My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 36.2

Frightened, she opened her eyes, turned on the bedroom lamp, got up, changed into a fresh pajama, and drank a cup of warm water.

After all that, she closed her eyes again.

Those eyes seemed to cling to Zuo Xian, appearing in her mind the moment she closed her eyes. Zuo Xian forced herself to keep her eyes shut, thinking it would pass.

But it didn’t happen as she wished. The crimson eyes became clearer and larger…

Zuo Xian was restless almost the entire night, constantly repeating the cycle of opening and closing her eyes.

It wasn’t until the next morning, when Grandma Liu was cooking breakfast, that she turned around and saw Zuo Xian coming out of the bedroom.

“Why are you up so early today, Xianzai?” Grandma Liu asked, surprised.

But Zuo Xian was absent-minded and didn’t hear, so she didn’t answer. She limped toward the living room sofa and collapsed.

Grandma Liu was making sandwiches today, and the sizzling sound of the frying egg was like a natural, comforting white noise. Lying on the sofa, Zuo Xian unconsciously dozed off for a while.

It was only when Tao Ran arrived and sat down next to her that Zuo Xian abruptly opened her eyes in panic.

Seeing that it was Tao Ran, Zuo Xian relaxed again. She scooted over, lay on her side on Tao Ran’s lap, burying her face in her abdomen, her nose filling with Tao Ran’s scent.

Tao Ran’s presence seemed to have a natural calming effect. Zuo Xian’s frantically beating nerves immediately settled, and she couldn’t help but yawn.

“Didn’t you sleep well last night?” Tao Ran looked down, touching Zuo Xian’s cheek, her fingertip lightly pressing the dark circles under her eyes.

“Mmm… I had a nightmare.” Zuo Xian frowned and snuggled further into Tao Ran’s embrace.

“What did you dream of? Something that scared you so much you didn’t sleep all night?”

“A pair of eyes.” Mentioning the word “eyes” caused Zuo Xian to shudder as she recalled them.

Tao Ran looked at her condition worriedly. “Take the day off. Get some good rest during the daytime.”

“No need.” Zuo Xian’s voice was a pitiful hoarse whisper. “I’ll just have nightmares if I sleep. Maybe going to school, where there are lots of people and strong yang energy, will make it better.”

After saying that, Zuo Xian didn’t lie down for long. She sat up, ate breakfast, and left with Tao Ran.

The silver-white sedan drove out of the residential area. When it passed an intersection, a black car parked by the street slowly started up and followed.

School was indeed crowded, full of positive energy. Zuo Xian slept soundly, napping from the first class until the fourth.

When she woke up again, Teacher Su was giving a lecture at the front. The PPT showed a schematic diagram of meiosis in germ cells. Zuo Xian watched dazedly, the teacher’s powerful voice ringing in her ears.

A great sense of security.

She yawned and sat up, intending to listen as much as she could, but unfortunately, the class was dismissed soon after.

Teacher Su didn’t like to hold up class and dismissed them right on time. Zuo Xian packed her things and limped out with Xue Shuangxi.

After meeting up with Tao Ran, Tao Ran supported Zuo Xian’s arm and asked softly, “Are you feeling better?”

“Much better,” Zuo Xian said with emotion. “When it comes to hypnosis, the school is the best.”

Xue Shuangxi said, “More than the school, I’m impressed with you. Not many people can sleep for an entire morning.”

“…I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

The stairwell population during dismissal was comparable to a rush during the Spring Festival. The three waited until the crowd thinned out before heading downstairs.

The midday sun was intense, feeling very much like early summer. Zuo Xian’s pupils were lighter, less resistant to light. She squinted her eyes and limped along.

For some reason, as soon as she walked out of the teaching building, her temples began to throb again, accompanied by a vague sense of panic and unease.

Strange.

“See you this afternoon.” Xue Shuangxi walked in the other direction. Zuo Xian waved goodbye to her, and Tao Ran went to open the car door first.

Left alone, the feeling of being watched by those “eyes” was stronger than ever. Zuo Xian felt a chill run down her spine even in the blazing sun.

