Compatibility - Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Song Nanyin's head was spinning. The dizziness from the violent impact churned in her stomach, making her want to retch. She shifted her body, and in the pitch-black darkness, her hands found the person on top of her.

"Nanyin, are you alright?" Liu Zhaoran's voice came from above her, trembling, shaking badly.

"I... I'm fine. Are you hurt?"

Song Nanyin remembered that Liu Zhaoran had shielded her with her own body only moments ago. Thinking of the falling streetlamp, her heart seized with panic. She tried to get up, but Liu Zhaoran gently pressed her back into the seat.

"I'm fine, just some scrapes. Zhang Kai hasn't left..." Liu Zhaoran glanced at the car still parked nearby. In the violent collision just now, she too had lost consciousness. She didn't know how much time had passed, but since the police hadn't arrived, she assumed they hadn't been unconscious for long.

Blood dripped into her eyes, and the thick stench of it choked Liu Zhaoran, leaving her unable to speak. Her back ached terribly, though she had no idea what had wounded her.

Not far away, Zhang Kai's car started moving slowly, its front end ramming into Song Nanyin's vehicle and caving a large dent into the back seat. And now he was reversing again, with no sign that he intended to stop.

"Team Leader Song, can you move?" Liu Zhaoran could tell Zhang Kai wasn't going to let this go, that he was even preparing to ram them again. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, her lower lip trembled, and all the color drained from her face.

Their car was parked at the side of the road, and before the banquet ended, no one was likely to pass by here. Even if they climbed out of the car, they'd probably be attacked by Zhang Kai.

"I... I think I can manage. Are you hurt? There's so much blood." Song Nanyin forced her eyes open and looked at Liu Zhaoran above her. She felt wet all over, with liquid still dripping down steadily. She was certain she wasn't injured, which meant the only possibility was that Liu Zhaoran was.

"It's nothing." Liu Zhaoran raised a hand to wipe the corner of her eye, but the moment it lifted, a searing pain in her lower ribs made her gasp. She swallowed back the taste of blood rising in her throat, forcing the urge to vomit to subside.

"Nanyin, Zhang Kai might kill us. He..." Before Liu Zhaoran could finish, the engine of a car roared to life, deafening in that moment. Blinding headlights swept over them, stinging their eyes. Then a violent impact slammed into them.

Zhang Kai drove at them again. With time to build up speed, this crash came faster and struck harder, driving Song Nanyin's car into the guardrail and smashing a gap through the barrier.

"Bitch! This... this is what you get for screwing with me, you goddamn bitch!" Zhang Kai's eyes were bloodshot, like a mad dog that had lost all reason. He reversed once more, floored the accelerator, and slammed into them again.

The guardrail shattered completely, and the sheer force of the impact sent Song Nanyin and Liu Zhaoran's car careening off the mountain road. The sensation of weightlessness made Song Nanyin cry out. She clung tightly to Liu Zhaoran on top of her, and felt Liu Zhaoran holding her just as tightly in return.

At that moment, Song Nanyin even felt a trace of relief. She could tell Zhang Kai's target was Liu Zhaoran. If she hadn't given her a ride just now, if Liu Zhaoran had left alone, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

But now, she was still at Liu Zhaoran's side. Maybe that wasn't so bad after all...

Bouncing and jolting violently, the two of them landed at the bottom of the slope. Fortunately, it wasn't very high here, and the car seats had cushioned the impact. Song Nanyin coughed a few times and looked at Liu Zhaoran on top of her.

"Hey, Black-Hearted Lotus... we... should we crawl out of here? The car might explode." Song Nanyin smelled the gasoline seeping from the wreck. After impacts this violent and a fall like that, the engine was already pouring out black smoke.

But after she asked, Liu Zhaoran gave no answer for a long time. Song Nanyin's heart lurched. She hurriedly reached up to support Liu Zhaoran, and the moment her hand rose, it met something slick and wet.

She froze for a moment, then looked at where she had touched. Liu Zhaoran's gold evening gown was stained red with blood. Beneath her left ribs, a piece of the car's metal was embedded in her flesh, a gaping wound that nearly cut through her slender body, leaving a deep crimson gash.

"Liu Zhaoran... Black-Hearted Lotus, wake up!" Song Nanyin's eyes flew wide. No wonder she'd kept smelling such a thick stench of blood. No wonder Liu Zhaoran had been gasping for breath the whole time.

Her voice thick with tears, Song Nanyin carefully ran her hands over Liu Zhaoran's body, checking whether she was hurt anywhere else.

"Nanyin, I'm sorry." Liu Zhaoran spoke in a small voice. She didn't know if Song Nanyin could even hear the words she produced with the strength she had left. But she couldn't manage anything louder.

Even Liu Zhaoran herself found it unbelievable. She had never imagined that her selfish self would one day put herself in danger to protect someone else. She still had so much to do, after all. She still hadn't returned to the world she belonged to, hadn't seen her two mothers again.

But with a future that uncertain, there was no need to gamble with Song Nanyin. Protecting Song Nanyin was her instinct. She didn't even need to calculate to know how right her choice was.

