escape
Escape Plan
I was so surprised that I even forgot I was eavesdropping. My body was pressed against the bedroom door, and finally, I collapsed onto the floor in discomfort, making a very soft sound.
It was this commotion that stopped Xie Yong and Lin Zhi'en from talking outside the door. I hurriedly returned to bed, pulled the covers up, and covered myself completely.
Just before the bedroom door was about to be opened, I threw the pillow that was not far away onto the floor, trying to cover up the commotion I had just made.
The moment she closed her eyes, before Lin Zhi'en could stop Xie Yong, he entered.
My eyelashes trembled nervously. I tried my best to calm myself down. In the few seconds that Xie Yong approached, I seemed to have really fallen asleep, letting his fingers stroke my cheek.
"Brother Xie Yong, she finally fell asleep, please don't scare her, okay?" Lin Zhi'en's voice was very low. She rarely adopted such a humble attitude, almost pleading with Xie Yong to leave me.
“I know.” Xie Yong’s long, slender fingers then grasped my face.
He leaned down, and I realized he was observing me. My long, tightly closed eyelashes trembled slightly, and he noticed that movement.
Xie Yong's arm wrapped around me, strong and powerful. Sweat dripped unconsciously from my forehead. I opened my eyelids slightly and could vaguely see his deep, calm, yet subtly yearning dark eyes.
"Get some rest, I'll pick you up to take you home tonight." Xie Yong placed a light kiss on my forehead.
He stood up and said to Lin Zhi'en, "Before I come to pick her up, don't let anyone in. Besides the surveillance cameras, I'll have the hotel staff keep a close eye on things."
Lin Zhi'en did not answer.
She grew up with Xie Yong and understood his strong personality better.
Xie Yong was a man who would never change his mind just because others rejected or resisted him; he was always incredibly domineering and arrogant.
Unexpectedly, after only a short pause, Lin Zhi'en resumed her unyielding attitude, "Brother Xie Yong, I'm sorry, I can't do it. I think given her current state, it's better for her to be with me."
Lin Zhi'en smiled gently and said calmly, "Even if you dream that she is your wife, I won't care. What I care about is the living, breathing person in front of me. I only know that she is very scared right now, and what I need to do is protect her, not become an accomplice to the person she is afraid of. If you ever understand this, you are welcome to come to me again, Brother Xie Yong."
A cold, indifferent tone that left no room for argument, a tone that drove customers away.
Xie Yong was much more dignified than other men, and he didn't want to get entangled with his childhood friend, so he left decisively.
It took me a while before I dared to slowly open my eyes.
Lin Zhi'en sat on the edge of my bed, her long, soft black hair tied in a high ponytail. Her thin, slightly open double eyelids always gave people a gentle and calm feeling.
"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry, the maid couldn't stop them."
I gently shook my head. Lin Zhi'en's lips moved slightly, and her face softened. "Xiao Fu, crying is not a shameful thing. Crying means that you are afraid, nervous, emotional, and want to resist."
Lin Zhi'en lifted the thin silk quilt. She looked at me, who was curled up as usual, and stroked my skin, which had become cold from shivering. "Xiao Fu... you know I won't hurt you."
She was only a few years older than me, but she was mature and calm like a girl her age. I shrank back for a moment, and hesitantly approached Lin Zhi'en. She gently pulled me into her arms. "Since middle school, I have been the most popular girl in school every year. Whether it is academic performance, extracurricular activities, social welfare, or sports rankings, I am always number one."
"However, when I was in my second year of high school, I was under a lot of pressure because I wanted to get a place in a ballet school abroad. I flew to the Empire State and the Netherlands almost every week. I knew in my heart that I would not be able to achieve the results that my parents, teachers and classmates expected. Do you know how scared I was? I am someone that no one would ever fall from their pedestal. If my results were surpassed, everything I have achieved so far would be shattered."
I slowly raised my head and looked at her.
Lin Zhi'en said, "As expected, I failed the exam and only got second place. But I cried when I received the acceptance letter from the world's top ballet academy in the Netherlands. I didn't cry because I was happy that I got into my dream school, but because I was glad that I had a reason and an excuse to explain to everyone that I was just distracted by ballet. I will definitely get first place next time and continue to trample everyone under my feet."
“Even my parents thought the same way. They were under even more pressure than me. The teachers at school and the classmates who admired me felt the same way. I realized that I had been controlled by the people around me and turned into a goddess who couldn’t have emotional fluctuations and couldn’t fail. The boy who surpassed me was just a student from an ordinary family. In our class-stratified school, he beat me, which was a challenge to the entire class.”
