The person in the car had clearly seen her, but the vehicle seemed to have some issue—its speed didn’t decrease at all as it barreled straight toward her.
Xue Jiao’s eyes widened. Was she going to die again?
To the right of the road was a slope. The car had descended from it, picking up speed until it was hurtling uncontrollably. For a moment, Xue Jiao’s mind went blank.
“Screech—”
At the last second, the car swerved sharply, then crashed into a large tree at a terrifying speed.
“Boom—”
The deafening impact snapped Xue Jiao out of her daze. The taxi that had been heading straight for her had already sped away. The road was nearly empty, and there was no one around.
Frantic, she looked around but found no one to call for help. She could only shout toward the nearby shops, “Is anyone there? There’s been an accident!”
After yelling, she fumbled for her phone and dialed 120, then hurried anxiously toward the wrecked car.
Her nose twitched, and suddenly, her pupils constricted.
The smell of gasoline!
Under the scorching sun, a damaged car and the scent of fuel…
The last thing she remembered from her past life was a car crash—the violent impact had robbed her of all consciousness.
Would the person inside this car… die too?
Gritting her teeth, Xue Jiao approached. The front of the car was already crushed, the windows shattered. She yanked the door open and saw a man in a suit slumped over the steering wheel, shards of glass embedded everywhere.
Blood dripped steadily from the steering wheel, a horrifying sight. The smell of gasoline in the air grew stronger.
“Sir? Sir?”
No response.
Clenching her jaw, she reached in, unbuckled his seatbelt, and began pulling him out with great effort.
“S-Sir… I’m sorry… even if you’re hurt… I… I have to… get you out…” She panted heavily, using every ounce of strength she had.
After a crash, bones could be broken, and the head might have suffered trauma. Moving him could cause further harm—but survival took precedence.
This car… might explode at any moment.
Fortunately, the man seemed somewhat conscious, weakly moving along with her efforts.
“Sir… don’t be afraid, I’ll save you… It’ll… it’ll be okay!”
By the time she dragged him out, she was drenched in sweat, her entire body soaked. She draped his arm over her shoulder, half-carrying, half-dragging him away from the wreck.
His feet shuffled weakly, and Xue Jiao felt a flicker of relief.
“Sir… keep… going, we… we need to get farther! Use… use your strength… hold on… I can’t carry you…” She gasped for breath, feeling his weight grow heavier, his steps more unsteady.
“Boom—” A deafening explosion erupted behind them, and the man collapsed completely.
“Ah!”
Xue Jiao couldn’t hold him anymore and tumbled to the ground with him.
The car… had ignited.
She lay sprawled on the ground, panting with a mix of terror and relief, her face pale, lips trembling, heart pounding like thunder.
The explosion finally drew the attention of nearby residents. Soon after, fire trucks and an ambulance arrived.
Once she caught her breath, Xue Jiao quietly slipped away while everyone’s focus was on the injured man.
Well, all the books she’d just bought were gone—burned to ashes beside the car.
——This was Xue Jiao's first time going out alone since arriving in this world, and she encountered such a perilous incident right away. But at least she saved a life, making it worth "risking her life."
"Jiao Jiao? What happened to you?" Li Sitong stared in horror at Xue Jiao, who was drinking water.
She was covered in dirt, drenched in sweat, and most alarmingly, there were traces of blood on her. It truly frightened Li Sitong.
Even Cheng Mingze frowned as he kept his eyes fixed on her.
Xue Jiao waved her hand dismissively and continued gulping down water, only seeming to come back to life after a while.
"There was a car accident."
"What?!"
"Not me—someone else. It was hot today, and his car reeked of gasoline. I helped pull him out, and then the car caught fire." Xue Jiao made it sound simple, but only she knew how terrified she had been at the time.
"Are you okay?" Li Sitong immediately pulled her close, checking her all over, touching here and there.
Looking at Li Sitong's anxious face, Xue Jiao felt a pang of emotion. She didn’t understand how Gu Xue Jiao could ever think Li Sitong didn’t love her at all. This woman genuinely cared for her—she just didn’t know how to express it.
"I'm fine, completely unharmed. Don’t worry, Mom."
Only then did Li Sitong relax slightly before saying, "Don’t do anything so dangerous again!"
"Okay, okay!" Xue Jiao quickly agreed.
Cheng Mingze still eyed her suspiciously. Was this girl really brave enough to save someone?
Since when was she so kind-hearted?
Xue Jiao paid no attention to his thoughts. After finishing her water, she went upstairs to shower and change.
While undressing, she touched her wrist and frowned slightly. "Strange, where’s my watch?"
