Chapter 173: Yanyan’s Car Accident
An Qingyan found that the door to the dressing room wouldn’t open. It must have been locked from the inside. He knocked curiously. “Yuqi? Are you in there? Anyone?”
There was no sound from inside. He called out a couple more times and waited for a moment before the door was opened from within. He was surprised to see his eldest brother standing in front of him, and inside, Lu Yuqi, who looked a little unnatural.
“Big Brother, you… when did you get here?”
In contrast to Lu Yuqi’s awkwardness, An Jing smiled with great composure. He opened his arms and gave his younger brother a warm hug. “Yanyan, long time no see.”
An Qingyan gave an awkward smile and teased, “Did I come at a bad time?”
“What bad time? You’re overthinking it.” The tips of Lu Yuqi’s ears were still flushed. He cleared his throat and awkwardly changed the subject. “Where’s your Gu Fei?”
An Qingyan didn’t tease them further. “He’s talking to Director Wu.”
Just then, An Jing’s phone rang. “It’s Mom.” He answered the video call, and Father and Mother An, along with An Yu, appeared on the screen. “You guys have perfect timing. I just saw Yanyan.”
“Where’s Yanyan?”
An Qingyan immediately leaned in to greet them. “Dad, Mom, Second Brother.”
The three of them wished him a happy birthday in unison.
An Qingyan was taken aback.
So everyone remembered his birthday. In all the previous years, on this day, they must have been celebrating An Nanyi’s birthday. It seemed he had never really celebrated his own.
“Little brother, we’ve already prepared your presents. You can open them when you get home!”
“It’s a pity Yanyan isn’t home right now. When are you coming back? Mom and Dad will throw you a belated birthday party then.”
A genuine, joyful smile appeared on An Qingyan’s face. The past didn’t seem to matter anymore. “The wrap party is tomorrow, so I can come home the day after.”
An Lingkang: “You look like you’ve lost weight again. Filming must be so hard.”
An Jing: “Don’t worry, I’ll take Yanyan out for a big meal later!”
…
The family was chatting happily. Lu Yuqi felt a bit awkward being there and was about to leave when An Jing slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him back.
“Where are you running off to? Say hello to everyone.” With that, An Jing moved the camera to Lu Yuqi.
Lu Yuqi secretly pinched An Jing’s arm while immediately putting on a polite and well-behaved smile, greeting them very courteously. “Hello, Uncle, Auntie, and Second… Second Brother An.”
“Sis…” An Yu managed to swallow the “sister-in-law” that was about to escape his lips. “Hello, little brother Yuqi.”
“Isn’t this Yuqi? He came to visit us last time.” Song Shuman smiled at him gently. “Yuqi, you should come over and play more often in the future.”
Lu Yuqi: “Mm, I will.”
This wasn’t just Yanyan’s good friend, he might end up living in the An household in the future. Knowing the truth, An Yu pinched his thigh hard, otherwise he really wouldn’t be able to stop himself from revealing the truth on the spot.
The feeling of knowing a secret but not being able to tell anyone was pure torture! Why did he have to know! Damn it!
A few minutes later, the call ended.
An Jing put his left arm around Lu Yuqi’s shoulder and his right on his younger brother’s. “Then I’ll take you guys out to dinner tonight to celebrate Yanyan’s birthday.”
“Um, I have a date with Fei ge tonight.” An Qingyan smiled awkwardly. “Big Brother, you and Yuqi enjoy your private time tonight. I won’t be a third wheel.”
“You don’t need your big brother now that you have a boyfriend?”
“Private time… sounds good too.”
Lu Yuqi pushed his hand away. “Who wants to have private time with you.”
An Jing: “Hey, your sister-in-law is shy.”
Lu Yuqi: “…”
Gu Fei didn’t go back to the hotel with An Qingyan. He said he had to meet a friend and had made reservations for dinner at a high-end Western restaurant at eight o’clock to celebrate An Qingyan’s birthday.
They would meet directly at the restaurant.
An Qingyan went back to his hotel room, took a shower, carefully selected his clothes, and tidied himself up in front of the mirror. He styled his hair and sprayed on some cologne before leaving, satisfied.
7:30 PM.
The city at night was a stream of traffic. Dazzling neon lights shone through the car window, casting a glow on the young man’s clean, delicate profile. He had a soft smile on his face as he typed on his phone.
An Qingyan: [Fei ge, I’m on my way. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.]
Gu Fei: [Mm, no rush.]
After sending the message, Gu Fei put down his phone. Just then, a waiter in a shirt and vest came over and said politely, “Mr. Gu, everything you requested has been prepared.”
