"Suo ran!" Lian ziho shouted again and tried to walked towards him before he could walk *BEEEEEP! * A horn blasted directly beside him. Lian Ziho's eyes open and his entire body jerked against the driver's seat. For a second he couldn't breathe. His heart slammed against his ribs so hard it felt like it might burst through his chest. Another horn sounded then another. *BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP!* The noise came from every direction at once, pulling him out of the nightmare. Lian Ziho blinked rapidly, struggling to focus. His vision was blurred. His thoughts were scattered.
For a moment he didn't know where he was. The warehouse was gone, kidnappers were gone and gunshot was gone. Suo Ran wasn't collapsing to the ground. Jun Wei wasn't screaming in terror. Instead there were cars, traffic lights, and motorcycles weaving between lanes. Pedestrians crossing the street and vendors shouting from the sidewalk. Lian Ziho stared forward blankly. "What..." His voice came out rough and hoarse. A driver in the next lane leaned halfway out of his window and yelled impatiently, "Hey! Move already!" Another horn exploded behind him. "The light changed!" Lian Ziho blinked again and he became aware of the steering wheel beneath his hands. Only then did he realize he was sitting inside his car. Both hands were locked around the wheel so tightly that his knuckles had turned completely white. Sweat covered his forehead and several drops slid down the side of his face "What the hell?!" he muttered.
He looked around the vehicle he saw cars surrounded him on all sides. A bus rolled past slowly and delivery driver argued with someone across the street. Lian Ziho swallowed hard.For several long seconds he simply sat there, trying to understand what had happened then the realization hit him. " The warehouse, broken window, and kidnappers.It was..." he said. Then he remembered some things from dream like suo ran stepping in front of jun wei then leader raising the gun. The sound of the shot and Jun wei screaming. None of it had happened. "It was..." He couldn't finish the sentence.Slowly he lowered his gaze toward his hands they were still trembling. "A dream?"
Another horn sound behind him but he barely reacted.His mind remained trapped somewhere between reality and the nightmare. The dream had felt real that he could still hear Jun wei's voice crying "Gege!" He could still see Suo Ran standing between the gun and the child without hesitation. He could still hear the gunshot echoing through the warehouse.Instinctively his hand moved upward and pressed against his own chest, checking for a wound. As though some part of him expected to find blood. There was nothing there just a racing heartbeat that refused to settle. Lian Ziho leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes briefly. "Get a grip!" he muttered .
The flashback of dreame returned. Suo Ran looking at Jun Wei and saying, "If someone has to stay..." Jun Wei crying and begging him not to. The leader lifting the gun then he shot. Lian Ziho opened his eyes, "No." His voice was sharper this time. He forced himself to focus on the traffic around him but the emotions remained. Fear, helplessness and pnic was clearly visible on his face then slowly his fingers loosened around the steering wheel. Only then did he realize how badly his hands hurt. Looking down, he saw faint red marks crossing both palms where his nails had dug into his skin. He had been holding the wheel that hard. Lian Ziho exhaled slowly then again. He was trying to steady himself.The traffic continued moving around him. Yet his mind refused to let go of the nightmare because even now, sitting safely inside his car surrounded by ordinary people, he could still hear jun wei screaming. And he could still see suo ran stepping forward without hesitation, choosing to stand between danger and the people he cared about.
The traffic around him moved normally. People were arguing, horns sounded and engines rumbled.Slowly he lifted his hands from the steering wheel and rubbed his face hard. He was trying to erase the nightmare and trying to erase the helpless feeling still clinging to him but it didn't work. A bitter laugh escaped him."Even in a dream..."He lowered his head slightly and stared at his trembling hands resting on the steering wheel. "Even in a dream I couldn't help him." His jaw tightened as frustration slowly rose inside him.He looked down at his hands again. " This.... Is same hands that had failed to reach suo ran. Same Hands that couldn't stop the gun.Then he laughed strangely. "What kind of joke is that?" he muttered. His fingers curled into fists before he roughly brushed his palms together as if trying to wipe away the helplessness clinging to him. "Useless..." he looked at keychain on his hand and said, "I'm so damn useless." he added,"I'm not worthy to..." He couldn't finish it.
