A Day of Terrible Luck
Luo Lan was sitting in his bedroom, on the phone with Secretary Wu, asking him to find out who had whispered in Luo Yuntang’s ear and nearly ruined his work, when he heard Luo Yuntang leaving with a group of people.
Something felt off. Luo Lan hung up and went outside, only to see several cars driving away.
“Aunt Jun, it’s almost lunchtime. Where did my dad go?”
“To the company. I heard something urgent came up.” Aunt Jun picked up a bowl from the dining table and handed it to Luo Lan. “You’d better eat it while it’s still warm.”
Luo Lan took a look. It was the health food he’d bought yesterday.
“Did my dad have any?”
“It looks healthy, but it’s actually high in fat. Mr. Luo has high blood lipids, so he usually doesn’t eat it. And you, don’t buy it again next time.”
High blood lipids? Luo Lan froze.
He searched through the original owner’s memories, but couldn’t find anything about Luo Yuntang having high blood lipids. It seemed the original owner truly hadn’t known, and truly hadn’t cared enough about his dad.
“I didn’t know.”
“Honestly, you should pay more attention to him, even when nothing’s wrong. How can you not know your own father has high blood lipids?” Aunt Jun had watched the original owner grow up, so she spoke with the familiarity of an elder. “Mr. Luo didn’t even try a bite just now. He didn’t look too happy.”
Luo Lan had a bad feeling. Surely his proud, prickly old man wasn’t going to hold a grudge over something this small?
He called Secretary Zhao.
In the car, Luo Yuntang had his eyes closed, resting. When he heard Secretary Zhao’s phone ring, he gave a snort. “That boy Luo Lan calling you?”
Secretary Zhao didn’t dare answer. He only gave a small laugh. “A father knows his son best.”
Luo Yuntang grunted. “That’s right. I know my son all too well. All that talk about going hiking and taking walks with me more often was just to placate me! He doesn’t even know I have high blood lipids. He can’t even be bothered to pay attention to his own family. How can I expect him to have the patience to keep me company?”
Secretary Zhao tried to smooth things over. “Luo Lan’s young, and boys will be boys. It’s only natural for him to be a little careless. But I think he really does care about you.”
“You don’t need to make excuses for him. After all these years, he’s only been this well-behaved these past couple of days, and that’s because he wants something from me. If I hadn’t interfered with his work, I doubt he’d even come home.”
“Actually, I think Luo Lan’s still young. It might be good to let him take some chances and try things out.” Secretary Zhao was hinting at something, and Luo Yuntang understood. He sighed. “Let’s leave that matter for now. We’ll talk about it when we get back.”
There was nothing Secretary Zhao could do. He lowered his head and quietly sent Luo Lan a message: “The boss seems to be wavering again. We’ll have to wait until we get back from out of town.”
Luo Lan read the message and grew anxious. Luo Yuntang could take all the time he wanted to make up his mind, but Zhang Chi wasn’t going to wait around.
He messaged Secretary Zhao: “Where are you going this afternoon?”
“To the neighboring province. Our flight’s at two.”
Luo Lan couldn’t afford to waste another second. He picked a car from the garage and drove down the mountain. He had to see Luo Yuntang once more before he boarded the plane!
He was halfway there when one of the tires burst. Most likely his bad luck was to blame again. Just his luck: not sooner, not later, but right when he was in a hurry.
“I’m truly worthy of being the chosen one.” Luo Lan took a deep breath and was about to call Secretary Zhao to ask him to buy some time when his phone rang. It was Jin Fengqi.
“Did you get it sorted out?”
Luo Lan briefly explained what had happened, then added, “My dad’s flying to the neighboring province at two this afternoon. I’ll get him to agree before then.”
Jin Fengqi hung up.
Luo Lan hurriedly called Secretary Wu to get the car fixed, then messaged Secretary Zhao. After that, he flagged down a taxi by the side of the road and headed for Yuantang Group.
Seeing how rushed he was, the driver cheerfully asked, “Young man, heading to Yuantang for an interview? Don’t worry, we’ll get you there in time.”
Luo Lan didn’t waste words. He pulled out two red bills and placed them by the windshield. “Sir, I’m in a hurry. If you can get me to Yuantang Group before noon, the two hundred yuan is yours.”
The driver’s easygoing expression turned serious. “You got it! I’ll take the shortcuts and get you there, no matter what!”
Luo Lan checked his phone. Secretary Zhao had replied: “I can only hold things up until 12:30. We have to leave for the airport then. Hurry.”
Luo Lan took a deep breath. Half an hour. It was enough to convince Luo Yuntang.
He was rehearsing what to say in his head when the taxi began slowing down. A line of cars stretched ahead, and the tail lights of the car in front were flashing.
The driver honked and rolled down the window. “What’s going on up there?”
The driver ahead rolled down his window too. “We’re stuck!”
“Why’s there a traffic jam?”
“Someone’s threatening to jump!”
The driver cursed in frustration. “What rotten luck! Why couldn’t they do it earlier or later? Had to be right now! How can a person be this unlucky?!”
Luo Lan made up his mind. He took one of the two red bills, opened the door, and dashed out. “Keep the change.”
He ran to the nearest subway entrance, hurriedly bought a ticket and passed through security, calculating the route and how long it would take.
He should… he should still make it before noon!
Luo Lan rallied himself and tried to calm down. He was the chosen one, after all. The journey was bound to be full of twists and turns, but in the end everything would work out.
He followed the crowd onto the subway and gradually calmed down, checking the time on his phone now and then.
