After Trying To Pursue The Cold, Elegant Beauty. I Ended Up Being Flirted With Instead - Chapter 50

Her Qingqing will be fine.

The awards ceremony was held in a large lounge at the mountaintop.

A thin layer of frost condensed on the glass windows of the snow capped wooden cabin, insulating the room from the wind and snow outside.

The fire in the fireplace crackled, warming the entire room.

The host first announced the second place winners, which were Pei Xiubai and Jiang Xinxin.

When Wen Zhu and Li Zhiyun, the first place winners, walked onto the stage, they inevitably saw Pei Xiubai standing nearby.

From the moment she stepped onto the stage, Pei Xiubai’s gaze was fixed intently on Wen Zhu, like a venom-laced vine, carrying a possessive obsession that threatened to swallow her whole.

Separated from her, Qingqing didn’t seem sad.

When she smiled, her eyes and eyebrows were bright with radiance and vitality.

Was she faking it?

If so, Pei Xiubai had to admit that Qingqing’s acting skills had truly improved…

Noticing Pei Xiubai’s stare, Li Zhiyun subtly turned, her tall figure perfectly blocking that uncomfortable scrutiny.

She looked back, her eyes cold, carrying an unconcealed warning.

Pei Xiubai met her gaze and clenched her fists.

Just then, Jiang Xinxin rushed over, standing next to Pei Xiubai, “Sorry, CEO Pei, I’m late.”

Pei Xiubai withdrew her gaze and frowned, “Where have you been?”

Jiang Xinxin’s face showed a hint of apology, and she said sheepishly, “My stomach was a little upset, so I went to the restroom.”

“Mm.” Pei Xiubai merely nodded, not asking anything further, her sight returning to the stage.

Jiang Xinxin could barely maintain her smile.

It used to be that if she just accidentally bumped into something, CEO Pei would be terribly distressed.

But today, she said nothing…

She lowered her head and stood quietly beside Pei Xiubai.

Soon, the awards began.

The host first congratulated the three pairs of winners, then presented medals and small gifts one by one.

The wind outside seemed to grow louder, howling and beating against the windows.

The host had to raise his voice to introduce the special prize for the day, “Our special prize today is a hand woven ice crystal ornament!”

It was an ornament strung together with transparent ice crystals and pine cones, looking especially elegant in the light of the fireplace.

“Next, let’s welcome our championship team to say a few words about their win!”

Wen Zhu took the ice crystal pendant, a cold sensation emanating from her fingertips.

She was just about to speak when the wind outside suddenly became sharper.

Everyone abruptly heard a crisp “snap” sound from overhead.

Immediately, the enormous crystal chandelier on the ceiling broke loose completely.

The sharp metal edges, accompanied by a whistling sound, plunged straight towards Wen Zhu’s head!

“Qingqing!” Pei Xiubai’s pupils contracted violently, and she instinctively lunged forward.

Just then, Jiang Xinxin, who was beside her, seemed terrified, screaming as she shrank into Pei Xiubai’s arms.

“CEO Pei, watch out!”

She flung herself onto Pei Xiubai, the huge force causing Pei Xiubai to stumble backward, just managing to dodge a wooden beam that fell with the chandelier!

It was this brief instant of delay.

“Boom!”

The massive chandelier crashed down right in front of Pei Xiubai, gouging a monstrous hole in the center of the stage.

Sawdust and dust instantly burst out, filling the entire space.

The sound of the chandelier shattering was sharp and piercing, and fragments flew everywhere.

Pei Xiubai was completely frozen.

The air in the world seemed to have been completely sucked out in that moment.

Qingqing…

Her eyes were bloodshot, her voice shaking uncontrollably, as she screamed hoarsely.

“Qingqing!!”

Screams, cries, the loud crack of breaking wood, mixed with choking smoke and dust, instantly saturated the entire lounge.

Everyone fled in panic, desperately avoiding the crumbling debris overhead.

“CEO Pei!” Jiang Xinxin clung to Pei Xiubai, her voice choked with tears, “It’s dangerous! Let’s get out!”

Pei Xiubai opened her eyes, shoved her away, and stared with scarlet eyes at the monstrous hole in the center of the stage.

She had to go over there!

“CEO Pei, you can’t go!” Jiang Xinxin had sustained a long, bloody gash on her calf from a piece of wood when she rushed to save Pei Xiubai.