"Before the final exams, as expected, my parents hired a private tutor to help me catch up. The teacher tutored me specifically, and the students at school also humiliated and tormented him, trying to break down his psychological defenses so that they could feel at ease knowing that he had only gotten first place by chance. But he was still very strong. He knew that the bullying and the indifference of his classmates all came from me, but when he met me, he still praised me, saying that I was more attractive when I was dancing ballet than when I was studying."
"Ji'en." I could feel her smile gradually fading as she reminisced.
She smiled and said, "Do you want to know what happened next?"
I hesitated, then said, "You...you like him."
“I wouldn’t say I like him, I just care a little.” The calmer Lin Zhi’en’s gentle tone was, the more I felt a chill run down my spine. She let out a soft sigh. “We often met at the library and agreed to study together. However, on the night before the exam, I suddenly discovered that the questions he had told me about were actually stolen exam questions that students were selling online, and the account he used to buy those questions happened to be the credit card I had lent him out of kindness to buy study materials.”
"I can imagine what he'll do next. He'll expose how I bought test questions to cheat in order to maintain my ranking. Perhaps, he'll go even further and accuse me of taking drugs to maintain my daily study habits. The worst thing that might happen is that it could lead to a thorough investigation of me by the school board... The premise of class solidarity is that they have a common goal to protect. Although I don't have one, I know that there are plenty of top students in the school who take drugs before exams. Once I become the one who exposes this veil of shame, I will become the one who gets bullied at school."
"I was just being kind once, really just once, and I'm being treated like this. Xiao Fu, I cried all night. I have an exam the next day, and my mind is foggy. I had to take medicine to barely manage to finish the exam."
As I listened to Lin Zhi'en's analysis, I found myself unable to get a word in edgewise. I could almost fully empathize with her pain at that moment, and I silently lowered my eyes.
Perhaps the atmosphere was too heavy, Lin Zhi'en lowered her eyes, a dark and cruel smile flashing in her eyes.
She smiled and asked me, "Do you want to know what happened next?"
My eyes widened suddenly as I stared at her.
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"After the exam, I arranged for someone to expose his purchase of exam questions. Moreover, his looking around in the exam room was also considered an attempt to cheat. Although he was just feeling guilty and wanted to see how I was doing, after discussion by the school board, all of his grades were canceled, while I remained number one as always. In fact, the time he beat me was entirely due to his own ability, but I would never allow anyone to deceive or hide anything from me. I made sure everyone knew that until he was expelled from the school, he had been using unfair means from beginning to end. And I, Lin Zhi'en, conquered those demanding judges with ballet while maintaining an undefeated record in the school."
Lin Zhi'en looked at me gently and sincerely: "Xiao Fu, after you've cried, you need to become stronger. Kindness is your best quality, but if you keep going on like this without any bottom line, you'll be bullied for life, do you understand? You've done a good job in this situation, letting them fight and suspect each other. Just let it go like this, you'll always find a way to protect yourself."
Hearing Lin Zhi'en say that, I felt as if my heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand.
At the same time, I couldn't help but cry. My vision blurred and misty. Apart from Yu Xu, no one had ever affirmed everything I had done like this. Tears fell like beads, and I hugged Lin Zhi'en's shoulders tightly.
If I could be Lin Zhi'en's doll, she would never hurt me...
The thought suddenly popped into my head, but soon, a deep sense of disappointment in myself welled up inside me. I subconsciously resisted the habits Jiang Mingzhuo had left on me. He was omnipresent in my world. I wanted to get rid of everything related to him, yet I was also used to relying on others.
Jiang Mingzhuo "raised" me, but I still haven't been able to get rid of him.
Am I really that kind of girl who can't live without Jiang Mingzhuo?
The heavy snow had stopped, and a light drizzle was still falling from the sky, but the weather had been unpredictable these past few days, and the entire state was prepared for disaster.
The street where the hotel is located is in the heart of the Empire State, and the snow on the main roads and sidewalks has been mostly cleared.
Snowplows of all sizes are operating in an orderly manner.
On the streets, emergency vehicles and public vehicles moved slowly with their warning lights flashing.
Lin Zhi'en had accompanied her parents early on to take the guests who had been stranded at the hotel the night before home, leaving me alone in the room. The staff brought breakfast.
I glanced down at my phone.
