translator: Eve
editor: kara
No one had expected for Xiao Shenglin’s disaster to arrive so soon.
Because the method most likely to be used by Xiao Baicong was a staged car accident, Xiao Shenglin didn’t drive his car back after their meal. He instead sat in the backseat of Song Xuanhe’s car. Zhou Nan had originally ridden in Xiao Shenglin’s car, so he also joined them.
Ruyi Pavilion was a quiet escape within a bustling city. There weren’t any residences or parks near the restaurant. There were tall trees on either side of the road leading out of the area. A little further away was a construction area, so there weren’t many people around. The straight segment of the road was short, but it was very close to a winding road. It would be very easy for an accident to occur here.
Their target was Xiao Shenglin. They would probably prefer to keep things low-key, so they probably wouldn’t do anything with Song Xuanhe and Zhou Nan also on board. But with danger imminent, it was inevitable that the three of them would still be nervous despite their calm analysis.
Song Xuanhe was extremely vigilant against any cars that might appear from the winding road. After having driven for a long time on the flat road, they gradually made their way onto a main road, and the traffic also increased. The three people in the car slowly relaxed.
“It should be fine now.”
Like Song Xuanhe, Zhou Nan and Xiao Shenglin also thought that Xiao Baicong’s people wouldn’t make a move in such a crowded place. If a car accident was to occur here, many other vehicles would likely be implicated as well. It would attract a lot of attention. That was definitely not something Xiao Baicong would want.
As the tension subsided, they began to make guesses on whether the people following Xiao Shenglin were Xiao Baicong’s people or an organization he hired.
In the beginning, they had thought that they were Xiao Baicong’s people. But after Zhou Nan’s joke, they felt like it was more likely that he had hired some outside people to get the job done.
It would be safer, more discreet, and easier to frame Xiao Yuanmu that way, after all.
If this was the case, Xiao Shenglin was in more danger than Song Xuanhe had initially thought. Although it seemed like assassins were no longer a part of their world, they knew that they still existed. They were not covert, mysterious, lithe martial arts masters like in novels either. They were international criminals.
These kinds of people had no hope for tomorrow. They were the type to live in the moment. Their methods were cruel and hard-to-predict. They would do the work they were paid to do without any misgivings of any possible consequences. They were insane.
If Xiao Baicong had found such people, Xiao Shenglin’s survival rate would become abysmally low.
Luckily, Song Xuanhe knew that Xiao Shenglin was supposed to die in a discreet car accident. But at the same time, because he knew about this, he had been more inclined to think that Xiao Baicong had sent his own subordinates.
“It’s fortunate that we’re in China. Xiao Baicong is wary of the local authorities. Besides, he hasn’t succeeded the Xiao Family. He can’t act too recklessly.” Zhou Nan frowned. It wasn’t clear whether he was comforting his friends or himself.
Xiao Shenglin pulled his lips into a straight line. Although there was concern in his eyes, a gentle smile quickly formed on his lips when he saw how nervous his friends were.
“You guys said it—they wouldn’t do anything at a time like this. So, you guys can rela—”
Screech—
Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion.
The light had turned green for just one second. Song Xuanhe watched as the cars in front of them were forced into reckless turns, because a car driving on the street perpendicular to theirs had charged into the intersection despite the red light. The sound of cars crashing into the back of other cars echoed through the air. Their car also just happened to slam into the back of the one in front of them.
The force of impact was heavy. Song Xuanhe’s head was three centimetres from the steering wheel before his seat belt stopped him from going any more forward. The force of recoil snapped him back against his seat forcefully, and he hit his head. His head was spinning.
Zhou Nan’s situation was similar to his. Although he was startled, he wasn’t injured. Only Xiao Shenglin was hurt. He had slammed into the back of Zhou Nan’s seat, because he wasn’t wearing his seat belt. He groaned.
“Are you okay?”
Zhou Nan and Song Xuanhe turned back to look at him at the same time. Xiao Shenglin had a hand over his head, and he shook his head. He looked out at all of the other drivers, who had rushed out of their cars to discuss the situation with the owner of the car that had sped through the red light, and then forced out a smile. “I wonder if this was planned or an actual accident.”
Song Xuanhe looked at the person who had run the red light and squinted. His voice relaxed. There was also a hidden meaning in his voice that neither Zhou Nan nor Xiao Shenglin understood. “This was likely planned. But, the plan seems to have been interrupted.”
Zhou Nan didn’t understand. He followed Song Xuanhe and Xiao Shenglin’s gazes. All he saw were ordinary-looking men waving their fists at each other. They were all shouting. Nothing fishy seemed to be going on.
He turned to Song Xuanhe and asked, “What do you mean?”
Xiao Shenglin surveyed the area and discovered something. He hesitantly asked, “The car that ran the red light…did it actually save us?”
Zhou Nan was taken aback, but Song Xuanhe nodded.
“The car that car had hit looked like it was about to head east on Shaoxi Road. But the moment it had been about to enter the road, the driver had made an abrupt turn. Their car had then started to head towards us as if they had lost control and were trying to brake. From the angle they had been coming at us, they would have been able to completely dodge the car in front of us while crashing directly into us.”
