Chapter 416: Chapter 416

Sang Ning’s tone carried a hint of concern, but Lu Yujing only saw her as putting on a show.

Superficial concern, actual threat.

"Listen to what you’re saying. My friend arranged this, what could possibly happen?" Lu Yujing spoke with a smile on her lips, but there was an undertone of dissatisfaction in her voice.

The viewers in the livestream room who empathized with Lu Yujing were criticizing Sang Ning.

[Sang Ning is really such a buzzkill. What does ’be careful’ even mean? Is she worried Lu Yujing’s friend might harm them?]

[She couldn’t get a car herself and now sees someone else’s friend giving them a ride—Sang Ning must be feeling frustrated about it.]

[Probably upset she didn’t get into the first batch of cars and feeling petty about it.]

[Someone went to the trouble of calling a car, getting a ride is good enough. And yet she still has the nerve to nitpick. Self-centered people really don’t suit group trips.]

"It’s always a good idea to stay vigilant when you’re outside, especially since your friend didn’t come personally." Sang Ning added this one last sentence and then went silent, knowing saying any more would make her even less liked.

After being reminded by Sang Ning time and time again, Lu Yujing found herself irritated. Looking at the two locals in the car, she started to find their faces aggravating.

The local man in the passenger seat suddenly threw her a smile, the curve of his mouth eerie enough to make Lu Yujing’s heart skip a beat. Her instincts flared with an intense unease, and she wanted to call her friend to confirm everything again.

But Lu Yujing didn’t want to let Sang Ning feel like she’d gotten the upper hand. When she responded again, even the fake sweetness in her tone was gone: "Do you suffer from paranoia? If you’re that cautious, maybe worry about yourself first."

"Ahhh, it’s already two in the morning!" Qin Feng’s exaggerated voice redirected everyone’s attention.

Once Lu Yujing glanced over, he pretended to look drained, weakly complaining, "Sister Jing, weren’t you asking me to go move luggage? If we don’t leave soon, my energy is going to get fully drained by the night!"

The sharp comment broke everyone out of their daze; Lu Yujing didn’t want to get tangled up with Sang Ning any further. The priority right now was getting Li Haidong and Wei Lan to the hotel.

Sang Ning and Song Shiye decided to stay behind and wait.

Before getting into the car, Qin Feng momentarily forgot all the animosity between him and Sang Ning and tried to reassure her: "I’ll ask the driver to go a little faster later so we can come back and pick you up as soon as possible."

Sang Ning shook her head gently: "Safety first. I can use the waiting time to do some tutoring with Xiao Ye."

Under Sang Ning and Song Shiye’s watchful eyes, the van finally drove away.

Only when the car’s shadow completely disappeared did Sang Ning turn to Song Shiye and say, "Let’s go sit on the chairs in the lobby and study."

"Huh?" Song Shiye looked distressed. "It’s this late, and you’re really studying?"

Not long after driving off, Li Haidong rubbed his temples lightly.

His movement was so subtle that even Wei Lan, seated beside him, didn’t notice.

However, Lu Yujing had been keeping close watch on both Li Haidong and Wei Lan, so she caught his gesture immediately.

In the seven-seater vehicle—excluding the driver’s and passenger seat—Lu Yujing and Jiang Xiaoti sat in the second row, while Qin Feng, Li Haidong, and Wei Lan occupied the third row.

Sitting directly behind the driver’s seat, Lu Yujing tapped the back of the driver’s chair and deliberately lowered her voice. She ensured it was still loud enough for Li Haidong in the third row to hear: "Excuse me, could you slow down a bit? The gentleman traveling with us seems to have motion sickness and has been rubbing his temples."

She desperately wished for the driver to move as slowly as possible. After all, she was riding in the car, which was infinitely better than Sang Ning waiting back at the hotel.

Among the group, Jiang Xiaoti’s English skills were the weakest—limited to exam-level proficiency, completely unfit for conversational use.

