Chapter Fifty-Two: The Prelude to the Coming Storm (Part Five)

Her trembling hand still pressed the answer button, but no words came out. The chattering of her teeth, upper against lower, filled the silence with a brittle clatter. Over the phone, Mo Qingyu’s gentle voice sounded, warm and soft: “Sister, I know you’re afraid. I’m sorry—it was me who ruined your once beautiful life. You’re so exhausted, living days you shouldn’t at your age. Sister, I miss Mom and Dad. I think it’s time they took me ‘home.’”

That final sentence—“I think it’s time they took me ‘home’”—made Mo Qinghan burst into tears and cry out, “No, Qingyu, your sister knows she was wrong. Wait for me, I’m coming to the hospital right now.” She hung up and dashed out of the restroom.

When Mo Qinghan reached the school square, she found it filled with display stands, each one bearing shameful photos of herself, images of her walking in and out of various luxury hotels. Standing in the center, she was assaulted from all sides by mocking laughter, jeering voices, and curses—as if every word was a sharpened tooth digging into her heart, making her breath quicken painfully. She clutched her chest, struggling to breathe, but she had to hurry to the hospital; if she was late, she dared not imagine what would happen.

She squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths. Cruel words drifted past her ears: “If I’d known money could buy her, I’d have drowned her in cash!” or “Look at how seductive she is—I told you she was no decent person, but you wouldn’t believe me.” Yet none of this mockery and scorn could outweigh Qingyu’s life. Mo Qinghan pretended not to hear, kept running, and pulled out her phone to call Lin Mo, but his phone was switched off.

Stepping into the street, she hailed a random car and, face stained with tears, pleaded with the driver, “Please, take me to Junyu Hospital.”

The driver turned his head and said something to the man sitting in the back seat. Then he leaned out the window and called to Mo Qinghan, “Get in!”

Mo Qinghan climbed in at once and, sobbing, thanked the man in the back seat, then urged the driver, “Can you go faster? I’m in a hurry.”

The driver, exasperated, replied, “Miss, it’s a red light—I can’t just run it. No matter how urgent, there are traffic rules for a reason!”

Suppressing her tears, Mo Qinghan choked out, “I understand, but if I’m late, a living life might vanish forever from this world. He’s only seventeen, only seventeen.” She repeated the age, as if it were a talisman.

The man in the back seat spoke with a deep, magnetic voice, “Drive faster. I’ll take responsibility for any traffic violations.”

The driver, hearing his boss’s command, nodded and pressed the accelerator. Mo Qinghan murmured her thanks, then kept whispering, “Qingyu, you must wait for me. You must wait for me.”

When they arrived at Junyu Hospital, Mo Qinghan sprang from the car and ran inside, forgetting even to say thanks. The driver, a bit disgruntled, remarked, “Boss, we ran through more than a dozen red lights for her, and she just left without a word. Isn’t that a bit much? People’s manners are really getting worse these days.”

The man in the back seat replied, “Didn’t you hear her? If she’s late, she’ll never see him again. What could be more important than life? Let’s go.”

The driver said nothing more and drove away.