Yun Hanchuan drifted in and out of consciousness, trapped in a sea of darkness. In his dream, he stood alone on a snowy field, the snow stained crimson with blood. In the distance, a small blurry figure waved at him. He tried to run toward it, but his legs felt as heavy as lead. Just then, the roar of engines woke him out of the nightmare.
His eyes snapped open. Instinctively, his left hand reached for his waist—where his pistol should have been. But it was gone. A sharp pain pierced through his shoulder, anchoring him back to reality. Outside the wooden cabin, at least three military jeeps were drawing closer. Their engines rumbled, followed by the synchronized stomp of boots and the clatter of metal gear.
"Bang!" The door slammed open, hitting the wall with a deafening crash. A tall silhouette stood framed against the light and the heavy thud of military boots echoing across the floor.
"Hanchuan!" A familiar voice—laced with urgency rarely heard.
Yun Hanchuan squinted against the sudden brightness. As his eyes adjusted and he saw the man standing there, his tensed nerves finally eased. "Brother?"
Yun Zhanchuan—the eldest of the Yun family, already the commander of a special ops unit before the age of thirty-five. Dressed in full combat gear, pistol holstered at his waist, the scent of gunpowder still clinging to him, he strode over and dropped to one knee to examine his younger brother's wounds with swift precision.
"You've got the devil's luck," Yun Zhanchuan muttered in a low voice, though concern hidden beneath his gruff tone. "As soon as I got Cheng Yan's distress call, I called in a helicopter. The Lin Group really overstepped this time. They dared lay their hands on a Yun."
Yun Hanchuan gave a faint smirk, which tugged at the wound on his face. "Just business rivalry. Didn't think they'd go this far."
"This far?" Yun Zhanchuan scoffed as he unbuttoned his brother's bloodstained shirt to check his wound. "Twelve professional assassins, three modified vehicles, and military-grade weapons? That's not competition—that's a declaration of war!" His fingers pressed lightly around a bullet graze on Yun Hanchuan's abdomen. "Not fatal. Just a graze, but you've lost a lot of blood."
Yun Hanchuan didn't reply. His gaze drifted toward the crude little bed inside the cabin. Tuan Tuan was still curled there, golden eyes warily watching the armed intruders.
"What is it?" Yun Zhanchuan followed his gaze and saw only a white cat curled on the bed. "Too injured to walk? I'll have someone carry you."
"No need." Yun Hanchuan inhaled deeply and pushed himself upright. He walked over to the bed and removed his luxurious Patek Philippe watch from his wrist, placing it gently beside Tuan Tuan.
The cat opened one eye, glanced at the watch, then at Yun Hanchuan. Seemingly understanding, Tuan Tuan nudged the watch closer to itself with a paw—as if promising to keep it safe.
"Let's go." With Yun Zhanchuan supporting him, Yun Hanchuan took one last look around the cabin. Sunlight filtered through the windows, casting mottled shadows on the mud floor. He thought of the little girl—Nuan Nuan—living here alone, how she fetched water by touch, tended the fire with practiced hands, brewed medicine in silence…
"Hanchuan?" Yun Zhanchuan looked at his brother, puzzled.
Yun Hanchuan turned his eyes away. "Let's go."
Several hours later, when Nuan Nuan returned home, the cabin was empty. She paused at the doorway, instantly sensing the lingering scent of strangers—many had been here, but all were now gone.
"Blackie." Her voice was soft, and cautious.
Blackie circled around her feet, sniffing the ground. "Lots of unfamiliar scents… and the injured man."
Nuan Nuan pushed the door open. The house felt deserted, stripped of presence. Only Tuan Tuan leapt from the bed to greet her. She crouched down, fingers brushing across the floor. The damp earth bore a mess of footprints—some were deep, as if someone had stood here for a long time.
"Meow~" Tuan Tuan nuzzled against her leg, something dangling from its mouth.
Nuan Nuan reached out, and a cool piece of metal dropped into her palm. Slowly, she traced the engraved dial, her fingers gliding over each seam of the leather strap. It was his watch, still faintly scented with cologne and tinged with a trace of blood.
"Meow~ They left," Tuan Tuan said softly, nudging her wrist. "He said this is for you."