Zhou Nan listened to Song Xuanhe’s explanation and shifted his gaze onto that car. He had been facing Xiao Shenglin and chatting with him when the accident had occurred, so he hadn’t noticed that this particular car had diverged from its original path. When he heard Song Xuanhe’s account and noticed the wrecked front of that car, he belatedly rejoiced.
If it hadn’t been for the car that had suddenly run the red light, they would have been hit. The cars behind them wouldn’t have been able to stop in time either. Hit by cars on both sides, even if they hadn’t died immediately, they would have suffered serious injuries.
When he thought of this, Zhou Nan felt sorry for the driver of the car that had run the red light, who was currently apologizing to everyone else. He said, “That guy saved us. We can’t watch him get beat up. Let’s help him out.”
Song Xuanhe shook his head. He pointed to the indignant men waving their fists in front of them. “Do you think they look ready to beat him up?”
Zhou Nan stared at the scene for a while. The driver who was apologizing seemed to be saying something to the rest of them. The other drivers also seemed to be directing their anger towards a different person.
“I’ll go take a look.”
Song Xuanhe furrowed his brow and opened the door. He squeezed out from behind the air bags and headed over to the group of people.
“Are you trying to die? Why did you head towards us even though you saw that there were cars there? If it hadn’t been for this guy taking one for the team, several of us would have died. Can you afford to compensate all of us for that?!”
“F*ck, even if you want to kill yourself, can’t you do it in a secluded area? What, did you want to take us all down with you?”
“That’s right. Did you escape from a mental institution? F*cking psychopath.”
The driver who was responsible for the accident was being criticized by the people around him. However, he only hung his head silently as if he was mute.
But when Song Xuanhe walked over, the expression of the driver of the car that had run the red light changed slightly.
“Why aren’t you speaking?”
Someone shoved the silent driver but found that he couldn’t get the other to budge. The person who had shoved the driver found it strange, and the fury in his chest flared stronger. He became even more determined to teach the driver a lesson. This time, he used two hands.
Song Xuanhe infiltrated the group and tapped on the shoulder of one of the men who were cursing. “Hey man, can you tell me what’s going on? My car’s in the back. We were suddenly pancaked by the cars in front and behind us. I only just came back to myself after the airbags had popped out.”
The man who he was speaking to was furious. He turned his head and was about to take his anger out on the person who had tapped on his shoulder but pushed it down when he saw the handsome Song Xuanhe smiling at him. He furrowed his brows and said in a cold voice, “The mute dude in front of us went crazy. He suddenly rushed over in our direction while driving through the intersection. If it hadn’t been because this guy had blocked him, you might not have had the chance to come back to yourself.”
Song Xuanhe pretended to be shocked. “He’s mute?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t said a word this whole time. He’s hung his head since we dragged him out of his car. If it hadn’t been because the guy who had crashed into him had a hold on him, he would have already run away. We haven’t even gotten a good look at his face yet.”
Song Xuanhe nodded pensively. “I see. I wonder if he’s not willing to raise his head because he’s afraid of exposing his identity. Or, maybe I’m thinking too much.”
“Why would he be afraid of exposing his identity?”
The people around Song Xuanhe were curious.
Song Xuanhe blinked. His handsome face emitted a pure aura, and his outfit, consisting of a white t-shirt and jeans, made him look like a student. “Isn’t that what happens on TV? The culprit’s an escaped convict, so they don’t want to let anyone see their face, fearing that they’ll be recognized.”
As soon as he had said this, the person who had hung his head this whole time suddenly looked up. There was a vicious light in his eyes as he glared at Song Xuanhe. With everyone’s eyes on Song Xuanhe, he pretended to be startled. “Did I guess right?”
Song Xuanhe had said this in a very off-handed tone. His youthful appearance had also made people think that he had just been joking. But when the driver had suddenly looked up, people couldn’t help but start to grow suspicious.
Song Xuanhe had already deduced that this person was unlikely to be one of Xiao Baicong’s people from his behaviour. Xiao Baicong’s subordinates would have taken the initiative to take responsibility for the accident and would have done everything they could to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. They wouldn’t have tried to escape like this man in front of him or hang their head silently once their escape had failed. He was probably biding his time and waiting for a chance to slip off. His original plan had probably been to run away during the chaos as well. It was just that the car that had run the red light had ruined his plans.
This all pointed towards their other conjecture. That was why he had tried to sound the other out. He had never expected to actually get anything out of this.
Song Xuanhe’s heart sank. Shortly after, he sighed in relief though. If this person was alone, it would be easy to deal with him. All he had to do was bring this guy to the cops. The police would be able to figure out his identity. They wouldn’t have to worry about what comes next either.
The person Song Xuanhe had talked to earlier stood the closest to him, so he had also noticed the driver’s glare. His face paled and took a step behind Song Xuanhe. He then whispered, “W-why do I feel like he’s not looking at us but behind us?”
Song Xuanhe froze and then whipped around. Before he could turn around fully though, the sound of metal clashing and Zhou Nan’s abrupt shout informed him of what had happened.
“Lin zi—!”
By the time Song Xuanhe managed to turn around, Xiao Shenglin was already lying in a pool of blood.
Eve:
xiin: +1
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