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After Meng Jingdong left, Tian Jing prepared some food and took it upstairs. She knocked on Lu Tian’s door, but there was no answer. The door lock could be opened smoothly, and when she went in with the food, she saw Lu Tian sleeping soundly on the bed. She sighed and was about to leave when Lu Tian, having slept for a while to forget the smell of disinfectant, was awakened by the aroma of the food.
“Mom—”
Tian Jing turned around, saw her dazedly open her eyes, and couldn’t help but smile, asking affectionately, “You just left Xiao Meng downstairs without even saying goodbye. I thought you were pretending to be asleep upstairs, but I didn’t expect you were really tired.”
Lu Tian took a sip of the sweet rice wine egg soup, with fragrant osmanthus sugar floating on top. After one sip, she felt refreshed.
“Wasn’t there you and Uncle?” Lu Tian said indifferently. Before the divorce, she still avoided too much contact with Meng Jingdong. The more they talked, the more mistakes they made. Ideally, they would peacefully divorce on time, and everyone would be happy.
“What kind of talk is this! You and us are not the same.” Tian Jing felt it was unusual. At the beginning, things happened suddenly, and no one knew that Lu Tian liked Meng Jingdong. They slept together and were forced to get married. Now it seems that their relationship is too plain.
“What’s really going on between you and Xiao Meng?”
Lu Tian lowered her head to eat without speaking. She couldn’t tell her that the original owner just wanted to take what Yu Ningxuan couldn’t get, a person she couldn’t get, even at the cost of all her assets.
Tian Jing had a terrible headache; she couldn’t understand Lu Tian anymore. Her personality was more cheerful than before, and she was more composed, but she couldn’t understand what she was doing. The relationship between Meng Jingdong and Lu Chengyang was a minefield. If Lu Tian knew, she didn’t know what kind of fuss she would make. Meng Jingdong seemed to have a very good temper and upbringing, and he didn’t make a fuss about that matter, but it was so absurd…
“Lu Tian, if there’s something on your mind, tell me, okay?” Tian Jing sighed, seeing Lu Tian’s indifferent appearance. She had been busy with work and hadn’t cared enough for her in the past; the mother and daughter had limited intimate conversations, and now she couldn’t force her to reveal everything.
Tian Jing closed the door and left. Lu Tian continued to eat. Her earlier rejection wasn’t just because she didn’t want to communicate with Tian Jing, but also the silent silence of the original owner. The original owner became like this, and everyone was responsible, including the original owner herself.
“It’s just that I got lucky now.” Lu Tian finished the soup, sweat beading on her forehead. She took the bowl downstairs and asked the housekeeper to prepare the crabs that Meng Jingdong had sent.
Downstairs was quiet. The housekeeper politely said, “Sir and Madam have gone out.”
Lu Tian didn’t care and went back upstairs to sleep until the housekeeper called her for dinner in the evening. Zou Fan came home from school and was doing his homework when he heard her voice and ran out excitedly, showing off his airplane model.
“Sister, Brother-in-law bought this for me!”
“Look at you bragging.” Lu Tian played with him for a while and then went to eat.
In the evening, Lu Tian didn’t forget to thank Meng’s mother, who was quite happy and asked, “Lu Tian, when do you think is a good time to arrange a meeting between our two families?”
Was this the price of eating crabs? Lu Tian stammered, “Mom, when are you and Dad free? I’ll ask my parents.”
Meng’s mother said gently, “We’ll be in the country this month and won’t be traveling on business. Just let me know when you’ve confirmed the time.”
After hanging up the phone, Lu Tian called Meng Jingdong to ask about the meeting between the parents of both families. They tacitly concealed the agreement to divorce from their parents, firstly because it was troublesome to explain, and secondly because they were all adults; the ups and downs of their relationship didn’t need their parents’ involvement. If they couldn’t resolve it peacefully, it wouldn’t be too late to involve their parents.
Meng Jingdong thought for a moment: “How about next weekend?”
By next weekend, her bone marrow donation would be basically done, and Tian Jing and Zou Rui would also have enough time to arrange their schedules. Lu Tian agreed.
After the medical examination results came out, the bone marrow donation date was quickly arranged. Whether it was an illusion or not, as the date approached, Lu Tian felt like she was being watched even when she went downstairs to the supermarket. But when she looked back, she couldn’t see anything unusual. She didn’t know if she was being paranoid, but to avoid accidents, she rarely went anywhere other than home while waiting to go to the hospital.
On the day she went to the hospital for the mobilizing injections, Meng Jingdong arranged for his assistant, Song Ci, to pick her up. Tian Jing and Zou Rui were still on a business trip, and Tian Jing called Lu Tian before leaving in the morning.
“Lu Tian, you are your mother’s pride, no matter when or where.”
Lu Tian was silent for a long time: “Mom, you are my pride too.”
Tian Jing choked up and hung up the phone. Lu Tian pretended not to notice anything. She should be afraid of spending too much time with Lu Chengyang and discovering the truth, right? It was just that the mother and daughter lacked communication, and after this phone call, they comforted each other with a few words and said goodbye.
Unexpectedly, the people who came to pick her up at the Zou family were not only Song Ci but also Meng Jingdong himself. Was Huanmeng on vacation recently? Even the general manager was so free?
