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But then a terrifying thought crossed her mind: what if he was prepared to die along with her?
Just as she thought this, the cold voice behind her sounded again, “Walk!”
Zhuang Zi knew that if she went with him, it would mean certain death. When she didn’t move, he applied more pressure, and a sharp pain sliced through her neck. She gritted her teeth in agony, her face contorted in pain.
This wasn’t the bustling main street; at this hour, there weren’t many pedestrians. Even if someone saw them, he was holding her so closely and intimately that they would think they were a couple.
She glanced at their shadows on the ground. The person behind her was half a head taller, neither too thin nor too fat, with a thick scarf covering his face. Judging by his build and voice, he was probably a man in his thirties.
He forced her toward a secluded alley beside the street. She didn’t dare to make a move, even breathing carefully, fearing that a single misstep would result in the blade slicing her throat.
He pressed her to the mouth of the alley, where a cold wind suddenly blew through. The person behind her coughed heavily, loosening his grip on her arm to adjust his scarf.
In that split second, a voice in her head screamed that if she didn’t escape now, she would never have another chance.
Her body tensed, and she held her breath, bracing herself. With all her strength, she stomped on his foot. The man bent slightly in pain, his grip on her neck loosening. Seizing the opportunity, Zhuang Zi bolted. The blade grazed her neck, and she felt warm, sticky liquid oozing out, but no pain.
She ran like an arrow shot from a bow toward the end of the alley, her desperate cry for help echoing in the abyss behind her: “Help!”
But it was a back street; no one could hear her, and no one would respond to her pleas.
She dashed through the dark alley like the wind, their frantic footsteps reverberating in the empty space, indistinguishable from each other.
She raced toward the alley’s exit, a dozen meters away, the wind whistling past her ears. She screamed again, “Help!”
The sound was trapped in the alley as if blocked by an invisible steel dome. No one could hear her.
Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her throat, her breaths short and heavy, struggling for oxygen.
Luckily, she was wearing flat shoes today. Her legs moved frantically, knowing that a single misstep could cause her to fall.
Her mind went blank, forgetting fear and pain. All she knew was to run with all her might, racing against time and speed to grasp the last thread of hope.
The alley seemed to stretch endlessly, like an abyss pulling at her feet. It felt like she had been running for an eternity before she finally reached the alley’s end.
She saw the busy main road outside, but the footsteps behind her hadn’t stopped. She didn’t dare look back, desperately rushing across the road, nearly colliding with a speeding motorcyclist. The driver barely stopped in time and cursed, “Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
Zhuang Zi ignored the scolding, sprinting towards the police station across the street.
She left behind stationery stores, small shops, and salons.
Running along the street, she had no idea how long she had been running. Passing a fruit shop, a bucket of water was thrown out, drenching her and causing her to slip and fall.
The desperate chase for her life had finally come to an end.
The shop owner rushed out to help her up. She quickly looked back, finally not seeing that person anymore, and her body suddenly collapsed like a deflated balloon, sitting exhausted on the ground.
She gasped for air, unable to hear the shop owner’s words. Fear and terror slowly dawned on her, and the sharp pain in her neck became more distinct.
Silent tears fell, sliding down her neck and mixing with the blood.
Her clothes were soaked through, making her feel wet and cold, her body shivering.
The wind picked up, signaling an impending night rain. The breeze on her sweat-drenched face took away the last bit of warmth from her body.
The shop owner went to call the police for her. She sat miserably on a bench at the fruit shop entrance, pressing hard on the wound on her neck. She didn’t know how long it took for her breathing to slowly stabilize.
Passersby kept glancing at her.
At that moment, she felt like a wandering, destitute ghost with nowhere to go.
She thought that if she had died in that alley today, no one would have even cared enough to collect her body.
Her life had been a failure. She felt like an orphan abandoned by the world, her life or death irrelevant to anyone.
Her eyes stung with tears again, and she tightly closed them to blink away the moisture.
When she opened them again, she saw a shadow looming over her, covering her entire curled-up body.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked up in surprise, meeting a pair of dark, cold eyes.
A man stood in front of her, sweat on his forehead and his breathing unsteady, showing that he had been running too.
He stood while she sat.
They looked at each other in silence.
A few seconds later, she tried to stand up from the bench, but her whole body was stiff and numb, causing her to fall back down heavily.
The next second, a hand appeared in front of her.
A dark sleeve, long and clean fingers, firm and strong.
Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she stared at the hand for two seconds before slowly raising her arm and grasping it.
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