Lin Jianshen’s car was parked on the roadside outside the cemetery. When the two returned to the car, the warm air hit them, immediately cutting off the chill outside.

Yu Mian was sitting in the passenger seat, feeling a little restless. She looked at the man’s profile and couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going to ask me anything?”

The man in the driver’s seat leaned over. His forehead was smooth and he looked at her with a calm and gentle eyes. He slowly approached Yu Mian, pulled out the seat belt next to her and fastened it for her.

“Tell me when you’re ready.” After saying so, he reached out and rubbed the end of her eyes with his thumb, gently wiping away the remaining tears in them.

In fact, they rarely have such intimate contact. After all, they rarely see each other and the only time they would meet was at the Yu family’s house. Lin Jianshen was extremely gentlemanly, so when he stroked her face with his soft fingertips, Yu Mian’s face immediately turned red.

Yu Mian almost couldn’t hold it back and wanted to tell him everything, but luckily, reason stopped her at the last moment.

She still didn’t dare to gamble because she wasn’t sure whether Lin Jianshen like her for who she was as a person or if he like her as ‘Yu Mian’.

Women in love were particularly inclined to random thoughts, not to mention the unequal status between them, which made Yu Mian more fearful and uneasy than ordinary people.

She knew very well that her original self was neither very beautiful nor outstanding, and her family background was ordinary. Without this miraculous encounter, they would never even have the chance to meet.

If she was still her original self, would Lin Jianshen like her?

Yu Mian didn’t dare to think about this question, let alone ask it. This situation was unrealistic in the first place, delving deeper into it seemed like she was splitting hairs.

The car drove in the direction of the Yu family’s house. There were few buildings in the suburbs and the weather was bad that day, so there weren’t many cars on the road.

The trees on the side of the street had lost all their leaves and countless branches stretched out towards the sky. Yu Mian didn’t speak for fear of disturbing Lin Jianshen while driving so she leaned her head against the window and looked at the scenery outside.

Ahead was a straight road, its asphalt surface flat and wide. From time to time, vehicles flew by. The gray clouds in the sky hung low as the car’s heater hummed softly. Yu Mian gradually felt sleepy and her eyelids started to fight from closing.

At this moment, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a large truck speeding out of a hidden fork in the road on their left.

It came too fast, with no intention of slowing down, as if it didn’t see their car at all.

Time seemed to slow down, and everything in front of her was like on slow-motion. This scene was so similar to the car accident that Yu Mian had experienced before; the same way out of the cemetery and the same blue truck that was also coming from the fork in the road.

Yu Mian’s eyes widened uncontrollably as intense fear swept over her, making her unable to make any sound.

If that vehicle hit this car directly, she would die, she had no doubt.

Was this destiny? She was destined to die on this road, and the stolen happiness destined not to belong to her.

After the extreme panic, there was great despair. Yet right at this critical moment, Yu Mian remained unusually calm.

Next to her sat Lin Jianshen.

The truck came too fast and sudden and he obviously noticed something strange. It was too late to step on the brakes now so he quickly turned the steering wheel and swerved to the right, trying to make the rear of the car face that side.

Cold sweat appeared on his forehead but he turned to her to say, “Don’t be afraid.”

Yu Mian tried her best to smile at him, then without hesitation, she unbuckled her seat belt before the steel beast rushed over and threw herself to shield his body.

If she was destined to die, she wanted to be able to protect him.

But what she couldn’t believe was that Lin Jianshen’s reaction was so fast. The moment she rushed towards him, he instantly understood her plan. He wrapped her tightly in his embrace, and then he turned sideways forcefully, pressing her firmly onto the seat.

A huge impact followed, and with a loud crash, the car was knocked to the right and skidded for some distance before coming to a stop.

There was buzzing in Yu Mian’s head and a sharp pain in her arms and calves. The windows shattered in an instant and the door was twisted and crooked. Those tiny glass shards exploded, piercing into the flesh and causing unbearable pain.

She raised her face to look at the man lying on top of her. His face was as white as snow and his eyes were as black as thick ink. He struggled to squeeze out a few words, “Call the emergency number, don’t be afraid, we will be fine.”

After saying those words, he closed his eyes and let himself fall heavy and silent on top of her. The hands that held her tightly loosened.

Yu Mian’s eyes widened and tears welled out.

Her hands were shaking and her expression was blank. She reached for her phone purely by instinct. Hers was in her pocket and she couldn’t get it as he was holding her down, however she felt the phone he had put in his coat.

She took out the phone that belonged to him and tried to open it. Tears blurred her vision so she raised her hand to wipe her eyes and only then did she realize that they were shaking.

The phone was locked so she went to take Lin Jianshen’s hand in a daze, but she ended up feeling wetness on the side of his waist, and her tears burst down in large, uncontrollable drops. Yu Mian forced herself to calm down and finally remembered that she could make an emergency call without unlocking the phone.

