I Became a Rich Heir in a Novel and Saved the Female Lead - Chapter 3:

Chapter 3: Leaving the School

The people outside were still talking, and one of them sounded close to tears.

One girl stammered, “Who knew a fire would suddenly break out? We…”

Another girl hurriedly interrupted, “Just go! Forget about her. With the fire this bad, she’s probably beyond saving!”

A third girl hesitated, “But I think I heard someone calling her name just now…”

Another voice snapped, “It’s better if she burns to death! Then no one will know we did this. Do you want to go to prison? Hurry up and leave!”

Chaotic footsteps sounded again as the group prepared to leave.

Chen Xu lowered his head and glanced at Lin Wansu in his arms.

She seemed to have passed out and hadn’t heard their conversation.

Thankfully, she hadn’t.

For someone trapped inside a burning building to personally hear her tormentors discussing how to flee the scene would have been utterly sickening.

Chen Xu stopped paying attention to them. Whether those bastards escaped or not wasn’t important right now.

If the girl in his arms died, then even capturing every one of them and sentencing them to death wouldn’t bring her back.

Chen Xu used the last bit of dry powder in the fire extinguisher to suppress the flames near the entrance. Then, holding Lin Wansu tightly, he lowered his head and charged toward the exit.

A wave of scorching heat struck him from the side, burning his arm so badly that it instinctively recoiled, but he refused to loosen his grip on her.

Only two steps remained before the doorway when a muffled explosion suddenly came from deep inside the warehouse.

Something seemed to have burst apart.

The flames suddenly flared brighter.

Only one thought remained in Chen Xu’s mind.

‘Run.’

Clenching his teeth, he held Lin Wansu tightly and rushed outside.

However, the instant he crossed the threshold, a section of the burned doorframe suddenly collapsed from above.

There was no time to dodge.

Chen Xu could only turn sideways and shield Lin Wansu completely within his arms.

Bang!

The wooden frame slammed heavily into his back.

Chen Xu’s vision went black, and his knees nearly buckled beneath him.

Lin Wansu, protected securely in his embrace, only released a faint groan.

The pain was so intense that Chen Xu couldn’t recover for several moments.

He clenched his teeth and forced himself not to make a sound.

Relying entirely on sheer willpower, he steadied himself, remained standing, and carried Lin Wansu out of the warehouse.

The cool night wind immediately swept over them.

Fresh air flooded Chen Xu’s mouth and nose, making his stomach churn violently.

Still holding Lin Wansu, he collapsed onto the ground and began coughing uncontrollably. His lungs felt as though they were about to burst.

It took him quite a while to recover enough to look down at her.

At some point, the girl in his arms had opened her eyes.

Smoke and ash stained her gentle, delicate face. Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears, as though they might spill over at any moment.

There was such warmth and gentleness in the way she looked at him that Chen Xu felt his heart soften. Even the tension gripping him eased slightly.

Lin Wansu whispered, “Thank you… Thank you for saving me.”

Her voice was naturally pleasant, but after inhaling so much smoke, it had become painfully hoarse.

The moment she finished speaking, tears rolled down her cheeks. They mixed with the soot on her face before dripping onto Chen Xu’s clothes.

Chen Xu immediately became somewhat helpless.

He had been single since birth in both his previous and current lives. His experience interacting with girls was practically nonexistent, so all he could do was gently pat Lin Wansu’s back.

Chen Xu comforted her, “It’s okay. Don’t cry. It’s over now.”

Of course, the matter was far from over.

Thinking about what had just happened outside the warehouse, Chen Xu felt the wound on his back begin to throb again, and his gaze gradually turned cold.

At that moment, the sharp sound of brakes came from the direction of the school’s rear entrance.

Three black sedans stopped in the open area outside the school gate.

The man in the lead pushed open the car door and stepped out. He appeared to be in his thirties and had a buzz cut. His usually neat and serious black suit hadn’t even been buttoned properly, showing just how hastily he had thrown it on.

Chen Xu recognized him immediately.

He was Han Zheng, the captain of the bodyguards his father had assigned to protect him.

The moment Han Zheng and the others got out of their cars, they climbed over the wall and sprinted toward Chen Xu, their faces filled with anxiety and unease.

Even from a distance, Han Zheng could see Chen Xu’s soot-covered, miserable appearance and the girl in his arms. His unease immediately intensified.

Chen Xu was the only son of the CEO of Chen Group. He had always been treasured by his family. From childhood until now, forget getting injured, he had barely even suffered the slightest grievance.

Only after Han Zheng came closer did he clearly see Chen Xu’s injuries, especially the large charred patch across his back.

The bodyguards nearly fainted from fright.

If Chen Xi saw his son in this condition, simply firing all of them would probably be the lightest punishment they could expect.

More importantly, Chen Xu rarely went anywhere besides school. Who could have imagined that tonight he would suddenly lose his mind, drive away without telling anyone, and then send them a message in the middle of the night ordering them to come to Linjiang No. 1 High School to rescue someone?

