The Heir to the Seven Killers in the City

Chapter 37: Life and Death Together

It was late at night, and most households were already asleep. Lin Xinrui drove frantically down the road, heedless of everything around her, glancing back at the back seat from time to time with a look of anxiety in her eyes. By now, Qin Yu was unconscious, his body covered in blood, making it impossible to see his face clearly. Lin Xinrui bit her lip and slammed her foot down on the gas pedal. She was in no mood to feel sad now; her only thought was to get Qin Yu to a safe place as quickly as possible. Lin Xinrui was speeding down the road, but the road was getting narrower and bumpier by the minute. Given the situation, Qin Yu absolutely dared not take her back to downtown Jiangcheng—not to mention whether Lin Hao might take advantage of her vulnerability, but even if they were stopped by traffic police, how would he explain it? The place Lin Xinrui took Qin Yu to was her last little secret—a house even her older sister didn’t know about, and she was certain Lin Hao certainly didn’t know about it either. The place was, of course, very remote, so after a bumpy ride lasting several tens of minutes, Lin Xinrui finally stopped the car. It was a small house that looked a bit cramped and slightly run-down. Lin Xinrui quickly jumped out of the car, opened the back door without a second thought, hoisted Qin Yu onto her back in one swift motion, and sprinted toward the house. Feeling her way in the dark, Lin Xinrui expertly laid Qin Yu on the bed and flicked on the light. Contrary to its shabby exterior, the room was simple yet clean—or at least it had been. Now, as Lin Xinrui carried Qin Yu inside, a trail of blood dripped behind her, and two handprints were left on the wall where she’d braced herself. Not to mention the bedsheets, which were now completely soaked in blood. As a young woman, Lin Xinrui had a mild case of OCD—she usually insisted on everything being spotless—but even she didn’t have time to clean up anything. Anxiously, she reached out with her own blood-stained hand to touch Qin Yu’s head. Lin Xinrui was startled—his head was already as hot as a furnace, making it impossible to touch. She quickly stood up, rushed into the adjacent room to fetch some cold water, and applied a cold towel to his head. Lin Xinrui remembered that medication had no effect on Qin Yu’s body. She wasn’t stupid—especially since she’d been trained since childhood and was considered an expert herself. She knew the limits of human physical capabilities, and Qin Yu’s body clearly exceeded them. Although she was curious about the exact reason, she had no intention of asking as long as Qin Yu didn’t volunteer the information. Lin Xinrui tended to him like this, changing the towel at fixed intervals like a machine. Yet even so, Qin Yu’s body remained scorching hot. Lin Xinrui watched in frustration, but she had no good solution. “Hey, don’t you dare be okay!” “Didn’t you promise to help me get what I want? Wake up, please—I…” As Lin Xinrui spoke these words, tears began to stream down her face uncontrollably, and she ended up hugging Qin Yu and crying. Lin Xinrui had undergone extremely rigorous training from a very young age. She thought she’d forgotten how to cry back then—even when her older sister died, her eyes had merely grown slightly moist, and a tear had accidentally fallen as she blinked. She’d believed that was the limit of her emotional response. But now, Lin Xinrui was like a child who’d carelessly lost a piece of candy, wailing so loudly that her tears streamed down her face. Later, the room gradually fell silent, and Lin Xinrui drifted off to sleep. In her dream, she saw Qin Yu whispering sweet nothings to her and pulling her tightly into his arms—it was all so wonderful… Early in the morning, Lin Xinrui awoke from her slumber. Looking at Qin Yu, who was still unconscious, she gave herself a reproachful tap on the arm, then touched his forehead—thankfully, his fever had subsided. Lin Xinrui didn’t rest on her laurels. She gave the room a quick tidy, casually washed the bloodstains off her clothes, and set about making breakfast in the kitchen. She ate just a few bites herself, then placed most of the leftovers by the bedside, covering them with another bowl to keep them from cooling too quickly. Although Lin Xinrui didn’t know when Qin Yu would wake up, she certainly didn’t want him to wake up hungry… After taking care of all this, Lin Xinrui locked the door and returned to her car. She was headed somewhere—she wanted to do something for Qin Yu before he woke up. On her way back to downtown Jiangcheng, Lin Xinrui didn’t run into any trouble—for instance, she didn’t encounter any traffic police. If they’d seen the blood all over the back seat of her car, that would have been a problem. The first place Lin Xinrui went was Qin Yu’s home. This time, Zhang Xiaofei answered the door. Zhang Xiaofei greeted her casually, as if they were old friends, but Lin Xinrui wasn’t in the mood for that. Without a word, she dragged Zhang Xiaofei outside. Once they were out, she explained Qin Yu’s current condition and what had happened yesterday—though, of course, she left out Qin Yu’s heartfelt confession. “Is Yuzi outside the city right now?” Zhang Xiaofei, who had been joking around just a moment ago, asked with a serious expression. “Yes, he’s safe,” Lin Xinrui explained. Zhang Xiaofei sighed and then said, “Take me there.” Lin Xinrui was about to refuse, but when she saw the determination in Zhang Xiaofei’s eyes, she hesitated. She also recalled what Qin Yu had said—that the two of them were really close—so she finally agreed. “Meet me outside Jiangcheng in an hour. I have other matters to attend to right now,” Lin Xinrui said. “Okay.” “Miss, the boss really is busy right now. Why don’t you wait a moment?” Lin Hao’s assistant tried to dissuade Lin Xinrui, but she continued walking toward Lin Hao’s office. Lin Hao’s assistant continued to plead with her earnestly; when they reached the office door, he even stepped in front of Lin Xinrui to block her path. “Get out of my way!” Lin Xinrui wasn’t in the mood for polite conversation, so she shouted. The assistant was clearly startled. He’d always thought the second young miss had a pretty mild temperament, but now she was acting so irate. “Let her in. This young lady is quite anxious,” Lin Hao said calmly from inside the office, having clearly heard the commotion outside. Hearing this, the assistant quickly stepped aside, then bowed his head and mumbled, “Sorry.” Lin Xinrui, of course, didn’t even acknowledge her and simply strode into the room. Inside, Lin Hao was sipping tea alone. Upon seeing Lin Xinrui enter, he smiled and said, “Xinrui, you’re back. You handled yesterday’s matter quite well.” “You already know about it, but you won’t be able to find him,” Lin Xinrui said bluntly, without a trace of respect. “What kind of thing is that to say? Qin Yu was helping me—how could I possibly harm him?” “You might get away with saying that to someone else, but not to me,” Lin Xinrui retorted bluntly. Lin Hao burst out laughing. Seeing Lin Xinrui like this, he found it truly amusing. “Even if I wanted to kill him, how could you stop me? He’s my daughter!” “Is my life enough?” As Lin Xinrui spoke these words, she had—at some point—pressed a knife against her own throat. She had already made up her mind: they would live and die together!