Chapter 45 – Signing

Since learning that the old lady nearly fainted on the plane, Luo Linyi’s eyelids had been twitching. On the way to the hospital, she witnessed a traffic accident where a person thrown off a motorcycle looked like a marionette tossed in the air, a sight that was horrifying. She pressed her hand against her heart, feeling it beating irregularly, and nervously asked her husband beside her, “Wenzhou, do you think the old lady will be alright?”

Wenzhou, who finally found time to accompany his family after the New Year, was resting with his eyes closed. He slowly opened them to look at her and replied in a deep voice, “Don’t think too much.”

Although they were not a couple who fell in love freely, they had developed deep feelings after marriage. For Luo Linyi, her daughter and husband were everything, and she was always the least important. Hearing his calm and powerful voice made her feel a little better.

Yet her heart still occasionally raced, making her very uncomfortable.

After arriving at the hospital and seeing the old lady, she felt somewhat reassured, but the atmosphere in the hospital made her feel even worse. Sitting there, she had an impulse to leave.

By rights, she should have been quite close to the old lady and shouldn’t have felt this unfilial impulse, but since leaving home that day, she had been on edge. It was even worse that her daughter hadn’t accompanied her back home from the hospital, leaving her with an indescribable discomfort.

None of the old lady’s three sons stopped, leaving only Jiara behind. Luo Linyi restrained her frown and secretly observed the pair of old and young. She had discreetly asked the old lady to subtly question Jiara, but she still didn’t know what was learned; it seemed like there was some secret, and others didn’t seem to have noticed it—only she sensed it.

After leaving the hospital, Luo Linyi thought about calling her daughter while avoiding everyone, at least to find out if the old lady’s incident had anything to do with her. They passed by a park in the city that had a bustling Guanyin temple, and she felt a sudden urge to visit. Actually, Wenzhou had never allowed her to pray or worship, including her father-in-law; they were all atheists. But today she particularly wanted to go, and the thought felt urgent, so she found an excuse to get out of the car midway.

“Where are you going? I’ll take you,” Wenzhou looked at her.

“No need,” Luo Linyi smiled. “I had an appointment beforehand; I’ll be back soon.”

Wenzhou didn’t say anything more, and the driver had already opened the door for her.

Once the car drove away, Luo Linyi turned and flagged down a taxi, first heading to the bank. She didn’t carry much cash on her and felt she should at least make a gesture. The temple she was going to had nearly a thousand years of history and was one of the city’s historical sites, now protected within a park, a patch of purity amid towering buildings.

However, during festivals and on the first and fifteenth of each month, there were always streams of people, inevitably bringing a cacophony of the mortal world.

Upon entering the temple, she saw the large hall where Guanyin was worshipped, holding a pure bottle, her kind eyes seeming to look down on all beings. Luo Linyi stuffed a thick stack of money into the merit box in front of Guanyin, and someone nearby offered her three sticks of incense.

Glancing over, the person handing her the incense was a humble monk, head bowed, only asking if she, the female benefactor, wanted to draw a fortune stick later.

Luo Linyi briefly spaced out, feeling a bit odd, but quickly collected her thoughts and nodded, focusing on her prayers.

In several side halls, there were Buddha statues that she could not recognize at all. It was said that each one had to be venerated, so she straightened her posture and went to pay her respects one by one.

When she received the call about Jiara’s accident, she was drawing a fortune stick.

As she shook the container, it made a clattering sound, and just then her phone rang. One stick fell to the ground, and without needing to look, she could tell from the tone of the call that it was a bad fortune.

Dropping the stick container, Luo Linyi almost jumped up with a pale face. It was Wenzhou on the phone, saying Jiara had been in a car accident and to get to the hospital immediately. Inside, she screamed repeatedly, knowing something would happen today; women had a sixth sense, especially mothers and daughters who were connected at heart. She had been uneasy precisely because of this.

If only she had insisted on taking her daughter home…

Almost stumbling out of the temple, she found the sky dark and oppressive, making it hard to breathe.

The first to receive the news of the accident was Wenzhou. After the accident occurred, residents living nearby noticed and quickly called for an ambulance. When the ambulance arrived, no one dared to move the people inside the car; they only formed a circle around it, watching and discussing. When the ambulance finally got the occupants out, they checked the pockets and found Jiara’s phone. Naturally, her dad’s number was in there, easily found since it was just labeled “Dad.”

Wenzhou had already returned home, and the three brothers were discussing something when he saw it was his daughter calling. He answered, and his expression suddenly changed. He stood up abruptly, knocking over the coffee table in front of him.

When Wen Yu, who was entertaining the old lady in bed, received the call from his dad, he was so shocked that he almost dropped his phone. But the call only informed him that the ambulance was already on its way to the Lu General Hospital and to avoid telling the old lady to prevent her from worrying.

Wen Yu had to dodge the old lady’s gaze and exited the ward. By the time he rushed down to the hospital entrance, several department heads were already waiting, along with the secretary Nie, who had appeared from who knows where, quietly arranging matters.

