Chapter 15

Gu Helin held Lin Shizhao tightly in his arms, pressing her so close that it was as if he wanted to merge her into his body. The girl trembled violently, cold sweat dripping down her face, her vision blurred by tears. "You acted so tough before—what now? Scared?" "Beat him up! Don’t hold back!" A group of people surrounded them, fists and kicks raining down. Gu Helin’s legs could barely move anymore, but the girl in his arms remained untouched. "Gu Helin, huh? You look completely useless now. Get on your knees and apologize, and I’ll let you both go." "Keep dreaming!" Staggering to his feet, Gu Helin gripped a fruit knife in his hand and lunged at Tan Jiang. Tan Jiang took the hit, clutching his stomach as he collapsed to the ground, his lips trembling, his face contorted in pain. But Gu Helin was already at his limit. A man snatched the knife from his hand and plunged it into his abdomen. In an instant, a deep wound opened in his stomach, bright red blood spreading rapidly, staining the ground beneath him. Veins bulged on Gu Helin’s forehead, his eyes bloodshot and unfocused. He hunched over, one hand pressed against the wound, the other struggling to hold onto the wall for balance. The girl sitting on the ground lunged forward, shielding him with her body. Tears streamed down her face like broken pearls, her cries so choked with sobs that no sound came out. "Please… I beg you… Let him go… Please…" "If he won’t kneel, you can do it for him. Five minutes, and you both walk free." Lin Shizhao slowly lowered herself to the ground, but before she could kneel, Gu Helin used the last of his strength to grab her wrist tightly. "Don’t… Just run, run… Be good." "I can’t leave you! I—" Lin Shizhao turned to look at the people behind her, her eyes filled with anguish. "Go! Just go!" Gu Helin finally collapsed, his eyes fluttering shut, a single tear trailing down his cheek. Lin Shizhao knelt on the ground, locking eyes with their tormentors, her gaze unwavering, burning with hatred. "Hahaha! I told you, she wouldn’t last five minutes. This is hilarious!" Their laughter echoed through the empty alley. To Lin Shizhao, it felt like an eternity had passed. As she knelt there, only one thought filled her mind—what if something really happened to Gu Helin? At last, the police arrived. Not a single one of them managed to escape. Gu Helin and Tan Jiang were in the worst condition and were rushed away in an ambulance. As one of the victims, Lin Shizhao was taken to the police station, where a female officer comforted her before taking her statement. The moment she left the station, she sprinted toward the hospital, not stopping once. She had lost all sense of exhaustion—her body moved on its own. The sky darkened as she ran, tears blurring her vision until she could barely see the road ahead. Bursting into the hospital lobby, she grabbed a young nurse by the arm. "Miss, have you seen a boy around seventeen or eighteen? He was just brought in by an ambulance, covered in blood!" The nurse instinctively took a step back, startled by her frantic and disheveled appearance. "Calm down. Check the inpatient ward—he should be there now," she said, pointing the way. "Thank you!" Lin Shizhao took off running again. She rushed up to the third floor, stopping outside Room 308. The hospital corridor was eerily quiet, the sharp scent of disinfectant filling the air. Through the window, she saw him lying in the hospital bed. Her heart twisted in pain. Inside the room, the boy’s face was pale, his chest rising and falling unevenly, his breathing faint.