The toilets were separated into the men’s and the ladies’. The latter was in the front. The former was in the back. Yun Xiangxiang pushed the ladies’ door and quickly ran past the basin before entering the men’s room.
As the washroom wasn’t in the sickbay, nobody was inside. And the floor was dry. She didn’t choose to hide in a cubicle. Instead, she leaned at the men’s door.
It was just a feint. She wanted to see if he could be tricked into checking the ladies. As long as he entered it, no matter how long he stayed there to check, she would have time to escape.
Her heart pounded in her chest. It was almost audible in the quiet washroom. The whole place seemed to be filled with the sound of her heart pounding.
The aircon in the washroom was making her shiver. It was a risky move. She chose this spot to see if she could buy enough time to run away. If he wasn’t fooled and came to the men’s first, he would see her the moment he came in.
He was coming. She could hear the loud footsteps. As he turned to the washroom, the ladies’ door was closed.
He didn’t think an eighteen-year-old like Yun Xiangxiang would be calm enough to come up with a trick to get past him. He went inside the ladies’ without hesitation.
Yun Xiangxiang used this split second to rush out and ran as fast as she could. But luck was not on her side this time. There was nobody in the ladies’. All the doors were open.
There were only four cubicles. The man could see everything immediately. When he knew she wasn’t there, he quickly turned around. Yun Xiangxiang might have successfully left the washroom, but he was gaining on her.
“Bang!” A bullet shot past her and hit the chair in front of her.
The sound of the bullet wasn’t too loud. It was shot from a gun with a silencer. The voice said coldly, “Don’t move. One more step, and the next shot won’t miss.”
Yun Xiangxiang stopped in her tracks. She turned around slowly. The man pointed his gun toward her. There were only ten steps between them.
“Ah, such a lovely, clever little girl,” he slowly closed to Yun Xiangxiang.
He was wearing a surgical mask, making him unidentifiable. He looked at Yun Xiangxiang, but there was no warmth in his gaze. He looked at her as if she was a piece of meat, waiting to be cut up. He was thinking about how to slice her up to glean the most satisfaction.
When he was two steps away from Yun Xiangxiang, a familiar figure slid down the building and swung into the corridor from the open window.
Yun Xiangxiang tried to contain her relief, worried she might give Song Mian away. But when she saw him making an impossible entrance like a superhero who came to her help at her darkest hour, she couldn’t keep her poker face, no matter how great an actress she was.
The maniac staring at Yun Xiangxiang was alerted to Song Mian’s presence. He turned around and was about to shoot when Song Mian’s kick had landed on his chest.
He was sent flying to the wall. Song Mian found his footing when he shot at him again. Song Mian noticed the attack and dodged in time. At the same time, he sent a knife flying at him.
As he dodged the bullet, his scalpel buried itself in the maniac’s body. Yun Xiangxiang took this chance to retreat a few steps. She pulled the gurney to her and crashed it into the maniac.
The maniac managed to dodge the gurney that was hurtling toward him, but he couldn’t evade Song Mian’s flying kick that landed on his waist. He grunted in pain and collapsed from it.
He wanted to pull the trigger again, but Song Mian managed to stop him. He tried to struggle free, but Song Mian pounded his arm against the wall until he let go of the gun.
The enemy was also a martial artist. He unleashed a fearsome wave of attacks at Song Mian. He broke free of Song Mian’s grasp, but his attacks didn’t hit Song Mian. He was getting agitated. Suddenly, a short blade appeared from the ring on his middle finger.
He sent wave after wave of attacks with his arms and feet, forcing Song Mian to retreat. Yun Xiangxiang was getting worried. Song Qian and Ai Li had returned by this time. They shielded Yun Xiangxiang.
Song Mian was cornered. As the maniac’s arm swung at him, Song Mian did a backflip, dodging his attack. Noticing his failed attack, he tried to stab downward but was caught by Song Mian.
Song Mian twisted the maniac’s arm, stiffening him. He pressed against the man along with the momentum. Yun Xiangxiang could hear the sound of something breaking. The maniac’s arm was bent to his chest at an unnatural angle.
“Mr. Song! Mr. Song! This man is a wanted criminal!” The police officer who came in shouted.
Song Mian didn’t care. He grabbed the man’s arm and stabbed his chest with his ring’s blade.
The light went out in the man’s cold eyes. He leaned against the wall, with no strength left to resist. Song Mian loosened his grip, and he collapsed into a heap. The officer went ahead to check up on the seemingly dead man, seemingly flustered.
“Mr. Song…,” the officer was annoyed, yet he resigned to his position.
“That won’t kill him,” Song Mian answered flatly before he left, taking Yun Xiangxiang’s hand.
They went to the underground parking lot. There wasn’t anyone there. Not even the reporters. Song Mian was still hugging her tightly even when they were in the car.
She tilted her head and saw him pursing his lips. His lower jaw was tense. Yun Xiangxiang whispered, “You’re angry, Ah Mian.”
“En,” Song Mian replied curtly.
For the first time, Yun Xiangxiang was at a loss. She drew a line on Song Mian’s palm and pleaded, “Please don’t be mad, I didn’t know they would set this elaborate trap just to capture me. I’d still save them if they were strangers, let alone the innocent mother-and-child he crashed into just to capture me.”
If she waited until the ambulance’s arrival, the mother-and-child would have already been dead. Even if they didn’t, it would be too late when they arrived at the hospital. She would feel guilty her whole life. Yun Xiangxiang didn’t regret her actions today, even if the maniac captured her.
If she were captured and hurt, her family would be disconsolate.
From the moment this became a conspiracy, there was no win-win situation. Yun Xiangxiang didn’t know it was a conspiracy though.
Song Mian held her tighter. He put his chin on her head, taking in the scent of her hair, “I’m mad at myself.”
“Huh?” Yun Xiangxiang was puzzled.
“I didn’t keep you safe enough.”
If he was even a moment later, Yun Xiangxiang might have died. If the man weren’t a maniac and were only after her life, he would have succeeded.
He shivered in fear. That was something he never felt since he was a kid.