Chapter 91: The Go Abroad Route Is Set
It was unclear if her extreme anger caused her strength to go out of control, or if Liang Chaosu intentionally let her go.
Lian Cheng fled the VIP lounge in a panic, escaping the marketplace.
After the Winter Solstice, the first rain fell unexpectedly. Through the hazy mist, a taxi stopped perfectly beside her.
Lian Cheng opened the door and sat in the back seat.
Her mind was in turmoil, and she couldn’t think of a suitable place to go. She barely managed to tell the driver, “Take me for a drive. Just keep going, don’t stop.”
The driver seemed unfazed and didn’t ask any more questions. He started the meter and merged into the endless stream of traffic.
Lian Cheng leaned against the car window. The entire city was enveloped in rain and fog, the tall buildings appearing cold and blurry.
She tried her best to avoid thinking about Liang Chaosu, about the loophole he had personally torn open.
Some things can only be ignored, and it’s better to be a fool than to be clear-headed and discerning about everything.
Otherwise, how could she face the fragmented, bruised present? The reason she was unrecognizable and bleeding profusely was that Liang Chaosu was reluctant to let her go, wanting to keep her to have children and exchange the rest of her life for countless agonizing four-year periods.
This feeling was like bandits who, lusting after a woman, would break into a home at midnight, rob and kill, leaving nothing behind, and then abduct her as a concubine.
Whenever Lian Cheng thought about it, her heart felt as if it were being gripped by invisible iron hands, clenching tightly, and her breathing became a burden.
In the afternoon, Lian Cheng had nowhere to go. After learning that Bai Ying was off duty, she went to Bai Ying’s Residence and received another progesterone injection for pregnancy preservation.
Afterward, she spent the night in a dazed state at Bai Ying’s house.
The next day, Bai Ying went to work, and Lian Cheng regained her spirits and arranged to meet Old Ghost.
This time, she learned from her lesson and arranged to meet in an old urban area at a private internet cafe. The keyboards were greasy, the chairs showed exposed foam, and the air was thick with a suffocating smell of smoke.
With Liang Chaosu’s identity and status, he would never have stepped foot here even if he had passed by.
Old Ghost did not dislike it, but he also did not want to stay long. “President Shen asked me to help, so I will definitely do my best. Give me your identification document. We’ll meet at the bus station ticket counter at six o’clock the day after tomorrow. We’ll take a fishing boat out to sea from the province, then transfer to another boat to enter a neighboring country, and then arrange for you to fly to Greenland from that country. You can then live in seclusion there, or find another place yourself.”
“It’s just that the step of going abroad requires an identification document, right?”
Old Ghost confirmed, “It’s strict domestically, but abroad is like a sieve. Don’t worry, your identification document won’t be used to apply for entry or exit before the day after tomorrow. We are still cautious about that.”
Lian Cheng sighed in relief and hesitated before asking, “Does it have to be the day after tomorrow? Can’t it be earlier?”
Old Ghost lifted his eyelids to scrutinize her, “Are you in a hurry?”
Lian Cheng nodded.
Old Ghost said, “Even if you’re in a hurry, you have to wait. If it weren’t for President Shen’s favor, I could send you abroad right now, but your whereabouts can’t withstand scrutiny.”
“Speaking of which, you were originally going to take this route of just going abroad. It was President Shen’s careful instruction that made me activate the sea route. This is my fallback plan. Once everything is in place, even national security can’t catch you.”
Lian Cheng handed over her identification document and paid a deposit of 100,000 cash.
After Old Ghost left, Lian Cheng also left the internet cafe.
It had rained yesterday, and the ground in the old urban area was uneven, with many small puddles. Lian Cheng dodged left and right. As she was leaving the urban village, she looked up and ran into someone unexpected.
Feng Shien.
He was wearing a casual green military-style flight jacket and retro blue jeans, with the cuffs tucked into his large yellow boots.
