Chapter 405: The Person Who Didn’t Arrive
It was almost the end of the year, and the vacation that Chen Xi had applied for was about to be approved. After she had finished her work, she would be able to take a vacation and go home. She recalled that last year when she had taken a vacation and gone home, she had to wait until the last day before the New Year, and had almost been unable to buy a ticket home. If she could have a smooth vacation this year, she would be spared the hardship of snatching a ticket, and could also take the New Year’s Day holiday together and rest until after the New Year.
“Mmm, I will. I should be able to go back after I’ve dealt with things here. Mmm, okay. That’s all. I’m hanging up now.”
After talking to her family on the phone, Chen Xi looked at the calendar on the wall, thinking that she would be going home soon. What should she buy to bring back?
Before that, of course, she had to give Shion-sensei a call first.
“Shion-sensei, have you finished the second volume? When can I take a look?”
“I’ve already finished it, but I haven’t revised it yet, and I haven’t drawn the illustrations either. I have the first third of the manuscript on hand. Do you want to see it? Or should I just send you the file directly?”
“I’m free today. I’ll just go and find you to take a look. Let’s meet at the Pan Yu coffee shop on Huayun District’s 24th Road.”
“Alright. Coincidentally, I have some new settings and new characters for the second volume to tell you about.”
As Shion-sensei’s editor, Chen Xi had witnessed Shion-sensei’s growth all along. It could be said that among so many authors, the one she favored the most was Shion-sensei, and she was also the one she doted on the most.
As for that big salted fish, Zhao Yuyan, she was a pigeon that didn’t make people worry at all. She would absolutely not hand in her manuscript until the last moment.
In comparison, Shion-sensei was so much more worry-free, like a well-behaved and sensible daughter. How could she bear to scold her? She wished she could dote on her a few times.
And Yu Linna was also very lucky to have met such an editor. This editor had appeared in her life ever since Yu Linna had started to participate in the National Singer Competition. In the beginning, Chen Xi had also introduced her to a few opportunities, letting her develop in the entertainment industry. Even if later Chen Xi had failed to discover Yu Linna’s talent and had missed an opportunity to let her enter the novel circle, in the end, she had still worked hard to have Yu Linna sign a contract and become a writer under Wenqing, and had officially become her editor.
She had seen Shion-sensei’s glorious debut, had witnessed her fall from the altar, and had also seen her decadence and even confusion. In the end, she had personally seen her return. Now, she wanted to see Shion-sensei climb to a higher peak, wanted to see Shion-sensei become a true supreme god.
If she succeeded, perhaps Chen Xi could be proud for a lifetime.
“Hey, Air-sensei, are you still playing games? It’s already twelve o’clock.”
“How-how could that be? I’m writing my manuscript properly, Sister Chen…”
“Stop pretending. I can hear the sound of your game on the other end of the phone. Next time you play a game, remember to turn off the sound before you call me.”
“Mmm…”
After finishing this call, Chen Xi rubbed her neck, bought herself a bottle of water. Today, she had an appointment with Shion-sensei to go to a coffee shop to talk about work. Before this year was over, she had to finish her work properly.
…
Yu Linna had gone out very early. She had told her roommates that she was going to talk to her editor about work and would not be coming back for dinner. She was very fond of this editor. As long as this editor was around, she felt that any problem could be solved. This was also one of the reasons she had stayed at Wenqing. No matter how high a price other places offered, she had always chosen to stay at Wenqing.
Chen Xi had also told her not to be too dependent on her, and that if it was just writing novels, she had many places to choose from. Besides, she wasn’t selling all her copyrights to Wenqing. Wenqing’s side wouldn’t give her too much space in terms of promotion. So, if she wanted to have a higher status at Wenqing, to have a higher degree of initiative in animation adaptations, and also to make money for Wenqing, thinking about it, being an author still had a lot of limitations.
Chen Xi, on the other hand, really wanted to fight for the animation adaptation of Dawn Assassin for her, but the copyright of this work was in Yu Linna’s own hands. Wenqing would not take the initiative to help her fight for the opportunity to have it animated. Since that was the case, then she could only find a way herself. But according to the fame that Ballad of the Enchantress had caused before, it was not impossible that some companies would want to cooperate with her. As for a company like Caibi, it was best not to run into them a second time.
Yu Linna had gone to the coffee shop alone first, waiting for her editor to come. At this time, it was only three in the afternoon. They had arranged to meet at four o’clock.
Before setting off, Chen Xi had called her good friend, Huang Jinglin, to say that she was going on vacation and going home, and asked her when she would be on vacation.
“You’re so lucky. I probably won’t be able to go home until before the New Year. You’re taking a consecutive leave, from New Year’s Day to after the New Year. So nice.”
“If you’re envious, then work hard. When you get to my level, with a high annual salary, and a vacation from the end of the year to after the New Year, it’s still easy to get.”
“Really, you clearly changed your career after you graduated from university. How can you be so outstanding? You should have studied literature before.”
“If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have been able to meet you.”
“You’re just being glib.”