The others all had fluency, able to communicate seamlessly in English.

Since this was their first meeting, Jiang Xiaoti hesitated to directly ask what Lu Yujing said to the driver, but the remaining three heard it clearly.

Wei Lan was slightly startled that Lu Yujing was so attentive, noticing something she herself hadn’t, even though she was seated directly next to Li Haidong.

"Are you alright?" Though Wei Lan knew he couldn’t possibly have a serious health issue, she couldn’t help but express concern.

"I’m fine," Li Haidong waved his hand dismissively. "Just feeling a bit stuffy."

Then, he didn’t forget to praise Lu Yujing: "Xiao Lu, you have such a keen eye—whoever marries you in the future will be very lucky."

Lu Yujing slightly lowered her head, feigning shyness: "Uncle, you’re exaggerating. This is just something I should do."

At that moment, even Lu Yujing started to feel the air in the car grow stifling. The air conditioning seemed to be turned off.

"Excuse me, would you mind turning on the air conditioning?" Lu Yujing asked the driver.

In this heat, without air conditioning, they were all going to melt.

But unfortunately, the driver seemed not to hear her, remaining unresponsive.

Ever since her first interaction with him, Lu Yujing realized the driver had been completely disregarding her.

She began to suspect the driver might have hearing issues and turned to the local man in the passenger seat for help. Yet he, too, ignored her words entirely, as if she were invisible.

Frustration boiled up in Lu Yujing’s heart. What kind of people had her friend arranged for this? They lacked even the basic courtesy and manners.

Awkwardness spread through the cabin. Since she had been the one to arrange the ride, the cold indifference of their hosts made her feel humiliated in front of Li Haidong and Wei Lan.

Li Haidong, now thoroughly uncomfortable, reflected on how if his family had investments on New Island, they wouldn’t be forced to rely on these unreliable locals to pick them up.

Thinking perhaps Lu Yujing had been too meek, allowing herself to get overlooked, Li Haidong decided to step in personally.

After all, he had managed Hai Chuan Group for years; a man in his position carried undeniable authority.

"Hmm..." Li Haidong cleared his throat, positioned himself properly, and said in an authoritative tone, "Turn on the air conditioner."

The only response he received was dead silence. Li Haidong felt utterly ignored. Check latest chapters at novelFirｅ.net

Lu Yujing was on the verge of panicking—was the driver planning to harm them? The impression she had worked hard to create for Li Haidong was rapidly crumbling.

Li Haidong, seeking to save face, turned to Wei Lan for support: "It’s my British accent—probably hard for them to understand."

Wei Lan smirked subtly but didn’t respond. She could see through the awkwardness of Li Haidong’s excuse.

After all, these locals had gone out of their way at this late hour to pick them up. Given Li Haidong’s commanding tone, anyone would feel uncomfortable.

With both Lu Yujing and Li Haidong failing in their attempts, Wei Lan tried a different approach to communicate with the driver: "Is the air conditioning broken? If so, could you open the windows for some air?"

The windows in the van’s rear seats couldn’t be opened, so getting some fresh air depended entirely on the driver lowering the front windows.

Yet this time, Wei Lan was ignored as well.

Finally, everyone in the car realized there was something deeply wrong here. No matter how rude someone might be, ignoring repeated inquiries was beyond unreasonable.

Qin Feng was the first to lose his temper.

He didn’t care how much effort the driver had put into picking them up, yelling outright: "Are you goddamn deaf or what? Can’t you hear us talking to you?"

To vent his frustration, he even slammed his fists hard against the seat in front of him.

Poor Jiang Xiaoti, seated directly in front of him, was caught in the crossfire—her head jolted painfully from the vibrations.

"And who the hell are you cursing at?"

The dead silence in the car was shattered by a heavily accented and awkward attempt at Mandarin, thick with Colonel-like tones.

The cabin plunged into an eerie, chilling quiet.