“I’m not swearing on his life.” Xia Ling weakly said.

Pei Ziheng signaled for someone to pass him the intercom to the other helicopter. “How is Li Lei’s condition?”

“Chairman, Mr. Li is in critical condition. He has had two strokes already as we speak. The emergency team is giving him an intracardiac injection. He is extremely strong though… if it were anyone else, they would be dead by now.”

Pei Ziheng switched off the intercom, looking down at Xia Ling with an impassive expression. “It looks like even if I don’t do anything, he might not survive this.”

“Save him!” Her tears flowed down her face, as she pleaded with him, her heart consumed by anxiety.

“The only person that can save him now is you.” Pei Ziheng’s gaze became gentler. “Xiao Ling, I just need you to make a simple vow. Once you do that I’ll contact the best specialists out there to give him emergency treatment in the hospital when he lands. Be good and make the vow. If you don’t attempt to escape from my side, this vow will never come true. Li Lei’s life is in your hands.”

His voice was like a chanting curse over the sound of the rumbling helicopter engine.

Xia Ling felt like all her strength was sapped from her, and she could no longer resist.

“I’m going to say it sentence by sentence. You just have to repeat after me.” He stroked her face gently with his hand. “I, Xia Ling, Ye Xingling in this life, swear on Li Lei’s life…”

“I, Xia Ling, Ye Xingling in this life, swear on Li Lei’s life…”

“To never leave Pei Ziheng’s side…”

“To never leave Pei Ziheng’s side…”

She followed after him, saying each sentence of the vow like a robot as if all the vivaciousness within her was leaving her with each sentence as well.

Outside the helicopter, the thunderstorm was still coming down hard, with thunder rumbling and lightning flashing.

Xia Ling felt like she was going to be swallowed whole by the dark sky. She was sinking, sinking all the way down the deepest of pits, unable to be saved.

When she uttered the last sentence of the vow, Pei Ziheng lowered his head and kissed her gently on the lips.

“Xiao Ling, my butterfly.” He cooed. “I am not going to let you leave ever again.”

They flew in the thunderstorm for a long time before the helicopter landed on top of a hospital. The specialist team was on standby, and the moment the helicopter landed, they hustled Xia Ling to numerous checks and tests, finally wheeling her into the surgical theatre.

Xia Ling felt herself losing consciousness under the general anesthesia and fell into a long dream.

In the dream, there were the vibrant irises, and the tall, handsome man smiling down at her. In a split second, her surroundings changed to the cold, terrifying prison bungalow… She then dreamed of Li Lei in that thunderstorm. On the cliff, amidst the peach blossom petals, he pulled out the knife to cut the rope, his deep eyes looking intently at her, uttering the words “I love you” as if it was going to be the last time he ever saw her.

I love you…

“Li Lei…”

She woke up shouting his name.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was in a quiet ward. A large bouquet of red rosebuds that were about to bloom sat on the table. On the sofa by the window sat a man in a suit, his head lowered in concentration as he perused the work documents in his hands. It was Chu Chen.

Seeing that she had regained consciousness, Chu Chen put down the documents and walked to her bedside. “You’re awake?”

“Why are you here?” Xia Ling opened her mouth to speak, and her voice came out hoarse.

He pressed on the call button by her bed, before pouring a cup of warm water and handing it to her. “Drink some water now that you’ve woken up. How do you feel? You’ve been unconscious for half a month. Is there anywhere that’s still bothering you?”

Unconscious for half a month?

Oh my… then…

“Chu Chen, how is Li Lei?! Hurry and tell me!” She recalled all that happened before she fell into unconsciousness. Her heart beat with trepidation as she plagued Chu Chen with her questions, her voice quivering as she spoke.

Chu Chen gave her a look. “Ye Xingling, you no longer belong to Li Lei. His well-being should not be of any concern to you. I think you should come to this realization as soon as possible. It would not be pleasant if you lose Li Lei and also offend Boss.”

Boss?

She was taken aback for a while, before realizing that he was referring to Pei Ziheng.

However, she could not care less and continued asking. “Hurry and tell me how Li Lei is!”

“Ye Xingling, don’t be stupid.”

“Chu Chen, what are you?!” Seeing that he refused to answer her, Xia Ling’s shouted out in anger. “You’re just Pei Ziheng’s dog! What right do you have to lecture to me?! You’re not going to tell me about Li Lei? Go call your owner over! I’ll ask him myself! I don’t have time to waste speaking to you!”

He did not expect her to unload the torrent of insults on him, and anger flashed through his eyes. Yet, he simply coldly said, “I’m a dog, and then what are you? Ye Xingling, don’t think you are so significant.”

She was speechless in her anger.

Dread entered her heart. He was right. Yes, he was a dog, but what was she? From the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of the bouquet of red roses on the table. She could vaguely see a card peeking out from within the petals with a lifelike gold-lined black butterfly on it like it was about to take flight.

She shifted her gaze away, unwilling to take another look at it.

Yet, Chu Chen brought the roses right in front of her. “Do you see this? You and I have the same owner now. Don’t think of anyone else. Otherwise, Boss might lose his patience with you. His patience has its limits.”

“Lose his patience at me?” She looked at Chu Chen and jeered, almost laughing out loud.

However, Chu Chen said, “Ye Xingling, you’ve been calling out Li Lei’s name in your dreams in the half month you were unconscious. Which man will be able to tolerate that? Only Boss. He instructed me to inform you about Li Lei’s condition when you woke up.”

Xia Ling did not have time to digest what he had just said, but she caught the last thing he said. She hurriedly pressed. “Then hurry and tell me! How is Li Lei?! Chu Chen, tell me now!”

“He injured his spine when he fell and has many internal injuries. Boss hired the best specialists to tend to him, and he had several emergency surgeries. His condition is no longer critical.” Chu Chen said. “Later, the Old Master from the Li family came over from overseas to bring him back to the Li family headquarters to nurse his injuries. According to the specialist team, he will be able to recover fully as long as he has enough time to rest and recuperate.”

Xia Ling heaved a sigh of relief. However, she knew that a spinal injury could not be that simple. She asked with concern again. “Can he really recover completely and return to normal?”

Chu Chen gave her a look. “That isn’t something that you should be concerned about.”

“You…”

“Am I wrong?” Chu Chen said lightly. “Ye Xingling, you chose Boss. Then, lead a good life with him. Don’t be fickle and pine for another man in your heart. You’ll just be creating more trouble for yourself.”

She remained silent.

Li Lei’s proclamation of love on the peach blossom tree in the midst of the thunderstorm was still ringing in her ears. She had not had time to react to it, and now she would never have the chance to do so…

In this life, that cursed vow meant that they were an impossibility.

“Have a good rest.” Chu Chen’s voice rang out again. “Remember who you belong to.”

In fact, that was not something that she needed to make an effort to do. There would be many people and events to remind her who she belonged to.

She stayed in the hospital for a period of time. Every day, Xia Ling would receive impeccable treatment from the doctors and the head nurse. Her meals were taken care of by exclusive nutritionists that would cater to her tastes. The entire floor that she was staying on was cleared for her exclusive use. Other than the healthcare professionals tending to her, the only other people were the expressionless bodyguards by her door.

She needed to get several layers of approval just to take a walk.