Concern

Bang—

The gunshot exploded, stabbing at everyone’s eardrums.

The lion’s head jerked hard to the side, blood spraying from the wound.

Its momentum carried it straight into the car, and then two more shots rang out.

The unsilenced gunfire was deafening, echoing across the savanna and riding the wind farther and farther away, crashing into everyone’s ears like sudden thunder.

The lion staggered back two steps. Several deep holes appeared in its forehead, and blood poured out, staining its golden mane dark red.

A few seconds later, its massive body slammed into the vehicle and slid down along the curve of the frame before crashing to the ground.

The savanna fell dead silent.

The security team that had rushed over each held a gun. They stood at a distance, staring at one another in confusion.

Li Lan kept her shooting stance, her index finger still hooked on the trigger. Her knuckles had turned ghostly white from the force she was using. A few drops of blood splattered across her cheek, and a lock of hair had been singed by the muzzle flash, curling against her pale face.

Li Lan didn’t blink.

She held that pose, waiting for the aftershock of the gunfire to fade, until the trembling lion on the ground finally stopped breathing.

“Teacher Li,” the guide said first, finally coming back to himself. He stood up shakily. “The lion’s dead.”

Li Lan’s pupils quivered. Her gaze finally left the lion and settled blankly on the empty space ahead of her, as if she no longer knew where to look.

Only then did her whole body begin to shake.

At the instant danger struck, her body had reacted before her mind did.

Every car had guns hidden beneath the seats for exactly this kind of emergency.

Even with the guns as backup, even after countless rehearsals in her head, even though Li Lan had trained as an excellent marksman overseas, the sheer terror and brush with death were still enough to make anyone’s skin crawl when danger truly came.

The lion’s beastly eyes reflected her distorted figure. Suddenly, Li Lan clutched her stomach and bent sideways to retch.

The production crew snapped awake and rushed over in a panic, helping Li Lan onto the ambulance.

The director kept wiping at his forehead. He had to deal with the dead lion, negotiate with the reserve staff, inspect the off-road vehicle to find the cause of the malfunction, and direct everyone else to keep filming the remaining scenes.

Hu Xu pushed through the crowd and reached Li Lan’s side. “Don’t be afraid. Take a breath. It’s okay now, it’s okay. Come back, come back, come back.”

Li Lan’s breathing gradually steadied. She lay limply on the stretcher and slightly parted her lips. “...Were you calling my soul back? I’m fine.”

Hu Xu was both angry and anxious. “What happened? Why did the roof suddenly drop, and why did the lion attack you all of a sudden...?”

Liu Yini gently pulled Hu Xu back and sighed. “The doctor’s here. Let them examine her first. The rest... can wait until later.”

Hu Xu had lost her composure because she was worried. After Liu Yini pulled her aside, she gradually calmed down. Thinking about it, she also felt something was wrong. The lion’s condition wasn’t normal; was this really just an accident?

The director kept making calls while ordering staff to find a tow truck and haul the vehicle away.

The security team cleared a large open area around them, but this was still animal territory. The reserve staff, visibly agitated, argued with the director, pointing at the lion and then at Li Lan, as if asking why they hadn’t waited for them to sedate the animal first.

The director and the interpreter fired back in anger too, slapping the car and demanding to know what had happened to the roof.

A complete mess.

Half an hour later, the two sides reached a temporary understanding. The deputy director took half the staff and the remaining three groups to continue filming the rest of the shots, while the director took Li Lan to the hospital.

The accompanying doctor found no injuries on Li Lan. Li Lan said, “I’m fine. I was just a little shocked. I’ll be fine after I go back and rest for a while.”

For safety’s sake, or to prevent anything else from happening, the director firmly insisted that Li Lan go to the hospital for a proper checkup.

Along the way, the director’s phone never stopped ringing.

Among all those calls, Li Lan heard a familiar voice.

Yang Huayi’s voice was very distinctive, elegant and mellow; but no matter how pleasant it sounded, it couldn’t hide her fury at the moment.

“I sent people over, and you nearly fed them to the lions!”

