I Was Just a Scumbag Extra, But She Loved Me Anyway [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 11

The black BMW sped through the rainy night, quickly climbing the mountain road that led to Lin City.

The rain was heavy. At normal speeds, it was still possible to see the road ahead, but if they were on the highway, it would have been a complete blur of rain and fog. Su Chenli kept a steady grip on the steering wheel, maintaining a pace that was neither fast nor slow as she drove along the narrow mountain road.

Su Chenli was clearly a skilled driver. She hadn’t lied to Jiang Youning—she really did know how to race. Before entering this small world, she had taken on a racing-themed drama and trained for a long time at a racing club. She’d even joined an off-road competition for fun later on.

But… there hadn’t been extreme weather during those races.

After all, this scene was written into the original story—something was meant to go wrong.

While Su Chenli was thinking about the potential danger ahead, Jiang Youning suddenly asked, “Who told you to come with me to Lin City?”

“Hm?” Su Chenli almost didn’t react in time.

Jiang Youning set her phone down and looked at Su Chenli calmly. “There’s no leave request under your name in the system. You’ve been showing up to work every day. Or are you trying to tell me that you just randomly decided to take a trip to Lin City with your—your friends, without any planning at all?”

Su Chenli: “…”

Damn. She had thought of everything—except a proper excuse. She hadn’t expected her gorgeous colleague to question her so thoroughly.

When she made her plan, all she focused on was rescuing the beautiful older sister. She hadn’t given a thought to what would happen after… because her role was just to wait for the plot to continue, playing the diligent background character she was supposed to be.

She never imagined that Jiang Youning would actually look into it.

Still… the original version of Su Chenli was known as a spoiled and reckless Alpha. No one would be surprised if she suddenly decided to run off somewhere. It actually worked well as an excuse.

“I haven’t really decided how long I’ll be gone,” Su Chenli replied casually, smiling. “Figured I’d just take it day by day.”

Jiang Youning thought for a moment. The excuse wasn’t unreasonable.

After all, the research center was owned by Su Chenli’s family. She didn’t care about the salary, and Chairman Su wouldn’t fire his own daughter.

But still… could it really be such a coincidence?

Just as she was heading to Lin City, Su Chenli was too. Both of them had decided last minute. And somehow, Su Chenli’s car had broken down right next to hers.

…Though the decision to park in that square had been entirely her own. No one could’ve predicted that.

Jiang Youning admitted she might be overthinking things—but deep down, something just felt off. It didn’t seem like Su Chenli should be here.

“You’re asking because you think I came to help Zhong Li ruin your plans, aren’t you?” Su Chenli said while keeping her eyes on the road.

Jiang Youning was always wary of Zhong Li. Sometimes, she even lumped Su Chenli in with her… maybe it was the natural instinct of a devoted supporting character to distrust a chaotic Alpha?

Jiang Youning paused, then turned to look at her. Her calm and elegant voice sounded composed: “So, are you?”

Su Chenli was momentarily stunned. She glanced at Jiang Youning instinctively. “Of course not—”

But before she could finish, a blinding light suddenly flashed from ahead, cutting her off. The high beams filled her vision with a burst of white.

She hadn’t expected anyone to be speeding on a mountain road, in the rain, with their high beams on. And she was sure—there hadn’t been any cars ahead earlier. Where did this one come from?

A sharp screech of brakes and a blaring horn rang out. Then, a shout—“Watch out!”—echoed right beside her.

On instinct, Su Chenli turned the wheel sharply, steering away from the sound of the brakes.

The road was carved along the edge of a cliff—one side was a sheer mountain wall, the other a deep pit. On a night like this, that pit had surely filled with rainwater. Falling in would be fatal.

Either side meant disaster if she made the wrong move.

She turned toward the cliff. If she misjudged the throttle, they’d slam into the rocks. And her vision still hadn’t recovered from the blinding glare.

In that split second of panic, a strange memory surfaced—during the filming of that racing drama, the director had made her do a scene where she had to drift blindfolded.

That scene had been real. And now, the feeling was eerily similar.

She recalled the last glimpse of the road before the light blinded her. She listened for the changing position of the horn. Her eyes, still blurry, strained to catch the shape of headlights…

She turned the wheel slightly. The side mirror on the driver’s side scraped against the cliff wall with a bone-jarring crunch, shattered into pieces. On Jiang Youning’s side—not only was the door untouched, even the mirror remained intact.

Jiang Youning saw everything. The pickup truck, speeding recklessly around the curve with high beams on in the rain, scraped along the roadside guardrail as it barely missed them.

At its closest, the gap between the two vehicles couldn’t have been more than a centimeter.

