A flashback of a skinny and pale arm bent in a very unnatural way appeared in his mind.

The owner of that hand had her head crushed beyond recognition, and the only way for Meng Renshu to believe it belonged to his wife was only the tiny mole on the back of her hand.

The same hand was buried under the bush now. The nightmare resurfaced, and he felt like something had sucked his life force away.

Meng Renshu was petrified on the spot. He wanted to go forward and check, but his body refused to cooperate.

A sense of nausea followed shortly after, making him almost vomit on the spot.

The recurring nightmare he had was turning into reality again right in front of him. With that scene in mind, he was too afraid to come closer and check.

"Xiaoyi, is that you? Please don't joke around like this." Meng Renshu said jokingly, but his voice shook uncontrollably.

"Meow."

While Meng Renshu was overcome with trepidation, the cat was eyeing him as if urging him to do something.

Meng Renshu felt the energy in him quickly seep out of him. He felt like fainting.

Regardless of his fear, or whether that hand was Li Caiyi's hand or not, he still had to check.

Gulping hard, he slowly approached the bush. His heart was thumping even louder than the sound of thunder.

He didn't even realize he was holding his breath as his gaze was locked on that pale hand.

Meng Renshu used his hand to open the bush, revealing a girl who lay unconscious on the ground with her back facing the sky.

It really was Li Caiyi.

"Xiaoyi!"

He found her, yet he couldn't celebrate it. Only fear controlled his movement as he cradled her limp body in his arms. The first thing he did was to check her breathing.

Only God knew how relieved he was when he knew Li Caiyi was alive, albeit unconscious.

The demon that tied him down to the ground completely vanished.

Next, he checked whether she was injured.

Upon closer look, there was a small wound on Li Caiyi's forehead. Her cold hand was dirty and had a lot of scratches on them. He couldn't see any visible injuries on her besides those.

"Young Master, where are you?!"

Meng Renshu could hear Mr. Mu call his name from afar. He kind of left him behind, so no wonder if he got worried.

Meng Renshu gently positioned Li Caiyi's body, so her head was leaned onto his shoulder before carrying her in a bridal–style.

Their wet bodies easily stuck together, like how their clothes stuck to their skin. It made his heart skip a beat.

'What am I thinking? It's not the time for that,' Meng Renshu berated himself, feeling ashamed for having such indecent thoughts toward an injured and unconscious girl.

Li Caiyi's eyes were shut tightly, but her brows were frowning like she was in pain. She might have had an internal injury, so Meng Renshu wasted no time and left that place immediately with Mr. Mu.

***

Meng Renshu put Li Caiyi's wet body on the seat while Mr. Mu tried to wipe his body with a towel.

"Young Master, you need to dry your body quickly, or you will catch a cold."

Meng Renshu received the towel, but instead of using it on himself, he gently wiped the water from Li Caiyi's face.

"I'm fine. Her condition is more serious than mine. After all, we don't know how much she had been exposed to the night rain."

"Yes, but you should prioritize yourself first. As for Miss Li, let me—"

"No." Meng Renshu replied sternly. He didn't even let Mr. Mu finish his sentence. "I will do it."

Mr. Mu could only look helplessly from the side. He didn't expect him to be so possessive of Li Caiyi.

Meanwhile, Meng Renshu carefully wiped her exposed skin with a towel. He didn't try to touch somewhere he shouldn't and only focused on making her as dry as possible.

Then, he fetched a blanket from the backseat and draped it on her body. He doubted it would do anything since she was thoroughly drenched, but it was better than nothing.

After he finished looking after her, only then did he feel relieved. Running around like that was exhausting, but it was all worth it.

Meng Renshu stared at Li Caiyi's sleeping face and smiled fondly before whispering. "Now you are safe. I will protect you even at the cost of my life."

While rubbing his head with a towel, he ordered Mr. Mu to start the engine. "I'm tired. Let's go back first."

"Yes, Young Master. Should we go to the hospital next?"

Meng Renshu pondered for a moment before decisively speaking, "No, it will probably be dangerous to leave her alone. Let's bring her back to the Meng residence first. Call our family doctor, too, and let him take a look at her."

Mr. Mu wasn't sure about this plan. "Are you sure? Wouldn't the Madam and Master find out about it? I think we should return Miss Li to her family instead."

However, Meng Renshu only waved his hand, all while still nailing his gaze on Li Caiyi. "It's okay. I will explain to them later."

"...Alright. I will do as you say," Mr. Mu couldn't say anything more and began to drive. He just hoped that Meng Renshu wouldn't get into trouble after this.historical

***

Qin Xiangjun stared coldly when Meng Renshu came in with a plus one in his arms.

She shifted her glance to Mr. Mu, who quickly understood her meaning. He desperately hoped she wouldn't yell at him for this.

"Madam, Miss Li is injured and unconscious. Young Master couldn't leave her alone, so he brought her back here temporarily."

"Is that supposed to answer my question?" Qin Xiangjun made an unhappy face before putting down her teacup, causing a loud clicking noise.

The room was filled with heavy tension. Her beautiful phoenix eyes looked at Meng Renshu from up to down before she frowned in disgust.

"It doesn't explain why my son came home looking like a wet dog while bringing another dog with him."

Meng Renshu sighed at her mother's sharp comment. "Mom, I can explain everything, but can you let me change first? And Xiaoyi is drenched too."

"And here I was, waiting for my son to return anxiously since I heard from the head maid that you called our family doctor here. I thought my precious son was hurt, and I couldn't even continue watching TV in peace. But you didn't even put this mother of yours in your eyes."

Mr. Mu wanted to leave this room but lost the right time to do that. Now he was stuck in this uncomfortable situation after the mother-son conveniently forgot about him.

Meng Renshu held Li Caiyi closer to him before answering. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you worry. I will answer your questions, but can you please let the doctor examine Xiaoyi first? She is going to get sick if this goes on."

Qin Xiangjun straightened her back. It was only a small move, but Mr. Mu couldn't breathe for a moment.

It wasn't scary per se since Qin Xiangjun was the epitome of elegance. Still, the aura she exuded put pressure on everyone's back. Her gaze was like a dagger directed at her opponent.

Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they awaited her following words.

"My son, you'd better have a good explanation for this. I won't tolerate any nonsense from you."

Then, she shifted her gaze to the head maid standing behind her all this time. "Prepare a room. Give the girl some new clothes and burn her current ones."