At night, I went back online and recruited a new batch of Dark Insects for Dark Moon City, increasing its production further. The city would level up to Rank 9 in just a couple of days, and it would be the first Rank 9 castle in the entire server. In another month or so, and it would become the first Rank 10 castle and perhaps bring me a pleasant surprise or two.

After setting up a stall at Sky City and selling random stuff until 1 am or so, He Yi, Murong Mingyue and Beiming Xue finally came back from the company. They went to bed immediately after going online briefly to repair their equipment and restock their supplies. Everyone was tired after an entire day of hard work.

……

After that, I went back to Black Coast and grinded sea turtles again to increase my level and collect some Alligator Shells for Yamete. Stuff like this was incredibly important to a middle to high-level players, and the more I gathered, the more tanky fighters Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls would have.

At around 4 am, or so, I opened the Heavenly Ranking of Sky City and noted that Level 150 players were now everywhere. Li Chengfeng, Warsky, Little Piglet, and more warriors had completed their sixth promotion quests and entered the Earthfire Realm. From now on, I was no longer the only mounted warrior in the world. The entire continent would be welcoming an era of cavalry dominance!

I briefly wondered what kind of mount Li Chengfeng had prepared for himself. Knowing him, he must have planned for this already. Oh well, it wasn’t my problem.

I checked the time again and noted that I really should catch some sleep now. I mustn’t miss my 11:30 am date with Lin Yixin at the university gate no matter what.

So I logged off, drank some water, and fell asleep immediately.

……

When I woke up, it was already past 10 am. After washing myself in a hurry and taking my time to choose a slightly better attire than usual, the clock hand moved to 11 am sharp. It only took 10 minutes to drive to the university, so I still had plenty of time!

I walked out of the workshop and drove away on my X12.

On the streets, maple leaves were falling, and autumn was on its last legs.

Suddenly, I caught sight of three familiar figures by the road. They were none other than Beiming, Murong Mingyue and He Yi, and from the looks of their shopping bags they had been doing some shopping. No wonder I hadn’t seen them in the workshop. They sure were in high spirits today.

I slowed down my car and let down the car window. Then, after taking a leisurely sip from my breakfast milk tea, I asked them smiling, "What a coincidence, ladies! Want me to give y’all a ride?"

Murong Mingyue burst into a giggle. "Sure! Take us home, handsome, it’s a foursome then…"

"Poooo!" I spat out my milk tea and glared at Murong Mingyue, "What the hell are you talking about? Beiming’s my sister, okay??"

To my shock, Beiming Xue betrayed me. "It can mean nothing if you don’t mind, handsome."

"..."

It looked like Beiming Xue had been corrupted by Murong Mingyue due to prolonged exposure. I could already envision the bleak future ahead of us!

He Yi chuckled. "We didn’t call you because you seemed very deep in sleep this morning. We were going to eat lunch with you after we got back, but since you’re here we can save the return trip. Where do you want to eat?"

I curled my lips. How should I tell her about Lin Yixin?

It was at this moment He Yi’s phone rang. She took a look at the number and smiled helplessly. "OMG, it’s mom’s number. She can’t have arranged another engagement for me, can she? Sigh…"

However, her face suddenly turned a little pale when the call connected. We could hear that the voice speaking from the other side of the phone was a male’s.

The next moment, He Yi panicked so much she almost broke into tears. "Mom… Where are you right now? Where—Sanxiang Road? Okay… okay, I’m coming right away!"

"What’s wrong, Eve?" I asked.

He Yi said urgently, "My mom was hit by a car. Q-quickly, you need to send me to Sanxiang Road Stadium right now, it’ll only take ten minutes…"

"What? Auntie was hit by a car?" Just as disconcerted as she was, I said, "Get in the car. We’ll go there right now!"

After the three girls went into the car, I pressed down on the pedal and sped toward our destination like I was in an F1 race. I blazed across a couple of roads and ran through a couple of red lights, but I was beyond caring at that point.

Less than five minutes later, we stopped not far away from the stadium. As expected, there was a group of people on the east side. We saw some people making phone calls or hailing a car by the roadside, but this particular road was so busy that hailing a taxi was practically impossible.

"Mom…"

He Yi stumbled down the car and toward the crowd with me right behind her. After we squeezed our way through, we saw auntie slumping on the ground and bleeding from her head. Beside her, there was a fat, middle-aged man holding his car keys. His red complexion clearly indicated that he was drunk, and he said after seeing He Yi, "Is she your mother? She… she walked into the road without checking for vehicles, so it’s not my fault…"

He Yi immediately glared at him. "Whose fault is it then? Mine?"

I pushed the fatty aside and carried auntie in my arms. "Eve, jot down the culprit’s license plate. For now, let’s send auntie to the hospital!"

The middle-aged fatty immediately grew anxious. "What… what are you jotting down my license plate for? I know, you just want my money, don’t you? I’ll pay, dammit… Do you know who I was having lunch with just now? You’ll shit your pants if I tell you!"

He made a grab for his wallet while he said this.

Furious and in disbelief, I walked up to the fatty and kicked him right in the groin. He immediately let out a bloodcurdling scream before slumping on the ground.

"Pooh! No one wants your fucking cash!" I growled at him. "Drunk driving in the fucking morning? I don’t care who you eat lunch with, I’m calling the cops and throwing you into prison no matter what! Not even the emperor himself could save you now, you bastard!"