But she couldn’t care less now, throwing herself forward again to stop Pei Xiubai, “The bottom is full of broken glass and wood, you’ll get hurt! We should go out and call for rescue, let the professionals handle it!”

She looked at the wreckage, her voice trembling, “Sister Wen Zhu, she… she might have already…”

“Qingqing will be fine!”

Pei Xiubai violently shook off her hand, the force of which caused Jiang Xinxin to fall awkwardly to the ground.

An unprecedented terror gripped Pei Xiubai’s heart, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

Her Qingqing, her Qingqing cannot be hurt!

“Get out of the way!” Pei Xiubai’s eyes were crimson, like a trapped beast cornered into a desperate fight, “I will save Qingqing! Everyone else can be hurt in this world, but Qingqing will be fine! If anything happens to her, I will flatten this entire ski resort!”

After speaking, she ignored Jiang Xinxin’s cries behind her and rushed like a madwoman toward the rubble.

The stage was pierced through with a huge hole, its edges lined with sharp wooden splinters and glinting shards of glass.

Pei Xiubai’s heart was spasming with pain. She hoarsely called out “Qingqing,” and was about to kneel down and start digging with her hands when she heard a rustling sound from beneath a pile of broken wooden planks in the corner.

Pei Xiubai’s movement froze.

A strong intuition made her abruptly turn her head.

A dust-covered hand emerged from the gap in the wooden planks.

An extremely weak voice sounded, hoarse from the near-death experience, “…Is anyone there?”

It was Qingqing’s voice!

Tears instantly welled up in Pei Xiubai’s bloodshot eyes, the ecstasy of rediscovery almost driving her insane.

“Qingqing!” She scrambled over, “Qingqing, is that you?!”

She was shaking, reaching out to move the wooden planks pressing down, wanting to tightly hold the person underneath in her arms.

But the hand grabbed her wrist first.

“Save Li Zhiyun…”

Wen Zhu’s voice was as weak as smoke, yet it clearly pierced Pei Xiubai’s ears.

Only then did Pei Xiubai notice that beneath Wen Zhu, there was another hand tightly wrapped around her waist.

The moment the chandelier fell, a huge shadow enveloped them, and Wen Zhu had no time to dodge.

She had even closed her eyes in despair, ready to cover her head with her arms.

But in that critical moment, a strong arm abruptly wrapped around her waist, pulling her away from the spot.

Dizziness spun around her.

She was carried, rolling twice on the ground, finally crashing heavily into the corner wall.

The violent impact made the entire floor tremble.

She could clearly feel Li Zhiyun shielding her completely, using her own back to block all the falling heavy objects and scattered debris.

Aside from a few minor scrapes, Wen Zhu was virtually unharmed.

But Li Zhiyun behind her had already fainted.

Tears instantly flooded her eyes.

Wen Zhu tightly held the unconscious Li Zhiyun with one hand, and with the other, she gripped Pei Xiubai’s wrist, her voice carrying an unprecedented plea.

“Save Li Zhiyun… hurry and call people to save her, she cannot be hurt…”

“I beg you, Pei Xiubai, I have never begged you for anything in my life…”

Wen Zhu’s sobs were fragmented, every word like a knife, sharply cutting into Pei Xiubai’s heart.

“Please, save her…”

A surge of intense bitterness and jealousy nearly submerged Pei Xiubai.

She hadn’t expected Wen Zhu to actually beg her for Li Zhiyun.

She actually… cared about Li Zhiyun to this extent.

Why?

Why wasn’t she the one who risked her life to save her!

Why did she now have to beg her for the sake of another woman!

The refusal was on the tip of her tongue, but looking at Wen Zhu’s tear-streaked face, hearing her humble, almost dust-level pleading, Pei Xiubai couldn’t utter a single word.

She trembled as she took out her phone and called her assistant.

“Immediately contact the rescue team and the best doctor! Now! Get to the lounge on the mountaintop!”

The ski resort had a rescue team nearby, so they arrived quickly.

A flurry of footsteps sounded again.

Wen Zhu clung to them like they were her last straw of hope, her hoarse throat squeezing out fractured syllables.

“Save her first, she’s unconscious, please, save her first!”

She desperately clung to the rescue worker’s clothes, her nails white from the force, her bloodshot eyes focused entirely on Li Zhiyun’s figure.

