My Possessive Boss Is Unexpectedly Needy - Chapter 34

Chapter 34

After that day, Shen Ziqi and Xiao Jiu could be considered friends, though they never showed it in front of others. From time to time, they would secretly chat like close sisters, sharing the thoughts buried deep in their hearts.

With Xiao Jiu by her side, Shen Ziqi set her as her goal and trained even harder. Before long, her abilities ranked among the best.

One night, Shen Ziqi received a notice from Lu Yeyan. He had been busy and hadn’t checked on the progress here. Now that he knew Shen Ziqi’s training was sufficient, he decided to transfer her back.

“Xiao Jiu, I’m leaving this place.”

Shen Ziqi looked up at the sky. She only remembered that the stars that night were beautiful—just like Xiao Jiu’s smile.

Xiao Jiu knew this day would come, but she hadn’t expected it to arrive so soon.

She said nothing, only ruffled Shen Ziqi’s hair gently, like an older sister.

Shen Ziqi left and devoted herself fully to her work. Occasionally, she accompanied Lu Yeyan back to the training grounds for inspections, but she almost never saw Xiao Jiu again.

When she finally met Xiao Jiu once more, more than a year had passed.

Xiao Jiu had been assigned to provide close protection for an important female client. The client had come from overseas and was said to be of princess-like status in her country.

During social engagements, Xiao Jiu stood behind her at all times.

Shen Ziqi recognized Xiao Jiu at a glance. She longed to go over and acknowledge her, but both of them were on duty.

The dinner ended quickly.

Lu Yeyan instructed Shen Ziqi to escort them back to the hotel. Shen Ziqi was happy—being able to spend a little more time with Xiao Jiu was enough.

She smiled at Xiao Jiu, but Xiao Jiu’s face remained expressionless. Shen Ziqi understood—inside, Xiao Jiu felt the same way she did.

They had just gotten into the car when they heard a beeping sound.

Shen Ziqi and Xiao Jiu exchanged glances, sensing something was wrong.

Looking toward the back seat, they saw the woman’s face turn pale. She sat stiffly, afraid to move, because beneath her was a black, box-shaped time bomb.

The woman cried out in panic, but only her translator could understand her.

“What should we do? Are we all going to die?”

The translator was clearly panicking as well.

Shen Ziqi jumped out of the driver’s seat, opened the rear door, and dove inside.

Xiao Jiu was already in action, slowly helping the woman lift herself up.

“Xiao Jiu!” Shen Ziqi shouted.

Xiao Jiu stared tensely at the black box.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s just a regular time bomb. Let’s move it out of the car first. Don’t forget—we learned how to dismantle bombs.”

She turned to Shen Ziqi and forced a smile.

Shen Ziqi couldn’t smile at all. The woman screamed hysterically, apparently already swearing, while the translator anxiously urged, “Can you hurry?”

Shen Ziqi and Xiao Jiu exchanged a look. Each grabbed one side of the box and lifted it out together.

Holding the box, they ran away from the car.

They set it down in an open area. The numbers showed less than a minute remaining, and sweat poured down Shen Ziqi’s forehead.

“I’ve never seen such a small, lightweight time bomb. How do we dismantle this?”

Xiao Jiu didn’t answer. She looked up at Shen Ziqi and said, “You once asked why I was so good to you. The truth is, I lied. It’s because you look very much like my younger sister who died. In that accident, I lost my entire family—including her.”

Shen Ziqi froze and swallowed nervously. “Can we talk about this later? Please, dismantle the bomb!”

With only a few seconds left, Xiao Jiu lowered her head and smiled.

“Ziqi, there’s actually no way to dismantle it. Goodbye.”

Using all her strength, she shoved Shen Ziqi away. Then she stepped forward, pressed the box tightly against her chest, and threw herself far away.

Perhaps fearing the bomb’s power, she deliberately pinned it beneath her body to reduce the force of the explosion.

Before Shen Ziqi could react, the explosion erupted before her eyes. Her mind went blank, and a sharp ringing filled her ears.

The translator seemed to rush over, shaking her, but Shen Ziqi could only see his mouth moving—she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

…

When she woke up again, Lu Yeyan was standing with his back to her, talking on the phone.

He turned around and said, “Well done. The client has been safely escorted away. Get some rest—I’m giving you a long, paid vacation.”

As he turned to leave, Shen Ziqi suddenly shouted, “Xiao Jiu! Where is Xiao Jiu?”

Lu Yeyan replied calmly, “She fulfilled her mission.”

Tears streamed down Shen Ziqi’s face. Xiao Jiu had done this for her—otherwise, she could have escaped.

When Shen Ziqi was discharged from the hospital, she attended Xiao Jiu’s funeral.

Her ashes were to be scattered into the sea. Xiao Qi stood beside Shen Ziqi and silently took out an item.

“Xiao Jiu’s bracelet.”

Shen Ziqi lowered her eyes to look at the bead. At that moment, it seemed to have lost all its luster.

She threw the bracelet into the sea, crying and smiling at the same time. “Xiao Jiu, you’ve probably reunited with your sister by now. If there’s another life, let me protect you instead.”

That night, Shen Ziqi drank heavily. By the time Xiao Qi brought her home, it was already very late.

She found a small white cat curled up at her doorstep.

Looking into the cat’s eyes, Shen Ziqi felt as though she saw Xiao Jiu’s resolute gaze.

Perhaps Xiao Jiu was watching over her in another form. And so… this cat was also Xiao Jiu.

As she recounted all of this, Shen Ziqi was already sobbing uncontrollably. Ming Yunhong held her in his arms, gently patting her back. Although he didn’t know how long the cat would stay with them, he hoped every moment it spent by her side would be a happy one.

“Doctor Ming, the cat has woken up!”

Someone poked their head in excitedly.

Ming Yunhong looked at Shen Ziqi with joy. “It made it through. It couldn’t bear to leave you either.”

Shen Ziqi broke into tears and laughter at the same time and hurried into the room.

Watching Shen Ziqi gently stroke Xiao Jiu, Ming Yunhong felt an ache in his heart. She had suffered so much.

Sometimes death itself isn’t frightening—the truly frightening thing is being the only one left behind in this lonely world.

Ming Yunhong walked Shen Ziqi home. She told him everything about her past with Jie Siao, hoping there would be no secrets between them.

Ming Yunhong rubbed her head gently and said, “Before, you had Xiao Jiu. From now on, you have me. We’ll all protect you.”

Shen Ziqi snuggled into Ming Yunhong’s arms. She found that she was starting to like the scent of medicine.

Ming Yunhong lowered his eyes, lost in thought. He seemed to want to say something—but in the end, he chose to remain silent.