Out Of Control All The Way - Chapter 1

Late April in Beijing still carried a hint of chill, and the evening rush hour traffic was as congested as ever.

Neon lights flickered outside the car windows, greeting the throngs of commuters heading home.

The car ahead began to inch forward. The driver tapped the accelerator, and the vehicle crept ahead a couple of meters before stopping again.

Shang Shixu hung up his phone, listening to the incessant chorus of honking horns outside the window with a wave of irritation.

Getting off work on time was never his style. There was a mountain of company matters waiting to be handled, a new project about to kick off, and worst of all, having to squeeze through this evening rush hour traffic.

It was just that the old man was back today, so he had to go home for dinner.

Sensing his impatience, the driver, Xia Xinsheng, pressed a couple of buttons on the center console, and the magnetic voice of a radio host poured out from the speakers.

During this Friday evening rush hour, Qingfu Road is experiencing exceptional congestion. Please exercise caution or detour.

Xia Xinsheng changed the station, and soothing music filled the radio, though the sounds did little to ease Shang Shixu’s irritable mood.

He reached into his pocket and touched nothing, only to remember he had left his cigarette case sitting on his office desk.

Glancing out the window, he spotted a convenience store not far ahead down the road. Given the crawling traffic, it would take at least five minutes just to creep over there.

Shang Shixu estimated the time, exchanged a brief word with his driver, and prepared to step out to buy a pack of cigarettes first.

His hand touched the car door, pushing it open halfway before he had even lifted his foot, when a piercing screech of brakes pierced his eardrums.

The car door in his grip shook with a violent impact, letting out a sharp bang.

Shang Shixu quickly assessed the situation. Looking out through the window, he saw a motorcycle.

Panicked, Xia Xinsheng pulled the handbrake firmly, hit the hazard lights, unbuckled his seatbelt, and opened the door to check on the situation.

When Shang Shixu stepped out, he saw a motorcycle lying on its side to the right of their car. The rider was picking himself up from the ground, while Xia Xinsheng hurried over to check if he was all right.

The rider looked a bit dazed, standing frozen for a good long while before his wits returned. He looked through his helmet at his motorcycle, then turned his gaze to the car door he had just clipped.

After pausing for a couple of seconds, he took off his helmet to catch his breath.

The man was quite good-looking, rugged and handsome, particularly blessed with a pair of exceptionally clear, striking eyes that immediately caught Shang Shixu’s attention.

Xia Xinsheng asked anxiously, “Sir, are you injured? Do you need us to take you to the hospital?”

Yet the first words out of the other man’s mouth were directed straight at Shang Shixu: “You’re entirely at fault.”

The incident had indeed happened because Shang Shixu hadn’t checked the traffic conditions before opening his car door. His responsibility was undeniable.

Shang Shixu nodded. “My apologies. Whatever losses you’ve incurred, I will compensate you in full.”

Jiang Muzhou had been having a rough streak lately. Nothing seemed to be going his way.

A business partnership had been deliberately low-balled and shelved by the other party, and stepping outside had thrown him right into the evening rush hour.

Fortunately, he was riding a motorcycle; aside from traffic lights, the congested cars couldn’t block his path at all.

He had been riding along the right side of the road, weaving through the gaps between slow-moving vehicles, brushing past cars whose drivers were stuck and honking their horns in frustration.

Suddenly, a car door swung open without the slightest warning, catching him completely off guard.

Though he braked in time, by the time he registered what happened, he had already been flung to the pavement.

Cursing under his breath, he got back to his feet intending to demand an explanation, but the moment he swept a glance over the other car, his bravado instantly deflated.

A Rolls-Royce Phantom. Under the dim streetlights, even with poor visibility, the patch of scraped-off paint on the door looked like a glaring scar.

Jiang Muzhou frowned. Talk about terrible luck. If he had known, he should have listened to Tong Hui’s advice and gone to a temple to pray away his recent run of bad luck.

