her composure and even calmness. However, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She didn't even dare to touch Qi Lie, feeling that touching him would only cause him intense pain and suffering.
"Qi Lie... Qi Lie, how are you? It's all my fault, it's all my fault, I shouldn't have... Help! Is anyone there? Someone help me, save him..."
Because she couldn't support Qi Lie's entire weight, Tang Ning carefully squatted down, letting him lean on her shoulder.
Meanwhile, the girl holding the sulfuric acid bottle and wearing a mask witnessed the horrific scene before her. Realizing she had splashed the wrong person, the initial rush of anger subsided, and she finally felt a surge of fear. She abruptly threw the bottle at someone nearby and began fleeing towards the stairs, shouting as she ran, "I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to, it wasn't me, it wasn't me..."
They disappeared in no time.
Qi Lie, who was pressing down on Tang Ning, watched as she turned pale with fright, crying and trembling as she dialed 120. Even though some of the liquid had splashed on her own arm, she seemed not to feel any pain at all, only crying incessantly for him. Seeing this, Qi Lie's trembling hand slowly reached towards her face, as if he wanted to wipe away her tears.
"Don't...cry..."
He managed to utter just those three words, as if trying to give Tang Ning a smile to comfort her, but before he could even raise the corners of his mouth, his hand fell limp and he lost consciousness.
In a daze, he vaguely felt as if he had encountered the teacher who had given him his musical enlightenment.
"Qi Lie, your composition is excellent, almost at the top level, but you are not suited to writing songs about love."
"Why?" Qi Lie, who had just turned eighteen, looked indignant. His songs were already popular all over the country, so why wasn't he suitable to write love songs? He felt that he was suitable for everything.
Even now, he still remembers the gentle and tolerant smile on his teacher's face.
"Because you haven't fallen in love with someone yet. Perhaps you can wait until you really fall in love with someone, and then look back at these pieces of your music. Then you will understand what I'm trying to say."
He said.
Teacher, I think I understand now...
The moment he faced danger and chose to rush towards Tang Ning without hesitation, he understood completely.
He loves her.
Qi Lie's current favorability rating: 100.
In the hospital corridor, Tang Ning stared unfocused at the brightly lit operating room. Her white off-the-shoulder dress was now a crumpled mess, stained with tiny specks of blood, all of it Qi Lie's blood.
"Tang Ning".
Just as she was staring at the red light, not daring to blink, a familiar voice suddenly rang in her ear.
She slowly turned her head.
It is Fu Yinze.
Perhaps due to the intense running, Fu Yin looked far more disheveled than usual. He was carrying his suit jacket, his tie was loose and hanging loosely around his neck, and his hair, which he always combed neatly at work, was now disheveled with several strands hanging over his forehead. His forehead was covered in sweat. The moment he saw Tang Ning sitting peacefully on the bench, the man suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to her, still dragging his suit jacket.
It was only then that Tang Ning finally came to her senses. She stood up, and tears streamed down her face like beads from a broken string. She opened her mouth, about to say something, when several hurried footsteps came from behind them.
Upon first glance, Tang Ning recognized the visitors as Qi Lie's parents, followed by likely other relatives of the Qi family.
A group of people rushed to Tang Ning and immediately inquired about Qi Lie's condition. Upon learning that almost the entire bottle of sulfuric acid had been poured on his back and that he was currently undergoing surgery in the operating room, Qi Lie's mother couldn't help but cover her mouth and burst into tears.
"Auntie..." Tang Ning stepped forward and reached out to comfort her, but unexpectedly, she was thrown off balance by the other party. If Fu Yinze hadn't caught her in time, she probably would have fallen to the ground.
At this moment, Qi Lie's mother, who was completely immersed in her own grief, could no longer care about Tang Ning. Her reason told her that this was an accident and that she shouldn't blame the young girl, but she still couldn't help but feel angry. When Qi Lie had developed feelings for her, a girl who had a boyfriend, and it had caused a stir online, she already felt that something was wrong. Now, because of her, she was lying unconscious in the operating room.
Seeing this, Qi Lie's father comforted his wife, then turned around and sighed. He then told Fu Yin to take Tang Ning away first, and they would discuss the rest after Qi Lie woke up.
Then, Tang Ning, in a daze, let Fu Yin take her home after he treated the wound on her arm.
The car had barely stopped in front of the villa when Tang Ning unbuckled the passenger seatbelt and ran into the villa without looking back.
Seeing this, Fu Yin hurriedly opened the car door and followed. He eventually found Tang Ning in her room with her back to him, stuffing a handful of medicine into her mouth, then gulping down a mouthful of water and swallowing it.
