Chapter 43
Going to London
The little masked girl
On the road they didn"t encounter any more drones or Flying Wolves. There weren"t many vehicles on the road, but it was obvious that they were all personal cars of people living nearby. Therefore, Ye Wenxuan slowly relaxed his alertness.
It wasn"t until ten minutes later that Xing Yuan leaned over from the back row and tapped his shoulder.
Ye Wenxuan didn"t even turn his head: "What happened?”
Xing Yuan: "We better stop and and get out of the car.”
Ye Wenxuan immediately turned to look at him: "What"s wrong, do you feel uncomfortable?”
"I"m fine." Xing Yuan was calm. He pointed to the back with his thumb: "But I heard a sound in our trunk, so you better stop and check it out.”
In the trunk?
He originally thought that it might be a squirrel or some other small animal that had snuck in when the car had been parked in the woods, but when he parked the car on the side of the road and lifted the back while holding a ball of lightning, and saw the little blond girl inside, he was almost stunned speechless.
"Kathy?!" He cried incredulously: "How did you get into my car…where"s your brother?!”
Kathy lay with her legs curled up in his trunk. She looked up at him and pointed back along the road they came from.
That meant, presumably, that her brother was still in the hospital.
Ye Wenxuan: "…”
Xing Yuan slowly got out of the car and walked over: "What"s inside?”
Ye Wenxuan looked at him expressionlessly: "A person.”
So Xing Yuan also saw the little girl in the trunk.
Xing Yuan: "…You kidnapped a little girl? I really didn"t expect you to have this kind of hobby.”
Ye Wenxuan: "…Does your conscience not hurt from saying that?”
Xing Yuan: "No.”
Ye Wenxuan: "…”
If this guy wasn"t injured…
Ye Wenxuan ground his teeth and decided to ignore the annoying guy next to him.
He pulled Kathy out of the trunk, somewhat troubled: "What do we do, we can"t bring her to run to Cantel.”
Xing Yuan sighed: "Send her back.”
Kathy didn"t feel at all how bold the act of hiding in the trunk was. She pulled at Ye Wenxuan"s ponytail, as if she felt like it was very interesting.
Ye Wenxuan placed her in the back row and moved the folding wheelchair that had been left there into the trunk: "Milk dad Xing, I will give you a very difficult task, don"t let her climb to the front.”
Xing Yuan looked at the little thing sitting next to him, the other person looked back at him, and reached out to pull at his sleeve.
Xing Yuan suddenly stiffened and moved tracelessly to the side a bit: "…I will do my best.”
The SUV slowly turned and drove quickly back in the direction they came from.
When they were almost back to Cain, Ye Wenxuan was still pondering to Xing Yuan: "You say, are foreign parents especially relaxed? That Ado-something-nis, he should be leaving his sister at home, he brought her to the hospital and didn"t watch over her a bit more, maybe by now he hasn"t even realized that his sister has disappeared.”
Xing Yuan listened to Ye Wenxuan complaining nonstop, but kept staring at the mask on the little girl"s face. He couldn"t help but raise his hand and touch it.
Kathy stared at him, not avoiding his hand.
Xing Yuan made his voice gentler, softly asking: "Can you speak?”
Not paying attention to the hand on her cheek, Kathy still pulled at his sleeve, gently nodding.
"I…can…”
Ye Wenxuan"s hand slipped, and the SUV skidded on the highway. It sc.r.a.ped out a hazardous S shape, almost sliding right into the field next to them.
Those two words were slightly m.u.f.fled by the mask, but they could still roughly tell.
The girl"s voice was hoa.r.s.e and hard to listen to, like a machine that lacked lubrication, and also a little like a very old man, giving them a feeling of death and withering.
Ye Wenxuan looked back in shock: "You can talk?”
Kathy: "Stop…the…car…"
Ye Wenxuan: "Ah?”
She seemed like she didn"t speak with the normal way of releasing sound. Her voice was very hoa.r.s.e, so for a second Ye Wenxuan couldn"t hear clearly.
Xing Yuan turned: “She said to stop the car.”
When the car was parked on the side of the road, Kathy added: "Go…there…together…together…”
She pointed to the fields next to the road, where there were turquoise-colored shrubs as tall as a person. Occasionally there would be patches of trees, all very green, looking lush and pleasing to the eye.
Ye Wenxuan looked for half a day, and confirmed to Xing Yuan: "Does she want to go to the restroom?”
Xing Yuan also didn"t know: "Or maybe she wants to play hide-and-seek.”
