Yucheng.
Lightning tumbled within the clouds, while thunder roared as if it was about to breach the heavens.
Heavy rain fell, splashing up water and carrying with it the serpentine trail of blood on the ground, cries and screams painting the rainy night into a scene akin to Shura Field.
The traffic lights flickered indifferently.
Cheng Zhiwei's trembling fingers reached for her phone; the pouring rain hammered on her body, along with the pain all over, clouding her mind and blurring her vision with blood.
Not far off, there were booming explosions and high-pitched screams of terror.
Cheng Zhiwei clutched her phone, recalling the photo she had seen half an hour ago, her lips curving into a smile of despair.
Today was her and Zhou Lin's wedding anniversary. Although her marriage was in name only, Zhou Lin had come home for the past couple of anniversaries. Cheng Zhiwei had wanted to use this opportunity to have a serious conversation with him, but after waiting until ten in the evening, Zhou Lin had not returned.
Instead, she saw photos of Zhou Lin celebrating Bai Zhuzhu's birthday on someone else's social media.
Perhaps it was the heavy rain that induced anxiety, or perhaps it was this significant day and he was celebrating another woman's birthday, but at that moment, Cheng Zhiwei lost her rationale and rushed out of her home.
As fate would have it, her car broke down halfway there.
She hailed a taxi, but just as they were ascending the North-South Bridge, an accident occurred.
Heavy rain and a car accident, trapped and unable to move, Cheng Zhiwei, in her despair, dialed Zhou Lin's number instinctively.
The mechanical female voice rang out in the rain, "Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later."
Her broken voice was filled with despair, "Zhou Lin... Zhou Lin..."
She persisted and dialed again; this time, the call connected.
Her eyes, filled with desperation, suddenly lit up, "Zhou Lin..."
"Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday to you..."
"Zhuzhu, happy birthday," Zhou Lin's tender voice sounded, crossing the phone and heavy rain, reaching Cheng Zhiwei's ears, vague and fragmented.
"Wow, such a beautiful necklace, thank you, Brother Lin, for the birthday present." A winsome female voice resonated, "I want to be with Brother Lin forever."
Cheng Zhiwei felt the strength she had mustered completely drain away at that moment, as the phone slipped from her hand. She struggled to lift her head and gaze at the sky, letting the rain pelt her face.
It hurt, but not one ten-thousandth as much as the pain in her heart.
...
Sirens and the sound of ambulances tore through the night sky, mingled with the noise of the downpour, as if it were a requiem that shook heaven and earth.
At eleven at night, a chain reaction car accident occurred on the North-South Bridge, and the emergency room of Central City Hospital was a whirlwind of activity.
...
When Cheng Zhiwei awoke, her whole body ached, and the scent of disinfectant at her nose jarred her nerves, making her realize she was alive and lying in a hospital.
The nurse told Cheng Zhiwei she had been in a pile-up accident, with multiple abrasions on her body, then asked about her identity to contact her family.
That's when Cheng Zhiwei remembered she had lost her phone. The heavy rain and the accident, along with the subsequent rescue, turned the scene into chaos; it was normal for the phone to be lost.
Even if it hadn't been lost, after being soaked in the rain, it would have been useless.
After requesting a phone from the nurse, Cheng Zhiwei fell silent for a few seconds and then dialed a number, "Da Tiantian, come to Central City Hospital..."
She glanced at the nurse.
The nurse quickly said, "Emergency Room 202, Ward."
Cheng Zhiwei nodded her thanks and spoke into the phone, "Yeah, was in a car accident, you need to come over."
Xu Tian arrived quickly.
"Oh my god, Yueyue, are you alright?" Xu Tian looked at the gauze on Cheng Zhiwei's head and the abrasions on her arm, gasping in shock.
"It's nothing, just some scrapes from the car accident."
"The car accident, could it be the pile-up on the North-South Bridge? I heard a lot of people died, oh heavens, Yueyue, you..." Xu Tian's eyes turned red as she made sure that Cheng Zhiwei was intact, without any missing arms or legs, before she felt relieved.
"Where's Zhou Lin?" Xu Tian looked around, not seeing Zhou Lin's figure, and immediately frowned hard, "You were in such a serious accident, and he's not here... He couldn't be with that slut Bai Zhuzhu again, could he?"
Cheng Zhiwei lowered her gaze, the light above cast down, making her pale face seem even more lifeless, "I lost my phone, help me pay the fees, I want to leave the hospital."
Xu Tian stiffened, sighed, and turned to go pay the fees for Cheng Zhiwei.
A few minutes later, she walked in on high heels, "Let's go, darling, leave this place to those who need it."
Cheng Zhiwei nodded, and was helped up by Xu Tian, just then, a man in the same ward, whose wife had not survived the car accident, was bragging on the phone.
"Baby, haha, she's dead, last night's car accident, all the property, insurance is ours now, plus we can even get some money from the funeral, oh my, we're rich."
Cheng Zhiwei lowered her gaze further, her eyes fell on the white sheet on the bed, and suddenly she thought of Zhou Lin – if she had died in that car accident, Zhou Lin would probably be just as pleased as this man.
But why should he?
Cheng Zhiwei moved her wrist and walked up to the man, slapping him across the face, "This is for your wife, you scum."
Then she walked away with Xu Tian by her side. Xu Tian was so stunned that she almost went to feel Cheng Zhiwei's forehead to check if she was feverish. The usually gentle Cheng Zhiwei, who never got angry, had actually slapped someone?
Cheng Zhiwei and Xu Tian had opposite personalities; Xu Tian was straightforward and fiery, while Cheng Zhiwei was quiet and gentle, the kind who never gets angry.
Xu Tian even wondered if Cheng Zhiwei had been secretly meditating and studying Buddhism, which allowed her to remain undisturbed despite her husband's rampant affairs.
Sitting in the car, Cheng Zhiwei watched the scenery outside rolling backwards. Last night's torrential rain made it seem as if the sky were falling; by morning, all was calm.
She closed her eyes, and suddenly her state of mind became peaceful, "Help me contact a lawyer."
"A lawyer?"
"Yeah, I'm getting ready for divorce."
The car came to an abrupt stop at the roadside. If Cheng Zhiwei hadn't been strapped in by the seatbelt, she might have suffered secondary injuries, but she was still shaken up.
Xu Tian placed a hand on Cheng Zhiwei's forehead, then on her own, with a look of utter confusion, "You're not feverish."
Cheng Zhiwei pushed her hand away, her tone light but her resolve firm, "I'm not joking with you."
Xu Tian's tense face relaxed into a smile of relief, "You've finally come to your senses, not fond of that dog Zhou Lin anymore?"
"Yeah, I've figured it out."
Everyone knew that Cheng Zhiwei came from a humble background but was deeply cunning. Right before graduation, she gave herself to her best friend's boyfriend, and that's how she rose from the ashes to become the Young Madam Zhou.
So, in Zhou Lin's circle, Cheng Zhiwei was looked down upon and despised, labeled as Zhou Lin's lapdog who licked her way to the pinnacle of life.
This lapdog, Cheng Zhiwei, no longer played that role.