Fang Yu felt an anxiety burning hotter than any fire, silently praying: *Please, let the evidence not be burned to ash, otherwise the truth about the fake gastrointestinal acid will sink into oblivion, and Xiao Hongyun’s Bohai Pharmaceutical Group will never be cleared.*
He ran frantically toward the warehouse. The distance, originally only a dozen meters, was covered in the blink of an eye.
Yet the fire, fueled by gasoline, spread with terrifying speed.
Just as Fang Yu rushed to the doorway, he raised his hand to pull open the door.
Boom!
The firecrackers inside detonated. The warehouse was packed to the brim with various chemical agents and pharmaceuticals, and who knows which substance had overheated and triggered a chain reaction, blowing the entire warehouse into the sky in an instant.
Fang Yu felt his forward momentum checked by an immense, invisible wall, followed by a wave of scorching heat washing over him. His body was like a kite with a broken string as he was thrown backward, tumbling through the air.
Wang Shishi, who had been running up behind him, was paralyzed with terror at the sight. She stood frozen in place, utterly failing to dodge the flying debris.
Though still faintly conscious in midair, Fang Yu spotted Wang Shishi. In a rush of desperation, he mustered his very last ounce of strength, pulled her into his arms, and threw his body over a pile of discarded, tattered medical bedding and clothes nearby.
The two of them crashed heavily onto the heap. Fang Yu lost consciousness completely, falling limp, yet his body instinctively maintained its protective posture over Wang Shishi.
Wang Shishi felt as though every bone in her body was shattered, but seeing that Fang Yu was still shielding her, an inexplicable surge of emotion welled up inside her. Pushing frantically against Fang Yu with all her might, she screamed:
"Fang Yu!"
"Someone, come quickly!"
"Wang Zhibo, hurry up and get Fang Yu into the emergency room!"
...
Wang Shishi could no longer care about her own injuries. Shouting anxiously for help, she and Wang Zhibo and the others rushed Fang Yu into the emergency room, and injured as she was, she forced her way inside to join the rescue effort.
Saving lives, in an agony of suspense.
Fighting the fire, amidst chaos and panic.
The entire Tianjiao Hospital was boiling over.
Up in his second-floor office, Qi Guobin heard the commotion, a wild joy surging in his heart.
Instead of rushing downstairs to help put out the fire, he immediately picked up his phone and called Liu Shimin.
"Is it done?" Liu Shimin asked from the other end, his breathing heavy as he answered the call.
"Done!" Qi Guobin beamed, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Haha...
"President Qi, you're a good man. I'm going to gift you a piece of undeveloped land belonging to Fang Yu's wife, so you can really nail it down."
Liu Shimin said, patting Xia He as she knelt and sprawled out before him.
Though she felt a mixture of humiliation and thrill, Xia He was immensely excited.
"President Liu is a man of his word. Happy cooperation."
Ecstatic, Qi Guobin showered him with praise and hung up the phone. He felt as though every fiber of his being was bursting into bloom; he even swiveled his hips a couple of times to test his stamina, bracing himself for the wonderful moments to come.
On the other end, Liu Shimin felt a surge of drive and passion far exceeding any miraculous elixir.
The shifting rhythm and sheer power drove Xia He to the brink of madness, plunging her into a total, ecstatic surrender.
As for hearing the name Fang Yu just moments ago, it left not a ripple in her mind, completely devoid of emotion—strangers on the street meant more than that. A heartless whore was truly nothing more.
Inside Tianjiao Hospital.
Qi Guobin put on a grim, deeply troubled expression and jogged all the way downstairs.
Reaching the ground floor, he saw the ferocious flames turning the warehouse into a sea of fire, the roof completely blown off, and finally felt utterly at ease.
He looked over at Wang Zhibo and the others, who were busy organizing the fire-fighting efforts. Qiao Ermin was putting in a tremendous performance.
He was currently hauling water with the very bucket that had held the gasoline, splashing it onto the fire while soaking himself from head to toe. Finally, feigning a clumsy slip, he let go of the bucket altogether and hurled it straight into the blaze, using the opportunity to destroy the evidence.
Qi Guobin was even more pleased—he certainly hadn't misjudged his man.
To put Qi Guobin completely at ease, Qiao Ermin purposely shouted at the top of his lungs, "Damn it! I'm exhausted!"