Han Zheng’s face went pale. He looked as though he wanted to kneel before he even dared speak to Chen Xu.

Han Zheng hurriedly reported, “Young Master, because this was an emergency, the dedicated medical vehicle will still take more than 10 minutes to arrive. The villa’s private emergency medical team has already been activated. All the private doctors and nurses are currently heading to the consultation room.”

Chen Xu didn’t waste any words. He stood up and adjusted Lin Wansu in his arms.

Chen Xu ordered, “Don’t wait for the ambulance. We’ll return to the villa first.”

Han Zheng immediately stood and reached out, intending to take Lin Wansu from him.

Chen Xu ignored the gesture and continued carrying the girl toward the rear gate himself. Seeing this, the bodyguards could only follow behind him.

At that moment, sirens sounded from the school’s main entrance.

The front gate opened, and several fire engines rushed onto the campus.

Chen Xu couldn’t help feeling deeply emotional.

If he hadn’t appeared here tonight, the firefighters wouldn’t have known that someone was trapped inside the burning warehouse. By the time they extinguished the fire, Lin Wansu would probably have ended up exactly as she had in the original novel, reduced to a charred corpse.

Chen Xu didn’t look over there again and continued toward the rear gate.

His family’s private medical team had access to resources that were considerably better than those of an ordinary hospital, and the villa was much closer. There was no reason to call an ambulance and take a longer route to a hospital.

Han Zheng and several bodyguards hurried forward and forcibly pulled open a gap in the electric retractable gate.

Chen Xu carried Lin Wansu through it.

Han Zheng quickly stepped ahead and opened the door of the black sedan parked by the roadside.

All three vehicles were black Maybach business sedans provided by Chen Group. Their exteriors weren’t overly flashy, and the sleek black lines gave them a calm, dignified appearance. The rear seats were spacious enough for passengers to recline and rest comfortably.

A first-aid kit and several clean blankets had also been placed inside, obviously thrown in at the last minute.

Chen Xu climbed into the car with Lin Wansu still in his arms.

Leaning against his chest, Lin Wansu unconsciously clutched his clothes while her half-open eyes slowly examined her surroundings.

She saw the soft, light-colored leather lining the inside of the door, the thick carpet beneath her feet that swallowed every sound, and the cool glow of the display in the front. There were countless instruments and controls she couldn’t understand. As soon as they settled into the car, tiny lights resembling a starry sky illuminated the ceiling overhead.

Lin Wansu stared blankly.

She had never seen a car like this before.

She couldn’t even have imagined one.

The most expensive car she had ever seen was a Xiaomi SU7 displayed inside a shopping mall. At the time, she and her younger sister had walked past it carrying discounted bread. They hadn’t even dared approach for a closer look, afraid that the security guards might drive them away.

But now, Lin Wansu was covered from head to toe in soot. Her school uniform was torn and filthy, and one dirty hand rested against the pristine genuine-leather seat.

Several black smudges had already appeared on the white leather.

The instant Lin Wansu noticed them, she jerked her hand back as though she had been shocked.

She hurriedly hid it against her chest, and her already hoarse voice trembled on the verge of tears.

Lin Wansu apologized, “I… I didn’t mean to get it dirty.”

Chen Xu had been adjusting the coat around her. Hearing those words, his hands stopped.

He lowered his gaze toward her.

Lin Wansu had hidden her hands inside her sleeves. Tear tracks still marked her face, and her expression was painfully cautious.

Lin Wansu whispered, “How about… I sit on the floor?”

Chen Xu almost laughed out of sheer frustration.

After everything that had happened, she was still worried about dirtying a car seat.

Without another word, Chen Xu directly placed Lin Wansu on his lap and pulled her back into his arms.

His tone wasn’t particularly gentle, but he deliberately restrained himself, unwilling to frighten her.

Chen Xu said firmly, “Lin Wansu, you almost died just now. Do you understand that? Forget about a car. No matter how expensive something is, it can never be more important than a person’s life!”

Lin Wansu stared blankly at him.

For a moment, she couldn’t fully comprehend what he had just said.

No one had ever said anything like that to her before.

Her parents had died early. She was the older sister, so she had always been expected to be sensible. She had to earn money and take care of her younger sister.

After entering school, she became even more afraid of causing trouble for anyone.

When someone shoved her to the ground, she silently climbed back onto her feet by herself.

When her living expenses were stolen, she survived on a single meal each day.

On countless nights, she had hidden alone inside the cramped bathroom of their rental home, carefully stitching her torn school uniform back together one thread at a time. She would touch the bruises covering her body, wanting desperately to cry, yet never daring to let herself make a sound.

She had always believed that someone like her was no different from a mouse struggling to survive inside a narrow crack, forever living cautiously and never daring to inconvenience anyone.

But just now, Chen Xu had told her that her life was more important than anything else.