Chapter 27: Little Aunt.027

Chapter 27

The Extreme Challenge is a reality show featuring athletic challenges.

Each episode features a different theme, but the challenges are basically open-air outdoor activities filmed on location. For example, this episode has a horror theme and was filmed at a large abandoned factory on the outskirts of City C.

After getting off the plane and into the car, Song Anan had been sitting in the same position the whole time, head lowered and hands folded in her lap, motionless.

Her white knuckles from tightly clasping her hands together showed how anxious and uneasy she was.

Song Anan was completely lost in her own thoughts and unable to break free.

Her mind was filled with the ending for Song Linchuan in the book. Although the original novel did not describe his sudden death in much detail, there were still a few key pieces of information.

The location where he died was also in City C. That episode had a horror theme as well. While being chased by people in black costumes arranged by the show's crew, he was suddenly frightened by a "woman in red" who appeared out of nowhere, causing his heart to stop suddenly and resulting in his death.

But Song Anan knew that Song Linchuan was very brave and not afraid of ghosts. How could he possibly be scared to death by a "woman in red"?

That's why she mainly attributed the cause of his sudden death to his own physical condition, which is why she took him to get a physical exam.

But now Song Anan had a terrifying thought—could this be the plot correcting itself?

She had brought Song Linchuan to avoid the original storyline by participating in this lifestyle show, but the male lead from the original book just happened to appear on this show.

Although the female lead had not shown up yet, a supporting character who was not originally supposed to appear in the show had.

Now Song Linchuan had come as a guest to participate in this extreme variety show.

A term suddenly flashed through Song Anan's mind—destiny!

The sense of destiny from the original book.

Even if the plot deviated, Song Linchuan would still encounter the people he was destined to meet, and they appeared at the same points in time.

Did this not also mean that Song Linchuan's sudden death ending was not something that could be easily avoided just by hiding from it?

Thinking of this possibility, Song Anan suddenly felt a chill reach to her bones, and her whole body couldn't help but tremble.

No!

Things definitely weren't like that. She couldn't scare herself. Since the plot could change, the ending could also be altered.

She still had time to stop all of this. As long as she helped Song Linchuan get through this catastrophe in the original book, then the subsequent plot would have nothing to do with the book anymore.

Wouldn't that mean Song Linchuan had truly escaped his fate in the book?

After finding out Song Linchuan had gone to film this extreme variety show, the first thing Song Anan did was call him to try to stop him, but she couldn't get through.

It wasn't until Pei Kuang contacted Jiang Han that she found out Song Linchuan had already entered the filming location, and the show required guests to turn off their phones during filming, which was why she couldn't reach him.

Song Anan didn't care about all that at this point. She immediately told Jiang Han to get him out of the show, although she herself couldn't come up with a coherent reason why.

In the end, it was Pei Kuang who came up with an excuse to smooth things over, saying there was an emergency at home and they urgently needed to contact Song Linchuan.

Only then did Jiang Han agree and say he would discuss pausing filming with the director.

But for some reason, even though they were already in City C, Jiang Han still hadn't gotten back to them. They couldn't even reach him by phone, which made Song Anan more and more anxious.

"You still can't get through to Jiang Han?" Song Anan asked Pei Kuang anxiously.

Pei Kuang didn't speak. He took out his phone and dialed Jiang Han's number again. The other end gave an unavailable tone once more.

Song Anan became even more restless.

Pei Kuang patted her arm to reassure her, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Brother Jiang said he'd call us when he had news."

He didn't know why Song Anan had reacted so strongly upon hearing Song Linchuan went to film The Extreme Challenge.

But from his understanding of her these past few days, he knew Song Anan was not the type to make a fuss over nothing. She must have her reasons for doing this, which is why he rushed over to City C with her right away.

As for what those reasons were, since she didn't say, Pei Kuang didn't ask.

Song Anan felt like her heart was on fire, unable to calm down at all. "Master, how much longer until we arrive? Can we drive faster?"

The driver was also made nervous by the atmosphere in the car. "The airport is in eastern City C. You want to go to western City C. If traffic is smooth, it will take about an hour more, but if we hit congestion then I can't say."

Eastern and western City C were separated by the entire expanse of City C, so the distance was quite far.

Hearing it would take so long, Song Anan became even more anxious. But she also knew getting impatient now wouldn't help. She could only watch the scenery outside the window anxiously, wishing she could sprout wings and fly over immediately.

Just then, her phone suddenly rang.

Song Anan didn't even have time to check the caller ID. She immediately answered the call.

"Jiang Han, what's the situation?" she asked anxiously.

