Ji Ran pulled up outside the hotel and made a heart with both hands at Zhao Pingchuan in the passenger seat. "Ge, good luck!"
Zhao Pingchuan's eyes curved with a smile. He pulled Ji Ran over and kissed him. "Now that's how you show enough sincerity," he coaxed.
Zhao Pingchuan had business negotiations today and would probably have to drink, so Ji Ran had volunteered to drive him over.
Ji Ran beamed and waved goodbye to him. "Call me when you're done. I'll come pick you up."
Zhao Pingchuan nodded and watched him drive away before turning toward the hotel.
As he entered the elevator, he suddenly felt his heart flutter. He frowned and pressed a hand to his chest. "Could the elevator be going up too fast?" he wondered aloud.
Fortunately, the discomfort soon passed, and he thought no more of it.
Today's deal had already been discussed in advance, so there shouldn't be any problems.
Meanwhile, Ji Ran thought for a moment and drove to the mall. Last time, Zhao Pingchuan had ordered him a watch, and a store employee had called that morning to say it was ready for pickup. It was still early, so he could collect it before going home.
Ji Ran was in a great mood, humming a tuneless melody as he drove. He didn't notice the car that had been following him for a while, keeping its distance.
Someone in the car made a call. "Boss, he just dropped Zhao Pingchuan off at the hotel. It looks like he's heading downtown now. Should we make arrangements to strike?"
The person on the other end waited a few seconds before answering. "No, wait a little longer. I want Zhao Pingchuan to see it all with his own eyes."
The caller hesitated for a moment, then said, "But there are a lot of surveillance cameras near the hotel. It'll be easy to trace us."
"That's not your concern," the voice on the other end said coldly. "All you have to do is make sure the truck shows up in the right place at the right time."
"Yes," the caller replied. "Then we'll strike when he comes back to pick him up."
Gu Xingye gave a curt "Mm" and hung up.
He glanced casually toward the study door, only to see a slender figure in white standing there silently.
Gu Xingye broke out in a cold sweat. How long had Jiang Jinyue been standing there? Had he heard everything?
But Jiang Jinyue showed no obvious emotion, looking as cool and detached as ever.
Gu Xingye hurried to his feet and walked over to him, asking with a smile, "A-Yue, did you need me?"
Jiang Jinyue glanced at him and said flatly, "I'm going out."
"All right," Gu Xingye replied. "Where do you want to go? I'll come with you."
Jiang Jinyue said, "It's my eldest uncle's birthday next month. I'm going to pick out a gift for him. Don't follow me."
A trace of dejection flashed in Gu Xingye's eyes, but he quickly smiled again. "All right, then. I'll have the bodyguards go with you."
Jiang Jinyue didn't refuse-or rather, he knew refusing would be useless.
After Jiang Jinyue went out, Gu Xingye opened an app on his phone. A small red dot was moving slowly across the screen. He stared at it and murmured, "A-Yue, it's not that I don't trust you."
When Ji Ran got home, he couldn't wait to take out his new watch and look at it. It was a limited edition from Patek Philippe's Calatrava collection, with a white gold case and a slim body. The dial was matte silver-white, with no unnecessary diamonds, only three slender blued-steel hands that gleamed with a faint, subdued luster in the light. The watch face wasn't large and fit close to the wrist. Rather than looking showy, it made the wearer look all the more refined and elegant. The lugs curved gently, and the strap was dark brown crocodile leather, finely textured and matte, cool and smooth to the touch.
The whole watch was minimalist and restrained, with an understated air of luxury. Zhao Pingchuan had said that Ji Ran now needed a watch suitable for formal occasions, and this one suited him very well.
Ji Ran's fingertips brushed lightly over the cool, smooth case. The blued-steel hands moved silently as he raised his arm and put it on. The watch fit neatly against his wrist, its bones clearly defined. It wasn't showy, but it was striking enough.
His eyes brightened slightly, and he decided he would tell Zhao Pingchuan how much he liked it the next time they met.
Ji Ran was a little reluctant to wear something so expensive every day. After some thought, he put it away for now.
He wondered how Zhao Pingchuan's negotiations were going.
Zhao Pingchuan stood up and shook hands with each of his business partners, and they all left the private room together.
He had already sent Ji Ran a message. Judging by the time, he should be arriving soon.
Rather than stay inside, Zhao Pingchuan went to stand by the entrance. He always wanted to see Ji Ran at the first opportunity.
There was a traffic light outside the hotel. Zhao Pingchuan spotted their car among the traffic, a glimmer of amusement filling his eyes as he unconsciously took a few steps forward.
The red light began counting down. After three seconds of yellow, it turned green.
The cars at the front started moving, and those behind followed one by one, driving slowly through the intersection.
Just then, a large truck carrying sand and gravel, parked on a nearby slope, seemed to lose its brakes and suddenly began rolling backward at a very slow speed, straight toward the intersection.
Zhao Pingchuan saw it. His pupils dilated instantly, and in a split second, he understood what was happening.
No one else had noticed the truck yet. Zhao Pingchuan shouted at the top of his lungs, "Move! Get out of the way!"
He ran forward with all his strength.
Soon, passersby noticed the runaway truck and began screaming in terror. It rolled faster and faster down the slope, and by the time it slid into the intersection, it was already moving quickly. Combined with the weight of the entire truck, it was hard to imagine how horrific it would be if it collided with people or cars.
People at the intersection fled in panic, but the cars trapped in traffic couldn't move.
As the vehicles on both sides were about to collide, Zhao Pingchuan was beside himself with terror.
Even running as fast as he could, it would take half a minute to reach the intersection from the hotel entrance, let alone with people darting about in the chaos and making it hard to move.
Zhao Pingchuan ran toward the intersection as fast as he could, his mind completely blank. All he could see was the truck drawing closer and closer, and that familiar black sedan.
Inside the car was what he could never afford to lose, his everything.
The whole world seemed to go into slow motion. Zhao Pingchuan could almost see the terrified expression on every passerby's face and the dust flying beside the truck. He even saw the driver's distorted face in the front seat.
But his own steps had slowed down just the same.
He couldn't reach him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach him.
Even if he got to Ji Ran, it might do no good, but even if he were crushed to dust, he would hold Ji Ran in his arms and shield him.
Everyone else was fleeing, but one person alone was charging in with no regard for his life.
A concerned bystander hurriedly grabbed him. "It's dangerous! Don't go over there!"
Zhao Pingchuan paid no heed.
How frightened Ji Ran must be. How could he not go to him?
As Zhao Pingchuan watched, his eyes full of pleading and anguish, the truck finally crashed into the traffic at the intersection. Its body was so long that it passed straight between two sedans, smashing into the rear of the first car and the front of the second. Both cars were overturned, kicking up a cloud of white smoke.
Traffic police nearby arrived quickly, immediately began maintaining order, and called for an ambulance.
At last, all three vehicles came to a complete stop. The driver's door of the first car was forced open, and the driver was helped out by the police. A glaring streak of blood marked his forehead. He seemed not to have grasped what had happened, yet his legs were already too weak to hold him up.
But at least his life didn't appear to be in danger.
The car behind it wasn't so fortunate. The driver's seat had been crushed and twisted out of shape, and it was unclear whether the person inside was alive or dead.
The police told everyone not to move anything. They had to wait for professionals to secure the vehicle with equipment before rescuing the person inside, so as to avoid causing further injury.
All the blood in Zhao Pingchuan's body ran cold.