The Divorce Lawyer Is Very Hard To Flirt With - Chapter 98

Chapter 98: If There Is a Next Life

That declaration of “I love you,” delivered with immense and pure power, instantly dispelled some of Song Xidan’s panic.

Ying Zhi’an’s mind was racing. With three people needing rescue, Song Xidan couldn’t possibly carry them all out together. Ying Zhi’an didn’t want Song Xidan to face a human dilemma, so she used her uninjured hand to point first to the elderly neighbor clinging to the railing and whimpering. Her voice was hoarse but unusually clear: “First… help her down! She is, at least, the most mobile among the three of us!”

Then, she pointed to the unconscious Mrs. Song, her eyes carrying an undeniable decisiveness: “Carry her! Xidan, you both go out first! Hurry!”

“No! Sister Zhi’an! You…”

“Xidan!” Ying Zhi’an cut Song Xidan off. Despite her face being pale as paper and her voice trembling from pain, it carried a reassuring composure: “Me… use the wet wipes… cover my nose and mouth… I can still move. I’ll slowly move myself first… wait for you… to come back for me.”

This extremely calm “optimal solution” was like a clear AI instruction!

First, save the elder who is completely incapable of self-rescue, then her, who is still conscious and can attempt to slowly rescue herself.

A clear hierarchy, highest efficiency.

The optimal solution! Still the same cold and correct “optimal solution”!

Song Xidan’s tears streamed down her face. All she could think of was the enormous risk implied by Ying Zhi’an’s “slowly move” and “wait” in the face of the rapidly spreading fire!

“Obey me!” Ying Zhi’an almost screamed. “If you hesitate… no one will survive!”

“Sister Zhi’an!” Song Xidan let out a cry of painful anguish. She took one deep look at Ying Zhi’an, illuminated by the firelight: “Wait for me! Sister Zhi’an! You must wait for me!”

She shouted this hoarsely, then abruptly lifted her mother onto her back, no longer hesitating!

Fortunately, Song Xidan was physically strong, having trained on the vast grassland. While carrying her unconscious mother, she quickly helped the elderly neighbor up, practically half-carrying, half-supporting her as they moved downstairs.

The dense smoke made them cough violently, but she dared not stop. Ying Zhi’an’s phrase, “Wait for you to come back for me,” kept echoing in her mind.

Finally, after bringing the elderly woman to a relatively safe floor and handing her over to neighbors who came up to assist, and entrusting her mother to another neighbor, Song Xidan didn’t take a breath. She grabbed a water-soaked towel someone handed her and turned to rush back into the fire!

“Girl! The fire upstairs is too big! You can’t go back!” Someone tried to hold her back.

“Let go of me! She’s still up there! She’s waiting for me!”

Song Xidan unleashed astonishing strength. In her eyes, blurred by tears and soot, was an almost frantic stubbornness and determination.

She was like a fish swimming against the current, plunging back into the death zone without hesitation.

The situation upstairs was much worse than when she left.

The fire had spread, the scorching air warped visibility, and the thick smoke almost completely obscured the path.

She could only crawl forward on the stairs, shouting hoarsely: “Sister Zhi’an! Ying Zhi’an!”

Finally, on the stair section below the corner platform, she saw Ying Zhi’an. Ying Zhi’an had managed to crawl a short distance, clearly through a combination of rolling and dragging herself, and was now sprawled limply on the stairs like a sluggish reptile.

She truly was waiting for her and trying to save herself.

But the attempt at self-rescue had visibly caused secondary injuries!

“Sister Zhi’an!” Song Xidan’s heart nearly stopped. She lunged forward, ignoring the heat, forcefully batting out the sparks on Ying Zhi’an’s clothes, and tightly embraced her.

Ying Zhi’an’s body was cold. The wound on her forehead had clotted with dark red blood, and her breathing was so shallow it was barely perceptible.

“Don’t… don’t leave me… Sister Zhi’an, wake up! I came back for you! I love you too!” Large, hot tears splattered onto Ying Zhi’an’s face. She frantically patted her cheek, trying to wake her.

• The ‘Say You Love Me’ function detected a reciprocated declaration of love. To prevent the user from omitting critical information, a forced wake-up and life-sign maintenance is initiated!
• The user’s chosen path of love is full of thorns and danger, but perhaps this is the very charm of love.

