The six months Li Li spent with her grandmother were the warmest she had known since birth. Aunt Xiao said that her grandmother, who had already emigrated, had returned from abroad specifically to protect her.
During the thirteen years she was adopted by the Ji Family, Li Li never forgot her past, but she also grew to crave the boundless warmth given to her by her parents and brother. Then, at eighteen, news came that Old Madam Li had cancer.
Of all the people in the Li Family, she could ignore everyone else, but she could not ignore Old Madam Li.
As the car sped through the downpour, Li Li watched the rain being swept away by the wipers. Her vision, alternating between clear and blurred, matched the state of her heart. Perhaps there was a way; her parents held the world’s most advanced medical resources in their hands. When she was first adopted, everyone believed she wouldn’t live past seven, and it was her parents who had snatched her back from the hands of Death.
Should she go to them?
Li Li lowered her eyes, feeling bitter and helpless. When she had chosen to return to the Li Family, her parents hadn't stopped her, nor had they said a single word. She felt that they must be deeply disappointed in her. For so many years, she hadn't dared to contact them, and she wasn't even sure if their phone numbers were still active.
Hong Kong City. Should she go back to Hong Kong City and beg her parents? It was the only path left to her.
The Ji Family had shown her a level of prosperity most people would never see. When one holds absolute wealth and power, one can accomplish things that most people couldn't even dream of—feats that would seem surreal or extreme.
With this thought, Li Li turned the steering wheel toward the airport.
In the opposite lane, an understated sports car brushed past her. The assistant looked at the black, diamond-encrusted supercar that had flashed by and exclaimed, "Boss, that's the sister-in-law's car!"
Shang Che, who had been resting in the back seat, suddenly opened his eyes as if a starter button had been pressed.
He heard his assistant in the front say, "I'm not mistaken. It’s the only one of its kind in the world, the 'Night.' Mr. Ji gave it to her for her coming-of-age ceremony."
Afraid his boss wouldn't believe him, the assistant was about to recite the license plate number when he heard the man’s tight, strained voice from the back: "Xiao Xun, turn around."
"Understood." Xiao Xun was already prepared; he made a sharp U-turn at the intersection and gave chase.
Just past the traffic light, Xiao Xun sensed that something was wrong. As he was about to speak, he discovered that Shang Che had moved to the front passenger seat, giving him a massive fright. Before he could react, the man’s oppressive voice sounded above him: "Switch positions."
Almost the moment the words left his lips, Xiao Xun instinctively released the wheel, and the two swapped places.
"Is that the car that’s been following us?"
At that moment, the vehicle was rapidly closing in on Li Li’s car. Xiao Xun was startled, casting a wary glance at his boss’s grim, tense expression. Had these bastards locked onto Li Li so quickly?
Shang Che wasn't surprised; he was only filled with regret. He shouldn't have let the videos of the two of them stay on the trending topics for so long. He had been too impatient.
The rain was torrential, and the road was filled with various other vehicles struggling through the storm. Shang Che kept his eyes fixed on Li Li’s car. As they passed a traffic light, the trailing car suddenly swerved out of the main lane.
"Why did they pull over?"
Xiao Xun was puzzled for a moment, but his heart jumped when he saw the intersection ahead. "He’s going to ram the sister-in-law’s car... oh..."
Amidst Xiao Xun’s exclamation, it was clear that Shang Che had already anticipated the move. The car pulled a sudden, extreme maneuver, throwing Xiao Xun against the window and leaving him dazed. He heard the man’s cold, low command: "Get to the left rear."
Before his mind could process the order, his body reacted. Still dizzy, he braced himself against the seats and scrambled into the back.
At the same time, the vehicle ahead suddenly burst out from a side road, driving against traffic and barreling toward Li Li. Li Li was hesitating over whether to tell Ji Huaiyan that she was heading to Hong Kong City when the oncoming headlights blinded her.
Through the pouring rain, she could only see a car hurtling toward her. Her pupils constricted, her scalp went numb, and she felt as if a hand were clutching her heart. The proximity of death triggered a physiological terror, her blood running cold.
The screech of tires against the pavement mingled with the roar of the rain against the car body. With a deafening "boom," a second before the car could strike her, Shang Che swerved, slamming his own vehicle into the side of the oncoming car to deflect it.
His rear bumper clipped Li Li’s car.
In the split second before her car lost control, Li Li instinctively gripped the wheel and braced herself against the seat.
*Screech—CRASH!*
At the T-junction, car after car skidded and lost control, resulting in a pile-up. The downpour obscured the neon lights, and smoke rose, making it look like the end of the world.
Li Li was held tight by her seatbelt, her hands still locked on the wheel. Her car slid across the road before slamming into the median and coming to a forced stop.
Her heart hammered against her chest, competing with the frantic, incessant honking of the surrounding cars.
As she returned to her senses, the world seemed to be reassembling itself. Li Li slowly lifted her eyes, her gaze still dazed. Through the windshield, where the wipers continued to sweep back and forth, she saw the overturned car ahead, steam rising from its wreckage.
Her eyes hardened. That car had been aiming for her.
"Li Li!"
"Lili!!"
"Li Li!!!"
Amidst the chaos, the frantic pounding on her window and a man’s suppressed, desperate calls began to fill her mind.
Li Li shook her ringing head and turned back a beat too late. Outside the passenger window, through the rain-streaked glass, a desperate face flickered in and out of view.
She subconsciously rolled down the window. Through the rain, Shang Che’s handsome face became clear.
As the cold wind rushed in, it carried the man’s increasingly hoarse, desperate call: "My little ancestor..."
The window descended. The man’s fist, which had been raised to smash the glass, hung suspended in mid-air. As their eyes met, Li Li could see the raw heat in his bloodshot eyes.
"Shang... Che."
Their gazes locked. Shang Che’s legs went weak. He reached in, opened the door, and knelt in the passenger seat, pulling her into his arms without a word.
Li Li was stunned.
She could feel the violent vibration of his chest against her ear and the ragged gasps escaping his throat. He was trying his best to suppress them, but he couldn't stop his voice from trembling: "I'm sorry."
Li Li felt the panic beneath his tense muscles. Though she wasn't sure why he was apologizing, she subconsciously wanted to be closer to him.
Her body followed its instincts, curling into the man’s arms. Li Li felt her eyes sting, and she replied with characteristic politeness, "It’s okay."
She hesitated for a moment, then reached out to pat his back in comfort. "Why are you here?"
Shang Che didn't answer. As he pulled away, his large hand rested on her head, ruffling her hair. "Be a good girl and wait for me in the car."
With that, he turned and stepped out, closing the door behind him.
Through the window, Li Li could only see his tense profile. A man ran up to him, listened to his instructions, and then turned to make a phone call.
The other drivers were gradually gathering around, but Shang Che stood tall in the rain, his face cold as he negotiated with them.
Li Li leaned back against the seat, staring at the man’s back through the window, and drifted off to sleep before she knew it.
She was so tired.
It had been a long time since she had felt this exhausted...
In just one day, she had been forced to taste every flavor of life: the calculations, coldness, and isolation from her own family, the antagonist who stood on the opposing side, her grandmother’s illness, the guilt and conflict regarding her adoptive parents, and... Shang Che, who had suddenly burst into her world.
Until her cold body felt a source of warmth. Li Li instinctively moved closer, only to hear a scoff.
"She’s quite dependent on you, isn't she? Throwing herself into your arms and all."