Meng Meng, who had come with him to visit the old lady, followed him out. As they went downstairs, they just caught sight of a taxi stopping at the entrance, and Luo Linyi rushed out of the car, her face pale and drained of color.

As soon as Luo Linyi got out of the car, she shouted at Secretary Nie, “Where’s my daughter?”

“She’s still on the way,” Secretary Nie, a bespectacled and gentle man, quickly gave a look to Wen Yu, who stepped forward to support her. “Auntie, the ambulance is almost here; she’ll be fine. Please don’t panic.”

Meng Meng stood behind him, confused, and asked, “What happened?”

But unfortunately, no one paid her any attention.
—-
Waiting at the Hospital

The time spent waiting at the hospital felt like a race against death. Luo Linyi was unclear on how the accident had happened or how badly her daughter was injured. A chaotic sense of panic caused her to feel slightly spastic until someone handed her a cup of warm water, which helped a little.

Before the ambulance arrived, the Wens’ brothers also came together.

They had entered this hospital twice today, and the atmosphere felt stifling.

Wen Yu, the second brother, quietly asked his son if the old lady knew yet. Wen Yu shook his head, his expression strange. When asked why, he hesitated and said that Jiara had taken his borrowed car, which was… a bit old.

Understanding the implication in his son’s words, the second brother smacked his son on the head, scolding him that if anything happened to Jiara, he would have to deal with the consequences.

Wen Yu stood there feeling somewhat wronged. His good car had been lent to a friend, and today he was forced to borrow a random car to return. He was in a hurry to see the old lady and drove the borrowed car quickly, but he had safely arrived at the hospital without even hearing Meng Meng, who was in the car, complain of feeling unwell. Upon entering the hospital, he was first met with Jiara’s baffled stare, followed by the old lady’s harsh reprimand. He still didn’t understand why the old lady was upset and decided to first amuse her before addressing the situation, not expecting that such a serious incident would follow.

The thought that Jiara, someone who should win an award for driving attentively, had been in an accident made him want to smash the car that hit her.

His clenched hand was gently grasped by a soft hand. Wen Yu turned stiffly to see Meng Meng standing beside him, softly saying that it would be alright.

Meng Meng now understood the situation and felt a surge of anxiety mixed with fear. She had heard that the accident was quite serious, injuring three people, all of whom were in a coma. She didn’t know who the third person was, but the second person seemed to be the woman who had left the old lady’s ward with Jiara.

That woman had a naturally beautiful singing voice. Some people have voices that only a certain type of person enjoys, but that woman’s voice even pleased Meng Meng’s discerning ears. As she thought about this, the ambulance finally arrived with a loud siren, and three stretchers were brought down one after another. Aunt Luo was the first to rush forward, and soon everyone gathered around, causing Wen Yu to shake off her hand. Meng Meng couldn’t see the stretcher they were surrounding and took a step back, her heart suddenly dropping.

The second stretcher indeed held that woman. Meng Meng noticed blood on her neck, making her face appear pale. She gasped in shock and leaned in closer, realizing that the woman’s neck seemed to have undergone emergency treatment, and looking further down, her chest still rose and fell. From a distance, the woman looked motionless, like she had severed her carotid artery.

The stretcher was carried into the hospital and placed on a prepared gurney. Meng Meng caught up with Wen Yu, who had been running with the others, and pointed at the gurney. “Do you have this woman’s home phone number?”

Wen Yu suddenly smacked his forehead and called Wen Baohua.

At that moment, Wen Baohua, like the old lady, was completely in the dark. She was chatting with the old lady and had just thought about getting up to stretch when the phone rang.

Wen Yu spoke hurriedly, and Wen Baohua felt dizzy listening, finally exclaiming after a long pause, “What? They had a car accident?”

As soon as she yelled, Wen Yu knew it was bad and urged her to speak quietly so the old lady wouldn’t hear. When Wen Baohua turned to look, it was already too late; the old lady’s eyes were as wide as saucers, leaving Wen Baohua blank as she struggled to think of an excuse to cover up her earlier outburst. But Wen Yu was pressing on the phone, so she had no choice but to calm the old lady with her eyes and step out to call the Xu family’s store.

Today was quite coincidental; Xu Zhongda and Wang Yuan were both out, visiting friends. Wen Baohua had to leave a message and ask the store employee who answered the phone to convey it as quickly as possible.

In short, this was a very chaotic moment.

Several families would find their New Year’s joy shattered in the instant of the accident, whether it was Jiara, treated like a treasure; Xu Shiqi, who had only caught the attention of a stranger; or that little truck driver whose name wasn’t even known…

Perhaps a person’s fate is determined from the moment of their first encounter—whether it is fortune or misfortune, if it is misfortune, it cannot be escaped. Now, heaven had dealt a bad fortune, and those forced to draw it would suffer heartbreak or even face irreversible calamity…