You Mingxu turned to leave, hearing only emptiness behind her—the three people seemed frozen in place. She walked a few more steps, and an empty taxi approached. She waved, waiting. Then she heard hurried, limping footsteps behind her.

As the car stopped, she looked back. Yin Feng immediately halted, standing a meter or two away. Such a big man, hands clenched at his sides, body rigid as a tree, might as well have had “fool” written on his forehead. You Mingxu let out a light snort and opened the taxi door. Just as she sat down in the front passenger seat, the back door opened, Yin Feng dove in, quickly closed the door and sat with his hands clasped between his knees, head down and motionless.

You Mingxu finally felt a headache coming on. From the front passenger seat, she glanced in the rearview mirror—the other two had caught up.

She couldn’t beat him up or kick him out, just wanted him to behave and return to the hospital. She was exhausted, ready to pass out right there in the taxi.

After a few seconds of silence, the driver asked, “Where to?”

You Mingxu lowered the window and waved her hand outside. The assistant, proving his quick wit, hurried over.

You Mingxu: “Address.”

The assistant immediately said: “Xianghui Hospital International Wing.”

You Mingxu: “Follow us.”

“Alright.”

The taxi started moving. Night had fallen, the vast city scenery like a world of prosperity just out of reach, enveloping the small cab. You Mingxu watched the flowing lights on the window, struggling to keep herself awake. When she lowered her gaze, she saw in the rearview mirror the person in the back seat, staring at her with deep black eyes.

“Why do you insist on following me?” she asked.

Yin Feng said: “I… don’t trust anyone else.”

You Mingxu: “Then why trust me?”

“You’re different from others,” he said. “You’re really… good, and strong.”

You Mingxu fell silent. After a while, she let out a long sigh.

They arrived at the hospital’s inpatient building. The assistant and woman’s car had arrived first, both waiting at the entrance. The assistant walked over and opened their car doors. Yin Feng got out and just stood there motionless. The assistant pulled out a bill and handed it to the driver, smiling apologetically: “Miss You?”

You Mingxu got out expressionlessly. Only then did Yin Feng follow right behind her.

The assistant led the way, while the woman kept looking back, clearly concerned about Yin Feng’s condition but not daring to speak up. You Mingxu walked with hands in her pockets, Yin Feng practically glued to her. She glanced at him—he looked like he was trying desperately to hold back a smile.

You Mingxu suddenly felt utterly defeated, letting him stick to her like a plaster, too tired to care anymore.

The International Wing of Xianghui Hospital was just a high-end private medical area. Yin Feng stayed in a VIP single room. As soon as they entered the corridor, nurses rushed to greet them, delighted and concerned: “Mr. Yin! You’re finally back!”

Yin Feng ducked behind You Mingxu, who asked, “Which room?” The assistant quickly pointed the way, and they all entered the room.

You Mingxu scanned the interior—impressive, a huge room with a large clean bed, TV, desk, sofa, and private bathroom.

She said: “Get in bed.”

Yin Feng responded with an “Oh,” climbed into bed, obediently lay down, and pulled up the covers, but kept his eyes on her. You Mingxu walked to the sofa and lay down directly, her eyelids feeling like they weighed three pounds. She didn’t want to deal with anything anymore, closed her eyes, and placed one hand over her forehead to block the light, saying, “Don’t wake me even if the sky falls, wait until I wake up.”

Yin Feng responded almost instantly: “Mm, okay.”

As they spoke, the assistant had already swiftly directed the nurses into action—some treating Yin Feng’s wounds, others setting up IV drips, and some cleaning his feet. The woman who had been following them just stood silently to the side watching, then after a while, turned and left.

As they bustled about, Yin Feng kept his eyes open, watching You Mingxu a few meters away.

He said again: “Don’t leave.”

You Mingxu gave a low “Mm.” Soon, her breathing became deep and even, and the hand that had been covering her forehead gradually slipped down. In her sleep, she seemed to startle slightly, curling up, then went still.

Yin Feng didn’t know why, but he just wanted to keep watching her—somehow it made him feel at ease.

He felt she looked different from when they were in Tibet. Back then she gave off a warm and quiet feeling, like a pool of clean, fragrant water. When catching bad guys, she could transform into a superwoman. At the time, he just wanted to cling to her legs, following wherever she went.

But when he found her just now, it was like she’d become a different person, fierce and cold. Something in her eyes seemed able to seal everything away, rising like a barrier. It blocked him out too. This made Yin Feng’s chest hurt.

But now, she was back. When she slept, she still looked like that sister from Tibet, soft and quiet and beautiful. Yin Feng felt that what she’d said earlier couldn’t have been her true feelings. How could she not care about him, not want him?

Time passed, the lights were dimmed, and people left one by one. The person who called himself his assistant whispered in his ear: “Teacher Yin, I’ll be next door. If you need anything, press the button by the bed, and we’ll come right away.”

“Mm.”

The assistant left too, and the room fell into complete silence and darkness. Yin Feng wanted to run to the sofa and squeeze in to sleep next to You Mingxu, but he worried about crowding her and felt a bit scared to try. Finally, exhaustion took over, and he too fell into deep sleep.

Since Yin Feng had woken up in that car’s trunk, everything around him had been a vast unfamiliar world. His whole body had been in pain, cold, and hungry, and his mind was empty.

At the time, he’d heard people talking outside, and for some reason, that faint deep male voice made him feel very dangerous. So he’d curled up into a ball, not daring to move or make a sound. But a woman was speaking too, soft and gentle with a unique low tone that made people feel kindly disposed toward her.

After all sounds had ceased, he’d pushed against the trunk lid and found it wasn’t properly locked. He thought surely his captor had been careless. That was exactly what happened. Gu Tiancheng had come to puncture the tire and check the trunk, and when closing it, he’d been too cautious, resulting in it not being fully secured.

Yin Feng had secretly crawled out of the car, desperately wanting to find warm clothes and food.

Later he saw a tent and crawled inside, immediately spotting a sleeping bag on the ground that looked so warm. He’d crawled in, thinking he could hide there where no one would find him.

He had vaguely felt that doing this might be wrong somehow. But his mind felt heavily pressed down by something, and whenever he tried to think clearly, it hurt and made him agitated. It was like there was a barrier, a deep ravine blocking his way, impossible to cross.

So he’d hidden in the sleeping bag, completely still, thinking: Don’t find me, please don’t find me…