Chapter 1567 - 1565: Past and Present Lives 3
Chapter 1567: Chapter 1565: Past and Present Lives 3
Chapter 1565
"Tsk tsk tsk, look at that lineup, that whole outfit!"
Wenwen stared blankly at the Shih Family’s Daughter, from her tall figure to all the luxury brands on her, then to the limited edition designer bag in her hand.
Her eyes were practically going out of focus.
"As expected of the Shih Family’s Daughter! She’s even prettier than on the news!" Wenwen muttered in shock.
Xiaoxiao tugged her.
"Stop drooling and move out of the way!" she said as she dragged her aside.
The three of them stood off to one side of the exit, watching the group of people hurry past.
When the Shih Family’s Daughter walked past them with a tense expression.
Xia Ruqing’s heart suddenly started pounding hard. Weird, why did she look so familiar? As if she not only knew her, but knew her very well.
While she was still in a daze, the group had already gone far. Xiaoxiao called the two of them to head into the mall.
Wenwen reluctantly tore her gaze away from that designer bag and turned around slowly.
Xia Ruqing, however, couldn’t help looking back again and again.
"Xiao Qingqing, what’s up with you? You never cared about gossip before!" Wenwen found it odd.
Not sure what she was thinking, Xia Ruqing just blurted it out.
"I feel like I know that woman!"
Wenwen burst out laughing.
"Of course you know her. We all know her!"
"Too bad she doesn’t know us, hahaha..."
"Come on, come on, the business of the rich has nothing to do with us little nobodies. Shopping is what matters!"
Xia Ruqing nodded thoughtfully.
Indeed, the Shih Family was a well-known conglomerate in City Z. As their only daughter, Shih Wanxin had been doted on endlessly and was a famous socialite in their circle.
Especially last month, when she got engaged to the eldest son of Zhao Group; the local media reported it for several days in a row, and everyone in City Z knew about it.
Back then everyone praised them—well-matched families, talented man and beautiful woman, a couple made in heaven and all that.
Wenwen had been especially envious; she remembered it crystal clear.
She let out a breath. Looked like her brain was just being fuzzy again.
Thinking that, she shook her head, walked up to catch up with the other two, and the three of them happily went off shopping.
...
Light, happy times are always short; the day passed quickly.
The next day was Monday; everyone went back to their own routines.
Even though her head was still a bit foggy, life had to go on.
Xia Ruqing got up before dawn.
After hurriedly washing up, she cooked some noodles to fill her stomach, then got ready to head out.
She picked up her car keys out of habit, stuffed her water bottle and some dry food into a canvas bag washed so many times it’d turned white, and clattered downstairs to drive.
The small, slightly old light truck slowly but steadily drove out of the old residential compound.
It wound past the rundown houses, went through traffic lights, and passed between the city’s concrete high-rises.
Facing the twinkling morning star in the dawn light, it slowly headed toward the countryside dozens of miles away.
Half an hour later.
Half the trip was done before the sky was fully bright.
They were close to the countryside now, and the view from the cab was wide open.
It was summertime, and the countryside was lush and verdant, dripping with green.
Fruits and vegetables were in season; you could see farmers in the fields on both sides of the road carrying baskets and crates of ripe produce out.
Looking at all those baskets of red, purple, green, and blue-green, she felt delighted, as if she could smell the fresh scent drifting over from afar even on the road.
"It’s still the best out here!"
Xia Ruqing smiled. City life really didn’t suit her; the countryside was the most comfortable— even the air tasted sweet and fresh.
In the future, if she had money, she was definitely leaving that place.
If she really couldn’t, she’d just live in the suburbs; either way, she was never living in the noisy city center.
...
While she was focusing on driving and daydreaming about the future.
She suddenly saw what looked like a patch of blood in the grass by the roadside. It wasn’t very obvious, but in the sunlight she could just make it out.
She frowned in doubt and couldn’t help muttering.
"Am I seeing things? How could there be blood on the side of the main road?!"
Normally she didn’t like meddling in other people’s business, but she instinctively stepped on the brake.
Getting out of the truck, she followed the trail of blood carefully, and soon found a man covered in blood in the grass down in a deep ditch by the road.
She was so scared her face went pale, her heart pounding like a drum, and she collapsed to the ground on the spot.
Her mind was instantly flooded with scenes from horror movies, crime shows, and those news reports about murder cases.
"No... no way I’m this unlucky and ran into a murder scene, right?"
"What if the killer is some psycho serial murderer who dismembers bodies and is still hiding nearby?"
"Wouldn’t that mean I’m dead meat?"
Maybe she should just mind her own business, get out of here quick, and pretend she never saw anything.
She forced her weak, wobbly legs to move away, but halfway there her conscience still felt a little guilty.
She gritted her teeth. Forget it!
They say saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I might not be saving you, but at least I found you.
I hope the killer who hurt you gets caught soon so you can rest in peace.
Muttering to herself, she braced herself, mustered up some courage, and shuffled over bit by bit.
She slowly parted the grass, and when she saw the person lying there with all his limbs intact.
Xia Ruqing let out a sudden breath of relief.
"He’s covered in blood, but at least he wasn’t dismembered. That’s something!" She really didn’t want to see a pile of arms and legs stacked there.
She forced herself to lean a little closer and couldn’t help exclaiming.
"Oh my god!! How can there be this much blood!"
She remembered from high school biology that when a person dies, the blood stops flowing and stays still.
Her mind suddenly lit up. Could it be he wasn’t dead yet?
She gathered her courage and leaned in to check. Sure enough, he still had a heartbeat and breath, so she hurriedly pulled out her phone and called an ambulance.
...
Half an hour later, an ambulance from the city arrived.
Several nurses and doctors in white came down with a stretcher and an oxygen tank. They scrambled to lift the man from the grass onto the stretcher; one hung up the oxygen, another hooked him up to a heart monitor.
Everyone had their job; they moved fast but not chaotically. The man in the grass was quickly stabilized, and the ambulance sped off, siren wailing.
As the first person to discover him, Xia Ruqing naturally had to go along and be responsible.
She sighed and helplessly climbed back into her small truck.
Reluctantly, she started it up, turned around, and followed in the direction the ambulance had gone.
All the way there she was mourning the loss of today’s wages, but what could she do? She was the one who found him.
As the saying goes, if you’re going to save someone, see it through to the end; if you’re sending Buddha, send him all the way to the West. She couldn’t just bail.
Xia Ruqing thought about it and decided to put this loss on this stranger’s tab.
"If your family is rich, then please compensate me for my loss!"
"If you’re broke, then I’ll just consider it charity!"
With that gloomy thought, she stepped on the gas and followed.
...
Two days later, at the City Central Hospital.
Zhao Junyao, who had just woken up from the emergency room, felt pain raging through his entire body.
Even his bones weren’t spared, and his head felt like it was about to explode.
It was like his whole body had been stabbed by countless knives; there wasn’t a single place that didn’t hurt.