Pursued

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE "PURSUED"

Xia Xinyuan continued to detail how Qing Tian had been losing money for about nine subsequent months since a failed financial investment. Qiao Ruo was harrowed about how insidious Li Yao's schemes were, and how she had appeared to perceive Cree as her bargaining chip.

"There's a possibility that the woman already has someone," Xinyuan suddenly said.

"What do you propose?"

"Ruo Ruo, what do you think? Which is more important for you now, getting Cree Ye out or your relationship with him?"

She paused and made a severe contemplation. Though she was deeply in love with the man, she knew at this juncture, his safety and survival waged even more important than her selfish love and possessiveness for him. If she wished to have a happy ever after with him, she had to lay low and be patient. Moreover, if he had to choose, would his choice be her, or his filial piety? Even if the Ye couple were not his parents by blood, they were still the parents who had nurtured and provided for him for more than a decade. With all these circumstances, perhaps even he would implore her to be patient. As long as they both survived, they still had a chance to be together.

"His safety matters," Qiao Ruo uttered sadly, holding back her tears from flowing. She placed her hand on her mouth, covering it slightly as she gritted her teeth. Xinyuan watched her slowly and offered her a wad of paper handkerchiefs from his pocket.

"Ruo Ruo, don't be too hard on yourself."

Accepting the tissues, she took one and rubbed her lightly stained eyes. She took a few minutes to settle her emotions.

"I'm fine," she said. "But there's something I need to ask you."

"Ask away." He faced her with a polite smile. Years of public speaking onstage had brought about his charisma and extreme confidence, allowing him to appear calm and collected at all times.

"Why do you call me Ruo Ruo?" she asked him with a doubtful look in her eyes.

Xinyuan let out a disappointed sigh. "Ruo Ruo, after all these years, have you forgotten who I am?"

Qiao Ruo looked at Xinyuan with a hopeful look in her eyes, recalling the boy she had played with as a child back in the countryside. When she was ten, and he eleven, he had suddenly disappeared without a trace and left her with much misery. Now that she realised who he was, the mole on his face was unmistakable, and she wondered how she had missed sighting it earlier. "Ya Lun? But I thought..."

The child Ya Lun was plump, but before her now stood an attractive and assured grown-up. She was aware of how they had left their innocent lives behind, subjected to the ferocity and harshness of the real world. They lived in such a cruel and realistic society, prone to judgment by the players of the game they were playing. Every minute of their existence in this world was a battle, and it often made her tired.

"I've been adopted, Ruo Ruo," he explained. Could that be the reason he had left? That was just so much for her to take in at the moment.

"How can I be sure that you are Ya Lun?" she expressed, reminding herself that she could not trust anyone. If even a mother could do that to her son, goodness knows what people would do to each other nowadays.

"Ruo Ruo, do you remember the place we used to hide at when we got into trouble? We would climb that huge tree, and nobody would ever find us?" He went on to give her an account of how they would often get into trouble, and her aunt along with his father would be on the hunt for them, leaving them no choice but to climb up the tree to hide within its broad and many branches. They would go through rain and sun together and were akin to siblings. When he disappeared suddenly, she had suspected him of having been kidnapped, but his father did not react. If a wealthy family indeed adopted him, then that explained why his father was unaffected, and their sudden fortune.

"Trust me, we will find a way out for Cree, but for now, the most we can do for him is for you to lay low for a while. As long as his mother believes you are no longer a threat to the Ye family, she will let down her guard. When the time is right, you can always be reunited with your beau."

She saw earnestness filling his eyes, that compelled her to trust him. If he had a way out for Cree, she was willing to try it. Even if it meant giving up their relationship temporarily, she firmly believed that if he loved her, he would do all he can to persuade his parents. He would fight for her and their love, no matter how long it would take.

"Is there no other way out? Could we rescue him, and take him with us?" she asked hopefully. The minute the words had left her mouth, she immediately realised how immature she had sounded. However, Xinyuan remained indifferent, but at the same time, he seemed to be wary of the surroundings, occasionally eyeing about the place, fearing for spies.

"Ruo Ruo, we have to get going. Every moment outside will be subject to Li Yao's surveillance. We can discuss more the matter in the car."

She nodded, understanding he was right, and they promptly left the restaurant once the waitress returned with Xinyuan's credit card. She saw that he had paid with a gold-coloured card, and it reminded him of Cree's card which she had used at a point in her life. When she left Cree's residence, she had forgotten it in her room, which made no difference considering she would no longer need for it.

Xinyuan drove his Mercedes to where Qiao Ruo awaited, and her eyes grew large with curiosity. Even with his riches, Cree had only owned a smart-looking sportscar, but Xinyuan's vehicle had trumped Cree's sportscar. Something in her was earnest to know who were the couple who had taken in Xinyuan as their adoptive son, and she could not help feeling in awe for Xinyuan's stature and perceived social status.

Since her days living alone in the city, she had been looked down by the majority of the residents of the city, and even her roommate had never even cast her a second glance. Her poverty seemed to set off an alarm in their minds that she was not worth their friendship. A thought came to her, and she wondered if only she were rich, then perhaps she would be able to aid Cree's parents' companies in their criticality, and it was highly likely that they would not even oppose to their relationship at all.

"You look lost in thoughts," Xinyuan commented as he manoeuvred the car out of the parking lot.

"I was just thinking about how we could get him out."

"Nobody knows the location of Li Yao's warehouses. Many say she is involved with mafia-like dealings and illegal activities, but we don't know for sure where she has hidden him. But she has her eyes on us, I am sure."

If Li Yao struck from the dark, while they were in the light, how could they even win?

"Where should we go?"

"Every movement of us in the open will be spied by the Yes. The only place she doesn't have her eyes on is the Xia household, where my parents are. If you meet my parents, they should be able to give you a more satisfactory answer to what we should do next. But my advice to you is, don't 'act rashly and alert the enemy'. Be patient and meticulous in whatever you do. Do you have a place to stay?"

She shook her head. "No. I was staying at Cree's mansion, but all of a sudden, my landlord sold her flat and terminated the tenancy between us."

"It has to be the Yes' work. They are fond of using money to resolve issues."

Dismay spread across her face. It sounded typical of Cree's parents who had a part in causing her to have no place to stay. Furthermore, hadn't Ye Nantian and Li Yao done the same for the publisher? Although, those were just a small amount of money compared to what they would obtain from the Xus if Cree and Xu Bing were to tie the knot through a political marriage.

"Someone is following us," Xinyuan warned as he observantly spotted a few cars pursuing theirs from the rear-view dash camera of his vehicle.

She almost panicked. "What do we do?"

"Hang on tight."

She was overwhelmed with fear seeing the pursuers come into proximity with Xinyuan's Mercedes when Xinyuan stepped on the accelerator abruptly while letting out a chuckle. He smiled broadly, but at the same time, his smile was confident. All of a sudden, from the mirror, she saw the pursuer take out a gun, and she closed her eyes and silently prayed, Don't let him kill us, please. I still need to get back to Cree.

For one long second, everything felt so calm, but Xinyuan's next move unexpectedly sent her sprawling forward.