Plunder-Chapter 133: If I Say She’s Not Dead, Then She’s Not Dead

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: If I Say She’s Not Dead, Then She’s Not Dead

Auntie Jiang looked tense, her hands tightly clutching her clothes.

She was an honest and straightforward person, unaccustomed to such situations.

"Auntie Jiang, please don’t ask anymore, okay?"

Qiao En got up, limping toward the bathroom. She closed the door and at the sink, washed off the facial mask from her face.

She had disappeared from Rong City for less than a month when Zhou Jin’an’s men arrived in Gu Yuan in search of her.

Qiao En knew that Zhou Jin’an wouldn’t rest until he found her.

There would surely be a second and third wave of people coming to look for her.

This time, she had narrowly escaped, but what about the next time?

Her mind was in turmoil, yet the more chaotic it became, the more she needed to calm down.

Qiao En stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long time. Suddenly, a plan began to take shape in her mind.

After a while, she pulled open the room door and prepared to come out.

Auntie Jiang blocked her again at the door.

"Little Xu, why are they looking for you? Have you done something wrong?"

Auntie Jiang’s gaze was intense as she stared at Qiao En, seeking a truthful answer.

"Mm-hm."

Qiao En responded.

Auntie Jiang’s eyes flashed with shock, and then her eyes reddened.

"Little Xu, I am sorry, but I have a son in college, and I don’t want to cause him trouble."

In that moment, a lot went through her mind.

She looked at Qiao En apologetically, conflicted, but finally spoke, "Could you pay me for the days I’ve worked? I’ll leave right now."

"Okay."

Qiao En replied and limped to the bedroom.

She took the money, came out, and handed it to Auntie Jiang.

"Thank you for your care during this time; I appreciate your effort."

During this time, Qiao En had enjoyed a pleasant relationship with Auntie Jiang.

Seeing Auntie Jiang go was difficult for Qiao En, but she didn’t try to stop her.

She didn’t want to cause Auntie Jiang more trouble.

Auntie Jiang took the money but didn’t leave immediately. "Little Xu, listen to my advice, no matter what you’ve done, there’s always a solution to every problem. You are still young. How long can you keep hiding?"

Qiao En smiled faintly, "Until I can’t hide anymore."

She limped toward the sofa. Perhaps moving too quickly, she lost her balance and fell to the floor.

Auntie Jiang hurried over to help her up, "Little Xu, what exactly have you done?"

She didn’t want to know, yet she was curious.

"Auntie Jiang, do you really want to know?"

Auntie Jiang hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Qiao En had no intention of deceiving Auntie Jiang, but if she didn’t, Auntie Jiang would remain uneasy.

"My ex-husband was compulsive gambler and was abusive. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I divorced him. Now he regrets it and has people looking for me everywhere."

Qiao En fabricated a lie.

A well-intentioned lie. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Auntie Jiang looked at Qiao En intensely, her heart moved with compassion.

"Little Xu, I am sorry for misunderstanding you earlier. Don’t worry, if anyone else comes looking for you, I will protect you."

"You are not leaving?"

"No, no, I am not. I’ll go make you some mushroom soup right now."

Relieved, Auntie Jiang quickly stood up and headed into the kitchen, beginning to make the soup with swift motions.

Meanwhile, back in Rong City.

Zhou Jin’an had just finished a morning meeting and returned to his office.

Cheng Lu entered with a serious expression, and spoke in a low voice, "Director Zhou, the people we sent out have searched all the towns around Rong City, but haven’t found Secretary Qiao."

Zhou Jin’an leaned back in his leather chair, his deep eyes fixed on the sprouting Brazilian wood.

"Expand the search area and keep looking,"

Zhou Jin’an issued another command.

Cheng Lu’s eyebrows were tightly knotted; he didn’t want to say much, but he couldn’t hold back.

"Director Zhou, please wake up. Secretary Qiao is already dead. No matter how much you look, you won’t find her."

Nearly a month had passed, and everyone had accepted the fact that Qiao En was dead.

However, for some reason, Zhou Jin’an simply refused to believe it.

"Do you also think she’s dead?"

Zhou Jin’an countered.

Cheng Lu sighed deeply, "I completely understand how you feel, and I too hope that it wasn’t Secretary Qiao who died. But Director Zhou, her family confirmed that it was her. Why can’t you accept this fact?"

Zhou Jin’an’s suppressed rage suddenly erupted.

He grabbed the Brazilian wood on the table and threw it, "I said she’s not dead, so she’s not dead."

His eyes were bloodshot, like a lion gone mad.

"I’m sorry, Director Zhou!"

Realizing his mistake, Cheng Lu bowed and began to pick up the Brazilian wood, now split into branches.

Zhou Jin’an then barked, "Get out."

Cheng Lu backed out of the office, while Zhou Jin’an stood there for a long while.

A shade of melancholy began to spread across that resolute face.

Qiao En, where could she be? Where could she possibly be?

Zhou Jin’an kept asking himself these questions inside his mind.

Why did she fabricate such an enormous lie? Why did she flee from his life in such a manner?

She must have been thoroughly disappointed, right?

She must have been deeply hurt, right?

Zhou Jin’an moved his heavy legs, picked up the Brazilian wood, and also picked up the broken sprout.

Qiao En had bought this as a gift for him; it had just sat on his office desk, hardly noticed by him.

It was only after she disappeared that he started to pay attention to the sprouting buds.

Objects reminding him of people.

He lived in his memories, unwilling to move forward even a step.

But time, like a carriage, never stops its galloping pace for anyone.

Six months passed quickly.

During this half-year, Zhou Jin’an had people search for Qiao En’s whereabouts monthly.

Each time, he was full of hope, but as those he sent out returned one after another, Zhou Jin’an harvested disappointment six times.

Yet even so, searching for Qiao En had become the most important thing in his life.

But these six months, for Qiao En in Gu Yuan, was a time of rebirth.

Her leg injury had healed, and she could walk normally again.

The scar on her forehead had finally healed completely, leaving a somewhat ferocious mark, but she had not considered scar removal surgery.

Some scars are kept as reminders of certain things.

Auntie Jiang was still taking care of Qiao En, and as she had said, when strangers approached Qiao En, she protected her fiercely like an eagle.

The people Zhou Jin’an sent had been there, but none of them recognized Qiao En.

The woman she had become was no longer that frail young girl.

She wore short hair, often burst into laughter showing her white teeth.

She spoke the local dialect of Gu Yuan fluently, dressed in the local rough clothes, went to the market with Auntie Jiang, and even learned how to haggle.

Most importantly, her appetite was excellent. Under Auntie Jiang’s superb cooking, she had grown from just over 90 pounds to nearly 130 pounds.

This Qiao En, if thrown in a crowd, would not be recognized by anyone.

Even if Zhou Jin’an stood in front of her, he would not recognize that this was the Qiao En he had been desperately searching for.

These six months, for Qiao En, were the happiest and most free times of her life.

However, the good days only lasted for that half-year and were broken by the arrival of one person.