Free Web NovelChapter 25: Chapter 25: Leaving
"Officer, this is my girlfriend, Jiang Li."
The officer looked at the photo of Jiang Li on his phone, then gave him a couple of suspicious glances.
"Okay, you can wait here for a bit. We’ll notify you as soon as we have any news."
"Great, great, thank you."
Qiao Siyuan sat right down at the side. He was confident that as long as the police contacted Jiang Li, she would soon appear before him.
The officer glanced at Qiao Siyuan, then turned and walked inside. "Captain Zhou, someone’s here looking for Miss Jiang. He even filed a report, claiming she’s his girlfriend."
Zhou Tiancheng stopped in his tracks. He had known Jiang Li for almost two months and had never heard her mention a boyfriend. She always came alone.
"You keep an eye on that guy. I’ll go find Jiang Li. Don’t tell him she’s already at the station."
After giving his instructions, Zhou Tiancheng headed further inside, planning to ask Jiang Li what was going on.
Jiang Li was inside, eating takeout. The past month had been so draining that she’d lost a lot of weight. Now, she could finally replenish her strength.
"Jiang Li, there’s a man outside who filed a police report. Says he’s your boyfriend, and that you’ve gone missing."
Zhou Tiancheng sat down across from her after he spoke.
Jiang Li paused her meal. The food, which had seemed so delicious just a moment ago, now tasted completely bland.
"Qiao Siyuan. My ex-boyfriend."
Jiang Li pulled a napkin from the side and wiped her mouth. ’Why can’t I get rid of this guy? I thought he would’ve gone back after failing to find me, but I can’t believe he actually called the police.’
"Want me to get rid of him for you?"
Zhou Tiancheng looked at Jiang Li. If there was some kind of dispute between them, the police could help resolve it.
Jiang Li was taken aback for a moment, then said, "There’s no need, Officer Zhou. This is between him and me. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it."
’Looks like I have to go with him. I need to see what Qiao Siyuan is plotting. Besides, I need to find that evidence from before.’
Hearing her words, Zhou Tiancheng frowned in disapproval. "Jiang Li, if something’s wrong, you can tell us. We’ll definitely help you sort it out."
"Mm, I know, Officer Zhou. I might not be around for the next few days. I have to make a trip to B City."
Zhou Tiancheng’s brow furrowed instantly upon hearing this. ’That far?’
"Thank you, Officer Zhou."
Jiang Li gathered her things, stood up, and walked outside.
Qiao Siyuan was so surprised to see Jiang Li walk out from inside the station that he didn’t react at first.
"Lili, what are you doing at the police station?"
Jiang Li subtly dodged his outstretched hand. "Let’s go."
Qiao Siyuan’s eyes lit up. "Great, great, let’s go!"
Jiang Li followed Qiao Siyuan to the car parked at the entrance. The moment she opened the door, she spotted the lychee wine inside.
She stepped forward, grabbed it, turned back to the station, and handed it directly to an officer.
Qiao Siyuan was about to ask what she was doing, but since they were right at the entrance of the police station, he could only swallow his question.
Back in the car, Qiao Siyuan looked impatiently at Jiang Li. "Jiang Li, what was that all about? Do you have any idea how much money I spent on that?"
Jiang Li looked up from the back seat. "And do you know what’s in it?"
Qiao Siyuan started the car, asking in confusion, "What is it?"
"Eyeballs!"
"SCREECH!"
Qiao Siyuan slammed on the brakes, his pupils widening as he stared at her. "Eye... eyeballs?"
A sinister smile touched the corner of Jiang Li’s mouth. "I didn’t realize you had such a fetish."
Looking at Jiang Li, Qiao Siyuan felt a chill run down his spine for some reason. ’Was bringing her back this time a good idea or a bad one?’
He remembered how she had effortlessly pinned him against the wall that day. The memory still sent a wave of fear through him.
"Jiang Li, have you been learning martial arts?"
Qiao Siyuan glanced back at Jiang Li.
"No." After answering, Jiang Li closed her eyes, not wanting to talk to him.