Suddenly, a man wearing a mask and completely covered up rushed out from a corner. He violently grabbed Zuo Xian’s wrist and dragged her towards a black car parked nearby.

“Ah!” Zuo Xian cried out, instinctively resisting, but the man’s hand was like an iron clamp, tightly gripping her wrist and causing excruciating pain.

The man half-pulled, half-dragged Zuo Xian two meters. In a panic, Zuo Xian lowered her head and bit the back of the man’s hand hard, almost ripping off a chunk of flesh, filling her mouth with the taste of blood.

The events that unfolded in just two or three seconds happened too quickly for Aunt Li to react. In a flash, Tao Ran had already rushed out, and Aunt Li quickly got out of the car as well.

“Ah!” The man cried out in pain. Just as he was about to let go, he saw Tao Ran rushing over. He endured the pain, pulled a utility knife from his pocket, and used his bloody hand to clamp Zuo Xian’s neck, taking her hostage.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Hearing the man’s voice, Zuo Xian froze, instinctively saying, “Jiang Yuhai?”

The man clearly stiffened for a moment, not expecting her to recognize him. After all, he and his daughter were practically strangers.

But recognition didn’t matter anymore.

He kept his voice low, repeating in a hysterical manner, “Blame your mother! Blame your mother! She ruined everything I had! She forced me to do this…”

The guard and Aunt Li also rushed over. The three stood about five meters away, watching them with tense expressions.

It was dismissal time and right outside the school gate. This sudden spectacle caused the surrounding crowd to scatter in chaos.

Someone in the crowd yelled, “Call the police! Call the police!”

Jiang Yuhai was provoked. The knife edge pressed harder against Zuo Xian’s neck, drawing a line of blood.

He roared, “Who dares to call the police!”

“We won’t call the police!” Tao Ran stared at him nervously, trying to speak calmly. “Uncle Jiang, none of us will call the police. Will you please let go of Zuo Xian?”

“Impossible!” Jiang Yuhai tightly clamped Zuo Xian’s neck, smiling grimly. “I want… I want Zuo Zhimin to pay the price.”

The cold blade cut through a bit of skin. It hurt, but Zuo Xian didn’t have the presence of mind to notice the pain.

Fear and panic took over. Zuo Xian’s face was deathly pale, her lips trembling, on the verge of tears.

“Dad… Jiang… Dad, I’m your own daughter,” Zuo Xian said weakly, trying to appeal to Jiang Yuhai’s humanity.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yuhai smiled sinisterly twice. “My own daughter? Is your surname Jiang? You’re not my daughter; you’re Zuo Zhimi’s daughter.”

“Uncle Jiang!” Sweat beaded on Tao Ran’s forehead. “Calm down. What you’re doing is against the law. You’ll go to jail.”

“Then I’ll go to jail! I have nothing left now! I’m going to make Zuo Zhimi pay the price!”

“Wait, Uncle Jiang! I’m Tao Ran. Do you know the Tao Group, and the Jiang Group? Those are my parents’ companies. Whatever you want, I can give it to you!”

“…Tao Ran?”

“Yes.” Tao Ran moved forward inch by inch, her throat tight. “Take me instead. My parents will give you anything you want. My father’s company is overseas. He can arrange for you to go abroad directly. You won’t have to worry about the police.”

Jiang Yuhai hesitated. His desperate act of kidnapping Zuo Xian today was the madness of a man driven to a dead end, not a genuine desire for death.

Now that Tao Ran offered him a way out, Jiang Yuhai was tempted.

Jiang Yuhai looked down at his daughter, tapping her face with the knife. Blood smeared her fair skin.

“Is that true?”

The blood coagulated on her face, making her skin feel tight. The sickening smell of blood filled her nose. Everything was an imminent warning of danger to Zuo Xian’s life.

Out of the instinct for survival, Zuo Xian desperately wanted to nod. But the cold blade pressed against her neck, which could not be warmed by body heat, reminded Zuo Xian that if she nodded, Tao Ran would be in mortal danger.

Tao Ran looked at her, her eyes urgently encouraging her to speak, to say the truth, to say it and be safe.

