Chapter 0005 Car Accident
Ruyi felt as if she had arrived at a place where cliffs surrounded her on all sides, with a bottomless abyss below. The wind howled around her like the wailing of ghosts. She stood on a small piece of land, teetering on the verge of falling. Only a rope hung down from above her head, the other end of which was held in Chen Yan's hand.
The calendar numbers kept updating, and the high school coursework was intense. She absorbed new knowledge every day, but she no longer had the sense of security she used to have. As the thirty days gradually approached, a nerve in her brain became more and more tense.
She had insomnia last night. Afraid of disturbing her roommate, she didn't dare to turn over frequently and finally fell into a hazy sleep around three or four in the morning. She had a nightmare in which her aunt, who was in her thirties, led her, who was still very young, to burn paper money at the graves of her uncle and parents. There was a new grave and two old graves, with wisps of smoke rising under the gloomy sky.
She had two braids tied with small white flowers that her aunt had bought for her. She saw a small, yellowish-brown dog scurrying around in the weeds not far away. She called out to her aunt to look, but there was no response. She turned her head and saw that her aunt was no longer there. Looking closer, she saw that the three graves had become four, with a new grave added.
Tears streamed down her face as eerie singing came from behind her. She turned around and saw Chen Yan dressed in a bright red groom's robe, surrounded by a group of strangely shaped ghosts singing, chanting, and fighting, approaching from afar.
As the group drew closer, she could vaguely see Chen Yan's clothes and headdress bursting into flames and disappearing with the wind. His naked body gradually became transparent, revealing his charred internal organs.
She froze in fear, unable to move. Chen Yan, now just a skeleton, cradled his beating black heart in his white, bony fingers, embracing her without a word...
This terrible dream left Ruyi restless all day. Her chemistry teacher subtly criticized her for being distracted, and she lowered her head in shame, unable to defend herself.
The homeroom teacher knocked on the door frame, nodded apologetically to the chemistry teacher, and then looked directly at her among the fifty-odd students.
A bad feeling rose in Ruyi's heart.
"Xu Ruyi, come out."
Her heart leaped into her throat, and she followed the homeroom teacher out of the classroom in a daze.
The homeroom teacher said softly, "I just received a call from the hospital. You were in class and no one answered your phone. They couldn't reach anyone else, so they had to call the school. Your aunt was in a car accident and is being treated."
As soon as Ruyi heard the word "hospital," she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, and the homeroom teacher's last sentence turned into a sharp icicle that pierced through her completely.
The homeroom teacher went back to the office to get the car keys, saying he was going to take her to the hospital. She was in tears, like a puppet on a string. Her distraught appearance was heartbreaking to see.
There were other teachers in the office, including the English teacher of Class 14, a young man in his twenties who still had the passion for teaching and nurturing students. Regardless of his background, he criticized Chen Yan with great indignation, saying that although Chen Yan spoke English fluently like a native speaker, he did a terrible job on the test paper, which was simply absurd!
Chen Yan initially listened without any proper posture, but was on the verge of becoming impatient. When he heard a noise at the door, he glanced over indifferently and never looked away.
After listening quietly for a while and figuring out what had happened, he coughed lightly and said, "Teacher Wu, you must be busy with work, right? Ruyi and I are friends. How can I stand idly by when her aunt is in trouble? I won't keep you from your work. I'll call the driver to take her there."
The homeroom teacher hesitated, "Are you two children okay?"
"There's a driver too, don't worry."
The homeroom teacher offered to take Ruyi to the hospital, purely out of humanitarian concern. She was extremely busy, and the hospital was far from the school, requiring at least three hours round trip, not counting the time spent at the hospital. She was already worried about this, so when someone offered to take care of it, she naturally had no objection.
"Okay, you go with her. Call her if anything happens. I'll put in a good word for your homeroom teacher."
In fact, the homeroom teacher was just saying that. As for Chen Yan, this ticking time bomb, even the more experienced teachers didn't dare to manage him too strictly. Let alone missing class because he was helpful, even if he skipped class without a reason, the school wouldn't dare to give him a demerit.
Instead, she gently advised the English teacher, "I know you mean well, but ultimately, English is a language tool. Being able to use it flexibly is enough; neatness on the test is secondary. Boys are mischievous and haven't settled down yet, so don't worry too much. He'll understand when he's in his second or third year of high school."
The two teachers exchanged ideas on teaching management and did not notice that Chen Yan was holding Ruyi's hand as they left.
Ruyi stood there blankly as Chen Yan held her hand, without resisting. Only after they walked out of the school gate did she forcefully shake off Chen Yan and pounce on him like a madwoman, hitting him.
"Was it you? Was it you? Did you hire someone to run over my aunt?! You scum, you murderer! You'd do something like this! Why don't you just die?! Why don't you just die!"
Chen Yan knew she was upset and scared, so he let her vent for a while, then grabbed her and loudly clarified, "It wasn't me! That's not my plan!"
