It was a little past two in the afternoon. Gong Zhi Jing had been napping, but the piercing ring of her phone jolted her awake.
Fuzzy-headed, she fumbled for her phone and pressed the answer button without even looking.
"Hello?"
Hearing her groggy voice, Xia Wan Fu knew she had been asleep. "Sorry," she apologized, "did I wake you?"
Upon hearing her voice, Gong Zhi Jing’s mind instantly cleared.
"It's fine. What's up?"
She wondered, why was Xia Wan Fu calling her at this time?
"Mom and Dad are out of prison today."
Xia Wan Fu frowned, unsure how to break the news.
"Mmm, so?" Gong Zhi Jing raised an eyebrow, half her sleepiness vanishing.
"Don't misunderstand, it's not what you think. I'm just warning you to be careful of them.
And, if they do anything, I hope you can be lenient..."
Gong Zhi Jing remained silent, pondering the meaning behind Xia Wan Fu's words.
Xia Wan Fu seemed to find an opening and, with many words pent up, wanted to express them.
"I was wrong before, I'm sorry.
Only after experiencing what you went through did I realize these issues.
Do you know? When Dad was first imprisoned, I went to see him. He told me to do whatever it took to save the company, to find Du Jia Sheng. I..."
Xia Wan Fu choked, unable to speak, her heart’s accumulated bitterness finally pouring out for the first time.
She took a deep breath and continued, "He complained that I didn't listen to him, that I failed to save the company.
And Grandpa, it was Xia Yi Chen who made the mistake, yet he blamed me for not begging Jiang Ze Xi to help get him out..."
By the end, she was sobbing uncontrollably.
Gong Zhi Jing could empathize with her feelings, but compared to herself, Xia Wan Fu was surely more heartbroken.
Because she was Xia Lin Feng's biological daughter, and Gong Zhi Jing was not.
She could understand why he was so heartless, but Xia Wan Fu would likely find it difficult to accept.
However, before she could say anything, the sound of screeching tires suddenly came from the other end of the phone, followed by a deafening crash...
Before she could even react, the call was abruptly disconnected.
She immediately realized an accident had occurred, her heart pounding violently, a wave of panic washing over her.
Clutching her phone, she tried to call back, but it went unanswered.
She quickly called out to the next room, "Ling Yu Chen, Ling Yu Chen..."
But there was no response. Ling Yu Chen was not there.
In her desperation, she thought of Jiang Ze Xi. Fortunately, she had his number.
But after dialing several times, no one answered. Jiang Ze Xi was in a meeting.
Inside the conference room.
Jiang Ze Xi was speaking eloquently to a room full of high-level executives. They looked at him with admiration; it was clear his recent efforts had not been in vain and had earned their recognition.
Just then, the conference room door suddenly opened.
An assistant walked in holding Jiang Ze Xi’s phone.
"Mr. Jiang, the young mistress of the Ling family has called you several times."
Given Gong Zhi Jing's status, the assistant dared not delay.
If it were just one or two calls, he wouldn't have interrupted Jiang Ze Xi's meeting. But with the phone ringing incessantly, something must have happened.
Upon hearing it was the Ling family's young mistress calling, the executives dared not show any signs of displeasure.
Jiang Ze Xi frowned slightly but still took his phone and said to them, "I need to take this call."
As soon as the call connected, Gong Zhi Jing said urgently, "You finally answered! Xia Wan Fu might be in trouble. I just received a call from her, and before we could talk much, I heard screeching tires on her end.
Then a violent crash. She might have been in a car accident."
Lives were at stake. She couldn't think of anything else now, only wanting to save her.
There was a moment of silence on the other end before he asked, "Do you know where she is?"
From his voice, Gong Zhi Jing detected suppressed fear and anxiety.
"I don't..."
She was about to say she didn't know, but a thought suddenly flashed through her mind from her conversation with Xia Wan Fu.
She might have gone to her old home, likely on the road back to the capital from her hometown.
"She might be on the road from our rural hometown back to the capital. I'm not sure which road she took, but we usually take the national highway."
Jiang Ze Xi's breathing became rapid. He seemed to be running, his voice coming in and out, punctuated by heavy gasps.
"Send me the location..."
After hanging up, Gong Zhi Jing sent Jiang Ze Xi her location. Still worried, she then called the police.
Having done all this, she realized she was drenched in sweat, and her abdomen felt very tight, a sign of false labor.
She placed a hand on her belly, trying to calm herself.
...
On the road back to the capital.
The violent collision between two vehicles had caused a severe accident.
Long skid marks were glaringly evident, and shattered debris littered the ground.
One car lay on its side, its front end caved in. The entire vehicle was beyond recognition.
The other car had crashed into a tree not far away, its front end severely deformed.
The windshield was shattered, and the driver, covered in blood, lay slumped over the steering wheel, unconscious.
The smell of gasoline mixed with the scent of blood filled the air.
Before the accident.
Xia Wan Fu had been on the phone. Distraught by her sadness, she was somewhat dazed and failed to notice an oncoming speeding and drunk-driving van.
By the time she reacted and slammed on the brakes, it was too late. The other vehicle was moving too fast, and her car was T-boned and flipped over.
The van, due to the immense inertia, slowed down but still crashed into a tree by the roadside.
This area was desolate, with no villages for miles and very few vehicles.
It took a long time for another car to pass by and call the police and an ambulance.
Xia Wan Fu and the van driver were then rushed to the hospital.
Both were seriously injured.
Xia Wan Fu had multiple fractures, internal organ rupture, and her head, from the violent impact, had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.
Her injuries were so severe that she might not wake up and could possibly become a vegetative state.
Outside the operating room.
Jiang Ze Xi slumped to the floor, his back against the cold, biting wall, his eyes vacant, like a lifeless puppet.
Jiang Shi Xun and Zhou Yu Qing arrived to find him in this state.
He had been like this five years ago when Su Jin Ning died.
Zhou Yu Qing felt a pang of panic, a mix of heartache and fear, her whole body trembling.
If Xia Wan Fu were to die, could her son endure it?
Oh God, why were you so cruel to this poor child!
She pulled Jiang Ze Xi into her embrace, her heart aching, but she desperately suppressed her sobs.
"It will be okay, Wan Fu will be fine."
Jiang Ze Xi remained unresponsive, letting Zhou Yu Qing hold him, appearing as dull as a soulless body.
Jiang Shi Xun's eyes were red, and he was unable to utter a word, but his pained gaze was deeply moving.