There was a brief pause on the other end, then the voice that responded was not Jiang Han's. Geett the latest novels at novelhall.com

"Auntie Anan, it's me."

Song Anan froze and pulled the phone away from her ear to look at it.

It was Qi MuShi.

"Auntie Anan, how is Brother Linchuan? I saw online that he had an accident while filming a show and was taken to the hospital. He's okay, right?"

Song Anan's mind went blank with a buzz.

It took her several seconds to react. When she finally responded, her voice was nearly broken: "Hos...pital?"

"Yes! It's trending on social media. I sent Brother Linchuan a WeChat message but he didn't reply, so I called you..."

The entire corridor outside the operating room was deathly silent.

Pei Kuang sat next to Song Anan when he suddenly heard a 'drip' sound.

He turned to look and saw a teardrop had landed on the back of Song Anan's hand.

Then two drops, three drops... She was crying soundlessly.

Pei Kuang thought for a moment before standing up and walking over in front of her. He gently patted her back to comfort her.

Hearing the movement, Song Anan slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were wet, tears swirling around.

She seemed extremely aggrieved.

Pei Kuang hesitated for a second.

The next moment, Song Anan burst into loud sobs.

She then rushed into his arms, crying louder and louder.

Pei Kuang's body stiffened. Song Linchuan's words from last night suddenly flashed through his mind.

"My auntie has been a crybaby since she was little. When she starts crying, she's impossible to console."

He looked at the auntie in his arms who was crying inconsolably, and silently sighed.

Indeed impossible to console.

Furthermore, Pei Kuang really lacked experience comforting people. He could only pat her back lightly and let her vent it all out.

He had witnessed just how panicked Song Anan was the whole drive over.

Who knew how long she cried for, but eventually Song Anan's sobs grew softer.

However, her shoulders still shuddered as she continued sniffling.

Just as Pei Kuang was about to say something to comfort her more, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from the other end of the corridor.

Jiang Han was in front, followed by a middle-aged couple.

The man had an aura of authority and prestige that comes with being in a high position, while the woman exuded an air of elegance and nobility. One could tell at a glance that they were no ordinary people.

The woman walked straight towards them. "Anan, you must have been so frightened. Don't worry, it's alright now, sister-in-law is here."

Song Anan lifted her head from Pei Kuang's embrace. Seeing the newcomer, her eyes brimmed with tears again. "Sister-in-law, Linchuan is injured."

The new arrivals were none other than Song Linchuan's parents, Song Anan's elder brother and sister-in-law, Song Zhenhui and Zhao Ya.

Realizing their identities, Pei Kuang relinquished the girl in his arms to Zhao Ya and took a few steps back.

He then nodded to Song Zhenhui beside him. "Uncle."

Song Zhenhui lightly nodded back. "Thanks for your trouble."

Pei Kuang shook his head but said nothing more.

Perhaps it was the sight of her family, but Song Anan started weeping again. "Brother, sister-in-law, it's all my fault. I didn't take good care of Linchuan."

Seeing Song Anan so distraught, Zhao Ya's heart ached. "How could it be your fault? He's a grown man..."

She had meant to scold Song Anan, but swallowed her words at the thought of her son still in surgery.

But seeing her young sister-in-law so upset brought tears to her eyes too.

Truth be told, this incident had nothing to do with Song Anan. Even if it did, Zhao Ya could not bear to blame her.

Song Anan was an unexpected pregnancy when Song's mother was 48. By then, Song Linchuan was already 7 years old.

Song's parents had married young, and his mother gave birth to eldest son Song Zhenhui at 19.

Coincidentally, Zhao Ya and Song Zhenhui were childhood sweethearts who also married and had children early. This resulted in Song Linchuan being 7 years older than Song Anan.

To Zhao Ya, although Song Anan was her sister-in-law, she had raised Song Anan like her own daughter and loved her dearly.

In fact, the whole Song family doted on Song Anan.

Just then, the surgery room lights went off. Shortly after, the surgeon emerged.

"The surgery went smoothly. The patient will be moved to the ward soon. With proper rest and recuperation, he will recover."

Hearing this, everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief.

As long as he was alright, nothing else mattered.

In the ward, they waited for the patient to regain consciousness as the doctor had instructed.

Before long, Song Linchuan slowly opened his eyes.

The anesthesia had just worn off and he had little strength.

He scanned the room before his gaze landed on Song Anan's swollen eyes. His own eyes flashed angrily.

"Pei Kuang! How could you let my auntie cry like this? I trusted you to take care of her!"

An awkward silence descended in the room.

Everyone else: "..."

Somehow, those words sounded rather inappropriate.