Su Chenli adjusted the wheel again and slowly stepped on the brakes.

The car eased back onto the road and came to a gentle stop. Everything seemed under control. But Su Chenli had a nagging feeling—when she’d scraped the cliff wall to avoid the pickup, something hard might have scraped the underside of the car.

Her vision was still hazy. She lowered her head and rubbed her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Jiang Youning didn’t hesitate—she reached over and grabbed Su Chenli’s shoulder.

“I’m fine…” Su Chenli lifted her head and saw Jiang Youning’s calm expression, with just a hint of worry in her eyes.

Maybe from the jolt, Jiang Youning’s hair clip had loosened. A few strands had fallen around her face, and her cool, clear eyes seemed even more fragile in that moment.

Su Chenli opened her mouth but forgot what she meant to say.

“Why are you staring? Are you hurt?” Jiang Youning frowned and began checking Su Chenli’s exposed skin for injuries.

“No, no,” Su Chenli snapped out of it and gently pushed her hand away. “I’m really fine.”

Jiang Youning’s hand was elegant—long, slender fingers, slightly cool to the touch. When they brushed against Su Chenli’s cheek and neck, it tickled just enough to stir something in her chest… something she couldn’t quite name.

Su Chenli looked away, silently telling herself to focus. She turned her head to glance at the winding mountain road behind them, as if trying to escape the moment—only to realize, with a jolt, that the pickup truck that had nearly collided with them was gone.

“Where did that truck go?”

Jiang Youning glanced back too, equally surprised. “It… didn’t stop at all, I think.”

In situations this serious, most drivers would stop and at least check on the damage or speak with the other party. But that truck had simply vanished?

Was it trying to avoid responsibility, knowing it was at fault?

Su Chenli sat silently in the driver’s seat, but her heart sank. A bad feeling crept in, heavier by the second.

She was sure there had been no other cars when she’d turned to speak to Jiang Youning. So how had that truck suddenly appeared? And after the sideswipe—it just disappeared without stopping?

This was a story segment that had been explicitly written to “go wrong.” Su Chenli couldn’t help overthinking.

Before she could sort her thoughts, the rain began hammering down even harder. The noise on the roof and windshield grew violently loud, as if trying to shatter the very shell of the car. Along with the storm came a sharp drop in temperature. A fine mist began to gather around the car windows.

Su Chenli’s face changed. Was this the torrential downpour described in the original novel?

Their car was already battered from the earlier scrape. Now this sudden rainstorm was making everything worse. She quickly looked ahead—the road was now completely obscured by fog and rain. Visibility had dropped to less than five meters.

Just as Su Chenli was racking her brain for a way out, a warning light flashed on the dashboard—the transmission system was malfunctioning.

…Now it was truly a mess.

The transmission system was like the car’s nervous system—it connected the engine, brakes, and even affected the steering.

Normally, even if something went wrong, there might still be a bit of leeway. But Su Chenli clearly remembered the metallic scraping sound beneath the car when she’d swerved against the cliff to avoid the truck…

That had probably damaged the transmission. And how badly? She had no idea.

The safest choice right now would be to stop and wait for help. But they were on a mountain road, in the middle of a storm. There was nowhere to go.

The downpour was intense. And worse, they’d stopped on a slope. Su Chenli could clearly feel the brake pedal getting lighter under her foot. If she let go, even for a second, the car would start sliding backward. At that point, not even jumping out would save them.

For the first time since arriving in this world with a mission, Su Chenli genuinely didn’t know if she and Jiang Youning would make it out of this alive.

She took a deep breath and reached out to grab Jiang Youning’s wrist.

Jiang Youning had been checking the road and the car’s condition. Caught off guard by the sudden touch, she turned to see Su Chenli’s serious expression.

“Something might really go wrong today, beautiful,” Su Chenli said slowly, locking eyes with her. Her tone was light, but her gaze was deadly serious. “If anything happens to us… there are two things I want you to know. First, I never once worked with Zhong Li to hurt you. And second… when I said I liked you a little that day— I meant it.”

Jiang Youning was stunned. It took her a few moments to respond. “Why… are you bringing this up now?”

Su Chenli gave a faint, bitter smile. “Didn’t you notice we’re already sliding backwards? I haven’t taken my foot off the brake once.”

Jiang Youning’s expression changed. Only now did she fully realize the danger they were in.

Su Chenli took another breath, gripping the steering wheel with both hands and staring straight ahead. “The brakes are unreliable now, and we don’t know how long this rain will last. With the way we’re positioned, if we slide all the way down, we’ll crash through the guardrail and end up in that pit. The only option we have is to lean the car against the cliff wall to stabilize it—but with visibility this low, it’s almost impossible. And I’m not even sure the steering wheel is responding anymore…”

Hearing that, Jiang Youning understood just how dire their situation was. Surprisingly, instead of panicking, she became completely calm. “We might die, then?”

