Chapter 1 The Beginning

Boom!!!!!

The 7 million Bentley Continental GT crashed down heavily!

Even with the most advanced shock absorption on the planet, Lin Xian felt a sharp pain in his tailbone from the violent impact.

He controlled the braking force, slammed the steering wheel, and let the car swing sideways under the powerful inertia—

Screech screech screech screech screech screech screech screech!!

The sound of some part rubbing against the concrete road filled the air, and yellow sparks flew wherever the car slid.

Lin Xian gripped the steering wheel tightly, feeling the constantly changing torque and making micro-adjustments to prevent a rollover.

Now that it had landed safely, this operation of using the tire's lateral friction to eliminate inertia was no longer risky. He had been practicing it for more than ten years in his dreams, and the feel was already etched into his DNA.

Finally.

The blue beast, which had been roaring just now but was now stalled, skidded in a shocking semicircle on the road.

It finally stopped.

"Phew..."

Lin Xian took a deep breath, his hands leaving the steering wheel, slightly sweaty.

He turned his head to look at the back seat.

Empty.

The gangster had been thrown out at some point.

Only the flattened bouquet of roses still hung on the rear door, swaying...

The colored paper wrapping the large bouquet of roses was torn, and colorful ribbons danced in the breeze.

Lin Xian then looked at Zhao Yingjun beside him.

She was closing her eyes, covering her chest, and breathing rapidly.

"Are you... alright?"

Zhao Yingjun didn't say a word.

Her brows were furrowed, the ends of her eyebrows trembling, her breathing rapid, and her face uncertain.

After a few heavy breaths, she slowly raised her head, looking at the overpass twenty or thirty meters away...

That's where they had just flown from.

It was originally a downward-sloping exit, with the road constantly descending.

But Lin Xian had forced the Bentley, traveling at over 200 kilometers per hour, to drive vertically, riding on the overpass guardrail and soundproofing wall, forcibly breaking through the road surface and flying over...

Zhao Yingjun slowly widened her eyes.

She didn't remember what happened when they flew through the air for those twenty or thirty meters.

She only remembered a loud crash when they landed, and the car spun violently like a spinning teacup in an amusement park, stopping against the overpass guardrail.

"You..."

Her breathing gradually calmed down, and she looked at Lin Xian, biting her lower lip:

"Didn't you say you weren't very good at driving?"

"Actually, I'm a little bit good."

"That's a little bit?"

Zhao Yingjun snorted, extremely stiffly, and it was clear that she didn't want to laugh at all:

"How dare you?"

She still couldn't believe it:

"Are you crazy? Do you know... you... do you know what you did?"

"Of course I know..." Lin Xian adjusted his sitting posture, shifted his aching tailbone, and spread his hands, saying:

"But I had no other choice. That gangster was a desperate man. He wouldn't have let us go."

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. I feel a little nauseous. I want to get out of the car and walk around."

Zhao Yingjun covered her chest, looking a little uncomfortable.

She clicked and pulled the car door switch, but the door didn't move. She turned her head to look at Lin Xian:

"Open the door."

Lin Xian tried to pull his own car door, but it wouldn't open either, so he pointed to the dashboard that had been blown apart by the double-barreled shotgun:

"I guess the car door is broken, or something's malfunctioning."

"Then how do we get out?"

"We can only climb out. Luckily, it's a convertible. This may be the only advantage of this kind of car: you'll never be trapped inside."

"That's a really obscure fact."

Zhao Yingjun wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, swept all the hair on her forehead to the top of her head, and unfastened her seatbelt:

"You climb out first, and then come over here to help me."

It was easy for Lin Xian to climb out of the convertible, but Zhao Yingjun was wearing an evening dress and long skirt, which made it inconvenient to climb.

After jumping out of the car, Lin Xian swayed his body left and right, feeling sore muscles in his waist, possibly strained.

The Bentley Continental GT, worth 7 million, in front of him... was obviously in a scrapped state, with extremely serious damage, and even the axle was broken.

He went around to the other side of the vehicle, helping Zhao Yingjun climb over from the car door that wouldn't open.

The ground was covered with broken glass. Lin Xian noticed that Zhao Yingjun wasn't wearing socks in her high heels, so he used his leather shoes to grind away the shards, allowing her to land safely.

"Where's that gangster?"

After getting out of the car and moving around for a bit, Zhao Yingjun visibly calmed down.

"He probably got thrown out halfway." Lin Xian pointed to the dark woods between the two overpass lines:

"He might have fallen down there."

Zhao Yingjun and Lin Xian walked to the back of the car, taking a good look at the rear structure of this Bentley Continental GT...

The seat space wasn't very spacious, but it was still much larger than most convertibles, which explained how the man could shrink into the legroom below.

It was dark in the parking lot at the time.

Plus, the scene was chaotic at the time. The men and women at the dance were panicking to drive away, and Lin Xian was also thinking about taking Zhao Yingjun away from this place as soon as possible... Neither of them paid special attention to whether there was someone hiding under the back seat.

Now it was clean inside.

The thief didn't know where he had been thrown.

Only the flattened bouquet of roses was hanging on the broken car skin, swaying weakly in the evening wind... swaying... as if telling the story of the gangster's unfulfilled suicide trip.

"Lin Xian, let's call the police first."

"Okay."

...

Lin Xian used his mobile phone to dial 110 to report the crime, describing the incident and location in detail.

The police said they would rush over immediately, asking them to wait where they were and pay attention to the surrounding situation at all times.

Then, he hung up the phone.

A cool night breeze blew.

Lin Xian saw Zhao Yingjun leaning against the overpass railing with her coat on, staring at him:

"Lin Xian."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for saving me."

