Plunder-Chapter 135 Return to Rong City
"Nanchen Group CEO Zhou Jin’an struck by mountain landslide, fate uncertain."
The day after Zhou Jin’an’s accident, the media reported the news of his mishap.
The Maybach he was in got buried by the landslide, but fortunately, the rescue was timely, and he was pulled out alive.
However, a huge boulder had smashed onto the Maybach, right at the side where Zhou Jin’an was seated, and his head was struck by the boulder, rendering him unconscious.
Upon learning the news, Cheng Lu immediately contacted the best neurologist for a consultation. Zhou Jin’an’s head had a contusion, and the surgery took over ten hours, but somehow, he just couldn’t wake up.
Journalists swarmed the hospital, wanting to report the latest news on Zhou Jin’an. Cheng Lu arranged for someone to guard the place around the clock, allowing no one near him except for the doctors and nurses.
On the ninth day after Zhou Jin’an’s accident, Qiao En and Auntie Jiang, carrying a bunch of cardboard boxes, went to the recycling station to sell them, where she accidentally came across this piece of news in a pile of old newspapers.
Gu Yuan was a small and isolated city with a slow pace of life and low population mobility.
Qiao En intentionally shielded herself from external news; she didn’t watch TV at home and seldom went online.
Thus, she was unaware of the changed world outside.
She clutched the newspaper, standing under the scorching sun, reading it word by word.
In the blazing sun, her heart was as cold as an ice cellar.
"Little Xu, help me carry those stacks of cardboard boxes over here."
Auntie Jiang was busy negotiating with the shopkeeper and instructed Qiao En.
Yet Qiao En seemed as if she heard nothing, her eyes glued to the newspaper, reading every word.
The world had turned silent for her, and the only thing on her mind was the news of Zhou Jin’an’s accident.
"Little Xu, what’s the matter with you?"
Auntie Jiang came over and patted Qiao En on the shoulder.
Her face was deathly pale, and beads of sweat densely covered her forehead, rolling down from her brows.
Qiao En clutched the newspaper, looking as though her soul had left her body.
The newspaper in her hand was nine days old; Qiao En couldn’t see the latest news. She hurried over to the pile of old newspapers, squatting down to search through them.
However, her search was fruitless.
Gu Yuan was far from Rong City, and although Zhou Jin’an was a prominent figure, he couldn’t possibly appear in Gu Yuan’s papers every day.
"Auntie Jiang, where is the nearest internet café?"
Qiao En asked with a frantic look in her eyes.
"Little Xu, what on earth is wrong with you? Why is your face so pale?"
Auntie Jiang was very worried.
But Qiao En couldn’t care less; she almost ran out of there.
The Gu Yuan city center was not large, just two streets. She searched shop by shop along the street and finally found an internet café.
She sat in front of the computer, her heart thumping wildly.
Zhou Jin’an had had an accident, was he alright now?
As the computer booted up, she shook the mouse and clicked open a webpage, her fingers flittering across the keyboard, not quite obeying her, and after several attempts, she finally managed to correctly enter Zhou Jin’an’s name.
The browser displayed, from top to bottom, all news about Zhou Jin’an.
He had gone to a small coastal city during a typhoon and encountered a landslide on his way back.
He was successfully rescued, but his fate was uncertain.
Speculations abounded online; some say Zhou Jin’an’s mishap was a setup, others speculated he was out in the typhoon chasing after a woman, and there were even suggestions that Zhou Jin’an, having sustained serious injuries, might end up in a vegetative state...
Even though Qiao En knew speculations couldn’t be trusted, she read through all of them.
After reading all this, her mind was in complete disarray.
In the six months in Gu Yuan, her heart was as calm as still water.
But the news of Zhou Jin’an’s accident had disrupted the tranquility inside her.
Qiao En sat in front of the computer for a long, long time. By the time she left the internet café, the sky had already darkened.
