Chapter 52: Heart Palpitations

After confirming no one was outside, Lü Yang emerged from the glass cabinet under the bathroom sink, crept out of the bathroom, and cautiously left the room.

He then went up the staircase to the rooftop. Luckily, everyone had gone down to the first floor for Chen Xingyu’s birthday celebration, so Lü Yang didn’t run into anyone along the way.

To avoid leaving traces while descending from the rooftop, Lü Yang didn’t use a rope. Instead, he quickly climbed down to the second floor using the security bars on the windows of the third and second floors and the outdoor air conditioning units along the wall. Then, avoiding the first-floor windows, he jumped to the ground and swiftly cut through an alley back to the main street.

Everything had gone unusually smoothly. Up to now, none of Chen Yonggui’s relatives and friends, who were celebrating Chen Xingyu’s birthday, had noticed anything unusual outside.

This Supernatural Task would only be fully completed once the evidence was submitted to the public security authorities. Although Lutou Town had its own public security office, considering Li Fuqiang’s local influence, Lü Yang decided not to hand the evidence over to them. He resolved to wait until he returned to Guishe City, talk to Sister Mei in an appropriate way, and then submit it to the public security authorities there.

Lü Yang bought a large travel bag and a smaller bag along the roadside. He transferred the iron box, gold bars, U.S. dollars, and other items from his tool bag into the small bag, then placed the small bag inside the large travel bag.

After that, he went to the flowing sand river in Lutou Town, found a secluded spot to change his clothes, and sank the tool bag—containing all the tools and clothes he had used—into the river with a rock. Even though he had tried not to leave any trace during the break-in at Chen Yonggui’s home, there was still a chance the police might find him if Chen Yonggui reported it in the future.

…

“The car is about to get off the highway and enter the city. Why do you want to go back?” Li Tingting looked at her daughter Liu Hui with confusion.

After all, the experiences at Lutou Town and Donkey Head Mountain should have been the memories Liu Hui least wanted to recall, yet she was now asking to return to Lutou Town.

“That… that person saved my life. I… I… I should at least thank him…” Liu Hui stammered in explanation to her mother.

“I think Xiao Hui has fallen for the migrant worker who saved her,” Zhang Min chimed in from the back seat, a hint of barely concealed disdain in her eyes.

“Nonsense! Our Xiao Hui is proud and ambitious. She didn’t even like the mayor’s son. How could she fall for a migrant worker?” Li Guoqing, sitting next to Zhang Min, immediately contradicted his wife.

But Zhang Min’s remark caught the attention of Li Tingting, who was driving. She glanced at Liu Hui and noticed her daughter’s distracted, listless expression, suddenly reminded of her own self from twenty years ago…

“Xiao Hui, what you feel for him is only gratitude. Don’t mistake that for love. Falling for a migrant worker, someone with a completely different status and background, is a very painful thing. Once the novelty wears off, you’ll soon realize you can’t live with someone you have nothing in common with,” Li Tingting said seriously, aware of the gravity of the situation.

“Wasn’t Dad just a migrant worker when he first came to Guishe City? Wasn’t what you had with him love?” Liu Hui immediately retorted.

“Just as I guessed. Xiao Hui really has fallen for that migrant worker…” Zhang Min muttered quietly to Li Guoqing, seeming quite pleased with having figured it out.

“Love? What does a teenage girl like you know about love!? I won’t let my daughter repeat the mistakes I made!” Li Tingting suddenly exploded in anger upon hearing Liu Hui’s words, even slapping the steering wheel hard.

“Sis… the car…” Li Guoqing nervously reminded Li Tingting. The family had plenty of drivers and didn’t need her to drive, but she loved driving and no one could stop her.

Although she was a skilled driver, they were on the highway. Driving so emotionally could lead to an accident. Li Guoqing felt a pang of regret for listening to Zhang Min’s suggestion to ride in Li Tingting’s car.

“Dad is so sick, and you’re saying things like that, Mom…” Liu Hui said sadly, looking out the car window. Li Tingting had a quick temper, and Liu Hui had been afraid of her since childhood. After Liu Jianhao fell ill, Li Tingting’s temper had worsened even more.

“If you care about your dad, go spend more time with him when we get back. Focus on school and stop skipping classes and causing trouble!” Li Tingting replied coldly, clearly unwilling to compromise on this matter.

“That’s right, Xiao Hui. If it weren’t for our Li Family’s support, would your father have been able to build Yida Group into what it is today? Besides, not every migrant worker has your father’s diligence and talent…” Li Guoqing quickly added from the back seat, trying to calm her.

“I never said I wanted to be with him… I just want to find him… and thank him…” Liu Hui lowered her beautiful big eyes and leaned wearily against the seat back.

For some reason, whenever she returned to this family and was around these relatives, she felt suffocated. Last night with Lü Yang, though she had been scared and tired, she had felt an indescribable joy and relaxation in her spirit.

Compared to her strict, hot-tempered mother Li Tingting, her father Liu Jianhao was much more loving towards her. He called her his angel and never scolded her no matter how much she fooled around or acted spoiled with him. But although her father was strong-willed at the company, he had no standing at all at home, in front of Li Tingting and the Li Family. On top of that, he was now terminally ill.

“It’s good that you don’t want to be with him. I’ll try to find him and thank him on your behalf, Xiao Hui. Don’t worry about this anymore, and don’t upset your mother,” Li Guoqing hurriedly tried to smooth things over. Arguing with her mother wasn’t his concern, but riding in their car at such high speed very much was—it was a matter of life and death.

Liu Hui closed her eyes and didn’t say another word.

…

After placing the offerings and standing silently for a long time in front of his maternal grandmother’s grave, Lü Yang looked up at the darkening sky and then quickly headed down the mountain.

Lü Yang didn’t know that someone had tampered with his grandmother’s grave a few days earlier and removed the items buried with her.

By the time he returned to Lutou Town, it was completely dark. Lü Yang bought a lot of local Lutou Town specialty snacks and packed them into his large travel bag, then hailed a car to the side of the highway.

He quickly ate something at a service area and soon caught a minibus heading to Guishe City. The driver spoke with a Guishe City accent. The bus had over twenty seats but only about ten passengers, and there was no conductor. Lü Yang directly gave the driver one hundred dollars as fare and boarded the bus.

The last two rows of seats were empty. Lü Yang sat in a window seat in the very back row. Just then, he felt an inexplicable heart palpitation, as if something bad was about to happen, or as if some unknown threat was watching him nearby.

The feeling disappeared quickly, but it felt familiar to Lü Yang, as if it had happened many times before.

After settling into his seat, Lü Yang thought back carefully. He had felt this way back in Chen Yonggui’s house, but that wasn’t the first time.