She searched briefly but couldn’t find it. Shrugging it off, she took a thorough shower, then came downstairs for a quick bite before returning to her room to study.
School started tomorrow, and she still had a lot to prepare.
——
"Zhihua! You’re finally awake—you scared us half to death!" An elegant middle-aged woman sat beside the hospital bed, her face full of concern as she looked at the man lying there.
Lin Zhihua stirred, and another man in a suit immediately stepped forward respectfully, helping him sit up.
"Report."
He spoke just one word, but his secretary, Chen Yan, seemed to understand everything. Without hesitation, he replied, "Concussion, left shoulder dislocated from secondary impact after collision, multiple lacerations."
Lin Zhihua nodded, his face almost expressionless, then turned to his father.
"Have you investigated?"
"N-no, not yet..." Father Lin felt somewhat uneasy under the piercing gaze of his formidable son.
"No need. Whoever knew I was going out privately today and tampered with the car—faulty brakes, broken airbags—whether I died from the crash or the fire afterward, it was a double insurance to ensure my death. Father, can’t you guess who it was?"
Father Lin’s expression darkened. Mother Lin stood up furiously. "I’m going to settle this with him!"
Lin Zhihua remained indifferent, barely moving. He merely parted his lips slightly. "Chen Yan, my uncle isn’t smart enough for this. Who else?"
His tone was calm, but his face was grim. This was the first time he had been outmaneuvered—and he had nearly paid with his life.
Chen Yan glanced subtly at the Lin couple before lowering his head slightly, his voice devoid of emotion. "The old master was involved."
The Lin couple’s eyes widened in shock. "How... how is that possible?!"Lin Zhihua seemed to have already known. His voice remained calm: "My dear grandfather and second uncle are truly impatient. Mom, Dad, don't worry about this matter."
He tilted his head slightly and looked at Chen Yan: "The old man made his first move, certain that I would die this time. He must not have cleaned up all the evidence yet. Send someone to collect proof and have my second uncle arrested for attempted murder. Let him be sentenced as the law dictates. Then have the old man placed under surveillance—no one is to see him."
"Yes, sir!"
"Keep an eye on the shareholders' movements. Don't alert them prematurely."
"Yes, sir!"
"Replace all the domestic staff and drivers. Fire Assistant Wang for leaking trade secrets—I don't want to see him in this industry again. Have all company documents delivered to the hospital."
"Yes, sir!"
He raised his hand, and Chen Yan quickly supported him, helping him lie back down on the bed.
"Boss, I'll take my leave now."
"Hmm."
Chen Yan nodded to the Lin couple and swiftly exited.
Mother Lin opened her mouth but finally said, "Son, you... maybe consider IVF... to have a child... Keep all these demons and monsters far away from you!"
The room fell silent for a moment.
Lin Zhihua took a slight breath and said, "These people dare to cause trouble because Dad was too lenient with them in the past. The mess left behind—whether I can have an heir is just their excuse to act."
Mother Lin looked somewhat embarrassed. She stepped forward to adjust his blanket and said, "Well, even if you can deal with them this time, your father and I are getting older. We'd like to hold a grandchild."
"You can have another child yourselves—hold your own son."
"You brat! Your parents are already so old..."
Father Lin also chimed in, "You really ought to—"
"I want to rest now."
As soon as Lin Zhihua spoke, Mother Lin quickly pulled Father Lin out. "Rest well. Call me if you need anything. Your father and I will go home and make you some soup!"
The two left, tugging at each other. Once the door closed, Father Lin said, "Why did you pull me away? Did I say anything wrong? No matter what method he uses, he must hurry up and give me a grandson!"
Mother Lin pinched him hard, gritting her teeth: "You old fool, if you're so brave, go threaten our son yourself! If you hadn't made such a fuss over a trivial matter back then, would our son be like this now?! Your dear brother and father wouldn't have dared to scheme like this either!"
"Trivial matter?! That was... that was..." Father Lin seethed—it was impotence!
Yes, the current head of the nationally renowned Lin family, the handsome, young, eligible bachelor—was impotent...
After scolding him, Mother Lin also looked back at the hospital room with worry and sighed: "I don't even dare to hope for a daughter-in-law anymore. I just wish our son would agree to IVF—a boy or girl would be fine. But he refuses no matter what! It's so frustrating!"
The Lin couple left with troubled expressions, but the person in the hospital room wasn't resting.
His strikingly handsome face was slightly dazed, his fingers tracing a lady's wristwatch as he stared blankly at it.
"Sir... I'm sorry... even if you're injured... I... I have to pull you out..."
