Xiong Yibai was the calmest one. She merely adjusted her sitting position slightly, her gaze fixed on Feng Miwan the entire time, filled with complete trust.
But this was only the beginning!
The mountain road wound endlessly, with one sharp bend after another.
Feng Miwan’s eyes focused intently as she entered a state of total immersion.
She kept blasting the horn like mad,
her hands flying across the steering wheel, maneuvering the massive sedan through the narrow mountain path.
Outer-inner-outer cornering! (The standard optimal racing line: hugging the outer edge before the bend, cutting sharply to the inner apex at the fastest point through the curve, then sliding back out to maximize road width and maintain the highest cornering speed.)
She made full use of every inch of the road surface, sticking tight to the outside before the bend, decisively cutting inside at the apex, and swiftly sliding outward on exit.
Heel-toe downshifting! (The core technique for downshifting in racing: the right foot’s toe controls the brake while the heel feathers the throttle, blipping the engine during braking to prevent low RPM drop on downshift, ensuring seamless power delivery out of the corner.)
Before sharp bends, the toe of her right foot tapped the brake lightly while her heel added throttle, maintaining engine RPM for instant power on corner exit.
*Late braking!
Before blind corners where visibility was blocked, she braked hard only at the very last moment, sliding the car into the bend with a tail-out drift, pushing the braking point to the absolute limit to preserve straight-line speed.
Xiong Daichuan had thought she would always slow down for these blind bends…
Every shift in the car’s center of gravity, every subtle feedback from the tires gripping the road, was under Feng Miwan’s complete control.
The speedometer needle climbed relentlessly, as trees and rocks outside the window blurred into streaks racing backward.
One sharp bend followed another, the car’s body leaning under centrifugal force, tires screeching continuously.
Xiong Yibai patted Xiong Daichuan’s already rigid arm:
“Dad, breathe.”
Only then did Xiong Daichuan realize he had been holding his breath. He swallowed hard with difficulty and looked at his daughter:
“Yibai… Little Wan… what exactly is she…?”
Xiong Yibai glanced at Feng Miwan:
“She’s a professional race car driver, the double champion of the Hua Nation Super Car Championship Magic City Station.”
“Dad, trust her.”
“Right now, she’s Grandma’s only hope.”
With that, Xiong Yibai looked back at the rear seat, where an elderly woman with white hair and a kind face—but now ashen gray—
lay limply against the seat, a portable oxygen mask strapped over her nose, her eyes tightly shut.
She reached out to touch the old woman’s hand but pulled her fingers back midway, leaving them hovering in the air.
Right now, she only hoped they could go faster, even faster, to reach their destination.
Just then, the car burst out of the mountain road and onto the relatively wider township road at the edge of Longevity Town!
Though the road was broader, there were more pedestrians, motorcycles, and tricycles.
An uncle on a motorcycle was overtaken in an instant, nearly veering into the ditch. He cursed at the car’s taillights:
“Are they insane?! Driving that fast—are they rushing to be reborn?!”
An old man fanning himself with a palm leaf fan outside a roadside shop gaped in shock.
“Mommy! Is that the Xiong family’s car? How is it flying like that?!”
Feng Miwan blared the horn relentlessly, weaving through traffic with precise positioning and anticipation.
Pedestrians and vehicles in town only caught a glimpse of a black shadow streaking down the street at absurd speed, leaving behind countless stunned stares and exclamations.
They reached the navigation destination. Feng Miwan asked:
“Where’s the emergency room?”
Xiong Yibai pointed: “Straight ahead! Right turn at the red-roofed building!”
Feng Miwan executed a perfect tail-out drift, sliding the car into the right lane and screeching to a halt right in front of the Town Hospital’s emergency entrance.
Screeech—!
The brakes pierced the air above the hospital.
As the car steadied, the engine’s roar still hadn’t fully faded.
Feng Miwan yanked the handbrake and unbuckled her seatbelt: “We’re here!”
Xiong Yibai had already flung open the door and shouted hoarsely toward the emergency entrance: “Doctor! Emergency! Heart attack relapse!”
Medical staff, who had been notified and were waiting at the door, rushed over with a gurney.
In the back seat, Xiong Daichuan jumped out too, his face ashen as he helped pull open the door, his legs still a bit shaky.
Xiong Yibai had half her body inside the car, fingers on her grandma’s carotid artery, briefing the clustering nurses with precise medical terminology—she clearly knew this condition well.
The staff transferred Grandma to the gurney.
As they moved her, Grandma’s tightly shut eyes fluttered:
“Little Bai… run… run fast…”
Xiong Yibai froze, her eyes reddening visibly.
But she didn’t linger, steadying the gurney with the nurses: “Into the OR! Hurry!”
The group swarmed the gurney, charging deep into the emergency building.
Xiong Daichuan followed a few steps before the automatic doors blocked him, leaving him pacing anxiously outside.
Feng Miwan, Zhao Shutong, and Ren Queyue also got out of the car. The three girls, still covered in dirt and bloodstains, held their breath staring at that door.
Feng Miwan stepped to Xiong Yibai’s side and gently grasped her dangling hand.
That hand was ice-cold and trembling slightly.
Xiong Yibai gripped back fiercely.
Zhao Shutong eyed the blood-seeping bandage on Ren Queyue’s arm and whispered:
“Your arm…”
Ren Queyue shook her head:
“It’s not fatal. Wait till Grandma’s out.”
The OR door finally opened.
The doctor emerged, removing his mask:
“The patient is stabilized. It was acute myocardial ischemia triggered by emotional stress. We’ve cleared the vessel; she needs rest and monitoring now.”
Everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
Xiong Daichuan hurried forward to discuss details with the doctor.
Xiong Yibai’s rigidly straight back relaxed slightly. She looked at Feng Miwan beside her and found the other girl looking back; they exchanged a glance of shared relief.
Soon, Grandma was moved to a single room.
As the anesthesia wore off, she slowly opened her eyes.
“Grandma!”
Xiong Yibai leaned in, calling softly.
The old lady’s gaze was still a bit dazed. She blinked,
her focus gradually sharpening on Xiong Yibai’s face, then drifting to Xiong Daichuan on the phone by the bed,
and finally landing on the three strikingly different young women at the foot—
One sexy and alluring but with an aloof air, looking unapproachable;
One with three ear cuffs and a facial wound, looking even more unapproachable;
One with short hair and an arm injury, looking extremely unapproachable.
Grandma was silent for a few seconds, then slowly raised her non-IV hand and pointed at Xiong Yibai:
“Little Bai… you… when did you… get mixed up with society?”
“These ladies… they don’t look like… proper friends…”
Everyone: “…………”
The air suddenly went quiet…