Seeing that Jiang Li wasn’t talking, Qiao Siyuan had no choice but to turn back and continue driving.
Jiang Li closed her eyes, her mind replaying everything that had happened before. Qiao Siyuan and Wu Xueyan’s schemes, Chen Xiufang’s constant torment... Back then, she’d been a total pushover, completely obedient to their entire family.
She had believed it was Qiao Siyuan who helped her escape Jiang Dewang’s control, Qiao Siyuan who led her away from that hellish place. So at the time, she felt their treatment was nothing; she was willing to endure it.
She couldn’t believe that Qiao Siyuan, the man she had poured her heart and soul into, had later schemed against her like this, planning for her to marry into the Qiao Family and become their tireless servant while he and Wu Xueyan enjoyed themselves freely.
To control her, he had even taken many compromising photos and had even brought up her past suffering as a topic of ridicule for others.
Jiang Li opened her eyes and stared at Qiao Siyuan driving in the front.
Qiao Siyuan noticed her gaze and glanced at her in the rearview mirror. That one look sent a chill down his spine.
Jiang Li’s cold, sinister gaze felt like a venomous snake coiling around his neck, making it hard for him to breathe.
"Lili, why are you looking at me like that?" Qiao Siyuan swallowed hard. ’Could it be? Does Jiang Li know something?’
’Impossible. Only his family knows about this. Besides, Jiang Li doesn’t have any friends, so there’s no way she could find out.’
"Just wanted to get a good look at you. To see how a perfectly good person could become so rotten."
Jiang Li’s voice was as light and eerie as a ghost’s when she said this.
Qiao Siyuan saw a service area a hundred meters ahead on the GPS and, without a second thought, pulled right in.
Only after getting out of the car did Qiao Siyuan dare to take a deep breath. He glanced back at Jiang Li, sitting quietly in the car. She looked no different than usual; she was just a living, breathing person.
’I’m just scaring myself.’
Qiao Siyuan filled up the tank, bought two bottles of water, then turned on the heat before getting back on the road.
Jiang Li watched the scenery outside the window for a while before eventually drifting off to sleep out of boredom.
After Lu Xingye and Ji Qinghe finished handling their case, they finally learned from Zhou Tiancheng that Jiang Li had left with her ex-boyfriend.
"What?!" Lu Xingye shot to his feet. "The day I went to pick Jiang Li up, her ex was already blocking her door. She told me that scumbag cheated on her right before their wedding, which is why she fled to C City.
And you just let that animal Qiao Siyuan take her away? What if something happens to her on the way?"
Zhou Tiancheng’s brow furrowed deeply as he listened to Lu Xingye. "She went with him willingly. I’ll contact the police in B City and have them keep an eye on things."
As he spoke, Zhou Tiancheng took out his phone and started contacting his colleagues over there.
Lu Xingye thought about Jiang Li’s state that day and still felt uneasy.
"Get me transferred to B City, the sooner the better."
Ji Qinghe looked at him in surprise. ’Why is this guy getting so worked up?’
"Xingye, I know you’re worried about Jiang Li, but don’t be. Since she decided to go, she must have a plan. Besides, she can handle herself."
"That’s no reason for her to go alone! She doesn’t have any family with her, not even a single friend. If something really happens, it’ll be too late."
Lu Xingye remembered the timid, insecure look that occasionally appeared on Jiang Li’s face. He didn’t know what she had been through in the past, but he knew she was the one who had saved his sister’s life.
He couldn’t just stand by and watch something happen to her.
"Alright, stop arguing, you two. I’ll have Huo Qing help keep an eye on things and check on Jiang Li’s situation over there.
That way, if something does happen, we’ll be in a position to help."
Zhou Tiancheng hung up the phone and looked at the two. "Xingye, I’ll put in a request with my superiors. You’re right. If there’s really an emergency, it’ll be better to have you there to handle it."
...
In the car, Jiang Li’s eyes flew open in terror as she recalled a scene from her dream.
’This is even more terrifying than the lychee wine!’