As they were talking, Chen Xi had also gotten on the subway. It would probably take half an hour to get there. During that time, she would also take a bus. After getting off the subway, Chen Xi fumbled in her bag, found a mirror, checked her makeup, and only after feeling that there was no problem did she put it back with satisfaction. Soon, Shion-sensei would also be participating in the public event held by Wenqing. At that time, as her editor, she would also be appearing. Her makeup skills could not be sloppy. At that time, she would surely have to help Shion-sensei, this little girl, with her makeup. This girl didn’t know how to do makeup, and had no awareness of being a girl at all. She still had to teach her well.
Originally, she had been thinking of taking the bus, but now she wanted to see Shion-sensei sooner, so she hailed a taxi, intending to get there a little faster.
Looking at the scenery outside the car, the beautiful view of the bridge, her mood was very pleasant. After work tonight, should she ask Huang Jinglin out for a drink? She thought so.
The driver was concentrating on driving, not feeling that there was anything wrong at all.
Suddenly, the driver who was concentrating on driving suddenly found a big truck rushing towards them from the front. And this car was completely ignoring the direction, and the accelerator was almost fully open. The driver slammed on the brakes and turned the steering wheel, but all of this was useless. The speed of the big truck was too fast. Only the sound of fierce tire friction and the harsh sound of car horns could be heard. All of this had happened in an instant.
Screech!
Bang.
The two cars had collided just like that, sparks flying. The smaller taxi was obviously no match for the big truck and was at a disadvantage in the collision.
Chen Xi was in the car. She hadn’t reacted to anything. She only saw the front of that car, and the sparks that were coming towards her. She stared blankly as all this happened, but she could do nothing. Her hand was clutching her bag tightly.
The sun was shining high in the sky. Under the brilliant sunlight, a tragedy had occurred.
This day, a car accident had occurred in the city center of Huayun District, Guangnan City. It was extremely tragic.
…
Yu Linna, however, knew nothing and was still waiting for her at the coffee shop. She had been waiting all along, had ordered coffee and cake, and had even come an hour early. But she had never waited.
At 4 o’clock, the appointed time had arrived, but Chen Xi had not come.
Chen Xi was always very punctual. No matter what she did, she had never been late when they were talking about work, nor had she ever stood someone up. But this time, Chen Xi was late. Yu Linna swung her little legs, always waiting for Chen Xi to come, but Chen Xi never came.
At 5 o’clock, Yu Linna had finished her cake and had also drunk her coffee. She had been looking at her phone for a long time, but Chen Xi had not come.
At the same time, the sound of an ambulance was echoing in a certain place in Guangnan City. A certain emergency room in Guangnan City had already lit up, and the busy figures of doctors were pacing.
At 6 o’clock, Yu Linna called Chen Xi, but Chen Xi did not answer. Yu Linna was quite angry. She never would have thought that she would have a day when she was stood up. She directly left this shop, paid the bill, and left. She thought to herself that she would definitely not go out with Chen Xi next time. But on second thought, she also felt that Chen Xi was not that kind of person. Had something happened to her? She started to worry about her.
Yu Linna looked at the crowd outside, not knowing where Chen Xi had gone. Weren’t they supposed to meet to talk about work? Where had she gone?
…
Huang Jinglin was still recording a show this day. During a break, she received a phone call. She had originally thought it was a prank call, but after answering the phone, her makeup brush slipped from her hand and fell to the ground, her face a sheet of white.
“Where? I’m going now!”
Huang Jinglin couldn’t care less and directly asked the director and the boss for a leave of absence. Originally, the higher-ups were not willing to give her a leave of absence. After all, the show was already halfway recorded. How could she just leave? But after hearing Huang Jinglin’s reason, they didn’t say anything more and just let her go. And Huang Jinglin had also taken a taxi to the hospital at the first opportunity.
This night in Guangnan City, the stars were particularly bright, the stars twinkling. The smiles on people’s faces were brilliant. Couples were holding hands and shopping. The single dogs showed a look of itching teeth. The boss of the snack street was shouting, and his hearty laughter spread through every street.
The night was really beautiful.
…
Yu Linna, however, knew nothing.
She looked at her phone screen and even sent a message to Chen Xi, saying that she had not waited for her today, but Chen Xi had not replied. She scrolled through the messages she had sent to Chen Xi before, holding her phone, thinking that she must have had something important. But Yu Linna did not think of the worst.
“Hey, Sister Yuyan, have you seen Sister Chen?”
Unable to find her information, Yu Linna called Zhao Yuyan.
“Sister Chen? No. She did call me today, saying she was going to see you. You didn’t see her?”
“No, that’s why I’m looking for you.”
“That’s strange. She’s not the type to just stand someone up. Did something happen?”
“I don’t know either.”
“I’m a little worried. I’ll call the editorial department and ask. You wait for me.”
However, the call that Zhao Yuyan had made to the editorial department was also useless. No one in the editorial department answered. No matter who she called, every single person from Wenqing, as if they had discussed it, uniformly did not answer her phone.
At the same time, Zhao Yuyan saw a piece of news. A car accident had occurred in the Huayun District of Guangnan City. A truck driver had been driving tired, and had fallen asleep while driving and had caused a rear-end collision. This driver had died on the spot, and the scene of the car accident was also a tragic sight. The police had also been dispatched. It was said that several of the accident victims were currently being rescued in the hospital.
For some reason, Zhao Yuyan had an inexplicable sense of unease.
…
The next day, Yu Linna received a phone call, but it was not good news. After hearing this phone call, Yu Linna’s face turned pale.