“Mm, got it.”
The beautifully decorated high-end restaurant was quiet because Gu Fei had booked the entire place. Cake, flowers, music… and the ring. Everything was ready.
All that was left was for the other person to arrive.
For a rare moment, Gu Fei felt nervous. He opened the velvet jewelry box and looked inside. Two simple yet uniquely designed platinum rings lay within, the same style but different sizes.
Meanwhile, the car was still on the road. An Qingyan was leaning casually against the window, watching the night view outside. Everything was perfectly normal, and that’s when the accident happened.
A white van came from an intersection ahead, driving against traffic. Its speed seemed to be maxed out as it hurtled straight for the black sedan An Qingyan was in. In the vast darkness, it was like a rampaging monster.
An Qingyan turned to look, his expression changing instantly. The driver in the front hadn’t reacted yet, not even having time to brake, his eyes wide with terror.
At that moment, the van crashed into them.
A loud “BANG” echoed.
The two vehicles collided, and the powerful impact sent them both flipping over. In an instant, all the surrounding cars came to a halt, causing a wave of panic. Someone immediately called for an ambulance.
“120? There’s been a car accident here, the address is…”
“That’s terrifying. Thank god it wasn’t our car.”
“That van was clearly trying to hit them. It was going so fast, and against traffic.”
“What kind of grudge is that…”
“So scary, I hope everyone is okay…”
At 7:50 PM, Gu Fei was still waiting. There was no reply to his messages, and no one answered his calls. A sense of unease crept into his heart.
He dialed An Qingyan’s number again and again.
Still no answer.
Gu Fei couldn’t help but tighten his grip on the ring box in his hand, his lips pressed into a thin line. He dialed the number once more. After a few rings, it finally connected.
His voice was laced with urgency. “Yanyan, where are you? Why aren’t you answering your phone?”
However, the voice that answered was not a familiar one.
“Hello, is this Mr. Gu?”
A strange young woman’s voice came through the phone, along with some background noise—anxious voices and… the siren of an ambulance. His heart skipped a beat. He shot up from his seat, his voice trembling. “I am.”
After hearing what the person said next, the ring box in the man’s hand fell to the floor with a clatter. For a moment, his mind went blank. Car accident… hospital, Yanyan was in a car accident…
A look of panic and deep fear appeared on the face that was usually unperturbed by anything. Even his body was trembling. He ran outside frantically.
“Mr. Gu, where are you going…”
The waiter watched in surprise as the man rushed past him. Before he could react, the man quickly turned back, shoved his car keys into his hand, and said in a tone that brooked no refusal, “You drive for me. To XX Hospital.”
Gu Fei knew very well that in his current state, he was in no condition to drive.
“Huh?” The waiter was confused, but after seeing the man’s anxious and intense gaze, he could only nod numbly and hurry after him.
To be in such a rush to get to the hospital, someone important must have been in an accident.
The car sped down the highway. The man sat in the back, his mind in turmoil. The lines of his face were tense, his eyes were turning red, and the hand holding his phone was trembling uncontrollably.
He made a call to An Jing.
“Yo, shouldn’t Gu-ye be on a date with Yanyan right now? Why are you calling me…”
Gu Fei closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Yanyan was in a car accident.”
“What?!” An Jing shot up, his reaction similar to Gu Fei’s when he first heard the news. “How did this happen! Is he seriously hurt? Which hospital is he at?!”
“I don’t know the specifics yet. He’s at XX Hospital.”
An Jing hung up, grabbed Lu Yuqi’s hand, and ran outside. Lu Yuqi could feel the man’s hand trembling and had a bad feeling. “What happened? Who’s hurt?”
“Yanyan was in a car accident. We’re going to the hospital now!”
…
Gu Fei gripped his phone tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, yet it still wouldn’t stop trembling.
He couldn’t imagine what would happen if something really happened to Yanyan…
No, nothing will happen!
“Drive faster!”
“Mr. Gu, I’m already going as fast as I can. Any faster and I’ll be speeding. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”
Right, he’ll be fine, he’ll be fine…
The light above the emergency room was on.
An Jing and Lu Yuqi rushed over to find Gu Fei sitting on a bench outside, his head bowed.
The man was dressed in a very elegant and formal black custom-made suit, his hair meticulously styled, making him look exceptionally handsome and noble. But at this moment, he looked utterly devastated.
He had planned to propose to An Qingyan. Everything was ready.
Why did it suddenly turn out like this…
An Jing was still panting from the rush. He strode over and grabbed Gu Fei by the collar, his voice trembling as he demanded, “What the hell happened! Wasn’t he with you?!”
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