Figure Skating: Waltz on Ice

Mei Jing met Du Liangchen's eyes and saw that his eyes were bright and full of admiration as he looked at her. Her mind went blank for a moment, and she subconsciously straightened her back.

The slight apprehension in my heart vanished instantly, replaced by a strong sense of pride and accomplishment in protecting my loved one from hardship.

Seeing that Jiang Weijun was furious, Du Langxing knew he couldn't let things remain quiet any longer and had to step in to stabilize the situation.

He glared at him and said, "You two should apologize to Coach Jiang right now. Don't think you're something special just because you've achieved some success. Remember, it was the country that nurtured you."

“Countless people are selected for the national team every year. Don’t think the world will stop turning without you. There are many talented and hardworking people in the team. It doesn’t make sense to see how stubborn you two are. We will communicate with your parents later.”

No one was in the mood to eat. Du Liangchen and Mei Jing's lunch break was almost over, and they had to go to class in the afternoon. Even though they had no appetite, they still ate a few bites to fill their stomachs.

Mei Jing put food on Du Liangchen's plate, saying, "Eat more, don't get low blood sugar like last time, it was quite scary~"

Upon hearing this, Du Liangchen felt extremely guilty and ate his food with his head down.

The main problem is that it's too embarrassing. Now, whenever he goes to the research lab, everyone who sees him asks, "Has he eaten yet?" Everyone stuffs candy into his pockets.

Seeing that Du Liangchen was eating well today, Mei Jing was happy and kept putting his favorite dishes into his bowl.

Now that he's been honest, he's not pretending anymore in front of them. Jiang Weijun twitched his lips into a straight line. He already had little appetite, and now he felt even more bored. These two were just too cloying.

At 5 p.m., Du Liangchen's eyes were glazed over. His already injured back began to protest after sitting for a long time. After saving the experimental data and putting it in his bag, he slowly stood up, supporting his back, and walked out of the research room with a tired look on his face.

Of course, he wasn't the only one like this; his senior brothers and sisters were in even worse condition, as if their life force had been drained.

The senior student walking in front of Du Liangchen was petite, wearing a beige top and a black skirt. With fair skin, she should have been youthful and beautiful, but now she exuded a resentful aura. Clutching her neck, she groaned in pain, "Ah!!! My head's about to explode after all this afternoon!" As she spoke, she ripped off the hair tie, ran her fingers through her hair to loosen the styled lock, and turned to the others, asking, "What are you guys doing tonight? Want to go to a bar for drinks?"

Shen Nanyi, a second-year graduate student who is about to graduate, is currently the person who has been with the professor the longest in the research lab. As the most senior, she is also the leader of the research group.

She has a pure and lovely appearance, just like her name suggests. She is 6 meters tall and is the goddess and white moonlight in the hearts of pure otaku. But if you think that she is also well-behaved and cute, then you are wrong.

In reality, she has a lively and active personality, with not only a high IQ but also an even higher EQ. She can often make everyone feel relaxed with just a few words when they are mentally exhausted.

Upon hearing this, the other people who had lost all will to live looked at her, their dull and lifeless eyes instantly lighting up.

"Great! My head is full of documents, files, and numbers right now, I need to vent."

"I have to go, and when I get back I'll have to organize my thesis materials. Just thinking about it gives me a headache."

"Me too! Count me in."

"I'll go as well."

There are only six people in the group. Five of them have agreed to go, leaving only Du Liangchen who hasn't expressed his opinion. Everyone turned to look at him.

Du Liangchen felt uneasy under their gaze, subconsciously swallowed, and gave an embarrassed smile, "I really want to go, but I'm allergic to alcohol~"

"Oh, it's nothing. You don't have to drink. You're so busy after get off work that we haven't had a proper get-together yet. It's not like we finally have some free time to relax, right?" The man with a rugged appearance and pockmarked acne scars on his face was straightforward and had his hand naturally on Du Liangchen's shoulder. His name was Liu Wang, and like Shen Nanyi, he was a graduate student under Professor Zhang and Du Liangchen's senior.

