Nuan Nuan ran through the darkness.
It wasn't just dark—it was suffocating and endless, like a heavy ink that clung to her skin and filled her lungs. No matter how fast she ran, there was no way out. No light. No direction. Just that crushing, silent black.
Her breathing came in sharp gasps, her bare feet pounding against ground that wasn't there—weightless, soundless, surreal.
Then it came.
A massive python erupted from the shadows, its body glistening and slick—
and its head bore the face of Li Qiang.
"You worthless brat," the serpent hissed, its forked tongue flickering near her ear. "Stop struggling. You can't run away. Not away from me…"
The icy coils wrapped around her, tighter and tighter, pulling her back into the void. Nuan Nuan's tiny frame trembled as she fought against the crushing weight.
She slapped, clawed, kicked—but her voice made no sound.
"Let go! Let me go!" she tried to scream, but the words never reached the air.
The snake's body constricted mercilessly, squeezing the breath from her lungs. Her head began to spin. Her chest burned.
She was drowning in the dark.
But just as her strength began to fade, something deep inside her sparked.
A flicker of rage. Of fear. Of life.
With one final, desperate twist, she broke free.
She ran again—fleeing deeper into the dark.
But this time, something caught her.
A sharp claw tore into her skin and yanked her backward. She twisted around in terror—
And saw a demon grinning down at her, with the twisted, sneering face of Wang Cuihua.
"You filthy little brat," the creature spat, voice shrill and cruel. "Where do you think you're running to?"
The demon's claws sank into Nuan Nuan's arm, and hot blood trickled down her pale skin.
Pain shot through her. Her tears spilled silently, but she refused to make a sound.
No crying. Not in front of her.
She clenched her jaw, trembling from the agony—but she didn't scream.
Then—
A glow appeared in the darkness.
Soft and warm, like sunlight filtered through spring leaves.
From within it, a gentle figure stepped forward.
A woman.
Nuan Nuan's eyes widened. Her lips parted, but still no sound came.
"Mama..." she whispered in her heart.
The woman—Su Wan—knelt beside her.
Her touch was tender, her palm cool and comforting as it brushed the child's tear-streaked cheek.
"Nuan Nuan," her voice murmured, warm as the wind in May,
"You must live, my darling. No matter what, never give up. Never let the darkness win."
Her words floated like a lullaby.
"I promise—there will be happiness waiting for you. Just hold on a little longer..."
The light began to fade.
And with it, her mother's figure dissolved—slowly swallowed by the black.
Nuan Nuan sank to the ground, curling into herself in the cold.
She hugged her knees, trembling, as the tears she'd held back finally fell.
"Mama's a liar…"
She buried her face against her arms.
"No matter how hard I try… happiness never finds me."
In the real world, the shrill scream of the heart monitor tore through the silence of the ICU.
"Heart rate's at 160! Blood pressure still dropping!" a nurse called out, panic in her voice.
Sweat beaded on Yun Mochuan's forehead. "Get the epinephrine—now!"
Yun Hanchuan stood motionless, watching the medical team swarm around his daughter's frail, unconscious body.
On the screen, the erratic peaks and valleys of her heart rhythm spiked and crashed in frantic waves—each pulse of light cutting into him like a blade.
His fists clenched at his sides, nails biting into his palms so hard they broke the skin. But he didn't feel the pain.
This man—who once ruled boardrooms with cold precision, who made titans of industry bow their heads—
now stood helpless. Powerless.
Like a child, lost in a storm he could not control.
And for the first time in his life, he understood what it meant…
to be completely, gut-wrenchingly powerless.
"Nuan Nuan!"
Suddenly, he lunged forward—pushing past the nurses.
"Sir, you can't—!"
But Yun Hanchuan didn't hear them. He reached out and grabbed his daughter's tiny hand, cold and limp in his own.
"Nuan Nuan, it's Daddy! I'm here!"
His voice cracked, raw and trembling.
"Daddy's right here—don't be afraid! Don't leave me... please..."
"Sir, please step back!" a nurse tried to pull Yun Hanchuan away.
But he didn't budge.
He couldn't.
His fingers were wrapped tightly around Nuan Nuan's icy hand, as if letting go would sever the last thread tethering her to this world.
"Nuan Nuan... I'm so sorry," he whispered hoarsely, his voice shaking with guilt and grief. "These six years... you've suffered so much. But it's over now. Daddy's here. I won't let anything hurt you again. Never. I promise... I'll be with you, always..."
The medical staff exchanged glances, ready to intervene.
Just as they moved, Yun Mochuan raised a hand.
"Wait."
Everyone froze.
