Chapter 24 Heartache
Before Ruan Yao could react to that familiar fragrance, the arm around her waist loosened.
Huo Yanzhi released her and quickly glanced at Ye Mei, who was unharmed a few meters away. He visibly relaxed, and his tense jawline softened a bit.
"Yanzhi!"
"Mr. Huo!"
Ye Mei's exclamation and the commotion among the surrounding staff erupted almost simultaneously.
Ruan Yao finally recovered from that brief moment of blankness and the immense fear that followed.
She looked in the direction of the crowd and then noticed that on Huo Yanzhi's left arm, there was a hideous gash that ran from the cuff of his suit sleeve all the way to his elbow.
The expensive fabric was cut open, and bright red blood was gushing from the wound, running down his drooping arm.
One drop after another, it fell onto the smooth floor, spreading out a small patch of glaring red.
The dull thud was the sound of the scaffold hitting him.
Huo Jing rushed over upon hearing the commotion, and her face turned pale upon seeing the horrifying scene. "What happened? Quick, call an ambulance! To the hospital!"
Ye Mei was extremely anxious, her voice trembling: "Yanzhi, how are you? Don't scare your mother!"
"I'm fine." Huo Yanzhi's voice sounded as calm as usual.
The surrounding staff were in a panic, and the scene descended into chaos.
Huo Jing quickly calmed herself down, directed the security personnel to clear the area, and took out her phone to contact the hospital.
But she soon noticed that her nephew didn't care about his injuries at all; his eyes were fixed on Ruan Yao, who was standing to the side.
Huo Jing followed his gaze and saw Ruan Yao standing to the side, looking as if her soul had been taken away.
Her little face was deathly pale, her lips were trembling uncontrollably, and her eyes were brimming with tears, as if she was about to burst into tears.
Huo Jing asked instinctively, "Ruan Yao, are you alright? Did something hit you?"
As Ruan Yao looked at the pool of blood on the ground that was piling up, tears welled up in her eyes, and she was too heartbroken to speak.
He protected her so well that she wasn't even hurt by a single hair.
"I'm fine... I was just scared."
She shook her head, saying this, but her eyes were as red as a rabbit's.
Huo Jing breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Ruan Yao seemed to be unharmed, and then looked at Huo Yanzhi again.
As if she understood something, she put away her phone and immediately changed her mind, "Ruan Yao, you don't need to worry about this. Go and accompany President Huo to the hospital."
"No need," Huo Yanzhi finally spoke, his voice hoarse from the pain, "Qin Feng is here."
"That won't do, you both have to go." Huo Jing grabbed his hand as he tried to cover his wound.
“Ruan Yao was also hit. You should all go to the hospital for a check-up. Some impact injuries are not visible on the spot; you have to go to the hospital for an examination to find out.”
Hearing this, Huo Yanzhi looked at Ruan Yao again. The girl's face was as white as paper, and she did look very unwell.
He spoke.
"good."
Huo Jing thought to herself, "Just as I expected." She patted Ruan Yao and said, "I'll take care of things here. Go on."
Ruan Yao's mind was in a mess, and she nodded almost subconsciously when she heard Huo Jing's instructions.
She immediately followed Huo Yanzhi and left.
Watching the two figures leave one after the other, Ye Mei finally recovered from the shock she had just experienced.
She recalled that critical moment and was filled with lingering fear.
If that clever little girl hadn't pushed her, she, this old woman, would be lying on the ground right now.
She felt grateful to the girl, and seeing how well-behaved and pleasing she was, she liked her more and more the more she looked at her.
It's just a pity...
Ye Mei sighed. No matter how good this girl was, she was not her daughter-in-law.
She was worried about her son's injury and turned around, wanting to go to the hospital with him.
"Sister-in-law, don't go." Huo Jing grabbed her arm.
Ye Mei turned back, puzzled. "Yan Zhi is so badly injured, how can I be at ease?"
"Wouldn't you just become a third wheel if you went?" Huo Jing leaned close to her ear and lowered her voice, "Do you know who that girl who just saved you and was being protected in Yan Zhi's arms is?"
Who is it?
"It's the 'lucky star' I told you about, the one in our company," Huo Jing said in a low voice, emphasizing each word.
Ye Mei was stunned.
Was the little girl who saved him Ruan Yao?
"Really?" Ye Mei's voice changed, and she grabbed Huo Jing's arm, her eyes shining brightly. "It's her?"
"Of course it's true?" Huo Jing raised an eyebrow. "I'm just creating opportunities for them to be alone! You absolutely mustn't interfere."
*
Inside the car, the space was cramped and quiet.
Qin Feng drove the car fast and steadily, the light and shadow outside the car window rushing past, casting streaks of light inside the car.
Ruan Yao sat next to Huo Yanzhi, not daring to move at all, even her breathing was extremely soft.
She stared at his injured left arm. Qin Feng had just used the spare first-aid kit to give it emergency treatment, but the white gauze was already stained red with blood, and the stain was still spreading.
But he didn't utter a single word from beginning to end.
She didn't know how much suffering Huo Yanzhi endured after being imprisoned in his previous life.
She only remembered seeing him the last time through the glass; he was wearing prison clothes, so thin he was unrecognizable, but his face remained calm.
It felt like my heart was being gripped and ground by an icy hand.
A sour and painful fluid spread everywhere, surging from my chest up to my nasal cavity and then to my eyes.
A scalding tear fell unexpectedly onto the back of her hand. Startled by the temperature, Ruan Yao trembled and hurriedly lowered her head, raising her hand to wipe it haphazardly.
But the tears flowed like beads from a broken string, more and more falling with each wipe, surging silently.
She didn't want to cry.
Especially in front of him.
But the overwhelming fear and heartache, mixed with the relief of regaining what she had lost, overwhelmed all her rationality.
The carriage was so quiet that the suppressed sobs sounded all the more clearly.
Qin Feng, who was driving, glanced in the rearview mirror and silently raised the partition between the front and rear seats.
A very soft sigh came from beside Ruan Yao.
She could feel Huo Yanzhi open his eyes and his calm gaze fall on her.
Ruan Yao felt even more embarrassed, burying her head even lower, wishing she could shrink herself into a ball.
"Miss Ruan."
The man's deep voice sounded above her head, as if flipping a switch, and Ruan Yao's tears flowed even more fiercely.
If she hadn't insisted on taking Ye Mei that way, if she hadn't miscalculated the timing, if she had discovered the hidden danger of that spotlight earlier...
Huo Yanzhi looked at her trembling shoulders, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
She was the same way in front of him in her past life.
I'm always afraid, and I'm always crying.
He reached out his good right hand, intending to pat her shoulder, but his hand froze in mid-air halfway up.
He will scare her.
In her past life, she was so afraid of his touch.
In the end, his hand simply landed on the seat next to her, his fingertips curling slightly.
"Don't be afraid."
He offered words of comfort.
"That was just an accident."
Ruan Yao paused, then looked up at him.
Tears still clung to her eyelashes, refusing to fall, making her look fragile and pitiful.
Huo Yanzhi's gaze fell on her long, tear-dampened eyelashes, and his eyes darkened.
He pulled out a few tissues from the side and handed them to her, his tone tinged with helplessness.
"Wipe it off."
Ruan Yao didn't take it, she just stared straight at him.
"Huo Yanzhi, I am not afraid."
She said.
"I am heartbroken for you."
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