Chapter 170: Chapter 170
The airport lobby was bustling as ever, welcoming and sending off countless passengers daily.
Shen Jianian was amidst the lively crowd, holding a small travel bag in her arms, not glancing around, but immersed in her own world, making her figure seem particularly lonely.
At nine thirty-five in the evening, the plane took off, about to land in a city that was completely unfamiliar to her.
Meanwhile, in the master bedroom on the second floor of the Fu Family’s old house, Wei Ronghua received a call from her informant, who informed her that Shen Jianian had boarded a flight to Jiang City.
Tonight, Fu Zhengjun had a social engagement and hadn’t returned home. Wei Ronghua, wrapped in a light gray silk robe, walked to the window, her arm crossed over her waist, supporting her right elbow with her left hand, and softly instructed the person on the other end, "Keep an eye on her, report to me if anything happens."
The call was brief, ending in less than three minutes.
Wei Ronghua had no other purpose, just wanted to verify her previous suspicion. If Shen Jianian wasn’t pregnant, she could live wherever she wanted as long as she didn’t continue entangling with Fu Jichen, she wouldn’t make things difficult for her.
If she was pregnant, then other methods would have to be considered.
What Wei Ronghua didn’t know was that in another room, her daughter had just made a phone call.
Fu Yuling held a cat toy stick, teasing a beautiful ragdoll cat on the sofa while giving orders to the person on the phone, her pink lips curled into a smile, but her words were extremely ruthless: "Last time you failed, I didn’t hold it against you because I’m generous, this time be clean, don’t leave any evidence."
On the other end of the line was a man, assuring her that there wouldn’t be any mistakes.
Fu Yuling calmly reminded, "As soon as possible."
After hanging up, Fu Yuling, in a good mood, put down her phone and cat toy stick, and picked up the cat on the sofa, cradling it in her arms with her red manicured fingers stroking its sleek fur, speaking to it with a squint, "Nian Gao, do you think Mommy would ever let go of the woman who occupies all of Brother’s body and mind? As long as that woman is alive, Brother’s thoughts will be stirred by her."
The cat in her arms didn’t understand a word, responding with a "meow."
Fu Yuling’s smile widened, and she couldn’t help but laugh out loud, "Looks like you agree with Mommy, right?" A cold light flashed in her eyes as she muttered to herself, "Brother is mine, no one can take him away from me. If anyone’s to blame, it’s her own bad luck..."
Suddenly, a strong wind blew outside, causing the curtains to balloon and float mid-air, looking menacing, as if it was about to rain.
When Fu Yuling went upstairs after dinner, she heard the broadcast from the TV in the living room, saying that recent days had seen heavy rains across multiple regions nationwide.
She got up, pushing the cat aside to close the window, when large raindrops suddenly fell on the back of her hand.
The storm arrived suddenly.
Fu Yuling stood at the window with her arms folded, staring at the ink-dark night sky without a single star, imagining Shen Jianian still in the air, her smile faded slightly.
Shen Jianian better pray that plane never lands.
However, that was ultimately wishful thinking. At midnight, the plane arrived at Jiang City’s Fuh River Airport.
Shen Jianian disembarked with the other passengers, without needing to collect any luggage, she walked straight out of the airport. She took out her phone from her pocket, removed the SIM card, and threw it into the drainage gap by the roadside, the small card flushed through the underground sewage to some unknown place.
She flagged down a taxi, telling the driver the name of a guesthouse.
The driver raised his hand to take down the "empty car" sign lit in red, started the engine, and drove away from the airport.
The car was moving on the road when suddenly a heavy rain started without warning, dense raindrops pelting the windshield, quickly blurring the view.
The driver turned on the wipers, slowed the car, glanced at the rear-view mirror, and smiled at Shen Jianian sitting quietly in the back, "It’s lucky it’s raining now. Any earlier, and the flight might have been delayed or even canceled."
Shen Jianian smiled faintly, not responding.