With a gloomy face, Qi Guobin glared at Wang Zhibo and the others. "Why did the warehouse catch fire in the first place?"
"I—I don't know!" Wang Shishi—no, Wang Zhibo—certainly didn't dare mention at a time like this that his own discarded cigarette butt had sparked the blaze.
"Once the fire is out, I'll settle accounts with you lot." While angrily rebuking them, Qi Guobin put on a great show of commanding the rescue operations.
Yet the fire was simply too fierce, and with the constant explosions, nobody dared step forward; it was all just for show.
Gazing at the roaring flames, Qi Guobin felt as though his very eyes were burning with excitement. This was precisely the outcome he had hoped for—to see the entire warehouse burned to the ground.
The fire trucks arrived quickly, but upon seeing the vast inferno, the firefighters could only look on helplessly.
In the end, they could do nothing but watch as it burned to ashes.
Xiao Hongyun had arrived as well. Seeing the sea of fire, she frantically scanned her surroundings, searching for Fang Yu. When she failed to spot him, a dull buzzing echoed in her head. *Could it be that...*
Tears welled in her eyes as she prepared to demand answers.
"Where is Fang Yu?" Qi Guobin feigned the sudden realization of Fang Yu's absence, shouting toward the people nearby.
Xiao Hongyun immediately clamped her mouth shut, waiting for news.
"He rushed in to put out the fire, but the warehouse door exploded and he was blown away by the blast. He's being treated in the emergency room right now," Wang Zhibo briefly explained.
Qi Guobin felt a stab of secret hatred. *Why wasn't he blown to pieces?* "Who authorized his rescue?"
"Dr. Wang Shishi," Wang Zhibo hurriedly replied.
Hearing Wang Shishi's name, Qi Guobin was momentarily struck dumb. He pretended not to hear, though he desperately wished Fang Yu were dead.
Hearing that Fang Yu had been blown away by the explosion and was being treated by Wang Shishi, Xiao Hongyun felt somewhat reassured, yet consumed by worry, she immediately rushed toward the emergency room.
Inside the emergency room, beads of sweat covered Wang Shishi's face, her eyes filled with frantic anxiety. For the first time, panic marred her beautiful features as she painstakingly tended to Fang Yu's injuries.
Fortunately, his life wasn't in danger. He had simply taken the brunt of the shockwave, and coupled with his desperate attempt to shield her at the very end, he had taken a heavy fall.
Even so, it would take him a good while to recover.
After working busily for over two hours, Wang Shishi finally finished treating Fang Yu's wounds and had him wheeled out of the emergency room.
She rested inside the emergency room for a short while before coming out.
The moment she reached the doorway, she laid eyes on Xiao Hongyun.
"How is Fang Yu?" Although Xiao Hongyun saw Fang Yu being wheeled out, she still waited for Wang Shishi's verdict.
"He's fine! He'll probably need to rest for a few days," Wang Shishi said weakly.
"What on earth happened?" Xiao Hongyun rushed forward to steady Wang Shishi.
"We'll talk in my office," Wang Shishi murmured, looking somewhat drained.
Xiao Hongyun called her bodyguard to arrange security for Fang Yu, then supported Wang Shishi as they walked to her office.
Entering the room, Wang Shishi slumped straight down onto the sofa, practically collapsing flat.
Xiao Hongyun handed her a bottle of water.
Tipping her head back, Wang Shishi chugged the water down, her face etched with utter exhaustion as she said, "Qiao Ermin deliberately poured gasoline inside the warehouse, and then the former head of security, Wang Zhibo, started the fire with a cigarette butt. Fang Yu ran in to help, and when it blew up inside, the shockwave blasted him away."
"You saw this?" Xiao Hongyun gritted her teeth in fury.
"Qiao Ermin pouring the gasoline—I caught the whole thing on video. The only part missing is the explosion at the end," Wang Shishi said, equally outraged.
"I just don't get it. You're a director here, yet you spend every day playing dress-up as a doctor and letting Qi Guobin run the hospital into the ground. Are you out of your mind?" Xiao Hongyun suddenly snapped, reproaching her angrily.
"It's not like you don't know why I came here in the first place!" Wang Shishi retorted, equally incensed as she fired back at Xiao Hongyun.
The two women suddenly locked horns, their faces flushed bright red...