He had shed his flashy designer exterior from the previous two times. Standing in front of an old red brick courtyard, he looked like a dejected young man who couldn’t get into his home. High-end gift boxes were continuously thrown from inside the door, splashing mud and rolling to his feet.
Until there was no more space around his feet, his jeans and boots were covered in a layer of dark brown mud and filth. The door was locked from the inside, and from time to time, an aged, scolding voice could be heard.
“Take your things and get out. If you like the elite and wealthy, be their person of status, but don’t come here to pretend to see me, it’s disgusting.”
Feng Shien bent down, picked up the gifts from the ground, and took out tissues to wipe them clean. He neatly stacked them by the door. “Grandma, I’m leaving now. Please take care of yourself.”
Lian Cheng retreated to the side.
She could deeply understand that when people are in a state of disarray and sadness, their minds drift aimlessly and heavily. They just want to be alone and sad in a place where no one else is around. Even if others don’t speak, their presence is an inappropriate and awkward intrusion.
However, Feng Shien stopped in front of her. “Miss Lian Cheng, is this route still convenient for you?”
Lian Cheng couldn’t help but think of the tree-lined road of Jade Mansion.
The two of them had quite a fate, starting from a mistaken blind date. It was as if they were drawn to each other by unseen forces, witnessing each other’s desperate moments back and forth.
“Convenient,” she said, taking a step forward, leaving the red brick courtyard behind.
She didn’t mention what had just happened. Feng Shien, unexpectedly again, spoke up, very abruptly, “I actually don’t want to return to the Feng family, nor do I want to bear the surname Feng.”
Lian Cheng was not good at comforting people, nor did she like to pry into others’ privacy. Usually, at this point, she would stop the conversation.
Feng Shien looked at her.
He had a pair of ‘Tony Leung’-esque eyes: focused, tender, and melancholic. When his caramel-colored pupils under his long eyelashes smiled, they were like honey; when they didn’t, they were like strong wine that could dissolve all worldly sorrow.
His face was sincere and subtle, as if inviting someone to quietly share a drink.
“Before I returned to the Feng family, I had a two-story building in Anping, at the foot of Wangjia Mountain, next to the wheat fields. The rural courtyard was very large, with six fen of land, filled with vegetables and fruits, cucumbers in the summer, and cabbage in the winter.”
“There was a peach tree in the west corner, and in front of the small building’s door, there was an apricot tree with a large canopy. When it bloomed, it was very spectacular. Under the sunlight, dappled light covered the entire courtyard. There was no scheming, no coercion; I could sleep until whenever I wanted.”
Lian Cheng listened intently.
Her eyes were clear, like a pool of spring water holding two black mercury balls. The upturned corners of her eyes curved like crescent moons. Others’ disdainful words, to her, were received with sincere quietude.
A gentle flow of tenderness.
Feng Shien, struck by the crescent moon, suddenly felt a pang, “Is this very childish?”
“No,” Lian Cheng asked, “Can you grow cucumbers in Shanlu Province?”
“Yes,” Feng Shien tilted his head, matching her pace, slowly and even more slowly, “The North is the place for growing cucumbers.”
Hearing this, Lian Cheng also tilted her head. She grew cucumbers in Nan Province, and they were good and strong, flowering and bearing fruit in successive harvests.
“The year I left at eighteen, the government took the lead in establishing an agricultural base, supplying the nation with its produce. The cucumbers you eat now might have been grown by our base.”
Lian Cheng imagined vast fields of cucumber flowers and sincerely praised, “Your place must be very beautiful.”
A smile appeared in Feng Shien’s eyes, his pupils like amber candy, gazing at Lian Cheng.
It was nearing noon, and sunlight leaked from the eaves and corners of the walls, falling directly onto her face. The light was like shattered gold, her skin smooth as jade, with fine, soft, delicate milky-white fluff. There was a small mole on her nose tip, making her look playful.
“Lian Cheng,” he suddenly changed his address, “The pear blossoms have withered and borne fruit, and you are not ‘Fat Pear’.”
