Chapter 45 You are her plaything
Huo Lan sat on the main sofa in the living room of Lingdang Xiaozhu, casually twirling a string of small sandalwood prayer beads.
He must have been without sleep for several days and nights; his eyes were now dark and swollen, and his face was sickly pale, but his eyes were frighteningly black.
“You said,” Huo Lan’s voice was low and steady, yet carried a chilling undertone, “that you were all waiting in the living room the whole time, so you didn’t even notice she had escaped through the back window?”
Chen Fei and Han Feng stood before Huo Lan, maintaining a unified story in the face of his questioning.
"Yes, there were many people around at the time, and we were keeping an eye on Miss Jiang in the living room, but we never expected that Miss Jiang could disappear from the bedroom out of thin air."
Hearing this, Huo Lan couldn't help but chuckle, rubbing his forehead. "It seems Shi Yuan only taught you one sentence. The reasoning that followed was really lame."
His gaze turned cold as he leaned back on the sofa and glanced at the two of them sideways. "Disappeared into thin air... how exactly did you disappear?"
Chen Fei shook his head. "We don't know either."
"The window of the second-floor bedroom faces a lawn, and there are deep men's shoe prints on the lawn. It was the two of you who brought her down."
The two were taken aback when Huo Lan guessed it so easily. They looked at each other, speechless, and could only remain silent.
"Shi Yuan doesn't have the ability to make the two of you work for her so devotedly, right? It's Huo Lianjing, isn't it?"
Chen Fei panicked for a moment and quickly defended her, saying, "It has nothing to do with Miss Jiang. She doesn't know where Miss Jiang went either."
Seeing the panic in their eyes, Huo Lan was certain of his guess.
He didn't pursue the matter further with the two people, because he knew her too well.
A cunning rabbit has three burrows; she's a cunning rabbit who only knows how to deceive and pretend to be innocent. How could she possibly tell a second person about her whereabouts?
A week has passed since Jiang Shiyuan disappeared, and there is still no news about her.
However, it can't be said that there was nothing. Three days ago, he found out that someone wearing Jiang Shiyuan's clothes had boarded the plane at the airport. Coincidentally, the housekeeper of the Manhattan mansion also sent him an email asking what kind of flowers he liked so that they could continue to decorate the residence.
This was the best news he had received in days. Almost the instant he got the news, he asked Shi Teng to book a flight to Manhattan and take his men abroad to arrest the person.
He knew it was very likely a ruse she was using, but he dared not miss even the slightest possibility.
Huo Lan wasn't without connections in the United States; this mansion was specifically purchased to facilitate his handling of international projects. Therefore, as soon as the person dressed in Jiang Shiyuan's clothes landed, his people quickly located the person and reported it to him.
He rushed to the place without sleeping for several days and nights, only to find that the person was just a strange Chinese girl.
The girl wasn't surprised to see him. She said someone had paid her five thousand yuan to swap clothes with her because her family was forcing her to marry someone she didn't like, so she was running away from the marriage.
He was already heartbroken when he discovered that the girl was not Jiang Shiyuan, and the girl's words extinguished the last glimmer of light in his eyes.
But so what? So what if I don't like it?
He must keep the person he sets his sights on by his side, even if it means tormenting each other, they must be entangled for a lifetime.
Jiang Shiyuan probably won't choose to stay in China. After all, she knows that finding someone in China would be a piece of cake for him, so she has most likely already gone abroad, to a place where he can't reach.
Huo Lan quickly ordered an investigation of several airports in Wancheng and surrounding cities. Based on Jiang Shiyuan's personal information, the investigation scope was expanded and a thorough search was launched. Domestic surveillance footage was also retrieved and a reward was issued to find him, but all efforts were in vain.
Just as Chen Fei said, it vanished into thin air.
Huo Lan wandered aimlessly through the Bell Pavilion. If nothing unexpected happened, at this moment, his Shi Yuan would still be nestled obediently on the sofa like a kitten, waiting for him to come home from get off work.
But she disappeared. At what he thought was the happiest moment, she stabbed him in the heart and vanished without even an apology.
Huo Lan went up to the third floor and looked out over the scenery of Huo Garden from the terrace.
When he's not home, Shiyuan would sit here and read in the breeze, placing a bookmark on the page that interested her most, and then sharing it with him when he got home.
She loves reading books about culture, especially those related to archaeology. She has always wanted to work in this field, so she chose to study archaeology at Kyoto University.
Did she give up what she loved? Why would she give up everything and leave him when he had already arranged everything for her?
Huo Lan laughed self-deprecatingly and walked back to his room from the terrace.
His gaze swept over the glittering jewels and dresses, which still lay safely under the glass like collectibles, but no one cared about them anymore.
"If you don't take anything and don't touch the money in your account, what will you do if you can't get enough to eat or wear outside?"
His eyes were vacant as he stared at the priceless items, devoid of any warmth, until a few filigree gold pendants in the cabinet caught his eye, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"A few are missing..."
Unable to contain his overwhelming joy, Huo Lan hurriedly went downstairs and instructed his men to keep a close watch on the whereabouts of the necklaces.
The gold jewelry he gave to Jiang Shiyuan was not an ordinary mass-produced necklace, but a unique, custom-made piece. As soon as the necklace entered the market, he could quickly find her.
He was overjoyed, but a dull ache began to pierce his heart. After the world spun around him, everything went black and he fainted again.
I don't know how long I was in that dizziness.
"We can't let him keep searching like this. He needs to rest, otherwise his body will eventually break down and cause serious problems."
Huo Lan gradually regained consciousness, but his body was still as tired as if it were filled with lead.
