DSMIS CH3

Chapter 3: Meeting Again After the Crash

Even after he had proven his identity, the highest-ranking officer across from him didn’t relax in the slightest. Instead, his face grew darker, making Shen Xing feel entirely unnerved. Shen Xing even pulled out the official electronic transfer documents sent by his hospital, his hands trembling slightly as he handed the phone over.

Yang Cheng looked out toward the searching officers. All four shook their heads; the car had been turned completely upside down, but no irregularities were found.

It was all an oafish mix-up. This doctor driving an out-of-town orange Audi wasn’t the target they had been tipped off to intercept. Yang Cheng’s expression turned somewhat sour—for the license plate ending, color, and vehicle model to all match so precisely, either coincidence had opened its door to give Coincidence a ride home, or the guy standing before them was an absolute, unadulterated unlucky jinx.

Having been searched so thoroughly, Shen Xing’s face was a bit pale:

“Officer, am I good to go now?”

Yang Cheng gave him another crisp salute:

“You’re all clear. You may leave. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Of course, of course. Just doing my duty.”

Shen Xing quickly drove out of the border checkpoint. The more he thought about it, the more off it felt. He had observed several cars through his rear-view mirror—everyone else cleared the border check in seconds, so why had he been detained and searched for nearly an hour?

He considered his own face to be strictly that of a law-abiding citizen; even during routine breathalyzer checks back home, he was usually waved through without a second thought. There was no reason to pull him over like this.

Between the traffic jam and the thorough search at the checkpoint, nearly an hour had been wasted. Shen Xing looked at the remaining two-hundred-kilometer distance and the increasingly gloomy sky, taking a deep breath. Today, he had to drive all the way to Fulan County—mission must be accomplished—even if it meant sleeping directly in the hospital dorms tonight.

This national highway was a cliffside road built hugging the mountain. Although there was very little traffic, the road conditions were terrible, with deep potholes already collecting rainwater. Unfamiliar with the terrain and unable to judge the depth of the puddles, he drove with extreme caution.

Before fifteen minutes had passed, the rain suddenly picked up into a downpour, accompanied by violent gusts of wind. Dark, heavy clouds pressed down upon the earth like a massive, suffocating curtain.

The trees on the mountain to his right swayed violently in the gale. Occasionally, dead branches snapped under the pressure and fell to the ground. Fierce winds carried sand and gravel from the mountainside, sweeping across his windshield like sharp blades before being cleared away alongside the heavy rain by the frantic wipers.

The rain-drenched mountain forest resembled a terrifying, shrouded monster—a sight that brought a natural sense of dread to someone like Shen Xing, who had lived on the flat plains his entire life.

The steering wheel began to vibrate slightly under the crosswinds. Shen Xing’s knuckles turned white as he gripped it tightly. Facing extreme weather on an unfamiliar cliffside road was enough to make anyone’s heart leap into their throat.

His only source of comfort was that he wasn’t entirely alone on this road. Although the driving rain obscured everything ahead—to the point where he couldn’t even see half a taillight—his rear-view mirror showed a Land Cruiser following behind him at a steady, moderate distance.

Though he couldn’t make out the license plate, judging by that wildly modified front end, it had to be the same vehicle he met at the service area. Shen Xing recalled that handsome Land Cruiser bro—could it be that he was also unfamiliar with the road and didn’t dare drive fast, choosing instead to tail him and let him test the waters?

He couldn’t help but want to complain inwardly: You’re driving a heavily modified Land Cruiser—a hardcore off-road beast! How can you comfortably let a weak, helpless Audi A6 clear the path in front of you? Do you feel no shame for those modification fees? Does your conscience not hurt?

Shen Xing pulled to the right and turned on his indicator multiple times, signaling that the Land Cruiser bro was free to overtake. But the guy behind him was as steady as a rock, strictly adhering to the safety principle of “never overtake on dangerous road sections.” When Shen Xing slowed down, the truck slowed down too—if someone didn’t know better, they’d think Shen Xing had hired a personal bodyguard behind him.

