Volume One Chapter 3 Escape

The hospital corridor was thick with the pungent scent of disinfectant. Wen Xuyu felt utterly exhausted, yet there were still so many matters left unresolved. Bian Xunzhou’s embrace was so comfortable—she longed to simply fall asleep there.

Sensing her fatigue, Bian Xunzhou’s dark eyes flickered, and he drew her closer, his arms tightening around her in silent reassurance.

Just then, the sound of wheels rolling along the corridor reached them. Wen Xuyu opened her eyes and instinctively turned her head. At the end of the hallway, she saw a man in a wheelchair, his frame thin beneath the striped hospital gown.

What struck her most was his gaze—eyes the color of the deep blue sea, shadowed with sorrow and melancholy.

The man seemed to feel her stare; he turned to meet her eyes. In that instant, Wen Xuyu’s heart skipped a beat, a strange sense of familiarity flooding her.

“What’s wrong?” Bian Xunzhou noticed her change and followed her gaze.

But the man in the wheelchair had already turned away, pushed by someone else, vanishing around the corner.

Wen Xuyu shook her head, her tone feigning lightness though a hint of desolation lingered in her eyes. “It’s nothing…”

How could it be him? He was already dead!

Bian Xunzhou’s eyes darkened, but he said nothing.

On the way back, Wen Xuyu received a message from her adoptive mother, Ruan Yuling.

[Xuyu, where are you now?]

In a single second, she realized this message was not sent by her adoptive mother. Ruan Yuling never used punctuation in her texts.

So, were the Wen family members around her?

After a moment’s thought, she chose not to reply.

Wen Yuqin’s words echoed in her mind. Was she really going home tomorrow?

“From now on, you have to stay with me until our relationship is fully dissolved.”

Bian Xunzhou took a cigarette from the pack and placed it between his lips. He was just about to light it when he saw her frown; he hesitated, then put the lighter away.

“No!” Wen Xuyu’s refusal was firm. She still had so much to do—how could she accept such an unreasonable demand from this man?

“I’m just informing you, not negotiating,” Bian Xunzhou replied coolly, his words carrying an oppressive force that made refusal nearly impossible.

“You have no right to restrict my freedom!” Wen Xuyu, fearing he truly meant to do as he said, burst out in anger.

Bian Xunzhou lifted his eyes to meet her earnest gaze, but said nothing.

Wen Xuyu felt mocked, insulted—this man’s character was truly abominable.

Time passed; eventually, the car stopped in front of a villa Wen Xuyu recognized.

Xuan Shui Bay—one of the top villa districts in the capital, home to the city’s elite. The facilities were impeccable, security tight, the environment superb—mountains behind, water before, every inch of land worth its weight in gold.

Back when Wen Qianxue turned eighteen, Wen Yuqin had purchased a house here as a coming-of-age gift, stirring envy among all the wealthy heirs and heiresses of her age. After Wen Xuyu returned to the Wen family, Wen Qianxue would show off the villa now and then, hoping to provoke her.

So this man was no ordinary figure either…

Wen Xuyu sighed inwardly at her own misfortune. Her face was set, frustration simmering just beneath the surface.

Bian Xunzhou pretended not to notice, opened the car door naturally, and reached out to carry her.

“I’m not getting out—let me go…” Wen Xuyu clung to the car door, making a last stand.

She had a premonition that once she set foot inside this villa, leaving again would be nearly impossible.

“Go? How do you plan to walk?” Bian Xunzhou crossed his arms, eyes lingering deliberately on her injured foot, twisting her words with a double entendre.

Lu Zhao stood behind Bian Xunzhou, watching with curiosity. As his assistant, he’d seen all manner of storms and people, but never anyone like Miss Wen.

Usually, women would undress Mr. Bian with their eyes, but this one—her gaze was full of wariness. Was it genuine or just an act?

Wen Xuyu pressed her lips together, refusing to answer, making it clear she’d stay put unless he let her go, her eyes darting quickly, searching for a solution.