From the lounge separated by a wall, the faint sounds of Huo Lianjing and the doctor discussing something could be heard.
Huo Lianjing sighed, feeling quite helpless. "If I had known Xiao Lan would act like this, I wouldn't have helped her."
The doctor comforted her, "You don't need to blame yourself. Continuing an unwilling relationship is like a slow poison. It's better to accept the outcome in the short term so that you can move on better later."
Huo Lianjing nodded, "Okay, I'll try to calm him down and let him recover."
The doctor said, "That's all we can do now, but..."
He glanced at Huo Lan, who was lying unconscious in the inner room, and asked with some concern, "Did you tell him about the girl's miscarriage?"
Huo Lianjing immediately looked at Huo Lan lying on the hospital bed with alarm, and only breathed a slight sigh of relief after confirming that he showed no signs of waking up.
"Don't bring this up again; it will only worsen his condition."
The doctor said, "I think we should find a suitable time to tell him, since he should know about this matter."
Huo Lianjing still insisted on her own opinion, "I know him too well. He has a very stubborn personality. Knowing this will only make things develop in a more extreme direction. Please don't mention it again in the future!"
The doctor reluctantly agreed, explained the precautions, and left the ward, leaving Huo Lianjing to stay and take care of her.
She was arranging the sunflowers she had brought, hoping to cheer Huo Lan up, but when she turned her head, she saw that Huo Lan had already opened his eyes.
She inwardly cried out in alarm, wondering how much of what he had overheard, but he seemed relatively calm at the moment.
Huo Lianjing said calmly, "Xiao Lan, you're awake. I brought you sunflowers; they look beautiful on your bedside table."
Huo Lan sat up in bed expressionlessly, leaned against the headboard, and forced a smile: "Aunt, why didn't you go back to Norway after the banquet?"
"So many things have happened, how can I not worry? I'll go back when you're feeling better."
Huo Lan gave a soft "hmm," his eyes dark and unreadable, but his next words clenched Huo Lianjing's heart.
"When did she have her miscarriage? Was it recently?"
The sunflower in Huo Lianjing's hand fell to the ground, its petals scattering everywhere.
She forced a smile, calmly picked the flowers up from the ground, and pretended not to know anything. "What are you talking about? I don't understand anything."
“I heard everything you said to that doctor. Tell me.”
Huo Lan's face was deathly pale; the exhaustion and setbacks of the past few days had left him with no energy left to even feel anger.
Huo Lianjing knew she couldn't hide it from him anymore. If she continued to pretend to be confused, it would only make him continue to suspect and drain her energy. So she had to harden her heart.
"Then promise me you won't leave the hospital recently and will take good care of your health."
Huo Lan nodded, signaling Huo Lianjing to continue.
Huo Lianjing took a deep breath and revealed the secret she had kept hidden in her heart.
“Three years ago when I returned to the Huo family, Shi Yuan came to me and said she suspected she was pregnant…” She saw that Huo Lan’s face was relatively calm before she dared to continue, “I took her to the hospital and confirmed that she was already a month pregnant.”
Huo Lan's eyes were vacant as he murmured, "A month... and you're already so impatient..."
"The moment she found out she was pregnant, she decided to have an abortion. From the past three years until now, she has never thought about being with you."
"She's not the right person, so you should let her go."
He showed no anger or agitation, only a chilling smile. "But I think she's the most suitable person."
"Auntie, you helped her abort my child three years ago, and then helped her leave me three years later, right?"
Huo Lianjing knew that a rift between her and him would eventually form, but she didn't expect it to happen so quickly, and that he would find out so soon.
"No wonder you were with her all that time. I really thought your relationship was that close." Huo Lan's expression suddenly turned sickly. "It's alright, our child will be back soon. Once I catch her, we'll have..."
Huo Lianjing knew he wasn't going to let it go, so she blurted out, "I'm not helping her, I'm helping you! Haven't you noticed that you've lost all your rationality since you got together with her?"
"Your composure, your wisdom, your nobility have all been trampled underfoot by her. Her every move can stir up strong emotions in you. You are her plaything, manipulated at her mercy!"
Huo Lianjing was also enraged and began to get agitated. "She got your money and your favor, she's satisfied now and doesn't want to play with you anymore. You're being played by her, and you still want to bring her back? What are you if not a plaything?"
Huo Lan's voice was hoarse: "Plaything... No wonder you aborted my child and then just threw me away like that."
He smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes; only a stubborn coldness remained. "That plaything is about to rebel."
After Huo Lan finished speaking, he lifted the covers and got out of bed. Huo Lianjing hurriedly stopped him, "Xiao Lan, you can't go out. You promised me you would rest properly."
"Of course I need to rest properly, otherwise, how can I... catch my disobedient canary again?"
Ignoring Huo Lianjing's objections, Huo Lan drove back to Huo Garden.
Upon returning to Bell Pavilion, Huo Lan had the craftsman who had previously been responsible for making jewelry for Jiang Shiyuan brought over. He immediately took stock of all the filigree inlaid gold ornaments and finally determined three styles of gold jewelry.
The jewelry design team printed out photos of the three pieces they had selected and sent them to Huo Lan. The next moment, these photos spread to jewelry stores of all sizes in Wancheng and continued to spread outwards.
Huo Lan felt a little more at ease and returned to the bedroom where they had shared many intimate moments.
Her scent still lingered on the bed, but she was long gone.
Huo Lan lay down in bed and closed his eyes, feeling as if she had returned to his side. He finally gave in and fell into a deep sleep.
"I need to get plenty of rest so I can find you."
"To dismantle and eat."
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Author's Note: With wolves in front and tigers behind, our Shiyuan is unlikely to escape!
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