After being reborn, the aloof female CEO became a paranoid.

Zhou Yu glanced at the screen and Xu Xinran said that she was still busy with work and couldn't pick them up.

A bitter smile appeared on his lips as he casually stuffed his phone into his pocket, his heart unmoved.

Without expectations, there is no disappointment; this is his current attitude towards Xu Xinran.

The pain of his past life, like a brand, constantly reminds him not to give his heart away so easily.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

Xu Shangchuan's childish voice interrupted his thoughts. He smiled and gently patted Xiao Chuan's head.

"It's okay, have you made your choice? Once you've chosen, we'll pay and leave."

"Yes." Xiaochuan nodded vigorously.

Zhou Yu asked the shop assistant to pack up the carefully selected cakes. After paying, he took Xiao Chuan's hand and walked through the bustling crowd toward the bench where Xu's mother was.

The dappled sunlight fell on Xu's mother's kind face, adding a touch of warmth to this ordinary scene.

However, this tranquility did not last long.

An out-of-control car crashed into the crowd like a mad bull, eliciting screams and shouts, plunging the crowd into chaos.

Zhou Yu's pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly looked around, trying to find the safest refuge.

But just then, the out-of-control car had already veered onto the shoulder and was heading straight for them.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Xu's mother's face turned deathly pale. She tried to get up and rush over in terror, but the distance was too far, and she couldn't make it in time.

In that critical moment, Zhou Yu did not hesitate for a moment. He turned around sharply, used all his strength to push Xu Shangchuan away, and stayed where he was, facing the out-of-control car.

He had only one thought in his mind: he absolutely could not let Xiao Chuan get hurt in any way!

This was his promise to himself, and also a way to make amends for the tragedy of his past life.

With a deafening crash as the car slammed into the bridge pier, Zhou Yu's body was flung away by the immense impact and eventually fell into the icy river water.

The moment I entered the water, the river felt like it was cutting me, and pain and cold instantly swept over my entire body.

The swift current relentlessly dragged him along. Despite his desperate struggles, his strength gradually waned until his consciousness began to fade.

The clamor of the crowd on the shore still seemed to echo in my ears, with cries for help rising and falling, but gradually fading away and becoming indistinct. Finally, I slowly closed my eyes.

On the riverbank, Xu's mother staggered towards Xiaochuan, her eyes fixed on the surging river that had swallowed Zhou Yu, her face as pale as paper, and she was on the verge of fainting.

The uncertainty surrounding Zhou Yu's fate tormented her, and even though she had weathered many storms, she could not withstand this sudden despair.

"Mom...Brother! Help my brother!"

Xiaochuan's voice was filled with fear. His hands and feet were scraped and in excruciating pain from the fall, but compared to his brother's safety, these injuries seemed insignificant.

He clung tightly to his mother's clothes, crying and begging for help.

Meanwhile, Xu Xinran, far away in the conference room, felt a strange sense of foreboding welling up inside her.

She checked her phone repeatedly, but Zhou Yu still hadn't replied to her messages. Even though he always did, she still felt very uneasy at that moment.

The previously orderly work rhythm was disrupted by the sudden anxiety. Even though she knew that there were still long meetings waiting for her, she had no heart to linger.

"Alright, that concludes today's meeting."

She decisively interrupted the meeting and then hurriedly left, leaving her colleagues in a room full of astonishment.

Xu Xinran was extremely anxious and immediately dialed Zhou Yu's number, but only a cold, mechanical female voice answered her.

Undeterred, she tried again, but to no avail. She then dialed her mother's number. After a long wait, a faint voice finally came through the phone, filled with barely concealed sorrow and panic.

"Mom, where's Zhou Yu?" Her voice trembled slightly.

“Xinran…” Her mother’s voice was almost choked with sobs, and Xu Xinran’s heart sank to the bottom.

Immediately following was Xiaochuan's tearful cries, which clearly reached her ears through the telephone line.

"Sister, come quick! My brother... he was hit by a car and fell into the river, waaaaah..."

These words struck like a bolt from the blue, shattering all of Xu Xinran's rationality and composure.

The phone slipped from her hand and crashed to the ground, but she had no time to care.

At this moment, she had only one thought in her mind—she had to see Zhou Yu, no matter what, she had to do it now!