Zhang Kai's target was her. Song Nanyin was only someone dragged in because of her. She deserved to be protected. At least at a time like this, nothing mattered more than Song Nanyin.

Rather than betting on an uncertain future, it was better to stake everything on protecting the person she loved. Even at this moment, Liu Zhaoran felt she hadn't made a losing bargain. She was glad.

"Nanyin, the police should be here soon. Try using your phone to contact anyone else who can get here quickly." Even now, Liu Zhaoran remained calm and clear-headed. She gestured at the bag beneath the two of them. Song Nanyin's small handbag should be there.

Reminded by her, Song Nanyin recovered some of her composure. She reached down and dragged the bag over. The phone was still intact, but the signal at the bottom of the slope was terrible. Song Nanyin tried several times to call the police, but each time she dialed, the screen went black and the call wouldn't connect.

"No good, there's no signal. We need to get out of the car as quickly as possible." Song Nanyin gave up dialing. She opened the handbag, looking for anything that could help, but apart from cosmetics, the only thing inside was that unidentified device she'd picked up at the ancestral residence.

"Black-Hearted Lotus, can you move?" The smell of gasoline was growing stronger. Song Nanyin looked at the engine, already billowing black smoke, and inwardly cried out in alarm.

"Team Leader Song, I think my legs are stuck." Liu Zhaoran moved her legs as she spoke, and even that slight motion sent a violent stab of pain through her knees. It was as if something had pierced the kneecaps, hurting so much she couldn't put any strength into them.

"Stuck tight? Don't move, let me look." Song Nanyin shone the faint light of her phone down at Liu Zhaoran's legs. Only then did she realize that not a single patch of Liu Zhaoran's body retained its original color. Her whole body was dyed red with the blood she had shed.

There was a gash on her forehead so deep the bone beneath was nearly visible. And what she'd called being "stuck" wasn't simply a leg caught in the car. The dented bodywork had trapped both her legs inside, her knees squeezed until they had deformed.

Liu Zhaoran's injuries made Song Nanyin inhale sharply, goosebumps prickling over her skin. Her hands trembled, and a physical stomachache and wave of nausea rose in her, which she forcibly suppressed.

"Don't move. I'll smash the window and get you out." Song Nanyin struggled to calm herself. She picked up her phone and slammed it against the window, shattering the glass that had already been cracked by the collision. Ignoring the wounds on her hands, she immediately cleared away the broken shards and crawled out of the car.

Briefly freed from the wreck, Song Nanyin didn't stop to rest. She went straight around to the back and wrenched open the trunk, battered as it was.

Fortunately, the tools in the trunk were still there. Song Nanyin hurriedly grabbed a hammer, planning to tear off the door on Liu Zhaoran's side. That way, maybe there would be a way to get Liu Zhaoran out.

Song Nanyin returned with the hammer, smashed the window on Liu Zhaoran's side, and tore off the twisted, deformed door. Liu Zhaoran's consciousness was fading. Through the haze, she vaguely heard Song Nanyin calling her name, and the sounds of her desperate efforts to save her.

"Nanyin..." Liu Zhaoran called out softly. She was too weak, and her voice didn't reach Song Nanyin. She wanted to say something more, but she no longer had the strength to form the words.

"Black-Hearted Lotus, don't worry. I'll... I'll get you out. Don't be afraid." Song Nanyin's eyes were red. She knew that crying was the most useless thing she could do right now, that it would only drain her strength.

But as she looked at Liu Zhaoran's legs, pinned fast in the wreck, the clearer her view became, the more she understood that saving Liu Zhaoran was nearly impossible. There were no tools here. She couldn't pry the car apart with her bare hands, and she certainly couldn't cut off Liu Zhaoran's legs.

The truth was far crueler than she could have imagined, and Song Nanyin had to admit it.

She couldn't save Liu Zhaoran.

Nanyin, go... don't worry about me...

Liu Zhaoran knew Song Nanyin was still trying to save her. She tried to tell Song Nanyin to leave, believing she was speaking to her, but in truth it was only the last shred of consciousness in her mind making a sound.

Song Nanyin watched those dark eyes of Liu Zhaoran's gradually lose focus as she forced them open to look at her. That fixed gaze lasted only a few seconds before she used up the last of her strength and slowly closed her eyes, lying there in the car now like a sleeping person.

The stench of blood around her nostrils made Song Nanyin want to throw up. She looked at Liu Zhaoran, who had fallen into complete unconsciousness, and at the engine that had already caught fire. Suddenly, she cracked a smile.

Song Nanyin had never imagined that her peaceful life would end with such an unpeaceful finale. She couldn't save Liu Zhaoran, and she was unwilling to leave Liu Zhaoran behind alone.

A bad ending, a good ending, none of it mattered anymore.

Song Nanyin threw away the hammer in her hand, knelt on the ground, and gathered the unconscious Liu Zhaoran into her arms.

The burning smoke grew thicker and thicker. Choked into coughing, Song Nanyin watched the flames spread. Through the haze, she vaguely saw a white light flickering before her eyes.

This must be the precursor to death, right? she thought.

"Officer Chen, have you found them?"

"They must have fallen down the mountain. The rescue team just heard an explosion. I'm afraid..."

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