At the border between Yangcheng and Pengcheng.

For a moment, Zhou Cheng lost consciousness.

Though it felt like a century, it was only two or three minutes before he opened his eyes.

The heavy weight on top of him had been removed.

It was Jiang Yan – her back was on fire. Pan Bohua’s arm hung at an odd angle as he used his other hand to help extinguish the flames on Jiang Yan.

Zhou Cheng coughed up blood; the impact had likely broken his ribs.

There was no time to dwell on that – Zhou Cheng rushed to help.

There was plenty of sand by the roadside. Zhou Cheng took off his coat to beat out the flames, and together with Pan Bohua, they used the sand from the ground to extinguish the fire… The sand cut off the oxygen supply, finally putting out the flames on Jiang Yan.

“Third Brother—”

Zhou Cheng didn’t dare move Jiang Yan, fearing her skin would peel off.

Her back was severely burned!

Her originally short hair was now mostly burned away.

Pan Bohua said hoarsely: “We need to get to a hospital first!”

No one mentioned Zhou Cheng’s plan to meet Xia Xiaolan anymore – having barely escaped death with two injured people, how could Zhou Cheng abandon them to go see his wife?

Using his removed coat, he carefully wrapped Jiang Yan’s back and carried her on his back.

With Pan Bohua’s arm injured and unusable, Zhou Cheng had to carry her.

Zhou Cheng had to be extremely careful not to touch Jiang Yan’s wounds.

Truthfully, these were minor concerns. After the car explosion, Zhou Cheng and Pan Bohua were more worried about Jiang Wu’s backup plan… If someone was waiting for them now, Zhou Cheng and Pan Bohua would face another fierce battle!

With an injured and unconscious Jiang Yan, even if they won by luck, the fight would be devastating.

“It was Jiang Wu.”

Pan Bohua touched his numb arm, “That goes without saying! But how did you discover the bomb in the car? Was it your intuition that saved all three of us again?”

The Jeep had been driven by Jiang Yan.

It should have been perfectly safe – Jiang Yan herself was in the car, surely she wouldn’t try to blow herself up!

When was the bomb planted?

Jiang Yan had only left the car when they captured Jiang Wu, during that moment of chaos.

Zhou Cheng and Pan Bohua’s hearts were heavy now, realizing Jiang Wu’s surrender might have been a ploy to lower their guard, get them all in the car, and kill them together—to Jiang Wu, Pan Bohua was an enemy, Zhou Cheng was an annoyance pursuing the old truth, and Jiang Yan was a traitor who stole evidence. Killing all three would solve everything.

The key was, that Jiang Wu had an alibi.

He was in custody – how could anyone claim he did it?

“Was Jiang Wu’s capture real or fake…”

Pan Bohua shook his head, “Hospital first!”

Zhou Cheng and Pan Bohua carried Jiang Yan. This was a provincial road, and with Pengcheng’s rapid development, there were many cargo vehicles passing by. Others thought they’d been in a car accident and offered rides to the hospital, but how could Zhou Cheng and Pan Bohua dare accept?

Both men were now extremely cautious, seeing everyone as potentially working for Jiang Wu.

If another car exploded, could they survive in their current condition?

They walked on foot, carrying Jiang Yan, until they finally found a small shop with a phone. Pan Bohua looked at Zhou Cheng: “Who should we call?”

Calling anyone felt like dragging them into danger, like inviting them to their death.

“Let’s report it – call the police station. I still have contacts at the Yangcheng Police Department.”

They waited at the shop. Fortunately, they were calling the police – otherwise, the shop owner might have reported them himself, seeing two suspicious men with an unconscious young woman, especially with Pan Bohua’s rough appearance.

The three were picked up by a police car.

The once-proud Major Zhou now looked so disheveled that the responding officers didn’t dare ask questions, rushing them to the hospital instead.

“These burns are severe!”

“Comrade, your arm…”

“Does it hurt when I press here?”

The three were treated separately. Zhou Cheng called Beijing, and Zhou Guobin was furious hearing about the car explosion. While he could immediately investigate if anything had gone wrong with Jiang Wu’s custody, he couldn’t fly to Yangcheng. However, Tang Hongen was near Yangcheng.

At this point, Zhou Guobin didn’t mind troubling his future in-laws, saying Mayor Tang would help.

Zhou Cheng felt it was too much trouble for Tang Hongen, but Zhou Guobin explained:

“Mayor Tang is now officially Xiaolan’s stepfather.”

Helplessly, Zhou Guobin knew Zhou Cheng had been pursuing Jiang Wu’s case for a long time but didn’t even know about Xia Xiaolan’s mother’s remarriage, showing how long they’d been out of touch.

Then he thought about Zhou Cheng being at the Yangcheng-Pengcheng border, clearly aware of Xia Xiaolan’s departure date.

“Didn’t you meet Xiaolan? She cleared customs at 10 AM. Your mother wanted to see her off, but she refused.”

Zhou Cheng fell silent again.

Zhou Guobin quickly changed the subject.

Zhou Cheng should have realized – without his father emphasizing it – that everyone has romantic feelings, but his emotional needs had been pushed to the lowest priority.

“I’ll contact Mayor Tang myself.”

When Zhou Cheng got through to Tang Hongen, he was questioned extensively by the secretary.

Even Tang Hongen’s secretary wasn’t the familiar Peng anymore, but someone named Program. Secretary Cheng had to consult with the leader, and after more than ten minutes, Zhou Cheng finally heard Tang Hongen’s voice:

“Zhou Cheng? I thought you’d be at customs seeing Xiaolan off today.”

“Hello Uncle Tang, that was the plan, but there was an accident on the way. I might need your help.”

Tang Hongen had been feeling upset on Xiaolan’s behalf, but after hearing Zhou Cheng’s brief explanation, he understood something serious had happened.

After hanging up, he told his new secretary:

“Xiao Cheng, make arrangements for me to go to Yangcheng. Tell my family I probably won’t be home for dinner.”

Liu Fen was emotional about Xia Xiaolan going abroad.

Tang Hongen had asked her to stay in Pengcheng for a few more days. While she was feeling sad, Tang Hongen didn’t plan to tell her about this incident.

When Tang Hongen arrived in Yangcheng, Zhou Cheng and Pan Bohua’s injuries had been treated, but Jiang Yan was still unconscious, her injuries more severe. Pan Bohua had a broken arm, Zhou Cheng had two broken ribs plus injuries from earlier while catching Jiang Wu – these were minor issues.

The worry was Jiang Yan’s condition.

Tang Hongen looked at his son-in-law with disapproval:

“Your trouble with catching criminals isn’t the issue – even the craftiest villains can be caught. But what about this emotional debt you’re carrying?”

Why would the eldest daughter of the Jiang family risk her life to save Zhou Cheng?

Tang Hongen was a perceptive man – how could he not understand?

Zhou Cheng’s ribs hurt more from his future father-in-law’s words. Jiang Yan had taken most of the impact for him, plus the burns – the doctors said her condition was serious.

But Zhou Cheng truly had no intention of repaying this life debt by marriage – the incident with the Shi family had left a deep impression. If he didn’t answer this question properly, Tang Hongen would likely show him what it meant to face a father-in-law’s challenge!