Su Chenli glanced at her, feeling the car begin to slide faster. She immediately said, “Not we. You—get out now. Jump. Quickly!”

Jiang Youning gave Su Chenli a long, deep look. “Let’s not make any sudden moves and add more strain to the car. Lower the window—I’ll watch the left side for you.”

Su Chenli hesitated. “You…”

The moment to act was fleeting. In weather like this, jumping out was already risky. And now, with the car gaining speed, it would be even more dangerous.

At a time like this, arguing was pointless. Su Chenli reached over and rolled down the window.

The storm wind and rain rushed in all at once, instantly soaking both Su Chenli and Jiang Youning. For a brief moment, Su Chenli could barely see anything.

The car was picking up speed. Su Chenli could feel the brakes rapidly losing effect. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jiang Youning sweep her wet hair back and lean halfway out the window.

“Left!”

Su Chenli glanced at the rearview mirror and, relying on a blurred mental image of the road, turned the steering wheel slightly. Thankfully, the steering still responded—it wasn’t over yet.

If she remembered correctly, not far from where they scraped the cliff earlier, a large jagged rock jutted out from the mountainside.

That was their only chance now. If she could direct the car to hit that rock, it might stop them completely. If they missed it, they’d lose all control on the road ahead—and with the growing speed, a full-on crash was almost inevitable.

Even for someone trained in racing, this was pushing it.

Su Chenli gave a bitter smile to herself and adjusted the steering wheel one final time. This was it—do or die.

In the last few seconds before impact, the brakes completely failed. The car surged forward at full speed. Su Chenli, sensing it coming, locked one hand on the wheel and reached out with the other to pull Jiang Youning back in.

“Hold on!”

A violent crash followed. The car’s alloy frame twisted and crumpled, glass shattered with a sharp, echoing crack—then came a heavy ringing in her ears. Su Chenli felt a sting across her face, like a scratch, but the pain faded quickly, washed away by rain.

As the aching numbness in her body began to subside, she noticed Jiang Youning, still tucked under her arm, shifting slightly. That jolted Su Chenli awake, and she quickly sat up and pulled back a little.

But as soon as she moved, she felt the crunch of broken glass falling off her clothes. When the rear of the car had smashed into the cliff wall, the back window had shattered, scattering shards all over her.

Still, the car had stopped—exactly as she’d hoped.

Just like she’d predicted, the back half of the vehicle was now wedged into the mountain wall. And most importantly, both she and Jiang Youning were unharmed. Mission accomplished—perfectly.

“Your face…” Jiang Youning said suddenly.

“What?” Su Chenli turned to her, only to see they were both equally soaked and disheveled.

Jiang Youning’s white shirt was drenched, clinging tightly to her fair, warm skin. The shape of her undergarments was clearly visible through the fabric. Su Chenli’s gaze accidentally landed there for a split second, and it felt like she’d been burned. She quickly looked away and muttered, “Um… what did you say?”

“Your face is bleeding. You got scratched,” Jiang Youning said softly. They were sitting so close that she naturally reached out and gently tapped Su Chenli’s cheek. “Right here.”

“Is it bad—” Su Chenli turned toward her, about to ask more, but didn’t get the words out.

Maybe the impact had left the car unbalanced, or maybe the steering wheel hadn’t fully locked—either way, the vehicle jolted unexpectedly just then. And in that moment, Su Chenli’s lips accidentally brushed against Jiang Youning’s.

Cool. Soft. Faintly tasting of rain.

Both of them froze. Especially Jiang Youning. Su Chenli’s eyes widened slightly. From this close, she could clearly see the shock—and was that helpless confusion?—in Jiang Youning’s gaze.

She didn’t know how long the moment lasted. But the sting from the scratch on her cheek finally brought Su Chenli back to her senses.

“S-sorry!” she blurted, retreating awkwardly to the driver’s side. She gripped the now-useless steering wheel and leaned tightly against the door, too flustered to even glance Jiang Youning’s way.

What just happened? That… that was a kiss, wasn’t it?

Would the beautiful older sister be angry?

On the other side of the car, Jiang Youning silently turned her face away. Out of Su Chenli’s sight, she stared blankly at nothing.

Her fingertips unconsciously touched the spot where Su Chenli had kissed her. Then she pressed her hand lightly to her chest, frowning in confusion.

Something felt… strange.

Something inside her was stirring—an unfamiliar emotion she didn’t know how to face.