"Boom, boom, boom..."
Thunder roared as Chen Nan had just stepped out when a downpour began.
Chen Nan, who usually sped recklessly, had to slow down because of the rain impairing his vision. It was still early, just after eight o’clock, and Han Yuting didn’t finish work until half-past eleven, so there was no rush.
Raindrops the size of thumbs hit the windshield, making a pitter-patter sound. Chen Nan was more cautious than usual, focusing intently on the road ahead.
Just then, a figure appeared ahead.
A woman lay in the middle of the road, motionless, and it was uncertain whether she was dead or alive.
In the tempestuous night with limited visibility, such a scene could terrify a driver of average psychological endurance into an emergency brake, perhaps even causing a traffic accident.
Luckily, Chen Nan was someone who wouldn’t blink an eye even at murder; he was not frightened by the situation.
He stepped on the brakes, the car passing by the woman, and pulled over up ahead. Braving the heavy rain, Chen Nan got out.
The woman lay face down on the ground, her features indiscernible. Chen Nan could only tell she was female because of her long hair; men didn’t usually grow their hair that long.
However, as he drew closer, he was greatly shocked.
The woman’s attire was all too familiar to him. Chen Nan rushed over to lift her up, "Mimi, what’s wrong? Were you hit by a car?"
Jiang Xiaomi was pale as death, her eyes tightly shut, her body trembling with cold.
Chen Nan didn’t have time to check her injuries and hurriedly carried her back to the car, laying the seat flat for her to lie down.
"Mimi, what’s happened to you? Wake up!"
Chen Nan saw no injuries on her, and it didn’t seem like she had been hit by a car as he shook her shoulder and called out.
Like a murmur in a dream, Jiang Xiaomi let out a weak voice, still shivering.
Chen Nan quickly turned on the car’s heater to the highest temperature, then began removing her wet clothes, piece by piece.
She must have lain in the rain for a long time because even her inner clothes were soaked.
Chen Nan stripped her wet clothes off completely and opened his chest to embrace Jiang Xiaomi, wrapping both of their bodies in his clothes.
Although their bodies were in close contact, Chen Nan had no lascivious thoughts; he was only focusing on warming her up.
"Mimi, what’s really the matter with you?"
Chen Nan held her tight, his fingers gently caressing her pale face, filled with anxious concern.
He couldn’t understand; Jiang Xiaomi had always been in good health. How could she have collapsed on the main road?
Chen Nan felt her wrist, noticing that her pulse seemed erratic, but couldn’t determine what was wrong with her. At a loss for what to do, all he could do was embrace her tightly and keep calling her name, hoping she would awaken.
Xuan Tianji was once known as the Poison Hand Medicine King and was extremely skilled in medicine.
Having studied with him for so many years, Chen Nan’s medical knowledge was quite rich, but now he couldn’t make out from Jiang Xiaomi’s pulse what illness she had.
Two minutes later, Jiang Xiaomi’s body gradually warmed up and stopped shaking.
Seeing the girl who was usually so carefree now quietly lying in his arms, Chen Nan felt a pang of deep sorrow.
He kissed her pale lips lightly, and Chen Nan whispered, "Didn’t you say you’d cling to me for a lifetime, that someday you’d make me fall in love with you? But lying here motionless, what’s the meaning of this?"
Jiang Xiaomi remained still.
Chen Nan pressed his cheek against hers and gently said in her ear, "I’ve already fallen for you, I can feel my heart aching. If you don’t wake up soon, I might have to change my mind."
Jiang Xiaomi’s fingers twitched slightly, and her eyelids fluttered before she slowly opened her eyes.
"Nan Brother, why are you crying?"
Her voice was very weak, Chen Nan had never heard her speak so softly before.
"You’re awake, you’ve finally woke up!"
Chen Nan was a bit overwhelmed with emotion, and held her tightly in his arms.
"You jerk, Nan Brother."
Chen Nan was taken aback, feeling a bit speechless and managed a wry smile, "What are you thinking about? You kept saying you were cold, I was just keeping you warm!"
A flicker of confusion passed through Jiang Xiaomi’s eyes as she seemed to remember something.
She gently pushed Chen Nan away, speaking weakly, "Where are my clothes? I need to go, just leave me alone."
Chen Nan pulled her back into his embrace, "What nonsense are you talking about, are you ill? Tell me what’s going on right now."
"I know I’m not worthy of you, I’m aware of that, I won’t bother you anymore, just let me go," Jiang Xiaomi pushed against him again, but Chen Nan did not loosen his grip and held her even tighter instead.
"I won’t allow you to talk such foolishness!"
Chen Nan stroked her head and said, "Are you in some kind of trouble? Tell me, and we’ll solve it together."
Jiang Xiaomi shook her head, saying, "It can’t be solved, I’m beyond saving. Please let me go, I don’t want you to see me at my ugliest."
"How can that be, how can you be beyond saving when you’re perfectly fine!"
Chen Nan held her tightly, his tone firm, "Unless you tell me what’s wrong today, I will never let you go."
Looking into Chen Nan’s eyes, Jiang Xiaomi fell silent.
After a long hesitation, she bit her lip and said, "I... I’ve become addicted to drugs, please let me go, I don’t want you to see me in such an ugly state during a relapse."
"You’re... using drugs?"
Chen Nan was shocked as well. Jiang Xiaomi might have been a bit rebellious, but how could she get involved in such foolishness!
He held Jiang Xiaomi’s hands tightly, saying earnestly, "No matter what you become, you’ll always be my woman, Chen Nan’s woman. I’m sure there’s a solution!"
Jiang Xiaomi’s eyes welled up, and she burst into tears in Chen Nan’s embrace.
Chen Nan patted her back gently, "Alright, stop crying. What really happened, how could you go back to such things?"
Jiang Xiaomi’s voice trembled with her sobs, "Last night, I accompanied my cousin for a few drinks at the bar. On the way back home, two men held me down and injected something into my arm with a syringe. Then they handed me three packets of white powder, telling me to sniff some when I felt bad. After I got home, my parents weren’t there. I tried to call you, but your phone was unreachable. Later, when the craving hit, I couldn’t resist and sniffed a packet. It just made the addiction worse, and by this afternoon, I’d finished all three packets. It kicked in again in the afternoon, and after enduring it for several hours and feeling a bit better, I knew it wouldn’t be long before it would start again. That feeling of wishing for death, I couldn’t bear it anymore, and I just wanted to find a place to die. But I had just reached this spot when it hit again, and with the rain getting me cold, I fainted."
(Brothers and sisters, cherish life, stay away from drugs!)