Can We Get Married First?  84

Chapter 84

Mrs. Feng and her daughter were in the car, on their way to her mother’s house for lunch.

She was grateful for modern technology, especially for autopilot, which freed her hands and allowed her to play games with her daughter during the commute, strengthening their bond.

Although there had been incidents with autopilot, they were rare, and Mrs. Feng believed such things wouldn’t happen to her.

Just as she picked up her drink, a car abruptly swerved into the lane beside her, seemingly out of nowhere.

Mrs. Feng: “?!”

Before she could react, the sapphire blue luxury car slammed into her car door, forcing her car into the next lane.

On the autopilot highway, all cars maintained a constant speed and were not allowed to change lanes.

In this situation, the consequences of a car veering off course were catastrophic.

The front of Mrs. Feng’s car swerved to the right, resulting in a series of collisions and scrapes with the cars behind her.

Her daughter screamed. Mrs. Feng tried to shield her, but the seatbelt held her fast.

Her daughter, secured in her child safety seat, remained in place, only her small limbs flailing in panic.

The violent shaking lasted for half a minute. After the final impact, her car, guided by the autopilot system, returned to its lane, and the momentarily disrupted traffic flow resumed.

Mrs. Feng, still shaken, didn’t dare to unbuckle her seatbelt. She looked out the window.

The sapphire blue car that hit her was still out of control!

Lou Mi had no idea why the autopilot system had suddenly malfunctioned, and she had no time to investigate.

She gripped the emergency steering wheel, struggling with all her might against the crazed system.

For a more spacious and comfortable interior, steering wheels in the age of autopilot had been reduced to the size of two palms, only necessary in critical situations.

Controlling a wheel this size required significant effort.

Lou Mi’s wrists were already sore from restraining the original Chi Lin yesterday, and now, her palms were bloody as she barely managed to maintain control.

Her car swerved erratically through traffic like a wild beast. As she wrestled with the steering wheel, Chi Lin, in perfect sync, immediately tried to disable the autopilot system.

But even after smashing the console screen, there was no response.

Lou Mi’s face was red with exertion. Seeing Chi Lin jab her finger through the cracked screen, she still spared half a second to be astonished.

“It’s no use! I can’t turn it off!” Chi Lin remained calm amidst the violent shaking, though her composure was wearing thin as she saw the unresponsive screen and the car’s speed continuing to increase.

120, 125, 130…

Lou Mi broke out in a cold sweat as she sideswiped another white car, knocking off its headlight.

The driver of the other car rolled down his window, his enraged shouts reaching them despite the speed.

“Can’t you stop the car?!” Chi Lin tried to help with the steering wheel.

She had been exercising regularly and was becoming more accustomed to Jun Jun’s body, gradually learning how to exert its strength. She was confident she could control the steering wheel.

But the seatbelt held her in place. Even with her arms fully extended, she couldn’t reach it.

As she tried to unbuckle her seatbelt, Lou Mi stopped her:

“Don’t! That’s what’s keeping you alive!”

“Can’t you just stop the car?!”

“Are you kidding me?! Don’t you see how fast the other cars are going? If we stop suddenly, we’ll cause a massive pileup!”

Chi Lin was drenched in sweat, too focused to dwell on the “are you kidding me.”

Another violent collision. The already dented left side of their car scraped off a chunk of paint from an SUV.

Amidst the shower of sparks, Lou Mi noted that her car was surprisingly sturdy. Despite the numerous impacts, only the front was dented. It was still charging forward like a wild bull.

Expensive, but good quality…

Wait! The autopilot was acting like a demon, this wasn’t the time to admire its build quality!

“Go,” Chi Lin said. “We have to get out of this car!”

Lou Mi’s eyes were glued to the road; she couldn’t afford to lose control of the steering wheel at this speed.

Even a slight mistake could lead to a major accident. If they had a head-on collision, both she and Chi Lin would be dead.

“Get out? How?”

“Open the door!”

Images from action movies flashed through Lou Mi’s mind: “Are you trying to reenact Speed?”

“Huh?”

“An old movie! Exactly like our current situation!”

Chi Lin was exasperated. This wasn’t the time for movie trivia: “This isn’t a game! Our lives are at stake! Open the door!”

“The door release button is on the console! See if you can get it to work!”

Chi Lin looked at the spiderweb-cracked screen and felt a wave of despair.

You useless AI, all you can do is accelerate!

With no other options, Chi Lin resorted to brute force!

She kicked the car door hard. A dull thud echoed inside the car.

Lou Mi’s palms were sweaty. With great effort, she glanced at Chi Lin: “What are you doing?!”

“Breaking the door!” Chi Lin kicked again, harder, at the same spot.

