It was Xinyu who gasped aloud.
From the start, her attention hadn’t been on Huang Yanchen’s words. Instead, she’d watched Jiang Xiaoyao with a worried frown, her face deathly pale.
As fellow girls, Xinyu could sense something was deeply wrong with Jiang Xiaoyao.
As Huang Yanchen’s speech grew harsher and more intense, Xinyu noticed Jiang Xiaoyao’s body swaying slightly, as if she might collapse any second.
Just as Xinyu was about to speak, she saw Jiang Xiaoyao slowly crumpling behind Huang Yanchen.
“Ah!”
Xinyu clapped a hand over her mouth in horror.
Jiang Xiaoyao’s body fell like a puppet with severed strings, stiff and lifeless toward the floor.
Everyone stared wide-eyed.
Even Huang Yanchen, standing closest, froze in confusion, unsure what had happened.
But someone moved first.
Like drowning in the deep sea.
Falling slowly, weightlessly downward.
Unable to feel her breath. Unable to feel her thoughts. Watching her own body plummet into the abyss as if her soul had fled.
Hearing no sounds—not even her heartbeat. Her hollow, vacant eyes stared numbly at the ground.
She knew no one would save her.
Yet deep inside, a tiny voice sobbed quietly.
Save me.
Anyone, please.
Save me.
Then.
As if God had heard her prayer.
Her body didn’t hit the cold ocean floor.
Instead, it landed in a warm, steady embrace.
Silence swallowed the hall. Not a pin dropped.
No one dared breathe. Hearts hammered in throats. The air thickened with eerie tension.
Huang Yanchen rubbed his eyes, certain he wasn’t hallucinating.
At the last moment, a figure had lunged forward and caught Jiang Xiaoyao.
Chen Yuzhe.
He held her body, face blank, as he brushed his fingers lightly against her forehead. He pulled back instantly, brows knotting deeply.
Scorching hot. How could this stubborn girl not feel it? Holding out this long?
“Senior!”
After a stunned pause, screams and panic erupted across the hall.
“What… what happened? Did she faint?”
“What now? Call an ambulance! Dial 911!”
“No time—just drive her to the hospital!”
“This branch campus is in the middle of nowhere. The nearest hospital’s nearly ten kilometers away!”
“Then what? Small clinics here are useless…”
Xinyu and Gu Chengjin rushed to Chen Yuzhe’s side, faces tight with worry.
“Senior… she’s burning up!” Xinyu touched Jiang Xiaoyao’s forehead and recoiled in panic. “What do we do?”
Chen Yuzhe turned sharply. “Gu Chengjin, how far’s your car?”
“Not close—two kilometers,” Gu Chengjin replied grimly. “And it’s too big. Rush hour’s starting. Walking might be faster.”
Just then, a calm voice cut through the chaos from the doorway:
“I’ll take her. My car’s right outside.”
Heads snapped up in surprise. Only Chen Yuzhe didn’t turn. “Fine. Get her to the hospital. Fast.”
Han Cheng at the door nodded.
“Watch her breathing. Keep her flat for clear airways. Mouth-to-mouth if needed.”
Chen Yuzhe’s tone was steady. Han Cheng listened just as calmly. Both shed their usual grins, their serious focus making Xinyu feel like she barely knew them.
“I’m coming too!” Yang Wenjin called out. “A girl should go—it’ll be easier.”
Chen Yuzhe gave a curt nod. Han Cheng took Jiang Xiaoyao, lifting her in a princess carry, and sprinted out.
Chen Yuzhe’s gaze followed them until they vanished. He stood frozen, lost in thought.
The party house’s mood turned icy. Whispers replaced chatter. No one spoke above a murmur.
Xinyu watched Chen Yuzhe helplessly.
Huang Yanchen finally snapped out of his daze. Awkward, he cleared his throat loudly.
“What’s this? Fainting mid-sentence? Got caught on a sore spot and faking it to escape?”
Xinyu saw Chen Yuzhe’s fists clench tight.
“Yeah, definitely faking,” Huang Yanchen muttered, convincing himself. “Why faint now? Right when someone spills all her dirty secrets? Who’d believe that’s a coincidence?”
As Huang Yanchen rambled on, Xinyu noticed Chen Yuzhe slowly turning his head.
“A bitch is a bitch—always causing trouble. Let her play dead. Why bother…”
“Senior Huang.” A cold voice sliced through the air.
Huang Yanchen blinked. “Chen? What is it?”
“I’m saying…”
“Let this drop.”
Chen Yuzhe smiled gently.
