The communication must not have been restored, as it was disrupted again.

He tried to redial Gu Jizhou several times, but kept getting the message that the service area was unavailable.

————Yunqi Academy————

Gu Jizhou sat in the car, beads of sweat gradually forming on his forehead.

As the car rolled on, it suddenly felt as if it was driving through an ocean, the tires spinning but unable to move an inch. He could only see the white waves on either side merging with the torrential downpour.

One wave crashed down on the windshield with a "whoosh," and even with the windshield wipers at full speed, they were of no use.

No sooner had the water receded than another wave surged up. Under the wipers, it was all a blur of white!

His eyes fixed ahead, the view in front of him grew increasingly blurry, eventually turning into a watery haze!

He felt a sudden impact, and a thud resonated from above his head; the car shook violently. His arms, clutching the steering wheel, went numb, and the engine died instantly.

As his sight darkened, another wave "whooshed" towards him. He closed his eyes just in time to feel a sting on his face, water choking his nose and mouth.

Gu Jizhou coughed, wiping his face with his hand—drawing in a sharp breath—he felt as though something sharp had pierced his skin.

He quickly realized it was shards of shattered window glass. His scalp felt numb and tingly, and his face burned with pain.

On his forehead, the back of his neck, and around his ears, there seemed to be warm liquid.

He wiped it with his hand, looked down, and saw it was bloody, murky water!

Staring blankly, he hadn’t recovered his senses when waves of intense pain struck from deep within his skull, his consciousness fading ever more.

With the last bit of strength he had, he reached out to open the car door. His arm was weak and soon fell limp.

Suddenly he heard his phone ringing. He raised his arm again, trying to reach for it. Blocked by the steering wheel, his fingers touched the phone, but he collapsed there, knocking the phone into the dirty water inside the car—

Huo Qichang was still calling Gu Jizhou’s phone. It had connected just moments ago, but now it was disconnected again!

Trying once more, there was no response.

The security personnel who had gone out to search had called back; they had followed the trail to a landslide but had not seen the white Ferrari with the license plate GA—8866. They contacted the disaster relief team, but there was no sign of the car either.

Huo Qichang returned a call to Huo Jinyun. "Ayun, Jizhou has already passed that dangerous stretch. Keep an eye out, I reckon he should be back in Hong Kong by midnight."

Huo Jinyun breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this. "But why can’t I get through to his phone?" she asked.

Huo Qichang paused for a moment, thinking of his late elder brother. "Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll call a couple of people to head out from Hong Kong, back him up along the way, just in case."

"Dad, thank you." Huo Jinyun, reassured by this plan, felt completely at ease. She couldn’t let Grandfather find out about this; with her dad handling it, she felt much better.

Hanging up the phone, Huo Qichang sat there, his mood heavy. Over the years, had he and his father spoiled Ayun and her son too much?

Jizhou was becoming more and more willful, much like Jinyun had been in the past!

————Yunqi Academy————

By night, there was still no sign of Gu Jizhou’s return. Huo Jinyun was getting restless. She looked towards the old man, "Grandfather."

The old man’s demeanor was solemn, and he remained silent, anxious at heart.

He glanced outside at the weather. It had also started raining in Hong Kong.

After sitting for a while, he frowned and picked up the phone to call Huo Jinnan. "Anan, are you busy right now?"