Perhaps sensing her confusion, Meng Jingdong explained, “I’m actually on vacation today.”
Lu Tian uttered an “oh” and sat in the back seat with him.
The Meng and Lu families were old friends. Meng Jingdong grew up under Lu Chengyang’s care, and Lu Chengyang even saved his life when he was a child. Lu Chengyang becoming his uncle added to the relationship between the two families, and the relationship between Lu Tian and Meng Jingdong became even more complicated. In fact, she admired Meng Jingdong’s character – calm, modest, and polite. When getting along peacefully, he would be a good business partner.
In the morning, the traffic flow on the city’s elevated roads wasn’t heavy and not considered congested. Song Ci and the driver were in the front seats. The driver driving for Meng Jingdong was an experienced veteran, neither rushing nor slow, skillful in his technique. He noticed a van following them, neither overtaking nor honking, steadily following behind.
Meng Jingdong’s car looked low-key but was actually modified for personal safety. His driver had received professional training and was very sensitive to surveillance. After signaling to Meng Jingdong and getting permission, the driver prepared to speed up to the front, and the van followed suit.
“Mr. Meng, they’re following us.”
Meng Jingdong looked back and instructed the driver, “Get off the elevated road quickly.”
The driver responded and concentrated on driving. Lu Tian looked back at the van. She felt uneasy. Could the butterfly effect be her and Meng Jingdong dying together?
“I forgot to tell you, I’ve felt like I’ve been watched since I left home two days ago. Do you think these two things are coincidences?”
Meng Jingdong frowned, took out his phone, and made a call: “I’m being followed. Check this car for me, the license plate number is…”
While he was on the phone, Lu Tian had already fastened her seatbelt. Life’s too short to die!
The van behind them relentlessly pursued, with what seemed like a same-city freight company logo on it. Fortunately, they were about to reach the elevated road exit when the van suddenly accelerated and rammed into their car. The driver quickly swerved to avoid the oncoming van, nearly colliding with a vehicle on the right. At the moment the car tilted, Meng Jingdong rushed to protect Lu Tian. Lu Tian closed her eyes and only heard a loud bang. Their bodies involuntarily lurched forward, and the world turned upside down—
Lu Tian slammed into the front seat, and then the driver slammed on the brakes, falling onto the seat.
“Lu Tian—”
She seemed to hear Meng Jingdong’s voice and opened her eyes to look beside her. Meng Jingdong had two bloody cuts on his forehead, his eyes tightly closed, his brows furrowed.
“Meng Jingdong?” She called out his name, suppressing her urge to vomit.
Meng Jingdong opened his eyes and nodded slightly. They turned to look at the van behind them.
At the moment the van rammed into them, the driver had made an emergency swerve. The van crashed straight into the elevated road guardrail, its body already deformed. There was no movement from anyone inside.
Soon, the sound of sirens came, and four traffic police officers quickly arrived to check the scene. An ambulance from a nearby hospital also arrived quickly. Lu Tian breathed a sigh of relief; at least no more cars would come to hit them again.
After being sent to the hospital, the doctor examined her. She was fine. Meng Jingdong had a minor injury to his forehead; Song Ci had a slight concussion; only the driver had a fractured left arm when he collided with another car while swerving.
“What about the van driver?”
“Still being rescued.” Meng Jingdong had his wound bandaged, and the two of them rested in the ward. However, the van driver was still being rescued, and the traffic police couldn’t ask anything. Everything had to wait for the driver to wake up before they could make any plans.
Lu Tian stared at Meng Jingdong, whose expression was unclear, and softly asked, “Do you think the driver wanted to kill you or me?”
If it weren’t for the car accident, she should be getting the mobilizing injections and waiting for hematopoietic stem cell collection. If she had died in a car accident, Lu Chengyang’s hope of recovery would have become zero. In the original story, Lu Chengyang’s sudden death was also such an “accident”? In the original story, the original protagonist was hit by a drunk driver, which was so similar to the scene before her eyes. If it was a murder disguised as drunk driving and no one could uncover the truth, it would be a seamless plan!
“I’ll find out and give you an explanation.” Meng Jingdong said in a deep voice, and then instructed someone to arrange for the van driver’s rescue, doing everything possible to save him and find out the truth.
Lu Tian nodded. She didn’t want to die without knowing why. Her life and family background were destined from birth. Whoever was obstructed by her appearance had to be found and eliminated; being timid wouldn’t be her style.
“Before the facts are clear, I’ll have someone protect your safety. I hope you don’t mind.”
Lu Tian certainly wouldn’t mind; the people Meng Jingdong sent would surely be professional.
“Should we still get the mobilizing injections?”
Before she finished speaking, Lu Chengyang suddenly pushed open the door, his face pale: “Not for now. Wait until your body recovers.”
But Lu Tian disagreed: “Let’s ask the doctor. If it’s possible, I want to get it done as soon as possible.”
The person who harmed her was also harming Lu Chengyang. Lu Chengyang would investigate even more diligently than she would. This good protection couldn’t die so easily.
The two couldn’t refuse her. After the doctor examined her and confirmed that she was fine, she quickly received the mobilizing injections. After that, wherever she went, she had a plainly dressed, inconspicuous female bodyguard following her. Lu Tian’s sense of security increased dramatically.
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