Chapter 55: A Heart of Gold

After the door closed and the vehicle started moving again, the women asked about the minibus driver’s cause of death. A talkative man told them in detail about how the name on the minibus driver’s ashes urn matched the name on his work ID. This scared the women, and they screamed for quite a while.

Fortunately, there were still many people on the minibus. Everyone talked to each other to boost their courage, making the minibus very noisy and reducing the scary feeling a bit.

What puzzled everyone the most was what had happened to the highway, or rather, what had happened to this world.

Their confusion was the same as what Sister Mei, Xia Yan, and several porters had felt back in Qingyuan Residential Area. However, Lü Yang had no time to worry about these things.

Lü Yang stayed silent and kept thinking. He knew very well that unless he found the Main Quest of the Mysterious Domain, escaping anywhere would be useless. This Mysterious Domain clearly used the Highway as its boundary. Maybe this Highway would stretch on forever, but there was no exit ramp that could take them back to the Real world.

Or, outside the Highway was that extremely dangerous Black Mist. If anyone went into it by mistake, their life would be at risk.

However, this Mysterious Domain was very different from the previous one at Qingyuan Residential Area. Especially, he could not activate the Eerie Computer, and so far, Lü Yang had not heard any prompt sounds from the Eerie Computer in his mind.

…

“The vehicle is almost out of gas. Looking at the lights ahead, there seems to be a service area. Should I drive down to get some gas?” The middle-aged man driving asked the people in the vehicle.

“Sure, I need to use the restroom…”

“Yeah, I’m hungry. Is there food at the service area?”

“See if we can find a landline phone. What exactly happened to this Highway? There’s not even any mobile phone signal.”

“…”

Seeing that no one in the vehicle objected, the middle-aged man drove a bit farther and then entered the service area next to the Highway.

…

Guishe City.

Hengsheng Hospital, VIP ward.

“Xiao Hui, why are you unhappy?” Liu Jianhao sat by the bedside, looking at Liu Hui with affection.

“Not at all…” Liu Hui shook her head and smiled at Liu Jianhao.

“What’s on your mind? Tell your dad about it?” Liu Jianhao then asked Liu Hui.

“Nothing… nothing’s on my mind…” Liu Hui avoided Liu Jianhao’s gaze. She was not good at lying. Whatever was on her mind or how she felt would always show on her face.

“Your mother told me. This time, it was all thanks to a migrant worker who saved you from the kidnappers and carried you out of Donkey Head Mountain.” Liu Jianhao tentatively brought up what happened last night.

“Yeah, he… is a very good person… Yesterday, when I was in a hurry to get back to Guishe City, I almost hit a little girl on the Highway. He risked his life and threw himself in front of the car…” Liu Hui’s mind recalled the moments she spent with Lü Yang yesterday and last night. Without thinking, she started telling her father about it.

“What’s his name?” After listening to Liu Hui’s story, Liu Jianhao smiled and asked her.

“Lü Yang.” Liu Hui murmured in response to her father’s question, her expression clearly dazed.

“Which characters?”

“Lü as in Lü Bu, Yang as in the sun.”

“That’s a good name, strong and powerful.” Liu Jianhao nodded.

“He also said there’s a story behind this name… Lü Bu Shooting the Sun. I told him, there’s only Kuafu Chasing the Sun and Houyi Shooting the Sun. Lü Bu shot his halberd at the camp gate…” When Liu Hui said this, a sweet smile appeared on her face, as if she had returned to that moment and saw Lü Yang scratching his head after she caught his mistake.

“Your mother said… you’ve fallen for that young man named Lü Yang?” Liu Jianhao, seeing his daughter’s gentle expression, tried to probe further.

“Wh… at?” Liu Hui’s face immediately turned bright red. She protested to her father, but when she met his eyes, she quickly looked away.

“Your mother talked to me about this because she wanted me to advise you not to get involved with someone whose status and position are too different from yours…”

“No way!” Liu Hui interrupted Liu Jianhao unhappily.

“Haha…” Liu Jianhao laughed. “Actually… I really believe in love at first sight. I don’t agree with your mother. Love doesn’t care about status or position. Back when I had nothing and came to Guishe City, I met and fell in love with your mother, the prized daughter of the Li Family’s third-generation officials, all because of love. Your mother was very beautiful when she was young, proud and determined. She married me despite huge pressure from her family…”

Liu Hui looked up. She really wanted to tell Liu Jianhao… that her mother told her on the Highway… that all of this in the past was a mistake…

But the words stayed on the tip of her tongue, and Liu Hui did not say them out loud.

“That young man named Lü Yang, since he was willing to risk his life to save someone from under a wheel, rescued you from the kidnappers, and carried you such a long way down the mountain to safety, that alone proves he has a heart of gold. Dad has always believed that people are born equal. Dad also trusts your judgment. Dad doesn’t want to advise you much; your affairs are your own to decide. If you really like him and you two are meant to be, Dad believes you will meet again someday.” Liu Jianhao’s advice to his daughter clearly did not match what Li Tingting had previously asked him to do.

Liu Hui looked up and stared straight at her father. She wanted to say something, but for a long time, she couldn’t get the words out.

“Life is very short. Only by chasing your dreams and making an effort can you avoid regrets when you leave this world.” Liu Jianhao continued, this time sounding less like he was advising Liu Hui and more like he was talking about himself.

Liu Hui lowered her head. She… actually wasn’t very sure what her feelings towards Lü Yang were. She just really wanted to see him again, to hear him talk, and things like that…

Was this love?

She didn’t know.

But her mother’s opposition and her father’s encouragement made her start to wonder too.

A seventeen-year-old girl longed for love, but more than that, she felt fear about the future.

However, his warm shoulders made her fear fade away, and instead, she felt a dependence on him.

She really, really wanted to always feel his care and protection.

…

Highway.

Service area.

The service area was brightly lit, but there was no one in sight. The middle-aged man who was temporarily acting as the driver opened the door and shouted into the service area a few times, but no one answered.

After the door opened, people got off the vehicle one by one. Lü Yang looked at his heavy bag. In the end, he only took the loan note and mobile phone from the Iron Box with him. The gold bars and U.S. dollars were left on the vehicle seat along with the bag.

Since this was a Mysterious Domain, saving his life was the priority. These worldly possessions could be given up if needed.

Most of the people who got off ran towards the Restroom. Two others went towards the Restaurant. The middle-aged man called out to everyone, asking them to come back. He said they should discuss and act together. In this strange place, it was better to stay together and not separate.

The others thought the middle-aged man made sense, so they gathered to discuss and decided to go to the Restroom together first, then go to the Restaurant together.

After using the Restroom, everyone went to the Restaurant, but it was empty. After some discussion, someone suggested going to the service area’s store. Usually, stores like that sold drinks, instant noodles, and packaged food, which could solve everyone’s hunger problem.