When Gu Siyu left, she clearly felt that the entire city was in an urgent state. The atmosphere at the airport and train station was tense, and in the crowds coming and going, everyone's gaze was filled with curiosity. She dared not approach or make eye contact with anyone, and a sense of killing intent permeated the surroundings. Whenever someone wore formal attire and had Bluetooth earphones, Gu Siyu would be on guard and avoid them.
She went to the bus station again, stood on the overpass, and clearly saw several people lingering at the intersection, specifically staring at others' faces. Unexpectedly, there were people from Huo Junxian in this place too. She thought Huo Junxian lived a secluded life and probably didn't know about things like a "bus station."
Huo Junxian didn't miss any corner.
Gu Siyu pulled her hat down and turned to descend the stairs. She flagged down a car and quickly left the area.
She had considered whether Huo Junxian would look for her. The word "look" was not accurate; it could be described as "capture." Obviously, Huo Junxian was not afraid of trouble, conducting a carpet-style search, determined to find her.
"Phew."
Gu Siyu sighed, pressing her temples.
Was Huo Junxian furious now? If she caught her, she might kill her. She looked out of the window, suffering from a splitting headache, feeling panic creeping in.
Gu Siyu's guess was not entirely accurate. Huo Junxian had a calm temperament, not given to hysterics even when angry. She was silent, her lips pursed, her eyes as black as ink, absorbing any light that entered.
Chen Tao took her to several places, and during the journey, she sat silently in the back. Every time they came up empty, every time they couldn't find a trace of her, a crease would appear on her forehead. Chen Tao couldn't understand. Both of them had experienced life and death together, so why did Gu Siyu suddenly run away?
Huo Junxian was not happy, and Chen Tao felt uncomfortable following her. He defended his 'little sister,' saying, "She's indeed a scammer. She took the money and ignored you? Miss, wait and see, I'll make her come out sooner or later."
Huo Junxian rested her hand on Teddy's head, gently stroking it. Teddy remained still and let out a soft "woof."
"Is it scary?" Huo Junxian asked it.
"Woof." Teddy nuzzled into her palm.
Chen Tao thought seriously about a solution. Working for the Huo family, he had a strong grip, saying, "This is easy. She has two friends, right? I'll go press them a bit. I don't believe she can watch her friends being bullied. For the sake of her friends, she'll show up sooner or later."
"After she ran away, her friends immediately submitted resignation letters," Huo Junxian said coldly. "They had planned it together."
The road ahead was blocked, and Chen Tao honked the car horn, saying, "Miss, why don't we seek help from the police? Later, during the court proceedings for Jin Yuansen's property redistribution, the money Gu Siyu took would be considered your pre-marital property and must be returned to you. As long as we report to the police and they file a case, if she takes Jin Yuansen's money and refuses to return it, she will definitely face a lawsuit. If she continues to hide, it's tantamount to fleeing with embezzled funds, and she'll face criminal charges sooner or later."
Huo Junxian also looked out the window.
The weather was bright, and fluffy white clouds lazily floated in the sky. Despite her anger, why didn't she consider the consequences of her actions?
*
Gu Siyu ran for a long time and found a small motel in the outskirts far from the city. She paid an extra hundred yuan as a deposit. It was a small place, and the owner turned a blind eye to registration, simply giving her a room.
She had upgraded her lifestyle recently, and it was hard to go back. Unaccustomed to lower standards, she asked for the best room available.
Gu Siyu was exhausted. She fell asleep, lying in bed for almost a day and night.
If she stayed in this city without leaving the province, Huo Junxian could easily capture her. With money, she could block her at various exits daily, or even report to the police. Huo Junxian had enough reason to declare her missing and put the blame on Jin Yuansen, claiming that Jin Yuansen's subordinates had kidnapped her, and since she couldn't be contacted, the police would surely take action.
It all depended on the speed of the police in this situation.
She felt like prey, wandering in the lion's territory, trying to survive near its mouth. Getting caught was just a matter of time, with dangers lurking. A moment of carelessness, and the lion could seize her neck and end her life.
This feeling was very unpleasant.
At the same time, Gu Siyu deeply regretted her initial misjudgment. Why did she bother flirting with her? And even more regrettable was not acting cautiously that day. She should have come directly, bought a plane or train ticket, and left the city in one go.
In fact, Gu Siyu was afraid to leave this city. She was born here, and despite feeling out of place and mistreated, she still considered this place a safe zone in her mind.
Gu Siyu just wanted to hide for a while. Once Huo Junxian gave up, she would come back. She couldn't really be pushed to the point of having no way out.
After staying for three days, she had used up most of her cash.
