A Favor Done, A Husband Won-Chapter 494 - 488: Don’t You Dare Pass Out, Jing Jihan!

The thick smell of gasoline seeped into the room through every possible gap, mixing with the deadly smoke. The darkness inside the room made the flames outside on the ground floor beneath the window even more glaring, reflected in Shi Su’s eyes filled with disbelief.

At nineteen, in Jiang City, in that small inn, the terrified cries of other guests staying in the inn, the hysterical screams of the inn’s female owner, at that moment, it was as if countless burnt hands were grasping her, holding her limbs and bones, dragging her back into the abyss of that year.

Shi Su held her mouth shut, desperately breathing through the damp scarf, struggling to stay conscious. But because of the gasoline, the fire was too vast, the smoke too thick; even with her mouth covered, it was unbearable. How could Jing Jihan possibly be faring!

But she couldn’t move a step, staring at the flames outside the window, surrounded by dense smoke. In her ears, the remnants of the wall and column that burned down at nineteen came crashing towards her. It jolted her back to reality, pulling a thread of clarity and rationality from the collapsing memories in her mind. She looked up to see Jing Jihan picking up a chair by the table and smashing it against the glass window.

Even with such force and the metal rod under the chair, the window did not completely shatter. No wonder he used a chair; the hotel’s windows, though classically designed, were made of tempered glass!

"Bang!"

"Bang—"

With the second chair thrown up, the previously just slightly shaken tempered glass window finally shattered into a not-too-large hole, but due to the glass material, it did not completely fragment.

The air was filled with a more raging gasoline smell. Jing Jihan lifted his foot to kick open a larger space around the broken hole in the window.

Jing Jihan withdrew his foot, apparently feeling too uncomfortable from inhaling too much smoke, his body pausing for a moment. Then he suddenly turned around, pressing Shi Su’s head with one hand, pulling her in front of him, leaning down to press against the scarf covering her mouth and nose. It seemed as if he was kissing her through the scarf, or borrowing it to barely breathe. In the darkness, under the fiery light from outside the window, Shi Su saw her reflection in the man’s eyes.

"Don’t be afraid." Jing Jihan released her, his deep, hoarse voice was right in front of her, his hand resting on the back of her head as he said solemnly, "What happened seven years ago will not happen again, as long as I’m here."

Shi Su struggled to drag her numb soul out of the shadow of that raging fire at nineteen, her gaze gradually clearing. She nodded her head and was just about to cover his face with her scarf.

In the instant Shi Su moved, Jing Jihan pressed the scarf back onto her face with a stern look: "Keep it covered yourself."

Shi Su shook her head, struggling to break free from his hold. Jing Jihan pressed her down, warning her in a low voice: "Don’t fool around! Protect yourself first."

"No, you... this smoke is too much..." With the damp scarf blocking her mouth, Shi Su couldn’t get the words out, but the man firmly held her hand, while looking back at the flames outside the window, growing fiercer. Then he grabbed the chair on the floor and smashed it back against the window.

The area of the window that was originally broken finally shattered into a large piece due to the violent smashing of the chair.

But with the flames fueled by gasoline, they had already spread across the entire outer wall up to the third floor. Not to mention if they would survive the jump, these flames touching the skin would cause severe burns; breaking bones or limbs would be even scarier.

Shi Su looked down, still trying to tear the overly sturdy wool scarf. She didn’t have scissors in her bag, but she did have a nail clipper. She used the nail clipper to cut and tear, finally managing to get a small piece off. She turned to grab the bottle of mineral water on the table, cursing a dirty word when she picked it up.

Her wool scarf was too thick, and earlier, Jing Jihan had to pour a whole bottle of water on it to soak it through!

The fire was fully ablaze now, the indoor temperature rising rapidly, black smoke billowing, making it almost impossible to see anything.

Jing Jihan pulled Shi Su to his side, not releasing her hand, his sharp gaze locking onto everything usable in the room.

With the high temperature and lack of oxygen all around them, Shi Su suddenly turned to look at the table they had been dining at, calling out: "The tablecloth! That tablecloth..."

Simultaneously realizing the usefulness of the tablecloth, Jing Jihan pulled it down, dragging her through the smoke as she spoke. With a swift pull, all the plates fell from the table. The tablecloth, generally waterproof and heat-resistant, was just big enough to wrap around both of them.

But this is the third floor!

The two of them rushed to the window, looking down for a moment, then exchanged a glance.

The flames had already climbed from the first floor up to this level. Jumping or not, both choices faced great peril. Shi Su could feel the heat in the air even through the wool scarf. Seven years ago, she had gritted her teeth and crawled out of the roaring fire, so today was no different!

It’s just the third floor, after all! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

At worst, a broken bone!

Shi Su closed her eyes. When Jing Jihan’s arm circled her waist, the anticipation of upcoming pain made her hair stand on end. Yet, the man wrapped the majority of the heat-resistant tablecloth around her, firmly holding her tight. He whispered something in her ear, which she couldn’t quite catch, only vaguely hearing three words...

In the instant she was about to lift her eyes, she heard him shout abruptly, "Jump!"

The gasoline somehow surged around, and in that instant of explosive flames, both jumped out of the window together. With a loud boom, the firelight shot into the sky.

Amid the blinding sea of flames, Jing Jihan wrapped Shi Su in his arms and the heat-resistant tablecloth, and crash—

They hit the ground simultaneously, rolling in the opposite direction of the firelight. At the height of the third floor and with the surrounding gray smoke, their bodies couldn’t control their stop.

During the intense tumbling, they rolled for several meters, but amid the rolling, Shi Su clearly felt that at the moment they hit the ground, it was Jing Jihan who landed completely. She was merely shielded by him; he forcefully made himself a cushion. She couldn’t fathom the extent of his injuries at such a height from the third floor, given she was already in unbearable pain just from rolling.

Finally stopping, Shi Su forcefully lifted the tablecloth off her body: "Cough, cough... cough!"

In the fall, she inevitably inhaled a mouthful of smoke. Shi Su coughed several times, enduring the dizziness and discomfort, and forced herself to take a breath. She rolled off Jing Jihan and collapsed to the ground, then turned and saw Jing Jihan lying flat on his back on the ground, his normally sharp features pale.

"Jing Jihan..." Shi Su quickly called to him: "Jihan... how are you..."

The man seemed to open his eyes, his hand gently moving towards her, bumping against her fingertips, his voice hoarse and barely audible in this proximity, "...Seven years ago, I wasn’t there... from today onwards, I’ll always be there, don’t worry, don’t be afraid..."

Shi Su found there was a hint of distraction in Jing Jihan’s barely open eyes, tears welling up as she forcibly turned his face. In the distance, there seemed to be the thundering sound of a vehicle approaching, but she paid it no mind, just straining to sit up and trying to help Jing Jihan up: "Jing Jihan! Look at me! Look at me! Wake up! Jing Jihan!!!"