She pressed the dial button and the beeping sounded neither urgent nor slow. She was so anxious that it felt as if time had passed for a long time.

When the call was finally picked up, she opened her mouth, only to burst into sobs.

“Hello, Miss, what help do you need?”

“I—, help him. Come quickly…… please help…… come and save him……”

“Miss, can you please explain more clearly. Don’t rush, can you tell us what happened?”

Yu Mian took a deep breath. “There’s a car accident here. Come quickly, hurry, please, he’s going to die!!!”

With those last words, she couldn’t contain herself any longer and cried loudly.

“Okay, Miss, in order to pinpoint your location, please don’t hang up the phone. We will immediately connect to the nearby emergency responders……”

The voice on the phone gradually faded away and there was vague conversation on the other side, however, Yu Mian couldn’t hear anything. The tide of sadness engulfed her whole person and she felt as if her world was collapsing as her eyes became filled with darkness, unable to see the light.

She didn’t dare to hold him for fear of touching his injuries and worsening his condition. She only dared to carefully grasp his hand resting on the side of the seat, as if touching a fragile doll.

Suddenly, a cold finger gently touched the back of her hand.

Her crying stopped. Yu Mian quickly looked down and saw Lin Jianshen’s hand on her palm moving slightly.

She blinked away the moisture in her eyes and turned to look at his face nestled on her shoulder. His face was still so white, his lips had no trace of blood, and his eyes were tightly closed as his eyelashes trembled slightly.

“A-are you okay?”

A hopeful light appeared in Yu Mian’s eyes and she kept her gaze fixed on him, not wanting to miss any subtle irregularities.

However, there was no change. He didn’t open his eyes or speak to her, slumbering peacefully like a broken doll.

But his hand, the one that lay pliant in her palm, touched her fingers again, softly and slowly.

Yu Mian smiled through her tears and started sobbing again.

He’s still awake, he’s not dead. He’s still alive, and he’s going to live.

Yu Mian held his hand like a treasure. His slender hand, which was originally as perfect as a work of art, was now covered with tiny cuts from the glass. Blood stained her palm, but she didn’t care at all.

The wait for rescue was extraordinarily long. She heard that as long as one remained conscious, they had a great chance of being rescued, so in order to prevent him from falling into a deep sleep, she spoke into his ear, telling him what she wanted to tell him but couldn’t say out loud, all the memories of the past.

She spoke quietly while the man listened silently.

“Lin Jianshen, you’re not allowed to die, do you hear me? You have to hold on. We’ll be rescued. We’ll be fine.”

——We’ll be fine.

“You’re the light of so many forest fans, the salvation of countless of us. You can’t fall, understand?! If you die, what will forest fans do? What will I do?” Tears kept streaming down her face, so much that it seemed as if she was going to drain her entire life’s worth of tears there.

——Don’t cry.

“You probably don’t know that I’m Red Cotton Tree. I’m guessing you don’t remember who that is, but just know that I’m your fan, your very first fan, the most loyal one who had sworn to watch over you for the rest of your life.”

——I know. I remember it all.

“There’s another big secret that you probably don’t know. In fact, I’m not the Yu Mian I am now. This Yu Mian died more than two months ago. I had a car accident at that time, and then I became this Yu Mian. The tombs I visited just now are my former family members and myself. Don’t you think its bizzare?”

——No wonder there’s such a big difference between the you before and the you now.

“The original me, also named Yu Mian, was a little girl whose parents had both died. You sponsored me when I was twelve years old and I wanted to repay you, so I became your fan. You’ve never imagined it, did you? You’re the first light of day in a little girl’s life, illuminating her path. If not for you, there would be no her, and there would be no me now.”

——……I see.

Her voice was trembling and she was out of breath from crying. She felt the big hand she was holding feebly scratching her palm twice.

He kept telling her that he was listening, so don’t be sad, don’t be upset.

“I love you, I love you, I love you more than anything else in this world. I can’t live without you. Your meaning to me is more than an idol, whether you love me or not, whether you remember me or not, no matter what you think of me, you’re the motivation for me to live, the pillar of my life, and the only connection I have in this world for so many years. That little girl who lost all her love ones when she was young once wanted to escape this lonely world so much. It was you who hold onto her. Are you letting go now?”

——I’m very glad that I hold onto you.

The sound of an ambulance coming could be heard in the distance. The body of the young woman underneath him gave a violently start. She stretched out her right hand and opened the door, ignoring the hand scratched by the protruding iron sheet. She shouted loudly at the outside, “Somebody! Help!”

Yu Mian’s left hand was still holding him and she was crying in his ear, which made his heart ache.

“We’re saved. Lin Jianshen, have I ever told you? I’ve never regretted loving you.”

He tried his best to resist the increasingly strong pull dragging him to sleep. He lightly tapped on her soft palms three times.

——I…… love you.