Bian Xunzhou’s patience wore thin. He forcibly picked her up, but she resisted.

“Let go!” he commanded in a low voice, his dark eyes fixed on her delicate, pale fingers gripping the car door.

Wen Xuyu felt his anger and shrank back, knowing she couldn’t win. She had no choice but to yield.

Glancing at Lu Zhao, inspiration struck.

“I don’t want you to carry me—I want him…” to help me.

She hadn’t finished her sentence before Bian Xunzhou slung her over his shoulder and carried her into the house he’d prepared, leaving her with a single warning before departing:

“If you run again, I won’t mind keeping you here for good.”

…

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows, Wen Xuyu gazed out at the endless curtain of rain, sighing quietly.

This summer in the capital was stifling and wet.

Bian Xunzhou hadn’t appeared for three days, but the villa was still tightly guarded. During these days, under the care of the household staff, her foot injury had nearly healed, but her phone had been confiscated—she only had a tablet now.

She was anxious. Three days had passed—what had become of her adoptive parents?

She touched the bruise on her wrist, a remnant from the day before when the guards had stopped her from leaving.

Turning, Wen Xuyu surveyed the room. Bian Xunzhou was cautious—perhaps afraid she’d try to escape by jumping again, even the backyard was watched.

She felt disheartened.

Footsteps sounded outside the door. Wen Xuyu quickly lay down, pretending to sleep as a maid wheeled in a dinner cart and placed her meal on the table.

“Miss Wen, it’s time for dinner.”

Feigning the look of someone just awakened, Wen Xuyu sat up slowly. Suddenly, her gaze landed on the cart and a plan formed in her mind.

“I don’t like the color of that cabinet. Move it out for me!” She pointed at the dinner cart, her eyes glinting. “Use that to take it away.”

The maid didn’t hesitate—Mr. Bian had said she could do anything as long as she didn’t leave.

“Please wait here, I’ll get someone to help.”

“Mm.” Wen Xuyu nodded imperiously, keeping up the role of the spoiled young lady.

The maid returned with a colleague, and together they tilted the cabinet onto the top tier of the dinner cart.

As she ate, Wen Xuyu continued, “I want to take a bath—fetch me some flower petals and leave them outside the bedroom.”

“Yes, miss.”

Seizing the moment when the maids left, Wen Xuyu hurried to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and created the illusion that she was bathing.

With everything in place, she crawled onto the lower shelf of the dinner cart, waiting silently for her chance.

On her first day, she’d noticed the villa was so large it had its own elevator. The maids always used it to deliver meals upstairs—hence her plan.

As expected, when the maids saw the bathroom filled with mist, they relaxed and pushed the cart away.

By coincidence, as they reached the ground floor, Bian Xunzhou and Lu Zhao entered through the front door.

“How has she been these past two days?” Bian Xunzhou loosened his tie casually, glancing upstairs as if making idle conversation.

He’s back! Wen Xuyu slowed her breathing—he was only three meters away.

“Her foot is nearly healed. Yesterday, she tried to leave, the guards stopped her, and there was a bit of a struggle. Otherwise, nothing unusual,” the maid reported succinctly, eyes downcast.

Bian Xunzhou’s gaze flickered to the bulky item on the cart. “What’s this?”

“Miss wanted it removed—she said she didn’t like the color.”

Hidden beneath the cart, Wen Xuyu dared not move, her breaths even, bracing for discovery.

After half a minute, Bian Xunzhou finally relented. “Fine, if she doesn’t want it, throw it out.”

As his footsteps faded, Wen Xuyu relaxed a little but still didn’t dare make a sound.

The maids pushed the cart to the kitchen, unloaded the cabinet, and carried it to the waste disposal area.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Wen Xuyu slipped out from under the cart. Using the cover of night, she ducked and dodged her way through the shadows, finally scrambling over the wall and out of the villa.