Luo Qianqian nodded and thanked him, "Thank you, senior."
Tang Chen did not continue talking to Luo Qianqian. He turned around and chatted with his classmates. In this examination hall, he was the only one who knew Luo Qianqian.
After entering the examination venue, Luo Qianqian did not go directly into the examination hall but went to the bathroom to wash her hands. Unsurprisingly, she saw Tang Chen at the restroom entrance.
"What’s wrong?" Tang Chen slightly furrowed his brow, his eyes full of concern.
Luo Qianqian shook her head, "Nothing’s wrong on my end. How’s my mom?"
Tang Chen then briefly related the events of the past six months to Luo Qianqian. There wasn’t much impact on the married couple’s life, as He Wenyu frequently went to An Zilan’s shop to complain about her latest purchases and to boast, which created an image of Luo Qianqian as a capricious spendthrift.
Luo Qianqian had no thoughts about her own image. As long as she could make her mother believe that she and her brother were diligently studying, that was good enough.
"Thanks to Xiao Yu," Luo Qianqian pulled a wry smile.
"You not contacting us is..."
"My phone is tapped and tracked. Getting close to me doesn’t end well for anyone," Luo Qianqian spread her hands, her face full of vicissitudes. "Please take care of my mom for me, I really don’t dare to go." Saying this, Luo Qianqian’s eyes reddened, and she quickly lifted her head to stop her tears from falling.
"Why are they monitoring you?" Tang Chen didn’t understand.
Luo Qianqian grew angry the moment she mentioned it, "How would I know? I even have to drive away people around me; I can’t tell anymore who’s good and who’s bad."
Tang Chen stroked his chin, nodded, and patted Luo Qianqian on the shoulder, "Do well on the exam. Tonight, I’ll go see them and ask what they want to tell you."
Luo Qianqian shook her head, "No, explain to them after I leave. I’m leaving tomorrow night."
Tang Chen looked into Luo Qianqian’s eyes, a sharpness flashed through his deep brown eyes, and after a moment, he nodded, "I understand." Then he was the first to head back to the examination hall.
Luo Qianqian hesitated for a while, confused about the people around her, their origins, or even their purposes for being around her. All this doubt could only be suffocated in her heart.
After washing her face with cold water, Luo Qianqian’s face turned impassive as she returned to the examination hall, found her seat on the blackboard and sat down obediently, not even grabbing water. She waited calmly with a pen in hand for the papers to be distributed, answered them, submitted them, and left, two days for ten subjects.
After finishing all the exams, and during the last subject, Luo Qianqian sat in the classroom, watching the seconds tick by on the clock, her face full of helplessness. She was about to leave but felt a strong reluctance.
Tang Chen also finished his paper, looked at Luo Qianqian sitting dazedly in the front row, sighed, and submitted his paper.
Waiting till the last second to collect the papers, Luo Qianqian then stood up, looked at her desk, smiled, and turned to leave.
Following Hu Si, she promptly went back to the hotel to check out and headed straight for the airport, leaving the city. The moment she left, Luo Qianqian felt a surge of tears. She dared not visit her friends or see her mother, fearing she might not hold herself together. She truly didn’t want to live this way anymore, but if her momentary weakness caused harm to her brother, she would feel even more remorseful.
"Even if you visited your friends, I wouldn’t have said anything." Hu Si hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Are you being cautious around me?"
Luo Qianqian tugged at the corner of her mouth, "No." Could she trust them? No, if she trusted the wrong person, she couldn’t bear the consequences.
"You know that male classmate," Hu Si asserted as he turned off his own phone and looked at Luo Qianqian. "You will have to follow me later, there’s no need to be so guarded against me."
Luo Qianqian looked at Hu Si with a puzzled face, her wariness even more apparent.
Hu Si touched his nose, "Don’t you know? After your college entrance examination, you are supposed to come with me for recovery."
Luo Qianqian frowned tightly and didn’t speak, but her mind was racing, and she regained her impassive expression, "Is that so? Does Boss know about this?"
"Your Boss? ... Are you talking about Ah Liang? He’s about to change positions too," Hu Si said as he glanced at Luo Qianqian’s backpack and sighed, "I don’t know what exactly is going on with you, but I am now your primary doctor, and everything should prioritize your well-being."
Luo Qianqian nodded somberly, looking the other way where people were sobbing and saying goodbye, others waving farewell. She, on the other hand, could only ignore it all, as indifference was her shield.
She grabbed her backpack, listening to the female voice on the radio, and said, "Let’s go."
Hu Si scratched his head, his honesty always seemed to be doubted.
The two boarded the plane, missing the figures searching around.
"How can I trust you?" Once on the plane, Luo Qianqian relaxed somewhat. Hadn’t she panicked and tried to escape upon hearing a familiar voice before? Now, without that distraction, she could stay calm.
"You are just a teenager, don’t overthink it," Hu Si shook his head, "I don’t need to prove anything, and how can you be sure the people around you aren’t protecting you? I haven’t seen anyone trying to harm you."
Luo Qianqian pressed her lips together, saying nothing. If he couldn’t see it, where was her sense of danger coming from?
Actually, if Luo Yanran were here, he would probably laugh and say Luo Qianqian was overthinking again. Remembering the figure that had once knelt at the door, begging for mercy, he would probably touch his buttocks as if they were still sore from swelling.
But was she really overthinking? The suddenly appearing documents accusing Xu Tianyi, she had checked before – the Xu Family didn’t have such information, and she knew that. Hei Yu had even separated them with such an excuse. Wasn’t it something that could be easily uncovered with a bit of investigating during a holiday? And that so-called competition, it simply did not exist, Xu Tianyi never went abroad.
Things became somewhat confusing; she couldn’t see clearly, and had no idea how to proceed. The only person she could still trust was herself, Luo Family seemed to be monitored in their associations, seeking help from Luo Family was out of the question, and Luo Xiying had gone on assignment, not present at all.
Luo Yanran and Qin Nuan were busy with the event in May, planning and organizing promotions, likely clueless about this situation.
Luo Yanwu, along with his two older brothers and their uncle, had all gone back to work after holidays, Old Master Luo and Yue Tingyu, along with two aunts, had just had their medical checkups, too fragile for stress, suffering from high blood pressure.
Second Uncle was overwhelmed with company matters, seemingly too stretched to help.
The people she could trust were all busy; it seemed like a coincidence, but what if it wasn’t?
Luo Qianqian pursed her lips, her face filled with apprehension. If it wasn’t a coincidence, just how incredibly skilled was the person behind this?