One after another, people escaped from the hotel. The fire was fierce, and many who came out late had their hands or feet burned by the flames.

Su Zhiyuan handed his younger brother to the bodyguard who had also escaped, then made a call to dispatch more people over.

Su Ci’s whole body was stiff and cold. She couldn’t hear her brother speaking beside her, couldn’t hear little Su Ning crying for their mother, and couldn’t hear the wailing of the injured around them.

She remembered the day she died. Even when she watched the people around her treat her with utter indifference, her body had never been this cold.

Su Ci’s eyes were fixed tightly on the fire bursting out of the windows, on the hotel where the flames spread larger and larger.

Lu Zhe was inside as well. He had gone in to look for her.

Su Ci suddenly recalled that last night, over the phone, Lu Zhe had asked her where the banquet was being held. She had casually told him, not thinking too much about it.

So he had already been in City B yesterday.

Boss Fang stared at the fierce blaze, his eyes reddening, his forehead beaded with sweat forced out by the searing heat around them. His voice choked, “I should’ve stopped Xiao Zhe from going in.”

They had clearly come to City B in high spirits, planning to find a place to open a company. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, Lu Zhe would be trapped in a sea of fire, his fate unknown.

He glanced at Su Ci. The young girl stood there blankly, her usually pale face looking even more bloodless under the flickering firelight.

No one knew where He Ermeng had found a clean towel. He poured purified water over it. “Cici, your face and hands are dirty. Let me wipe them for you.”

Compared to the others’ disheveled state, He Ermeng still looked relatively clean and tidy, making him stand out even more in the crowd.

As he spoke, he reached out with the towel, wanting to wipe the ash from Su Ci’s face.

Su Ci turned her head away, dodging his hand. “I don’t need you.”

“Cici, the firefighters are almost here. Uncle Su and Auntie Su will be fine.” He Ermeng knew the girl was hurting inside. He spoke in a low, steady voice to comfort her, his handsome face free of its usual joking expression.

Su Ci ignored him.

Her rationality slowly pieced itself back together. She called out to Fugui, “Lu Zhe’s lifespan value still has more than three years left. Does that mean he won’t die now?”

Normally, she would never ask Fugui something so elementary, but right now she desperately needed a definite answer.

Fugui: [Master, Lu Zhe has over three years of lifespan value left. That means he will only die three years later.]

Hearing this, the numbness that had spread through Su Ci’s body gradually faded. She didn’t dare ask Fugui whether Su Father and Su Mother had already died inside.

Every time she saved someone before, she had succeeded. It made Su Ci believe that this time would be no different — that she could successfully save Su Father and Su Mother.

But she had overestimated herself.

Su Ci’s lips were pressed into a thin, bloodless line.

She regretted it. She regretted having hesitated earlier. She felt she should have forced Su Father and Su Mother to leave with her.

Chaos erupted all around.

Firefighters and ambulances arrived in succession.

He Ermeng wanted to guide Su Ci to step farther back, afraid that someone might bump into her.

But the girl was incredibly stubborn. She refused to let him touch her at all. He could only stand nearby to guard her. He called the He family to report he was safe, and the old man urged him to return.

He Ermeng glanced at Su Ci beside him. He couldn’t bring himself to leave. Father Su and Mother Su were still inside the hotel. If the two truly died in the fire, the Su family would surely face great upheaval in the days to come.

He cared only about Su Ci.

“Cici, will you go back first?” Su Zhiyuan’s refined face did not look good at all. His brows were deeply shadowed. With their parents’ life and death still unknown, the most important thing right now was to settle his younger sister and brother.

Su Ci shook her head. Her face was pale, even her lips were dry. “Ge, I’m not leaving.”

She had to wait for Lu Zhe and Father Su and Mother Su to come out.

Inside the hotel, flames were everywhere. The scorching heat and thick smoke made it almost impossible to breathe.

Mother Su coughed repeatedly as she strained to lift the heavy object pressing down on her husband’s back.

Her husband was unconscious, and the fire was about to reach them. Mother Su fell into despair.

At that moment, a figure passed by.

The young man glanced at the surrounding flames. He saw the woman not far away and the man on the ground who were about to be swallowed by the fire.

His eyes darkened. Lu Zhe yanked a long tablecloth off a dining table. He grabbed a few bottles of mineral water nearby and poured them over it, then draped the soaked cloth over himself and charged forward.

“Please, please save my husband.” Mother Su, seeing the young man rushing through the fire, was shocked, but hope ignited in her eyes.

Lu Zhe threw the wet tablecloth to Mother Su, then stepped forward to lift the heavy object crushing Father Su.

The veins on Lu Zhe’s arms bulged. He gritted his teeth hard and heaved forcefully. The heavy object pressing on the man was overturned.

“Help support him. I’ll carry him.” Lu Zhe said in a low voice.

Mother Su quickly stood up and helped the young man lift her husband onto his back.

The fire was close to reaching them.

As Lu Zhe carried Father Su, he suddenly staggered. He almost fell forward into the flames along with Father Su.

Mother Su jumped in fright.

Lu Zhe steadied himself, gritting his teeth through the sudden muscle spasm.

“Put the cloth on. We’re rushing out.” Lu Zhe said to Mother Su beside him.

Mother Su quickly picked up the soaked tablecloth, draped it over herself, and let the other half cover her husband.

She followed the young man out of the ring of fire, only to find that the area ahead had also become a sea of flames.

Mother Su looked at the young man in panic. “You run. Don’t worry about us. If even one person escapes, that’s good enough.” Her husband was still unconscious. She could see how much the young man was struggling while carrying him — he was completely being dragged down by them.

