The wind howled so loudly that it was almost impossible to hear anything else.
In the pitch - black night wind, Xiao Yanzhi's eyes were filled with suppressed emotions. He roared almost desperately, "Jiang Li, snap out of it!"
After a few seconds, Jiang Li's vacant eyes slowly regained their senses. She hung her head, feeling the warmth in her palm. Only then did her eyes stiffly turn.
"…Xiao Yanzhi?" Her voice was soft, with an air of unreality, floating aimlessly.
"Yes." Xiao Yanzhi stared at her intently for a few seconds and then commanded, "Hold on to me tightly."
Jiang Li was encircled in his arms. His big hand pressed on her back, and he exerted so much force that he seemed to want to meld her into his body.
At that moment just now, he, who had never known fear, for the first time experienced the feeling of his heart stopping.
He watched helplessly as she stood on the edge of the highway.
The silk hem of her dress was blown high. It seemed that if the wind blew any harder, she would be swept into the traffic.
The moment he held her in his arms, he finally felt that all this was real.
The real touch and the tangible breath all indicated that she was still in this world.
Safely in his arms.
He picked her up horizontally and walked towards the safety zone while chatting with her casually, "I drove in the wrong lane just now. The traffic police chased me all the way."
"You have to go to the police station with me later to give a statement. Got it?"
Jiang Li closed her eyes tightly, her breath in disarray. Apart from the wind, all she could hear was his deep voice, which made her feel secure.
She curled up in his arms, her gaze fixed on his lips. They were thin, and his facial features were sharp. His lips were faintly pale.
Was he afraid that something might happen to her just now?
"I didn't ask you to come."
Listening to his steady heartbeat right beside her, she blurted out, "Anyway, I'm just a valuable money - making tool to you. It doesn't matter whether I'm here or not."
The man didn't answer her for a long time.
After a long while, he lowered his head and gently kissed her earlobe, "If you want to act coquettishly, save it for when we get back, okay?"
After a while, Jiang Li pursed her lips and was unusually obedient and quiet.
She was like a straw floating on the sea, once again grasped firmly in someone's palm.
It seemed like they walked for a long time. When Xiao Yanzhi carried Jiang Li to the safety zone, a row of police cars was already parked there.
When they arrived at the police station, they simply cooperated with the statement - taking and investigation. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Sitting on the bench in the police station, Jiang Li's chilled body temperature slowly began to rise.
When her consciousness and thinking were completely clear, she realized how terrifying the thing she had just done was.
She had almost committed suicide.
It was an act without any self - awareness, but it had almost cost her life.
After leaving the police station, Xiao Yanzhi took her directly to the hospital for a full - body check - up, and they happened to meet Qiao Jinrun.
"Jiang Li!"
Seeing her standing in front of him unharmed, the heart that Qiao Jinrun had been holding finally settled down. There was relief in his eyes and brows, "I'm glad you're okay."
Jiang Li was taken aback, looking surprised, "It's so late. Why are you at the hospital, Dr. Qiao?"
"You didn't finish your sentence on the phone before it got cut off." Qiao Jinrun smiled, "If something really happened to you, I was waiting at the hospital. Maybe I could save your life."
Hearing this, Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat, followed by a sense of guilt, "I'm sorry, Dr. Qiao. Just now I..."
"Aren't you going for the check - up?" Xiao Yanzhi lowered his eyes and glanced at her coldly. The gentle words on the highway just now seemed like a hallucination.
"Go first. We can talk later." Qiao Jinrun said with a smile, "Your health is important."
After Jiang Li walked into the consulting room, the two men waited outside.
Perhaps the atmosphere was too quiet. Qiao Jinrun looked up at Xiao Yanzhi and nodded slightly, "Mr. Xiao, you've had a long and tiring journey."
Xiao Yanzhi had well - defined and three - dimensional facial features. There was an air of authority around him, obviously different from ordinary people. That noble and condescending aura could only belong to Xiao Yanzhi.
"It's not tiring." Xiao Yanzhi took out two cigarettes from the cigarette case and offered them, but Qiao Jinrun politely declined, "Thank you. I don't smoke. It will affect my nerves."
Seeing Xiao Yanzhi's eyes darken, he explained with a smile, "I'm a doctor. I need to hold a scalpel, so I have to pay attention to my diet and lifestyle. Otherwise, it will affect the precision of the surgery. I hope you understand."
Hearing this, Xiao Yanzhi frowned slightly.
Suddenly, he remembered that this Dr. Qiao was the man who had sent Jiang Li home in the Infiniti that night.
"What do Dr. Qiao's parents do?" Xiao Yanzhi retracted the cigarettes and didn't light one himself. He just held it in his hand and looked at him with a deep gaze.
Qiao Jinrun wasn't the least bit flustered. He just smiled and answered generously, "My father is a worker in a construction company, and my mother is a retired teacher. She's at home taking care of my younger sister now."
It sounded like an ordinary family. Compared with him, it was mediocre and they were not in the same social stratum at all. Apart from the possibility of meeting in the hospital when seeing a doctor, there would be no intersection.
He squinted his eyes involuntarily.
Jiang Li had said before that her dream was to find a man to marry and live a stable life.
This Dr. Qiao seemed to meet her requirements.
Xiao Yanzhi curled his lips and slowly twirled the unlit cigarette in his fingers, playing with it for a long time.
Perhaps feeling that the waiting was too boring, Xiao Yanzhi also took the initiative to start a conversation, "Which construction company does Dr. Qiao's father work for? I have a friend who is in charge of construction in Beicheng. Maybe it's the same company."
"He works in Jian'an..."
Before Qiao Jinrun could finish his sentence, the door of the consulting room suddenly opened. Jiang Li heard their conversation and immediately walked over quickly, interrupting them, "What are you talking about?"
She instinctively protected Qiao Jinrun behind her. After thinking for a moment, she blurted out bravely, "Don't cause trouble for Dr. Qiao's family."
She had heard clearly just now that Xiao Yanzhi was asking about Qiao Jinrun's family situation and his father's company.
Remembering how Xiao Yanzhi had shamelessly humiliated her for having an affair with another man before, she couldn't help but tense up.
She was afraid that Xiao Yanzhi would take his anger out on Qiao Jinrun and do something to his family.
At this moment, Jiang Li's wariness and vigilance were obvious.
Xiao Yanzhi squinted at her for a while, keenly sensing something. Suddenly, he lifted the corner of his lips, "Do you think I'll cause trouble for him?"
"Otherwise?" Jiang Li sensed his dangerous aura but still summoned up the courage to speak, "Dr. Qiao and I are just doctor - patient. You don't need to target him."
When she said this, her face was extremely tense, "If you have any issues, come at me."