After the System announced this in Ying Zhi’an’s mind, it seemed to trail off slightly, as if with a human sigh.

Following the System’s final words, Ying Zhi’an’s eyelashes fluttered.

She managed to open her eyes into a tiny slit. Her vision was filled with Song Xidan’s face, streaked with tears and soot, and filled with fear.

“Fool… why… come back…” Her voice was faint as a thread, but laced with endless heartache.

“You’re here!” Song Xidan held her tightly, as if trying to merge her into her own flesh and blood. “I love you too! Ying Zhi’an, I love you! We will even die together!”

This direct and fervent confession, enveloped by fire and thick smoke, was deeply moving.

However, the flames were drawing closer and would not slow down for the sake of a touching declaration of love.

The temperature in the entire hallway was becoming unbearable.

Song Xidan shielded Ying Zhi’an with her own body. “Don’t be afraid… Sister Zhi’an, I’ll get you out!”

She dragged Ying Zhi’an bit by bit down the stairs. Every move was accompanied by the loud crackle of collapsing building materials. Sparks constantly rained down around them.

Finally, a section of floor that had caved in blocked their path!

Song Xidan’s pupils contracted. She tried to hoist Ying Zhi’an onto her back to climb over the collapsed area, but the fire was growing, the oxygen was thinning, and her energy was completely depleted. When she bent her knees again, she stumbled and fell onto one knee.

The smoke blurred her vision, and her lungs burned as if on fire.

“Cough, cough… Xidan… you go first…” Ying Zhi’an tried to tell her to leave, but Song Xidan hugged her even tighter.

“I won’t leave you behind, ever,” Song Xidan’s voice, carrying her hot breath, was close to Ying Zhi’an’s ear. “Remember what you said? You said you couldn’t guarantee the future, but you would stay with me in the present. Sister Zhi’an, I want to tell you that I will always stay with you.”

When Song Xidan tried once more but couldn’t lift Ying Zhi’an, she knew she probably couldn’t get them both out safely. Song Xidan herself could easily climb over the obstruction, but the option of abandoning Ying Zhi’an to save herself was unthinkable. So, she stopped trying to carry Ying Zhi’an. Instead, she moved them as far away from the open flames as possible, using her back to shield them from the intense heat and gently covering Ying Zhi’an’s mouth and nose with the wet cloth, a gesture as tender as a sacred ritual.

“There’s something I’ve kept in my heart for a long time.” Even the timid can become heroes, and those who dare not hope still want to voice their love. Song Xidan knelt before Ying Zhi’an, tightly clutching her cold hand. The firelight danced in her eyes, like an unextinguishable star.

“Actually, I’m not a whole person. I’m my brother’s legacy. I fought against it, which is why I hid on the grassland after college. But even then, I still felt incomplete. Until I met you. You made me realize how warm it is to be truly seen and cared for by someone.”

Song Xidan’s voice was choked, and the thick smoke made her words faint, but she persisted: “Sister Zhi’an, you are the most complete and wonderful person I have ever met. I am so grateful that you can like me too. So I have to tell you, even if we might not make it out today, I am grateful to have met you. I’ve had a lot of painful things in my past, but just meeting you makes it all worthwhile!”

Song Xidan leaned down, gently touching her forehead to Ying Zhi’an’s. Tears finally fell onto their clasped hands: “If… if there is a next life, I will still find you, but I will be a complete person, so that the person you meet is a better version of me.”

“Fool…” Ying Zhi’an actually had no strength left to speak. She was only conscious because of the Love Cheating Device. But hearing Song Xidan’s words, she used every bit of energy she had left to say: “Next life… I’ll come find you… and I won’t… be so stupid again…”

The two nestled together in the corner, awaiting their unknown fate, like the last two boats clinging to each other in a storm.

Just as Song Xidan felt her consciousness beginning to fade, a strong beam of light pierced the thick smoke. Several firefighters in protective gear and breathing masks, like divine soldiers descending from the heavens, broke through the curtain of fire and reached them!

The firefighters separated the two, placed a breathing mask on Ying Zhi’an, and used a stretcher to secure her fractured ankle.

Song Xidan was also fitted with a mask and held securely in a firefighter’s arms.

When they were successfully rescued and brought to the safe area downstairs, the fresh air rushed into Song Xidan’s lungs, bringing a stinging sensation of rebirth.

