Chapter 1: Car Accident
September, Yanjing (Beijing).
Luo Xincheng was just leaving the hospital when she received the message from one of her cronies.
She frowned and glanced at the follow-up appointment slip quickly, then stuffed it into her pocket after hearing the notification tone.
Jiang Wei: [Situation has changed, new address, come quickly!]
Below is the location of a restaurant.
Luo Xincheng complained: [Why the sudden change of address?]
Jiang Wei: [I'm sorry, I just found out my advisor was also eating at that restaurant today. I'm really afraid of running into him.]
Luo Xincheng: [...]
She sighed: [I'm glad I haven't left yet, otherwise I wouldn't even bother going.]
Jiang Wei: [Hey~]
Ignoring the abstract emojis she sent later, Luo Xincheng turned off her phone and walked straight to the parking lot.
Although they were ultimately safe and neither she nor the driver was seriously injured, one suffered a fracture of the middle of her left fibula from the impact, and the other suffered a fracture of her sternum from the airbag. It seemed like they were having such bad luck that they needed to find an auspicious day to go to a temple to pray.
Because of the accident, Luo Xincheng stayed in the hospital for a full month. Even after she was discharged, her family kept her under constant control, restricting her from doing this or that. They would come to her room to spy on her all the time, and stuff her with a constant stream of supplements, leaving her physically and mentally exhausted. Even when she wanted to have a breakdown, she could only slide around the room in her wheelchair...
In total, she has been lying in the hospital bed for almost three months.
Fortunately, a few days ago, she finally got rid of her crutches. Although she still walks a little awkwardly and looks limping, she really misses the feeling of being on solid ground!
Distracted, the new driver who had been assigned to fill in for her came over and pretended to help her up, but she waved him off expressionlessly, got into the car on her own, and then gave him the address Jiang Wei had given her.
"..." After thinking for a moment, she added sadly, "We're not in a hurry, so drive carefully."
God knows that she used to be too lazy to talk to the driver much except for stating her destination, but there was no way she could withstand a second car accident.
The driver took a deep breath, his eyes filled with determination to keep his job.
"Although I dare not claim to be better than my seniors in terms of driving experience and skills, I have always been lucky and have never been involved in a traffic accident since I started working, so you can rest assured, Miss."
"They're even putting each other down," Luo Xincheng's lips twitched slightly. "Alright, let's go."
"OK!"
Half an hour later, the car stopped in the parking lot near Xintian Square.
Luo Xincheng sent the driver out of the car to the Mont Blanc boutique to pick up the pen she had previously ordered.
Today is Jiang Wei's birthday, and they got together for a meal to celebrate.
The two have known each other since elementary school and were classmates in the same class for the first few years. However, Jiang Wei skipped several grades, and the two had less contact at school. Now, Luo Xincheng has just graduated from university, while Jiang Wei is already a third-year graduate student.
However, the two have always maintained a close relationship. Even during the years when Luo Xincheng was abroad, despite the time difference of more than ten hours, they still chatted enthusiastically, and their sparks never stopped.
Over the years, she had celebrated Jiang Wei's birthday so many times and given her all kinds of gifts. This year, she was really out of ideas. Since Jiang Wei didn't lack anything, she decided to just give her some practical daily necessities.
A fountain pen is fine; she can use it for experiments and reports.
Although Jiang Wei's expression will likely not be pleasant when she sees the gift, it doesn't matter; no one cares about her feelings.
While waiting for the driver to return, Luo Xincheng rolled down the car window to get some fresh air.
But as soon as he peeked out, he saw that a lot of people had gathered at the intersection diagonally in front of him for some reason. They were crowded together, and every now and then, curious passersby would gather around.
Surprisingly, there were even traffic police officers among them.
Upon seeing this, her gossipy nature was instantly aroused, and she immediately disregarded her leg injury, opened the car door, and rushed over.