Outside, there was a downpour. She didn’t have an umbrella, so she rushed towards home against the rain.
Halfway there, Auntie Jiang came looking for her with an umbrella.
"Little Xu, you child, hurry under the umbrella. With such heavy rain, didn’t you think to find a place to shelter?"
She was muttering under her breath, but she hastily ran over to Qiao En’s side and pulled her into the umbrella.
Auntie Jiang’s heart ached greatly; as she wiped off the water, she scolded, "Your health has just improved, how can you not take care of yourself? If something were to happen to you, tell me, what should we do then?"
As Auntie Jiang spoke, her eyes began to redden.
She tilted the umbrella towards Qiao En, took her wrist, and walked forward.
At that moment, Qiao En felt an immense warmth in her heart.
She hadn’t felt such warmth in a very long time.
Qiao En’s mother was also good to her, but knowing she was not her birth mother, there had always been a distance in her heart toward her.
"Auntie Jiang, I’m fine, thank you."
Qiao En’s voice was choked with emotion as she spoke.
"What are you thanking me for? Quickly, let’s go home."
Auntie Jiang urged; the two of them, sharing an umbrella, returned to Qiao En’s small courtyard.
As soon as they entered the door, Auntie Jiang immediately went to the bathroom, started to run hot water for Qiao En, and urged, "You quickly go soak in a hot bath, I’ll make you some ginger tea. Hurry up, in this rainy weather the moisture is heavy, if you let the dampness seep into your body, it could lead to illness."
Her own shoulders were soaked too, but she completely disregarded them.
Qiao En was pushed by her into the bathroom.
Soon, the kitchen was filled with the steaming scent of ginger tea.
Qiao En soaked in the bathtub, not sure if it was the steam that was too hot or if it was the acidity in her heart, but she couldn’t hold back; tears began to slide down from her eyes.
With her eyes closed, all that filled her mind was the image of Zhou Jin’an.
His serious face, unsmiling and stern when not joking around.
His joyful face, corners of his mouth slightly upturned, eyes deep and calm as a pond when he smiled.
Since Qiao En had known Zhou Jin’an, he had always seemed invincible; in fights, no one could match him, in business battles, he always won.
But this time... his life and death were uncertain.
"Little Xu, the ginger tea is ready; I’ve placed a cup at the door for you. Drink it quickly while it’s hot."
Outside the bathroom, Auntie Jiang’s voice was heard.
"Okay."
Qiao En responded.
Her skin was fair, her body turned red from the hot soak, she wrapped herself in a towel, wiped herself dry, and stepped out the door.
The cup of thick ginger tea outside, she drank it all in one gulp.
In the kitchen, Auntie Jiang was preparing dinner for her.
A large bowl of fragrant scallion oil noodles.
"Thank you, Auntie Jiang."
Qiao En expressed her gratitude, while Auntie Jiang leaned against the door frame with a warm smile always present on her face.
Qiao En finished the entire bowl of scallion oil noodles.
After she was done eating, Auntie Jiang pulled over a chair and sat down in front of Qiao En.
"Little Xu, are you hiding something from me?"
Auntie Jiang was a clever person. Qiao En’s behavior today was too out of the ordinary; Auntie Jiang had noticed.
Qiao En paused, then looked deeply at Auntie Jiang and said, "I need to leave here for a while."
"Going back to Rong City?" Auntie Jiang pondered for a moment before asking.
Qiao En lowered her eyelids and responded with a sound, "Mhm."
Qiao En said nothing, and Auntie Jiang asked nothing, but it was as if Auntie Jiang had known beforehand, as if she knew everything.
"I’ll help you pack your things."
Auntie Jiang said and stood up, found a black suitcase, carefully folded Qiao En’s clothes, and packed them away little by little.
The room was very quiet. Qiao En just sat there silently, watching Auntie Jiang do all this.
After a good while, she spoke up.
"Auntie Jiang, I’d like to ask for your help in contacting someone."
