At the mention of Lu Jingtian, her annoyance faded away as she replied indifferently, “Oh, that. Yeah, I know. She got burned in a fire accident and is currently hospitalized. I visited her some time ago and heard from her doctor that she’s recovering well.”
Even though the two young ladies were besties, their friendship meant nothing in the high society. They could only be considered to be on good terms; they were not so close to the point that they could bare their hearts to each other.
Furthermore, with all the ongoings in her family lately, Song Enya was physically and mentally exhausted. After experiencing a shift in mentality, she no longer paid much heed to the things around her.
“Not that! It’s already been days since this matter happened; Jingtian committed suicide by jumping off a building. Did you know about this?”
She nodded absentmindedly before her head suddenly jerked up and her eyes widened in shock. “What?!”
“Five days ago, she jumped off the hospital’s rooftop and died!”
Her mother continued asking, “The day after is the seventh day of her passing. Her family is planning to hold a farewell ceremony for her. Will you be attending?”
The news came so abruptly that it caught her unprepared and left her gaping in shock.
“How’s that possible? Mom, is that news accurate?”
“Of course!” the middle-aged woman answered. “I was only certain of it when I saw the obituary Huanyu published in the newspaper! It’s the last day of her funeral the day after. You should pay her a last visit since you were on good terms with her when she was still alive.”
“But… I can’t…” the missy hesitantly said. “I’m getting married soon. It’s bad luck to attend a funeral when I’m about to hold a wedding.”
“Well, it’s not anything important, anyway, so it’s fine even if you skip attending her funeral. I’ll just call the Lus to express my condolences and tell them that you’re not feeling well.”
Her head bobbed in agreement.
“I don’t feel well; I’ll head back to my room first.”
Jiang Qimeng chased after her daughter. “Have you taken your dinner? Should I bring it up to you?”
The latter, however, merely ignored her and quietly climbed up the stairs.
As she watched her daughter’s retreating figure, she let out a heavy yet worried sigh.
…
The night sky was as dark as jet-black ink when a bus gradually pulled to a halt at a stop; the doors then slowly opened to reveal a lady who slowly hauled her luggage off the bus.
Not long after, the doors closed behind her and the bus drove off into the distance.
Meng Qingxue lifted her head and took a look at the bus stop sign, which read: Yan City’s Central Platform.
Yan was a small city just a little over two hundred kilometers away from the capital. She had inadvertently come across this station’s name just when she was feeling lost on where to go even after taking several buses.
Yan City[1]—Yancheng.
Just like that, she bought a bus ticket to this city. Before boarding the public transport, she bought herself some bread and water at the bus station so that she could eat and drink them on the road.
It was a bumpy, ten-hour ride. Plus, since she was suffering from morning sickness, the food she ate ultimately got vomited by her.
She was fortunate to receive great care from several female passengers after they learned that she was pregnant, so she did not suffer too much from the journey.
Upon reaching her stop, she alighted to find a village hostel just across the road. Perhaps, due to its long history, the lights at the two corners of the signboard were no longer working.
She looked around her surroundings, realizing that it might be tough for her to flag down a cab at this hour, but in any case, before she found herself a house to stay in, she could only settle down in a hostel for the time being.
[1] City means cheng in Chinese.
