Qin Yihuai looked into Ye Zhinan's determined eyes, and it felt as if a tiny seedling was breaking through the soil in his heart.
She grabbed his hand and slowly led him out of the darkness.
In her own way, she was also telling Qin Yihuai that
there was light in the future.
No matter how dark the past had been, there would always be a lamp shining on the distant shore.
"I promise you that if I get the chance, I'll strive for a better future."
Ye Zhinan's face lit up with joy. Before she could fully enjoy her happiness, Qin Yihuai continued.
"However, I still have something to finish here. I'll naturally choose to leave after I fulfill my wish."
Anyway, as long as Qin Yihuai had given her a promise, he would surely keep it.
Because she trusted him.
"The timing doesn't matter. As long as you're not trapped here and can soar with the wind, I'll be happy."
The two looked at each other and smiled. Ye Zhinan even felt that the wounds on her body didn't hurt as much.
She had been protected by Qin Yihuai, so there weren't any serious injuries.
There were just some bruises, and she would be fine after taking a break.
"I'll give you a simple dressing. We may need to put a splint on your ankle."
Qin Yihuai nodded. He didn't understand what Ye Zhinan was talking about, but as long as it was something she did, he thought it would be okay.
The trust between the two was just that simple.
It was gradually cultivated in daily life, then slowly germinated and grew, and finally became a towering tree.
"It's still alcohol. It may hurt a bit. You have to bear it."
She casually rummaged through her bag and took out the alcohol, along with a few cotton swabs.
Anyway, Qin Yihuai was on her side. Even if he had doubts in his heart, he wouldn't easily expose her.
Moreover, it was a matter of life and death at the moment. Even if she was caught with something that could be used against her, she still had to save people.
"You won't sell me out later, will you? Say that I'm a witch and always take out strange things."
Qin Yihuai shook his head. His eyes were fixed on the whorl of her hair as he replied softly.
"The origin of your things is indeed strange, but you always use them to save people. Moreover, I know better than anyone else whether you're a witch or not."
His burning gaze stayed on Ye Zhinan for a long time and he couldn't take his eyes off her.
She suddenly looked up and met his fiery eyes. Her heart seemed to skip a beat.
"As long as you don't inform on me."
After she treated Qin Yihuai's wounds, she also gave herself a simple dressing.
After making sure that it was safe to move, she stood up and prepared to go to a distance to look for fruits.
"Don't go. I'm not hungry."
Ye Zhinan pursed her lips and looked at him pitifully. Her big watery eyes seemed about to shed two tears.
"You're not hungry, but I am."
She had been on the go all day and hadn't stopped for a moment.
Her heart had been in her mouth all the time, and the nerves in her brain had been on high alert, which consumed a great deal of energy.
She seemed to be going to look for wild fruits, but in fact, she wanted to sneak into her space to find something to eat.
Qin Yihuai couldn't help laughing, then nodded.
"Just stay nearby. Don't go too far. Call my name if anything happens."
Suddenly, Ye Zhinan had the idea of playing a prank. She walked a few steps into the distance and then shouted his name loudly.
"Qin Yihuai!"
"I'm here."
She was like the child in the story who kept shouting that the wolf was coming.
But different from those villagers, Qin Yihuai would always respond to her.
It made her feel extremely at ease.
She sneaked into the space and ate two pieces of chocolate. She felt that she had regained a lot of strength. Then she found a few fruits and brought them back pretendingly.
It wasn't that she didn't want to give Qin Yihuai something better to eat, but there was probably nothing else in the mountains except fruits.
She could only let him suffer for the time being.
Qin Yihuai took the fruits and weighed them in his hand. Then he curled his lips and showed a smile.
"Do you know that sea - buckthorn fruits can't be grown in the Northern Border?"
Looking at the teasing look in his eyes, Ye Zhinan knew that she had revealed her secret.
But since he didn't expose her, she simply took advantage of the situation and deliberately acted coquettishly.
"Really? Maybe you're mistaken. This is just an ordinary fruit."
She nervously touched her ear. All these small actions fell into Qin Yihuai's eyes.
It made him find it extremely interesting.
Occasionally teasing the cat and watching her get angry was quite cute.
"Then it must be my eyes playing tricks on me. It would be better if Miss Ye could share what she ate with me."
Her face instantly flushed red. She was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to do.
Could it be that her secret had been exposed so soon?
She gritted her teeth, took out the chocolate from her bosom, and handed it over.
"I always carry this with me. Didn't you say you weren't hungry? I thought I'd save it for when you were hungry."
She secretly regretted in her heart that she shouldn't have told such a blatant lie.
And especially in front of Qin Yihuai.
But Qin Yihuai didn't continue to hold her secret against her. Instead, he tore open the chocolate wrapper and calmly put it into his mouth.
The bitter taste spread in his mouth, but the sweetness followed.
"This candy is just like life. After bitterness comes sweetness."
Ye Zhinan was stunned for a moment. What he said made sense.
Life was like this. Once the bitterness was gone, sweetness would come.
"I'll ask Sister Hong to make you a belt later. You can put a lot of things in it. Then you can hide things in it and others won't notice."
Ye Zhinan frowned imperceptibly, then quickly relaxed.
Qin Yihuai's heart was as unfathomable as the sea.
She couldn't even guess now whether he knew that she had a mysterious space or simply thought that she hid all her things on her body.
She sighed. Anyway, it wasn't the time to expose her secret yet.
So she could only hide her secret well.
She showed a smile and nodded.
"Then I'll trouble you and Sister Hong."
The two leaned against each other for warmth. It wasn't until nearly midnight that they heard shouts in the distance.
Ye Zhinan suddenly opened her eyes. Seeing the fire in the distance, she also stood up and shouted loudly.
"We're here! We're here!"
Hearing her voice, the fire quickly changed direction and rushed towards them.
Li Feilong was in the lead. There were also injuries on his face. It seemed that he had been in a fight.
Seeing that Ye Zhinan was okay, he heaved a sigh of relief and almost fell to the ground.
"Steady. You're the main force now. If you fall, there won't be anyone available."
Ye Zhinan made a joke, and the atmosphere gradually relaxed.
She turned around and wanted to call Qin Yihuai to get up, but found that he was shivering all over and sweating profusely on his forehead.
She quickly walked over and squatted beside him. When she felt the temperature of his forehead,
she was so scared that she quickly withdrew her hand.
Qin Yihuai had a high fever.
"Carry him back first. Hurry up. We mustn't delay."
Ye Zhinan limped along behind them. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep up with the speed of those men.
She could only pull on Li Feilong's sleeve and instruct.
"If you get back before me, remember to cool him down physically first. Wipe his clothes with cold water. Avoid touching the wounds."