Chapter 44 Such a low level of security? ...
At four o'clock in the morning, the bus bound for Bishui Village finally arrived at its final stop.
A few scattered passengers on the bus had already begun packing their luggage to get off. Jiang Shiyuan, holding her schoolbag, finally woke up from her sleep.
Outside the car window stretched an endless field under the cover of night, with long country lanes that seemed to have no end in sight.
"Young lady, we've reached the village entrance, please get off the bus."
The flight attendant shook her shoulder to wake her up from her drowsy state.
If she hadn't been so exhausted from the escape, she definitely wouldn't have fallen asleep in a car full of strangers.
Just a month ago, Jiang Shiyuan applied to a top university in Berlin to study archaeology. Within a month, he had obtained all the required grades and prepared all the application materials. However, the letter of recommendation required by the application was still pending.
She couldn't go to her teacher at Wan University, nor could she get a recommendation letter from a professor in the Archaeology Department of Peking University through Xu Sinian. Doing so would be tantamount to planning an escape route right under Huo Lan's nose.
So, about two weeks ago, she found the archaeological project of Wancheng Archaeological Institute in Bishui Village. The project was large and demanding, so they relaxed their requirements to recruit intern assistants who had graduated for several years.
Jiang Shiyuan briefly shared her school background and work experience with the recruiter and quickly secured an internship opportunity.
Fearing her identity would be exposed, she did not choose to report to the archaeological institute. Instead, she made up an excuse to go directly to the village, where she would verify her identity with the person she was meeting.
Of course, it wasn't that she immediately took a bus to Bishui Village after leaving Huoyuan; the route was still somewhat complicated and winding.
After leaving Lingdang Xiaozhu, Jiang Shiyuan hailed a taxi to the airport and contacted her housekeeper at her previous Manhattan mansion in advance, hinting that she would soon be moving in.
Huo Lan bought the house for her, and it's been three years since she's lived there. Although it's always been cleaned by a professional, there are still some things she needs to prepare before she can actually move in.
The property was registered in her name, but the housekeeper preferred to treat Huo Lan as her employer, and the news naturally reached his ears.
If Huo Lan goes abroad to find her, she will have a few more days.
After leaving his mark on the airport's surveillance cameras, Jiang Shiyuan found a girl in the restroom who was also rushing to Manhattan and exchanged clothes with her for five thousand yuan.
Changing one's identity makes it much easier to flee, but there are still hidden dangers. Jiang Shiyuan must try to avoid travel routes that require an ID card.
After leaving the airport, she rented a black car and headed to another city. After settling in a remote town with almost no surveillance, she boarded a long-distance bus that did not require a ticket check and traveled along the country road to Bishui Village.
It was already past midnight, and she fell asleep almost immediately after getting into the car, exhausted.
Jiang Shiyuan didn't believe her plan was foolproof; everything she did was to buy herself time to escape. Once she got the recommendation letter, she could quickly receive an offer from the school and head to Berlin immediately.
After disappearing from the world for a period of time, the pursuit of her will not be as intense as it was initially, giving her the opportunity to escape.
Although it was highly likely that he would take her back, if she didn't try, she would really have to stay in Huo Garden forever.
Within a month at most, Huo Lan would find this place through his inescapable net. She had to obtain the letter of recommendation within that timeframe and then forge her identity to leave.
She wanted to have what she loved, and she also wanted freedom. She had already given up Peking University; she couldn't give up archaeology too.
Jiang Shiyuan sometimes wondered if he was being too greedy, and that this greed might bring him consequences he couldn't bear.
But once the choice has been made, there is no going back.
The bus stopped, and a few passengers dispersed after reaching their destination, leaving her alone walking on the dark country road.
The archaeological institute rented houses nearby for its staff to live in, and had already prepared accommodations for her in advance.
Jiang Shiyuan originally thought she would have to walk along the country road for a long time to reach her destination, but she didn't expect that she would see someone waiting for her by the roadside after only five minutes of walking.
The bright flashlight pierced the darkness of the country road, and after seeing her figure, a woman in her fifties walked towards her.