Ruyi sneered, "Plan? What plan? It's nothing but a plan to make us suffer. Even if it's not this, it will be something else! What are you pretending to be, this innocent white lotus? It's disgusting."
Thanks to Ruyi, Chen Yan had multiple life experiences in a short period of time: his first love at first sight, his first time being slapped in the face, and not daring to let anyone know, running home to recover for several days before daring to go out and see people again; his first time being verbally abused and belittled to the point of being worthless...
His temples were throbbing with veins as he glared fiercely at Ruyi, wanting to punch her, but looking at that face that was etched in his heart, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Fortunately, Uncle Zhang arrived in time by car. He let go of Ruyi's hand and snorted coldly.
“You’re right. Even if I didn’t do it this time, there will be a next time. So you’d better reconsider my original suggestion.”
Ruyi stared at his hateful face, her almond-shaped eyes brimming with tears, strikingly beautiful, and said, word by word, "I hate you."
Chen Yan ignored the fleeting flutter in his heart and gave an indifferent smile. "It's okay, it's enough that I like you."
The street scenes outside the window flashed by. Throughout the entire journey, Ruyi didn't say a word to Chen Yan, only silently staring out the window and weeping. When they got off the highway, she said in a hoarse voice to the driver, "Uncle, could you go to my house first? I want to get my aunt's medical records and medical insurance card." And her bank card.
Uncle Zhang glanced at Chen Yan in the rearview mirror, and at his prompting, entered the address provided by Ruyi into the navigation interface.
*
Chen Yan accompanied Ruyi upstairs to retrieve her belongings.
The narrow stairwell was dimly lit and had no elevator. The walls were covered with small advertisements for "painless abortion," "ultrasound to determine gender," and "sexy online late at night." Chen Yan followed behind Ruyi, watching her stride up the stairs, her slender, pale white ankles peeking out as she moved.
This place is not good enough for her.
As you open the door, the small space comes into view; it's cramped but clean, showing how much the owner cherishes and carefully maintains it.
The important documents were kept in the wardrobe in Ruyi's bedroom. Chen Yan followed her into the room.
A small window faces south, with curtains printed with tiny floral patterns. Books are neatly arranged on the table and a shelf to the side, along with a pen holder with a rabbit holding a carrot. Next is a 1.5-meter bed, covered with a light green blanket with a cat print, and pink pillowcases with a large cat face on them. Beyond the bed, against the wall near the door, stands a two-meter-high old-fashioned red-lacquered wardrobe.
Chen Yan stood at the door and took a light sniff; a very faint fragrance floated in the air.
It smells exactly like the packaging of that pack of tissues.
It was her scent.
Ruyi had no idea what kind of lewd scene was playing out in Chen Yan's mind. She found the necessary documents and ran out the door. Chen Yan glanced regretfully at her room, suppressed the urge to lie down on the bed, and followed her.
The two rushed to the Fifth People's Hospital branch in the suburbs. He Caiyu had just finished surgery and suffered from cerebral hemorrhage, ruptured spleen and stomach, three broken ribs, a comminuted fracture of her left leg, and countless other small wounds.
Upon learning that her aunt had been successfully rescued and was out of immediate danger, Ruyi breathed a slight sigh of relief. She learned the whole story from the driver who caused the accident.
After closing her shop, He Caiyu struggled to find a new location and grew anxious. Unable to stay home, she rode her tricycle to set up a stall selling glutinous rice balls and dumplings. It was autumn, and these items sold well; commuters heading to work in the morning were happy to have a bowl of delicious, inexpensive, steaming hot peanut glutinous rice balls. When He Caiyu got home and calculated her earnings, she realized that although she didn't earn as much as she would have from running the shop, the lack of rent made it quite profitable.
She was greatly encouraged and, without telling Ruyi, risked her life to play a game of cat and mouse with the city management officers. However, her repeated escapes made her a thorn in the side of the officers. Early this morning, just as she set up her stall, a loud shout rang out.
She quickly packed her things and rode away on her tricycle. Two urban management officers gave chase. As she crossed the intersection, the yellow light came on, and He Caiyu sped across, only to be hit and thrown into the air by a van turning right.
The traffic police have issued an accident liability certificate, stating that the van driver is primarily responsible for not slowing down when turning, and He Caiyu is secondarily responsible for driving against traffic and running a yellow light. However, the van driver felt unlucky and shrugged, saying, "I have no money. What can you do to me, you little brat?"
Behind Ruyi stood a tall man, a boy with an arrogant and domineering expression. He wore a watch that looked very expensive. Ruyi had intended to scare the girl, but Ruyi's cold glance made her legs go weak.
Ruyi ignored Chen Yan as if he didn't exist, completely unwilling to accept his help or let him interfere. Following the nurse's instructions, she took a stack of forms to the self-service machine to pay the fees and register for hospitalization.
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