As the traffic light drew ever closer, a black motorcycle lay sprawled across the road, its shattered glass splattered with pools of blood. Some of the blood had begun to solidify, while some still seemed to be flowing, trickling down, its vibrant red glowing sharply in the evening light. The sight was truly shocking.
At the end of the bloodstains, a man whose face was obscured was awkwardly resting his head on his helmet, his trembling hand clutching a cell phone, as if he were making a phone call.
Soon, some curious onlookers stopped near Luo Xincheng and asked him something:
"What happened? Was there a car accident?"
Immediately, people nearby chimed in with their own opinions:
"It seems that the person didn't want to wait for the traffic light and suddenly made a sharp turn. I don't know if they were going too fast and lost control, but the car crashed and the person was thrown out?"
"That's probably what I heard from the people in front of me."
"I heard that when the person fell, their head hit the curb. Luckily, they were wearing a helmet..."
"That's why motorcycles should be banned citywide! Let's all call 12345 to voice our concerns!"
"..."
Luo Xincheng listened intently from the side, and after piecing together the whole story, her expression gradually became complicated.
How dare you drive a motorcycle so fast in this area?
That's incredibly bold!
Just as I was feeling sentimental, the sharp sirens of sirens gradually drifted over from afar, growing louder as they approached. A short while later, the ambulance stopped near the injured person, and the traffic police dutifully dispersed the crowd.
The surrounding pedestrians scattered in an instant. Luo Xincheng turned around and took a few steps before being jostled by the bustling crowd. In her haste, she was tripped by a foot that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Before she could react, an overwhelming feeling of weightlessness suddenly struck her.
Her left foot, instinctively planted on the ground, aggravated an old injury when it hit the ground, causing a dull ache. She hissed in pain and stumbled forward. As the ground drew closer, she gritted her teeth, a torrent of curses threatening to spill from her mouth.
"careful."
Suddenly, a cold, emotionless voice reached Luo Xincheng's ears. At the same time, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed Luo Xincheng's forearm, swiftly and forcefully pulling her back.
Then the other person slightly raised their elbow and pressed it against her shoulder.
...
What kind of nonsense are you imagining?
Luo Xincheng suddenly snapped back to reality and subconsciously looked at the hand wrapped around her arm.
It was undoubtedly a man's hand, thin and long, with the veins on the back of the hand standing out from the exertion, and the pale blue blood vessels crisscrossing and extending to the protruding wrist bone.
"Thanks."
She belatedly thanked him, her gaze unconsciously sweeping along the direction of the veins. The edge of the nautilus cufflinks that held the other person's cuffs together was inlaid with a circle of beautifully cut square diamonds, reflecting a rose-colored glow that was dazzling to the eye.
He had intended to catch a glimpse of the kind person who had helped him up, but as soon as he turned around, his gaze barely touched the other person's chin. Suddenly, as if he had encountered some monstrous beast, he immediately let go of her hand and turned his back.
Luo Xincheng was taken aback. Just as he was about to say something, he saw the other person silently lower his head and walk away hurriedly against the flow of pedestrians.
His increasingly rapid pace caused the hem of his coat, which should have clung smoothly to his side, to be blown about in an unruly arc by the wind, fluttering like a nimble fish. In no time, it disappeared into the vast sea of people, completely submerged and vanished from sight.
Luo Xincheng: ...
Is there a ghost chasing you?
The unexpected avoidance left her feeling quite bewildered. She stared at the direction the person had left in for a long time, puzzled, until the driver came panting back.
Luo Xincheng then looked away.
"nothing."
...strange and eccentric people.
A note from the author:
I'm back to working in Jinjiang again [angry]
The female lead's name is Cheng, which means "clear" or "pure". It's not the "new orange" in the poem "New oranges, cold dew, fragrant sleeves; old swallows, heavy curtains, shadows reaching the door". I'm afraid some people will think I'm illiterate and made a typo, so I'm explaining it first.
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