"Is this Miss Jiang Shiyuan?"
Jiang Shiyuan nodded. The person in front of her should be the person in charge of this project.
“My name is Cheng Yinghua, and everyone calls me Teacher Cheng. You can call me that too.”
After saying that, Cheng Yinghua was about to take Jiang Shiyuan's backpack from her hand, saying, "You must be tired from your journey, let me take your bag."
Jiang Shiyuan didn't dare let go, still holding the backpack tightly, afraid that something might go wrong.
"Thank you, Teacher Cheng, I'm not tired yet."
Seeing her nervous expression, Cheng Yinghua comforted her, "Don't be afraid. Once you're here, your parents will definitely not take you back home."
Jiang Shiyuan had already prepared the story before he came back.
She majored in cultural relics and museology in college, and her job was a leisurely one, sitting in an air-conditioned office restoring cultural relics. Her parents disapproved of her pursuing archaeology and had been trying to stop her. To chase her dream of archaeology, she lied to her parents, stealing her ID and other documents to run away from home.
The story is simple but highly credible, and moreover, half of the information is true, so no one doubts it.
She followed Cheng Yinghua to a simply decorated dormitory. It was almost five o'clock, and the sky was already beginning to lighten.
"Have you been traveling all day? Take a rest. It's the weekend, no work today."
Cheng Yinghua carefully made the bed for Jiang Shiyuan, and her kind and gentle manner gradually made Jiang Shiyuan lower her guard.
"There are few people here and the signal is not good. It's basically like living in seclusion here. You don't have to worry about your parents coming to find you, but don't forget to let them know you're safe and sound, so they don't worry."
Jiang Shiyuan nodded and then asked, "Teacher Cheng, do you know where I can buy a mobile phone nearby? My phone is broken."
She left her phone and other belongings at Bell House, only taking some cash and gold jewelry that could be quickly converted into cash with her when she left. She didn't dare touch the money in her account, and she didn't bring the high-end jewelry with her because it was too easily recognizable.
“There’s one in town, but it’s a bit far. Once you’ve rested, you can go with Dazhuang and the others; they go to the market often.”
Jiang Shiyuan had no time to think about who Dazhuang was. She was too tired from traveling all night, and she fell asleep almost the moment she touched the bed.
Cheng Yinghua poured her a cup of hot water with her back to her. "Archaeology is tough, with people exposed to the wind and sun every day, but we're contributing to the development of human culture. That's very meaningful. Your parents will understand someday..."
She wanted to say something more, but as soon as she poured the hot water and turned around, she saw that Jiang Shiyuan was already curled up on the bed, tightly hugging her backpack and asleep.
Her breathing was light, her eyelashes were long, and her skin was fair and smooth beneath her seaweed-like black hair. Because she was in a hurry, her cheeks were still slightly pink, like a crisp apple, which softened my heart.
Cheng Yinghua couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "What a beautiful child... how did she come to like this profession?"
She put down the water glass and tried to reach for the backpack that Jiang Shiyuan was holding so that she could sleep more comfortably, but the backpack was still tightly held by Jiang Shiyuan, making it impossible for her to take it out.
"Why do I feel so insecure? What happened before I came here?"
Cheng Yinghua didn't stay in the dormitory for too long. She hadn't rested the night before because she went to pick up Jiang Shiyuan, and she was feeling sleepy. She closed the door and went back.
When Jiang Shiyuan woke up, it was already 5:30 pm. She didn't expect that she could sleep for so long.
The dormitory was quiet; they only started talking after she woke up.
"So you're the new intern? Hello, my name is Xia Mo, and I'm your roommate."
The girl, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and with tanned skin, smiled with sparkling eyes. "You're so pretty! What's your name?"
Jiang Shiyuan was still a little groggy from just waking up, so she didn't get out of bed, but just blinked.
At this moment, another roommate returned from outside with water. He was initially tiptoeing, but only made a sound after seeing that Jiang Shiyuan had woken up.
"You're finally awake. You can sleep so much."
