Plunder-Chapter 186 Zhou Jin’an is in trouble
In his entire life, Zhou Jin’an had never been so devoted to a person.
For a man as outstanding as he, winning a woman’s affection was the easiest thing in the world.
But the appearance of Qiao En shattered his established rules, he wanted to share life and death with this person.
In the middle of the night, Auntie Jiang woke up.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Qiao En lying beside her bed, sound asleep.
The regained kinship stirred a sour sensation in her heart.
She slowly reached out her hand to rest on Qiao En’s head, her withered fingers gently stroking her hair.
Just then, Qiao En suddenly awoke.
"I’m sorry, did I wake you up?"
The unshed tears in Auntie Jiang’s eyes, hurriedly apologizing.
Qiao En clasped Auntie Jiang’s hand, "Mom, you didn’t."
This "Mom" didn’t sound awkward; after twenty-five years, it had become exceptionally significant.
"Mom, can you hug me?"
"Okay."
Auntie Jiang opened her arms, and Qiao En rested her head against Auntie Jiang’s chest.
The strong heartbeat of the mother gave Qiao En an immense sense of comfort.
"Mom, let’s never be apart again."
"I’m sorry, Mom didn’t protect you back then."
Auntie Jiang choked up, apologizing once more.
"Don’t blame yourself, you were a victim too."
Qiao En comforted.
Auntie Jiang nodded heavily; now reunited with Qiao En, her thoughts returned to the other child.
Thinking of the child sent to the orphanage, whereabouts unknown, her tears started to flow again.
"Yayun, no matter what, Mom has to find that child. Only by finding her, will our family truly be reunited."
About the matter of Su Nian, Qiao En didn’t tell Auntie Jiang a word.
"We will, we’ll definitely find her."
Eventually, Auntie Jiang suddenly asked, "Have you considered marrying Director Zhou? Yayun, you are not young anymore. If he’s sincere about you, Mom hopes you can have a home."
"Mom, I’m sleepy, I want to sleep a little longer."
Qiao En acted coquettishly, lying in Auntie Jiang’s arms, pretending to be asleep.
"You, although smart, can be quite foolish."
Auntie Jiang doted on Qiao En; seeing that she didn’t wish to answer, she didn’t press further.
Latter on, Qiao En actually fell asleep.
After that, day broke.
As dawn broke, someone came to the hospital room carrying a bunch of high-end gifts.
"What is this all about?"
Qiao En was surprised. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
The person replied following instructions, "These are from Director Zhou, we’re just delivering as told."
Qiao En sent a message to Zhou Jin’an, but he didn’t reply.
At that time, she wasn’t clear about what exactly Zhou Jin’an was up to.
But half an hour later, Zhou Jin’an appeared in the hospital room.
He approached Qiao En with a gigantic bouquet of roses but what she received was not a surprise, but a shock.
"Zhou Jin’an, what are you doing?"
Qiao En went up to him, grabbed his arm, and started pushing him out.
"Wait a moment."
Zhou Jin’an put down the bouquet, walked towards Auntie Jiang.
"Auntie, hello, I would like to marry your daughter..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Qiao En forcefully dragged him out.
"Zhou Jin’an, come out!"
Auntie Jiang leaned against the headboard, smilingly watching it all unfold.
"Go on, go on!"
And so, Zhou Jin’an’s marriage proposal declaration ended before it began, nipped in the bud.
"Zhou Jin’an, you’re being too impulsive."
Qiao En didn’t stop until she had pushed him into the elevator.
"I’m not being impulsive, I’ve thought it through for a long time."
"No, you are impulsive."
Qiao En forcefully interrupted Zhou Jin’an.
"Qiao En, please stop running away, okay? I don’t want us to always be in a state of turmoil. I love you, and you love me, don’t you? Since we love each other, why not get married?"
Zhou Jin’an looked at Qiao En with a troubled face, eager to define their relationship.
Qiao En was silent, like a trapped beast battering against the walls of its cage.
