Xu Yuan'er stood frozen in the hatchway, gripping the doorframe with white-knuckled fingers as though it were her last support.
The glass in her hand slipped free without her noticing, shattering against the metal floor with a sharp crash. Razor-edged shards scattered like cold stars, cutting several bloody lines across her slender calves.
Crimson beads of blood wound down her fair skin and dripped onto the coldly gleaming floor, blooming into bewitching red plum blossoms.
"Qian Fan, what did you just... say?" Her voice sounded as though sandpaper had scraped it raw, trembling and broken.
Her usually lively eyes were now bloodshot, her pupils contracting slightly with fear. She stared fixedly at Qian Fan's lips, as though searching there for a denial.
Qian Fan shot to her side almost instantly, his knees striking the floor with a heavy thud. Trembling, he cradled her injured calf. When his fingertips brushed the wounds, it felt as though he had touched a red-hot branding iron.
"Yuan'er, you're hurt..." Self-reproach flooded his chest like a rising tide. His voice choked until he could barely form a complete sentence, yet he dared not take his eyes off those wounds, as though she would vanish completely if he looked away for even a moment.
"Qian Fan, my grandfather and the others are fine, right... aren't they?" Xu Yuan'er suddenly seized his wrist, digging her nails deep into his skin.
Her eyelashes trembled violently. Tears gathered in her eyes like crystal-clear lakes, ready to burst their banks at the slightest tremor.
Qian Fan's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty. His thumb unconsciously wiped the blood from her calf, smearing dark red stains across her skin like a sin that could never be washed away.
"Yuan'er, can we stop asking for now?" He tried to gather her trembling body