Song Qingchun sat on the chair beside his bed and reached out to grab the apple and peeler that were left on the table. When she peeled the apple, Song Qingchun thanked and apologized to Qin Yinan once more. "Brother Yinan, I'm sorry, and thank you so much."
"Song Song, if you carry on with this, I am really going to be angry." Even Qin Yinan's mock-angry voice sounded weak to Song Qingchun's ears. She forced a smile and lowered her head to focus on peeling the apple.
The room was quiet except for the faded sound coming from the bathroom where Auntie Qin was washing the dishes.
After Song Qingchun skinned the apple, she cut it into smaller pieces and fed one to Qin Yinan using a toothpick.
When he finished the apple piece, Song Qingchun couldn't help her curiosity and asked, "Brother Yinan, is your chest injured?"
"I don't think so," Qin Yinan answered as he bit the apple piece that Song Qingchun was dangling by the side of his mouth.
"But before I fainted, I saw that fatty aim the wooden stake at your heart." Song Qingchun frowned.
"That can't be true because there is no wound on my chest." Qin Yinan thought about it and suggested, "Could it be that you were mistaken?"
"No." Song Qingchun shook her head and confirmed, "Even though my consciousness was fading at that moment, I am sure of what I saw."
"Then" Qin Yinan hesitated before offering another possibility. "The fatty was hurt earlier, could he have suddenly fainted?"
"No." Song Qingchun shook her head again. "Plus, the coincidence goes beyond that. The driver was aiming his dagger at my chest right before I fainted."
After a three-second pause, Song Qingchun added, "But similar to you, I don't have any chest wound, so I believe, someone appeared to save us, furthermore let's say, you're right, the fatty did faint while he was going to plunge the stake into your chest, but the driver wasn't injured in any way, and they wanted my life, that much is clear. With both of us unconscious, he could have killed me easily."
Qin Yinan's brows creased deeply. Suddenly he said, "Could it be him?"
"Who?"
Qin Yinan was silent and denied the possibility. "No, that's impossible"
"Brother Yinan, who are you talking about?" Song Qingchun pressed.
Qin Yinan recovered and looked into Song Qingchun's eyes when he said, "Su Zhinian."
Song Qingchun was startled and her fingers that held the toothpick tightened.
"The only reason I could discover that you had been taken so soon was because he called me to tip me off. However, we were still one step too late. I eventually tracked down your location using the jewelry you left behind."
"You said, it was Su Zhinian who called you?" Song Qingchun asked again even though she had heard Qin Yinan clearly. The toothpick in her hand started to shake.
"Yes." Qin Yinan didn't notice how unnatural she was acting. He nodded slightly and continued. "When I was chasing the minivan, Su Zhinian was still in the city; he was at least a hundred kilometers away from us. I was chasing you at full speed, and he was also chasing us at full speed."