Ye Wenxuan: "…In any case, we are really more and more not like runaways.”
When the two got out of the car with the little girl, Kathy pulled at Xing Yuan"s sleeve again and patted the SUV next to them.
Ye Wenxuan: "…What"s wrong with this lady now?”
Kathy: "Together…together…”
Xing Yuan: "With the car together?”
Kathy: "…En…”
"I"m really f*king convinced." Ye Wenxuan sat back into the driver"s seat with a dark expression: "Sure enough, I still don"t like children.”
Kathy rolled down the car window and watched him drive off the road, squeezing into the thick brush next to the road.
Not far in, Kathy patted the gla.s.s again: "Stop…stop…”
Ye Wenxuan parked: "Now, what else?”
Kathy blinked, not moving and not saying anything. She just lay on the window, not letting them leave.
Ye Wenxuan: "…”
He opened the door and got out of the car, pulling out one of Xing Yuan"s cigarettes and putting it into his mouth. He told himself to calm down, to treat the little girl in a friendly manner.
Xing Yuan was previously always cold and detached, always showing a cynical att.i.tude, but right now he actually showed unusual patience.
He looked at Ye Wenxuan smoking while leaning against the car door, lowering the window and tapping his finger on the door: "Your temper is getting more and more explosive, is it because you have been using your powers more recently?”
"I don"t know." Ye Wenxuan leaned his head back on the car window and turned to look at him: "I found that since yesterday, your bad temper doesn"t seem to explode as much?”
Xing Yuan: "Me losing my temper depends on the person.”
Ye Wenxuan sneered: "The first time you met me, you only had one sentence when you saw me: fire him.”
Xing Yuan was unmoved by this level of taunting: "If I knew that you would electrocute me in the future, I wouldn"t have said anything about letting you try out for a period of time.”
Ye Wenxuan was a little interested, and turned to look at him: "Oh? So what would you do?”
He and Xing Yuan were less than 30 cm apart. His icy blue eyes looked over the other person, and he slowly said: "I wouldn"t even open the door to you, but would call your boss to report you.”
"…" Ye Wenxuan was full of dissatisfaction: "F*k, you still want to complain about me? I still haven"t anonymously reported that your family is selling arms!”
Xing Yuan: "You have no proof, what if I gave you the evidence?”
Ye Wenxuan forcefully and righteously said: "Immediately report.”
Xing Yuan: "Oh.”
The two people looked at each other, the corners of their mouths unable to resist rising slightly, somewhat wanting to laugh.
Xing Yuan rubbed his fingers and opened his mouth to speak.
By his side, Kathy suddenly patted the gla.s.s and said in a quiet voice: "Coming…”
Well?
Ye Wenxuan put out his cigarette and turned to look in the direction she was pointing.
On the road, a group of jeeps drove past, raising up a huge wave of dust.
Ye Wenxuan didn"t understand: "You know them? Ai, they"re driving away.”
Xing Yuan suddenly reached out and pressed his shoulder through the window, quietly saying: "Get in the car, close the window.”
Ye Wenxuan didn"t need him to repeat himself, immediately rushing into the car and closing all four windows, then squinting outside: "What did you see, could the Flying Wolves have caught up?”
Xing Yuan pointed to the side: "Look there.”
Ye Wenxuan followed the direction of his finger and quietly hissed: "Drone.”
"Three of them, following behind the group just now." Xing Yuan calmly said: "The people pa.s.sing in front of us, 80% chance, they were Flying Wolves.”
Ye Wenxuan: "Well…I feel like there"s something strange…”
Xing Yuan: "I feel the same.”
"It was Kathy who brought us here to hide." He turned to look at the two people in the back: "This little girl…how did you know that the Flying Wolves were chasing us?”
Kathy heard her name and looked back at him, blinking with her head tilted.
If it weren"t for her thin and malnourished appearance, it would look very cute.
Ye Wenxuan and Xing Yuan looked at each other. The other person touched the little girl"s hair and whispered: "Kathy, do you know them?”
Kathy shook her head.
"Then how did you know we"re avoiding those people." Xing Yuan quietly asked: "How did you know they would pa.s.s by?”
Kathy rubbed her head in his palm: "I…saw…”
"Hospital…find…brother…”
Xing Yuan looked at Kathy and asked: "Kathy, can I take off your mask?”
Kathy moved aside and shook her head: "Find…brother…”
Xing Yuan asked a couple more times, and Kathy just repeated those words. Without a choice, Ye Wenxuan waited for those drones to fly away, and then started the car, going back towards the main road.