"Sir... don't be afraid, I'll save you... everything... will be alright!""Sir... keep going... push harder... I... we... need to go further! Use... use more strength... hold on... I can't carry you..."
——
The start of the school term at Seventh High.
On this day, Cheng Shuo and Li Sitong were sending them off to school. Cheng Shuo drove while Li Sitong sat in the passenger seat, with Cheng Mingze and Xue Jiao in the back.
"Mingze, you're in your senior year now. You must work hard this year, understand?"
"Hmm." The boy nodded absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on the scenery outside the window.
Li Sitong couldn't help but interject, "Mingze is already working hard enough. Don't keep lecturing him, Lao Cheng."
"Is that really working hard? Don't think just because our family has a company you can slack off. Those good-for-nothings who say they'll just inherit the family business—look at them now! Times are changing. How many once-great enterprises have fallen behind and been crushed by competition? While you're young, you need to learn as much as you can. Otherwise, even if the company is handed to you, it'll go bankrupt sooner or later."
"It's not as serious as you're making it out to be!" Li Sitong glared.
Cheng Shuo continued expounding his philosophy: "Don't dismiss it. Take the Lin Group in our province—their current boss is a top graduate from Stanford. In just over three years of managing the company, he's already left all those old-timers in the industry scrambling. That's the power of education! Of course, I'm not saying just studying well guarantees you can run a company, but it's about attitude. Being diligent in your studies and valuing efficiency—these are qualities that will serve you well anywhere."
He mused, "I don't expect Mingze to make our little company rival the Lin Group. If he can just expand it several times over from where it is now, I'll be satisfied!"
Li Sitong smiled faintly. "Mingze is smart. He'll definitely manage it."
Cheng Mingze turned his head away, slightly embarrassed. He had lost his mother young, and Li Sitong had always treated him well—he had no complaints about her. It was just the daughter she brought along who annoyed him.
But... Cheng Mingze glanced at the quiet girl beside him, wearing headphones. Suddenly, he thought it wouldn't be so bad if she stayed this obedient.
The question was how long it would last.
After lecturing Cheng Mingze, Cheng Shuo turned his attention to Xue Jiao. With her, his tone softened considerably, mostly offering gentle reminders to study hard, ask teachers if she didn't understand anything, or seek help from her brother at home.
Xue Jiao responded obediently to each one.
After the two registered at school, Cheng Shuo wrapped an arm around Li Sitong, watching worriedly as Cheng Mingze and Xue Jiao walked off toward their respective classrooms.
"Jiao Jiao... do you think she'll give up today?" Li Sitong couldn't help asking.
Cheng Shuo was silent for a moment. He, too, suspected Gu Xue Jiao wouldn't last long. "Don't worry about it..." he finally said.
Ahead, Xue Jiao and Cheng Mingze walked side by side but kept at least a meter or two between them. Xue Jiao, a sophomore, had her classroom in the middle section of the school, while Cheng Mingze, a senior, was assigned to the triangular building closest to the cafeteria and dormitories.
When they reached the sophomore building, Xue Jiao stopped.
"Brother, I'll go ahead now. See you!" She smiled at Cheng Mingze, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth, her eyes crinkling into crescents, her hair tied into a fluffy bun.
Three words flashed through his mind: porcelain doll.
Xue Jiao was already far away when Cheng Mingze finally snapped out of it. Shouldering his backpack, he ambled off toward the senior building.
Her mood was excellent. Returning to high school meant another chance to chase her dreams.
Starting over meant climbing higher on this mountain path.
This time, she would definitely succeed.
——There were two advanced classes, Class 1 and Class 2. Both classes had similar academic performance. Xue Jiao was in Class 1, and Cheng Mingjiao was also in Class 1.
There was another person in Class 2 who had an unusual relationship with Gu Xue Jiao—her younger half-sister by a few months, the female lead of this world, Gu Shiyun.
Shaking her head, Xue Jiao refused to let the messy matters involving Gu Xue Jiao ruin her mood on the first day of school.
In high spirits, Xue Jiao walked to the entrance of the advanced class but collided with someone before she could enter.
"Ah—"
She clutched her head—her foot had also been stepped on by the tall guy in front of her.
Before she could say anything, the other person preemptively accused her: "Your foot was in the way of mine!"
"???" Xue Jiao was stunned.
She looked up and locked eyes with the boy in a basketball jersey. Both of them froze.
"It's you!"
Author's note:
Xue Jiao: Today, I saved a man—he couldn't get it up!
Lin Zhihua: ...
OpenNovel