Chapter 24 Tears streamed down their faces as the wailing sirens echoed from where they had come from…

The wailing sirens echoed in the direction they had come from. Jiang Huaichuan held Shen Li in his arms, his eyes deep and unfathomable, his sensual lips pressed tightly together.

Sure enough, the news reported it that evening, and the van in the photo with a large dent in its rear was the same one that had hit them that evening.

Even the location of the accident remained unchanged.

The accident occurred just ten minutes after they left.

The accident scene was horrific. Large swathes of blood, like spider lilies blooming in the white snow, seemed to be a call from the dead. The deceased was covered with a thick layer of mosaic, but the gruesome state of death was still evident.

Shen Li had just finished showering, water droplets still clinging to the ends of her hair as she dried it with a towel. Her fair skin, flushed with a faint blush, was exposed, and her slender waist was hidden beneath her bathrobe.

Noticing Jiang Huaichuan's gaze, Shen Li looked at him with a smile, her eyes reddening.

Jiang Huaichuan's eyes darkened.

If Uncle Wu had reacted any slower, he wouldn't have hit the rear left side of the car, but would have hit the rear left side door directly.

Shen Li was sitting there at that time.

If it was intentional, he had no evidence, since it's perfectly normal for vehicles to slip on icy roads and downhill sections during heavy snow; but if it was an accident, it just seemed too coincidental.

But if it was man-made, who is the mastermind behind this...?

That night, Shen Li felt a dampness on his neck. He groggily opened his eyes and saw Jiang Huaichuan curled up in his arms, his head, smelling of citrus shampoo, resting against his collarbone.

His collarbone was damp, and Shen Li's scattered thoughts returned. He lowered his eyes and gently brushed away the stray hairs on Jiang Huaichuan's forehead.

In his sleep, Jiang Huaichuan's brows furrowed slightly, his eyes were moist and glistening with tears, and upon closer inspection, there were two mottled tear tracks on his face.

Shen Li's heart skipped a beat. His fingertips brushed against Jiang Huaichuan's long, straight eyelashes, gently wiping away the tear that was about to fall.

What did you dream about? You look so pitiful.

Shen Li stared blankly at Jiang Huaichuan. After a long while, Shen Li turned her body slightly to the side and gently patted Jiang Huaichuan's back.

In the quiet of the night, Shen Li said goodnight to her only listener.

"I am here."

The next day, Jiang Huaichuan was visibly listless. He was like a wooden puppet, following Chen Li wherever he went, his eyes never leaving him for a moment.

Even as the year drew to a close, Shen Li still didn't know what Jiang Huaichuan had dreamt about that night, but she was certain that it was related to her, and if nothing unexpected happened, it was a nightmare.

Fortunately, the festive atmosphere dispelled the suppressed fear in Jiang Huaichuan's heart; today was the last working day before the Spring Festival.

Jiang's Group's year-end bonuses have always been paid in cash, wrapped in red envelopes that the company's design department customizes every year.

Starting at 10 a.m. on this day, employees who have finished their work will line up according to the list to enter the office of their direct supervisor to receive New Year's greetings.

After receiving the red envelope, you can go home for the Chinese New Year.

After their employees received their red envelopes, the managers and deputy managers of each department gathered in the assistant department, waiting for their own New Year's red envelopes.

The year-end bonuses for this group of people are linked to their years of service and the company's annual net profit, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan. Of course, Jiang Huaichuan couldn't actually hand out dozens of bundles of cash; as in previous years, he simply included a lucky number in the red envelopes.

Treat everyone equally – 18888.

In order, the Assistant Department and the Secretariat are listed last.

"Happy New Year, Song Zhu. Are you going to go on four dates a day from the first to the fourth day of the Lunar New Year again this year when you go back to your hometown?"

"Go away, go away, don't expect me to do well, OK?" It was Chinese New Year, and Song An was no longer as serious as usual. He couldn't help but kick Liu Mingqiang. "I'm not going back to my hometown this year."

Liu Mingqiang paused, his smile fading, and leaned closer to ask in a low voice, "What happened?"

Song An sighed deeply, a hint of frustration flashing in his eyes.

Song Anren is intelligent, capable, has high emotional intelligence, and is also good-looking. While not stunning, she has a face that is memorable at first glance. Unfortunately, she was born into a blood-sucking family.

Unlike other families that favor sons over daughters, his family favored sons over sons, and the whole family revolved around his older brother. Even Song An's birth was because Song Ping needed umbilical cord blood to save his life.

When Song Ping was eight years old, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Upon hearing that umbilical cord blood could save her life, the Song couple immediately became pregnant with their second child. After the second child was born, they neglected her, adopting a "let her live as long as she doesn't starve" attitude. When Song An, the baby, cried until her voice was hoarse from hunger, no one paid any attention. The couple stayed by Song Ping's side the whole time.

As Song An grew older, he began to learn to cook and live independently. The Song family had spent all their savings on their eldest son's medical treatment. After deducting daily expenses, their monthly earnings were barely enough to pay for one child's tuition. Without hesitation, Song's father enrolled his eldest son in school.

Fortunately, the village secretary at the time was a college graduate sent from a big city, and he was knowledgeable, which allowed Song An to attend school. Song An lived up to expectations, ranking first in his grade from elementary to junior high school, and was admitted to high school on a government scholarship, and then to university without taking the entrance exam.

It wasn't until college that Song An felt he had escaped from the cannibalistic den. He didn't go home for four years, and during winter and summer vacations he would apply to stay on campus to find part-time jobs. Although he wasn't rich, he at least had enough to eat and wear.