When they returned to the town of Cain, Ye Wenxuan"s mood was very different from before.
As he watched the road, he looked back at the two people in the back seat through the rear-view mirror, the interest and curiosity in his mind never dissipating.
That"s right, the always strict and self-disciplined, always arming himself as a steel iceberg of a president, was sitting blankly in the corner of the backseat. The majority of the seat next to him was owned by Kathy. The little girl hugged the man"s uninjured right arm, lying asleep in the seats.
"Hey, I say…you"re a little too stiff ba." Ye Wenxuan lightly coughed: "I thought that you would be better than me at least a bit with children.”
Xing Yuan looked up at the rear-view mirror with a serious expression.
Ye Wenxuan met his gaze through the mirror: "I seem to remember that you have a younger sister, before I saw that you still even have a picture of her. Your relationship should be not bad.”
Xing Yuan pulled at his arm, but didn"t succeed: "My little sister is not so clingy.”
Ye Wenxuan: "Does your sister hit people?”
Xing Yuan: "…She doesn"t.”
Ye Wenxuan: "Oh, then your little sister is much better than my little sister.”
The two big men looked at each other in the mirror, and both saw a little pity in the other"s eyes.
Three blocks away from the Knicks Private Hospital, Ye Wenxuan found a place with few people and parked his car on the side of the road.
After the three people got off the car, Ye Wenxuan took out the wheelchair and helped Xing Yuan sit down. Then he hurriedly leaned down and told Kathy to follow them obediently.
Kathy grabbed his sleeve again: "Okay…”
But when they got there, Ye Wenxuan gradually realized that something wasn"t right.
"Xing Yuan, I have a bad feeling.”
Xing Yuan covered his eyes with sungla.s.ses, and only said: "I know what you want to say, and I have the same feeling.”
Both men"s gazes were on the jeeps parked by the hospital.
"These cars…" Ye Wenxuan said cautiously: "I feel like they"re somewhat familiar.”
Xing Yuan raised a corner of his mouth: "A team going to Cantel, a team searching the nearby hospitals along the way, very cautious, no problem.”
Ye Wenxuan looked down at the little girl following them.
"Kathy, what floor is your brother on?" He quietly asked.
Kathy whispered at the same volume: "Fourth…”
"Well, let"s have a talk." He crouched down and pinched Kathy"s thin face: "I"ll take you to the first floor lobby, and then you go up and find your brother yourself, okay?”
Xing Yuan sat in his wheelchair and ridiculed: "Then she"ll just pull your sleeve and follow you out again.”
Kathy tilted her head and grabbed his sleeve with one hand, physically expressing her approval of his words.
Ye Wenxuan: "…”
What kind of situation is this?!
"Previously, weren"t you the one constantly clamoring to hurry away, and not face the Flying Wolves head on." He glared at Xing Yuan: "And now you encounter a little girl, and your principles have changed? We are on the run now, don"t you know? Bringing her back has already been interesting enough!”
"So I didn"t object to your proposal just now." Xing Yuan looked at him from behind his sungla.s.ses: "The clerk in the convenience store next door is very idle, we can give Kathy to him, and pay him some money, to let him bring her in.”
"Actually…" Ye Wenxuan mumbled: "I have another idea…”
Xing Yuan: "Eh?”
Ye Wenxuan: "No need to be scared, just face them directly.”
## hahahaha ##
Ye Wenxuan running in front: "Why are you chasing me?!”
Kathy chasing in the back: "Because you have Jizhi syrup.”
Translator Notes:
[1] girl – 萝莉, so this means like loli and lolita, but not in a s.e.xy way that these words seem to convey, it basically means a very cute, young girl. i"m just gonna say little girl just to stay safe
[2] milk dad – 奶爸, basically means stay at home dad
[3] convinced – 服了她, not a good translation, it"s like something you just say when you"re frustrated
[4] following them – 亦步亦趋, idiom, means to blindly follow suit, imitate, doing what they are doing
[5] mumbled – 吞吞吐吐, idiom, to hum and haw, hesitating
[6] Jizhi syrup – 急支糖浆, so this is a Chinese meme of sorts. Jizhi syrup is a brand of Chinese medicine. In one particular ad for the medicine, there was a pretty girl running, while being chased by a cheetah. The girl ran while looking back and asking why the cheetah was chasing her, and after the cheetah caught her it wanted to drink the jizhi syrup.
Random Notes:
About an hour: 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm, for 3.9k characters to 2.5k words.