My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 39.2

“Tao Ran.” Tao Yizhang’s deep voice came through the phone, instantly feeling like it was strangling Tao Ran’s neck.

Tao Yizhang chuckled. “Have you sent Ningxue off on her flight yet?”

Tao Ran glanced at Tao Ningxue beside her. “Not yet. There’s traffic ahead, we’re stuck on the highway.”

“Lu City often has traffic jams. I used to get stuck on the highway all the time when I was in the country.”

Tao Yizhang’s sudden small talk immediately put Tao Ran on guard. Tao Yizhang was not the kind of good father who would call his daughter to chat and care about whether she had boarded her flight.

Something unusual must be happening.

“Too many cars easily lead to accidents, and accidents cause traffic jams. By the way, which highway are you stuck on?” Tao Yizhang suddenly asked.

“The Weining Highway that leads to North City Airport.”

Tao Yizhang paused, then said meaningfully, “If I remember correctly, that little girl named Zuo Xian is also on her way to North City Airport now.”

Tao Ran’s hand holding the phone trembled violently, her pupils widened. She struggled to steady her voice, saying hoarsely, “What do you mean…”

“Nothing. I just hope the one who got into a car accident isn’t her. I heard that in the rear-end collision on Weining Highway, the mother died instantly, and the daughter… is of unknown status.”

The man’s deep voice in her ear sounded like it came from hell, sneering, shrieking. A giant rock plummeted in Tao Ran’s heart, corroded inch by inch by a sulfuric acid-like liquid.

Tao Ran lowered her head and licked her dry lips. The nerves in her brain were tightly stretched, and she barely maintained her last shred of reason.

Her voice was slightly hoarse, “Father, you don’t need to use Zuo Xian to test me. She… is just a playmate by my side. It’s not worth going to such lengths for her.”

“Hmph.” Tao Yizhang’s smile held a hint of shallow mockery. “Is that so? That’s good. I was worried that if I accidentally killed someone, you’d throw a fit, which would inevitably harm our father-daughter relationship. Since she’s just a playmate, then it doesn’t matter.”

“Beep beep beep…”

A twisted, grotesque purple lightning bolt flashed overhead, and the beeping sound of the phone being hung up was like a hammer striking her eardrums. Tao Ran’s face instantly turned pale.

“What did Tao Yizhang say to you? Why that expression?”

Tao Ran’s brain didn’t seem to have fully processed it yet. She said blankly, “He made his move…”

Tao Ningxue’s mind quickly turned, and she guessed her meaning, frowning tightly. “You need to calm down. This is the domestic country, not Country D. It’s not that easy for him to do whatever he wants.”

But at the moment, Tao Ran couldn’t hear a word Tao Ningxue was saying. A ringing sound filled her ears, and her eyes focused on the tightly packed queue of cars ahead.

She had only one thought—Zuo Xian was in trouble.

Feeling dizzy, her vision momentarily blacked out. Tao Ran dialed Zuo Xian’s number.

“Beep… beep… beep…”

No answer.

She called again.

Still no connection.

It’s really… really her.

Tao Ran stood still for a moment, then the next second, she quickly opened the car door and rushed out.

The rumbling thunder came one after another, and the urgent car horns blared incessantly. Many drivers poked their heads out of their windows, cursing angrily.

On the highway, four cars had rear-ended each other. At this moment, several drivers were arguing fiercely, their faces red, over who held the most responsibility.

The last two cars were quite badly damaged and likely couldn’t be driven. In contrast, Zuo Zhimi’s car, which was the first to be rear-ended, was not too seriously damaged.

However, for safety, both mother and daughter had gotten out of the car.

Traffic police had just arrived at the scene and were trying to understand the situation. The tow truck was still on its way.

“I’ll pay, it’s not a big deal. We can settle this privately or however, but I’m in a hurry.”

Zuo Zhimi rubbed her forehead, looking at the arguing people, wondering why they hadn’t reached a conclusion after arguing for so long.

“What do you mean? Do you think you have no responsibility? As the first car in the chain, you might bear the main responsibility!” The driver of the fourth car pointed at Zuo Zhimi’s nose and shouted.

Zuo Zhimi originally didn’t want to waste time on the road. She was already frustrated about the car accident and potentially being late to pick up Zuo Zhifan and her daughter. Being yelled at by the driver made her temper flare up.

“I bear the main responsibility? I was driving properly, what did I do to deserve this? Weren’t you the ones who crashed into me?!”

The traffic police quickly intervened, physically separating the arguing drivers. Zuo Xian also went up to hold her mother back.

“Mom, calm down. The most important thing for us now is to go pick up Auntie and the others.”

Given the weather, which looked like it was about to pour rain, if they kept arguing, all of them would likely be drenched.

“Alright, alright. Wait for the tow truck to take the cars away, and then you all can go to the traffic police station to argue,” the traffic police were also having a headache and stepped in to mediate.

However, those male drivers seemed to be in the late stages of road rage. If the police hadn’t been there, they probably would have started fighting.

Zuo Zhimi said to Zuo Xian behind her, “Xianzai, call Aunt Li and ask her to go to North City Airport to pick up Zuo Zhifan and her daughter, then explain our situation so they don’t worry.”

“Got it.” Zuo Xian patted her pocket, then remembered her phone was in the car. She turned back to retrieve it.

As soon as she opened her phone, she found two missed calls from Tao Ran. Thinking that getting Aunt Li to the airport was more important, so her aunt and the others wouldn’t wait too long, she called Aunt Li first.