Seeing Wen Zhu’s extreme worry, Pei Xiubai’s heart felt as if it were tightly squeezed by an invisible hand, the pain unbearable.

Just then, from not far away, an extremely weak voice sounded, tinged with a sob.

“CEO Pei…”

Pei Xiubai stiffly turned her head.

Only then did she remember that Jiang Xinxin was also here.

She looked over, and what met her eyes made her pupils shrink sharply

Jiang Xinxin was lying amidst the wreckage, her face pale as paper, and a pool of glaring blood was slowly spreading beneath her.

She rushed over and realized that Jiang Xinxin’s calf had a wound so deep it exposed the bone, bloody and raw, caused by the fallen wooden beam!

This was the injury Xinxin sustained while trying to save her!

How could she have failed to notice that Xinxin was also injured!

“Doctor!”

The strong regret and guilt instantly swept over Pei Xiubai, recalling how she had harshly shoved Xinxin just moments ago.

She shouted towards the door, “There is another injured person here!”

Pei Xiubai wanted to stay and accompany Wen Zhu.

But Jiang Xinxin clung to her arm, large tears rolling down her face, “CEO Pei, I’m so scared… My leg, will it leave a scar? I still have to act in the future…”

This sentence pierced Pei Xiubai like a needle, precisely hitting her most vulnerable spot.

Yes, Xinxin was an actress; her body couldn’t have such flaws.

And this injury was caused by her.

Pei Xiubai’s heart ached even more intensely. She held Jiang Xinxin’s hand in return, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll go to the hospital with you.”

She had to personally watch over her, ensuring no one delayed Jiang Xinxin’s treatment.

“I will find the best doctor for you, and I promise you won’t be scarred.”

Jiang Xinxin nodded weakly.

As she was being lifted onto the stretcher, she seemed to be in so much pain that she was about to faint, her head resting weakly on one side, her gaze subtly sweeping over an inconspicuous wooden post at the back of the cabin.

Her fingertips moved slightly, and then she closed her eyes.

On the other side, Wen Zhu also got into the ambulance carrying Li Zhiyun.

The cabin was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

She held Li Zhiyun’s cold hand, not daring to let go for a moment.

To protect her, Li Zhiyun’s left arm was cut by many gashes of glass, one of which was long and deep, bloody and raw, making Wen Zhu’s heart twist in agony.

She watched the doctor urgently bandage Li Zhiyun, asking hoarsely in a breathy voice.

“Doctor, will her hand be alright?”

Her hand was so important, it was a hand that could create miracles, and nothing must happen to it…

The doctor glanced at the tear-stained girl, only able to answer cautiously, “We can’t be sure yet, we need further detailed examination at the hospital.”

Wen Zhu’s heart sank directly with those words.

She closed her eyes, and hot tears silently rolled down again.

It was her fault.

She shouldn’t have agreed to come here skiing, she shouldn’t have suggested participating in that damn activity, it was her…

Amidst the roaring siren, she wished this ambulance could go faster, just a little faster…

Anshi First People’s Hospital.

The corridor outside the emergency room was temporarily crowded like a marketplace.

The smell of disinfectant mixed with blood, stinging the nasal passages. Crying, footsteps, the shouted instructions of medical staff intermingled.

The ski accident was more severe than anticipated; the falling chandelier brought down a large section of the dilapidated roof. Many people were injured, and the entire corridor was filled with coming and going tourists in ski suits.

Wen Zhu sat on a long bench at the end of the corridor, covered in sawdust and dust, looking like a puppet whose soul had been drained.

In her world, all that was left was the glaring red light above the emergency room door.

Time stretched infinitely, every minute and every second an ordeal.

She didn’t know how long passed when a pair of warm hands suddenly covered her cold fingertips.

Wen Zhu stiffly raised her head.

Li Zhishu had somehow arrived, accompanied by the anxious Zang Ying.

Tongcheng and Anshi were not extremely far apart, but even the fastest drive would take three or four hours.

How could Sister Zhishu have arrived so quickly?

“How is Zhiyun?” Zang Ying asked anxiously.

Wen Zhu opened her mouth, but couldn’t help but choke up again: “It’s my fault.”

“I didn’t protect Miss Li, it’s my fault…”

She was incoherent, tears welling up again without warning, large drops hitting the back of her hands.