“Was my three million security budget fed to the dogs? Or did you hand it over to the station’s parasites instead?!”

“Where was the patrol team? Were they carrying toy guns? Did Li Lan have to take matters into her own hands?! What if she hadn’t reacted in time!”

“Why wouldn’t the roof come down? Why did the engine suddenly fail? Didn’t you inspect the vehicle before setting off? Why did the lion suddenly go wild? Didn’t the reserve pre-screen safe routes in advance!”

The director was already in his forties, yet in front of Yang Huayi he didn’t dare say a single word back. He could only wipe the sweat off his face and explain, “The car was driven to the hotel at night. It was checked that night, and we also did a rough inspection before departure...”

“Rough? You nearly made a rough job of a human life! Investigate. I’m telling you to investigate!” Yang Huayi’s voice made the car feel suffocatingly cold. “Forget it. What can your internal review even find? I’m coming over. You can wait.”

The director broke out in a cold sweat and sincerely did not want Yang Huayi to come. “Chairman Yang, please consider how far...”

Yang Huayi had already hung up.

Li Lan, sitting beside him, was shaken too. She had never heard Yang Huayi this enraged.

Still, that made sense. A security failure involving every guest would be a disaster; the Yu Ling she had painstakingly built up couldn’t be ruined over this.

But Li Lan looked out the window. After the tension and fear passed, her mood had grown calm and steady.

They were definitely going to find something.

Yang Huayi coming here was fine too; it would give her the perfect chance to make a decision. This accident was Yu Ling’s “blemish,” and she held black material that was enough to ensure Yu Ling would never be able to appear in the entertainment industry again. That was the leverage she had for negotiating with Yang Huayi.

-

“Li Lan!”

In the hospital corridor, the sharp smell of disinfectant mixed with hurried footsteps.

Zhu Qing nearly slammed the ward door open. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes red.

When she heard that Li Lan had been attacked by a lion, her heart had nearly stopped.

Only after seeing that Li Lan was safe and sound did the bloody, horrifying images and the shadow of fear slowly retreat from her limbs and bones.

“Are you hurt?” Zhu Qing collapsed beside Li Lan, her voice trembling. She dug her nails into her palm so hard she could barely keep herself from crying. “Why was there a lion? How could it bite you? Why wouldn’t the roof come down...?”

Li Lan had some abrasions on her arm. The doctor had wrapped a bandage around it, and her right side was inconvenient to move, so she could only turn slightly and take Zhu Qing’s hand with her other one. Just as she was about to speak—

“No, don’t say anything,” Zhu Qing cut her off abruptly, tears falling in pattering drops. “...This wasn’t an accident, was it?”

Li Lan was surprised by Zhu Qing’s sensitivity and gave a soft laugh. “Don’t overthink it. The production team is checking it now; there’ll be a result.”

Zhu Qing said nothing. She clenched her fists until her fingers went white. “This definitely wasn’t an accident.”

She enunciated each word. It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

Watching carnivores hunt up close was already extremely dangerous. Zhu Qing had spoken to the relevant staff yesterday; there was naturally some risk, but most accidents happened in unmodified cars or open-top vehicles.

If it were a properly modified off-road vehicle, one that was several times larger than even the biggest predators and heavy enough to withstand attacks, the odds of an accident would be almost zero.

Unless someone had tampered with the car.

The air in the ward seemed to freeze. Li Lan hadn’t expected Zhu Qing’s reaction and, for a moment, didn’t know what to say.

Confess? Zhu Qing didn’t seem calm enough for that.

After a long silence, Li Lan forced out a reassuring smile and said softly, “Don’t think too much. Look, I’m fine now. There are guns in the car; nothing in the animal world isn’t afraid of guns. And don’t forget, I lived overseas for years. My aim is very good.”

Zhu Qing kept her head down. Tears still glimmered in her eyes, but her gaze had taken on a hint of suspicion.

Li Lan didn’t notice Zhu Qing’s expression. She tried to explain that she really would be fine. Many people probably had forgotten that she had lived overseas for a long time. She had been to Southeast Asia, to Africa, traveled through North America and Mexico, and finally made her name in Western Europe.

