Zhou Yishan's supposedly innocent question killed the mood on impact, earning a collective groan that rippled across the room.
Before he could blink—thwack!—Yuxi smacked the back of his head from behind.
"Think before you speak," she muttered under her breath.
Zhou Yishan opened his mouth to protest, but Feng Tian spoke first, her voice soft, almost wounded.
"My car," she clarified. "I hadn't taken it out in a while. And with how stressful these past few days have been… I just needed some air."
Qi Yan's brow lifted slightly. He said nothing, but that mention of stress—he filed it away in silence.
"I was driving along the ridge," she continued, hands folded neatly in her lap. "Windows down. The air was quiet, peaceful—for once. But then…"
She raised one hand and gestured toward Frank, still slouched under Li Wei's watchful eye like a guilty housecat caught mid-crime.
"…that man rammed into me from behind. Out of nowhere. No warning."
A quiet beat passed.