“Her hand, her hand is injured. She’s a Go player… she did it all to save me, her hand is obviously much more important than mine…”

“Don’t think that way.” Li Zhishu suddenly spoke, interrupting her.

Wen Zhu looked up, seemingly confused.

Li Zhishu bent down, reaching out to gently wipe the tears from her face.

“You think her hand is important,” Li Zhishu looked directly at her, word by word, clearly transmitting into Wen Zhu’s ears, “But have you ever considered that, to her, you might be more important than her hand.”

She paused, her voice softening, “Besides, she only injured her left hand; it won’t affect the competition. Don’t panic.”

This sudden tenderness, devoid of any blame, made Wen Zhu’s eyes water even more.

She nodded hard, her throat feeling like it was stuffed with cotton, unable to utter a single word.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but the glaring red “Emergency In Progress” light finally went out.

The moment the door opened, Wen Zhu, Li Zhishu, and Zang Ying rushed up almost simultaneously.

Wen Zhu heard her own voice trembling: “Doctor, how is the person inside?”

Her voice was terribly hoarse, every word seemingly squeezed out from her throat.

The doctor was startled by her appearance but quickly steadied himself, removing his mask, “Don’t worry, the patient only suffered a temporary concussion and has woken up. The injury on the left arm looks frightening, but it didn’t damage any tendons or nerves they are all superficial wounds. With good rest, there will be no lasting after-effects.”

No lasting after-effects.

These five words were like a ray of heavenly light, instantly cutting through the impenetrable darkness in Wen Zhu’s world.

Her severely strained nerves suddenly relaxed, and a huge sense of exhaustion swept over her.

Fortunately, an arm was there to embrace her just in time.

“Did you hear?” Li Zhishu’s voice sounded in her ear, carrying a power that soothed the mind, “She’s fine.”

Wen Zhu nodded.

“Is my sister awake?” Li Zhishu asked the doctor.

“She’s awake. The anesthetic hasn’t completely worn off, so she’s a bit weak, but her consciousness is clear. You can go in and see her now, but be mindful of the patient’s emotions, don’t get her too agitated.” After the doctor finished his instructions, he hurried away.

“Zhiyun’s awake! I have to go see her!” Zang Ying started to rush into the room.

“Wait.” Li Zhishu stopped her.

She turned to look at Wen Zhu, who was still in a daze, and softened her voice, “Wen Zhu, Zhiyun is awake. Why don’t you go in and check on her for us? Zang Ying and I need to go deal with the accident, and ask the ski resort what exactly happened.”

When Wen Zhu heard she could go see Li Zhiyun, she subconsciously nodded.

She turned around almost immediately, pushed the door, and walked in.

Watching the door close in front of her, Zang Ying was stunned, looking utterly bewildered.

“Wait, Zhishu, what are you thinking?” She lowered her voice and tugged Li Zhishu’s arm, “We chartered a private plane, rushed over in a panic, and now that your sister’s awake, you’re not going in?”

Li Zhishu didn’t answer.

She just turned slightly and quietly watched the scene inside through the small glass window on the hospital room door.

On the hospital bed, Li Zhiyun’s face was pale, and her left arm was wrapped in thick gauze.

She saw Wen Zhu enter, and her already bloodless lips curved slightly upward.

Then she raised her uninjured right hand and reached out towards Wen Zhu.

Wen Zhu walked over and bent down, and Li Zhiyun’s fingertips lightly touched her cheek.

Seeing this scene, Li Zhishu’s nerves, which had been taut the entire journey, finally relaxed completely.

The corner of her lips also curved into an extremely subtle arc.

“What do you know.”

She said softly, “The person she wants to see first now that she’s awake isn’t me.”

As daughters of the Li family, kidnappings and threats were common, and she and Li Zhiyun had taken many crisis management courses since childhood.

Li Zhiyun had always been better and more outstanding than her. No matter how big the difficulty, she could remain composed.

Since her dear sister wanted to show vulnerability, she naturally wouldn’t go in and disturb them.

After speaking, she withdrew her gaze and turned around.

“Let’s go.”

In that instant, the gentle warmth and smile on her face completely vanished.

They were replaced by the sharp, cold demeanor of someone who had long held a high position.

“I’ve already sent people to investigate.” Her voice deepened, her eyes filled with cold frost, “That chandelier didn’t fall sooner or later, but just as they were stepping onto the stage.”

There’s no such thing as such a coincidence in the world.