Kang Wei was in an accident!
Even though Kang Wei wasn’t Guan Hui’e’s son, she had watched him grow up like a nephew, always following Zhou Cheng around, often eating and sleeping at the Zhou house… If anything happened to Kang Wei, Guan Hui’e couldn’t bear it, and she worried even more that Xie Yun couldn’t handle it!
“Auntie, Auntie?”
Guan Hui’e collected herself. Xia Xiaolan’s voice came through the phone: “…The surgery is complete. With Mayor Tang’s help, we got the best doctors here. His vital signs are stable. Now we’re just waiting for him to regain consciousness.”
The girl’s breathless way of speaking scared Guan Hui’e as if she’d been pulled from the water.
The heating must have been too strong; she felt hot and flustered. Remembering Xia Xiaolan was also in the car, Guan Hui’e couldn’t lose her composure: “What about you, are you hurt?”
Xia Xiaolan said she only had some scratches, so Guan Hui’e didn’t have to worry about both of them.
The person who hit them was a Hong Kong merchant, Du Zhaohui, whose name Guan Hui’e recognized. She feared Xia Xiaolan might be bullied – Du Zhaohui was no honest man. Previously, he’d thrown around millions, forcing even Wang Guangping to yield, showing his true character.
This Du fellow might not think he did anything wrong. What was injuring someone on the mainland to him? Even if he killed someone, he could afford compensation.
“Stay there and don’t worry. I’ll inform Kang Wei’s family. We’ll be there soon!”
Hanging up, Guan Hui’e struggled with who to tell.
In such matters, men were stronger than women emotionally, but Kang Wei had no father. As for Kang Wei’s mother Xie Yun’s strength… Guan Hui’e sighed. There was no choice but to tell Xie Yun. Though Kang Wei was stable, he hadn’t regained consciousness. If his condition suddenly worsened, wouldn’t Xie Yun miss her last chance to see him?
Such thoughts were inauspicious. Guan Hui’e’s age made her less superstitious; rational thinking solved problems better. She had to consider both the best and worst scenarios!
She told Zhou Guobin, who also first asked about Xia Xiaolan.
Guan Hui’e didn’t know Xia Xiaolan had the accident while returning from visiting Zhou Cheng, or she would’ve felt guilty.
Hearing Kang Wei hadn’t regained consciousness, Zhou Guobin thought of Xie Yun’s personality and felt troubled: “Notify his second uncle. The elderly Kangs are too old. Wait until Kang Wei wakes up before deciding whether to tell them.”
Second Uncle Kang was now the family head. Calling Xie Yun wouldn’t help much; they had to notify Second Uncle Kang.
With so many outsiders watching, how could Second Uncle Kang not care?
Besides, women had such delicate thoughts. Though Second Uncle Kang might not be wholly devoted to his nephew, not valuing him as his child, an uncle’s feelings for his nephew exist. Internal family inequality didn’t matter now – this was about facing outsiders. Kang Lianming couldn’t side with outsiders; it would shame the family name.
Kang Lianming was in a meeting when he received the news.
But his response matched Zhou Guobin’s prediction:
“I’ll have someone book flights immediately.”
Kang Wei had been in an accident.
The meeting couldn’t continue. Kang Lianming had his secretary book flights while he sat in his office, pulling out a cigarette he couldn’t light because his hands shook too badly – his feelings now were like when he received news of his older brother’s death at the front 22 years ago. Then, the sky had fallen; now wasn’t much better.
He tossed the cigarette aside and called his sister-in-law Xie Yun’s workplace. The ringing irritated him, but when the call connected and he heard Xie Yun’s voice, Kang Lianming kept his composure:
“Sister-in-law, pack your things. I’ll have someone pick you up for the airport shortly. Yes, I’m going with you to Pengcheng… I know Kang Wei’s in Pengcheng. He had a minor car accident. We’ll go check on him… Don’t cry yet, he’s out of danger. He needs family there now, to handle the accident matters. Sister-in-law, just us two will go. Don’t tell the elderly yet.”
An hour later, Kang Lianming met Xie Yun with her swollen eyes.
Thank heavens she didn’t cry upon seeing him.
Guan Hui’e was also on the flight. Since Xia Xiaolan said it wasn’t serious, Guan Hui’e felt she should go too, and this time Zhou Guobin didn’t stop her.
Seeing Guan Hui’e, Xie Yun’s emotions surfaced again.
Guan Hui’e embraced her shoulders: “You can’t cry. Kang Wei needs you to take charge!”
Kang Lianming stayed silent. He knew how people in their circle judged him, saying he suppressed his brother’s posthumous son and hadn’t properly nurtured Kang Wei.
How should he nurture him?
The Zhou family, sent Kang Wei to join the army, calling it following his father’s will, claiming it would lead to success.
What was the point of such success? The Kang family didn’t begrudge Kang Wei’s food. With a good job, he’d never go hungry and could live safely!
Young people disliked peaceful work, insisting on venturing out themselves.
He’d heard Kang Wei was doing business in the south recently. Before Kang Lianming could find a chance to talk with him heart-to-heart, news came of the accident.
Fortunately, the surgery succeeded; Kang Wei’s life was saved.
Kang Lianming maintained a stern face while Guan Hui’e comforted Xie Yun. From a woman’s perspective, Uncle Kang seemed too calm.
Sometimes calmness was synonymous with coldness, no wonder Guan Hui’e felt Second Uncle Kang wasn’t close to his nephew Kang Wei.
…
Kang Wei’s vital signs remained stable.
He received the best medical care. Tang Hongen urged Xia Xiaolan to eat something. Her hands were wrapped like zongzi dumplings; thankfully, Bai Zhenzhu was there to help.
During the meal, Tang Hongen carefully inquired about the accident details.
Hearing that the car originally aimed head-on, but Xia Xiaolan’s sharp turn made it hit from behind, Secretary Peng secretly glanced at her. They were truly lucky – a direct hit would have killed Xia Xiaolan in the passenger seat.
“When I heard the brakes, I caught a glimpse of a car coming in my peripheral vision. The speed was too fast; we couldn’t avoid it. Who knew that turning the wheel would avoid Du Zhaohui’s car but hit the utility pole instead.”
Xia Xiaolan hadn’t seen where Kang Wei hit, everything was spinning. Now she realized they’d both been thrown forward – Kang Wei shattered the windshield first, then hit the steering wheel. The seatbelts had kept them from being thrown through the broken windshield.
Secretary Peng thought Xia Xiaolan was lucky; she felt the same!
“Du Zhaohui’s car hit without slowing. Current laws don’t address this specifically, and even if they did, it was the driver… Do we have no recourse against him?”
According to the 1979 Criminal Law of China, Xia Xiaolan thought there was no traffic accident crime. Cars were still rare on streets, and accidents were unlikely. That’s why Du Zhaohui acted so recklessly in Pengcheng… In Hong Kong’s traffic, supercars couldn’t speed up, but Pengcheng’s roads were completely unobstructed!
Kang Wei had a hole in his head while Du Zhaohui just lost a tooth. Xia Xiaolan felt it was too light a consequence.
“Once Kang Wei’s family arrives, they’ll know how to handle it. You can’t decide alone.”
They’d see what the Kang family said. Tang Hongen now had a very poor impression of Du Zhaohui – being a Hong Kong merchant didn’t mean he could do whatever he wanted!