【Casualty status remains unknown, no charred bodies have been discovered.】
【Several unconscious men were rescued from the fire scene, with multiple cases of minor burns, crush injuries, and inhalation injuries, all have been transported to the hospital.】
"...Has anyone seen a man? Very tall, solid build, buzz cut, strong facial features. He's the owner of this billiards hall."
"Boss Chen?" someone interjected, "He was the last one carried out. Already taken to the hospital."
Miao Jing's entire body turned cold, her mind pierced with sharp pain, blank and chaotic. She murmured numbly, "I see, thank you."
Bo Zai, face smeared with black soot and looking utterly disheveled, stood guard outside the ICU. When he saw Miao Jing rushing over with disheveled hair, his eyes reddened first.
"Fortunately the billiards hall was spacious, so the fire spread slowly. After I got everyone out, Yi Ge grabbed a fire extinguisher and charged into the storage room. He was afraid someone might be inside... Those were all students. He searched everywhere several times... When we found him, he was curled up in a corner, already in shock and unconscious."
Miao Jing's eyelashes fluttered, tears immediately falling.
Shock and unconsciousness.
Chen Yi remained in a coma in the ICU for ten days.
Miao Jing kept vigil outside the ICU without leaving.
The person on the hospital bed lay quietly. MRI and brain examination reports were deeply concerning. Miao Jing gently touched the scars on his arm, his emaciated cheeks and tightly furrowed brow, her expression calm yet lost.
She had actually thought about many things.
About how he appeared in Chen Libin's hospital room in his teens, rebellious and unruly. About how he lay in a hospital bed after a motorcycle accident, casually mentioning suicide. About him in suit and tie, brimming with ambition, declaring himself the most promising. About his furious, red-eyed screams telling her to get out. About his tender murmurs of her name in moments of passion. About that faint, sorrowful smile during their final parting. About all the people and experiences they'd each encountered over these past ten-plus years.
Many people came daily to visit Chen Yi outside the ICU. Miao Jing saw numerous unfamiliar faces, never realizing he had such an extensive social circle. With slightly swollen, reddened eyes, she responded absentmindedly, barely noticing Lu Zhengsi staying by her side. While Bo Zai handled fire-related matters, she was surprised to see Zhou Kang'an's figure too, but felt no urge to interrogate or dig deeper.
After all, what difference did asking or not asking make?
She knew that in his heart, with all those years of relying on each other for survival, she was ultimately different from others.
Fortunately, aside from Chen Yi, no one else sustained serious injuries in the fire. The billiards hall was completely destroyed, but those were just material possessions. Now they only needed Chen Yi to wake up.
Chen Yi, meanwhile, was trapped in an extremely exhausting and scorching dream.
When he woke up, he blinked his extremely dry eyes, momentarily unable to adjust to what he was seeing. Those swollen, weary tear-filled eyes seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place them, simply staring blankly.
Other bodily sensations hadn't returned yet - only his gaze remained fixed, memorizing, watching the person before him weeping with exhaustion. When he finally recovered enough to speak, his first words were faint yet impatient.
"Not dead... why cry?"
Miao Jing, red-eyed, pressed her damp cheek against his forehead.
He felt two icy tears, and somehow, his blank mind also experienced a sense of relief.
He's awake!
Still that bastard Chen Yi.Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Chen Yi was finally transferred from the ICU to a regular ward, though he still required several sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to aid in his brain function recovery.
"Who am I?" Miao Jing asked, noticing his vacant gaze. "Do you still recognize me?"
He remained silent, seemingly unsure how to respond, before finally murmuring after a long pause, "Family."
"What's my name?"
"Miao Jing."
Miao Jing gently patted his head.
Chen Yi was gradually regaining some vitality. Though he didn't look entirely disheveled, his eyes were sunken, and his chin was covered in dark stubble, giving him a fragile, decadent aura. Miao Jing had been caring for him day and night, her already slender frame thinning further. Clumsily, he grasped her wrist, his fingertips gently rubbing it.
"Get me a mirror."
"What for?"
"You've become like this—I want to see how terrible I look now," he snorted lightly. "I've never been ugly in my entire life."
Well, he wasn't ugly, but after so many days, his bones were prominent, and his chin was shadowed with stubble.
"Shave my beard for me?"
Miao Jing actually found a razor, first applying a hot towel, then spreading foam before using the blade. Chen Yi closed his eyes contentedly, tilting his chin up to her cool fingertips, enjoying the sensation of the stubble scraping against her fingers.
"Give me a kiss?"
Miao Jing complied without hesitation, pressing a light kiss to his smooth chin.
Chen Yi grinned foolishly.
"Get me a cigarette?"
She lightly tapped his cheek with her fingers and coldly told him to dream on.
Zhou Kang'an had rushed over to check on Chen Yi as soon as he woke up. Once Chen Yi could think and speak normally, Zhou Kang'an visited again, closing the door for a private conversation. Both men looked serious.
"That area is a blind spot—no surveillance. It's unclear how the fire started."
"There were quite a few people coming and going from the shop that day. The bureau is still investigating each suspect one by one." Zhou Kang'an glanced at Chen Yi, frowning. "While you were with Zhai Fengmao, was your identity compromised? Who else knew about you?"
"Unlikely," Chen Yi replied lazily. "If someone wanted revenge on me, why bother burning down the billiards hall? They could've just put a bullet in me. Besides, the person has fled to who-knows-where, probably hiding in the jungles of Southeast Asia, struggling to survive. They wouldn't have time to come after me."
"You know how cunning Zhai Fengmao is. Interpol has no leads either—he escaped again six months ago." Zhou Kang'an pondered. "In Zhang Shi's case, two people have already been released from prison."
"Those are just small-time lackeys, no connection to me. I'm still driving Zhang Shi's car—it doesn't make sense for them to target me like this."
"It's always better to be cautious."
Of course, caution was necessary. He might be alone and fine, but Miao Jing was still out there.
Zhai Fengmao had drug factories and arms workshops along the Yunnan border. Although he was gradually withdrawing from direct operations, he relied on various investment ventures over the years to launder his wealth. His influence was vast, his protection network deeply rooted—a figure who could cause tremors with a mere stomp. Many public officials and police personnel in Tengcheng had already been recruited under his wing. This case was under the direct command of the Provincial Public Security Department, initiated covertly and developed over a long period. At the time, Zhou Kang'an and his colleagues were handling the case, struggling to find a way to infiltrate the organization, when they unexpectedly crossed paths with Chen Yi.
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