Later, as an outstanding graduate, he joined the Jiang Group. Jiang Huaichuan had just taken over the Jiang Group, and Song An was just a junior assistant. Three years later, the former assistant was promoted to head of a branch company, and Song An was noticed by Jiang Huaichuan for his excellent work and became the assistant to the general manager.

Originally, life was getting better and better. The generous salary from the Jiang Group enabled Song An to make a down payment on a one-bedroom apartment in the glitz and glamour of City A.

Unexpectedly, Song's parents came looking for him. It turned out that Song Ping had seen the photos taken by the media because he had been accompanying Jiang Huaichuan to various events for the past two years.

Song Ping's grades were poor; he failed to get into high school after junior high. Now in his thirties, he's unambitious, unemployed, and can't even find a girlfriend. One day, he was shocked to discover that Song An was doing better than him. How could Song Ping swallow this? So he instigated his parents to come to Song An's company.

Last year before the Lunar New Year, Song Ma called.

Song Ma: "My little one, come home for Chinese New Year this year."

Song An frowned: "Busy, I won't go back."

Suddenly, Song Ma started crying on the other end of the line, repeatedly saying, "My life is so miserable, alas—why did I have to encounter such a thing—"

Song An was confused. There was a rustling sound coming from the phone. The next second, Song's father's voice came out. The man, who was usually full of energy, suddenly sounded a little timid. "An, your mother went to the hospital for a check-up a few days ago. She has some health problems. Why don't you come back for the New Year this year?"

Song An was silent for a long time before he said, "I understand. I'll transfer some money to your card first. Take the medicine the doctor prescribed on time. I'll be back on the eve of the Lunar New Year."

So last year on the eve of the Lunar New Year, Song An packed his suitcase and went back to his hometown.

My hometown is still the same as I remember it—backward, but full of life.

Song's parents were very enthusiastic and even killed an old hen for Song An to eat. Song An felt something was wrong, but he didn't suspect anything.

Unexpectedly, just two days later, on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Song An was woken up from bed by his mother, who arranged a long list of blind dates for him.

Song An was speechless. This group of people were either ugly or crippled, blind or mentally ill, or divorced and had three children.

The only thing they have in common is that they are both men and they are rich.

On the evening of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Song An overheard his parents and Song Ping having a private conversation. It turned out that his illness and the blind date were fake. They just wanted to introduce him to a group of traffickers and see who offered the highest price. They would then kidnap him and give the money to Song Ping to build a house so he could get married.

Song An was completely disheartened. He grabbed his ID, didn't even dare to take his suitcase, and turned to run away.

I happened to run into Liu Mingqiang, who was taking his sister on a trip, at the high-speed rail station.

Liu Mingqiang was horrified when he saw Song An's appearance. His hair was messy, he was wearing a thin sweater in the dead of winter, and there was a bluish-gray tinge under his eyes. He looked like he was about to die on the spot.

Knowing that Song An's phone was off, Liu Mingqiang quickly booked a hotel for Song An so he could relax. From their conversation, Liu Mingqiang learned the gist of what had happened. But Song An only said that he couldn't stand blind dates and that his family was pressuring him, so he ran away because he couldn't take it anymore. He didn't mention that he was going to be sold for money.

——

Liu Mingqiang could only pat Song An on the shoulder to comfort him, "So you're spending the Spring Festival alone in City A this year?"

Song An: "Yeah." Anyway, it's impossible for him to go back in this lifetime. If he went back again, it's questionable whether he could come out unscathed.

"What do you mean, 'alone'?" Shen Li stopped and looked at Song An as he passed by.

"I'll be spending the New Year alone," Liu Mingqiang blurted out.

Shen Li frowned in thought, then suddenly said to Song An, "Want to come and celebrate the New Year together?"

The day before yesterday, Shen's mother and Jiang's mother, these two best friends, had already set off abroad to see the Northern Lights. Shen's father, on the pretext of needing someone to help carry his bags and things, also went along.

Only Shen Wenyuan and Shen Ci, who remained "lonely" at home, were left.

So Shen Wenyuan called Shen Li and asked him to come home for dinner during the Chinese New Year, and that he could reluctantly accept that guy surnamed "Jiang" coming along.

Shen Li looked awkwardly at Jiang Huaichuan, who was sitting on the sofa, hugging a cushion and looking wary.

"I'm sorry, big brother, Huaichuan and I have already made plans to have hot pot at home on New Year's Eve..."

Cooking hot pot?

Shen Wenyuan sat up, exchanged a quick glance with Shen Ci, and an idea came to him: "That works too. Xiao Ci and I will come over as well. It's more fun to have hot pot with more people. Let's do it this way."

So, what was originally a hot pot dinner for two turned into a dinner for four.

"No need, no need." Song An quickly waved his hand, shaking his head like a rattle drum.

Just kidding, seeing your boss at work is one thing, but seeing your boss on New Year's Eve? That's practically the creepiest ghost story of the year.

——

Song An stood at the entrance of the Yushang Lanwan residential complex, carrying hot pot ingredients. He didn't know how things had developed this way, and what the person next to him was dawdling about!

Why is it walking slower than me?!

He doesn't want to see the boss so soon, but don't you want to see your brother-in-law so soon?!

Song An glanced at Shen Wenyuan speechlessly, silently grumbling to himself.

For the first time ever, Shen Ci also followed behind, dawdling and hesitating.

Finally, just when Song An felt like he was about to freeze into an icicle, the three of them arrived.

"Hmph, you've finally arrived—"

Jiang Huaichuan opened the door with a cold smile, his gaze sweeping over Song An, who was pushed to the front, and Shen Ci, who was in the second place. He then accurately tossed the apron in his hand to Shen Wenyuan, who was hiding at the back, and said, "Come in and get to work."