Chapter 1610: Chapter 1610: Will She Die?
The rain quickly drenched her entire body, no longer shielded by anything.
From her hair to her clothes, soaked through.
The coat couldn’t keep the cold out. She hugged her arms tightly, shivering uncontrollably.
This feeling reminded her of a time so long ago, when she was small and disobedient, punished by the orphanage director to stand in the wind—standing for hours.
The alcohol slowly dulled her mind, and in an instant, tangled fragments of memory wove into a dense net inside her head, suffocating her.
She had walked too many steps, her feet now aching.
Wet strands of hair stuck to her face, the rain pouring so heavily that she couldn’t open her eyes.
“You lied to me. There’s no tower, no stars, nothing at all…” her hands reached out blindly, flailing at empty air.
She stumbled and fell to the ground.
“Thud”—the impact sent jolts of pain through her, sharp and excruciating.
Her hands were scraped and raw, and as the rain soaked into the wounds, she gasped at the sting.
The cold rainwater and muddy earth beneath her were rough and uncomfortable, smelling faintly metallic and salty.
Yet as she lay there in the mud, a strange sense of relief washed over her—no longer needing to walk, no longer chasing after something that didn’t exist…
So tired…
The rain flushed over the wounds on her hands, numbing them slowly until she couldn’t feel the pain anymore.
Would she die?
Perhaps.
Oh, if only she could; it would be liberating, truly liberating.
With such thoughts, Lilac closed her eyes in peace.
After all, she was just too tired…
The rain continued to fall without end, washing over her body and clothes.
The sky remained dim, cold rain endlessly entwined with melancholy.
A farewell, a season for wilting blossoms—who knows the sorrows that eastern winds can play?
Another spring has come, and with it another time for parting.
…
When Charles found Lilac, she had already been lying in the rain for over two hours.
By then, it was close to 3 a.m.—the quietest, loneliest, most unsettling hour of the day.
Her whole body lay crumpled against the roadside grass, her face and clothes drenched through.
Charles’s Cayenne screeched to a stop beside the road, his bloodshot eyes wild with urgency as he dashed into the rain and carried her back!
“Lilac!” he pressed her palm, snatching up a towel to wipe the rain off her body. His hands trembled, his face betraying an unsteady expression.
“Lilac!”
No matter how he called her name, there wasn’t a single response.
“I’ll take you to the hospital.” He felt her forehead—it was scorching hot. She had a fever, and it was severe.
He removed her wet clothing, wrapped her snugly in his coat and the blanket from his car.
Restarting the car, Charles’s eyes burned with intensity, a fiery red that seemed almost like flames consuming him.
The car sped through the rain, a panicked swallow with no direction.
This road was familiar to him—Peace Flower Road.
Throughout his years in Landon, he often found himself driving down this stretch.
Not far from where Lilac had fallen, just around a bend, was the Picking Stars Tower he’d built.
Why had she come here? It had been two years since he’d last brought her to this place.
And she seemed thoroughly intoxicated—cheeks flushed scarlet, breath unsteady. She was never familiar with Landon—how had she managed to find her way here?
Charles clenched his teeth, his gaze fierce with frigid determination.
Lilac remained motionless, strands of damp hair clinging to her fevered cheeks. She was burning up.
“Hot…” Lilac muttered in her haze, her eyes shut tightly, “So hot…”
She struggled weakly, trying to wriggle free from her seatbelt.
Charles pressed harder on the gas—the car flew faster and faster, running red lights and overtaking with reckless abandon.
In the dim night, Lilac sat wrapped in Charles’s coat, her brows and expression clouded with sorrow.