The heart monitor, which had been screaming in panic just moments ago, suddenly began to steady.
160…
145…
135…
130…
"Keep talking," Yun Mochuan said quietly to his brother, eyes fixed on the monitor.
"She can hear you."
Yun Hanchuan swallowed hard, his voice thick with emotion.
"Nuan Nuan, Daddy found you... and I'm never letting you go again."
He dropped to his knees beside her bed, clinging to her hand like a lifeline.
"When you get better, I'll take you to the amusement park. We'll ride the carousel, eat ice cream... I'll buy you every pretty dress you want. You can adopt all the kittens and puppies you love... anything. Just come back to me. Please."
A single tear slipped down his cheek and fell onto Nuan Nuan's pale face.
And in the endless dark of her unconscious mind—
A light appeared.
Soft.
Gentle.
Calling her home.
That beam of light—
It wasn't blinding.
It was warm. Like sunlight filtering through a winter morning, soft and golden, wrapping her in a comfort she had never known.
And from within the light, came a voice.
Low. Steady. Gentle.
Each word pulsed through her like a heartbeat.
"...Daddy's here... I'll always be with you..."
The voice slipped past every wall she had built, like a key fitting perfectly into a long-forgotten lock.
And something inside Nuan Nuan—something small, scared, and hidden—finally opened.
"...I'll take you to the amusement park... buy you all the pretty dresses you like..."
A fragile smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
For the first time, in the heart of a nightmare—
She saw a light that wasn't just an illusion.
"...you can have as many kittens and puppies as you want..."
Tuan Tuan.
Blackie.
She missed them.
And that man...
The one who gave her the watch.
The one whose hand was always warm, whose presence always brought calm.
Was he really... Daddy?
A single tear slid from the corner of Nuan Nuan's eye.
At that exact moment, the monitors around her let out a steady, rhythmic beep. No more alarms. No more chaos.
"Heart rate 90. Blood pressure—normal. Oxygen saturation—98%..."
The nurse's voice trembled in disbelief.
Yun Mochuan let out a long breath, the tension finally leaving his shoulders. He reached out and gently patted his brother on the back.
"She made it," he said softly.
But Yun Hanchuan didn't move.
He was still holding tightly onto his daughter's hand, as if the moment he let go, she might vanish again.
His forehead rested gently against her tiny, ice-cold fingers, and for the first time in decades, the man feared by boardrooms and billionaires alike—shook.
His shoulders trembled. Not from anger.
But from the overwhelming, soul-deep relief of a father who had finally—finally—saved his child.
"Mr Yun…" Cheng Yan spoke gently, hesitant to interrupt the silence. "You should get some rest."
Yun Hanchuan shook his head, his voice hoarse from emotion and exhaustion.
"I'm not leaving."
Yun Mochuan sighed with understanding.
"At least change your clothes. Nuan Nuan needs a sterile environment now."
It was only then that Yun Hanchuan noticed the blood on his tailored suit—some of it hers, some from the torn flesh of his own palm.
He looked down at his bloodstained cuffs, his jaw tightening for a brief second. Then he gently placed Nuan Nuan's hand back beneath the blanket, reluctant to let go.
"I'll be right back," he said quietly to Yun Mochuan. "If anything changes—anything—call me immediately."
"You have my word."
When Yun Hanchuan returned, freshly washed and in clean clothes, the room was calm.
Nuan Nuan lay peacefully beneath the soft white sheets, her breathing steady and light. Under the warm overhead light, her long lashes cast delicate shadows across her pale cheeks. Her lips, once tightly pursed in fear, had relaxed slightly—almost like she was dreaming a quiet, gentle dream.
Yun Hanchuan stood by the bed, staring at her in silence, feeling something loosen in his chest.
She was still here. And for now, that was enough.
Yun Hanchuan sat quietly at the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb the stillness in the room. Gently, he reached out and took his daughter's hand once more.
This time—he felt it.
A faint twitch.
Her tiny fingers moved, just barely, but enough for his breath to catch in his throat.
"Nuan Nuan…" he whispered, the sound softer than the morning breeze. "Can you hear Daddy's voice?"
She didn't open her eyes, but her lashes trembled ever so slightly. It was like she was trying to respond, to fight her way back to him through the haze.
"It's okay… there's no rush," he murmured, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "We'll take our time. Daddy's not going anywhere."
Outside the window, the first golden light of dawn pierced through the clouds, spilling into the sterile white room like a silent promise.
The long night had finally ended.
And for Nuan Nuan and Yun Hanchuan, a new life—one they had been cruelly denied for six long years—was just beginning.