A slightly chubby girl wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt and shorts entered the house, placed the thermos next to the table, and started talking to her.
“We saw you sleeping when we came back at noon, and we didn’t dare to say anything.”
Jiang Shiyuan finally came to her senses and quickly got out of bed. "I'm so sorry, I traveled all night and I was really tired."
Xia Mo quickly waved her hand, smiling brightly, "It's alright, it's alright. We heard your story from Teacher Cheng. You're very brave!"
Jiang Shiyuan nodded with a guilty conscience, not daring to say anything more that might arouse suspicion.
"Hello, my name is Shen Yiyi." The girl who came in later introduced herself, "I am a senior in college and I am here for an internship. This industry is too tiring and I don't like it, but my family insisted that I come. I don't know what they are thinking."
Shen Yiyi frowned, looking at Jiang Shiyuan with a puzzled expression, "I really don't understand why anyone would give up such a good job as cultural relic restoration to come to a construction site to dig soil."
Jiang Shiyuan didn't continue her conversation and changed the subject, "My name is Jiang Shiyuan, I should be older than all of you, I graduated four years ago."
Shen Yiyi, being straightforward, blurted out without considering Jiang Shiyuan's feelings, "After all these years you're still an intern, are you that useless?"
Jiang Shiyuan felt embarrassed by these words and quickly lowered her head.
She enjoyed the glitz and glamour of a wealthy family during her first year after graduation, but then began a three-year period of living in hiding. She abandoned her hobbies and ideals, because she now doesn't know whether that choice was right or wrong.
Now, when a graduate tells her she's "useless," she has no reason to refute it.
Xia Mo got angry, "Shen Yiyi, how can you talk like that! You know it's her family who doesn't approve of her pursuing archaeology. If Shi Yuan had chosen this profession from the beginning, she might be a famous archaeologist by now!"
Xia Mo glanced at her, then stood up for Jiang Shiyuan and said, "Don't you know how high the college entrance examination scores are for the cultural heritage major at Wancheng University? It's only slightly lower than Peking University."
These words finally shut Shen Yiyi up. She had only spoken out of turn and realized she had said the wrong thing, so she quickly apologized.
Shen Yiyi said, "I heard from Teacher Cheng that you want to buy a cell phone?"
Jiang Shiyuan nodded, and then saw Shen Yiyi climb onto the bed and take out a seemingly new cell phone from a backpack.
"I just bought this phone two years ago. It's outdated, so I replaced it with a new one. I'll give you this old one. It still has a SIM card in it so you can make calls, but you need to get your own one as soon as possible."
This phone was a godsend; Jiang Shiyuan was so excited she didn't know what to say, and could only keep thanking them.
Xia Mo said, "Oh, no need to thank her. A cell phone is nothing to Yiyi. Yiyi is a member of the Shen family in Wancheng!"
"The Shen family!?"
Jiang Shiyuan's excitement was instantly dampened.
"Who is Shen Chuqing to you?"
Seeing Jiang Shiyuan's expression, Shen Yiyi was still a little confused. "You know my sister?"
Jiang Shiyuan quickly shook her head, "How could that be? I've only heard about it. I've heard that she's very accomplished in the arts. I've only seen her in the news."
Shen Yiyi felt proud and immediately became like a proud peacock, "Yes, my sister is an artist."
At this point, he frowned again, "It was this artist who forced me to come here, saying that I could get a gilded spot here! I haven't seen any gold, but I do get handfuls of yellow dust every day!"
Jiang Shiyuan couldn't listen to what was going on after that. Her mind was in complete turmoil, and she didn't know whether she should stay or leave.
What a coincidence! Why do I keep running into the Shen family here?
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Author's Note: Jiang Shiyuan: While other female protagonists escape by flying all over the world, I'm different; I went and dug up graves in a village...
P.S.: I'll try to write more in the next chapter and speed things up.
The content of studying archaeology abroad and some professional content may not be rigorous, so please do not take it too seriously.
Jiang Shiyuan used real information, which was a risky move. Our female lead is both meticulous and bold; the freedom she wants is real freedom, not the freedom of hiding.
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