"Tang Ning..."
Fu Yinze strode forward. Tang Ning, who had just swallowed the medicine in her mouth, trembled upon hearing the voice. She quickly hid the medicine bottle behind her back and turned around to look at Fu Yinze, who had come up behind her with a smile.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing her attempt to cover it up, Fu Yin stared into her eyes for a long time before finally asking slowly, "What were you eating just now?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning's eyes flickered slightly, then her smile grew even brighter. "It's nothing, just regular vitamins, what else could it be?"
To avoid arousing Fu Yinze's suspicion, she took out the medicine bottle hidden behind her back, handed it to Fu Yinze, and waved it in front of him.
After carefully reading the words "Vitamin B" on the label, Fu Yin smiled casually, "It's good that you didn't eat anything indiscriminately. What would you like to eat tonight? I'll have the chef make something for you... or would you like to go out for something?"
Upon hearing his question, Tang Ning casually tossed the vitamin bottle into the bedside table drawer, took two steps forward, and hugged Fu Yinze's arm. "I'll listen to you."
"Let's eat at home then. Chef Wang's cooking skills are quite good. Let him prepare two dishes for dinner..."
While talking to Tang Ning, Fu Yin glanced at the bedside table for a moment out of the corner of his eye.
Nighttime, in the study.
He looked at the several pills of completely different sizes spread out on his desk. He had asked the housekeeper to take them out of the house when she was eating in Tangning.
After looking at it for a long time, he slowly dialed a number.
"Qin Zhou, yes, it's me. Do me a favor, help me analyze the ingredients of a few pills and tell me what they're for. Okay, thanks."
After hanging up the phone, Fu Yin took out a transparent plastic bag and put all the pills into it.
Meanwhile, in a VIP ward of a private hospital.
Ye Xi, who was scrolling through Weibo, immediately tossed her phone aside after seeing the trending topics.
"They even managed to get Qi Lie to block the sulfuric acid... She got off easy!"
However, it had only been a short time, and Qi Lie had already done so much for her. Ye Xi felt that the comfort she had started to feel a few days ago was starting to feel tight again.
What's so good about that little bitch? How can anyone compare to her?
One is like this, two, three are all like this!
Ye Xi gripped the blanket tightly.
But even if you all pamper and spoil her, so what? She still managed to turn into a nationwide blacklist because of a small post and a fake suicide attempt, and even attracted malicious retaliation from obsessive fans. This time, the sulfuric acid face wash incident allowed her to escape, so let's see how long she can escape!
Ye Xi chuckled softly and leaned back smugly.
During dinner, Fu Yin noticed that Tang Ning barely ate anything. It was then that he gradually recalled that she had never seemed to have a very good appetite.
Having already made some guesses, Fu Yin watched as Tang Ning finished her meal and was about to return to her room. He followed behind her, and just as she said goodnight to him and was about to close the door, the man's hand pressed directly on the door.
"May I sleep in this room tonight too?"
Upon hearing Fu Yinze's words, Tang Ning's eyes widened suddenly, and she looked at Fu Yinze in disbelief.
Finally, unable to say anything in response, Tang Ning took a shower and ended up lying in the same bed as Fu Yinzhe.
Fu Yin looked at her with amusement as she closed her eyes tightly and stood stiffly like a piece of wood. He supported the back of her head with one hand and gently kissed Tang Ning's forehead, saying with a smile, "Don't be so nervous. I said I would wait for the day you are willing, and I will wait."
He gently hugged Tang Ning's slender back, rubbing his chin against her hair. "Sleep. I'm here with you. Don't think about anything. Get a good night's sleep, okay?"
Feeling the warmth emanating from the man's body, Tang Ning, who was being held in his arms, was first stunned, and then her whole body slowly softened.
Fu Yin had no idea how long he waited before the girl in his arms finally began to breathe steadily.
But she hadn't been asleep for long when she suddenly started crying in her sleep. It was a particularly heartbreaking sob, without any sound, only her body trembling slightly, occasionally mixed with a startled shudder, like a frightened herbivore. Fu Yin could only tighten his embrace, gently patting her back with his other hand, while he began to hum an unknown Russian tune. He didn't know how long he hummed it before he finally felt Tang Ning in his arms stop crying.
Seeing this, he gently exhaled and kissed Tang Ning's forehead again.
"good evening."
The same thing happened for the next few nights.
Qi Lie's serious injury and hospitalization did not make his fans reflect on whether their previous baseless accusations were wrong. Instead, under the influence of malicious people, combined with the time when Qi Lie was involved in the landslide, Tang Ning was directly labeled as a jinx.
