The next morning, Wang Peng first dropped Li Mingzhu off at school, and then drove directly to Beijing.

Two days later, I arrived in Beijing and found a hotel near the school to stay in.

Wang Peng followed Li Longfei and his wife to the school, found Li Mengjiao in the girls' dormitory, and took her to a hotel.

Then, Wang Peng waited outside while Li Longfei and Xu Rong tried to persuade him from inside.

A dozen minutes later, an argument broke out inside the house, and a few minutes later, the argument became increasingly heated.

The door suddenly opened, and Li Mengjiao ran out crying, brushing past Wang Peng and bumping into his shoulder.

Xu Rong sat on the bed, covering her face and weeping. In the end, she still couldn't persuade her beloved daughter.

"Xiao Peng, it's up to you now. Go and catch up with her."

Li Longfei was worried that his wife might do something rash, so he didn't dare to run out and chase after her.

Wang Peng nodded, quickened his pace and walked out of the hotel, where he saw Li Mengjiao standing across the street.

Looking around and seeing no cars, I quickly crossed the road.

Li Mengjiao had stopped crying, but her face was still streaked with tears. "Brother Peng, go get the car. I want to go to Beihuayuan."

"Okay." Wang Peng crossed the street again, returned to the hotel entrance, took out his keys, and drove the car out.

Li Mengjiao gave him directions, and they arrived at the park half an hour later.

However, this is not a park; it's more like a small commodity market, with vendors lining both sides of the road.

There was a phone booth by the roadside, and Wang Peng inserted a card to make a call.

"Brother, who are you calling?" Li Mengjiao asked.

After the call connected, Wang Peng said, "Is this the front desk of the Hongxing Hotel? Please have the guest in room 305 answer the phone."

He memorized the hotel's front desk phone number while driving.

A few minutes later, Li Longfei's voice came through the phone.

"Uncle Long, I am Wang Peng. Mengjiao and I are together, so don't worry."

Wang Peng called to let him know he was safe, then hung up and took out the SIM card.

"Mengjiao, why do you insist on going abroad? Can you tell me the truth?"

Li Mengjiao turned around and walked to the stall, bought two skewers of candied hawthorn, and handed one to Wang Peng.

"I don't know why, but I just want to go out and see the world."

"Open your eyes to the world, huh?" Wang Peng laughed. "It's good to go and see it, but the price is that it will make my parents worry."

“From childhood to adulthood, they have always used the pretense of caring for me to keep me under their control.”

Li Mengjiao shook her head. "Brother, I've been controlled by them for twenty years. I want to escape."

As she spoke, she became somewhat agitated, her eyes turning red.

Wang Peng dared not bring up the topic again, nor did he dare to persuade her further; he could only accompany her shopping.

The small market in front of us is quite similar to that in the provincial capital, with vendors hawking their wares and the lively atmosphere everywhere.

The two strolled from one end to the other. Li Mengjiao rubbed her stomach and said, "I'm hungry. I want to eat zha jiang mian (noodles with soybean paste)."

After finishing the noodles with minced meat sauce, I continued to stroll around the streets.

"Ouch!" Li Mengjiao suddenly twisted her ankle and sat down on the ground with a thud. "Brother Peng, my foot hurts so much!"

Wang Peng quickly helped her up, saying, "I'll carry you on my back, let's go back to the car first."

This is a very long pedestrian street. Cars are parked in the parking lot outside, so you have to walk a long way.

Li Mengjiao lay on Wang Peng's back, constantly crying out in pain.

Wang Peng was upset and exhausted. He walked slowly while looking for a clinic.

Halfway there, we passed a small hotel.

"Mengjiao, let's rest for a while. We'll continue when the pain subsides."

Wearing it on your back all the time is also not good, as it restricts blood circulation and may make the condition worse.

"Let's rest a bit before we go on, my feet are killing me," Li Mengjiao said hurriedly.

After more than ten minutes of fussing, Wang Peng finally got a room and gently placed her on the bed.

After taking off my shoes and socks, my ankle wasn't swollen.

"Don't worry, the bone shouldn't be broken. I'll go buy some medicinal wine." Wang Peng took out his wallet from his bag.

"Mmm." Li Mengjiao nodded gently.

Wang Peng left the hotel and kept asking passersby for directions. After a long time of searching, he finally found a pharmacy.

After buying the medicine and returning to the hotel, I applied the medicated wine to Li Mengjiao's skin. I was exhausted and sweating profusely.

"Mengjiao, you rest for a while, I'm going to take a shower."

Wang Peng went into the bathroom, quickly finished showering, and felt much more relaxed.

He opened a bottle of cola for Li Mengjiao and said softly, "How are you? Does it still hurt?"

"Much better." Li Mengjiao smiled slightly. "Brother Peng, thank you."

"Don't be so polite with me," Wang Peng said.

“Mengjiao, you should know that your parents asked me to come along so that I could do some ideological work with you.”

"Let's be open about it. Are you absolutely determined to leave, with no possibility of staying?"

At this point, Wang Peng looked serious.

Li Mengjiao blinked, opened her bag and took out a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor). "If you finish this, I'll tell you the truth."

"Stop joking," Wang Peng said, both amused and exasperated. "When did you buy this wine?"

“I asked the hotel owner to buy it. I just wiped one side with strong liquor.” Li Mengjiao pointed to the internal telephone on the table.

Wang Peng thought it made sense; strong liquor could indeed improve blood circulation and remove blood stasis.

"Brother Peng, I also want to hear the truth from you. Do you want me to stay?"

"Of course I want to!" Wang Peng nodded hurriedly. "If you stay, your parents will be overjoyed."

"Okay, as long as you finish this bottle of wine within ten minutes, I won't go abroad to study."

Li Mengjiao raised her wrist to look at her watch and said, "It's exactly 10:10 now."

"Goodness, you're serious." Wang Peng scratched his head. "You know, I sell alcohol."

"I know, you have nine minutes and ten seconds left." Li Mengjiao smiled mischievously.

"Alright, I hope you keep your word." Wang Peng twisted open the bottle. "If I finish this, you'll stay?"

“Of course, I keep my word,” Li Mengjiao said.

This is a bottle of 56-proof Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), weighing at least nine liang (about 350 grams) if not a jin (about 500 grams). Drinking it straight would definitely get you drunk.

It doesn't matter anymore. As long as Li Mengjiao stays, Li Longfei and his wife won't be heartbroken anymore. Getting drunk once won't hurt.

Thinking of this, Wang Peng tilted his head back and drank.

Glug, glug, pausing three times in between, and finally finished a bottle of baijiu.

"Well? I've finished my drink. A real man keeps his word."

Wang Peng's head was buzzing, and his thoughts were starting to become fuzzy.

Li Mengjiao grinned mischievously, resting her chin on her hands. "Brother Peng, I'm just a young woman. What's wrong with me not keeping my word?"

"You, you're doing something wrong, it's wrong..."

After saying this, Wang Peng's neck tilted to the side and he lost consciousness.

The reason he dared to play this game with Li Mengjiao was that if he lost, he would get drunk and be tricked.

Li Mengjiao would never harm him; it's probably just a prank.

"Hehe, no matter how smart you are, you still fell into my trap, didn't you?"

Li Mengjiao jumped off the bed. Her right ankle was perfectly fine; the sprain she had just sprained was all an act.

The chair was right next to the bed. She used all her strength to finally lift Wang Peng onto the bed and then went to the bathroom to take a shower.

"Brother Peng, please don't blame me. I definitely have to leave, but I want to take your most precious gift with me."