At this time, Zhao Yingjun had regained her usual radiance. She looked down at the Bentley Continental GT, which had been smashed into scrap:

"I can't remember how many times I've thanked you during this time, but I still want to thank you for saving my life."

"It's nothing. I was saving myself too."

Zhao Yingjun looked at Lin Xian, and the neon lights of the night scene across the Huangpu River were once again reflected in her pupils:

"You always manage to do things that surprise me, that take me by surprise. During this time... my opinion of you has really changed a lot, and I'm also very happy for your transformation."

"But I can feel that... you seem to be in a state of contradiction and confusion, like an ant that can't find its way, wandering in a vortex without finding a way out."

Zhao Yingjun lowered her head, grinding the cold road surface with her high heels:

"Perhaps it's also because you've experienced too many things during this time, which has had a great impact on you. That's why you said just now that you yearn for success, yearn for the extraordinary."

"But actually, Lin Xian, I understand your thoughts. I've also been through your stage. If I have any life advice worth sharing with you... I think it's this, which can help you get out of your current state—"

She raised her head, and the round moonlight and the colorful night scene on the riverbank were reflected in her eyes, exploding into a colorful scene:

"Don't be successful for the sake of being successful, and don't be extraordinary for the sake of being extraordinary."

Zhao Yingjun looked into Lin Xian's eyes, which contained the same streaming light and neon:

"I've never told anyone in the company about my parents, my family's affairs..."

Lin Xian listened silently, walking to Zhao Yingjun's side.

He also leaned against the overpass railing, next to Zhao Yingjun.

The evening wind blew Zhao Yingjun's hair, and the soft ends of her hair brushed Lin Xian's cheek, like the caress of time, like the flowing silk of the years, fleeting.

Zhao Yingjun's dress fluttered in the wind, like a blooming flower, blooming in front of Lin Xian:

"My parents are both very powerful figures in the capital. They don't like what I'm doing now, and they've repeatedly tried to stop me from doing business, so I came to Donghai alone."

"Actually, they're all waiting to see me make a fool of myself."

Zhao Yingjun raised her head, staring at the full moon in the sky:

"My dad thinks I'll go back and beg them one day, beg them to clean up my mess and settle the troubles I've caused. He never believed I could make a career out of it."

"But you've already been very successful." Lin Xian interjected.

However... Zhao Yingjun shook her head:

"In their eyes, this doesn't even count as a small achievement."

"But actually, I don't care what they think. It's not important at all."

She turned her head, looking at Lin Xian, who was close at hand and leaning on the same railing:

"Because I'm not doing these things to prove anything. ***x company, doing Rhine brand cosmetics, is just because I like it; it has nothing to do with whether they like it or not, whether they approve of it or not."

"I don't live for them, and I don't need to prove anything to please them. This is also what I want to tell you, Lin Xian..."

Zhao Yingjun smiled after a long absence.

This was the first time she had shown such a relaxed and natural smile since the Bentley flew over the overpass:

"You must do what you like, do what you are willing to persist in, do something that is not to prove anything to others, but something that you are willing to bet your whole life on."

"Even if you haven't found this thing yet, haven't discovered something worth your effort... don't worry, don't be confused, you don't have to chase after something."

"That's enough, Lin Xian. You don't need to deliberately make yourself extraordinary."

"I believe in you."

Zhao Yingjun's eyes met Lin Xian's, mutually reflecting the colorful colors in each other's eyes:

"You are destined to be extraordinary."

...

Lin Xian looked at the arc of light in her eyes and said nothing.

"It doesn't mean anything else." Zhao Yingjun lowered her head and smiled, looking at the red and blue flashing lights coming from the other side of the overpass:

"I'm not someone who likes to preach, I'm just sharing some life insights with you..."

Wee ooo wee ooo wee ooo wee ooo wee ooo

A number of police cars and ambulances drove from both sides of the overpass, and the alternating red and blue lights were very dazzling. Zhao Yingjun turned around, supported the railing, and looked up at the moon in the sky.

January 14, 2023.

There are 8 days left until the Spring Festival.

There are 7 days left until New Year's Eve.

There are 5 days left until the Donghai Chamber of Commerce New Year's Eve banquet, the most important event in Donghai City.

This is a very ordinary day.

A day without any special significance.

A day when the moon is very beautiful.

"The moon is really beautiful tonight," Zhao Yingjun said softly.

Lin Xian stood behind her, looking at the bright white jade plate in the sky.

"Yes."

He exclaimed sincerely:

"The moon is still better like this."

Beep beep.

The electronic watch on his left wrist made two faint hourly chimes.

Lin Xian looked up at it.

00:00

He breathed a sigh of relief.

It was past midnight.

It was now January 15, 2023.

Zhao Yingjun had safely passed January 14th, passed the age of 23, and avoided the accidental death recorded in history.

Perhaps at some point in the future, at some age, she would still die in an accident.

But...

At least now, the original historical trajectory has changed.

She would never leave the regrettable words "died at the age of 23" in someone else's autobiography 600 years later.

Today is the brand new day after Zhao Yingjun's destiny changed.

At the same time...

It was also the first day of her 24th year of life.

Lin Xian took a step to the right, walked to the broken and scrapped Bentley Continental GT, and took the bouquet of roses left by the gangster from the torn car skin on the back seat.

He simply tidied it up a bit.

He made the wrinkled and leaf-dropped bouquet of roses look more three-dimensional, and at least arranged the crooked colored paper and ribbons to look like a gift.

"Although it's not appropriate to borrow flowers to offer to Buddha, but..."

Lin Xian handed the arranged bouquet of flowers to Zhao Yingjun, looking at her with a smile:

"Happy birthday."