——Yuchun Hospital——
"Hello, I'd like to ask, where is the patient Chu Zhao from Room 401 right now?"
"One moment, please. Let me check for you."
"I'm sorry, the patient you are inquiring about was discharged this morning at nine o'clock."
"Discharged..." Chu Xu looked slightly dazed. Xiao Zhao hadn't even told him a word.
No matter how busy he used to be with work, Xiao Zhao would still update him, her second older brother, on how she was doing from time to time.
The corners of Chu Xu's eyes drooped slightly, and his peach-blossom eyes appeared even more captivating due to his current look of disappointment, making anyone who saw him forget everything else.
Facing this beauty firsthand, the nurse softened her breathing slightly: "Mr. Chu, is there anything else I can help you with?"
"I'd like to understand the specifics of my younger sister's illness this time. Could you tell me her attending physician and the list of nurses caring for her?"
"All right, let me consult my superiors about this."
——Half an hour later, the Director's Office——
"I am already aware of my sister Chu Zhao's relapse this time, as well as... the resuscitation following an air embolism."
Chu Xu looked at the director, his brows and eyes momentarily shedding that gentle look and revealing the imposing aura of a G-City aristocrat.
"I hope the reason for Chu Zhao's air embolism this time remains limited to our mutual negligence."
"Instead of something else."
"Especially—"
Chu Xu's expression grew cold and gloomy: "Those rumors saying that my other sister, Xiaofu, insisted on personally caring for Chu Zhao and wouldn't let other nurses enter, which resulted in Chu Zhao's air embolism..."
"Such remarks are tantamount to rumors, and I do not wish to hear them leaking from the staff of your esteemed hospital anymore."
"Do you understand what I mean?"
The director's expression was terribly unsightly, yet he still had to apologize to the young man before him.
"I understand. It was my failure to manage my subordinates properly. I will take a firm stance and resolutely put a stop to these kinds of rumor-mongering phenomena."
"With you saying that, I can rest easy."
Chu Xu's expression softened, and with a smile, he said: "A new batch of medical equipment has recently been shipped from S City. If you have any need for it, I'll send a batch to you first."
"Good, good, thank you, Mr. Chu." The director's expression relaxed: "At noon, I'll play host and invite you to a meal at Yunsheng Restaurant. You simply must honor me with your presence."
"Then it would be ungracious of me to refuse."
——*
"Older brother? Why are you calling at this hour?"
Chu Xu answered the phone, looking somewhat surprised.
Chu Zhang: "I heard from the servants that you went straight to the hospital the moment you got off the plane. How is Chu Zhao now?"
"Xiao Zhao has already been discharged."
"Is that so?" Chu Zhang's voice was cold: "Has the cause of her air embolism been found out?"
The hand Chu Xu held the phone with tightened. He leaned against the windowsill, half-hidden by the curtains, his expression obscure and murky.
"It's been found out." Chu Xu's tone was calm: "It was just an accident caused by the medical staff not paying close attention."
"I've already contacted the director to deal with the personnel involved."
Chu Xu paused slightly: "In addition, Shang Que came to see Xiao Zhao later on, but Xiao Zhao was still unconscious at the time, so the two didn't communicate."
Chu Zhang: "I know."
Chu Xu hung up the phone and inadvertently caught sight of Chu Zhao's name in his call history.
As if stung, he pressed the screen dark.
——Near Z3 Garage——
The sky was dim, and a drizzle like fine mist drifted in the air. Chu Zhao stood outside the glass storefront, watching the light rain dampen the ground little by little.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket—a location message sent by Chu Wang.
Yunlan Mountain.
Chu Zhao lowered her gaze, zooming in on the location of Yunlan Mountain on her phone's map.
This place was very close to Suian Hospital, where she had secretly arranged for Aunt Chun to live and recuperate.
It was an opportunity that could not be more suitable, allowing her to visit Aunt Chun without being discovered by anyone.
Chu Zhao put her phone back into her pocket and, without hesitation, stepped into the misty rain.
——Yunlan Mountain——
The phone screen lit up and went dark, went dark and lit up. Missed calls from the same person had already filled the entire interface.
Chu Zhao didn't answer.
Perhaps only at times like this could she extract a trace of the feeling of being needed from her younger brother.
Yet if she were to treat being needed like this as sustenance to prop herself up—
Her life would only become all the more pathetic.
Chu Zhao gripped the steering wheel tightly, her gaze fixed straight ahead, her mind completely blank.
At this moment, the sun was slanting westward, and the setting sun was gradually sinking. Resplendent, fiery glow like rich colors spread across the edge of the sky.
The red filling the sky was like some ominous portent, veering across her eyes like a shadow of blood.
Chu Zhao felt an inexplicable sense of unease in her heart.
Chu Wang had learned racing from a very young age, possessing both natural talent and exceptional skill. It wasn't his first time racing privately against others like he was today.
Nothing would happen.
Chu Zhao stepped on the accelerator, and the SA suddenly picked up speed like a silver lightning bolt, sweeping toward the starting point of this race.
————
"Oh, they're here, they're here!"
"So handsome, truly worthy of an SA! I wonder if we can borrow it from Young Master Chu for a couple of days after this race..."
Chu Zhao pushed open the car door, ignoring the people crowding around, and walked straight toward Chu Wang, who was standing two or three meters away with one hand in his pocket and a rebellious expression.
"Why didn't you answer your phone?" Chu Wang's tone was extremely dissatisfied.
Chu Zhao didn't reply.
