I Refused to Be a Substitute, and Shot to Fame on a Variety Show With My Mother-In-Law

163 Causing a Tragedy

The light shone on the thick snow. There were withered branches lying around.

Li Xiwu held the lamp in one hand and searched the thick snow with the other. She called Han Qianye’s name again and again, but there was no response.

Ah Yue shouted, “Sister, you have to be careful.”

Li Xiwu took the time to reply. “I know.”

She moved from squatting to kneeling and searching. Her knees were wet from the melted snow under her feet, and the bone-chilling cold pressed against her skin, but she had no time to care at this moment. She was focused on finding Han Qianye.

After an unknown period of time, someone patted her shoulder from behind. Li Xiwu was overjoyed and turned around. “Auntie…”

Seeing that it was Ah Yue’s worried face, Li Xiwu asked, “Ah Yue, why are you down here?”

Ah Yue said, “Sister, I’m still worried about you down there alone. I only came down because Weiwei agreed.”

Then Ding Wei’s voice came from above. “Ah Yue? Have you reached the bottom?”

Ah Yue threw back his head and shouted back, “I’m here, Weiwei. I’m at the bottom.”

Ding Wei said, “Protect Miss Li.”

Ah Yue said, “I know.” With that, Ah Yue handed the light in his hand to Li Xiwu. “Sister, illuminate it. I’ll look for her.”

Li Xiwu shoved the light back in. “Since we’re down here, let’s search together.”

Ah Yue forced the lamp into Li Xiwu’s hand again. Noticing Li Xiwu’s hands, which were red from the cold, Ah Yue was stunned. “Sister, your hands…”

Li Xiwu did not notice it herself. After Ah Yue’s reminder, she looked down at her hand. It was red and even trembling slightly.

Without another word, Ah Yue quickly took off the scarf around his neck. “Sister, let me cover your hands.”

Li Xiwu caught the scarf as Ah Yue was about to wrap it around her hand. “Lower your head,” she said to Ah Yue.

Ah Yue stubbornly refused to lower his head.

Li Xiwu repeated, “Be good and lower your head.”

Ah Yue said nervously, “But Sister, your hands are frozen. If you don’t treat them in time, your hands will get frostbite. I stay here all year round. I can resist the cold.”

Li Xiwu’s smile was pale as she said again, “Ah Yue, lower your head.”

Ah Yue knew that no matter what he said, his sister would not listen to him. He was afraid that his sister would be angry, so he lowered his head.

Li Xiwu reached out and tied the scarf back around Ah Yue’s neck. After tying it up, Li Xiwu turned around and raised the lamp to continue looking for Han Qianye. Because her pants and clothes were already wet, the cold was bone-chilling. She did not squat and kneel to search anymore. She could only bend down and carefully search for Han Qianye under every possible pile of snow.

Her frozen red hands seemed to have lost all feeling. When she pulled at the snow, she did not even notice that her fingers had been scratched by the thorny vine. It was only when Ah Yue noticed that her hand was dripping blood that she realized she’d been cut at some point. She took a tissue from her pocket and casually wrapped it around her hand. She wasn’t really listening to what Ah Yue was saying to her.

Seeing that there was really no other way, Ah Yue could only call Ding Wei to call another person down to help.

Then Li Xiwu suddenly said, “I think… I found her.”

Ah Yue looked in the direction of Li Xiwu. There was indeed a ball of snow arching in that spot. At first glance, it looked like a person lying there, but on closer look, it didn’t seem like it. Most importantly, that position was very dangerous. It was next to a slope. If he was not careful, he could fall further down. Moreover, there were big rocks below. It was very dangerous.

Ah Yue said, “I’ll do it.”

Li Xiwu pulled Ah Yue back. “Help me shine. I’ll go take a look. If it’s not, I’ll come back immediately. If it is, come over and help me again.”

Ah Yue was worried, but Li Xiwu had already gone over first. She was extremely careful, every step slow and steady.

As she slowly approached, Li Xiwu realized that the pile of snow she had seen just now was moving. Thinking that it was really Han Qianye, she quickened her pace and walked over. She squatted down and reached out to push away the snow. At this moment, an owl suddenly jumped up and flew away.

It was so sudden that Li Xiwu was shocked. Above the owl’s arch was a wet coat. It looked like Tao Jing’s coat. So it was this coat that rolled down, not a human.

Ah Yue, who had followed behind, shouted, “Sister, be careful—!!”

At the same time, he reached out and grabbed Li Xiwu’s arm. However, he was too late. After being frightened, Li Xiwu fell back. Before she could stabilize herself, she slipped again and rolled down.

Meanwhile, in the snow not far from where Tao Jing was discovered, Han Qianye, who had just woken up, had already gotten up from the snow. She stood up, her body swaying and almost losing her balance. Her mind was still a little confused. She looked around, not knowing what time it was.

Noticing the lights of several cars in the distance, she dragged herself toward them. As she got closer, she realized that everyone was busy and anxious.

That was true. The car had overturned. Everyone must be anxious. She had already caused trouble once. Han Qianye was too embarrassed to cause trouble again. She climbed into the car and sat down to rest.

At this moment, a cameraman realized that someone was sitting in the car. He walked over and opened the car door. When he realized that it was Han Qianye, he asked, “Han Qianye? Weren’t you sent away by that car just now?”

Han Qianye looked tired. “You must be mistaken. I’m still here.”

The cameraman was stunned and subconsciously thought that he had misremembered. Now that Han Qianye was sitting in the car, the person everyone was still looking for should be Min Hanrong. So the cameraman nodded and was about to close the car door—

Han Qianye quickly asked, “Where are the others? Are they all right?”

The cameraman stopped closing the car door and replied, “Xue Jinzhu, Tao Jing, and the driver have been sent to the hospital. They’re still looking for Min Hanrong.”

When Han Qianye heard this, her heart tightened. “Hanrong hasn’t been found yet? I remember that neither she nor Xue Jinzhu jumped out of the car.”

The cameraman shook his head. “I’m not sure, then. We’re still looking. Rest. I’ll go take a look.”

Han Qianye quickly nodded. “Be careful.”

The cameraman jogged over to check on the situation. Seeing that everyone was looking down anxiously, he quickly asked, “Have you found Min Hanrong?”

Yu Jing, who was sweating profusely, said, “Min Hanrong is fine long ago. We’re looking for Han Qianye now.”

The cameraman was stunned. “Isn’t Han Qianye in the car?”

Yu Jing was also stunned for a moment. “Isn’t Min Hanrong in the car? That’s not right. Didn’t Min Hanrong send Tao Jing, Xue Jinzhu, and the driver off the mountain first? What are you talking about?”

The cameraman was even more stunned and confused. “But Han Qianye was clearly sitting in the car. I just spoke to her. That car.”

With that, the cameraman pointed into the distance.

Yu Jing took a look. Then he was shocked. The cameraman also realized something. The hair on his body stood on end and a chill ran down his back.

He stammered, “Han Qianye doesn’t know. Did something happen? Could what I saw just now be her ghost? She thought she wasn’t dead and returned to the car…”

The more he spoke, the more hair-raising it became.

...

At this moment, someone shouted from below—