Slowly he lowered his forehead against the steering wheel and shut his eyes. For a moment he simply stayed there, surrounded by the noise of the city, trying to steady the storm inside his chest. Then flashback of dream returned without warning. Where suo ran standing in front of jun wei and gun raised then *BANG.* Lian Ziho's eyes open.Lian Ziho gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. "No..." he whispered hoarsely. His eyes squeezed shut for a second as he tried to force the memory away.Why? Why did it feel so real? Why did it feel less like a dream and more like something waiting to happen? Lian Ziho stared through the windshield.
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. "Suo Ran..." For a moment he could see him clearly. He could see his stubborn expression and ridiculous habit of stepping forward before thinking. The way he always protected everyone else while completely ignoring his own safety. Lian Ziho swallowed hard. "Damn idiot!" His voice cracked slightly. "You always do that." He leaned back against the seat and dragged a hand over his face. "Always trying to carry everything by yourself." For several long seconds he simply sat there, staring ahead then slowly he shook his head. "No, It was a dream." He took a slow breath in then let it out. "It was only a dream." But even as he said it, he didn't fully believe it. Because the fear remained.That fear was losing, arriving too late and fear of standing there helpless while something terrible happened right in front of him. Lian Ziho stared ahead silently.
His eyes gradually hardened as he stared through the windshield. "I won't let that happen!" he said then be reached up and adjusted the rearview mirror, and his own reflection stared back at him tired, stressed, exhausted but still awake, still present, still fighting. For a moment, he just looked at himself, then spoke again in a low voice, "You hear me, Suo Ran?" A faint, bitter smile touched his lips. "You're not allowed to get yourself shot." He exhaled slowly. "Not today." His fingers tightened around the steering wheel again. " Not tomorrow." He looked at empty seat beside him and said," And definitely not while I'm still breathing."
The traffic light ahead turned green, and cars began moving again in a slow wave of motion. Lian Ziho started the engine, the sound rumbling softly in the confined space of the car. He shifted into gear and eased his foot onto the accelerator, joining the flow of traffic with steady control. The nightmare still lingered in the back of his mind the image of Suo Ran stepping in front of a gun refusing to disappear completely but it no longer froze him in place. Instead, it sharpened him. It pushed him forward. He looked ahead at the road stretching into the distance, crowded with vehicles, lights, and movement, then quietly whispered, almost like a vow to the empty air, "Just wait for me." His eyes stayed locked forward. "Suo Ran." A brief pause followed, softer this time, almost protective. "And Wei Wei."
Elsewhere metal door opened with a low creak, and Suo ran stepped towards door without hesitation, his eyes scanning that figure.Suo Ran instinctively grabbed the driver's hand tightly and pulled slightly as he looked ahead into the darkness and asked urgently, "Who is this? I'm here to visit someone, but I can't even see him." The driver paused at the sudden contact, his gaze dropping to the way suo ran was holding his hand so naturally, and a faint, unreadable smile formed on his lips.
Suo Ran noticed it and frowned, pulling his brows together as he snapped, "What? Why are you smiling like that?" But the driver didn't answer right away; instead, his eyes lingered on suo ran's hand holding his, as if he found something quietly amusing or meaningful in the gesture. That small silence made suo ran uncomfortable, and only then did he realize what he was doing, quickly releasing the driver's hand and he repeated more sharply, "Who is he? Do I know them?" Before the driver could respond, footsteps echoed from the deeper shadows of the room, and a figure slowly stepped forward into the faint light. With each step, their features became clearer until the person was fully visible a young woman with a sharp confident eyes, short slightly messy hair that framed her face casually.
She looked directly at suo ran and tilted her head slightly, a playful yet commanding smile forming as she said, "Why don't you just ask me directly? Why are you bothering him?" Her gaze held his steadily, then she smiled more openly.The driver lowered his head slightly in respect and said calmly, "Boss!" The woman didn't even look back at him when she responded, her tone light but firm, "What took you so long?" The driver exhaled quietly, as if used to her attitude, and replied, "There were complications on the way." She shifted her attention back to Suo Ran, her eyes studying him carefully from head to toe as though confirming something only she understood, and Suo Ran frowned under her gaze, stepping forward slightly as he asked again, "Who are you? Why am I here?" The woman chuckled softly, crossing her arms as she leaned slightly to one side and replied, "You're asking the wrong questions." Suo Ran's jaw tightened instantly, but before he could speak again, she added in a lower voice, "The real question is… why you were brought here now, after all these years."