It's true, Qi Lie had a smooth life for the past twenty years, so why did he encounter a landslide and get acid thrown at him while trying to save this woman surnamed Tang? What else could she be but a jinx!
Sulfuric acid! How painful it must be to get that stuff poured on you! I heard that Qi Lie is still unconscious and his condition isn't good. All the negative emotions I felt for Qi Lie—heartache, worry, fear, etc.—turned into a torrent of abuse directed at Tang Ning.
Despite the criticism, Tang Ning still needs to act in the film "Black Swan" directed by Wen An, which she signed a contract for before. Moreover, this is only her last scene, and filming will be over after that.
And this final scene is called The Death of the Swan.
On the stage that had already been set up, Tang Ning, dressed in a black ballet costume, was performing her final dance with vivid expressions. Because she had already taken poison, she coughed up a mouthful of black blood, spun around, and collapsed in the center of the stage...
Upon seeing this scene on the monitor, Fu Yinze felt a sudden tightness in his chest, as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart tightly, making it impossible for him to breathe or think.
This was because he finally received a reply from his old classmate Qin Zhou, who works as a lab technician, this morning.
—Old Fu, the test results are in. These medications are mostly antidepressants.
—Depression?
—Yes, is this medicine being taken by your friend? Or someone else? Approximately what dosage is she taking?
—So many...
—Is it a lot? Then her depression is definitely severe, and it's probably been going on for quite some time. If possible, you should bring your friend to the UK to see a friend of mine who's a psychiatrist. Let them meet and talk so we can get a better understanding of her situation. But judging from her medication dosage and the things you've described, her mental state is probably in a dangerous state right now…
As the recap ended, Director Wen An called out "Cheers!" in his ear. Tang Ning slowly climbed up from the stage, turned her head and looked at him with a smile. Fu Yin finally felt that the suffocating feeling he had felt earlier because of Tang Ning's "death" was slowly dissipating. He smiled nonchalantly at Tang Ning as she walked towards him.
After Tang Ning finished filming, the old director named Wen An probably heard some rumors online. He even called Tang Ning to his side to praise and comfort her. He said that in all his years in the film industry, she was one of the most talented actors he had ever seen. He regretted not getting to know Tang Ning sooner and told her to focus on improving her acting skills and not to be influenced by outside opinions. He hoped to see more of her work in the future.
This recognition kept Tang Ning beaming with joy on the way back, and she couldn't stop chattering to Fu Yinzhe about the fun things that happened on set.
While driving, Fu Yin turned to look at Tang Ning's radiant face, completely unaware that his own eyes were so tender they seemed to drip with tears.
He loved how energetic and vibrant she was.
The atmosphere was fine the whole way, but no sooner had the two of them returned to their building than a shrill scream suddenly came from the west side of the second floor.
Tang Ning immediately recognized the voice as that of Lin Ma, who always cared about her the most in the villa!
"It's Aunt Lin!"
She didn't even care whether Fu Yinze was following behind her. Thinking that something had happened to Lin Ma, Tang Ning grabbed a vase from the living room and rushed to the largest piano room on the west side of the second floor, and pushed the door open.
The next second, Tang Ning froze on the spot after seeing the layout inside.
The piano room was filled with pure white roses. As soon as you opened the door, the rich scent of roses wafted out. In the very center, there was a heart-shaped space where the piano was placed. On top of the piano was a one-meter-tall red velvet cake. On top of that was a tiny, chibi-style ballerina wearing a crown, dancing gracefully. Next to the ballerina was a leather diamond-shaped box.
Just then, Fu Yin finally came to her side, smiled slightly at Tang Ning, took the vase from her hand and placed it aside, took her hand, stepped over the roses and went straight to the only empty heart-shaped spot in the room, and reached out to take the diamond-shaped box off the cake.
Turning to look at Tang Ning, whose expression was still somewhat bewildered, Fu Yin's smile widened. "I knew your filming was wrapping up today, so I specially arranged this place to have Aunt Lin lure you here and celebrate the completion of your new movie, and then..."
He gently opened the box in his hand, glanced at Tang Ning, pointed the box in Tang Ning's direction, knelt down, his expression more serious than ever before. He stared at Tang Ning's astonished face for a full ten seconds before finally revealing a gentle smile.
"Actually, for me, marriage meant either my mother crying every night or my sister-in-law's hysteria and beatings. Later, one of them died on my sixth birthday, and the other went crazy and died in a mental hospital. The men in the Fu family are all scum, I know that all too well."
"Therefore, I have never longed for family or marriage, nor have I ever intended to involve another woman in my gradually decaying life, because I cannot afford it."
