Chapter 47: Liancheng Leaves On Day One
Bai Ying froze.
Her mind traced Liang Chaosu’s usual behavior and suddenly she shivered, “My old man used to say that the marketplace is like a battlefield, where people curse each other dirtiest in a fight, but no one ever dared to curse Liang Chaosu. If anyone cursed him even once, he would seize their ancestral land, wipe out their entire lineage, and lay waste to everything. He’s a ruthless one.”
Liancheng’s breathing became heavier, “That’s only one aspect. He was so enraged that he kicked me out of the Liang family. That one hundred million investment is completely wasted. With new and old grudges combined, I have no choice but to run. I don’t have time to manage the company. You go to the black clinic for me—”
Before she could finish, Bai Ying grabbed her hand, “No need to go. This is what I wanted to tell you.”
Liancheng furrowed her brows.
Bai Ying’s eyes lit up, “You were in such a hurry to get back to the company at noon, I followed you for a bit, but before I could go far, Liang Chaosu’s secretary stopped me.”
Liancheng’s brow furrowed tighter.
Bai Ying shook her hand excitedly, “You don’t have to be afraid of prenatal check-ups at the black clinic anymore. Shen Lichuan’s secretary guaranteed that even if Liang Chaosu investigated the black clinic ten thousand times, the owner wouldn’t say a word about you. Shen Lichuan has also arranged for you to go abroad, including plane tickets, visa, and a new identity—”
She took out a stack of thick, folded paper from her pocket and shoved it into Liancheng’s hand, “Your plan was to stay domestically and hide for a few more years. Now you can go abroad. Liang Chaosu’s three eyes can’t see that far. You won’t even need to hide. As soon as you land, it’s a new life.”
Liancheng unfolded each page from the outside, revealing not only departure procedures but also several overseas properties and a list of contact numbers. From within the country to abroad, as long as she was ready to leave, from the moment she stepped out of the Liang family, by following the numbers on the list, every step would be covered and protected by someone.
Her hand trembled slightly until all the paper was transferred to her other hand, revealing a single origami crane in the innermost layer, its writing faintly visible through the folds.
Bai Ying explained, “The secretary said this is a letter from Shen Lichuan to you.”
“I know,” Liancheng repeated softly, “I know.”
Bai Ying saw her face freeze into a ghastly white, her eyes dimmed to the point of losing their light, filled with a struggle to suppress her sorrow.
“It was him—”
Just as Bai Ying began to speak, Liancheng’s phone rang, a shrill and piercing sound that startled several stray cats in the silent street.
Liancheng folded the papers, tucking the origami crane inside.
The caller ID on the phone was stark and urgent. Bai Ying saw it too and blurted out, “Liang Chaosu really isn’t planning to let you go.”
Liancheng took a deep breath, and only after another five or six seconds did she answer.
The man’s voice betrayed no emotion, “Where are you?”
Liancheng desperately controlled her emotions, “The company.”
“After being kicked out of your home, you can still go to work at the company?”
It was like stabbing someone and then calling to ask why they weren’t dead. Bai Ying’s eyes burned as she listened.
Liancheng’s gaze signaled her to stay calm. Her tone was flat and devoid of emotion, “Besides the company, I have nowhere to go.”
Silence fell on the other end of the phone, no one spoke, and no one hung up.
After waiting a few more breaths, the man’s voice came, deep and low, “Take a long leave of absence. I’ll pick you up.”
Bai Ying’s face turned ashen.
Liancheng clutched her phone, her knuckles turning white. Her voice, trembling with shock, revealed a hint of real emotion, “I don’t want to see you right now.”
At the same time, she was extremely clear-headed, realizing that provoking him now was out of the question. Calming him down was the priority.
Liancheng added, “Can you give me an afternoon to calm down?”
Too long, and he might lose patience in his anger. Too short, and it wouldn’t be enough time for her to get to a safe place.
The phone screen lit up, and the call was hung up.
Liancheng’s back suddenly sagged, and she became listless. Bai Ying gasped, “Did he agree or not?”
Liancheng strode out, “There’s a seventy percent chance he agreed, but I can’t gamble on that thirty percent.”
She didn’t hesitate and had to leave.