The cars ahead started creeping forward, and drivers behind were already blaring their horns impatiently.

Someone poked their head out of a window and yelled, “Hey! Move it to the side if you’re going to sort it out, don’t block the road!”

The driver apologized profusely to the surrounding cars while making a phone call.

Taking advantage of the brief lull, Jiang Muzhou took photos of the vehicle damage as evidence for insurance claims.

Then he bent down, righted his motorcycle, pushed it over to the entrance of the convenience store by the roadside, and squatted down to inspect the damage.

The motorcycle’s headlight and side panel both showed varying degrees of scuffs and cracks.

Jiang Muzhou frowned. Better safe than sorry.

When a person’s bad luck reached a certain extreme, something must be fundamentally wrong.

Lost in thought, he raised his head and caught sight of Shang Shixu waiting nearby.

The convenience store lights outlined Shang Shixu’s sharp, chiseled profile. Dressed in a crisp suit with his hair styled in gel, his innate aura of upper-crust authority made it clear his identity was far from ordinary.

The moment their eyes met, Jiang Muzhou said, “My bike won’t get an official repair estimate until I take it to the shop tomorrow…”

Before he could finish, Shang Shixu interrupted, “Are you okay?”

Given the loud impact and the fall from the motorcycle, there was a high probability he had sustained some injuries.

Perhaps because the other man’s gaze looked genuinely sincere, Jiang Muzhou awkwardly looked away and brushed the dust off his jacket. “I’m fine.”

Shang Shixu nodded, seeing that his driver Xia Xinsheng had already moved the car out of the way, and the two of them simply waited for the traffic police.

Glancing back at the convenience store, he considered whether he should step inside to buy a pack of cigarettes when a cigarette was suddenly offered right in front of him.

“Want one?”

Shang Shixu accepted it. “Thank you.”

Jiang Muzhou lit one for himself and handed over his lighter.

Lighting the cigarette, Shang Shixu took a puff. It had a heavy kick; he usually smoked slims, and this sudden drag of Liqun left him coughing slightly.

Unaccustomed to it, Shang Shixu simply held the lit cigarette between his fingertips. The pungent scent of tobacco lingered around him, helping to calm his racing thoughts.

The two of them stood by the roadside in the breeze, smoking while watching the cars jammed bumper-to-bumper.

After a short while, Xia Xinsheng trotted over. “Mr. Shang, the traffic is too heavy, the police might take a while longer. I’ve flagged down a cab for you. You should head home first, I’ll handle things here.”

Shang Shixu looked at Jiang Muzhou and offered an apology.

Men successful in their careers were presumably always busy, and Jiang Muzhou understood.

Standing beside his motorcycle, he watched as Shang Shixu walked away with the cigarette between his fingers, looking graceful and composed.

The driver clearly knew how to handle people, showing no sign of dodging responsibility, remaining entirely polite, and explaining that his boss genuinely had an urgent matter to attend to.

Jiang Muzhou waved a hand to show he didn’t mind; as long as the matter was handled properly, everything else was secondary.

By the time the traffic police arrived, half an hour had already passed. With neither party disputing the facts, the processing went quickly.

All told, the accident took nearly an hour to sort out.

The driver bade him farewell. “Mr. Jiang, here is my contact information. Just reach out to me directly with whatever the repair costs come out to.”

Jiang Muzhou clamped the cigarette between his teeth, squinting at the business card the driver handed him, Zhongshi Group.

It sounded very familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

Turning his head, he spotted a massive billboard by the roadside, with Zhongshi Group printed in the bottom right corner.

He raised an eyebrow and let out a soft click of his tongue.

Tucking the business card into his jacket pocket, he took one last deep drag of his cigarette before stubbing it out and tossing it into the nearby ashtray trash can.

He swung a leg over his motorcycle, zipped his jacket all the way up, put on his helmet, and roared off into the distance.