Chapter 1 Meeting In Rainy Night

It was one o'clock in the morning.

The brightly lit city was still wide awake. Filled with chattering crowds, it was as if the city never even slept. Although the rain fell harshly against the pavements, it still couldn't silence the loud atmosphere. The entire city was shrouded in haze, which looked very much like Natalie An's future.

Standing in front of the CL Building, Natalie An glanced at her watch. The sound of rain hovering over her made her even more restless.

She had just worked overtime. If she didn't go back and get to bed quickly, then she wouldn't be able to get up tomorrow. Gritting her teeth, she held her bag in her arms and rushed into the rain.

Bean-sized raindrops fell on her body, but regardless of the crappy weather and the rushing crowds, Natalie An was determined to run all the way home. Suddenly, she stumbled over something and fell on the ground before she could stop herself.

The puddle splashed right on her face as pain swept over her limbs. What was even worse was that the bag she was holding was already dirtied with mud. Regardless of the pain, Natalie An slowly got up angrily, trying to find out what made her fall down. However, when she turned around, she saw something that almost made her want to fall down all over again.

Although the alley was shrouded with darkness, she could clearly see a person lying on the ground in front of her. He was drenched in his own blood!

Suddenly, thunder clapped across the sky. Her heart was beating so fast that she was afraid that it would jump right out of her chest. She stood up frantically and grabbed her bag. The last thing she needed was to let this man get her into trouble.

However, no matter how many times she tried to turn away, she just couldn't find it in herself to leave.

Natalie An stood alone under the rain, gasping for fresh air. She gripped her bag, wondering what she should do.

If she left him like this and he died because of this, then she might as well have indirectly killed the person! She wouldn't be able to sleep well evermore!

With a resigned sigh, she went back to check him. If he was still alive, then she would call 120 and leave.

Natalie An approached him. The man was still motionless. In fact, it was hard to tell if he was still alive at this point. She poked him. "Are you still alive?" she whispered.

Nothing happened.

She poked him again. "Can you hear me? Sir, please wake up."

There was still no movement.

She held her hand over his face, and when she felt his breath on her hand, she almost leaned back in relief. It was a good thing that she didn't run away like she had wanted to in the first place, or else she might as well just cause the man's death.

"Hold on. I'll call the ambulance and take you to the hospital." Natalie An pulled out her phone from her pocket.

Suddenly, the man reached and grabbed her wrist.

Being caught off guard, Natalie An stumbled back subconsciously. She dropped her phone and shook off his grip.

"Don't!" Carter Tan said weakly. His dizziness resulted in his poor consciousness. Even the raindrops smashing against his body weren't enough to keep him awake.

Startled, Natalie leaned in closer, not being able to hear him with this storm.

"W- What?"

She trembled, but he didn't reply. After waiting for a long time, Natalie inched forward.

"Hey! What did you just say?" She attempted to poke him again. However, when her fingertip grazed across his skin, she withdrew it almost immediately.

He had a fever!

In order to confirm her own thoughts, Natalie reached out to pull away his wet hair from his forehead to feel his temperature. He did have a fever!

Under the dim light, she decided to take this opportunity to observe him.

His jawline seemed to have been created by God himself. Even if he was scrambled across the pavements, he still looked handsome. She couldn't help but lean in closer, wondering why the person looked so familiar.

As Natalie stared at him, a thought came to her mind.

It was him! It was him! How could she have forgotten? Even if he turned into a bucket of ash, she still wouldn't forget the man she had fallen in love with for three years.

Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she picked up her phone to call the ambulance. "Is this the People's Hospital? Someone got injured and fainted. We're at..." she informed the man of their location.

After hanging up the phone, she stared at him as if she was still in a trance. The person lying in front of her was the person she had been dreaming of for three years...

He was finally here.

When Carter Tan regained his consciousness, all he could see were white furnishings and a strange woman standing by his side.

"Are you awake? I'll call the doctor!" Natalie stood up hastily.

'Doctor?' It was then when he realized where he was. That damn woman brought him to the hospital!

Carter Tan gritted his teeth. Well, it was obvious he couldn't stay here for too long or the guy might find him. He struggled to sit up and pulled out the needle from his hand. Regardless of the blood splattering across the sheets, he got out of bed and staggered towards the doorway.

"What are you doing?" Hearing the noise, Natalie quickly turned around to support him. "You still have a fever. Go back and lie down."

Carter Tan scowled. "Either help me get out of here or leave!"

She recoiled from his attitude. "Hello? From where I'm standing, I'm the one who saved your life!"

"The only one you're going to be is the woman leading me closer to my deathbed!" Carter Tan sneered. Without another word, he shook off her grip and started walking even quicker.

"What do you mean? Hey!" Natalie followed him. He didn't really care as he surveyed his surroundings, trying to find a place where he could go.

There were several men in black suits at the next corridor. He was about to go the other way when they noticed him. "Over there! Catch him!"

"Come on!" Holding Natalie's hand, Carter Tan sprinted the other way.

Natalie didn't even have the time to react. She followed him breathlessly. "Prince Charming, why are they chasing you?"

In a burst of panic, she couldn't help but call him by his nickname.

"Over there!" The men in black followed them closely as they ran out of the hospital. Wherever they went, they were determined to go after them.

Natalie was out of breath. Even Carter was already sweating. He was on the verge of fainting at any moment.

When they ran up the bridge, he paused. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"What?" She couldn't even make sense of his words anymore.

"It's too late. Climb up." Carter didn't even give her a chance to think it through. He quickly assisted her up the railings.

Natalie climbed up reluctantly. It was not until the cold wind woke her up did she realize what he intended to do.

Her legs trembled. "Will we die for love, Prince Charming?" she yelled.

Carter raised his gaze towards her and smiled.

In the past three years since she had a crush on him, this was the only time she had ever seen him smile.

"Come down!" A group of men ran towards them.

Before she could say anything, Carter pulled her down.

Natalie shrieked as the cold waves met her back. The water entered her throat, rendering her breathless. She gasped for air as she splashed around. Was she dying?

It never occurred to her that she would live this long just to die for some man's expense.

Suddenly, a pair of strong hands held her up and took her out of the raging waves. She gasped once she was met with fresh air as she held onto the man, fearing that if she let go, she would sink into the never-ending abyss.

Finally, she saw light.

With her arms wrapped around Carter's neck, she coughed violently till her entire face was flushed red. "Are–are we in heaven?" she said faintly.

"Yes." Carter laughed as he swam towards land.

A gust of cool wind blew towards them, making her shiver. Her clothes clung to her body, highlighting her snow-white skin and exquisite curves. Even though the night was dark, he could feel the rising temperature coursing through her body.

They stared at each other.

Natalie froze. Ever since Carter graduated, she had never thought that they would meet again. In fact, she didn't even think that she would be this close to him. It was like a dream.

The illusion somehow rendered her in a daze.

His wet clothes made him feel cold, but he felt his body growing hotter and hotter. With Natalie wrapped around him like that, he immediately quickened his pace back to the riverbank before setting her down. He was about to leave her like this.

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows at his cold attitude. "Prince Charming, where are you going?" she stuttered as she ran after him.

"Prince Charming?" Carter finally stopped as he turned to her with an incomprehensible smile slipping into his lips. "Do we know each other?"