Chapter 389: The Gathering Storm

Without them realizing it, their conversation shifted from the recent personnel changes back to casual chatter and laughter.

DING DONG DING DONG…

The doorbell rang, and Qi Jiaseng quickly stood up from the sofa.

“Is that Xiaoxin and the others back?”

Qi Guowei didn’t get up, asking casually.

“It’s not Xiaoxin and the others.”

“It’s my father-in-law and mother-in-law.”

Qi Jiaseng replied as he opened the door.

“Oh?”

“Our in-laws are here?”

Qi Guowei was taken aback for a moment. He exchanged a look with Tang Jinghui, and then both men stood up from the sofa and walked toward the door.

Qi Guowei joined Qi Jiaseng at the door to welcome them. Seeing the bags in their hands, he smiled and greeted them warmly, “You’ve come all this way, you shouldn’t have brought gifts!”

“It’s not every day we come all the way from Yanjing. We couldn’t possibly show up empty-handed.”

Qi Jiaseng’s father-in-law, Qiu Yanfeng, replied with a smile as he changed into slippers.

Compared to the imposing Qi Guowei, who commanded respect without showing anger, Qiu Yanfeng seemed more like Qi Jiaseng’s biological father. Both men had a refined and gentle demeanor. Similarly, Qiu Yanfeng’s wife, Qi Jiaseng’s mother-in-law Zheng Hanliu, also carried a scholarly air about her.

“Ah…”

“We have everything we need at home.”

“Just having you here is the best gift.”

Qi Guowei took the bags from Qiu Yanfeng’s hands as they exchanged pleasantries.

“It’s our eldest grandson’s birthday. No matter how busy we are, we had to come.”

Qiu Yanfeng stepped inside and glanced around, then paused. “Aren’t Xiaoxin and your wife home yet?”

“No, they aren’t.”

Qi Guowei shook his head.

“That’s not right.”

Zheng Hanliu frowned. “Twenty minutes ago, I called Xiaoxin to ask. She said they’d be home in ten minutes at the most. We’re here now, so how come they haven’t arrived?”

“Xiaosheng, give Xiaoxin a call and ask where they are.”

Qi Guowei immediately instructed Qi Jiaseng, then ushered Qiu Yanfeng and his wife toward the living room. “It’s snowing today. They’re probably stuck in traffic somewhere.”

Qi Jiaseng followed the elders inside while calling his wife.

However, he called twice in a row, and no one answered.

Qi Jiaseng’s brow furrowed slightly. He then called Tang Ziheng, but again, there was no answer.

This time, Qi Jiaseng’s brows knitted together tightly.

He and Tang Ziheng had grown up together. Their families were friends for generations, and the two were like brothers.

Ever since Tang Ziheng became his father’s secretary, his phone was kept on and reachable 24/7. It was unheard of for a call not to go through.

“Dad, I think something’s wrong.”

Qi Jiaseng strode quickly to the group and said to the elders, “I just made several calls to Xiaoxin and Ziheng, but no one is picking up.”

“None of the calls went through?”

Qi Guowei paused, his own brow creasing.

“Mom didn’t pick up either.”

As Qi Jiaseng was reporting to Qi Guowei, he had also tried calling his mother, but there was still no answer.

Three people, all unreachable.

Even someone as composed as Qi Jiaseng couldn’t help but show a trace of anxiety.

BUZZ BUZZ…

Just then, Qi Jiaseng’s phone suddenly rang.

Qi Jiaseng glanced at the caller ID. Seeing it was a call back from his wife, Qiu Yuexin, he answered immediately.

“Yue Xin, I was just calling you…”

Qi Jiaseng’s words caught in his throat, and his face suddenly turned deathly pale.

“Yes, yes, yes!”

“I’m Qiu Yuexin’s husband!”

Seeing the sudden change in Qi Jiaseng’s expression and hearing the panicked, helpless tremor in his voice, everyone else’s face grew heavy.

“Jilin University Ninth Hospital, right?”

“Okay, okay, okay!”

“We’re on our way!”

“I’m begging you, please do everything you can!”

“Please, I’m counting on you!”

When Qi Guowei and the others heard Qi Jiaseng mention the word “hospital,” their already grave expressions shifted again. Before Qi Jiaseng had even hung up, Qi Guowei was already raising his own phone to make a call.

“This is Qi Guowei!”

“Get two cars ready for me immediately!”

“I need to get to Jilin University Ninth Hospital as fast as possible!”

