Dan Qin froze completely, his face going blank. His expression turned beet red, and he stammered, “Th-that was an accident!”
An accident indeed—one that Shi Jiaojiao herself had orchestrated to frame the supporting female character, pushing the main female lead into the spotlight. It was all part of the dramatic plot she had written, where, as the protagonists, Dan Qin and Shi Feifei were ultimately innocent. The real mastermind was a scheming villainess who had drugged Dan Qin, trying to climb her way into his life, only for things to backfire spectacularly.
Shi Jiaojiao knew that Dan Qin hadn’t realized the woman that night wasn’t her, but Shi Feifei, until after their wedding had been called off. Still, this was a situation beyond rational explanation. She had tossed it out just to shut him up, and it worked perfectly—Dan Qin was left speechless, while the bystanders looked on in shock, not expecting the situation to unfold like this.
Taking advantage of his stunned silence, Shi Jiaojiao yanked her arm free and continued, “You still want to ask why I canceled the wedding?” With biting sarcasm, she added, “I don’t eat other people’s leftovers!”
Dan Qin’s face flushed even redder, looking as if it might start bleeding. Just as Shi Jiaojiao was about to make her way back to the manager’s office, the roar of motorcycles echoed behind her—the racers had returned.
Shi Jiaojiao didn’t waste any time and ran toward the bikes, but as the helmets came off and she scanned the crowd, she couldn’t find Zhuo Wenshu.
She asked a few of the racers, but they were too caught up in their own survival to have noticed if anyone had fallen behind.
At that moment, nature decided to join the chaos. The wind picked up, lightning flashed across the sky, and deep rumbles of thunder rolled closer. A storm was brewing.
Crap.
Shi Jiaojiao cursed inwardly. Zhuo Wenshu was, after all, a mere side character, destined for a miserable fate. Unlike the main leads, who would survive through thick and thin, side characters usually didn’t make it through the third round. They’d be killed off halfway. How could he possibly endure all three races?
Desperate, Shi Jiaojiao dashed back to the manager’s office, demanding that he call off the races and send people to help her search for Zhuo Wenshu.
At first, the manager refused. But Shi Jiaojiao, no longer concerned with acting ladylike, screamed at the top of her lungs, competing with the booming thunder outside. “If someone dies today, I guarantee you won’t be able to handle the consequences!”
Though the manager was clearly wary, especially after she had dropped so many hints about their underground operations, he was still hesitating. The real race, with the VIP guests, was about to start. The earlier rounds had just been warm-ups for the rich, thrill-seeking heirs of powerful families. Canceling now would risk offending their key clients.
On top of that, the impending storm only added to the excitement, promising an even wilder, more dangerous race. Cancelling due to a minor casualty would anger their wealthy patrons—people they couldn’t afford to cross.
As the manager stalled, he signaled to a few men to block Shi Jiaojiao’s way, effectively trapping her inside the office.
“You wait here,” the manager said smoothly, glancing toward the ready racers. “After this race, I’ll take you to find your man.”
“Go to hell! If he dies, I’ll make sure you’re buried with him!” Shi Jiaojiao, her face still radiant and delicate, tore into the manager and his eight generations of ancestors, her voice ringing out even as the thunder boomed. Her insults were so vivid that the manager’s face, pockmarked as it was, twitched in response, the lines on his face deepening with every word.
While cursing him out, Shi Jiaojiao began listing the details of all their illegal operations, one after another, even naming their big boss by name.
At the peak of human desperation, it’s said that hidden abilities surface, and Shi Jiaojiao had certainly tapped into hers.
When she had originally written this story, she had considered adding a subplot about the lawlessness of this place, planning to elevate the main couple’s drama to the next level by throwing them into even more intense danger.
However, her editor had told her that stories set in a society governed by law had to promote harmony. Shi Jiaojiao had reluctantly cut the subplot, feeling a pang of regret at the time. Now, forced to recall those forgotten details, she let them all pour out.
By the time she started rattling off the names of secret sponsors behind the illegal races, the manager’s face had gone pale. How the hell does she know so much? Could she have connections to higher-ups?