The first thing she did when she came to was to break free from the paramedic’s grasp and rush to Ying Zhi’an’s stretcher.

Ying Zhi’an was already fitted with an oxygen mask. Her face was still pale, but the rise and fall of her chest was much more noticeable.

“Sister Zhi’an…” Song Xidan called out softly, nervously.

Ying Zhi’an’s eyelid fluttered. She finally managed to open her eyes with difficulty, looking at Song Xidan and forcing a faint smile.

All injured personnel were rushed to the hospital. The emergency room and the surrounding areas were chaotic.

Song Xidan was largely unharmed, save for minor scrapes and smoke inhalation damage. After a simple check-up and some oxygen, she was allowed to move freely.

Mr. Song arrived at the hospital almost immediately after the ambulance.

He anxiously looked around the emergency hall and finally spotted his distraught daughter. Her clothes were still covered in soot and dried blood, her hair was a mess, and tear streaks mixed with grime covered her face.

Mr. Song quickly rushed over and pulled Song Xidan tightly into his arms, his voice trembling with relief and lingering fear: “Dandan! My Dandan! I’m so glad you’re okay! So glad!”

Having lost his son in his prime, Mrs. Song had never recovered, and Mr. Song had gone gray overnight. Seeing his unharmed daughter now felt like divine mercy!

Feeling her father’s long-lost, unconditional hug, the strong facade Song Xidan had been maintaining finally cracked a little. She leaned against her father’s not-so-broad shoulder, her eyes stinging, but she couldn’t cry. She only repeated in a hoarse voice: “Dad, Mom and Sister Zhi’an are both in the operating room.”

Mr. Song’s eyes were red, and he heavily patted her back: “Dad knows, he knows. Everything will be fine, everything will be fine…”

The father and daughter went to the waiting area outside the operating room.

The atmosphere here was much heavier. Families were anxiously waiting.

Fortunately, the rescue was timely. The most severely injured was Ying Zhi’an, followed by Mrs. Song, and then a pair of elderly neighbors who had rushed down from an upper floor and fractured their bones in a fall.

The fire safety hazards in the old complex had not been promptly addressed. Even if nothing had happened today, something was bound to happen eventually.

Time passed agonizingly slowly in the anxious waiting of the families. Every second felt like an eternity.

After an unknown period, the operating room door finally opened.

A doctor walked out first, pulling down his mask. The few people in the waiting area immediately surrounded him.

“Who is the family member of Zhou Juan?” the doctor asked.

“I am! I am her husband!” Mr. Song quickly stepped forward.

“The patient mainly suffered smoke inhalation damage, accompanied by moderate carbon monoxide poisoning, as well as multiple soft tissue contusions and a mild concussion from the fall down the stairs. After emergency treatment, her vital signs are stable.”

Mr. Song let out a long sigh of relief and repeatedly thanked the doctor.

Then, another doctor walked out: “Are Ying Zhi’an’s family members here?”

Song Xidan, who had just slightly relaxed, immediately looked at that doctor. She was about to go over when a well-dressed middle-aged couple approached the doctor: “Doctor, how is my daughter?”

“The patient has a comminuted fracture of the left ankle. We have successfully performed reduction and internal fixation surgery. She also has a laceration on the forehead that was cleaned and sutured, a moderate concussion, and severe smoke inhalation damage. She is still under anesthesia and will be transferred to the ICU for observation for a period.”

Song Xidan’s heart clenched fiercely. However, Ying Zhi’an’s parents seemed quite composed. Mrs. Ying immediately said, “I’m just glad her life was saved.”

Mr. Ying also comforted Mrs. Ying, “It’ll be fine. Zhi’an has always been lucky.”

Song Xidan felt an unprecedented mix of fear and guilt. Although she didn’t know the cause of the accident, Ying Zhi’an had certainly been involved in this danger because she came to find her!

Mr. Song patted her shoulder: “Dandan, don’t be afraid. Everyone was rescued. That’s what matters most.”

Song Xidan regained her composure and nodded: “I’m fine, Dad. Let’s go check on Mom first, and then I’ll go see Sister Zhi’an.”

At least, they were all alive.

Being alive meant there was still hope, still a chance to make amends and face the future.

Song Xidan took a deep breath, silently vowing in her heart: No matter what the future held, she would not back down again.