Then, she returned Tao Ran’s call. It rang twice before it was picked up.

“Hello? A-Xian!” When the phone was answered, Tao Ran’s breathing was heavy, her voice extremely shaky, as if she were about to cry.

Zuo Xian’s heart jumped. ” Ranran, what’s wrong?”

“You… you’re okay?” Tao Ran was stunned for a moment, then let out a laugh of relief, as if she had narrowly escaped disaster.

“We got rear-ended on the highway, four cars in a chain, but I’m fine,” Zuo Xian briefly explained, then asked, ” Ranran, did something happen?”

Only Tao Ran’s faint panting remained on the line. She was silent for a long time, then sighed in relief and smiled.

In that smile seemed to hide a sense of profound relief that Zuo Xian couldn’t yet grasp.

“It’s good that you’re fine. I… I’m fine too.”

The tow truck had arrived on her end. A large raindrop suddenly landed on Zuo Xian’s arm. She froze for a moment, and then the rain instantly intensified.

Not far away, Zuo Zhimi waved her over, urging her to get into the car quickly. Zuo Xian hurriedly said, “It’s raining. My mom and I probably need to go to the traffic police station now. I’m hanging up, okay?”

“…Okay.”

Listening to the dial tone, raindrops like bullets struck Tao Ran, instantly drenching her through, like a stray dog.

She lowered her phone and took heavy steps, walking back one step at a time.

The rain soaked her clothes, which felt like iron chains, tightly binding and dragging down the slender girl, almost suffocating her. The wound on her back faintly ached.

Many people on the highway raised their phones to film her, but Tao Ran completely ignored them, walking back with her head down, the rain washing down her forehead and cheek.

She walked back silently and quietly to where she had left the car, opened the door, and got in.

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror and quickly raised the partition, giving the two women some privacy.

The current Tao Ran had none of the ‘Little CEO’ poise of remaining calm amidst a crashing mountain. Her soaked hair clung to her pale cheeks, and not a single part of her body was dry.

More alarming than her rain-soaked disarray were her lost and helpless eyes. The black pupils were dull, permeated with lifeless stillness.

Tao Ningxue looked at her, a hint of empathy for her misfortune flashing in her eyes.

“Tao Yizhang just called me,” Tao Ningxue’s voice was slightly dry.

Tao Ran’s eyes moved. “Hmm.”

The moment she opened the car door and rushed out; Tao Ran had already realized that she would be seen through by Tao Yizhang.

Tao Ningxue looked out the window, somewhat unable to bear saying the rest of the words. “He said… he didn’t expect you to care about Zuo Xian even more than he imagined. This was just a test. He wants you to break it off completely as soon as possible, while he still has patience, and then return to Country D.”

The latter half was almost Tao Yizhang’s original words. Tao Ningxue sighed, “You’ve caught his eye, and he won’t let you go so easily. We can’t fight Tao Yizhang yet. For the sake of your little girlfriend…”

Tao Ningxue looked at the increasingly red-rimmed eyes of Tao Ran. She opened and closed her lips, and finally said, “Break up. Be heartless, don’t leave her any hope. It’ll be better for both of you.”

“Break up…” Tao Ran, contrary to expectations, started to laugh. She laughed and trembled, rain mixing with scalding tears as they slid down.

Amidst the dull sound of the rain, her laughter sounded especially desolate, almost like crying.

The usually smooth-talking Tao Ningxue also fell silent, watching her quietly, her dyed eyebrows furrowed, looking somewhat helpless.

After a long while, Tao Ran buried her face in her palms. She didn’t continue laughing.

She whispered, “We haven’t started dating yet.”

Nothing had even begun.

They hadn’t even confessed their feelings to each other.

Tao Ningxue was somewhat relieved. “Isn’t that perfect? At least you won’t be seen as a heartless player who deceived her. You’re just friends, and it’s completely normal to gradually drift apart and become distant.”

“Just friends…” Tao Ran instinctively frowned. Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by a large hand, hurting terribly.

Regret.

Boundless regret spread in her heart. Tao Ran couldn’t help but hate herself, wondering why she had to approach Tao Yizhang for the sake of the Tao Corporation.

Now, the price of her greed had come.

Was it too late for her to back out now?

The Tao Corporation, shares, assets—she didn’t want any of it. All she wanted was for Zuo Xian to be safe, and for her to be free to stay by Zuo Xian’s side.

Yes, she didn’t want any of it.

Tao Ningxue patted Tao Ran’s shoulder, pulling her wandering thoughts back, and said seriously for once, “Tao Ran, you need to know the priorities.”

“Priorities?” Tao Ran said with red eyes, “It was because I couldn’t distinguish the priorities before that led to the current situation. Now I know what is important and what is not, Tao Ningxue.”

“It’s too late for you to regret now,” Tao Ningxue saw her inclination to retreat and said in a heavy voice. “Tao Ran, you’ve already entered the game and offended so many people. No one will allow you to leave now!”

“Even if Jiang Ningxiu can protect you for a while, are you willing to hide under her wing and let her truly protect you for a lifetime?! Even if you are safe, what about Zuo Xian? What about Zuo Xian’s mother? Her mother also runs a company and does business. Do you think if you run away, she can escape the retaliation?!”

Tao Ran listened blankly, the light in her eyes dimming inch by inch.

A burning sensation rose from the wound on her back, as if fierce flames were scorching her beating heart through her skin and flesh.

She was too late.