Qi Guowei commanded in a low, firm voice.

The father and son hung up almost simultaneously. Zheng Hanliu immediately asked anxiously, “Jia Sheng, what happened?”

“Xiaoxin and the others were in a car accident.”

“While they were driving, they were hit and overturned by a speeding heavy-duty truck.”

“The truck fled the scene. After being overturned, the car Xiaoxin and the others were in quickly caught fire and exploded.”

At this, Qi Jiaseng took a deep breath. “Luckily, a Good Samaritan was there. That person risked their life to pull all four of them out of the car. Otherwise, they would have all died in that explosion today.”

A heavy-duty truck!

Spontaneous combustion and explosion!

Hearing Qi Jiaseng’s description, even though they were all powerful and influential figures, they still felt their hearts pound with terror.

“How are Xiaoxin and the others?”

Qi Guowei pressed. “Are they injured?”

“Ziheng has multiple fractures all over his body, but his life isn’t in danger.”

As Qi Jiaseng said this, Tang Jinghui, whose face had been extremely grave, let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. ‘I was scared to death just now,’ he thought. ‘If anything had really happened to Tang Ziheng, I don’t know how I would’ve faced my late wife after I’m gone.’

“Xiaoxin and Mom were in the back seat and both were wearing seatbelts. Neither of them is seriously hurt, just some minor scrapes. Xiaoxin regained consciousness at the scene, but Mom is still unconscious.”

“Zhengzheng was in the very back, in a child safety seat, so he’s also fine.”

“But the Good Samaritan…”

“…has two burns on their body, and more seriously, two life-threatening penetrating wounds.”

“Their life is in critical condition right now. They’re being treated at Jilin University Ninth Hospital.”

As Qi Jiaseng finished, the rims of his eyes turned red.

“Dad!”

“No matter what it takes!”

“This person must be saved!”

“He saved four of our family’s lives!”

“If it weren’t for him, Xiaoxin and the others might already be…”

Qi Jiaseng’s voice choked. Just thinking about that possibility made his heart clench as if being twisted by a knife, and a faint sense of suffocation washed over him.

‘What would that have meant?’

‘Losing my wife!’

‘Losing my mother!’

‘Losing my son!’

‘Losing my brother!’

No matter how prominent his background was, a blow like that would be an unbearable weight to carry through life.

“You don’t need to tell me that.”

“Even if our family has to sell everything we own, we must save him!”

Qi Guowei said, grabbing his phone and starting to make calls.

“Liu Hall, this is Qi Guowei.”

“I have something I need to ask of you…”

While Qi Guowei was on his phone, Tang Jinghui, Qiu Yanfeng, and Zheng Hanliu weren’t idle either. They all grabbed their phones and started making calls as well.

“Brother Chen, this is Qiu Yanfeng.”

“My daughter was in a car accident, and I need your help…”

“Director Deng, this is Tang Jinghui.”

“Something’s happened with the family. I need to ask for your help…”

As Qi Guowei and the others made one call after another from the house, an invisible storm began to brew within Ji Province. It was impossible to know how many people were stirred into action, or how many cast their concerned gazes in their direction.

“The cars are here.”

“Let’s get to the hospital, quickly.”

From the moment Qi Guowei made the first call to the arrival of the vehicles at his front door, no more than five minutes had passed.

Everyone scrambled, heading out of the villa at once.

Stepping out of the house, they saw two Hongqi executive sedans parked at the entrance, with a police car positioned at the front and another at the back.

“Qi Province…”

The man in charge saw Qi Guowei and the others exit the house and started to step forward with a greeting, but Qi Guowei cut him off directly. “Jilin University Ninth Hospital emergency room. Turn on the sirens, implement traffic control, and get me there as fast as you can, safely!”

“Yes, sir!”

Hearing this, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but feel a shiver of apprehension.

‘As far as I know,’ he thought, ‘Qi Guowei is always low-key and never asks his subordinates to arrange special privileges for him. For him to directly order sirens and a cleared path… it just shows how urgent this situation is.’

‘Even if it’s against regulations, with Qi Guowei’s status, no one would dare question such a small indulgence, especially when there’s clearly a good reason for it.’

Everyone quickly got into the cars, and the four-vehicle convoy sped out of the Provincial Family Courtyard.

The convoy had barely left the Provincial Family Courtyard when the sirens on the front and rear police cars blared to life. At the same time, along the route to the Jilin University Ninth Hospital emergency room, all the traffic lights instantly turned green…