Chapter 112: Driving

"Yes." Yang Yi nodded.

Seemingly satisfied with her affirmative answer, Thomas asked no more and continued nothing further.

The sky between the tree crowns grew slightly bright; this corner faded from darkness into gloom, allowing the surrounding scenery to be seen clearly.

Thomas's face grew redder, his breathing more urgent, heavy and coarse like a bellows.

Yang Yi asked with concern, "Mr. Thomas, are you alright?"

There was no response from the other side.

Thomas leaned slanted against a damp tree trunk, his head tilted back, brown curly hair messy and stained with mud and leaves; only his pale neck was exposed, and his body trembled slightly, wrapped in cold clothes.

Yang Yi moved to his side, tested the temperature of his forehead, and found it shockingly hot.

He had fainted again.

Miranda's instructions floated to mind: Mr. Thomas worked to the point of forgetting food and sleep, often forgot to eat, his health was not very good, and he had once fainted twice due to low blood sugar...

Yang Yi let out a long sigh, raised her own body temperature, and gently held him in her arms, like holding a sick child.

Thomas was dazed, as if sitting before a fireplace at home, flames crackling and licking the wood; he warmed himself, nestled in the sofa, soft backrest and armrests wrapping around him, extremely comfortable.

In this warm and cozy comfort, he slept, more comfortable than ever before, until he was gently pushed a few times.

"Mr. Thomas? Wake up, the sun is out—"

He opened his sore, aching eyes; a pair of pitch-black eyes looked at him with concern. And he was being held in her arms. She was radiating heat, hotter than him, baking a little sweat from his forehead.

The warmth in the dream came from the girl before him, he suddenly realized.

"Mm—" He slowly sat upright, breaking away from this beloved warmth, "Let's go," he said.

Struggling to crawl out from the corner, he was just about to stand up when he stumbled; if Yang Yi had not caught him, he would have almost fallen headfirst into the mudwater.

Yang Yi bent down before him, arms reaching behind, grabbed the back of his knees, and hoisted him onto her back in one motion. "You point the way."

Thomas struggled, but she held him down firmly.

"Mr. Thomas, now is not the time to worry about male dignity; your condition is serious. If you faint again, you might not wake up." She said with a serious tone.

Thomas's struggles stopped; just these few movements left him panting and his body weak.

He looked up at the sun, confirmed the direction, weakly extended his hand, and said nothing more.

All the way, he was extremely silent; if not for occasionally pointing the direction, Yang Yi would have thought he had fainted again.

It had rained all night yesterday; the forest was muddy everywhere, with wet, slippery moss. Yang Yi stepped deep and shallow, nearly slipping on the moss several times, but her hands always firmly gripped the back of his knees, preventing him from sliding down.

Thomas saw her maintain a slightly hunched posture to let him lie more steadily. Undoubtedly, this posture was very uncomfortable for her.

"Let me down!" Thomas said in a low voice the first time she nearly slipped.

"Sir, if you walk, you will reduce our speed." Yang Yi said.

Her tone was factual, with no hint of mockery. Her thin arms holding his legs did not relax; gentle, firm, and not to be refused.

Thomas fell silent.

He could not figure out how this slender body possessed such immense and enduring strength.

Her body was radiating heat, warming his chest until it too felt hot. He guessed she could control her own body temperature; all night, she had used this radiating heat to warm him, pulling him back from the hands of death.

She did not smell good now; mud, grass juice, and the scent of blood mixed into a strange odor, but this smell strangely made him feel secure. Her hair was matted into strands by blood and mud, and her white sweater had long lost its original color, torn to shreds by wild beasts, hanging on her body like a rag.

The sweater's neckline was too large; as she moved, one shoulder was exposed, the mud-stained strap hanging loosely on her thin shoulder blade, revealing her beautiful collarbone.

Seeing that strap about to slip down, Thomas hesitated for a moment, then quickly helped her pull it back up.

Yang Yi's steps seemed to pause for a moment, then her walking speed increased.

Morning mist filled the air; sunlight shone down through the tree crowns. The dense forest was damp and stifling, with not a single cool breeze.

Two hours later, her breathing also became heavy and coarse.

This was absolutely not the limit of her body, and she felt her development of her body was still insufficient. Just as letting an expert and a novice operate an excavator would yield different results.

"Let me down!" Thomas's tone was severe, his struggles large in amplitude. "I am serious."

Yang Yi had to stop and set him down.

"How much further?"

Thomas looked at the sun in the sky again. "Not far... according to the direction, we should be close to where we entered yesterday."

He insisted on walking himself, but after more than ten minutes, he panted like an ox that had plowed hundreds of acres of land, cold sweat constantly streaming down his face.

"Mr. Thomas," Yang Yi said seriously, "If we continue like this, we won't get out of this forest by noon. Moreover, your physical condition does not allow you to be so stubborn anymore. Whether I carry you in my arms or on my back, you can choose one."

Thomas's vision went black in flashes with stars swirling wildly; he waved his hands frantically, and before he could answer, Yang Yi hoisted him onto her back again.

There was no point talking to an uncooperative patient; just as Miranda said, at this time, one should not worry about his anger and harshness, but treat him firmly according to the best method.

After more than two hours, they finally walked out of the forest, slightly off from the direction they entered, near the car Thomas had driven.

Arriving at the car, Thomas took the keys from his pants pocket and tossed them to her, his voice weak: "Can you drive?"

"No. I don't have a driver's license."

Before becoming a civil servant, she had no money to buy a car and no time to get a driver's license. After becoming a civil servant, she was busy flying around, had a driver for all her comings and goings, and could fly herself, so she had never thought about getting a driver's license.

"Shift gears, brake on the left, accelerator on the right, just keep driving." He opened the passenger door and sat down weakly; even such a simple action was exhausting for him.

Yang Yi hesitated only for a moment, recalling how Liu Liu Siyuan had driven back then; gradually, the car finally began to move.

She drove very slowly; at first, the car swayed left and right, stopped and started, unable to go straight, but later it became steady.

She finally relaxed her arms, a smile curling at the corner of her lips; this smile carried a hint of self-satisfaction, as if to say, "It's quite simple."

Thomas leaned against the seat back with half-open eyes; seeing this, the corner of his mouth also curled slightly, but it disappeared very quickly.