Left with no alternative, Shen Xing had no choice but to bite the bullet and forge ahead. Unsurprisingly, an accident struck!

Up ahead was a massive puddle. His front-right tire had no choice but to roll straight through it. He had no idea that beneath the water lay anything but smooth pavement—his front-right wheel was violently jarred upward, and the vehicle shook violently. The tire pressure warning on the dashboard went off instantly, and the front-right tire pressure plunged straight to zero. A blowout!

The car’s rear swerved, threatening to turn sideways. Shen Xing gripped the steering wheel with all his strength, but with the sudden loss of pressure, the car wobbled in the puddle, losing control for a split second as it veered straight toward the left embankment.

In that terrifying instant, cold sweat drenched Shen Xing’s entire body. Spotting a few tall shrubs growing below the embankment up ahead, he tapped the brakes repeatedly while desperately turning the wheel. The orange Audi A6 slammed headfirst into the bushes and ground to a complete halt.

The airbag deployed instantly upon impact, hitting Shen Xing so hard his head spun and his eyes blurred. It took him a long moment to gather his senses. The car was stuck right on the edge of the road shoulder. Pushing the airbag aside, Shen Xing’s face was ghostly white, his adrenaline surging wildly. His heart pounded against his ribs like a drum, and blood rushed through his veins, yet his hands and feet were ice-cold. The hand clutching the steering wheel was trembling uncontrollably.

Looking up through the windshield, he saw a deep ditch at least seven or eight meters down below the embankment. Under the heavy rain, the ditch looked like the wide-open, man-eating maw of a monster. If he had actually plunged down there, they wouldn’t even need to bother rushing him to the emergency room! Terrified to the point of numbness, he could only gasp for air, completely failing to notice that the black Land Cruiser tailing him had also slammed on its brakes and skidded to a stop on the road.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knuckles rapping against the window glass came from beside him. Still trapped in lingering terror and the sudden weakness following an adrenaline rush, Shen Xing’s hands shook uncontrollably. His ears rang loudly, making the surrounding sounds feel muffled, as if wrapped in fog. He turned his head with a slow, sluggish motion.

Through the rain-streaked window, he saw a pair of distinct, well-defined hands. A figure bent down outside, their face distorted and blurry under the washing rain—looking eerily like a close-up shot of a killer in a horror movie.

Shen Xing’s eyes went wide, his breath catching in his throat for a second. Horror movie tropes set on rainy nights rushed into his mind all at once, and his stress response nearly made him scream out loud.

Knock, knock, knock.

The person outside tapped the window twice more. Noticing no reaction from the driver, the man used his hand to wipe away the rain on the glass. The temporarily cleared window finally restored a normal view, and Shen Xing was met with a normal face.

No—not just normal, but exceptionally handsome. And… vaguely familiar? Looking at the black windbreaker he was wearing, Shen Xing’s sluggish brain finally kicked into gear. Isn’t this the Land Cruiser bro?

The Land Cruiser bro made an unlocking gesture from the outside. Shen Xing hastily unlocked the car doors, but with the vehicle wedged tightly in the bushes, the door wouldn’t budge. Just as he was struggling with the handle, Shen Xing saw the guy turn around and walk back toward his own vehicle.

No way? He’s just going to abandon me?

A few seconds later, through the window, he saw the man return carrying a fire axe. Bending over, he used one hand to swiftly clear away the thick brush and weeds around the car door with clean, practiced swings, then pulled the door open for him. The howling wind and rain rushed in instantly, hitting Shen Xing straight in the throat and making him shiver from the bone-chilling cold.

“Can you get out?”

The Land Cruiser bro’s voice was low and pleasant to the ear, instilling an inexplicable sense of grounded security in the middle of a torrential downpour in the mountains.

Shen Xing nodded, but the moment his feet touched the ground, his knees went weak, and he began to collapse straight downward. Right then, he felt a firm, powerful grip grab him by the back of his collar, hoisting him right back up.