Early in the morning, my landlord sent me a message requiring all tenants to work with him to clear a path through the snow on the sidewalk in front of the apartment building, and prohibiting them from shoveling snow directly onto the road.
I used the app to find the nearest subway station to the hotel, found the dress and coat I had worn that night, and quickly put them on.
"Miss Jiang." The maid in the room stopped me as I was about to leave and said politely, "Miss Jiang instructed that you need to be taken home."
I was stunned for a moment.
Before leaving, I was actually a little scared. My mind was in turmoil, but the person I expected wasn't there. The corridor was also very quiet. The Lin family's servants followed me on either side until we reached the underground parking lot, in front of a black Mercedes-Benz.
I got into the car. The car drove slowly, the cold wind howling outside the window. After about half an hour, it brought me back to my apartment. I thanked the driver and pulled my coat tighter around myself.
There were already several feet of snow outside the apartment, and I became even more anxious, eager to go back, change my clothes, and quickly shovel the snow.
I haven't been back for more than half a month. There's a faint smell of dust in the room, and the whole room looks exactly as it did when I left.
The plants in the room, thanks to the landlady's occasional watering, didn't wither and die, but they looked listless, each one drooping its head.
On the floor in front of the apartment were some messy delivery boxes, all of which had been received the day before yesterday.
I crouched down and opened the boxes. To my surprise, they were dried ham, pork rolls, and blueberry jam sent to me from Xinzezhou by Yu Xu's aunt. There was also a short letter written by her in the box.
She said that Yu Xu had woken up, but his body was still slowly recovering, so his aunt simply took him home from the hospital and took care of him patiently.
Yu Xu told me that I was still interning in the Empire State and it was inconvenient for me to go home for the New Year. She kept calling the apartment but no one answered. She was worried that I was hungry, so she sent me some food.
My mind went blank for a moment.
Yu Xu, he's awake? I lowered my head in shame, my throat dry and aching.
During the time he was unconscious, I didn't even secretly visit him in my hometown of Xinzezhou.
Does he know we've already "broken up"? Why did he just casually explain to my aunt that the reason we broke up was simply because I had to do an internship?
Tears fell instantly to the floor, leaving deep, blurred marks.
I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask, and I was even eager to call and ask about his situation. But when I looked up and noticed the apartment across the street, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over my head, and I was completely awake.
No, I can't contact him now; I'll definitely be found out.
I have been being watched all along; this is not my imagination.
In the past few months, I've returned to my apartment very few times. It seems the residents of the apartment across the street moved away as soon as I left.
The windows are no longer lit up every day, as they were when Yu Xu and I lived here. It's as if the place is deserted, devoid of any sign of life.
Suppressing my nervousness, I got up and quickly went back to my bedroom. I changed into a light and simple hoodie and jeans, and put on a baseball cap to cover most of my face. Before leaving, I put on a thick down jacket and snow boots and borrowed snow shovels from the first floor of the apartment building.
As I patiently shoveled the snow from the sidewalk, I would occasionally peek up at the room. People were coming and going in the apartment across the street, most of them working hard to clear the snow, just like me. I shoveled the snow off my side and walked over to strike up a conversation with the young couple.
The husband was very strong and helpful; he even cleared the snow that had piled up on the fire hydrant.
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When his wife saw me coming, she assumed I was a thin girl who needed help and greeted me warmly, "Do you need any help? Wait a moment, my husband will help you when he's done with his work."
"I... I live on the fourth floor of this apartment building." When I get nervous, my speech tends to slow down and my voice becomes weak.
The woman smiled and said, "Hello, we live on the fifth floor. Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you often."
My eyes lit up, and I bit my lip, speaking slowly and deliberately, "I... I just recently came back from my hometown. I wanted to ask you about your neighbors' houses..."
"Oh, you mean that newlywed couple? It seems like they haven't been back for a long time," the woman said to me, looking somewhat confused and embarrassed. "It's strange, really. Our neighbors are quite mysterious. Sometimes when we go to deliver things, no one's home, and they never participate in community activities."
I suddenly felt scared. Nobody likes being secretly watched, having their every move controlled by others. This feeling not only puts immense psychological pressure on people, but also instills fear and tension.
"Is that so? Well, they're not coming back today either?" I forced a smile. "The residents are supposed to clear the snow today."
"..." The woman looked embarrassed. "Actually, the landlord contacted them, but they said they took the children to their hometown in Pennsylvania and wouldn't be back for a while. They also asked us to help them clean up their area."
