Summer #35

Don't Turn from Summer (莫负寒夏) by Ding Mo (丁墨)

Chapter 35

For such a small company as Feng Chen, there is art in the number of people to bring for the bidding. Too many―as many as ten who fuss around―will give an impression of over emphasis due to inadequate company strength. Too few is definitely unacceptable either, as it means you are not giving it enough attention.

Therefore, Lin Mochen brings three with him. Sun Zhi, manager of the real estate sub-company, is for doing the work. Antony is for doing the job as well as touching up the image. And Mu Hanxia? He certainly will bring his woman.

It’s a little past eight in the morning, the traffic is still a little congested. Time is a little more than sufficient to the appointed 9:30.

Mu Hanxia and Lin Mochen are sitting in the back seats.

“Do you think Lao Fang will adjust the bidding order?” She asks.

“He will.” He replies.

He speaks with such confidence，and Mu Hanxia’s mind is settled.

Suddenly he speaks again, “After the bidding, go with me to take another look at the lot.”

Mu Hanxia smiles and says with a voice that only the two of them can hear, “You are so sure that we will get that lot?”

“Yes, I’m so sure.” Looking at her, Lin Mochen’s eyes are deep.

Mu Hanxia says nothing.

“Remember, stay with me after it is over. Don’t run around.” He whispers.

“Oh.” Mu Hanxia answers vaguely, suddenly getting a little absentminded.

Right at the time, Sun Zhi, who is driving, suddenly says, “Jason, there’s something wrong with that car beside us. It has been trying to push us aside.” They all look up and see the black sadden driving very closely to them in the next lane. Like he says, the car is neither faster nor slower, following them all the time and pushing against them from time to time, forcing them to get closer to the left to avoid collision.

Antony is very imaginative and says in shock, “Jason, are they trying to murder us?”

Lin Mochen ignores him. How can it be possible? The business competition in mainland China can’t be so bad as allowing law violating behaviors. But they indeed come deliberately. He asks Sun Zhi in a low voice, “Be careful. Can we get rid of it?”

Real estate manager Sun Zhi is not a professional race car driver after all. He says rather nervously, “I’ll try.” But after he speeds up for a while, that car is still following closely. The traffic is not light at the time, so it’s impossible for them to accelerate too much.

Mu Hanxia also gets nervous and keeps staring at the black car from the window. Her hand that has been pressing on the seat is suddenly held gently by Lin Mochen. He whispers, “Don’t be afraid.”

At an intersection, the traffic becomes lighter. The black car beside them seems to slow down a little to a steady speed.

Suddenly Lin Mochen yells a warning in a low voice, “Watch out!”

Right then, the black car suddenly accelerates and presses against them as if with all its might. The driver hastily turns the steering wheel and barely escapes the front of that car.

At the same time.

A minivan charges out from the left of the intersection. It’s too late to avoid it. Sun Zhi gasps and Antony is also stupefied. Mu Hanxia stares through the side window at the front of the gray van that seems to appear from nowhere dashing toward them crazily like a monster.

Lin Mochen is closer to it. He holds Mu Hanxia tightly in his arms and bend down. Mu Hanxia also clutches tightly to his waist out of instinct. The chilly wind blows by their ears and hearts. The banging sound is very close but at the same time seems very faraway. His hands almost cut into her flesh, but Mu Hanxia just feels a strange calmness in her heart.

The car screeches to a stop.

The four of them all look up. The glass on one side of the car is shattered. Needless to think, the body of the car must have been crashed severely. Lucky that no one is injured. Only Sun Zhi and Lin Mochen, who sit on the left, are covered with shattered glass pieces. Noticing the trace of blood from a scratch on Lin Mochen’s left cheek, without any thinking, Mu Hanxia raises her hand to gently wipe it off. He gazes at her at an extremely short distance, his eyes dark and tender.

A dozen ganster-like guys have come out of the van that collided with them. Whereas the culprit, the black car, has already left and disappeared.

Lin Mochen and Sun Zhi look at each other. Sun Zhi says, “Chief Lin, we don’t have time to tangle with them! There’s only 40 minutes left before the bidding starts!”

Antony is astonished, “You mean, they had the crash on purpose, to keep us from bidding? What shall we do now?”

Those guys outside are now tapping their window with enraged faces.

Lin Mochen tells Sun Zhi, “You stay.”

Sun Zhi stares at the small crowd outside the window and feels a little daunted. But he nods firmly. Then, Mu Hanxia speaks up, “I stay here with him. He may not be able to deal with so many people alone. Jason, you and Antony go.”

Lin Mochen gazes at her.

Mu Hanxia: “You go. Don’t worry, I can handle things like this. You’d better go to the bidding. Or else it will be too late. Go get that lot.”

Antony looks at the two of them and says nothing. Sun Zhi also urges, “Right, Chief Lin. You two go, Manager Mu and I definitely can handle this. We’re in bright daylight and this is a major road. The police will be here any minute. They won’t dare to do anything.”

“Hmm.” Lin Mochen answers in a low voice. He suddenly reaches out and pulls Mu Hanxia into his arms. Sun Zhi and Antony look on quietly. Lin Mochen turns and prints a kiss on her cheek, “Come to the bidding as soon as you’re done here. Protect yourself.”

Mu Hanxia is stunned. It instantly feels like burning where he placed his kiss.

He lets go of her.

Mu Hanxia and Sun Zhi get off the car. He is a local, who has worked in the real estate business for quite some years and has seen much of such devils. So he hollows to them unflinchingly, “Your damn eyes don’t watch when you drive? Don’t you damn know to yield to the straight going cars before you turn?” Mu Hanxia also walks over with a cold face.

The others are also cursing loudly and nastily, pushing and pulling at the same time.

Lin Mochen and Antony get out of the car right then. Without any pause, they walk over to the other side of the road and get a taxi. A couple of gangsters notice them and are about to go after them, when Mu Hanxia stretches her arms in front of them and stops them with glaring eyes. She’s a girl, and a pretty one. With her imposing air, the gangsters don’t dare to do any harm for a moment.

The entire chaos is left far behind by the taxi.

Lin Mochen sits there silent as a mountain, his eyes icy cold. Antony, however, anxiiously looks over his shoulder from time to time, very concerned. When they are almost out of sight, he suddenly mumbles, “Jason, your heart is really cruel. If I were you, I definitely won’t let my girl trapped in such a situation, even if I had to give up the bidding... What’s the use of a kiss? What’s the use?”

Lin Mochen glances up at him, his eyes freezing cold. Antony instantly stops his lecturing but continues to chide silently: capitalist, cold-blooded freak, favoring the business over the beauty...
Lin Mochen gazes at the building flashing past him outside the window. Most of the time, he is someone who never looks back. But when the taxi is making the turn, he can’t help but turn to look. At the far end of the road, there is the small crowd with her crammed in between, totally indiscernible.