“Impossible!” Lou Mi said. “This is a Porsche!”

Chi Lin unbuckled her seatbelt, adjusted her position, faced the door, grabbed the seat for leverage, and kicked with all her might. The door loosened.

Lou Mi: “……”

That actually worked?

Although it was a different body, this move was just as badass as the Chi Lin she knew.

This was way more exciting than a game!

Chi Lin’s foot throbbed with pain.

If it were her own body, she would have kicked the door open on the first try. This body was too weak.

Mustering all her strength, she kicked again. This time, the loosened door flew off its hinges.

Lou Mi cheered. They were saved!

No one was stronger than Chi Lin!

She was the true conqueror of all!

The detached car door flew across the next lane, grazing the roof of a passing car, and landed perfectly on the sunroof of a car four cars behind them.

The driver of the car, suddenly plunged into darkness: “??”

Chi Lin, seeing this, was alarmed. She had to be more careful, or she might endanger innocent people.

She reached out to Lou Mi: “Do you trust me?!”

Lou Mi’s adrenaline surged: “Yes!”

“Unbuckle your seatbelt! I’ll take you with me!” Chi Lin extended her hand. Lou Mi was drenched in sweat, now hot instead of cold.

Just as Lou Mi unbuckled her seatbelt with one hand, the car, as if sensing their escape, suddenly rammed into the car in front of them.

This impact was more violent than all the previous ones, the entire car lurching forward and to the right.

Lou Mi’s seatbelt was still partially fastened. The impact held her in place, while Chi Lin was thrown out of the car.

“Chi Lin!” Lou Mi cried out, using her real name.

Chi Lin didn’t hear her. She rolled across the highway, her head spinning.

Thanks to the traffic warnings, the number of cars approaching from behind had decreased, but there were still cars heading straight for her!

A driver, completely engrossed in a superhero movie, hadn’t noticed the traffic warnings on the console.

He saw a figure appear in front of his car out of the corner of his eye. Before he could react, the figure leaped into the air, vanished with a “whoosh,” and then he heard footsteps on his car roof.

The driver: “??”

He looked down at the superhero on the screen, then looked in his rearview mirror.

Holy shit! Someone had actually flown over his car!

Spider-Man?!

In the next lane, a little girl, peering out the car window, said, “Mommy, someone’s flying.”

Her mother scoffed: “What are you talking about?”

“Really, look!”

The mother glanced outside impatiently, and her expression froze.

She grabbed her phone, her voice trembling: “Honey, someone’s flying… flying on the highway!”

When Chi Lin came to her senses, she was already on the roof of the fifth car in her lane.

She had jumped across rooftops and walked tightropes since she began her martial arts training, but none of that compared to this.

Her face was pale, her heart pounding. Her instincts had guided her through that series of leaps. She was incredibly lucky to be alive.

The strong wind pulled her hoodie tight around her head, her trench coat billowing like a cape.

The driver of the car beneath her looked up from both side windows.

Chi Lin looked back at them, and they stared at each other in silence.

“Miss, where did you come from?”

The driver and passenger, a young couple, looked stunned.

“Would you mind, uh, coming down?”

Chi Lin had no time for small talk. She looked ahead, searching for Lou Mi’s car.

Lou Mi’s car was still swerving erratically up ahead. She could see someone inside struggling to maintain some control, otherwise, the situation would be even worse.

Lou Mi was still in the car!

The cars in all four lanes were moving smoothly and steadily under autopilot control. To Chi Lin, standing on a car roof, they were like stationary posts.

As long as she could maintain her balance on these “posts,” she could use them as stepping stones to reach Lou Mi’s car.

But the distance between the cars wasn’t small. Even with her Qinggong skills, Chi Lin wasn’t entirely confident she could make every jump accurately.

One misstep, and she could be caught under the wheels of a car.

It was incredibly dangerous. Even someone with her abilities might not have the courage.

But Chi Lin was different.

Chi Lin, who had commanded armies and walked through mountains of corpses, was different.

She had to save Her Majesty!

She focused her gaze. Just as the driver beneath her reached out, she took a short run on the limited surface of the car roof, leaped into the air, and landed steadily on the car in front.

“Whoa—holy shit!”

The drivers around her frantically took photos and videos. Chi Lin tightened the drawstring of her hoodie, the large hood covering most of her face but not obstructing her vision.

She ran and jumped again, landing steadily on another car roof, her speed increasing!

Precise control and unwavering courage helped her reach the black sedan to the left of Lou Mi’s car.

Lou Mi, seeing someone jump from the sky out of the corner of her eye, felt a surge of relief.