"Brother Liu is right. You've never seen what a bar looks like before. I'll show you today."

The person speaking was Lu Tong, a graduate student supervised by Professor Li in the department.

The others couldn't help but smirk. Du Liangchen, the youngest member of the group, was good-looking, strong, and knew how to handle situations. He often treated everyone to coffee, and everyone liked him from the bottom of their hearts.

Liu Wang patted his chest and whispered in Du Liangchen's ear, "Don't worry, Xiao Chen, the bar isn't as peaceful as you think. There's not only alcohol but also juice and fruit platters. Besides, you're our junior brother, so we'll protect you."

Du Liangchen was actually reluctant to go, but he remembered what his grandmother had told him: these senior students in the lab would be valuable connections for him when he entered society, and he had to make good friends with them. So he finally nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go. I'll have to trouble you to take care of me, senior."

Liu Wang raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Of course, of course!"

After agreeing on a time, they went home to rest and planned to go to a bar that evening.

Du Liangchen walked slowly, turning his phone back to silent mode, only to find it full of messages. "I knew this would happen."

His missed calls were barrage from his parents and grandparents. He had already guessed this would happen, which is why he didn't check his phone all afternoon.

Instead of calling immediately, he opened Mei Jing's contact page and sent a voice message: "I'm out, where are you?"

"Ding~"

My phone quickly received a notification.

【Baby~ I'm at the library, almost there. Can you wait for me in the parking lot?】

Du Liangchen replied with an adorable cat saluting emoji.

......

The van waiting at the intersection suddenly collided with the out-of-control semi-trailer. The massive impact caused the van to lose its balance, and the windows shattered rapidly, turning into countless knives aimed at the driver. Before he could even feel the pain, he was violently thrown out of the vehicle, only managing to stay upright thanks to the seatbelt. He was then strapped to the backrest and tumbled around like clothes in a washing machine, his head spinning from the impact. When the vehicle finally stopped, a wave of pain washed over him, overwhelming his senses.

The friction and rolling caused the car's fuel tank to leak, and before rescuers arrived, the car burst into flames.

Du Liangchen stood by the car, his limbs stiff and trembling slightly. His eyes seemed to be fixed on the various cars in the parking lot, but in reality, his gaze was empty.

He unconsciously recalled the scene of the car accident. He was conscious from the moment the car caught fire until it exploded, watching the flames slowly climb up his body and arrogantly tear at his flesh. It was so painful.

The phantom pain in his body caused him to stumble and fall to the ground. The fear in his heart made him forget everything around him, and he kept muttering, "It hurts, it hurts..."

Du Liangchen knew he had died in a car accident once, but he had no memory of that time, and he didn't know that he had been burned alive.

He suddenly fainted due to low blood sugar that day, and dreamed of the scene of his car accident. He saw his whole body being crushed and deformed, and glass shards blasted his body into a hedgehog.

Experiencing it firsthand was incredibly painful, it was excruciating, leaving him standing alone amidst a pile of cars in the empty parking lot, feeling a chill run through his body.

He walked home for the past two days, thinking that the discomfort would disappear after a good night's sleep, but he didn't expect to have a stress reaction.

“Hoo~Hoo…”

"What's wrong with you? Why are you sitting on the ground? You're so dirty... Why are you sweating?"

"Chenchen, what's wrong? Look at me!"

When Mei Jing arrived, he saw Du Liangchen sitting on the ground. He recognized the clothes Du Liangchen had worn that morning. His face darkened, and he quickly ran to Du Liangchen's side, squatted down, touched his pale face, looked into his empty eyes filled with terror, and called out his name.

Hearing his words and feeling his trembling body, Mei Jing's eyes instantly welled up with tears. She couldn't understand how he had become like this after only an afternoon apart. Heartbroken, she pressed his head against her chest, gently patting his stiff back, and tenderly comforted him, "It's alright, it's alright, don't be afraid, I'm here, Chenchen, I'm here~"