Why not get married?
She could not give a reason.
But why must they get married?
"I need time to think things through."
This time, she still chose to be an ostrich, burying her head in the sand.
She couldn’t tell Zhou Jin’an that after losing that child, she harbored fear toward any relationship.
"What do you need to think about?"
Zhou Jin’an was relentless.
He did not want to push Qiao En, but without prodding her forward, he feared they would part ways once more.
An Kexin’s arrival had plunged him into a great sense of crisis.
She had gotten plastic surgery to look like Qiao En; this was definitely not a joke.
Previously, when Qiao En was hurt, he hadn’t stood firmly by her side to protect and cherish her.
But this time, he wanted to offer her all the protection she needed in the name of marriage.
"I need to consider a lot of things. Mr. Zhou, can you give me some time, please?"
Even now, Qiao En was still resisting.
Eventually, Zhou Jin’an compromised.
"Alright, I’ll give you time to think, Qiao En. I will wait for you right here, for the rest of my life, I won’t marry any other woman but you."
He took a deep breath and left, feeling defeated.
Qiao En remained standing there for a long, long time, her heart not at peace.
Guilt and gloom accumulated inside her all at once.
"He came to propose, why did you stop him?"
As soon as Qiao En returned to her hospital room, Auntie Jiang couldn’t help but interrogate her.
Zhou Jin’an had come prepared, bringing enough gifts for the proposal.
The items were still there, but his words had barely begun before they were abruptly cut off by Qiao En.
"Mom, I’m really scared."
In front of Auntie Jiang, Qiao En revealed her cowardly side.
"Silly child."
Auntie Jiang gently patted Qiao En’s back. Her hands might have been frail, but her strokes were gentle, as if magical, soothing all the wounds in Qiao En’s heart.
"It’s because of that child, isn’t it? You blame him, right? Yayun, listen to Mom, there are many accidents in life that can’t be avoided. Don’t always focus on what you’ve lost; you also need to look at what you have."
"Your mother was so immersed in the pain of losing you all that she couldn’t pull herself out of it, which hurt your father greatly. When he chose to leave, I didn’t blame him at all. Yayun, Mom is telling you this because she hopes you understand how to cherish the person in front of you."
That was the first time Auntie Jiang had mentioned Qiao En’s father to her.
"Do you have any regrets?"
Qiao En asked.
Auntie Jiang let out a long sigh, "Of course, I have regrets. He was a good person, warm and steadfast. If those things hadn’t happened back then, our family of four would have been very happy."
"Was he good to you? I mean your husband afterward."
Auntie Jiang showed a bitter smile, "In married life, there’s no absolute good or bad. I made my own choices, and I should take responsibility for them."
Auntie Jiang’s words had a huge impact on Qiao En.
But asking her to make a decision now, she still couldn’t.
The past is in the past, but the hurt and pain have never been forgotten.
In midnight dreams, those events, those people, would all reappear one after another.
Time unknowingly passed by for quite some days.
Auntie Jiang’s condition improved; she wanted to be discharged from the hospital.
Zhou Jin’an took the initiative to take care of the transportation.
Just as Qiao En finished the discharge procedures, it started to rain.
The sky was obscured by the rain, everything within sight shrouded in mist.
Cheng Lu was driving the car, crawling along the road at a snail’s pace.
"Director Zhou, should we stop by the side of the road for a while? It’s too dangerous now."
"No, let’s continue moving forward, we’re almost there."
Zhou Jin’an glanced at the time; they were only about fifteen minutes away from the hospital, and he didn’t want Qiao En to wait any longer.
Cheng Lu continued driving.
But the weather that day was really too bad. Just as their car reached the traffic light intersection, an out-of-control SUV suddenly came barreling toward them head-on.
Cheng Lu noticed the danger and quickly steered the wheel to avoid it.
But it was already too late.
A loud "bang" echoed as the SUV forcefully collided with the Maybach.