Canceling today’s event would certainly upset some powerful people, but angering someone with connections could cost him his entire livelihood. Weighing his options, the manager reluctantly led Shi Jiaojiao out of the office.
As soon as they stepped outside, they ran into Dan Qin.
Dan Qin, who had come to the race for a thrill, was one of the VIPs for today’s event.
He took one look at the situation, announced that the race was off, and left. The friends who had accompanied him grumbled a bit, but no one dared to oppose him. The other participants, unfamiliar with Dan Qin, also kept their mouths shut, unwilling to challenge him.
Shi Jiaojiao finally let out a sigh of relief. Now she could focus on finding Zhuo Wenshu. Although he would probably manage to crawl out on his own in the rain, saving him was far better than leaving him to struggle alone.
Before she could reach her car, Dan Qin pulled up beside her. “Get in. It’s about to rain, and my car has snow chains for traction.”
Without hesitation, Shi Jiaojiao jumped into his car. Inside were two other people, but she barely glanced at them, her attention focused entirely on the roadside.
The rain came down in torrents, accompanied by flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder. Though it was still daylight, the storm made it feel like the middle of the night. Shi Jiaojiao kept her eyes glued to the roadside guardrails, searching desperately for any sign of Zhuo Wenshu.
Finally, she spotted a section of the guardrail that was badly damaged, and there on the ground was a motorcycle’s fallen fender. “Here! Stop the car!”
She rushed out into the pouring rain, with Dan Qin following behind, pulling out a flashlight from who-knows-where. He shone it down the embankment, and sure enough, there in the grass was the back end of a motorcycle.
Shi Jiaojiao snatched the flashlight from him and slid down the embankment, tumbling through the thick grass until she landed near the unconscious body of Zhuo Wenshu.
Dan Qin, standing stiffly at the top of the embankment, exchanged a glance with the others, both of them wide-eyed with shock. The area they were in was notoriously dangerous—beneath the grass, it could be either a shallow ditch or a steep drop. Shi Jiaojiao, having written this herself, knew exactly where Zhuo Wenshu had fallen. But Dan Qin and the others were dumbstruck by how fearlessly she had thrown herself down the slope.
“Damn, Qin, your ex-fiancée’s got guts,” one of his friends muttered.
A flash of lightning illuminated Dan Qin’s face, pale with disbelief, as he watched Shi Jiaojiao scramble through the brush to reach Zhuo Wenshu. His expression was dark, his emotions unreadable.
“What are you standing around for?” Shi Jiaojiao yelled from below. “Come down here and help! He’s trapped under the bike!”
Though they were normally the type to avoid getting their hands dirty, something about the way she shouted at them got the three men moving. They lined up and slid down the muddy slope, one by one, to help her.
Together, they lifted the motorcycle off Zhuo Wenshu and carried him back up to the road. Shi Jiaojiao barked orders the entire time, making sure they avoided hurting his already injured abdomen.
Dan Qin even slipped in the mud at one point and got kicked in the rear by Shi Jiaojiao for his clumsiness, which had the other two men looking on in disbelief.
No one noticed the brief moment when Zhuo Wenshu opened his eyes, rain dripping onto his face. In the split second of lightning, he saw Shi Jiaojiao’s worried face, illuminated by the storm.
Only his one good eye could see, but it locked onto her frantic expression.
It was a chaotic journey, but they eventually managed to get Zhuo Wenshu into the emergency room. The four of them, covered head-to-toe in mud, sat in the hospital corridor, exchanging awkward glances.
Dan Qin finally seemed to regain his usual air of authority, sitting stiffly with a cold expression. Shi Jiaojiao collapsed into a chair, while the other two men teased each other about how they’d actually done a good deed for once in their lives.
“Zhuo Wenshu’s family?” a nurse interrupted, holding a clipboard. “We need someone to pay the deposit.”
Shi Jiaojiao sat up and nudged Dan Qin with her elbow. “Go pay the deposit.”
Dan Qin’s eyes bulged. “Me?!”
Shi Jiaojiao gestured at her filthy dress. “Do I look like I brought money? Hurry up, we’re waiting on the scans.”