Sweat covered Lu Zhe’s forehead. His jaw muscles tightened as he looked at the blazing fire ahead. He turned sideways and kicked forcefully at a door along the corridor.

The door didn’t budge.

Lu Zhe set Father Su down, then kicked again with full force.

After more than a dozen heavy kicks, with a “click,” the lock loosened.

One last kick, and the door swung open.

The fire hadn’t spread into the room yet. Lu Zhe rushed inside.

He scanned the room. There were no windows at all; all the glass was sealed. He entered the bathroom, turned the faucet on full, and grabbed several towels nearby, soaking them all.

“Cover your nose.” Lu Zhe handed a towel to Mother Su. “We’ll go from that side. The fire is weaker over there.”

Mother Su gratefully accepted the towel. Without this young man in front of her, she and her husband would have already died in the flames.

Lu Zhe wrapped another towel in front of Father Su’s face.

Then he lifted him onto his back again.

Su Ci’s legs were numb from standing. She stared fixedly at the hotel entrance, praying that the firefighters would bring Lu Zhe and Father Su and Mother Su out safely.

“Cici, have some water.” He Ermeng saw how dry her lips were and twisted open a bottle of mineral water.

Su Ci didn’t take it.

Little Su Ning had already been sent home by the bodyguard. Her older brother was arranging manpower to assist the firefighters, trying to buy more time for rescue.

Boss Fang stood not far away as well, anxiously waiting for Lu Zhe to come out.

The girl’s pale face was smudged with ash, her lips dry, yet none of it diminished her beauty; instead, it added a pitiful, ethereal grace, like a fallen fairy brought low by disaster.

He Ermeng felt he could never get tired of looking at Su Ci’s beautiful, delicate face.

Just as he was about to ask if Su Ci was hungry, he saw the girl’s eyes suddenly brighten, her lips lifting into a wide smile.

The next second, Su Ci lifted her gown and ran forward.

He looked over—and saw a tall young man walking out, Father Su on his back, with Mother Su following behind in her disheveled state.

Father Su and Mother Su had come out. They weren’t dead.

Su Ci and Su Zhiyuan both hurried toward their parents.

Lu Zhe let the medical staff support Father Su down from his back and take him to the hospital.

Seeing his parents, Su Zhiyuan’s tightly knit brows finally eased. “Mom, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Thanks to this young man who saved me and your father.” Mother Su looked at Lu Zhe with deep gratitude. She had thought she and her husband would burn to death.

“It’s you?” Su Zhiyuan looked slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected that the boy who had taken care of his younger sister was now also the one who saved his parents. This young man truly seemed fated with the Su family.

“Zhiyuan, you know him?”

“He’s the Lu Zhe I told you about, the one who took care of little Ci before.” Su Zhiyuan glanced briefly at his sister, then lowered his gaze. “Mom, go with Dad to the hospital first. Little Ning has been sent home. I’ll bring Ci over later to visit you both.”

Mother Su had inhaled a lot of smoke, making her feel unwell. She also worried about Father Su’s condition. In the end, she followed the medical staff onto the ambulance.

Su Zhiyuan made calls to arrange people to wait at the hospital so someone could take care of Father Su and Mother Su at once. The Su family had been holding a banquet here today, yet an accident had suddenly occurred. He also needed to investigate whether the fire was intentional or an accident.

“Lu Zhe.” Su Ci looked at the disheveled young man in front of her, her eyes shining. “Thank you for saving my parents.”

Seeing the girl safe, Lu Zhe let out a breath of relief. “I didn’t know they were your mother and father.” But he was grateful he had been able to save them.

“Anyway, thank you.” Su Ci leaned closer. “Uncle Fang said you went into the hotel to look for me. Why are you so stupid? You knew it was on fire and still went in.”

Lu Zhe’s gaze deepened.

Then he heard the girl say, “But I really like how you lose your sense of reason for me.”

Su Ci’s eyes were bright. “You must see me as very important—more important than yourself—to risk your life going in to save me.”

She asked with concern, “You didn’t get hurt, right?”

Lu Zhe: “No.”

His gaze landed on the girl’s face. Seeing a smudge of ash on the left side, he raised his hand, reaching toward her cheek.

“Pa!” A crisp sound rang out.

“Who let you touch her?” It was He Ermeng, who had forcefully slapped Lu Zhe’s hand away. His sharp brows were filled with hostility, his eyes cold and aggressive as he stared Lu Zhe down.

“He Ermeng, are you crazy?” Su Ci glared hard at him. She grabbed Lu Zhe’s hand—the one that had just been slapped—and placed it against her own face. “He can touch me however he wants.”

“Su Ci!” He Ermeng stared in disbelief. Su Ci actually let this boy touch her face.

Su Ci couldn’t be bothered with him. She looked at Lu Zhe. “My face is dirty. Help me wipe it.”

The girl’s tone was almost coquettish, and hearing it made He Ermeng’s chest feel like it had been stabbed with a knife—sharp and sour.

He had tried to help her wipe her face earlier, yet she had rejected him instantly. And now she took the initiative to ask this boy who came out of nowhere to do it!

He Ermeng’s eyes reddened. The sharpness in them faded, leaving only a wet, wounded look as he gazed at her. “Cici, I can help you wipe it too.”

“No need. I only want him!” Su Ci rejected him clearly and directly.

Lu Zhe looked at his own ash-stained hand and withdrew it.

Su Ci’s eyes dimmed, about to say something.

Lu Zhe rubbed his hand a few times against his clothes, wiping the palm, then flipping his hand over to rub the back clean as well. Once done, he reached out again. His cold fingertips touched Su Ci’s cheek.

His slightly rough fingertips gently brushed away the ash on her face.