Addicted to Love, Mr. Fu’s Newly Married Wife

Chapter 1722 Death Call

Xiao Mei arrived at the designated location as promised.

Xiao Mei looked down at the completely cold steak in front of her, her lemonade already refilled three times.

The phone screen lit up and then went out; no new messages came in.

"Hello, is there anything else you'd like to order?"

The waiter approached with a tray, leaning slightly forward, his professional smile masking a hint of impatience.

Xiao Mei grabbed her handbag and placed it on her lap, covering the silk dress she had bought especially for today. The hem of the dress had developed several unsightly wrinkles from sitting for so long.

"No need, I'm waiting for someone."

"Okay, if this table doesn't need any more orders, you might need to move to the bar area. The evening rush is coming soon, and we have reservations here."

The waiter didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

Xiao Mei watched his retreating figure, biting her lower lip.

The customers at the surrounding tables had changed twice.

The gazes cast by the young couple at the next table made her feel extremely uncomfortable; their whispers seemed to mock her, the fool who had been sitting alone for an hour.

It was supposed to be 8 o'clock.

It's 8:40 now.

The person who made the appointment with her has disappeared.

On the first day of meeting in person, I was a full forty minutes late.

There wasn't even a single WeChat message.

I've been tricked.

Once the thought pops into your head, you can't suppress it.

Xiaomei picked up her phone and tapped on the completely black profile picture.

The last message was sent at 7:30 a.m., before departure: "Have you left yet? I'm leaving too, waiting for you."

Her finger hovered over the voice call button, but she hesitated to press it.

What if he doesn't answer?

What if you get through to him and find out he hasn't left the house at all?

Or worse, he arrived, saw himself in some corner, and felt that "the product didn't match the description," so he deliberately didn't show up?

Xiao Mei grabbed the makeup mirror on the table and looked at herself.

Her makeup was flawless, her hair was freshly done, and this dress cost her half a month's salary.

While she may not be considered a stunning beauty, she is definitely not ugly.

She took a deep breath, her chest heaving, and pressed her thumb heavily on the green call button.

beep--

beep--

beep--

The monotonous waiting tone coming through the receiver seemed to be a countdown to the loss of her dignity.

No one heard.

Automatically disconnect.

Xiao Mei was not giving up and dialed again.

Once.

Twice.

Five times.

Just as she was about to slam her phone on the table and get up to leave, the dial tone suddenly stopped.

connected.

There was a whooshing sound coming from over there, and the background noise was incredibly loud, like someone honking their horn.

"Hello? Hello, Rose?" Rose is Xiaomei's online name.

A man's voice came through, clearly panting, somewhat distorted, and... that unique, magnetic voice made Xiaomei lose herself.

Xiao Mei's pent-up grievances and anger, which had been building up for an hour, inexplicably deflated the moment that voice appeared.

"Where are you?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling. "I've been waiting for an hour."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

The other person's voice was urgent and sincere, "It's really too congested. There was a chain-reaction collision on the elevated road, and I'm stuck in the middle and can't move. I just came down and took a shortcut. I'll be there soon."

"How much longer?"

"Ten minutes! Ten minutes at most!"

The other person seemed to be driving; there was the clicking sound of turn signals in the background. "I can already see the top of that building. Don't be angry, okay? I'll let you punish me when we meet, whatever you want."

This is the most he has spoken since they started chatting.

"Who wants to punish you?"

Xiao Mei's cheeks flushed slightly, and her fingers unconsciously twirled the tassels of the tablecloth. "Then drive slowly, I'm not in a hurry."

"I want to see you, I'm in a hurry."

The other person chuckled softly, "What are you wearing today? Send me a picture, just in case I mistake you for someone else."

"What's there to be afraid of? We'll know once we meet."

"Okay, whatever you say. Hey, what's wrong with that car in front..."

Nourishes—

boom!

A deafening bang suddenly erupted from the receiver without warning.

The sound was so loud that it even drowned out the violin music playing in the restaurant.

Then came the ear-piercing sound of metal scraping, the crisp sound of glass shattering, and the dull thud of something heavy rolling and hitting the ground.

beep.

The call was interrupted.

Xiao Mei remained frozen in her seat, still holding her phone.

My eardrums were still ringing.

What was that sound just now?

Impact?

brake?

"Clap."

The phone slipped from my palm and hit the bone china plate with a crisp sound.

The guests at the surrounding tables were startled and turned to look.

The waiter who had just left also frowned and looked over.

Xiao Mei didn't bother to pick up her phone; she grabbed it hastily, and the screen showed the end of the call.

That sound just now...

The phone must have been lost.

Yes, he was driving, and his phone probably fell out when he braked suddenly.

Or the signal is bad.

He just said there was a car in front, probably a minor collision.

Xiao Mei's fingers were shaking; no matter how she swiped, she couldn't unlock the screen password.

After three attempts, I finally solved it.

Call back.

beep - beep - beep -

No one heard.

"Answer the phone...answer it!"

She stared intently at the screen, muttering to herself unconsciously.

No one answered.

Hit again.

Still no one answered.

Chen Xiaomei suddenly stood up, the chair scraping against the marble floor with a screeching sound.

She grabbed her bag and tried to rush out, but stopped after taking just one step.

Where to go?

You only said you saw the top of the restaurant building, but which direction was that?

East? West?

This area is all one-way streets; a ten-minute drive is too far.

She sat back down in her chair, holding her phone in both hands, staring intently at the black profile picture.

Everything will be alright.

They had chatted before, and she knew she was a very good driver; he had mentioned before that he was a race car driver.

It's probably just that the phone broke.

Or was that sound actually the sound of explosions at a construction site by the roadside?

Time passed second by second.