The people watching me are gone? My heart pounded, and my voice trembled violently, "You're so kind." @Unlimited Good Stories, all at Literary City
I tried my best not to let the woman notice anything unusual about me, and after chatting for a few more minutes, I returned to my apartment.
My eyes were sore and burning, and I didn't dare to waste a moment. I bent over and searched every corner of the house: the corner of the bedroom wall, behind the telephone in the living room, the computer in the study... I removed all the listening devices and surveillance cameras. I was shivering and cold all over.
My fingers clenched and then slowly loosened, finally shifting from curiosity and suspicion to acceptance. I had been monitored like this for three whole years.
From the apartment to the school, I was constantly under someone else's control. I thought I had escaped, but the worst part was that I was like prey that had been caught, just futilely spinning in a cage.
This cage is huge, bigger than the Jiang family's villa, so big that I didn't even realize it, foolishly believing I was "free." I couldn't help but think of Yu Xu, who was still in Xinzezhou. Where is he? Does anyone else besides me know that he woke up?
Tears streamed down my cheeks. I was overwhelmed by the pain, unable to control my emotions. I wanted to bite my lip, to control myself, to be strong after crying, like Lin Zhi'en said, and to think of a way to escape the pain. But my teeth were slightly numb, and my body was completely powerless.
I hugged myself tightly on the floor, the unease in my heart swelling infinitely, and the chill quickly spread, enveloping my entire body.
I don't know how long I was trembling, but I went to the bathroom and threw up completely.
The mirror reflected a distraught face, with red-rimmed eyes filled with tension and unease.
I forced myself to calm down.
Judging from last night's gathering, at least these men are no longer as indifferent to my feelings as before. When I showed signs of pain and confusion, they gave me some time to process it instead of forcibly demanding that I return to them.
I can stall them for time to escape.
This sudden blizzard also saved me, as the people watching me from the apartment across the street wouldn't be back for a while.
I also removed the surveillance and eavesdropping devices from the house. It's not surprising that these devices malfunctioned due to the snowstorm. I need to restore them to their original state as soon as possible, but I can't make them work properly. I have to pretend that I know nothing about it.
A chill ran through my brain, and I sensed something gradually developing from my consciousness into a powerful force with an extremely strong presence.
Run away, Jiang Fu.
If you can leave the Jiang family once, you can definitely leave a second time.
I pieced together the fragments in my mind.
In a moment, I suddenly realized that they had no way to actively approach me or find me. Every time I met these "male protagonists," I had to approach them indirectly or directly, or find my way to them.
I have to go to a place very, very far away from the Empire State, a place I'll never be found in my lifetime.
What do you need to escape? A train or plane ticket, a route that won't be noticed or discovered, and enough money to live in an unfamiliar place for a period of time.
I can first go to the school to apply for a leave of absence, and then retake the university entrance exam after moving to a new city. I don't know many people, so leaving quietly won't be noticed, and I can also find an excuse to take leave from my part-time job at the luxury goods store…
As for the money to escape? Ye Fenglin, Xie Yong, and Lin Jindong all gave me a lot of luxury goods. I just need to find a second-hand store, sell them in several batches without leaving a trace, and that will be enough for me to rent a place and live in the new city.
I have never felt so alive. My unwillingness to accept my fate gave me the courage to stand up.
I turned on my computer and found the only train to New Jersey. I couldn't wait to buy a ticket and told Yu Xu that I could take advantage of the heavy snow that was ravaging the Empire State and the fact that everyone was too busy to care about me to escape quietly!
I pulled the suitcase out of the room and packed a few simple clothes and toiletries. I carried the suitcase out of the elevator and stood at the apartment door. A man in a dark gray coat was standing there, the ash from a cigarette between his fingers fluttering to the ground. He was very tall, and his eyes were always extremely sharp, always giving off a sense of oppression beyond his years and exuding danger.
Like a frightened bird, I instinctively put down my suitcase and kicked it into the shadows.
The next second, Lin Jindong turned his head.
Taking advantage of his height, he approached me, looking down at me with a scarlet glow from his cigarette. Seeing me biting my lip, Lin Jindong quickly extinguished the cigarette. His expression remained unchanged, still that of a dignified and distinguished elite prosecutor.
"Jiang Fu, let's talk." He seemed oblivious to the box in the corner, his dark eyes fixed on me.
"...What do you want to say?"
"You slept with me, don't you have any thoughts about it?"
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