(7 Fresh Coins) Chapter 28 (Part 1) Escape
Come to think of it… he always does this. He runs away from that person—yes, runs away. Time and time again, he leaves before that person actually drives him away, as if that way he won't be the poor, abandoned wretch.
Why is loving someone so difficult? No matter how much he longed for it, he just couldn't stay by that person's side. From the age of 15, his heart no longer belonged to himself. For a life that only has 23 years left, eight years—and eight years of bitter, unrequited love—is truly too long. He had long since learned to endure, to endure all the indifference and hurt from the man he deeply loved. It wasn't that the other person was cruel; it was entirely his own problem. Because he cared too much, he couldn't bear it. He thought that being unable to obtain a man's affections was his destiny for life.
Seven days ago, however, he finally heard the confession he had longed for. He was so overjoyed, even believing it to be the happiest moment of his life. But this beautiful, illusory dream lasted only a short time, shattered by the man's single sentence. "Lover"—that was the label Xu Qi could give him. He tried to endure it, even considered compromising with "reality," but… he couldn't. No matter what, he couldn't bear the thought of his relationship with Xu Qi forever remaining at this level. Unable to accept it, he finally chose to escape.
Stumbling through the crowd, Si Qiang was unaware that he was being mistaken for a drunkard, nor that his aimless wandering had landed him in danger. This was New York's infamous "paradise for the degenerate." If he were a disheveled middle-aged man, no one would give him a second glance. But with his striking appearance and unkempt clothes, he was clearly a prime target. How could he possibly go unnoticed in a place like this?
His phone rang, and he numbly pulled it out, glancing at the screen. He saw it was a text message from an unknown number. He opened it carelessly, but a single letter made him instantly jump, halting his staggering steps.
—“￥.” This is a code name, a code name that only a very few people can understand. Y stands for Yao Yinxiang, and the implied meaning is that something happened to Yao Yinxiang.
He immediately looked up and saw a woman dressed in an extremely seductive manner walking towards him. As his gaze swept over her, she immediately flashed a charming smile. Without a word, Si Qiang delivered a swift chop to the woman's neck, knocking her unconscious, and quickly turned and ran. Behind him came a series of chaotic footsteps, followed by men's fierce shouts. Si Qiang glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and immediately realized he had made a mistake. The woman was clearly a prostitute soliciting customers, and the group behind her were probably thugs employed by the establishment. The timing of their appearance was simply too perfect; he immediately assumed they were the same group that had attacked Yao Yinxiang.
However, since things had already come to this, he could only look for an opportunity to shake off his opponent. He was still somewhat confident in dealing with an opponent of this caliber. But the tricky part was yet to come: with Yao Yinxiang in trouble, he obviously couldn't rashly return to California and risk being shot.
Fortunately, he soon stopped worrying about it because someone bumped into him.
Si Qiang reflexively twisted the other's wrist, but heard a suppressed groan. He turned his head sharply; it was Merlin. His face, which bore a striking resemblance to Si Qiang's, was contorted in pain, and he whispered, "Ugh... Brother..."
After staring at him for a few seconds, and hearing the footsteps and shouts getting closer behind her, Si Qiang finally relaxed her grip and let the other person lead her into the car.
As soon as she got in the car, Merlin immediately let go of his hand, looked at him timidly, and stammered an explanation: "I just came to see you and Mr. Xu..."
Si Qiang looked at him expressionlessly without saying a word.
Merlin was always afraid of him, and when he saw him like that, he turned pale with fright. His slender body shrank back, and he began to stammer, "Really, really! My mother wouldn't let me go out, so I secretly ran away, and then I saw..." He wanted to say "I saw you being chased by a group of people," but he didn't dare to continue.
"I'm fine. You mean your mother won't let you go out?" Si Qiang sighed, her expression softening, and continued, "When did it start?"
Si Wan had always spoiled the child, granting his every wish, so such a forced confinement was rare. The fact that it happened during such a sensitive time made Si Qiang think of a possibility.
“Hmm…it started a week ago. I know they all went to California last night. I think they must have gone to see their uncle and brother, so they sneaked out…” Merlin suddenly stopped talking, her face growing paler.
Author's Note:
I really love using coin symbols as secret codes... ORZ
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