Before her name was completely changed, Gu Siyu didn't plan to use the money in her bank account. When she went out to buy things, she would chat with the shopkeeper, asking about nearby pawn shops.
After getting directions, she immediately slung her bag and went there.
Gu Siyu took out a jewelry box from her bag and handed it over.
The person on the other side was not much older than her, around twenty-five. Holding a magnifying glass, he carefully examined the necklace inside. After looking for a while, he glanced at Gu Siyu and said, "Breakup, huh?"
Despite his young age, he was quite gossipy, saying, "Are you planning to reconcile? If not, I can buy it back at the gold price. If there's a chance of reconciliation, it's best to wait for a month. After a month, you can come to redeem it, and the interest will be calculated according to the rules."
"Buy it back, don't need it anymore," Gu Siyu said.
"Think it over. Yesterday, someone came crying, but they reconciled with their boyfriend the next day. They caused a scene right here and then broke up again."
The young man kept advising her to think it over, fearing that she might come back to cause trouble and take back the necklace.
Gu Siyu just nodded, not paying much attention. This had nothing to do with her. Talking too much annoyed her, so she urged, "This is something I bought myself. Hurry up and calculate the price. I paid ten thousand for it at the time."
"Oh, you don't have a partner?" The young man was chatty but efficient, handling both business and gossip. "The gold price is currently falling, selling it will result in a loss."
"Why so much nonsense? Are you doing business or not? Hurry up and give me a receipt. I'm in a hurry," Gu Siyu urged. This necklace was the one she used to trap Jin Yuansen. He flaunted his wealth, swiped a card, and told her to spend as she pleased. It disappeared in just a few minutes.
She considered herself clever for not keeping the money and spending it quickly. Now, with gold and silver treasures in her possession, she could run away swiftly.
"Alright, will six thousand for the buyback price work?" the young man asked. "It's second-hand, not easy to sell, and you didn't bring the receipt."
Gu Siyu had thought this person wasn't good at doing business, but unexpectedly, he was skilled. He muttered, "There are so many scams now. Generally, we don't accept items without receipts. Some claim to have bought it the day before, and the police show up the next day saying it's stolen property to be reclaimed."
"Can you pay in cash?" Gu Siyu asked.
"It's possible, but I need to go get the money. Is it safe for you to carry so much cash alone? Are you a nearby university student?" the young man asked.
"Yes, it's urgent. Someone at home is sick," Gu Siyu fabricated. "Please, quickly transfer the money, I need to rush to the hospital."
"Fine," he went to ride his motorcycle to a nearby bank to withdraw money. Shortly after, another customer arrived. The customer peeked inside, wearing a duckbill cap and looking suspicious, as if planning to rob the place.
Gu Siyu stayed vigilant and glanced at the person more. Soon, she realized she was overthinking. The person was heavily armed because her face was too recognizable. She was a recent celebrity entangled in scandals.
Why did Gu Siyu know her? During the last incident she was involved in, this celebrity happened to be trending. Gu Siyu wanted to lower her own heat by actively engaging in the trending topic.
Unexpectedly, even someone as dignified as this celebrity had to resort to selling items. Gu Siyu felt a sudden sense of balance in her heart. There was more than one person facing hardships in the world. Today, having to sell items, she struggled for a long time but couldn't put aside her pride.
The young man quickly returned. He repeatedly reminded Gu Siyu to be careful with her bag, not to expose her money. Gu Siyu thought he was overthinking; she would spend this six thousand yuan quickly.
After settling her money, the celebrity took off a watch from her wrist and gave it to the shopkeeper. She asked about the price and began bargaining.
Gu Siyu, with six thousand yuan in her possession, went to a nearby phone store. She bought a new phone, and while obtaining a new number, she hesitated. Checking even a bit would reveal how many phone numbers were registered under her ID. She had to be extremely cautious.
Buying a new number is also easy. Gu Siyu found an online shopping agent, used the boss's account to buy a black card online, and had someone send it via express delivery. Then, she waited for the delivery. The whole process was carried out smoothly.
Without a phone for these days, Gu Siyu had cut off all social connections. Now that she had a new phone, she immediately downloaded Weibo and registered with the new number. On the platform, she searched for information.
Her fingers hovered over the search box, hesitating countless times while typing. Finally, she pressed the pinyin "hjx." The related words directly led to "Huo Junxian," followed by "Gu Siyu."
Currently, there was no significant news. Many netizens were fabricating stories about her and Huo Junxian. Most claimed that she was a despicable person who would leave Huo Junxian after getting the money.
In the past, Gu Siyu would curse back in her heart upon seeing such comments. Now, she had to give credit where it was due: netizens were impressive, and their judgment was accurate.
