309 Reunion 4 (2/2)

After going hard at work for some time, she began to feel her stomach rumbling. She was famished and could not continue working on an empty stomach any longer. Guiding herself with the torchlight, she found a lighter and started a fire on the gas stove.

She made some rice and cooked up a dish of stir-fried cabbage.

Although the meal was bland and tasteless, she could not care less since she was starving and just wanted something to fill her stomach.

She finished two large bowls of rice in one sitting and took a short break before resuming work.

At last, her efforts paid off and the cemented wall was broken. She finally got to see the light of day again, though it was already night time.

An Xiaoning was panting heavily, exhausted beyond limits as she had already expended all her energy.

She quickly changed into a set of clothes that she was buried with and left together with her shroud.

She pushed the soil outwards with all her might and resealed the opening.

A radiant smile formed on her face as she took in a whiff of fresh air, feeling lucky to have survived yet another ordeal.

She spread her shroud open and placed her belongings onto it before wrapping it into a bag and securing it tightly. She then carried the makeshift bag and left the place.

An Xiaoning did not see a single soul when she reached the foot of the mountain. She began to ponder where she should head to first – Jin Qingyan's place, the Gu family home, or her own home in Dongpo Road?

She was stuck in a dilemma.

After much thought and consideration, she decided to head home first to take a warm bath and clean up before looking for Jin Qingyan.

The crowds on the street were sparse since it was already the wee hours of the night.

There was not a single soul in sight at the ATM which An Xiaoning went to.

She withdrew 10 thousand dollars from her bank account before hailing a taxi back to her home in Dongpo Road.

The lights were all switched off in the house. Could everyone be sleeping? she thought to herself.

An Xiaoning entered her PIN number into the security lock on her door, which opened shortly after.

There was no one in the backyard at all. She then walked to the servants' room and knocked on the door a few times, but did not get any response.

She pulled the door handle and opened it effortlessly.

An Xiaoning switched on the lights, only to discover that the room was empty.

She took a look at the other rooms to find that they were all empty as well.

The first thing that came to her mind was, ”Did everyone leave because they thought I was dead?”

She went back inside the house and made her way upstairs with her bag of belongings.

She turned on the heater and headed inside the bathroom.

She removed her clothes and realized that there was medication applied on her wound underneath the bandage. However, she reeked of a pungent odor and desperately needed to take a shower.

An Xiaoning had no choice but to sit on a stool and wash herself while holding the shower head above her body. In order to prevent her wound from getting wet, she lifted her leg high up and kept it away from the water.

After the painstaking shower, she proceeded to wash her hair in the basin. An Xiaoning beamed with joy at the sight of her squeaky-clean self.

She dried her hair before exiting the bathroom. Her bedroom was completely devoid of any electronic devices, which made it impossible for her to contact anyone at all. Thus, she had no choice but to catch some sleep and wait until the next day to see her loved ones.

She began to wonder if she would be giving them a great shock or a surprise.

It had been a long time since she last saw Jin Qingyan, though she did not count how many days it had been exactly. However, she missed him dearly, and the thought of being able to see him in less than a day made her more excited than ever.

Filled with immense joy, she looked forward to the arrival of daybreak.

An Xiaoning turned to lay on her side. Her lips curled into a smile before she closed her eyes.

In the middle of the night, thunder rumbled all of a sudden and the sky began to pour heavily. However, An Xiaoning was not disturbed at all and continued to sleep peacefully until morning.

She woke up feeling refreshed and got out of bed to draw the curtains open, only to find that it was drizzling outside.

She then opened her closet to retrieve her feathered jacket and put it on before fixing her hair and applying some makeup. Sporting a scarf and a hat, she put on a surgical mask and strode downstairs leisurely while carrying her purse.

With an umbrella in hand, she exited the door and walked along the sidewalk towards the office building of the Jin Corporation.