Suo Ran's eyes narrowed and said,"What is that supposed to mean?" The woman's smile softened slightly and she replied,"You've always been impatient."Suo Ran's gaze sharpened instantly. "We've met before." The woman didn't answer.Before suo ran could press further, the driver, who had been standing nearby watching the exchange, let out a dry scoff.He folded his arms and stared at suo ran with a strange expression."Do all people you meet seem familiar to you?" he asked.Suo Ran blinked and turned toward him. "What?"The driver raised an eyebrow. "Every time someone says something odd, you immediately decide you've met them before." "What are you talking about?" Suo Ran shot back, clearly irritated.Then he looked at woman.
The woman slowly walked past him toward the wall of photographs. Her fingers brushed lightly against one of the frames. That was photograph of a much younger suo ran perhaps eight years old. He was standing beside a school gate. Unaware that a camera had captured the moment. The woman's gaze lingered on the picture before she spoke quietly. "You were shorter back then." Suo Ran didn't smile. He didn't find anything amusing about this situation. "Stop avoiding my questions." The woman glanced at him over her shoulder. Her eyes were calm. Too calm. "You're angry." Suo Ran let out a cold laugh. "I think I've earned that right." "Yes."
The woman turned fully toward him and smile had disappeared from her face. "What do you think this place is?" Suo Ran looked around the room.There were countless photographs, documents stacked on nearby tables and old files.His expression darkened. "A surveillance room." The woman nodded once. "A reasonable conclusion." "And?" "And it's wrong." Suo Ran folded his arms. "Then explain." For several seconds, the woman said nothing. Then she slowly walked toward one of the oldest photographs hanging near the center of the wall. A picture taken nearly twenty years ago and that image was slightly faded.The woman stared at it.
Then she took steps towards suo ran and said,"This room wasn't created to watch you." Her voice was low. "It was created to find you." Suo Ran's heartbeat unexpectedly skipped. "What?" The woman looked directly at him. "Every photograph in this room exists because someone was searching." Suo Ran stared and beside him driver lowered his gaze. The woman continued. " It was not for information,leverage or control." Her eyes softened slightly. "But for a person." Suo Ran felt an uncomfortable.The woman took a slow breath. "As strange as it sounds, Suo Ran... there were people who spent years trying to make sure you were still alive." The words struck harder than he expected. His expression immediately hardened. "Why?" The woman smiled sadly. "Because there was a period when nobody knew whether you were." The room became quiet again. Suo Ran felt his pulse quicken then he asked, "What are you talking about?" The woman didn't answer instead, she looked toward the driver.
The driver gave the smallest nod, as though silently agreeing to something. Suo Ran noticed the exchange. His patience snapped. "Enough." His voice echoed sharply through the room. "Stop speaking like this." The woman looked back at him. Suo Ran took a step forward. His exhaustion had long been replaced by frustration. "Since I walked into this place, every single person has been talking in circles." His gaze moved toward the photographs. Then back to her. "I want direct answers." His voice lowered and he continued, "Who are you?" The woman stared at him for a long moment then she slowly smiled. "My name is Qin Yue." Suo ran waited. She continued, "And from the day you were born, we were watching over you." Her gaze drifted toward the wall covered with photographs. "I've been helping someone look for you."
Suo Ran's eyes narrowed. "Someone?" Then suddenly he laughed."So let me understand this correctly." He spread his hands toward the walls around him. "You people have been interfering in my life since I didn't even know what life was." His smile widened slightly. "Before I could walk. Before I could think. Before I could decide anything for myself." His eyes locked onto Qin Yue. "You people watched me grow up." He pointed toward the photographs. "You followed me through every stage of my life." His voice became more serious "And now you're standing here telling me that like it's supposed to make sense?" Qin Yue didn't look away. She accepted every word. "No!" she said quietly. "I'm telling you because you deserve to know the truth." Suo Ran scoffed. "The truth?" Qin Yue nodded slowly. "The truth is that nobody wanted this." Her gaze moved toward the oldest photographs. "The truth is that there were people who spent years regretting that they lost you."