A phone started ringing, clearly not Shen Jianian’s phone with the SIM card removed, but the driver’s phone.
The driver’s phone was in a bracket below the central control panel, he reached out, pressed the answer button on the screen, and switched to speakerphone, from which emitted a woman’s gentle voice: "It’s raining, when will you come back?"
It was easy to guess it was the driver’s wife. Shen Jianian turned her head to look out the window; the sky, already dark, was made more chaotic by the pouring rain, giving the illusion of heaven and earth becoming one.
She heard the driver speak, his voice deep and warm with a hint of laughter, "I’ll come home after this last ride. You go to sleep, don’t wait up for me. Is the child feeling better from the fever?"
The woman said, "The fever’s gone. I’m not sleepy yet, I’ll wait for you to come back before I sleep."
Listening to the usual conversation between husband and wife, Shen Jianian used to feel nothing, but now she had gained some insight. Such an ordinary life could be a form of happiness. The days might be plain, monotonous, and uneventful, but they are stable and serene.
The rain fell harder, as if the sky had a hole pierced through it.
Through the car window, Shen Jianian saw a solitary figure by the roadside, the shape suggesting a young girl without an umbrella, her clothes already soaked, carrying a large black backpack, her hair clinging in strands to her face.
The downpour made it hard to keep eyes open, the girl constantly wiping the rain off her face, reaching out to flag a car, yet none of the passing vehicles stopped.
Shen Jianian, also alone, couldn’t help but feel a pang of compassion.
Before she could speak up, the driver already pulled the car to the side, announcing to Shen Jianian first, "In this rain, the girl is quite pitiful alone, let me see where she’s headed and if we can give her a ride."
The driver was kind-hearted, and Shen Jianian expressed that she didn’t mind; she had intended to ask the driver for help anyway.
To prevent rainwater from flooding in, the driver rolled down the window to a narrow slit, enough to hear the outside voices, "Hey girl, where are you going?"
The girl shielded her forehead with one hand, coming off the curb, bending down close to the passenger-side window, mentioning the name of a neighborhood.
The driver told Shen Jianian, "It’s on the way, just before the road to your guesthouse."
Shen Jianian nodded, "Let her get in then."
The driver called out loudly, "Get in, I’ll take you there!"
Grateful, the girl continuously thanked, pulling open the passenger door, getting into the car, removing her large backpack to hold in front of her, hesitating to sit down, conscious of her wet clothes soaking the seat.
"It’s okay, have a seat," the driver reassured, sensing her worry.
The girl, cautious in her movements, perched on the edge of the seat, minimizing any trouble to others.
Once she fastened her seatbelt, the car resumed its journey.
It dawned on the girl that there was someone seated in the back.
Seeing her shivering, arms wrapped around herself, Shen Jianian, after a moment’s hesitation, unzipped her travel bag, pulled out a clean jacket, and offered it through the gap between the front seats, "Wrap this around yourself, it’ll warm you up a bit."
The driver had mentioned that her residence was a significant distance from the guesthouse, at least a forty-minute drive, possibly longer given the weather conditions. At her current state, forget forty minutes, even ten would be unbearable.
The girl intended to decline, but the cold was unbearable, so she accepted Shen Jianian’s kindness, turning to give a slight smile, "Thank you."
"You’re welcome," Shen Jianian replied.
The driver, maintaining vigilance on the road, remarked, "At home we rely on family, away we rely on friends; meeting by chance makes us friends."
No sooner had he said the words than the taxi drove onto the Cross River Bridge, when ahead, two blinding beams of light pierced the darkness, obscuring the view ahead.
A heavy-duty truck was speeding toward them at an alarming velocity.
Startled, the driver jerked the steering wheel to evade, the occupants of the car tilting sideways with the sudden motion.
The truck, not decelerating, crashed directly into the side of the taxi.
With a "bang," accompanied by a sky-piercing boom, the car body caved in, the front end smashing through the roadside guardrail, teetering precariously until it finally plunged into the fast-flowing river below.