She glanced over, then quickly turned back to the road. It was Chi Lin! It was her!

I’ll always be by your side.

Chi Lin hadn’t been making empty promises; she was truly keeping her word!

“Lou Mi!”

Crouching on the roof of the other car, Chi Lin lowered her center of gravity and shouted, “Bring your car closer!”

Lou Mi gritted her teeth, struggling with the unresponsive steering wheel: “I’m… trying!”

The car slowly inched closer. The middle-aged driver inside, his eyes wide with fear, rolled down the window and shouted:

“Don’t do anything reckless!”

Chi Lin carefully moved towards Lou Mi. Just as she reached out, she realized that Lou Mi’s car door was locked, and the windows wouldn’t open!

She had chosen the wrong side!

A drone had been following Lou Mi’s car silently, unnoticed.

Its light blue color made it easy to overlook on the brightly lit highway.

The drone was recording everything, transmitting the footage to A Bao.

A Bao, one hand on the controller, the other propping up her chin, lay on the sofa at home, watching the screen.

“Sigh, what a futile struggle. I only needed you two to die, now more people might get involved.”

She pressed a button on the controller. The steering wheel, previously as stiff as a rock, suddenly loosened. Lou Mi’s car swerved sharply to the left, slamming into the car Chi Lin was on, throwing her off.

Lou Mi’s head spun from the impact, and the driver of the other car was on the verge of vomiting.

Just then, a hand slammed against his window, nearly scaring him out of his wits!

Chi Lin, with great difficulty, climbed back onto the car roof.

Seeing the blood on her hoodie, Lou Mi almost burst into tears.

There was a large gash on the back of Chi Lin’s neck, but she was too focused to notice the pain.

Lou Mi’s car was now even more erratic, swerving violently.

Even with her above-average strength, Lou Mi was tiring from the constant struggle against the malfunctioning system.

Her arms were weakening, but the car showed no signs of slowing down.

Chi Lin jumped onto the roof of Lou Mi’s car, crouched by the open door on the right side, and reached out to her.

“Quick! Get out!”

Lou Mi also wanted to escape, but the autopilot system was like a rabid beast. She was using the last of her strength to control it. If she let go, she couldn’t bear to think of the consequences for the other drivers.

“I can’t…” Lou Mi pressed her foot against the dashboard, using her weight to maintain control. “I can’t leave now…”

Chi Lin understood, but if she didn’t get out, the danger would only continue!

A sign flashed past Lou Mi’s vision. She suddenly remembered a closed-off, under-construction ramp about 2 kilometers ahead. There wouldn’t be any cars there!

Continuing on the highway would only cause more accidents. She had to get the car to a safe place!

With the last of her strength, Lou Mi wrestled with the steering wheel, forcing her way past the car on the far right, towards the ramp!

“Tsk.” A Bao pushed the controller with both hands, determined to stop them.

Weren’t they heroes of the era? Weren’t they showered with love and adoration? How could they die alone? They should take a few people with them.

HighTowerMiyuki was one lane away from becoming a villain of the era!

Chi Lin quickly climbed into the car and grabbed Lou Mi’s hand, helping her turn the steering wheel!

Their car inched closer to the ramp, both Lou Mi and Chi Lin trembling with exertion!

The ramp warning sign suddenly appeared in their peripheral vision. They yanked the steering wheel off, almost being thrown out of the car from the force.

The car crashed through the warning signs and barriers, entering the ramp!

It hurtled forward, scraping against the concrete walls. As they sped over a speed bump, Lou Mi, who had just regained her bearings, was disoriented again.

Chi Lin clung to the door, struggling to stay inside.

When Lou Mi opened her eyes again, she saw that there was no road ahead.

The ramp was unfinished!

The car crashed through the guardrail, heading straight for the open sea.

At the last moment, Lou Mi’s seatbelt was ripped open, and she was pulled out of the car by a tremendous force.

Almost simultaneously, the car flew off the ramp, arcing through the air before plunging into the sea dozens of meters below with a muffled splash.

Lou Mi, shielded by Chi Lin, rolled across the ground for a long time, losing consciousness.

It took Chi Lin a while to recover. Covered in blood, she looked down at the person in her arms.

“Lou… Lou Mi?” She could barely speak, her throat filled with the taste of blood.

Lou Mi didn’t respond. Chi Lin panicked, letting out a few choked cries before remembering to check her pulse.

She was alright, just unconscious.

Chi Lin smiled. Thank goodness…

Hearing the sound of a helicopter overhead, Chi Lin knew she couldn’t stay here.

Someone must have filmed her. She hoped they hadn’t gotten a clear shot of her face.