She looked away something flickered in her eyes like guilt or regret then she looked back at him and said, "The truth is that if circumstances had been different..." She paused. "you never would have needed to be searched for at all." Suo Ran stared at her. Something about the sadness in her voice made it difficult to dismiss her words completely. Qin Yue nodded once."Someone who never stopped searching." Suo ran looked at her with confused face and asked, "Who?! Qin Yue hesitated.His eyes narrowed further. "Who?" he repeated. Then suddenly Click sound echoed from deeper inside the building. Everyone froze. The sound had come from a corridor beyond the room. Qin Yue's expression changed and besides her driver straightened.Suo ran noticed it at once. "What happened?" Neither answered and footsteps sound came they were approaching from somewhere beyond the darkness. Qin Yue stared toward the corridor. Then quietly whispered, "He's here."
Meanwhile Lian ziho reached rail yard emerged from the darkness like a forgotten graveyard.Train tracks stretched endlessly beneath the glow of a few security lights.Fog drifted between rows of old freight containers .The entire place was silent.Lian Ziho slowly brought the car to a stop. For a moment he remained seated behind the wheel, staring through the windshield into the darkness ahead.His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. "Am I at the right place?" he muttered quietly. His eyes moved toward the coordinates displayed on his phone one last time. "The location ends here..." He swallowed hard. "He has to be here."
"Wei Wei..." His voice softened. "Just wait a little longer." He forced himself to breathe. "Your Lian-gege is here." Then he pushed the door open and stepped out.His eyes swept across the rail yard. He eyes were searching for softly. The sound made the place feel even emptier. Lian Ziho swallowed hard and started moving. His footsteps echoed across cracked concrete as he headed toward the largest warehouse. The enormous doors stood partially open. As though someone had entered recently or left. He didn't know which possibility. Slowly he stepped inside. The warehouse stretched endlessly into darkness. Threre were rows of broken machinery sat beneath layers of dust and rust. Everything looked untouched.
"Wei Wei?" His voice sounded louder this time and more desperate. "Suo Ran?" No answer came back! Lian Ziho continued deeper inside. Then suddenly he stopped his eyes locked onto something near the center of the warehouse. There was metal chair with heavy chains hung from both armrests. One of them moved very slightly back and forth. Lian Ziho's heart dropped. He walked toward it slowly then he reached it.The chain continued swaying. His eyes widened. "No..." His fingers reached out and touched the chain."He was tied here..."
His grip tightened around the chain. "Wei Wei..." His voice cracked. He stared at the restraints. Imagining Jun Wei sitting there alone.The image made his stomach twist. "How long were you here?" he whispered. "Were you hurt?" His eyes moved frantically around the warehouse and looking for clues. "Did they feed you?" His jaw tightened."Were you crying?"His chest hurt. He grabbed the back of the chair tightly. "Damn it..." His voice shook. "You must've been terrified." His eyes burned. Then another thought hit him. "Suo Ran..." His head snapped up immediately. He looked around again. "Suo Ran, were you here too?" He took several hurried steps away from the chair and searched the surrounding area.
"Suo Ran!" he shouted. The name echoed through the warehouse but still o answer. "Jun Wei!" Lian Ziho turned in a slow circle. His pulse accelerated. "Where are you?" His voice became rougher. "Answer me!" He looked back at the chair. "No..." He shook his head. "I'm not leaving." His eyes narrowed. "Not after getting this far." He touched the chain one final time then quietly whispered, "You were here..." His gaze swept toward the deeper inside the warehouse. "Which means I'm close." He straightened. His jaw tightening. "Very close." Then he stepped away from the chair and continued deeper into the darkness.
He was looking for clue then suddenly footsteps. Lian Ziho froze. The sound echoed clearly through the warehouse.His entire body tensed and his eyes narrowed. Without hesitation he moved behind a stack of rusted freight containers. The metal pressed against his back as he lowered his breathing and listened carefully.The footsteps continued. Lian ziho tightened his grip around the metal pipe in his hand.Who's there? (...)
For a few seconds nothing happened.Then footsteps resumed.Lian Ziho's jaw tightened. Kidnappers? Someone waiting for me? Another trap? (...)