Zuo Xian was terrified, deathly afraid. Her voice trembled uncontrollably, and tears streamed down her face like broken pearls.

Her body shook involuntarily, and tears blurred her vision, making Tao Ran’s figure hazy.

Zuo Xian shook her head. “It’s not true. She… she’s lying to you. Her parents are just office workers. They don’t… have money.”

Tao Ran’s eyes instantly turned red, and she shouted, “She’s lying!”

“Step back! Move back!” Jiang Yuhai dragged Zuo Xian back two steps, his bloodshot eyes fiercely staring at everyone present.

“I was almost fooled. Good daughter, you still care about your father.” Jiang Yuhai’s mind was clearly unstable, or perhaps he had become utterly deranged.

He retreated step by step toward the car, laughing softly as he walked.

“Good daughter, let’s go to your mother’s company. Right in front of her, let’s die together, father and daughter. How about that?”

Mother…

Zuo Xian fiercely trembled. She could imagine that if Jiang Yuhai carried out his plan, her mother would truly go insane after witnessing her death.

Jiang Yuhai threw a hemp rope at Zuo Xian, the knife tip still poised threateningly. “Tie yourself up, then sit in the passenger seat.”

“Okay…” Zuo Xian said weakly.

“Dee-doo—Dee-doo—”

The sound of police sirens grew louder. Jiang Yuhai’s nerves instantly tensed, and he looked in the direction of the police car.

Tao Ran tried to get closer from the other side. Jiang Yuhai immediately spotted her, pointing the knife at her. He shouted angrily, “Didn’t I tell you not to come closer!”

Now is the moment!

Zuo Xian gathered all her strength and violently rammed backward. The moment she broke free, she ran forward in large strides. However, Jiang Yuhai quickly stabilized himself. Seeing her run, he plunged the knife into her back in a fit of rage.

The distance was too short. The blade was about to strike. In a flash of lightning, Tao Ran, whose body had been tense the entire time, moved as fast as a cheetah.

She quickly reached out to shield Zuo Xian’s back, pulling her into her embrace.

The utility knife, which should have struck Zuo Xian’s shoulder, sliced across Tao Ran’s left wrist instead.

Seeing Zuo Xian unharmed and the police car within sight, Jiang Yuhai knew he had no chance left, not even a chance for revenge.

He let out a bellow, his eyes completely red, and raised the knife to stab.

“Die!”

Tao Ran pressed Zuo Xian tightly into her arms, using her body as a shield.

The blade plunged into the flesh. Hot blood gushed out. Tao Ran’s face instantly turned pale, contorting for a moment.

Jiang Yuhai laughed savagely, just about to put more force into the stab when he was shoved by a tremendous force. Aunt Li and the guard rushed up, one with an anti-riot fork and the other with an anti-riot shield.

Tao Ran could no longer support herself and fell to the side, revealing a large pool of blood on her back and the utility knife lodged near her heart.

“Ranran…!” Zuo Xian’s pupils trembled. She hurriedly climbed to her side, supporting herself on the ground.

Tao Ran lay on the ground, her eyebrows tightly furrowed, her face pale. Zuo Xian didn’t dare to move her and could only tightly grasp her hand.

The police who had just arrived quickly restrained Jiang Yuhai on the ground and handcuffed him.

“Ranran! Don’t fall asleep. 120, quickly call 120…” Zuo Xian frantically took out her phone to dial the emergency number. Tears blurred her vision, and she wiped them away in a panic.

“Where is the injured person? Quick! Quick!”

Before the call could connect, several doctors and nurses in white rushed over and immediately began to stop the bleeding and perform first aid.

The bystanders had already called for an ambulance, which arrived with the police car.

Seeing the doctors arrive, Zuo Xian’s strength suddenly drained away, and tears, no longer suppressed, rolled down her face like a broken string of pearls.

The immense pain blurred Tao Ran’s senses. Everything around her seemed covered in a haze, yet the feeling of pain and Zuo Xian’s sobs in her ear were so clear.

Don’t cry, don’t cry…

Tao Ran only managed to part her lips before she passed out.