Xiao Mei couldn't feel the passage of time; she could only hear the pounding of her heart against her chest, each beat heavier than the last, making her panic.

One minute.

five minutes.

Eight minutes.

If you've only dropped your phone, you should pick it up and call back now.

If it's just a minor scratch, you should have finished dealing with it and comforted her by now.

Why is there still no movement?

Tenth minute.

Chen Xiaomei's fingers were already white from pressing the buttons, and she pressed the call button again.

This time, there was no long wait.

The phone is on.

"Hey! You scared me to death!" "Dinghai Shenzhen" is the online name of the online friend Xiaomei is meeting.

Xiaomei shouted into the phone, her voice trembling with tears, "What just happened? Say something!"

There was a two-second silence on the other end.

Then, a completely unfamiliar male voice rang out.

It was devoid of any emotion, exuding a cold, businesslike demeanor.

"Hello, this is the XX District Emergency Medical Center rescue team. The owner of this phone was just involved in a car accident at the Changning Road intersection and is currently unconscious."

boom.

Something exploded in Chen Xiaomei's mind.

All the surrounding sounds faded away in an instant, leaving only the cold, cruel statement from the stranger in the receiver.

"A car...car accident?"

She felt as if there was a wad of cotton stuck in her throat, and her voice was dry and strained. "Is it serious? Where is he? Is he still alive?"

"The injured are being taken to the nearest hospital for emergency treatment, and the specific situation needs to be determined by the doctor."

The other person spoke very quickly, with sirens and a cacophony of voices in the background. "Who are you to the owner of the plane? Are you a family member? We need to contact an immediate family member to sign the consent form for the surgery."

Family members?

Xiao Mei opened her mouth.

Netizens?

What kind of relationship is this?

A lover you've never met and haven't even verified your real name with?

"I am...I am his girlfriend."

Chen Xiaomei gripped her phone tightly, her nails digging into her palms. "Even though we haven't met, I'm still his girlfriend." She didn't dare say these words aloud.

“I’m his girlfriend,” she repeated.

"Do you know his parents' phone number?" the other person asked.

"I...I don't know."

Do you know his real name and ID number?

"I don't know... I came to see him, I'm nearby! It's our first time meeting."

Chen Xiaomei suddenly stood up, no longer caring about the stares of those around her. "Please tell me which hospital they took them to? I'm coming right now! I'm at that Western restaurant near Changning Road!"

"Feel sorry."

The other party's voice remained cold and harsh, directly interrupting her pleas, "According to regulations, we cannot disclose the specific destination of the injured person's medical treatment if they are not immediate family members and cannot provide the injured person's identity information, nor can we allow you to access the injured person's belongings. We will search for his family through the police."

"Why? I'm his girlfriend! He was just on the phone with me!"

Xiaomei panicked, tears welling up uncontrollably and streaming down her face. "I'd even be willing to wait at the door!"

"Madam, please calm down."

The other party seemed very busy, with someone shouting things like "Hurry up and carry the stretcher up."

"This is to protect the privacy and property of the injured person. Since you don't know any of his identity information, we cannot verify your relationship. If he is single and lives alone, the police will handle the follow-up. Please do not occupy emergency resources."

beep.

The phone hangs up.

Hearing the busy tone, Xiao Mei felt as if her bones had been removed, and she slumped into a chair.

The phone screen went black, reflecting her smudged face.

The eyeliner smudged, making him look like a comical clown.

"Miss?"

The waiter came again, this time with the bill in his hand, his brows furrowed even more, clearly having witnessed the earlier lapse in composure.

"We really need to clear out the stage here, you see..."

Xiao Mei looked up at him blankly.

The "Sea-Stabilizing Pillar" got into a car accident.

Just ten minutes ago, the man who said he wanted to see her and that he was in a hurry might be lying on a stretcher covered in blood right now.

She didn't even know which hospital he was in.

They didn't even know his real name.

She could only sit here and pay for two untouched cups of coffee and the steak.

"Bill, please."

Xiao Mei took out her phone to scan the QR code, but her hands were shaking so much that it took her a while to even align the QR code correctly.

"One hundred and eighty in total."

Payment successful.

Xiao Mei grabbed her bag and walked out of the restaurant like a lost soul.

The outside lights were so bright that they made people dizzy.

Changning Road is just two blocks ahead, and there seems to be a real traffic jam over there; I can vaguely hear police sirens coming from that direction.

Was that the car that rescued him?

Or are they police cars handling the scene?

She stood by the roadside, watching the bustling streets.

Every time an ambulance roared past, she would instinctively crane her neck to look, trying to see the people inside through the tinted glass.

But the car was going too fast, and I couldn't see anything.

A gust of wind blew by, and the silk skirt clung to her legs, the coolness seeping into her bones through her skin.

Passersby hurried by, and no one noticed the woman standing by the roadside in a daze.

Some people are laughing, some are on the phone yelling at customers, and some are leading their children across the street.

The world continues as usual.

Only that pillar of stability may be slowly growing cold in some corner of the world.

or……

Is this just a setup?

A contrived scheme, so convincingly real, designed to avoid meeting in person?

But... the rescue team's voices were so professional, and the background noise was so realistic.

Who would make such a big fuss just to reject an online friend?

Xiao Mei lowered her head and looked at the black avatar in the chat box.

No new messages.

Is there never going to be any new information?

An empty taxi stopped in front of her, and the driver leaned out and asked, "Are you going or not? You can't stay here for long."

Xiao Mei opened the car door and got in.

"Where?"

"go home."

The car started and merged into the congested traffic.

Xiao Mei turned her head to the side, her forehead pressed against the cold car window.

Outside the window, an ambulance with its blue lights flashing was speeding against the flow of traffic in the opposite direction.