The car door opened, and the smell of alcohol instantly mingled with the air and rushed towards Xiaolan. She looked up and saw the familiar figure magnify infinitely in her eyes.
"Amanda?"
She asked doubtfully. The drunken figure in front staggered from side to side and fell forward without balance.
"Watch out!" Xiaolan crawled forward from the steps and reached out her hand even though the distance was quite far.
Just as the body was about to touch the ground, Yunchutong's arm was firmly grabbed. Xiaolan gasped as she supported Yunchutong's heavy body. Just then, the taxi driver chased after them.
The driver held Yunchutong's backpack in his hand, with some money pinched at the bottom. "These are the lady's things."
The money wasn't important. What mattered was the backpack. It not only contained Yunchutong's ID but also her phone. If it was picked up by someone with ill - intent, there would surely be news about her the next day.
Xiaolan took both the money and the handbag. She opened the backpack, took out the small change at the bottom, and returned it to the driver. "Thank you. I hope you won't tell anyone about this."
Faced with this unexpected fortune, the driver stood there stunned. He wanted to take it but dared not, staring directly at the money. By the time he came to his senses, the money was already in his hand.
"Hey, miss, I can't take this!"
"It's okay. Don't think too much. It's just a tip for your hard work."
Xiaolan didn't entangle with the driver any longer and carried Yunchutong with difficulty up the steps.
As the people left, the driver nervously looked around, quickly stuffed the money into his pocket. His nervousness was gradually replaced by joy. He even hummed a tune as he got back into the car.
He opened the door and got in, then lightly put down the sign in front. This tip was equivalent to what he could earn in a day. He could go home and rest earlier tonight.
Just as he was about to start the engine, the driver's door suddenly opened from the outside. A man quickly got into the car and fastened his seat - belt before the driver could react.
"Sorry, sir. I'm not taking passengers anymore." The driver came to his senses and said to the man.
He had already earned several times more than usual today, so he was too lazy to go out for just a few dozen yuan. He waited for the man to get out of the car, but the man just sat there motionless.
Maybe he didn't hear?
The driver spoke again, "Sir, I'm going home. You'd better get out and find another cab."
The man's arm moved. The driver thought he was about to get out and patiently waited.
Suddenly, an envelope was placed in front of the driver.
The driver's nerves instantly tightened. He trembled as he grabbed the seat - belt and looked at the man in a panic. "I... I don't have any money..."
The envelope dropped with a dull thud onto the driver's crotch. The heavy weight made the driver jump up towards the car roof.
Dong~ His head hit the car roof.
The man beside him reached into his pocket again. Seeing this, the driver put his hand on his head.
"I have money. As long as you don't kill me, I'll give you all my money."
The man in the passenger seat was stunned for a moment. Considering the driver's reaction, he immediately realized the misunderstanding. "I'm a journalist!"
The driver didn't hear his self - introduction the first time and kept mumbling about his fear. His hand even uncontrollably reached into his pocket, and all the money he had just received from Yunchutong fell into the gap between the seats.
Letting out a long sigh, the driver walked to the man's side and grabbed his trembling arm. "I'm a journalist. I just want to buy your dash cam."
"The dash cam?" There was still a slight tremor in the driver's voice.
The man nodded and took out his press card from his pocket, showing it to the driver. "The lady who just got out of your car is Amanda. I've been following you all the way. I know all taxis have dash cams."
"What's in the envelope?" The driver glanced at the man and then lowered his head to look for the envelope.
He picked up the envelope from the gap under the steering wheel. The driver opened it in front of the man half - believing and half - doubting. The red banknotes instantly filled his pupils. He nervously closed the envelope and immediately threw it back to the journalist.
"Not enough?" the journalist asked.
The driver shook his head, but after a moment of greedy hesitation, he nodded.
He was really lucky tonight. Picking up a famous actress, the money he earned came as easily as if it were blown by the wind, constantly pouring into his pocket.
The driver had heard that journalists were very generous when they wanted to buy important information from them. It could be at least tens of thousands of yuan, or even more than a hundred thousand. When he opened the envelope, he roughly estimated that there was only about ten thousand yuan. Amanda was a big star, and surely she was worth more than that.
The driver's fearful look was gradually replaced by greed, and his eyes began to stare at the man's pocket.
There was indeed more than one envelope. The journalist didn't expect to meet such a shrewd person. He took out another envelope from his inner pocket, which was even fatter than the previous one.
After they exchanged what they wanted, the driver immediately closed the car door and drove away after the journalist left.
Xiaolan struggled to help Yunchutong upstairs and then served her to lie back in bed.
"He doesn't answer my calls!"
"He's not at home or in the company!"
Yunchutong waved her hand in the air, shouting out her grievances. Xiaolan, who was holding a towel beside her, naturally knew who "he" was in her words. But things had come to this pass because of Yunchutong's own actions.
Everyone around Yunchutong could see how good Lu Luochen was to her. She was lucky to have a wealthy and handsome young master willing to lower his status to accompany and coax her. However, she gradually lost herself in this happiness and things developed out of control.
Xiaolan approached her, picked up her hand, and carefully wiped Yunchutong's skin.
Yunchutong still mumbled incoherently. Under the influence of alcohol, she had lost consciousness.
The night at the Lu family mansion was very quiet. Uncle Bai told the old master what had happened in the afternoon. The old master cancelled his temporary flight and decided to stay at his friend's house for a few more days.
Early the next morning, Wen Sining got up from the bed. Last night, Lu Luochen left the room and never came back. She changed into clean and refreshing casual clothes, tied up a high ponytail, and walked out of the room.
"Good morning, Uncle Bai." Wen Sining greeted sweetly.
Uncle Bai had come up to call her for breakfast. Seeing her come out and greet him actively, he said, "Madam, breakfast is ready. The young master is waiting for you downstairs to have breakfast together."
Waiting for her?
Wen Sining wasn't stupid. The word "waiting" was probably added by Uncle Bai himself.
"Where's grandpa? Hasn't he come back yet?" Wen Sining changed the subject.