His battery was draining fast. It was already down to 20%! To avoid it dying and missing a work call, he slipped it into his pocket.
When the subway reached his stop, Luo Lan’s legs were a little weak, so he joined the crowd on the escalator. The escalator had been working perfectly a moment ago, but now it suddenly stopped!
Luo Lan guiltily raised his hand and looked at his palm. He’d only been resting a hand on the handrail. Surely that wasn’t enough to break it? Didn’t the subway inspect and maintain its escalators every day?
The passengers were all bewildered. It was the first time any of them had run into a broken escalator. The crowd inched upward, but Luo Lan couldn’t wait any longer. He squeezed past the people ahead of him and hurried up.
Complaints erupted on the escalator.
“What’s the rush? In a hurry to get reborn?”
Luo Lan finally fought his way through the crowd. Standing at the top, he flashed them a toothy grin. “Yeah. Why else do they say reincarnation takes skill? Show up late and you won’t get a good rebirth.”
With that, he hurried out of the subway station.
It was already 11:40. He had twenty minutes. Luo Lan raced toward Yuantang Group and finally made it through the front doors at 11:55.
He breathed a sigh of relief, his heart pounding. He got into the elevator with a delivery worker and pressed the button for his floor. As the elevator rose, he straightened his hair and jacket, trying to steady himself. When he saw Luo Yuntang, he had to make a good impression and seize his chance.
But less than a minute into the ride, the elevator suddenly jammed, slid down, and stopped with a thud. The lights flickered and went out!
Luo Lan was about to lose it. The delivery worker beside him was even more frantic, cursing up a storm. Somehow, that calmed Luo Lan down. He pressed the alarm button, and the intercom connected quickly. He explained the situation to the safety officer and asked for help.
Then… all they could do was wait.
He’d done everything he could.
Luo Lan sat on the floor. A message came in from Secretary Zhao, asking if he’d arrived.
Then it suddenly occurred to Luo Lan that once Luo Yuntang found out his son was trapped in an elevator, he would definitely worry and come to see him. This might be his perfect chance to turn things around!
He was about to call Secretary Zhao when his phone beeped twice and shut itself off!
Luo Lan stared blankly ahead, suddenly plunged into deep self-doubt.
Was he the chosen one, or the one Heaven had abandoned?! Did Heaven really have to work against him like this?!
No. He had to be the chosen one. After all, he’d managed to transmigrate into a book. Did ordinary people get that kind of treatment?
That’s right. when Heaven is about to lay great responsibilities on a person, it first wears out his legs and makes him suffer bad luck…
As the deadline drew near, Luo Lan’s phone was dead. Secretary Zhao had no other choice. He gathered the documents for the business meeting and followed Luo Yuntang, preparing to leave.
There were two elevators in the building. One was marked with an asterisk and was under repair, so the group took the other one down to the first floor.
The engineering department was working on repairs in the lobby. They’d heard that someone was trapped in the elevator. Luo Yuntang hadn’t expected an elevator that had been in use for more than ten years to have this kind of problem. He instructed the engineering manager, “Make sure the people inside are safe.” As for whether the department had done a proper job inspecting and maintaining the elevators, he left that for Secretary Zhao to deal with when they got back.
He strode out with his entourage, and Luo Lan missed him by the narrowest of margins.
By the time Luo Lan was rescued, it was already 1:30 in the afternoon. He was in a terrible mood, but seeing the devastated expression of the delivery guy he’d dragged into the mess brought him a strange sort of comfort.
Maybe that was what it felt like to have someone else share your bad luck, to know you weren’t fighting alone.
He took the delivery guy’s hand, pulled out a red bill, and placed it in his palm to console him. “Don’t lose heart. As long as your heart is still there, so is your dream. There’s still true love between heaven and earth!”
The delivery guy looked confused and surprised. He murmured, “Win or lose, life is bold and grand. Isn’t it only a fresh start?”
Luo Lan smiled and nodded.
The delivery guy picked up his two now-overdue food orders and asked Luo Lan, “You haven’t eaten lunch yet, have you? Want to eat together?”
His customers had already canceled the orders because he’d been delayed for so long.
Luo Lan sat with the delivery guy and ate the cold food, feeling a little lost.
He’d been running around all morning and spent two hundred yuan. Was this all he had to show for it, a cold meal?
No. He couldn’t give up like this. The chosen one never admitted defeat!
Luo Lan borrowed a power bank from the girl at the front desk and charged his phone. Once it had enough power, he’d call Secretary Wu and ask him to book an afternoon flight. He’d fly to the neighboring province and find Luo Yuntang there!
The battle wasn’t over yet!
At five in the afternoon, Luo Lan headed to the airport. Secretary Wu had booked him a ticket on the seven o’clock flight to the neighboring province.
He waited at the airport until six, when an announcement came over the PA: heavy fog was expected that evening, and the flight to the neighboring province had been canceled!
Luo Lan was utterly stunned. How many trials was Heaven going to put him through? Could he quit being the chosen one?
Just then, Zhang Chi called again.
“Luo Lan, how did things go with your dad?”
“Pretty smoothly. Don’t worry, Boss Zhang.”
“Good. The director is pressing us to speed things up, so the actor playing Wu Ling has to be on set tomorrow morning. Do you understand what I mean?”
Luo Lan understood. The actor playing Wu Ling had to be there tomorrow morning, but it didn’t necessarily have to be Jin Fengqi.
Had Zhang Chi found someone else in just two days?
After hanging up, Luo Lan sighed and sat motionless on a bench in the departure lounge.