Chapter 1: Unforeseen accident

The motorbike sped swiftly on the highway. Joyce recalled the recent conversation between him and his father. His father always used the excuse of being busy with work to avoid meeting his mother, but his mother always wanted to see his father, even if it meant waiting until her death without his presence.

"What do you think about what Dad says, son? The most important thing Dad should do is to be by Mom's side, but Dad doesn't do that. Does Dad know that even until Mom's death, she just wants to see Dad?"

"What Dad says now, I might not believe. Dad has tried so hard to come and meet your mother."

Ridiculous. It's not like they're thousands of kilometers apart to say they've tried so hard. Ultimately, it's whether they want to or not.

Joyce is deeply disappointed in this father. He doesn't care about Joyce's situation, and now even the person who shares his bed at night doesn't receive his attention. Joyce knows that their relationship has been strained for a while, unsure when it started or how, but at the very least, when his mother needed his father the most, he should be present. That way, Joyce wouldn't hold resentment towards him.

The flames of hatred blaze brightly in the depths of Joyce's eyes, as a blanket of resentment covers him. He speaks out, "Mom's death is because of Dad."

Tears silently fall from Joyce's eyes, he doesn't want anyone to witness this vulnerability of his. He wishes for the wind to dry those teardrops.

The speed of Joyce's motorcycle increased even faster. In an instant, he saw a girl stepping onto the road. Unable to brake in time and not wanting to harm anyone else, Joyce swerved the steering wheel. The motorcycle lost its balance, skidding across the ground, and Joyce was thrown out, rolling several times.

Joyce got up, removed his helmet, luckily he was fine, just some scratches on his hand.

Seems like today is just full of little mishaps. When I stepped out of the house, I accidentally put my left foot forward.

Seeing the car almost hit me felt like my heart jumped out of my chest. Celina's heart raced as if leaping out of her chest. She hurriedly approached the man and asked, "Are you okay?"

Thankfully, your luck was on your side.

Joyce sat down on the sidewalk. Celina followed, her concern evident as she continued to ask, "Are you hurt anywhere? Let me take a look."

Joyce felt quite annoyed with this girl. He appeared visibly irritated and retorted, "Didn't you see the car coming? Or were you intentionally trying to get into trouble?"

Despite his handsome appearance, his harsh words were hard to listen to, but Celina wasn't someone to be trifled with. She asked back, "Why don't you try being in my position to see if you could have avoided it? I still love life a lot, and I'm not ready to die. And this isn't your racing track, why were you speeding like that? Your mistake is glaring, yet you're turning around to blame me."

At that moment, Joyce took a quick look at the girl in front of him, assessing her silently. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, petite in stature, yet her sharp wit was evident.

Joyce didn't want to engage in further conflict with the girl. What about his injured hand?

Celina's gaze shifted to Joyce's outstretched hand, noticing his injured hand. She worriedly exclaimed, "Your hand isn't bleeding anymore. Wait a moment, please."

Joyce gave a cold smirk, not intending to wait for the girl. However, Celina's feet seemed to move as if powered by a motor, as she quickly returned with a first aid kit in hand.

Seeing the man about to leave, Celina hurriedly stopped him, "Your hand hasn't been treated yet, where do you think you're going? Come here, I'll help you bandage the wound, and then you can go wherever you want."

Reluctantly, he wasn't willing at all, but the girl's persistent concern dragged him along.

Joyce opened his mouth, his tone sharp, "Do you find yourself annoying?"

Celina sighed, thinking that she must really enjoy this. It's just that his fall was partly her fault for not paying attention while crossing the road. Otherwise, she wouldn't care about him at all. He might look handsome, but his attitude just makes her want to punch him.

"Instead of saying that, why don't you say thank you?" Celina pulled out the bandage and started tending to his wound, speaking with a slightly irritated tone.

"Thank you?" Joyce sounded surprised, then continued somewhat dismissively, "I haven't claimed that helping you is doing you a favor."

At this point, Celina couldn't take it anymore and spoke out firmly, "Listen. Both you and I were at fault. I was wrong for not looking before crossing, and you were speeding excessively. If we go by the law, your offense is actually worse than mine. So, could you please not speak so insensitively?"

"I don't like it. So what? What are you going to do about it?" Joyce retorted challengingly, lifting his chin defiantly.

For the first time, Celina encountered such a defiant man. She was furious, but she held back and smiled before delivering a sarcastic comment, "I've broadened my horizons today. You wear pants, but your personality is more like that of a woman. I'll go ahead now, no need to meet again."

Joyce was furious beyond measure. A young, promising department head, exuding charisma, pursued by many women, and yet a stranger had labeled him as having a womanly personality. Fine, let her run off quickly then. She better not let him catch her again.

However, little did they know the concept of "fate." Once intertwined, they might avoid each other for a while, but sooner or later, they would cross paths again.

Entering the company with a determined and somewhat hostile demeanor, Joyce cast a gaze at everyone as if they were long-standing enemies who had wronged him for years.

Everyone knew to keep their distance from him, but there was one man who not only wasn't afraid but also slung an arm around his shoulder.

"What's up, my friend! Threatening the staff to run away early in the morning?"

"I just didn't want bad luck to follow me all day."

Derek - Joyce's closest friend. Growing up together since childhood, their bond is easy to see. With such a serious expression, it's either related to family matters or he's being bothered by a girl way too much.

"You had an argument with your dad again, huh?" Derek made his guess, and it's probably not far off.

"You think my dad and I ever meet peacefully? But today, I almost got killed by a kid crossing the road. My hand still hurts," Joyce grumbled, his frustration evident.

Derek couldn't help but be curious about the girl who had annoyed his friend. He chuckled, "How many cars are there at home that you have to resort to riding a motorcycle? Anyway, let it go. Focus on work, we'll play ball in the evening. But can you play with your hand like this?"

Joyce raised his injured hand, now carefully bandaged, "I can still play just fine. If something happened to me today, that girl would be in big trouble."

The person next to him shrugged, "You hold grudges for a long time."