Hurry and save them.

A little after four in the afternoon, Mu Qingxi and her friends finished their game and strolled along the edge of the square. Qin Yu clung to Mu Qingxi's arm, gliding over the ice, while the three boys followed behind.

Suddenly, Qin Yu looked ahead and exclaimed, "Look, there’s a crowd up ahead. What are they doing? Let’s check it out." Without waiting, she dashed toward the group of people.

Bai Fanhao and the other two exchanged glances and followed. When they reached the crowd, Mu Qingxi and Qin Yu peered inside and were startled. Qin Yu called out in a low voice, "Li Ruoying!"

Mu Qingxi quickly freed her arm from Qin Yu’s grasp and hurried to Li Ruoying’s side. She gently tugged at Li Ruoying’s exposed hand—so cold! She shook Li Ruoying urgently, calling her name, "Li Ruoying, Li Ruoying, wake up!"

A few people standing nearby whispered among themselves. Mu Qingxi felt a surge of anger for reasons she couldn’t explain, and glared at the bystanders, scolding, "Don’t you know to take someone to the hospital? If you’re not going to help, don’t just stand around!"

Looking at the unresponsive Li Ruoying, Mu Qingxi’s worry was impossible to hide. Despite their recent quarrel, they were still classmates, and lying on the freezing ground was no solution—she would surely get sick.

She reached out to touch Li Ruoying’s face and found it almost frozen stiff. She called out anxiously, "Wei Yu, call Bai Fanhao and the others over, quickly!"

Qin Yu responded with an "okay" and got up to fetch them. Spotting the three boys not far off, she shouted, "Xi Haifei, Guo Chen, hurry over, quick!"

The three of them ran over at once. Bai Fanhao, fearing something had happened to Mu Qingxi, asked anxiously, "What’s wrong?"

On seeing the scene, they realized it was Li Ruoying, unconscious on the ground. All three stared in stunned confusion, wondering what had happened.

When Mu Qingxi saw them hesitate, she frowned and said, "Xi Haifei, carry her on your back. We need to get to the hospital, quickly—she’s nearly frozen!"

Bai Fanhao and Guo Chen each took an arm and helped lift Li Ruoying. Xi Haifei crouched down, and once she was securely on his back, the group hurried toward the nearest traditional medicine hospital.

After finally confirming Li Ruoying was safe, Xi Haifei sat on a chair, breathing heavily. Mu Qingxi gazed at Li Ruoying, now lying in bed, and asked, "Excessive grief and a surge of anger? I can believe the anger, but Wei Yu, are you sure she’d be so overcome with sadness?"

Qin Yu shook her head, silently agreeing that she too couldn’t picture Li Ruoying losing herself in grief.

Bai Fanhao looked at them helplessly and asked, "Didn’t you see the news the day before yesterday?"

Both girls shook their heads.

"Ha! You two are really..." Bai Fanhao felt utterly defeated by them.

"Out with it, then, don’t act like a pair of delicate girls. Wei Yu and I aren’t nearly as melodramatic," Mu Qingxi said, her patience worn thin; she just wanted an answer.

Bai Fanhao was momentarily silenced by her remark before he finally said, "The day before yesterday, there was a taxi accident. All three people in the car, including the driver, died. Li Ruoying’s parents were in that car."

Mu Qingxi and Qin Yu both stared in shock, the same thought flashing through their minds: No way, fate really is this wild!

The other three, seeing their reactions, couldn’t understand why they were so surprised. Bai Fanhao asked, "What’s wrong with you two? Why are you so shocked?"

Qin Yu turned to Mu Qingxi, silently asking with her eyes whether they should say anything. Mu Qingxi thought for a moment, then nodded.

Xi Haifei asked, "Is there something you’re not telling us?"

With a serious expression, Mu Qingxi recounted the time Li Ruoying had asked her and Qin Yu to go to the "bar," though she concealed the real reason, saying only that it started with a quarrel in the classroom.

When she finished, she looked at the three boys. Each wore a different expression: Guo Chen’s eyes were wide with astonishment, Xi Haifei’s face was unreadable, while Bai Fanhao looked at her with open admiration.

Mu Qingxi was at a loss. Could these three not show a single normal reaction? She added, "Hey, can’t you at least say something after hearing all that?"

Just then, there came the sound of two sharp claps.