"But then I met you, Tang Ning. You made me understand for the first time what it means to be heartbroken and sleepless. I would laugh when you smiled and be unhappy when you were sad. I was always worried about every aspect of you, afraid that you would be hurt in any way. I even imagined that I could tie you to me every day, so that I could see you as soon as I opened my eyes. You gave me the courage to face marriage and take on the responsibility of a family."
“I give up, Ningning. I know our beginning wasn’t all that great, and I know I used to be too carefree and undisciplined, which has led to a lot of embarrassing past. If you don’t mind or find it unacceptable, I hope you can give me a chance to take care of you for the rest of my life and marry me.”
After hearing Fu Yinze's words, Tang Ning's tears had already fallen.
"But right now... there are people outside..."
"I've investigated thoroughly over the past three days to find out who's behind this online mischief. I just need a little more information. Once it arrives tomorrow, I can release it all to clear your name, and then you won't have to worry about those rumors online anymore."
"Why..." Tang Ning's eyes reddened.
Fu Yin looked into Tang Ning's eyes and said, "Because I love you."
It doesn't matter whether your depression can be cured in the future, whether you love me now, or whether there is someone else in your heart.
I love you, I want to marry you, and I want to be with you forever.
Fu Yin's current favorability rating: 99.
Their eyes met, the fragrance of roses filled the air, but outside, a light drizzle continued to fall. This had been the norm in the capital for the past month and a half, perhaps because it was the plum rain season, and this year's rainfall was particularly abundant, with rainstorms occurring frequently.
Seeing that Tang Ning remained silent, Fu Yin lowered his eyes slightly and smiled, "Now I'll give you a chance to back out. If you don't speak, I'll take it as a yes. 3, 2..."
Without even counting the number 1, Fu Yin took out the diamond ring from the box, grabbed Tang Ning's right hand, and tried to slip it onto her ring finger.
He had never been so nervous in his life. His fingers gripped the ring tightly, trembling slightly, and his heart was pounding. Only after he had completely slipped the ring onto Tang Ning's finger did he suddenly realize that Tang Ning hadn't pulled her hand back at all during the entire process.
Looking up, the man first glanced at Tang Ning in disbelief, then suddenly stood up and pulled her into his arms, laughing like a child, "You promised, didn't you? You promised me, right? Ningning... Ningning... Ningning..."
Holding Tang Ning tighter and tighter, Fu Yin was so happy he didn't know what to do.
Tang Ning also reached out and gently hugged the other person.
Just then, Fu Yin spoke up again, "Tomorrow, how about tomorrow? We'll go line up to register tomorrow morning..."
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning's eyes flickered slightly, "But it seems like tomorrow will be a rainy day..."
"It's okay, we can drive there, alright?"
"Um!"
Tang Ning nodded vigorously.
Seeing that Tang Ning had actually agreed, Fu Yin started rambling again, "Afterwards, our honeymoon can be in England, and many other places. If you want to act, you can act; if you don't want to act, we'll travel the world, okay? Children... let's not have children. I don't like kids. From now on, it'll just be the two of us, and we'll live a good life. I'll give up everything you don't like, I'll eat well, take care of my stomach and my body, and stay with you until we're old. We can..."
Looking back on the days to come, Fu Yinze was no longer the enigmatic figure he had been when they first met. Tang Ning had previously called Qi Lie a hothead, but she suddenly realized that Fu Yinze, who had completely captured her heart, was no less so.
The next morning, Fu Yin woke up early and drove Tang Ning to the marriage registration office. He felt he had never been so happy, excited and expectant in his life.
Music was playing in the car. Fu Yin held Tang Ning's ringed hand tightly. Occasionally, when they stopped at a red light, he would raise her hand and kiss the back of it. Tang Ning would just smile at him, as if laughing at his excitement and anticipation.
But to their surprise, just as they drove away from the villa area, Tang Ning frantically patted Fu Yinze's arm, "Oh no, Yinze, look over there! There, aren't there a few children who have fallen down there...?"
Tang Ning was pointing towards the bank of the Hejiang River, which flows through the capital.
Fu Yin, following her gaze, indeed saw a group of children walking along the embankment under umbrellas in this weather. A gust of wind blew by, and several of them lost their grip on their large black umbrellas and were blown directly into the water.
Seeing this, Fu Yin quickly stopped the car, and Tang Ning also opened her umbrella and ran with him in that direction.
"Help! Uncle and Aunt, Zixuan... Waaaaah... Zixuan and the others have fallen!"
"Wow!"
