CHAPTER 217: CHAPTER 217: TRAPPING HER ON PURPOSE

Ye Ningwan and Wangyue traversed through the forest for several hours before reaching the other end.

Suddenly, a small path emerged before their eyes.

It was nothing like Bai Wenjing had described—he claimed that apart from the road blocked by a landslide, there were no other paths.

"There’s actually a small path. Why did Bai Wenjing lie to us?" Wangyue asked in surprise.

Ye Ningwan chuckled, "Because he didn’t want me to leave. He wanted to trap me here. That’s why he deliberately told me that there was no other road besides the one blocked by the landslide. That path might take another week to clear, so we had to find our own way."

"Why would he lie to us? What does he want? That’s too much," Wangyue said indignantly.

Ye Ningwan furrowed her brows slightly.

She also didn’t know why Bai Wenjing lied to her; it was probably not for Bai Qishu.

She had some vague speculation in her heart, but she couldn’t articulate it.

So, for now, she had no way to answer Wangyue’s question.

"Let’s get out of here first," Ye Ningwan continued forward.

Wangyue followed her.

She was quite surprised by Ye Ningwan’s stamina.

As a martial artist, climbing this mountain was no big deal for her.

But she hadn’t expected Ye Ningwan to make it over too.

"Miss Ye, I didn’t expect you to have such great stamina."

"I’m a healer. If a healer doesn’t have good stamina, they can’t find rare herbs. So, of course, I need to train my stamina," Ye Ningwan explained.

Wangyue gave her a thumbs up.

"Your stamina is much better than our young master’s. That young master of ours wouldn’t even walk more than a hundred meters and used to make me carry him."

Ye Ningwan smiled, "You better not say that in front of Xie Mingyu. Otherwise, he’d be furious."

"Of course, I know that. I’d never dare say it in front of him," Wangyue quickly replied.

At that moment, a tractor passed by.

Ye Ningwan immediately waved her hand to stop the tractor.

"Sir, we’re lost. Could you give us a ride?"

"Sure, where to?"

"The city center."

"This tractor can’t go as far as the city center, but I can take you to the county," the man said.

Ye Ningwan said, "The county is fine too. Thank you, sir. I have money here; I can pay for the fare."

Ye Ningwan took out a hundred yuan.

The tractor driver shook his head, "No need for money; it’s on the way."

Ye Ningwan was deeply grateful once again.

She and Wangyue got on the tractor and let the man take them to the county.

Wangyue said, "Let’s book a flight and have the bodyguards pick us up. With me and the bodyguards around, Bai Wenjing wouldn’t dare detain you, or I’ll beat him up."

"The bodyguards are unreliable; we can’t tell them. We’ll leave quietly by ourselves, and tell no one," Ye Ningwan said.

"Ah, those are the bodyguards sent by Zhan Hanjue, and they’re unreliable too?" Wangyue was surprised.

Ye Ningwan nodded.

Then, looking deeply into Wangyue’s eyes, she said, "Right now, the only person I can trust is you. Wangyue, you mustn’t betray me."

Wangyue was filled with passion.

She immediately nodded and promised, "Miss Ye, rest assured that I will never betray you. Even if the whole world betrays you, I will steadfastly stand by your side."

"I’m not that unfortunate yet, but we can’t go to the airport. Bai Wenjing has probably already discovered we’ve left, so his first reaction will definitely be to have someone check for me at the airport. We can’t take the high-speed train either, so the only option left is a bus. Let’s take the bus!"

"Alright, taking the bus is fine by me," Wangyue nodded.

However, she soon realized that it wasn’t fine by her at all.

She had taken a coach before.

She assumed that a coach was clean inside, spacious, bright, and more comfortable than a car.

But when she boarded the county bus, she realized she had thought too much.

What era was this bus from?

How long has it been since they changed it?

The bus was dilapidated, with a strange smell in the cabin.

Even the seats were filthy, with a huge hole in one of them.

Wangyue didn’t even dare to sit down, fearing she might accidentally damage it.

Ye Ningwan also frowned.

But she seemed mentally prepared for the fact that the bus would be like this.

So, she could accept it mentally.

Yet, such a shabby bus was overloading passengers.

Soon, all the seats were taken, and more passengers boarded.

Some people even sat on small stools in the aisle.

Wangyue lowered her voice and asked Ye Ningwan, "Miss Ye, isn’t the driver afraid of being checked?"

"In this kind of county bus, there are only one or two trips a day; even if they check, they won’t manage it. Rest now, lean on my shoulder for a nap, we’ll reach soon," Ye Ningwan replied.

Wangyue nodded.

Indeed, she leaned on Ye Ningwan’s shoulder and fell asleep.

Ye Ningwan couldn’t sleep.

When she thought about how even the bodyguards given by Zhan Hanjue were unreliable, she guessed that it might be Zhan Hanjue himself stopping her from returning.

But why?

She couldn’t figure it out.

Why would Zhan Hanjue stop her from returning?

Since she couldn’t find out, she decided to sneak back and see what he was up to.

She and Wangyue took a winding journey, first taking the bus, then another bus from the city center. Then they took a train to a neighboring city and finally another bus.

After three days and two nights, they finally returned to Jiangcheng.

After she left, Bai Wenjing started searching everywhere.

When he realized her ID was missing, he guessed she might have left.

He searched all over He City but couldn’t find Ye Ningwan.

He had no choice but to call Zhan Hanjue.

Zhan Hanjue received the news, his brows furrowed tightly.

"I know," he said.

"What are you going to do now?" Bai Wenjing asked.

Zhan Hanjue spoke in a low voice, "I will handle it myself."

Bai Wenjing hurriedly said, "You must not go back on your word, or my brother’s life will be in danger too."

"Do you think I care about him?" Zhan Hanjue scoffed coldly.

Bai Wenjing pleaded, "Mr. Zhan, you can’t go back on your word. I promised you I’d try to hold off Ye Ningwan, but she’s too clever. There’s nothing more I could do. But I’ve done all I can; you can’t just ignore my brother’s life or death."

"Bai Wenjing, your brother’s life and death are not under my control. All I can say is that I’ll do my best. Whatever happens, it’s his own fate," Zhan Hanjue said and hung up.

Bai Wenjing: "..."

What fate?

He didn’t believe in fate.

Zhan Hanjue was right.

Entrusting his brother’s life to Zhan Hanjue was absurd and ridiculous in itself.

He had to go save his brother himself.

"Miss Leng, I’m going to Jiangcheng. Would you like to go back with me?" Bai Wenjing asked Leng Linglong.

Leng Linglong looked at him in surprise, "You want to send me off?"

"Not sending you off, I just happen to have business in Jiangcheng. If you want to go back with me, we’ll go together. If you don’t, you can stay at the Bai Family as long as you like. No one will drive you away," Bai Wenjing said.

Leng Linglong thought for a moment.

Anyway, she had enough fun here.

The Bai Family wasn’t interesting without Bai Wenjing around.

She did miss home and her dog, so she decided to go back!

"Alright, I’ll go back with you. However, whether I return to the Leng Family and when I return is up to me," Leng Linglong said.

Bai Wenjing nodded, "Of course, I won’t force you."

Leng Linglong smiled, satisfied, and immediately went to her room to pack her things.