"You, if you keep doing this, I'll really get angry..."
Su Ding couldn't resist, her voice trembling with tears. She felt like her underwear was about to be pulled off.
Seeing her, Jin Ye's heart softened. He loosened his grip and hugged her waist from behind. "No more. Let's sleep."
Su Ding finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the man's broad chest against her back.
Her heart felt heavy, a mix of emotions she couldn't quite name.
They slept until past four in the afternoon, waking up feeling refreshed and invigorated.
Jin Ye sat up and stretched, habitually reaching out to touch the woman's hair by the bedside. "Get up."
Su Ding lay there lazily, her eyelids fluttering open as she looked at him. "Mm."
"I have to go back. I still have some documents to review," Jin Ye said as he rolled out of bed and straightened his clothes. "Let Xiao Xi stay home for a couple of days, and then I'll bring him to accompany you."
Su Ding looked at his handsome face and gentle voice, her heart stirred.
She gave a soft, husky "Mm."
After Jin Ye left, she lay there for a while longer before getting up to stretch her limbs.
Outside the door, Ah Xiao watched Jin Ye drive away and murmured to himself, "Miss Su is indeed in love."
"Two suitors," Ah Da added.
The two exchanged a look. Ah Da yawned. "There shouldn't be any more trouble. There's been no movement for the past two days."
Ah Xiao nodded. "I think so too."
Soon, it was late at night, and all was quiet and still. Everyone had fallen into a deep slumber.
Ah Da and Ah Xiao, their heads resting together, fell asleep without noticing someone quietly slipping into the house and starting a fire.
At this moment, Su Ding was fast asleep.
In her dream, she faintly smelled a pungent smoke, which grew thicker and thicker, making it difficult for her to breathe, forcing her to wake up.
When she opened her eyes, she saw thick smoke billowing in the bedroom. The house had clearly caught fire!
"Arson!"
She rushed into the bathroom, doused a sheet with water, and, covering her nose and mouth, prepared to go downstairs.
As she pushed the door open, she saw two people wearing black ski masks pouring oil on the wall and retreating.
The fire had started from the storage room downstairs. The stairs were already affected, with flames rising quite high. Su Ding's heart pounded with fear as she quickly moved to the part of the stairs not yet affected and nimbly leaped down.
"Stop!"
Su Ding landed on the living room floor and quickly chased after the two people.
The two fled in panic. One of them, clumsy, tripped on the entrance steps and stumbled. Just then, Su Ding caught him!
Su Ding kicked him in the back of the knee, forcing him to the ground!
Then, she twisted his arm behind his back. The man immediately let out a pained howl, "Ahhhh—"
"Speak! Who sent you!"
Su Ding forcibly held his hand, using her strength to drag the slender man towards the courtyard.
The courtyard had not yet been reached by the fire. It was open-air. Having escaped the living room, she was out of immediate danger and pressed down even harder on the man's arm!
"Speak quickly!"
The man's arm was pinned, and he gasped in pain. "Let go, I'll talk. It was Miss Jin..."
"Jin Miaomiao?" Su Ding asked coldly.
The man tried to break free again, crying out, "I don't know her name, ah, let go quickly..."
His arm was about to be broken!
Su Ding's face darkened as she forcefully pulled off his ski mask. He was a stranger.
Her face was contorted with extreme fury. Her grip tightened, her heart pounding violently. Rage surged through her!
Jin Miaomiao had hired someone to set her house on fire, trying to kill her?
"Let go... she told me to set the fire, ah..." the man continued to wail.
Su Ding, dishevelled, her mind buzzing, was forcefully dragging him to move further away when suddenly a heavy blow landed on the back of her neck!
She had no time to dodge and fainted.
The subdued slender man kicked her away and snarled at the newcomer, "You're damn fast running away, but you're damn slow getting here! My hand was almost twisted off by this woman."
"I just didn't want you to miss explaining clearly," the newcomer said with a grin.
The slender man snorted. "We've said enough. Let's get out of here quickly."
After saying that, the two of them quietly scaled the wall and left, leaving the unconscious Su Ding lying on the ground...
Outside the door, Ah Da, who had accidentally fallen asleep, smelled smoke. He looked up and saw the house engulfed in raging flames!
"Damn it!"
Ah Da kicked Ah Xiao awake. "Sleeping like a dog! It's on fire! Go quickly and check on Miss Su!"
Ah Xiao was still groggy, but hearing the word "fire" jolted him awake.
The two of them rushed over in a panic. Ah Da kicked the main door open. Just as he was about to rush into the burning living room, he heard Ah Xiao shout loudly to stop him!
"Ah Da, she's here!"
Hearing this, Ah Da quickly changed direction and indeed saw Su Ding lying unconscious in the center of the courtyard.
Ah Xiao checked her breathing and confirmed she was not dead.
Then, seeing the dirt on her face and the scorch marks on her clothes, he quickly said, "Fortunately, Miss Su reacted quickly and got out."
The house was still burning, the fierce flames a shocking sight in the dark night.
Ah Da hoisted Su Ding onto his back. As he ran out, he urged Ah Xiao, "Hurry and call the fire department!"
They placed Su Ding on a stone outside the house and frantically knocked on the doors of neighboring houses. "Open up, it's on fire!"
"Quick, open the door, help put out the fire!"
With the panicked help of the neighbors and the timely arrival of the fire brigade, the fire was finally brought under control.
Su Ding was also lifted onto an ambulance.
Ah Da and Ah Xiao breathed a sigh of relief when the paramedics confirmed Su Ding was not seriously injured.
Rescuing her could be considered making up for their earlier negligence...
When the police arrived to take statements, Ah Da claimed they were passersby who happened to be passing by and rushed to help when they saw the fire.
Su Ding, having inhaled a lot of smoke and suffered a severe blow to the head, was still unconscious.
The fire brigade extinguished the flames and also retrieved her undamaged mobile phone, dialing the most recently contacted person – the dog man.
"Young people today have such strange ways of remarking their boyfriends."
"That's right. I call mine 'silly dog,' hahaha."
The two nurses, after confirming Su Ding was out of danger, exchanged jokes, breaking the somber atmosphere.
Jin Residence.
Jin Ye was asleep when the phone by his pillow vibrated continuously, finally waking him up.
He always set his phone to do not disturb before sleeping.
Only Su Ding's calls were excluded.
Still groggy from sleep, he reached for his phone and saw it was 3:30 AM.
Su Ding's call was still ongoing...
A jolt went through Jin Ye's mind. He quickly answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Is this Miss Su's family member?"
Hearing this opening, Jin Ye's heart sank. He immediately sat up and started dressing. "Yes, I am. Who is this?"
"We are from the fire department. Miss Su's residence at 215 Banshan Xingfu Road caught fire in the middle of the night. We have provided her with rescue and treatment. She has not yet regained consciousness. Please come over for further matters."
Jin Ye's face turned ashen. "Fire?"
He hastily put on his clothes and strode out, asking in a low voice, "How is she? Is the fire out? How did it start?"
"Miss Su is not seriously injured. The specific details of the fire are still under investigation. Please come as soon as possible."
Jin Ye's heart was in a chaotic mess, yet he was immensely relieved that she was unharmed.
He hurried to the garage, saying, "Okay, I'm coming right away!"