Huo Junxian had no knowledge of her whereabouts, and similarly, Gu Siyu had no information about Huo Junxian. Gu Siyu was afraid to contact He Xiao and the others to inquire about the situation, fearing it might anger Huo Junxian and harm He Xiao. Since she was going to leave anyway, it was better to cut ties cleanly.
As time passed, once she left, Huo Junxian would likely forget about her, not caring much about what happened to her. As for her former friends... perhaps it was just fate.
During the night, Gu Siyu tossed and turned, having a dream where she and Huo Junxian met again. Huo Junxian was holding a dog, and her gaze passed coldly over Gu Siyu's face without any expression.
The two became complete strangers.
Gu Siyu watched her get into a luxurious car, her body soft and motionless. She stood on the pedestrian bridge, trembling. He Xiao and Duan Jiayang also passed by underneath. The two noticed her and started talking, and Gu Siyu could hear what they were saying.
"Do you still remember Gu Siyu, who used to play with us?"
"What happened?"
"I just saw her."
"Oh."
Gu Siyu quickly escaped from the dream, lying down and breathing heavily. Her forehead was covered in a layer of cold sweat.
She didn't understand what she was thinking. What did this dream foreshadow? Gu Siyu covered her face, wiping off the cold sweat.
Her body wounds had improved a lot, but now the long-lost pain returned. Her whole body felt like it was allergic, and the pain made her roll on the bed.
Unable to endure it, Gu Siyu got up to take a cold shower. The hot water made her feel even more uncomfortable, so she turned it into cold water and poured it over her body in waves.
The next day, Gu Siyu felt dizzy and had a fever. She tried to cool down with cold water, bought some medicine, and as the days got colder, her money was spent quickly. In just a few days, the cash was gone.
It had been exactly one week since she fled. Gu Siyu brewed a cup of cold medicine for herself and planned to visit the pawnshop again in the afternoon to sell some more items. It was also an opportunity to change her residence since this place was too stifling.
This time, she felt that something was off. Gu Siyu observed for a while and, as expected, a tall man came out of the pawnshop, looked around, and then went back inside.
Gu Siyu had a premonition that Huo Junxian was likely inside.
Knowing she had been discovered, Gu Siyu quickly put on a mask. After a while, a middle-aged woman came out to pawn something. Gu Siyu waited for her to leave and then approached.
"Excuse me, is the boss inside? Is he busy?"
The middle-aged woman looked somewhat worried. Just as she was about to speak, she stared at Gu Siyu and took a step back, saying, "You... um, I don't know. You can go see for yourself."
Saying that, the middle-aged woman avoided her and ran away.
Gu Siyu adjusted her bag, turning away from the pawnshop. She wished she had sold a couple more pieces of jewelry earlier. Now she only had five hundred yuan in her hands, barely enough for a taxi ride. Staying in a hotel for a day or two would quickly burn through it.
She also admired Huo Junxian; she held on tightly.
Gu Siyu checked the pawnshop's public account. Usually, when they received something, they would list it online for sale. Yesterday, they posted about her necklace. It seemed that Huo Junxian had traced her here.
She pressed down her hat and ran.
With a slight carelessness now, she would make a wrong move. Gu Siyu returned to the motel and quickly stuffed her belongings into her bag. She then rushed down to find the boss to return the deposit. The boss hesitated, unwilling to give her the refund immediately, saying that an employee needed to inspect the room to ensure no damage before refunding her.
Gu Siyu dealt with him for a while, impatiently taking out a utility knife and slamming it on the table to scare him, claiming she had a bad temper.
The other party, not daring to delay any longer, opened the drawer and refunded her money. Although he was unhappy, he also scolded her a couple of times.
Gu Siyu was in a bad mood. She endured it, left the motel, used the map on her phone to search for a location, and her mind was constantly thinking about how Huo Junxian would find her next and where she should hide.
But she never expected that Huo Junxian had taken such a bold move.
Gu Siyu was about to take a taxi when she lifted her leg and stepped on a flyer on the ground. Initially, she didn't pay much attention, but the more she looked, the more familiar the photo on the ground seemed. Lifting her foot, she looked down and found her photo taking up the entire space, with the following text:
"Missing Person Notice: Searching for beloved sister, wearing trendy clothes when lost, carrying a gray paper box. Due to mental issues, strong aggression. If found, please don't startle the snake. If anyone provides clues, there will be a generous reward.
Please call: 188xxxxx.
There will be a generous reward.
"Damn it."
-----------------------
Translator's note: Puwahaha... Huo Junxian really did everything just to capture Gu Siyu. Ah~ Gu Siyu!, ah~ Gu Siyu!!, why do you need to provoke this mad beauty?. You better not get captured by her, hehe...
TO BE CONTINUE...