……..
No more than two streets away from Liancheng’s company.
The man hung up the phone and instructed Zhang An, “Return to the company.”
Zhang An immediately put on the turn signal and changed lanes to turn.
Liang Chaosu’s fingers caressed his phone.
After a long while, another call was made.
The other side answered quickly, “Is it a solar flare, the end of the world, or did my uncle Iron Man possess you and defeat you, that you’re actually calling me?”
Liang Chaosu ignored his teasing. The green belt and the spring cherry blossoms flashed by his sight. “For the next two weeks, figure it out yourself. Don’t bother me unless it’s a complete loss.”
Gu Xingyuan, who had been lazily lounging on the sofa, sat up in shock, “You’re messing with me? Is your wife pregnant too?”
The man was displeased and said nothing.
Gu Xingyuan’s mouth twitched, “Oh right, you don’t even have a wife. Since you don’t have a wife, why are you taking leave at such a dangerous time?”
Hearing the cold silence from the other end, Gu Xingyuan smugly lay back down and teased, “You can’t be because you can’t get a wife yourself, so you’re going to squeeze me, a man with a happy marriage, to death.”
This time, Liang Chaosu replied with a cold laugh, “Someone who has to beg me to protect his wife and children, how dare you mention the words ‘happy marriage’?”
The call was cut off.
Gu Xingyuan, angered, sat up again and complained to the woman by his side, who was smiling and peeling an orange, “He’s in a foul mood. What’s he so aggressive with me for? As if resisting the whole of society and its conventions is easy?”
The woman fed him a segment and said, “But he has the strength to do it, doesn’t he?”
Gu Xingyuan’s career, relationship, and sense of taste all soured. “Are you helping me or him?”
……..
Liancheng bid farewell to Bai Ying and boarded the bus.
The green belt was filled with spring cherry blossoms, each tree full of life, stretching across the entire city in a similar emerald hue.
Liancheng overheard two young girls in the adjacent seats whispering excitedly, “I didn’t expect all the cherry trees to survive. Next spring when the flowers bloom, a gust of wind will bring a rain of cherry blossoms across the city, a sea of pink mist. Just thinking about it makes me so excited.”
“Me too. I didn’t realize the government, usually so stiff and old-fashioned, could be so romantic and dreamy.”
Liancheng pulled up the curtain.
The two girls were half right. She also hadn’t expected that someone as rigid and cold as Liang Chaosu could have such a delicate and grand gesture for his biological sister.
As the bus drove onto the highway, the provincial capital became a blurred shadow in the rearview.
Liancheng relaxed, unrolling the paper tube she was holding. The outermost two layers were damp from the cold sweat on her palms, but she paid it no mind.
She set them aside and unsealed the origami crane.
After four years, Liancheng saw Shen Lichuan’s handwriting again.
【 After learning the truth at the teahouse, I had countless thoughts and impulses, screaming, wishing I could reveal everything and tear Liang Chaosu to pieces.
Then, I remembered your eyes, filled with the fear of constant upheaval, each moment writing a desperate struggle for survival, the next a narrow escape. Within them, I also saw you guarding yourself against me, as if guarding against him.
Liancheng, I am deeply ashamed.
For these past four years, I always thought I was respecting your decision.
If you believed me, I would resist. If you wanted to leave, I would let go. If you avoided me because of Liang Wenfei, I accepted that too.
Two months ago, I saw Liang Wenfei frame you. You hid in the garden and cried. All the flowers were competing in beauty, the world was infinitely good. But your suffering, your grievances, your sadness, could only be silent and solitary.
I realized I was wrong. The Shen-Liang marriage alliance was a responsibility I couldn’t refuse. Faced with the fact that I had to marry Liang Wenfei, I accepted it while simultaneously refusing all intimate contact with her, clinging to the memory of your past self.
This led her to vent her resentment on you, harming the real you.
That night, I touched her.
I am telling you this not to burden you, but to tell you that by taking that step, I understood that there was no possibility for us anymore.
Therefore, please do not guard yourself against this kindness.
Do not accept it. 】
Liancheng froze, feeling a sense of suffocation.
Flipping it over to the back, there was still writing.
