What Are Your Tastes? chapter 74
Crisis
“As long as you disappear from this world, you won’t have to worry about me bothering you again.”
Hearing this, An Yuan’s heart grew cold, but she regained her basic judgment. It turned out that Zheng Xun wanted her dead. He must have had this plan since their last encounter at the hospital.
If Ning Ruowei noticed something wrong, she would definitely call the police. If she could stall Zheng Xun, there might be a slim chance of escape.
“You weren’t like this before,” An Yuan kept her head raised even after Zheng Xun released her, “What happened to you? How could you dare…”
“Before? I was too foolish back then,” he said, “Do you know? My friend just dealt with his wife who wanted a divorce the other day, and I helped him dispose of the body. What wouldn’t I dare to do, huh?”
“You—” An Yuan was terrified, “Are you really willing to throw away the rest of your life because of me?”
“My life is already ruined!” he sneered, “If Zhou Yanchuan hadn’t refused reconciliation, I wouldn’t have a criminal record. Now I have nothing left… Living is meaningless; taking a few down with me would be worth it.”
An Yuan understood the implication and shouted angrily, “Zheng Xun! Let Mr. Lu go!”
“Why would I let him go? I can’t bear to let you go to the underworld alone,” he said sinisterly, “It’s a pity though, I initially wanted your lover to accompany you.”
Ruowei… He had thought about capturing Ning Ruowei. He knew about her… An Yuan’s pupils contracted sharply. “So you knew—”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Zheng Xun backhanded a slap across her face, the force of which knocked her to the ground again. “Not only is Zhou Yanchuan gay, but so are you! You’ve chosen the most disgusting way to hurt me. You all deserve to die!
“Do you recognize this?” He squatted beside the fallen An Yuan, waving his lighter, flicking it open, and a flame immediately sprung out.
The fire neared her cheek, and she felt a burning sensation, understanding his intention.
He wanted to burn them to death.
“Zheng Xun, just kill me,” An Yuan gave up her hope of survival, “Mr. Lu has never wronged you. Let him go, and do whatever you want with me.”
“Don’t forget, you have no right to negotiate with me. You are at my mercy.”
“Just… consider it as accumulating some merit.”
“Merit?” He snapped the lighter shut, yanking her hair, “You, a doctor, should know there are no gods or ghosts in this world, right?”
He let go of her and glanced at Lu Yunchu, “He’s not innocent either, not since he got involved with Zhou Yanchuan.
“This world is unfair. I worked hard to get a master’s degree from a prestigious school, only to end up serving people who can’t even speak basic foreign languages properly. Now I have nothing, while Zhou Yanchuan has everything… Why is that fair? Do you think that’s reasonable?”
His mind was completely twisted. An Yuan dared not provoke him further and could only endure his rant, waiting for a slim chance of survival.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you die slowly,” he stood up, retreating, muttering to himself, “Enjoy your final moments of ‘happiness’.”
Zheng Xun’s figure disappeared into the shadows of the stairs, followed by the sound of footsteps descending.
Only then did An Yuan have a chance to survey her surroundings: the room was empty, the walls were dilapidated, the beams on the ceiling had black spots of rot, and the air carried a damp, musty smell… It seemed to be an abandoned warehouse.
From downstairs came the clattering of metal, like a rolling door being opened and then closed again. Zheng Xun might have left.
An Yuan smelled smoke; the fire source should be downstairs. She called out to Lu Yunchu twice, getting no response. The ropes behind her were tightly bound, impossible to break free from.
The smoke grew thicker, and she anxiously looked around. Her purse was on the ground about a meter away. She inched her way towards it, reaching back to grope for it.
Zheng Xun had taken her phone, but other items were still inside, including a small makeup mirror. She took out the mirror and smashed it. The broken glass cut her hand, but she ignored the pain, using the shards to cut the ropes.
Once freed, she immediately went to Lu Yunchu and untied his hands, shaking his shoulders vigorously, “Mr. Lu, wake up.”
Lu Yunchu slowly opened his eyes, still disoriented, seeing her bloodied hands.
“What happened to your hands?”
“Don’t worry about that,” An Yuan quickly summarized, “We’ve been abducted by Zheng Xun. We need to get out of here.”
Hearing the name, Lu Yunchu remembered. They had run into each other at the supermarket, then went to the parking lot together, and were then knocked out and tied up in this place.
“Cough—” The choking smoke wafted up the stairs. Without needing further explanation, he understood their situation, “He set a fire?”
“Yes.”
Zheng Xun had set the fire downstairs. Although the second floor they were on wasn’t yet affected, the windows were locked and there were no other exits.
They went downstairs to find the rolling door locked from the outside, and flames rising from the windows, making them impossible to approach. The fire was spreading.
Zheng Xun probably wanted to torture them more, so he hadn’t used much gasoline. But the ceiling and stairs had flammable wood, and it wouldn’t take long for the fire to spread upstairs. In such a sealed environment, the smoke alone could kill them.
Lu Yunchu picked up a broken wooden railing from the stairway and returned to the second floor with An Yuan.
Time was running out. The windows of this old house looked like they were made of ordinary glass. Lu Yunchu gripped the piece of wood tightly with both hands and smashed it against the window with all his might. With a loud crash, the window shattered, leaving a large hole. He then cleared away the broken glass, making an opening big enough for a person to pass through.
Standing at the window and looking outside, he saw a desolate landscape with only a dark, factory-like building in the distance and no other houses or people in sight. They had to escape and then find a way to seek help.
“Dr. An, you jump first.” This building was higher than a typical two-story residential building, but it wasn’t an unbearable height. There seemed to be grass below, so at most, they might injure their legs, which was better than waiting here to die.
An Yuan stood at the window, feeling a bit apprehensive, but there was no other choice. She took a deep breath and, with Lu Yunchu’s help, climbed onto the windowsill, gripping the window frame. Her hands touched the glass shards and started bleeding again, but she gritted her teeth in silence.
“Don’t look down,” Lu Yunchu encouraged her. “It’ll be over soon.”
“Okay.” She closed her eyes and leaped out.
After a moment of weightlessness, she fell to the ground, twisting her ankle. The pain was intense when she tried to stand, but she couldn’t afford to worry about it. She quickly moved aside and waved to the figure upstairs, “Mr. Lu, hurry down!”
Seeing An Yuan land safely, Lu Yunchu felt somewhat relieved. However, the window was high, and there was no furniture inside to help; he had to rely on himself to climb up.
Just as he placed his foot against the wall, an accident occurred. The house was too old, and the structures were unstable. A wooden beam from the ceiling loosened and fell, hitting the back of his head.
Suddenly everything went black. He didn’t feel the intense pain before losing consciousness and falling to the ground.
“Mr. Lu!”