The moon overseas wasn’t round at all. Homeless people were everywhere on the streets; gunshots rang out from time to time, as common as old men and old women shouting on domestic streets. Only the latter felt familiar and comforting; the former only made one’s heart tremble.

“Animals on the savanna lose their ability to move once they’re shot in the head, especially at close range. Anyone who’s trained with guns won’t miss,” Li Lan gestured earnestly to Zhu Qing. “The door was fine. Only the roof had a gap. If the lion was going to get in, it would definitely have to stick its head through. As long as it showed its head... ”

Zhu Qing finally lifted her eyes and met Li Lan’s gaze.

Li Lan’s voice gradually faded.

Those eyes were filled with worry, fear, anger, and something deeper still, like the pain and ruthlessness of betrayal.

That pain and ruthlessness startled Li Lan.

“You know who it is,” Zhu Qing’s mind grew more and more unsettled. Her voice trembled as she forced herself to stay calm, tears wavering at the corners of her eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall. “And you didn’t tell me anything!”

Li Lan: ...

Zhu Qing’s chest rose and fell violently; she seemed furious to the extreme, worried to the extreme, and crushed by something invisible until she could barely breathe.

Li Lan could no longer continue her explanation.

“You dare say that isn’t true?” Zhu Qing had already read the answer from Li Lan’s expression. “You deliberately sent me away so I wouldn’t go with you. The hospital food you arranged for me was all ordered in advance. You think I’m stupid enough not to see any of that?”

Li Lan said very softly, guilt and pain in her voice. “I didn’t mean to hide it from you.” She could actually have done a better job of concealing it; but Zhu Qing would have found out sooner or later. Li Lan had never planned to keep it from her forever, but she hadn’t expected Zhu Qing to figure it out and press her this quickly.

Li Lan looked at Zhu Qing storming into the ward; looked at her reddened eyes, trembling lips; looked at the way she was holding back her tears, only for them to spill anyway. In that instant, Li Lan felt as if her heart had been seized hard, the pain almost suffocating.

“...I’m sorry.” Li Lan’s voice was hoarse.

Zhu Qing stood by the bed, her chest heaving violently. Her tears broke loose again and splashed onto the floor, one drop after another.

“It’s my fault,” Li Lan said in a low voice, her throat tight. “I didn’t expect this... I didn’t expect you to be this scared.”

Li Lan had thought Zhu Qing wouldn’t be able to figure it out the moment they met. Once she came to her senses, the accident would already be over and she herself would be fine; Zhu Qing would calm down, and she definitely wouldn’t be this upset.

“How do you know a gun won’t jam? How do you know you can hit the target every time? What if something really went wrong?” Zhu Qing couldn’t go on; her throat suddenly tightened.

Li Lan reached out as if to touch her, but Zhu Qing jerked away.

It’s over.

That was the only thought left in Li Lan’s mind.

Zhu Qing said, “So that’s how it was. I finally understand why we had problems before.”

Li Lan snapped her head up.

Zhu Qing looked at her dazedly. “Li Lan, I’m telling you seriously: if you were like this before, I wouldn’t doubt for a second that we couldn’t have lasted.”

A sharp pang flashed through Li Lan’s eyes. “Let me explain.”

“Someone wanted to hurt you; you knew it, but you still used the trap to your advantage and threw yourself into it like a chess piece,” Zhu Qing said, and halfway through she almost wanted to laugh. “What do you take yourself for? What do you take me for?”

“With an environment, people, and things this disgusting, it’s never enough,” Zhu Qing said quietly. “Before you made that decision, did you ever think—just for even half a second—that you should tell me first and discuss it with me? Did you think I wasn’t worthy of talking to about it, or that there was simply no need to tell me at all?”

Li Lan said urgently, “I was afraid you’d stop me.”

“How do you know I would stop you?” Zhu Qing looked at Li Lan fixedly, her eyes mixing disappointment with anger. “Even if I would, would you still not have told me?”

Li Lan couldn’t answer Zhu Qing’s question.

Silence stood like a wall between them.

————————

Zhu Qing: I’m really angry.