Chen Jiaying stared at Wen Zhi in shock.
She had never expected—
That Wen Zhi would step in to protect her.
"Why are you still standing there? Get out—now!" Wen Zhi shouted.
Snapping back to her senses, Chen Jiaying scrambled out from beneath the crazed passenger and collapsed onto the floor, shaken and pale.
Just as the madman struggled to his feet and lunged toward Wen Zhi—
The co-pilot Mo Tingyan had dispatched rushed in at exactly the right moment.
Young, strong, and decisive, he subdued the man within moments. Several flight attendants quickly joined in, working together to restrain him tightly.
Even after being bound, the passenger remained violently agitated. His body convulsed, and he began vomiting forcefully, almost projectile-like.
Passengers screamed in terror. Some, fueled by panic and imagination, whispered frantically—
"Why does this look like something out of a zombie outbreak?"
The chief steward immediately stepped in to calm everyone down, loudly asking if there was a doctor on board.
No one answered.
Yan Duo stared at the man's condition, her voice trembling.
"Could this be epilepsy?"
Ignoring the pain shooting through her wrist, Wen Zhi crouched down beside the passenger. She slapped his shoulder firmly, trying to rouse him, and called out loudly,
"Sir! Sir, can you hear me? Do you have any medication with you? Anything that can help?"
The man's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
His gaze was unfocused yet vicious—
Like a wild animal with no trace of rational awareness left.
The chief steward immediately called over two attendants to search the man's bag for medicine—
There was nothing.
Realizing how critical the situation was, Mo Tingyan contacted the control tower without hesitation and requested an immediate return.
When the aircraft landed back at Haicheng Airport, ambulances and police vehicles were already waiting.
The moment the cabin door opened, Mo Tingyan rushed out of the cockpit.
In the forward service area, the crazed passenger was still bound, lying stiff and motionless. Vomit was splattered everywhere.
Wen Zhi was crouched beside him, unmoving, her expression frozen.
Several younger flight attendants stood nearby, faces drained of all color.
Mo Tingyan stepped closer.
"How is it?"
The chief steward looked at him gravely—and shook his head.
Seeing the passenger's tightly closed eyes and lifeless stillness, Mo Tingyan immediately understood.
He strode forward, pulled Wen Zhi up from the floor, and wrapped her into his arms, gently stroking her back to soothe her.
Slowly, Wen Zhi came back to herself. She lifted her head, her voice hoarse and strained.
"He… he's already dead."
Everyone had been there—
Helplessly watching as life slipped away right in front of them.
Mo Tingyan held her tighter, his voice low and steady.
"You did everything you could."
Medical personnel boarded the plane and confirmed the passenger's death.
To avoid further panic, Mo Tingyan and the chief steward disembarked separately to explain the situation to the police and doctors.
When the chief steward mentioned that the deceased had been drooling, attempting to bite others, and making strange guttural sounds, one of the accompanying doctors suddenly asked,
"Could this be rabies?"
To confirm, the doctor made a call to check hospital records.
A few days earlier, the man had indeed visited Haicheng Hospital's infectious disease department.
The doctor there had instructed him not only to get the rabies vaccine but also rabies immunoglobulin.
The man, believing it unnecessary and a waste of money, hadn't paid—
And had left without receiving treatment.
Mid-explanation, the chief steward suddenly clapped his hands in alarm.
"Oh no—Xiao Zhi was bitten!"
Back on the plane, the flight attendants forced themselves to stay composed. After settling the passengers' emotions, they guided everyone off the aircraft to await rescheduling.
In the service area, Wen Zhi disinfected the bite wound on her wrist with iodine, cotton swab trembling slightly.
A shadow fell beside her.
She looked up to see Chen Jiaying standing there, eyes heavy with guilt.
"You need something?" Wen Zhi asked coolly.
Chen Jiaying took a breath.
"Earlier… thank you."
She knew very well—
If Wen Zhi hadn't stepped in, the one bitten would have been her.
Wen Zhi replied calmly and distantly,
"Even if it weren't you, I wouldn't have stood by and done nothing."
Chen Jiaying stepped closer, reaching for the cotton swab.
"Let me help you."
Wen Zhi subtly moved her hand away.
"No need. I can do it myself."
"You'll need rabies shots once we're back in Jiangcheng, right?"
Before she finished speaking—
Mo Tingyan rushed up the aircraft stairs and grabbed Wen Zhi's hand, lowering his head to look.
The bite on her wrist had broken the skin.
It wasn't small.
The chief steward followed closely behind, anxious.
"Captain, take Xiao Zhi to get treated immediately. I'll handle things here."
Wen Zhi asked in confusion,
"Chief Steward, what happened?"
The chief steward answered urgently,
"That passenger died from rabies. You must go to the hospital right away for vaccination. The police car downstairs can take you—they're heading that way anyway."
Wen Zhi froze.
Rabies… confirmed onset…
That meant her risk had skyrocketed.
Mo Tingyan didn't say another word. He took her hand and escorted her straight into the police vehicle, heading directly to the hospital.
After wound cleaning, vaccination, and immunoglobulin injection, the doctor went over precautions carefully.
Wen Zhi asked uneasily,
"Doctor… with the vaccine, is it a hundred percent guaranteed I won't get infected?"
The doctor replied calmly,
"No vaccine can guarantee one hundred percent protection. Some people have weaker immune responses and don't produce enough antibodies.
But this vaccine is absolutely necessary. Since the source patient was a confirmed rabies case, receiving the vaccine greatly lowers your risk.
If you're still worried, you can come back after completing the full course to test your antibody levels."
When Wen Zhi left the hospital, her mood was visibly heavy.
Mo Tingyan reached out and took her hand.
She irritably shook it off and said in a low voice,
"You should keep some distance from me for a while. I'm afraid… I might bite you."
Without hesitation, Mo Tingyan pulled her into his arms and lowered his head, kissing her firmly—
Even giving her soft, punishing nips on her moist lips.
"Ow—!"
Wen Zhi pushed him away angrily.
"Mo Tingyan! Stop messing around!"
He gently stroked her hair, his voice warm and steady.
"I'm not messing around. You shouldn't have asked the doctor that question—doctors never say 'one hundred percent.' That's basic medical sense."
She looked up at him, voice muffled.
"But what if…? I've never been lucky. Good things never come to me.
There was a passenger feeling unwell—I only went to help—and I got bitten.
And out of all possibilities, he just happened to have rabies…"
She laughed bitterly at herself.
"Such a tiny probability, yet it still landed on me.
Mo Tingyan, someone as unlucky as me—how could I ever dare to hope for one hundred percent?"
Mo Tingyan looked at her quietly.
She was only twenty-one—
How could something like this not terrify her?
His hand moved slowly, gently rubbing her back again and again.
"I used to be unlucky too," he said softly.
"Everything I cared about—I couldn't get it, couldn't protect it.
But now it's different. My heart is strong, and I have the ability to protect everything I love."
He lowered his head, his forehead touching hers.
"Baby, you'll be fine.
I'll always be right here with you. Hmm?"