"Mmm!" Li Qian struggled to open her eyes, glanced at Liu Qingqing, and then immediately closed them again, acting as if the presence of another person in the room was unnoticed.

"Li Qian!" For some reason, seeing Li Qian in that state made Yang Yi's heart clench.

"Yi?" Li Qian tried hard to open her eyes once more, her voice weak despite the surprise she felt.

Yang Yi frowned, a fleeting tenderness escaping his eyes as he thought to himself, Do I really have to keep running away? With that thought, he took a deep breath, discarded his hesitation, pulled out his phone, made a call, and then went to Li Qian’s side. He unceremoniously lifted her up and told Liu Qingqing, "I'm taking her to the hospital now. You come too!"

"En," Liu Qingqing replied with a heavy heart as she looked at the current state of Li Qian.

Forty degrees—this was no joke. Yang Yi scooped her up and rushed toward the door. In a short time, they were out of the girls' dormitory and at the entrance, where he saw Fatty Lin and the others looking bewildered. He said, "The three of you go eat first; I'm taking her to the hospital!"

"En!" Fatty Lin and the other two responded simultaneously.

Yang Yi didn't linger to say more, immediately carrying Li Qian toward the school gate, with Liu Qingqing following behind him. Luckily, it was lunchtime, otherwise, Yang Yi would have had trouble leaving the campus, given that both campus beauties were surrounding him. Upon reaching the gate, they saw a black sedan—undoubtedly Yang Yi’s car—with Feng Shi at the wheel.

"To the hospital, quickly!" Yang Yi urged anxiously.

"Yes!" After they were all inside, Feng Shi slammed the accelerator, and the car shot forward.

Just as their car was pulling away from the main gate of No. 1 High School, a silver-white sedan suddenly sped past, brushing dangerously close to them. A young man inside spotted Yang Yi and his companions. When his eyes landed on the woman in Yang Yi's arms, a malicious glint flashed in his eyes, and his face darkened completely.

"Young Master..." A middle-aged man, noticing his young master's face turn grim, couldn't help but call out in confusion.

How could they be together? Could it be... the youth thought secretly. He glanced back, his eyes narrowing into slits, before asking the middle-aged man, "Any news from the assassins' circle?"

"Not yet. This Yang Yi really is strange. Logically, we've had the bounty out for several days, yet he's still unharmed?" the middle-aged man replied with suspicion.

"He is indeed a bit peculiar. Hmm, perhaps we need to increase the cost," Lin Hai said, a sinister smile playing on his lips.

"How much is the Young Master considering raising it to?" the middle-aged man inquired.

"Since ten million couldn't take his life, he must have some skill. I'll skip the intermediate steps this time. Go and double the bounty tenfold later. I don't believe anyone can resist the lure of money," Lin Hai declared as if money were insignificant to him.

"Yes." The middle-aged man agreed without the slightest hesitation.

This Lin Hai was certainly investing heavily. Ten times ten million—what concept was that? One hundred million! If a simple farmer were here, he’d probably see stars spinning above his head. (Author’s note: Heh, I’m actually talking about myself.)

But now that he was offering one hundred million for Yang Yi's head, what consequences would this bring? It seemed Lin Hai was absolutely determined to see Yang Yi dead.

All in all, Lin Hai's family possessed far more wealth than just this sum. After all, his father was a commercial titan, and he also had suspiciously close ties with the Provincial Party Secretary of City A. It was clear that one hundred million was a drop in the ocean to Lin Hai. Yang Yi, meanwhile, had no idea that a mere fleeting encounter would cause his bounty to instantly multiply tenfold.

At City A First People’s Hospital, a female doctor wearing a white coat with yellow trim emerged from a ward.

Liu Qingqing hurried toward the doctor and asked, "Doctor, how is she?"

"It's good that you brought her here in time. Otherwise, she might have developed pneumonia; her fever reached forty degrees. Fortunately, she's stabilized now. We've given her an injection and started an IV drip. She should be fine once the fever breaks. Don't worry," the female doctor stated calmly.

"Thank you, Doctor," Liu Qingqing said, offering her thanks before walking into the ward.

Yang Yi followed behind her, his expression complicated as he glanced at Li Qian lying on the hospital bed. He always felt a sense of debt toward her. He knew things had to reach a conclusion; if he kept dragging this out, he would only end up hurting more than just her. Thus, he said to Liu Qingqing, "You stay here and watch her for a bit; I'll go buy something!"

Liu Qingqing merely nodded, not offering a direct reply.

Yang Yi didn't take offense. In his mind, Liu Qingqing was simply concerned for her good friend, which was understandable. However, when he saw Feng Shi by the doorway, a flicker of pity crossed his eyes. As he approached her, intending to say something, Feng Shi stopped him, smiling slightly. "Young Master, just follow what your heart tells you to do. Don't worry about me; I understand your intentions."

Yang Yi was momentarily stunned by Feng Shi's words. He didn't speak, just glanced back at Li Qian on the bed, then said, "Let's go."

"En," Feng Shi softly agreed.

"Qianqian, why put yourself through this? Sigh, I really don't understand how you could fall for that hooligan. What's so good about him that you’re so obsessed?" Liu Qingqing thought that if she hadn't promised Li Qian not to mention how she had frantically searched for Yang Yi the other day, she would have slapped Yang Yi again for this.

In fact, the day Yang Yi rushed out to save Xia Shiyun, Li Qian saw him burst out of the classroom, looking extremely anxious. Driven by curiosity and the worry that something might have happened, she followed him. But when she saw him reach that particular tree, heard his calling out, and saw him read a note, she felt her heart shatter—he already had someone he liked, and it wasn't her.

She had stood in the rain for who knows how long before finally going back. Since yesterday, she had started developing a slight fever. Liu Qingqing had noticed it immediately and asked her, at which point Li Qian confessed everything. Liu Qingqing was furious and had initially intended to confront Yang Yi, but Li Qian stopped her, insisting she would handle it.

Because of this, she even went to class yesterday, but Li Qian grew scared—scared that the answer she might receive would make her world go dark. That fear stopped her from clarifying things, leading to today's forty-degree fever.

"How is the investigation going?" Yang Yi asked Feng Shi.

"It's been confirmed. The person who issued the bounty is named Lin Hai!" Feng Shi replied with coldness in her voice.

"Lin Hai?" Yang Yi frowned upon hearing the name, thinking to himself, It's probably no one else. After all, his family has plenty of money. Hehe, since he’s so rich, it’s not unreasonable for me to take a little to spend, is it? Yang Yi smiled playfully, conjuring some scheme in his mind.

[Explosive releases will follow upon going premium—stay tuned! Subsequent chapters promise unlimited excitement and boundless passion. Damn, foreign beauties..... I sweat!]