Chapter 118: Chapter 117: Young Love
"After I graduated high school, my family couldn’t afford to send me to college. I worked on construction sites, delivered packages, waited tables, and in the end, I couldn’t even come up with the money for my mom’s surgery. What could I do...? What do you want me to do?"
John Shaw yelled at the police, his face flushed with emotion, and he even stood up in agitation.
The police said coldly, "That’s not an excuse for committing a crime! Sit down!"
...
"I never intended to hurt anyone at the start... I just... I was just terrified of being poor. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone..."
After graduating from high school, because his family was too poor to afford his college education, John Shaw went to work at construction sites.
Later, John eventually became a small contractor, borrowed high-interest loans in order to secure a project, and ended up deeply in debt.
Paying off the debt through food delivery and courier services was unrealistic, and he couldn’t even afford his mother’s medical bills, so broke that he couldn’t pull a single penny from his pocket.
After a series of events, John met a few high school classmates who had turned into gangsters, the so-called close buddies from high school.
After some discussions, they embarked on a path of crime.
...
―――Outside the police station.
Listening to Phoebe Lyle’s calm story, Elliana Lyle understood that the love between them was beautiful and not wrong.
From their first acquaintance in high school, Phoebe never despised John for his family’s poverty, and John began to have subtle feelings for Phoebe that intensified over time.
They separated after high school graduation, and later encountered each other by chance.
The John who could now take money out of his pocket met once again the girl he adored in his youth, on the street.
The feelings from their teenage years began to sprout, and with some money in his pocket, John felt brave enough to pursue Phoebe.
Everything started anew from here, but reality is always cruel.
Elliana didn’t speak, but reached out to hold Phoebe’s hand. From Phoebe’s transition from breakdown to calm, she knew that Phoebe could no longer forgive John.
"Elliana, I’m going back to North City tomorrow." Phoebe seemed to have reverted to her former indifference, the warmth from inside out disappeared without a trace.
John changed Sister Phoebe, then turned her back to her old self.
Perhaps... their relationship was truly over.
At this moment, Luna’s car rolled up, evidently having completed the copy.
After taking Phoebe back to the hotel, they too headed back.
Halfway, Norman Bennett sent her a message.
Norman: "There was an incident at the factory down there, I might not be around for a few days, be good at home and wait for me to come back."
"..."
Kitten: "Where are you going?"
Norman: "Holy Spring Town."
Looking at this name, it seemed somewhat familiar, yet she couldn’t recall where she had seen it before.
Kitten: "Be safe, return soon, I will miss you."
Back at the villa, Luna returned to her room and started sifting through the copied materials, not allowing her to get close.
With no choice, Elliana had to cuddle the cat and watch TV to pass the time.
PM.
Luna had been in the room for five hours. Having just had dinner, she sat on the couch watching TV, somewhat absent-minded, occasionally glancing toward Luna’s room.
The cat in her arms had already fallen asleep. Just as she was about to pat the cat’s head, she heard a click, "Come quickly! I found it!"
Luna dashed out of the room, startling the small Lotus Flower in her arms, causing it to leap onto the back of the sofa with a strong kick of its hind legs.
When she turned back, Luna was already approaching with a laptop in her arms, sitting down beside her, visibly excited.
At a glance of the computer screen, she saw Nancy’s name along with her ID number.
Nancy had actually borrowed money from John Shaw here.
Just as they exchanged glances, the small Lotus Flower fiddled with the remote, coincidentally switching to the news channel.
"In recent days, Wyen City has been experiencing continuous heavy rainfall, prone to urban flooding, landslides, collapsing roads, houses, bridges, etc., please be alert for flood control..."
Wyen City?
This name...
Suddenly! A thought burst in Elliana’s mind! She quickly turned her head to the television to verify.
Luna saw her surprised expression and said, "Wyen is far from South City, it has nothing to do with you."
But Elliana seemed not to hear, her eyes trembled slightly, fixed on the TV screen.
Holy Spring is in Wyen, and in her previous life, Wyen suffered an unprecedented flood! Holy Spring was the most severely affected!
Although she could not remember the exact date, it should be around this time, and in her past life, Norman Bennett shouldn’t have gone to Holy Spring either...
With that thought, Elliana hurriedly picked up the phone from the coffee table.
"The number you have dialed is not in service area, please try again later..."
Holy Spring is a very remote mountainous area, having no signal is normal, she just didn’t expect Norman Bennett to get there so quickly, or perhaps Norman sent the message after reaching Wyen!
She frantically opened the ticket booking app, discovering no flights to Wyen for the coming days, nor any high-speed trains, only a slow train available the day after tomorrow.
Think... think harder...
In her previous life, she had unintentionally seen it on a news platform, and about seven to eight days later, reports of the flood in Wyen emerged.
But the reports were also delayed by several days, so it should be two or three days before the flood happens in Wyen!
"What’s up? What are you thinking so seriously?" Luna waved her hand in front of her.
Elliana suddenly grabbed Luna’s wrist, speaking very sternly and seriously: "Luna, I’m entrusting you with Nancy’s matter, I have to go to Wyen."
"?!"
"Why are you going to Wyen? To volunteer? Your small frame..."
Elliana’s expression tightened slightly: "Norman Bennett is in Holy Spring, Wyen! He has no signal there, I’m afraid something might happen to him!"
...
Two hours later, Elliana was already in a car.
The driver was someone she wasn’t very familiar with, named Guan Han, a very young guy, slicked-back hair, wearing a "carefully" tailored suit, making his ordinary appearance seem like a big boss.
At the same time, Guan Han was also quite helpless. It would take at least two days and a night to drive from South City to Wyen, a long and tiring trip.
The next morning, Elliana had spent all night calling Norman Bennett, yet still couldn’t reach due to the service area. From staying up all night, she looked somewhat haggard.
At this moment, Guan Han pulled over at the side of a small town road, turned to look at Elliana, and smiled: "Miss Lyle, let’s take a day to rest first, I’ve been driving all night and can’t drive if I’m fatigued."
At noon, around 12, Elliana informed Guan Han to set off, clearly, Guan Han was somewhat reluctant.
Despite his annoyance, he said nothing.
The journey went on into the night, and after reaching another small town, Guan Han also stopped the car, immediately stating his thoughts: "Miss Lyle, I’m genuinely exhausted, I can’t drive without resting overnight."
"I don’t have time, could you push on just a little longer?"
Seeing Elliana’s unwillingness to agree, Guan Han got angry, slapped the horn, "Miss Lyle, I’m a human, not a cow, sheep, pig, or dog, what do you take me for? Don’t I need rest?"
Being ordered to drive Norman was one thing, but being ordered by a woman, he found very frustrating.