If she was recognized as Jun Jun, an ordinary high school student running across speeding cars, her identity would be questioned.

She struggled to her feet and hid before the police arrived.

“Damn it…”

The drone footage froze on the image of Chi Lin pulling Lou Mi out of the car, then the signal was lost, the screen turning black.

A Bao, enraged, threw the controller to the ground.

What a tenacious life.

Looking at the shattered pieces, her eyes turned bloodshot.

Xiao V wanted to calm her down, knowing that her anger would trigger another episode, which would further damage her already fragile brain.

But as she approached, A Bao pushed her away.

“Go find my drone.” A Bao’s face was dark. She went back to her bedroom and locked the door.

The original Chi Lin sat by the sea, gnawing on a stale piece of bread. She overheard passersby saying:

“…Really? Are you sure it wasn’t a movie shoot?”

“Haha, now that you mention it, it’s possible, after all, it was HighTowerMiyuki in the car.”

“Is Sister Lou entering the entertainment industry, becoming a celebrity?”

Another person interrupted them: “Have you no conscience? She’s injured and hospitalized, and it sounds serious. Stop spreading rumors.”

“Hey, how could the autopilot malfunction like that? It’s terrifying.”

“There have been over a hundred cases this year, just domestically…”

The group continued their discussion as they walked away.

The original Chi Lin stopped chewing.

Autopilot malfunction? Lou Mi injured and hospitalized?

Was it because of the black box?

But she had taken the black box back!

She chanted inwardly, “It must be a coincidence, it must be a coincidence,” while taking the black box out of her pocket, turning it over and over.

Suddenly, she noticed a tiny seam.

She remembered there hadn’t been any seams before!

Panicked, she squeezed the box and managed to pry it open.

So, it really was just a box, meant for holding something.

Then, where was the thing inside?

A terrible premonition washed over her. Unable to sit still any longer, she stood up and left the seaside.

***

When Lou Mi woke up, Lou Lixing was the first to notice.

“Mi Mi! Mi Mi is awake!” He rushed to her side and held her hand.

“Dad…” Lou Mi’s eyes ached. When she tried to move, a wave of pain shot through her body, making her gasp.

“Don’t move, Mi Mi! You’re covered in injuries!” Lou Lixing’s tears flowed freely. Peng Ziyuan pressed the call button for the doctor, then handed him some tissues.

After a moment, Lou Mi searched her memory, trying to recall why she was injured, why she was in the hospital. She remembered the terrifying scene on the highway.

Just as the car was about to plunge off the ramp, Chi Lin had pulled her out, risking her own life.

She was alive.

Then, where was Chi Lin?

“Where’s Chi Lin?!” Lou Mi blurted out.

“Chi Lin? Isn’t Chi Lin…” Lou Lixing was confused, glancing at Peng Ziyuan, his voice lowering. “…Did she run away from home?”

Peng Ziyuan understood what Lou Mi meant: “Are you saying Little Lin saved you?”

“It was her. Her injuries must be much worse than mine. Didn’t anyone see her at the scene?”

“No, when the police found you, you were alone.”

Lou Mi thought for a moment and understood. Chi Lin must have wanted to avoid leaving any trace.

“No.” Lou Mi insisted on getting out of bed. “I have to find her.”

“Wait, your condition isn’t stable yet, don’t move!” Several doctors entered the room and persuaded her to lie back down.

Lou Mi was surrounded by doctors and family. Feeling weak, she was gently coaxed and helped back into bed.

As the doctor examined her, Lou Mi calmed down, knowing that she couldn’t leave the hospital now, but she would find a way.

After the examination, the doctor said, “Well, you’re young and in good shape. Mostly soft tissue injuries. We’ll observe you for a few days, and you can be discharged if there are no complications. But for now, you need to rest.”

Hearing this, Lou Lixing felt slightly relieved.

Her grandparents, a large group of relatives, and people from the club were waiting outside.

As soon as the news broke, countless fans flocked to the hospital, overwhelming the security guards.

Lou Mi called Zhuo Jinglan and asked about Jun Jun.

Zhuo Jinglan: “I should be asking you that! You two almost ended up in the sea! What happened? You scared us to death!”

Lou Mi’s head throbbed. She patiently emphasized: “Where’s Jun Jun?”

“I don’t know, I can’t reach her. Was that flying person her? Who is she… Did she save you?”

Lou Mi’s head was spinning: “Sister Lan, I can’t leave the hospital right now, please help me find Jun Jun, her injuries must be much worse than mine…”

After receiving Lou Mi’s instructions, Zhuo Jinglan was still confused.

Peng Ziyuan came over from the crowd and said to Zhuo Jinglan, “I’ll help you look for her.”