Nuan Nuan froze, gently stroking the finely crafted timepiece. The smooth, cold metal… the leather strap carrying his scent. She lifted the watch to her ear. "Tick-tock. Tick-tock." The second hand echoed like a heartbeat—His heartbeat. It felt just like the steady pulse she had felt when bandaging him.
"He's gone?" she asked quietly, not realising the hint of sadness lingering in her voice.
Tuan Tuan nodded. "Meow~ A bunch of people in military uniforms came and took him."
Nuan Nuan felt her way to the bed and sat down, clutching the watch tightly. Outside, the setting sun cast a golden glow across her face through the window. She didn't know who he was, or why he had come, but an unfamiliar feeling welled up inside her—as if something precious had been taken away.
Qianhai City – People's First Hospital, VIP Ward.
"The wound was handled professionally," said Yun Mochuan, second son of the Yun family and Director of Surgery, as he examined his brother. "That purple herb she used stops bleeding better than some of our meds. Can't believe a six-year-old did this."
Yun Hanchuan leaned back against the hospital bed, eyes drifting to the distant mountains visible from the window—the direction of the little girl's cabin. He barely registered his brother's words. His mind was filled with her image: chestnut curls, pale little face, and those unfocused yet strikingly clear eyes.
"Hanchuan?" Yun Mochuan frowned. "Are you listening?"
"Mm." Yun Hanchuan responded absentmindedly. His fingers stroking the bedsheet, as if trying to recall the feeling of her cold fingertips bandaging him.
At that moment, Cheng Yan entered, carrying a file. Yun Mochuan gave them space and quietly left.
"Did you find anything?" Yun Hanchuan straightened abruptly, ignoring the pull on his wounds.
Cheng Yan nodded and opened the folder. "That little girl's name is Nuan Nuan. Six years old. Lives alone in that mountain hut with a black dog and a white cat."
Yun Hanchuan's brow furrowed. "What about her parents?"
"Her mother was Su Wan. Locals say she was a quiet outsider who showed up six years ago and married a local thug named Li Qiang. Shortly after, she gave birth to Nuan Nuan. But when she was four, Su Wan vanished."
"Vanished?" Yun Hanchuan's voice turned cold.
Cheng Yan swallowed. "Yes. Rumor says she ran off with another man. Nuan Nuan's father, Li Qiang, is a notorious drunk and gambler. After Su Wan disappeared, he married a woman named Wang Cuihua and had a son. They…"
He hesitated. "They beat Nuan Nuan. Constantly."
Yun Hanchuan's fists clenched on the bedsheet making his knuckles white. Those faint scars on Nuan Nuan's body—now he knows where they came from.
"Villagers tried to intervene, but when they spoke up, Li Qiang and his wife shouted at them to take the girl if they were so concerned. Qing Shan Ao is not a wealthy village, and no one is willing to raise a blind child for free…"
"So they just let a four-year-old blind girl be abused?" Yun Hanchuan's voice was ice-cold, his glare sharp enough to make Cheng Yan instinctively step back.
Cheng Yan dared not respond and simply continued, "Eventually, Li Qiang and his wife couldn't even be bothered anymore. They dumped her in that hut on the mountain to fend for herself."
Yun Hanchuan closed his eyes, his chest rose and fell violently. The image haunted him: little Nuan Nuan, groping through darkness just to survive. No one cared if she was fed, clothed, or frightened…
"As for the ambush," Cheng Yan continued, wisely shifting the topic, "we've confirmed it was orchestrated by Lin Tianxiong of the Lin Group. He found out we plan to develop a new energy project in Qing Shan Ao and feared we'd dominate the western market."
"Prepare an acquisition plan." Yun Hanchuan opened his eyes, the business tycoon in him had returned, his tone razor-sharp. "I want over 50% of Lin Group's shares transferred to Yun Corporation within a month."
Cheng Yan nodded and noted it down. After a pause, he asked hesitantly, "And… Nuan Nuan?"
Yun Hanchuan turned to the window. The distant mountains lay still, cradling a small figure he could not forget. He thought of her quietly brewing medicine, of her trembling lashes as she sipped soup, of the fleeting smile when he thanked her…
"Prepare the adoption paperwork," he said softly, but firmly. "I'm bringing her home."
Outside, the sun had vanished beyond the horizon. Night had fallen. But in Yun Hanchuan's heart, that little girl named Nuan Nuan has become a faint light—one that illuminated the softest corners of his soul.