Seeing her agitated and not in a suitable state to drive, Hu Jiasheng softly asked after the call ended, "Do you want me to give you a ride?"
Lu Jiaying hesitated to trouble him.
Besides, she was bare-faced and truly not in good condition, so she didn't want to go like this.
She needed to tidy herself up, change her phone, and buy some gifts.
Although the Zhan family didn't lack her meager offerings, the proper etiquette still needed to be observed.
Hu Jiasheng didn't want to make things difficult for her. Truthfully, for an uncle and his nephew's wife to be alone together would be awkward.
He himself felt it, let alone Lu Jiaying.
He gently comforted Lu Jiaying, "Alright. Then I'll go pick up Jingyu. No rush, you drive slowly, there's still plenty of time."
The two said their goodbyes in an atmosphere of politeness.
After Hu Jiasheng left, Lu Jiaying felt as if she were still dreaming. She covered her face and remained stunned in her office for quite a while before heading out.
Although today felt like a rollercoaster, in her muddled state, her lifelong commitment had been settled.
She had to present her best self to everyone.
She quickly drove to the mall, casually picked out a phone, transferred her SIM card, and then headed to the makeup counter.
With no time to sit down and apply makeup properly, she bought a foundation and a lipstick and rushed off.
Her skin had a good base, she had that confidence. She would just touch up her makeup at the traffic lights to improve her complexion.
She certainly didn't want everyone to wait for her.
Perhaps due to her good mood, even the various people and unchanging scenery on the road seemed more beautiful.
At another traffic light, she was in the first position. The red light had over 40 seconds remaining. Seizing the opportunity, she took out her cushion foundation and patted it onto her face, then reached for her lipstick.
Just as she applied lipstick to her lips, her phone rang.
She grabbed it and saw Hu Jiasheng's name.
Perhaps he had already picked up Jiang Jingyu and was calling to inform her.
About to meet the parents with Jingyu, receiving his call made Lu Jiaying feel as if she were floating on air.
She couldn't help but answer in a soft, sweet voice, "Hello."
"Jiaying." It was indeed Jiang Jingyu's voice on the other end.
"I heard from Uncle. Have you set off? Where are you now?"
"Changjiang South Road. You're back?"
"Of course. Changjiang South Road, we'll be there soon too. Want to come with me?"
Expecting Hu Jiasheng to be beside him, he dared to say such mushy words, but Lu Jiaying felt too shy to respond.
As she hesitated on how to answer, the car behind honked, and the light turned green.
She stepped on the accelerator, smiled as she drove forward, and remained silent.
Jiang Jingyu deliberately teased her on the phone.
"Why aren't you talking? Do you want to or not? If you want to, find a place to stop and wait for me, I'll come find you. If you don't, hmph--"
Lu Jiaying laughed even more brightly at his teasing. Just as she was about to say "yes," a loud crash suddenly echoed in her ears.
Amidst the surrounding chaos of honking horns and evasive maneuvers, a semi-trailer truck with failed brakes collided with her.
The truck was loaded with over a hundred tons of cement. When it impacted her lightweight car, Lu Jiaying was flung dozens of meters.
Her car flipped several times in the air before smashing violently against the guardrail of the Yangtze River Bridge.
What had been a perfectly fine car five seconds ago was now like a paper toy.
Crumpled and scattered, the car, emitting thick white smoke, hung on the bridge railing, with streaks of dark purple blood flowing down its sides.
Drivers on the road stopped and looked towards the river. Amidst the rolling white smoke, gasoline dripped down along with the blood.
Someone shouted, "Run, get away, it's going to explode!"
Before some could even react, a deafening explosion thundered, accompanied by a blinding flash of light. The car erupted like a firework and crashed into the river.
Half an hour later, on the jammed Changjiang South Road, a reporter was giving a live report to the camera.
"Latest news, a major traffic accident just occurred on our city's Changjiang South Road. A semi-trailer truck loaded with cement collided with a car with license plate Nanaxxx, resulting in one fatality, seven injuries of varying degrees, and five damaged vehicles."
"Firefighters and medical personnel arrived at the scene immediately. As you can see, rescue and treatment are underway. The specific cause of the accident is still under investigation. Please continue to follow our reports."
Blocked by the police cordon, wailing and heartbroken, Jiang Jingyu was restrained by Hu Jiasheng and several other male bystanders.
The fire chief stood opposite him, angrily scolding him.
"What good would you do? Do you think you're Spider-Man or Iron Man? Can you reverse this situation single-handedly? We are doing our best to rescue, don't disrupt everyone!"
"Family member, take him away! Otherwise, we'll charge you with obstructing public order!"
Zhan Beijue and Jiang Nanfang also rushed to the scene.
Everyone accompanied the anxiously waiting and heartbroken Jiang Jingyu by the roadside, repeatedly calling Lu Jiaying's phone.
However, the result was disappointing.
Two hours later, the most severely damaged vehicle was salvaged.
Lu Jiaying's body was found inside the car.
There were no surprises, no miracles. Her appearance was unrecognizable, and all signs of life were long gone.
Only then did the police allow Jiang Jingyu to approach.
The car was damaged and burned beyond recognition, but he could still identify it as Lu Jiaying's car from its deformed silhouette.
His heart pounded uncontrollably, and his whole body trembled.
When the firefighters used a cutting torch to cut open the car and pull out the unrecognizable female corpse, he could no longer bear it and fainted from the shock.
---
Seven years later.
After the great tragedy the family experienced a few years ago, following the death of his first love, Lu Jiaying, his brother Jiang Jingyu's personality changed drastically. He refused to eat, drink, go out, attend school, or see friends.
He recuperated at home for over half a year until he heard that his uncle, due to Lu Jiaying's death and another incident involving a woman named Shen Min'er from his younger days, had developed severe stress disorder. He became depressed and could no longer manage the company, which finally spurred Jiang Jingyu to regain some fighting spirit.
He didn't want to see the company Lu Jiaying loved fall into disarray due to lack of management. Thus, he decided not to continue his university education and instead went to work directly at an electrical company.
During that period, the entire family lived under a heavy cloud.
They dared not speak loudly or laugh, but they also dared not grieve, fearing that any wrong move might displease Jiang Jingyu.
Seeing their parents walking on eggshells, Ge'er and Tiantian seemed to have grown up a lot overnight.
To avoid causing their parents further worry, they chose to attend Nancheng University, located closest to home.
They majored in Architecture and Electrical Engineering respectively, fields beneficial to the company's development.