She should have done as she had done in the past: handed the car keys to Chu Wang, then consciously found a place where she wouldn't be in the way, and silently watched the entire process of Chu Wang's race.
Or perhaps, after handing over the keys, she could just walk back however she pleased amidst Chu Wang's impatient driving-away shouts.
If—
If it weren't for the fact that when she raised her head, she suddenly caught sight of the bright yellow sign on the back section of the mountain road and the bright red cross on it, she probably would have done just that.
Chu Wang's outstretched hand grasped at empty air.
Watching Chu Zhao, who suddenly withdrew the keys she was about to hand over and even took a step back, the annoyance on his face was practically overflowing.
"What are you messing around with again?"
Ignoring Chu Wang, Chu Zhao turned her gaze toward someone in her memory who didn't quite get along with him.
"Chen Yao, what's wrong with the road ahead?"
"Huh?" Suddenly called out, Chen Yao was still a bit dazed.
Yet when he noticed that both Chu Zhao and Chu Wang had expressions as unsightly as the other—
He suddenly grew interested, leaning in and saying with a grin: "Sis, there's nothing wrong."
"It's just that there are two or three places up ahead currently undergoing repairs."
"But the repairs are just fixing the guardrails; the road surface is fine."
"Besides—" Chen Yao deliberately drew out his tone and laughed.
"For our Young Master Chu, what difference does a guardrail make? It doesn't affect him at all~"
How could it not affect him?
As far as Chu Zhao knew, Chu Wang had never raced here before, so today should have been his first time.
However, Chu Zhao had been here a few times herself, and she knew the exact situation up ahead better than anyone.
The Twenty-One Bends: a total length of 4.7 kilometers, with a vertical drop of nearly three hundred meters.
Moreover, both the front and rear sections each featured a U-turn, high on the inside and low on the outside, with steep slopes and sharp curves. A moment of carelessness would result in a vehicle overturning, costing lives and destroying cars.
Based on Chu Zhao's familiarity with the terrain of this winding mountain road on Yunlan Mountain, the place where trouble had occurred and warning signs had been erected was precisely the location of the final "Deadly U-Turn."
Chu Zhao's expression turned completely cold.
Her heavy bangs almost completely covered her eyes, and her long black hair hung loose. Coupled with the fact that Chu Zhao had just left the hospital not long ago, her exposed face looked terribly pale...
Chen Yao swallowed nervously as he looked at Chu Zhao like this, and suddenly didn't dare to tease any further.
Chu Wang's older sister really looked like a gloomy female ghost crawling out of the water.
No matter how many times he saw it, he still couldn't get used to it in the slightest.
No wonder Chu Wang was unwilling to mention her outside even half a word, and the older sister in his mouth would always only be Chu Fu.
Instead of this Chu Zhao, who was actually related to him by blood.
"Have you asked enough? Give me the keys!"
"I won't give them to you. Seeking a thrill and seeking death are two different things."
"You—"
As if somewhat surprised, Chu Zhao, who had always been docile in front of him, would actually say such words to him.
After a moment of astonishment, a vexation heavier and deeper than before climbed onto Chu Wang's brows and eyes.
He gave a cold sneer: "Chu Zhao, since when is it your turn to meddle..."
"Why are you two arguing? Does Young Master Chu regret it and no longer want to race?"
Su Jingmo's smiling voice rang out from across them.
He spread his hands in a helpless gesture.
"But what can be done? The life-and-death agreement has already been signed, and the stakes and wagers are written down in black and white."
"If you want to back out..."
"I won't back out." Chu Wang directly interrupted: "I—Chu Zhao!"
His eyes split with rage, but his collar had already been tightly gripped by Chu Zhao, and he was cleanly and decisively pinned against the directional signpost on the side by Chu Zhao's raised knee.
It was an iron square pillar.
Caught off guard, Chu Wang slammed his back hard against it, emitting a very heavy dull thud.
Everyone around was stunned by this scene, and for a moment, all sides fell dead silent.
Chu Wang's expression had already turned unsightly to the extreme, but Chu Zhao didn't care.
She stared into Chu Wang's eyes: "Do you know what you're doing?"
Chu Wang was almost laughed to death by these words; shouldn't he be the one asking Chu Zhao this?
"You..."
"Are you confident you can make it out of the racetrack alive every single time?"
"Have you thought about what would happen if today's events reached home, and they..."
Chu Zhao paused, yet still finished saying: "How worried they would be about you?"
"You're gambling your life on a playful occasion like this."
The force in Chu Zhao's hands increased, her deep black pupils burning like wild fire.
"Chu Wang, is your life really worth so little?"
"You..." Chu Wang met Chu Zhao's gaze at close range, and for some reason, his pent-up anger suddenly stalled.
His throat tightened, and he didn't dare to look into Chu Zhao's eyes, which seemed lit by anger and yet shone brightly.
"What business is it of yours?" Chu Wang said this, but his voice was noticeably lower.
"What do you even understand?"
"Dad and Mom's wedding anniversary gemstone, Huilan, has already been put on the line. If I don't race, are you telling me to just hand it over to Su Jingmo?"
"You talk so much, can you race in my place?"
"The anniversary gemstone..." Chu Zhao's expression turned abruptly cold as she raised her leg and kicked Chu Wang in the abdomen.
Ignoring Chu Wang, who instantly arched into a shrimp, she turned back to look at Su Jingmo, her cat-like pupils cold and penetrating beneath her bangs.
"Are you sure you want to bet?"