Having gone through all the trouble of rescuing Zhuo Wenshu, Dan Qin now stubbornly refused. “Why should I pay his bill? He’s not my family! I already saved him; isn’t that enough—”
Shi Jiaojiao cut him off, extending her hand. “Fine, I won’t ask you to pay his hospital bill. But in that case, just give me the breakup compensation.”
Dan Qin’s face turned green. “Breakup compensation? You ditched me, ran off with someone else, and now you want me to pay you?!”
“You cheated,” Shi Jiaojiao said calmly, not even raising her voice. “I canceled the wedding because you cheated. It’s only right.”
“That’s bullshit!” Dan Qin growled. “I told you, it was an accident!”
Shi Jiaojiao took a deep breath and shook her head. “An accident? I was there. You started out with her back turned. Fine, you might have made a mistake then. But when you flipped her over to face you, and she still had her hair covering her face, don’t tell me you didn’t notice anything was off.”
She had written that scene in detail—it had received the most comments of any chapter. She even knew how long Dan Qin lasted during such encounters, down to the last second. You’re going to argue with me about this, you little punk?
Dan Qin looked like he was about to explode. He had a fleeting suspicion that Shi Jiaojiao had orchestrated the whole thing, but the way she was staring at him now made him second-guess himself. Shaking with rage, he pulled out his wallet, yanked out a card, and threw it at her. “No password!”
Then, with his two lackeys trailing behind, he stormed out.
Shi Jiaojiao used the card to pay the bill. After a full battery of tests, it was well into the middle of the night before they finally got Zhuo Wenshu into a hospital room. Luckily, none of his internal organs were ruptured, though his ribs and hand were fractured. Once they pushed him into the room, he regained consciousness.
During the chaos, Shi Jiaojiao had taken the opportunity to clean herself up in the hospital bathroom, bought some essentials, and changed into clean clothes. Now, she sat beside Zhuo Wenshu’s bed, holding his hand and resting her forehead against it, breathing a long sigh of relief.
“God, you really scared me…” she whispered.
Zhuo Wenshu, his body restrained by bandages, felt her cool forehead against the back of his hand. His lips pressed together slightly.
“Wenshu, I didn’t lie to you,” Shi Jiaojiao said, lifting her head to meet his gaze. “I’ve taken care of everything with your mom. I’ve cut ties with my dad, and he promised to cover all her expenses at the nursing home.”
Zhuo Wenshu stared at her for a long moment before speaking, his voice hoarse. “How did you know where my mom was?”
Shi Jiaojiao froze. Earlier, when he had grabbed her by the throat, she had claimed she didn’t know. Now, saying she did would blow her cover.
But she recovered quickly. “I begged my dad. He found her for me. I told him I loved you, that I couldn’t live without you. I swore that if he didn’t help, I’d throw myself off the top of Shi Yue Group’s headquarters!”
She couldn’t help but laugh at her own absurdity, and Zhuo Wenshu’s expression clearly showed he didn’t believe a word of it.
So, she dropped her head, biting her lip until her eyes teared up. She rubbed his hand against her cheek. “Okay, I’m lying. But I’ll take good care of myself. I owe you that much, after everything you’ve done for me.”
Zhuo Wenshu’s veins began to bulge on his forehead. “You framed me. You threatened me.” Who the hell did anything for you?!
Now that Zhuo Wenshu was half-immobilized, Shi Jiaojiao wasn’t afraid of him anymore. She pressed on with her tearful performance. “I’m serious—I cut ties with my dad, and I really did solve the issue with your mom.”
Shi Jiaojiao’s act was so convincing, she was starting to believe it herself. “I’ll do anything for you. I mean it.”
Zhuo Wenshu’s eyes welled up with emotion, his lips twitching as if he were about to say something deeply heartfelt. Shi Jiaojiao leaned in, ready for the grand moment. She even kissed the back of his hand gently.
That should do it. Surely he’s moved by now.
But with red-rimmed eyes, Zhuo Wenshu, after struggling to find the words, summoned all his strength to shout, “GET OUT!”