Shen Xing was still entirely dazed, his hands and legs too weak to stand properly. But being hoisted by his collar suddenly reminded him of how he used to scruff his own dog. Feeling a wave of embarrassment, he quickly grabbed onto the car door to steady himself.

“Th-thank you.”

The Land Cruiser bro let go of his collar. Standing upright, Shen Xing realized just how tall this guy was. At 180 cm, Shen Xing was by no means short, but this man had to be at least 185 cm. Wearing the attached hood of his windbreaker, rain rolled off the brim. His entire face fit the exact description of “rugged handsome” that the young nurses in his hospital department loved to rave about.

Jiang Lin looked the person in front of him up and down:

“Are you injured?”

Shen Xing felt like crying without tears. He did a quick mental scan of his body and moved his limbs—everything seemed fine, aside from his weak legs:

“I should be okay for the most part. The airbag just hit me earlier, so my face feels a bit numb.”

The rain outside was pouring heavily now, and Shen Xing’s clothes were on the verge of being soaked through by the dense raindrops. Jiang Lin returned to his truck, grabbed an umbrella, opened it, and held it directly over Shen Xing’s head. Such a small gesture brought a sudden rush of warmth to Dr. Shen, who had been physically and mentally exhausted by the medical harassment and the miserable journey over the past few days. Before he could even utter a word of thanks, the guy shoved the umbrella handle into his hand, turned around, and walked a circle around the vehicle before speaking up:

“Your front-right tire blew out.”

Shen Xing followed him over, holding the umbrella:

“Yeah, the tire pressure warning dropped straight to zero earlier. There must have been a sharp rock hidden in that puddle. The wheel got jarred hard, and that’s probably when the tire popped.”

Jiang Lin inspected the flattened sidewall, which bore a long, diagonal tear:

“Do you have a spare? Swap in the spare, and I’ll pull you out.”

Shen Xing’s eyes darted around nervously, and he rubbed his nose:

“I do… but, uh, I don’t know how to change a tire.”

Forget such a dangerous mishap—he had never even experienced a minor scrape or rear-end collision before. If the guy hadn’t brought it up, he would have completely forgotten he even had a spare tire in his trunk.

Jiang Lin turned his head, and Shen Xing met his gaze with an inexplicable sense of guilt. This guy drove such an insanely cool modified truck; he should—probably, hopefully—know how to change a tire, right? Before Shen Xing could gather the nerve to ask for help, the man spoke up:

“I know how. Is it in the trunk?”

“Yes, yes!”

Shen Xing quickly took a few fast steps to open the trunk. Jiang Lin cast a swift glance inside. The trunk was packed to the brim—there were three suitcases, along with several bulky items that didn’t fit easily into bags, such as a folding outdoor table and chairs, and a small tent. It had a strong sense of everyday life about it.

Next to the folding furniture stood an entire case of Coca-Cola, on top of which rested two large bags of groceries. Jiang Lin glanced at the logo printed on the bags—it belonged to a supermarket chain whose store location listed Jin City at the bottom, matching the driver’s license plate. Through the bags, he could see they were filled with instant food, the vast majority being self-heating hotpots. Jiang Lin gave a light laugh and asked:

“You’ve got quite a lot of stuff here. Are you traveling?”

“I’m here for work. The spare tire is at the very bottom—give me a second, I’ll move these out of the way.”

The spare tire was embedded beneath the floorboard of the trunk. To get to it, every single item had to be removed before the floor cover could be lifted. However, with the rain pouring heavily and mud everywhere on the ground, Shen Xing couldn’t even find a clean spot to set the suitcases down after pulling them out.

“The ground is too dirty. Put them in my truck first.”

As he spoke, Jiang Lin walked over with long strides and opened the rear door of his own vehicle. Shen Xing didn’t stand on ceremony—the ground really was impossible to use:

“Thank you so much.”

“Serving the people.”

That single phrase rattled Shen Xing so hard he nearly dropped the heavy suitcase straight into the mud. This Land Cruiser bro… is the tissue bro?! Could it really be that much of a coincidence?!