A pause.
[Very close.]
Another pause.
[So people actually die like this.]
Xi Wenzhe almost laughed, but there was nothing funny about the situation.
Instead, he tightened his hold on her wrist again, his voice colder than before.
"Stop standing there like you’re watching a show."
Su Yueqing finally frowned slightly.
Inside her mind—
[I am not watching a show.]
[I am the main character in a disaster documentary.]
Another beam cracked overhead, louder this time, and the structure above them visibly sagged as if it could collapse at any moment.
Xi Wenzhe glanced upward, his expression changing sharply.
"Not good..."
Before Su Yueqing could react, he suddenly pulled her against him again, shielding her body completely.
The next second—
Boom!
The burning support beam came crashing down with terrifying force, sending waves of heat and dust outward as flames erupted violently around them.
For a moment, everything disappeared into smoke.
When Su Yueqing’s vision cleared, she realized something.
She was still alive.
And so was he.
But Xi Wenzhe’s arm was braced against the fallen beam, holding it away from her body while fire licked dangerously close to his sleeve, illuminating the tight tension in his jaw as he held the collapsing structure back with sheer force.
Su Yueqing froze.
Inside her mind, for the first time since the fire began—
[...Is he insane?]
Xi Wenzhe’s eye twitched slightly.
He could hear it again.
Her thoughts never stopped.
Even here.
Even now.
Su Yueqing stared at him, confusion slowly replacing her earlier panic.
[Why is he protecting me?]
That thought lingered longer than the rest.
Because it did not make sense.
Not according to anything she knew.
Not according to the original story.
The Xi Wenzhe she knew of was supposed to be distant, cold, and indifferent toward his wife, someone who would not even spare her a second glance if she disappeared from his life.
Inside her mind, the confusion deepened.
[Shouldn’t he want me dead?]
Xi Wenzhe stiffened slightly.
The words landed heavier than expected.
Su Yueqing continued silently.
[In the original story, he barely tolerated her.]
[If she fell into trouble, he would probably just walk away.]
[So why is he here... risking his life in a burning kitchen?]
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Only the sound of fire cracking and wood collapsing filled the space between them.
Then Xi Wenzhe pushed the beam aside with a final forceful movement, stepping closer to her again as his voice dropped cold and sharp.
"If you have enough energy to think nonsense, then you are not injured."