The crowd around us actually gave us a cheer as we took the fatty’s number.

In fact, the people of China don’t hate the rich, not specifically at least. Their cheers stemmed from the knowledge that some of those rich people had committed atrocious acts to gather their wealth. Who would hate on someone whose wealth was the fruit of hard work and talent? If a rich person remained humble despite having gathered a huge sum of wealth, why would anyone hold a grudge against them? The people had better things to do than that. Long story short, you get what you give, whether it’s bad or good.

……

Auntie was already coming to by the time I carried her into the car. When she saw He Yi right next to her, she smiled and caressed her daughter’s beautiful hair. "Dear, why are you crying?"

He Yi knew her mother was doing okay at that moment. She broke into a smile and said, "How can I not when you look like this? What happened, mom? How did you get hit by a car?"

Auntie shook her head as she replied, "I don’t know either. I saw a car coming toward me like the wind, and…"

I interrupted. "Save the questions, Eve. That guy was driving drunk. Whatever might have happened, it wasn’t auntie’s fault for sure."

"Mn."

I drove around a corner and arrived at the hospital. The second affiliated hospital was in fact located very close to the stadium, which made me incredibly annoyed with the crowd of people earlier, especially those who were dialing 120. Seriously, a fit young man could’ve carried auntie on his back and run her to the emergency department in five minutes.

When the hospital personnel burst through the door with a woman who was bleeding from her head, they immediately pushed over a hospital bed so I could lay auntie on it. After that, she was rushed into an emergency room for treatment while the rest of us waited outside.

He Yi’s eyes were filled with worry. Her fingers were clenched around her bag, and she was biting her lips tightly.

I gently hugged her shoulders and said, "It will be fine. Auntie looked clear-headed, even healthy when she woke up earlier, so I don’t think it’s any serious injury. Also, I checked the front of that Honda earlier and saw only a small depression in the plastic bumper, so I’m sure that auntie is fine."

Murong Mingyue nodded in agreement. "Mn. Lu Chen doesn’t usually say reliable things, but this isn’t one of those times. Auntie’s injuries are only superficial."

He Yi nodded. "I hope so…"

Beiming Xue pursed her lips and said nothing. Despite our verbal reassurances, we all knew that what we said wasn’t necessarily the reality. Huddled together in trepidation, we waited for almost an hour when the door to the emergency room finally opened, and the chief physician walked out. "Which one of you is He Yi?"

"I am!" He Yi raced up to him.

"Oh. Your mom’s condition has already stabilized. She’s only suffered some scratches and shock, and we’ve given her the appropriate treatment. You may grab a number and pay the medical fee now!"

"Mn. Thank you, doctor!"

As everyone let out a deep sigh of relief, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. I cursed under my breath, "Shit! Shit…"

"What’s wrong?" He Yi asked.

I shook my head and grabbed my car keys. "You girls stay with auntie. I need to leave first for something important…"

"Oh…"

He Yi didn’t know what was bothering me, but she didn’t prod either.

……

As I raced out of the door, I realized that it was raining outside.

My heart clenched at the sight of this. Is the heavens playing with me today? Lin Yixin… she can’t still be waiting for me, can she? There isn’t even a shade to hide under at the gate...

I drove to the university entrance like lightning, but there wasn’t anyone there. I drove into the university, ran to the bottom of Lin Yixin’s hostel and shouted under the rain, "Lin Yixin! Lin Yixin!"

No one replied to me, however. A few minutes later, the door to the hostel opened, and a teary-looking Sun Qingqing walked out with her umbrella. "You’re an idiot, Lu Chen! A bastard! Where the hell were you? Do you think it’s funny to make Yiyi wait for you in the rain for an hour?"

My mind turned blank. Lin Yixin, you fool. Did you really wait for me in the rain for an hour?

Suddenly bursting into tears, Sun Qingqing ran up to me and hit me hard with her umbrella. She cried as she hit me again and again, "You’re a bastard! Did you know how much Yiyi wanted to see you before she left? I’ll never forgive you for betraying her hopes like this!"

"..."

Sun Qingqing glared at me as she wiped her tears. "Tell me the truth! Was it He Yi that kept you from seeing Yiyi?"

Dazed, I nodded numbly.

Sun Qingqing’s eyes immediately drowned in disappointment. "What a bastard. You’re a bastard! Lu Chen, you will regret missing Yiyi for the rest of your life! You will regret making Yiyi push us away to wait for you, even as she cried to herself in the rain! You will regret making her pay like this for the rest of your life!"

My emotions were a thick blend of confusion, grief, and bitterness. I grabbed the umbrella and murmured, "Qingqing, please stop. I’m hurting too. Can you tell me which airport Yiyi is at, and what time her flight is? Is it Shanghai Pudong, Hongqiao or Wuxi Shuofang?"

Sun Qingqing answered tiredly, "Forget it. Yiyi told you not to look for her."

I grabbed Sun Qingqing’s shoulders and begged her. "Qingqing, please, I’m begging you. Which airport is Yiyi at right now? I… I miss her…"

Sun Qingqing took one powerless step backward before murmuring, "She’s at Pudong International Airport. Her flight is 3 pm."

"Got it. Thank you…"

……

I turned around, raced into the car and blazed into the rain. My heart hurts, you foolish girl.