The sea on a sunny day is romantically healing, but in a storm, it becos dangerous and terrifying. Heavy dark clouds squeezed the living space of this city, obscuring skyscrapers and the sea alike, as the unfathomable waters devoured the hulls of massive ships—everything lost its original color. Wen Jiaojiao, with her driver, had left the harbor. Calculating the ti, she should have arrived at the hospital by now, and the boy would have left as well.
「...」
Wen Jiaojiao walked into the hospital, heading straight to the top floor. The first thing she saw were streaks of blood on the floor that hadn’t been fully cleaned. Her body swayed, and before she even reached the ergency room, she suddenly stepped back. She closed her eyes, hesitant to move forward. The April wind carried the mixed scent of rain and blood, making her both more alert and heartsick. The lights of the ergency room never went out. Wen Jiaojiao, distraught, sat outside the door, relentlessly questioning Anshi, who had just erged from the consultation room.
"What happened with all this blood? I heard there was an assassination attempt? How did Asi get injured, and how serious is it? Is her life in danger?"
"Miss Wen, don’t worry. The young lady is still alive. She was ambushed in her car..."
Wen Jiaojiao’s eyes widened. "How is that possible? She’s into racing."
Anshi, half of his arm bruised and scraped, stamred out the events. A few days ago, Xu Si had sincerely closed down the Chengpin Mall to buy ti for Pei Zhen to leave Hong Kong Island. However, this move seed to have touched upon the factory’s secrets, as people began constantly entering and exiting the abandoned facility. The investigators Xu Si sent were very professional. Taking advantage of the frequent comings and goings, they indeed captured quite a lot of critical evidence.
「Until this afternoon.」
Those people seed to realize that Pei Zhen had left. After searching, they also found the investigators hiding in the factory. Perhaps fearing Xu Si knew sothing, they used the investigators’ identities to lure her out of Xu Mansion. Then, on Seaside Road, an assassination attempt ensued. Xu Si had just gotten the photos when about a dozen cars started chasing and ramming into hers. Both Xu Si and her bodyguards were gravely injured. When Anshi and the ambulance arrived amidst the pouring rain, the sports car exclusively associated with the Xu Family was already shattered, its engine emitting murky smoke, on the verge of exploding. Xu Si, dragging her weary body, leaned against the railing, coughing up blood that stained her porcelain-like chin, still clutching a few photos. She insisted on waiting until all the bodyguards who had risked their lives with her were rescued before she finally collapsed.
Recalling this, Anshi’s voice grew hoarse. "It’s because Miss Xu knew the roads on Hong Kong Island from her racing days, and with the weather being so terrible, she managed to escape. The police said the people chasing her were all thrown into the sea, their fates uncertain."
Knowing that Xu Si’s life wasn’t in danger, Wen Jiaojiao let out a sigh of relief. She always felt that after their father’s death, Xu Si had beco more subdued and her temper had llowed considerably. Yet, hearing the story, Wen Jiaojiao almost felt transported back to the ti when Xu Si was spirited and fearless. She was always distinctive and bold, loving nothing more than racing, participating in many underground competitions, and rarely ever defeated. She also hated trouble and would retaliate recklessly against anyone who provoked her, never understanding the concept of fear. So many people on Hong Kong Island said Xu Si was crazy. But Wen Jiaojiao, of all things, loved her craziness the most.
The torrential rain beat against the windows, sounding like a symphonic crescendo. By the ti the surgery light went out and the dical staff erged, it was already midnight. Xu Si’s injuries were critical, and she was still in a coma. Wen Jiaojiao had Anshi handle company affairs and liaise with the police and dia while she herself stayed by Xu Si’s side, not leaving for several days.
「During one deep night, Xu Si regained consciousness briefly.」
She opened her eyes and coughed weakly. Upon seeing Wen Jiaojiao sitting by the bed, she asked, "Jiaojiao, has Azhen left Hong Kong Island?"
Wen Jiaojiao hadn’t received a call from her boyfriend, which ant there were no complications.
She nodded. "Yes, he has."
Xu Si felt dizzy, wracked with a pain that made it impossible to move. Her gaze drifted past Wen Jiaojiao to the gray, rain-streaked windows outside, where the April downpour continued to fall. The corners of her eyes upturned, her voice raspy, "Once I can move again, I’ll go out and teach those fuckers a lesson."
Wen Jiaojiao said, "Asi, you need to get well soon."
「...」
The relentless rain extinguished the heat on Hong Kong Island, bringing a rare cold snap that lasted for half a month. When Xu Si’s condition had slightly improved, she prepared to leave the hospital.
But on the day she was discharged and returned to Xu Mansion, Anshi brought terrible news. The cruise ship Pei Zhen had been on t with an accident. It sank and remained undiscovered for three days. The cause of the accident was still under investigation.
Everyone knew that a mariti disaster was the most terrifying; it ant no chance of survival. A young man so perfect and exceptional had his life swallowed by the sea, with no possibility of escape.
The air was deathly silent. Everyone struggled to process this devastating news, staring at Xu Si, hardly daring to breathe. Wen Jiaojiao’s face was the most pale; after a long while, she managed to say, "Asi, if only I had brought him back with that day."
Xu Si, however, did not react, as if struck dumb by the news. It felt like a century before she finally patted Wen Jiaojiao’s hand. "Everyone has their own fate; you can’t bla yourself for this. Jiaojiao, you should go ho first." Her face showed no discernible emotion.
After saying this, Xu Si walked alone into the study. She remained there from daylight until night, not erging.
Ever since she was young, she wasn’t one to cry, nor did she cry then. When her fingers accidentally brushed against her moist eye corners, she only felt as if the driving rain had entirely fallen into her eyes.
「The next day,」
Soone placed a piece of paper in the Xu Family’s mailbox. Butler Ge dared not delay and delivered it to Xu Si. Xu Si picked it up and looked at it. On it were familiar printed words:
—Chengpin Mall, Pei Zhen, Xu Si, Ge Tai, Anshi.
The nas Chengpin Mall, Pei Zhen, and Xu Si were all marked with red crosses. The cross on Pei Zhen’s na was particularly vivid. An additional line of small print read: (Hand over the photos.)
Xu Si paused montarily, then tore the paper into shreds. Her lips curled into a faint smile, but her voice was as cold as frost. "So, they were the ones behind this. If you want to kill soone, why so much pointless talk? Have the driver park the car at the entrance. I’m going out to settle accounts. It’s not their turn to call the shots on Hong Kong Island yet. Threatening ? They can dream on."
"Yes," nodded Butler Ge fearfully. He stared blankly at Xu Si’s figure for a long ti before slowly recalling sothing from the past.
Before Young Master Pei arrived, Xu Si had always been like this. Now that Young Master Pei was gone, she had reverted to her forr self.
「That very day,」
Xu Si caused a massive commotion on Hong Kong Island. Nurous copies of several photographs were printed and scattered from the top floor of the closed Chengpin Mall for every passerby to see. The contents of the photographs were horrifying: in a dilapidated factory, soone was conducting human experints, complete with blood extraction equipnt. This forced the police to investigate. In full view of the public, Xu Si, undeterred, crashed her luxury car through the factory gates, exposing all the equipnt and people inside who hadn’t been moved in ti, thereby corroborating the contents of the photographs.
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