As soon as they saw the two of them arrive, the children who were still standing on the shore immediately cried and shouted at them as if they had seen a lifeline.
Seeing this, Fu Yin, after making sure Tang Ning stayed on the shore and wasn't allowed to come down, immediately started calling the police while carefully sliding down the green belt on the embankment.
After he finally managed to pull the child, who was clinging tightly to the weeds on the bank, up, he heard the words, "Auntie, be careful!"
He hurriedly turned his head to look and saw that Tang Ning, who had been sitting peacefully on the shore, had somehow slid down the bank and was reaching out to pull up two younger children on the other side.
The child over there was too young. Before Tang Ning could even reach out her hand, her grip had already given out. As soon as she let go, the two of them were almost swept away by the rushing river.
At the critical moment, Tang Ning jumped into the water without hesitation, using one hand to stop the two of them and the other hand to hold tightly to the wild grass on the shore.
"Tang Ning!"
Fu Yin's eyes widened in fury. He put down the child in his arms and immediately scrambled to the other side, grabbing Tang Ning's hand.
"What are you doing!"
"They're going to... they're going to fall..."
Tang Ning said this while panting.
"Hurry up and come up!"
"I'm not in a hurry, you should save them first!"
After all, the four children here in the original story were already dead. The people who came to retrieve them later didn't even manage to get their bodies back. Today is August 8th, exactly the day the original owner died. Since they were all going to leave anyway, they might as well save these flowers of the motherland first.
What's more, she had said before that she holds grudges very well!
Those brainless, bandwagon-following idiots who insulted her like that, she should just slap them all in the face after she leaves!
Moreover, knowing all along that Fu Yinze was severely depressed, she didn't think he would let those people off easily...
Tang Ning's deep-seated obsession and madness were on full display at this moment.
After hearing Tang Ning's words, Fu Yin had no choice but to pull up the two younger ones first. When he tried to pull up Tang Ning, he found that he couldn't budge her at all, and his face turned pale instantly.
"Tang Ning, I'll count to three, and you pull with me, and I'll pull you up!"
After he finished speaking, he noticed that Tang Ning's eyes were already red.
"I'll count to three, and you pull together with me. I'll pull you up, do you hear me!"
"one two three!"
"one two three!"
...
"Did you even use any force? Didn't you hear me tell you to use force?" Fu Yin shouted, his eyes reddening, and then he gripped Tang Ning's arm tightly with both hands.
"There might be fishing nets in the river; both my feet are tangled..."
Tang Ning was about to explain.
"Shut up!"
Fu Yin interrupted her before she could finish speaking, repeatedly reaching forward as if trying to grab more of her body. "Don't speak yet. I've already called the police. They'll be here soon. Help me pull hard and try to free your foot. Quick, one, two, three..."
Tang Ning tried to pull her tangled feet away.
Just then, the screams of children suddenly rang in their ears, "Tree! Big tree! Uncle and Auntie, there's a tree!"
Upon hearing this, Fu Yin turned his head sharply and saw several old locust trees rushing down from upstream in their direction. The trunks were thick and rough, and the branches were sharp and pointed, like a sharp knife stabbing straight at his heart. Before it even touched him, he was already bleeding profusely.
"let go!"
Upon seeing this, Tang Ning immediately tried to break free from Fu Yinze's grasp.
Fu Yin remained silent, simply gripping Tang Ning's hands tightly until his entire body trembled.
"Let go! Fu Yinze!"
"No, I don't want to..."
"I told you to let go!"
"I can't! I can't do it! Ningning, Ningning, please use a little more strength, I beg you, I beg you, please use a little more strength, just a little bit more strength..."
Fu Yinze's tears immediately fell.
"Fu Yinze! Listen to me..."
"I don't want to hear anything else, I just want you to come up here!"
“Fu Yinze…” Tang Ning looked closely at his face, as if trying to memorize it, before glancing at Shangyou and quickly saying, “…Your stomach isn’t good, so you must remember to eat properly from now on. I don’t like you at all, don’t remember me, just live your life well, and if you meet a girl you like in the future, you should confess to her properly like you did before, okay…”
"No, stop talking, please don't say anymore..."
"I'm so tired, I'm really so tired, Fu Yinze..."
Just as the tree was about to crash into them with the river, Tang Ning abruptly pulled her hand back.
Fu Yin, having exerted too much force, suddenly leaned back, the surging river water roaring forward, leaving only the diamond ring he had given Tang Ning yesterday in his hand.
"Fu Yinze's current favorability rating: 100. All three romance options in this world have been successfully won over. Would you like to leave?"
"yes."
The female voice in the void answered calmly.
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