It wasn’t until just before dawn that she found an opportunity.
Luckily, she hadn’t slept all night. It turned out Xingtian had a habit of getting up at six thirty for a shower. An Ruo, who had been listening intently by the door, heard the sound of him getting up and going to the bathroom. She cautiously opened the door, confirming that he indeed went to the bathroom.
With the sound of water coming from the bathroom, An Ruo bent down and carefully walked towards the door. She was very nervous but had to stay calm and escape. Otherwise, she would never have the chance to get away from him.
Opening the door smoothly, An Ruo gently closed it behind her and ran desperately to the elevator.
Although waiting for the elevator door to open was only a few seconds, it felt excruciatingly long. She was terrified that if she was late by a second, Xingtian would find out she had run away.
They were staying on the twenty-fifth floor of the hotel, and going from the top to the bottom took a long time too.
An Ruo kept praying that Xingtian wouldn’t notice she was gone.
It took about two minutes for her to run out of the hotel, hail a car, and give the driver Tang Yuchen’s company address.
After the car had driven for a few minutes and was well away from the hotel, An Ruo finally relaxed a little. Clutching her phone tightly, she decided to call Tang Yuchen. She had memorized the number long ago, so she just needed to dial it.
Carefully entering his number, she nervously pressed the call button and waited for the call to connect.
The phone beeped ’du—du—’, but no one answered. Unwilling to give up, An Ruo dialed the number again, but still, no one answered.
Could he not be awake yet?
But going to his house now would take more time, and even if she got there, she might not find him. It was better to wait at his company.
An Ruo also prayed that Xingtian hadn’t discovered she was missing.
She had closed the bedroom door, hoping he would think she hadn’t gotten up yet.
After half an hour of driving, the vehicle got stuck in traffic. It was the morning rush hour, and many cars were gridlocked on the road, unable to move an inch for minutes.
This was undoubtedly very stressful for An Ruo.
She asked the driver how long the jam might last; the driver said usually, in half an hour, the traffic would ease up.
Half an hour... she hoped everything would still be on time.
It was already past seven, and An Ruo continued calling Tang Yuchen’s phone, but again, no one answered. Could it be he hadn’t woken up yet?
Or could it be the content under the chair was fake?
No, it was real. Her intuition also told her it was real. Maybe Tang Yuchen just hadn’t heard the ringtone yet; perhaps he would soon.
Gradually, the road began to clear.
An Ruo sighed in relief, her anxiety diminishing.
Another half hour passed, and the car still hadn’t reached Tang Yuchen’s company, but the fare kept rising. An Ruo had taken a taxi yesterday and knew by looking at the meter how much she would have to pay.
She pulled out the only US$ 100, silently praying it would cover the fare.
She had no money; the US$ 100 was given to her by Xingtian. When she asked him for money, he asked how much she needed; she only asked for US$ 100, thinking it would be enough for a taxi.
After Xingtian gave her the money, he told her not to use it. If any payment was needed, he would take care of it. If she paid, he would feel embarrassed.
In fact, she hadn’t been using that US$ 100 in front of him.
The driver glanced at the one hundred yuan in her hand through the rearview mirror and couldn’t help but say to her: