Chapter 89: Disappearance  

Lan Chen quietly looked at Xia Lingying, a little bitterness in her eyes. Once, they stood shoulder to shoulder like this, working for the same person and the same goal. Back then, Xia Lingying looked at her with approval and praise. Now, she looked with disgust, annoyance, even hatred.  

She pressed the brim of her hat without thinking, trying to hide the ugly scar on her forehead. Lan Chen looked at Xia Lingying and slowly said,  

“Xiaxia, I want you to leave Xiao Moyan.”  

“What?!”  

Xia Lingying suddenly opened her eyes wide and stared at Lan Chen, her lips pressed tight. She did not understand. Lan Chen hated her father, so why did this involve Xiao Moyan?  

Lan Chen turned her head slightly to avoid Xia Lingying’s eyes. A different feeling showed in her own eyes. It was not the hatred she had when speaking of Xia Ran and Xiao Nian. It was another feeling, a little panic, a little fluster, even a bit of caution.  

“Xiaxia, back then, to humiliate Xiao Moyan, to separate you two, I once did something to Mrs. Xu...”  

She stopped. Lan Chen lifted her head and looked at Xia Lingying. Sure enough, a flash of anger crossed Xia Lingying’s eyes, but she also looked more knowing. Lan Chen took a deep breath and met her eyes with no hiding.  

“I don’t know Xiao Moyan as well as you do, but I have seen the years of her open and secret fights with those two men. I hurt the person she cares about most. She will not let me go. Before, I always thought Xia Ran would shelter me, but in the end he just pushed all the blame onto me.”  

“So you want to use me to make them fight like two tigers, then copy what Xiao Nian did back then and profit from it?”

Lan Chen shook her head, her voice strained.  

“Xiaxia, even though my face was ruined by Xia Ran himself, he once saved my life. So this is fair, a knife for a life, we owe nothing to each other now. Besides, the few loyal servants left by his side are all old, he has no real power in the country anymore, he’s no threat. All he can do is hurt innocent people to vent his hatred.  

What I care about is Xiao Moyan. She sent many people to search for me. I thought she wouldn’t find me after I escaped to Japan. But I didn’t expect she had already guessed I would take this step and set up a trap everywhere. My face is already like this, whether I live or die doesn’t matter. But, Xiaxia, my sister is innocent... With Xiao Moyan’s temper, she’ll surely repay blood with blood. I was forced...”  

Looking at Lan Chen covering her face and shaking her head, Xia Lingying felt a sting in her heart. The youthful pride once in her was gone. The Lan Chen now was nothing but a fugitive.  

After a long while, Lan Chen slowly lifted her head and handed the videotape in her hand to Xia Lingying.  

“Xiaxia, I just want you to save me. Other than you, there’s no one else I can find...”  

Holding the videotape, Xia Lingying looked up at Lan Chen, at her tear-stained face, biting her lip tightly.  

Lan Chen looked into Xia Lingying’s eyes and said in a low voice,  

“Xiaxia, I just want to take a gamble, a gamble on Xiao Moyan's feelings for you..."

****

The private jet landed steadily. A group of muscular men in black quickly surrounded the plane door, alertly scanning around. Xiao Moyan was the first to step off the plane. Her light makeup couldn’t hide the fatigue on her face. She held her phone, frowning tightly. In the distance, Mrs. Xu, who had come by car to meet her, saw her and hurried over, grabbing Xiao Moyan’s hand.  

“Miss, you’re back. Xiaxia, Xiaxia she...”  

Xiao Moyan turned and held Mrs. Xu’s hand, shaking her head.  

“Mrs. Xu, don’t worry. Tell me calmly, what exactly happened?”  

Taking a deep breath, Mrs. Xu steadied her emotions and gripped Xiao Moyan’s hand tightly.  

“Early the day before yesterday, she went to work saying a station event was rescheduled, that she’d be back later. I didn’t think much of it. These days, she’s used to going out early and returning late. But I waited on the sofa until midnight, and she still didn’t come back. I called her, and Xiaxia’s phone was off. I felt something was wrong, so I immediately sent people out to look, to the company. The staff said she never showed up for work. We searched the whole day with no sign of her. I got worried, so I called you, Miss...”  

Mrs. Xu’s voice trembled. Her face, weathered from countless storms, showed panic. Xiao Moyan gently comforted her while her own heart was already heavy. She looked up and waved at A'Sen.  

“Miss—”  

A'Sen quickly walked to her side. Xiao Moyan frowned, thinking for a moment, then instructed,  

“A'Sen, go to the bureau and find someone familiar. Get all of Xiaxia’s phone recordings from the past few days. Then check the station and pull all surveillance routes from each location. If—”  

At this point, a flash of hatred crossed Xiao Moyan’s eyes.  

“If there’s still no news, start with Qiu Muying.”

“Yes.”  

A'Sen respectfully nodded, received the order, waved, and hurried out with a few men.  

Holding Mrs. Xu’s hand and seeing her pale face, Xiao Moyan forced a small smile to comfort her.  

“Mrs. Xu, don’t worry. Xiaxia promised to stay with me for life. She will be fine, she will.”  

The car drove smoothly along the road. Xiao Moyan looked out at the bustling crowd, her mind already in chaos.  

Why did Xiaxia disappear at this moment? The grudges in Nanyang were about to be resolved. She hadn’t seen Xia Ran for a long time. For Xia Lingying’s sake, even Qiu Muying’s name was rarely mentioned. Their lives had been calm and peaceful, except for that day’s argument… But they had gone through countless arguments like this before. From the initial firmness to the current helplessness, Xiaxia no longer argued with her. So what could it be now? What made her leave? Was it that she was tired of her, tired of this endless whirlpool of hatred? Did she want to leave alone, to live the quiet life she mentioned on the phone?  

Xiao Moyan shook her head forcefully, gripping her phone to reassure herself.  

No, Xiaxia wouldn’t leave me, she wouldn’t abandon me…  

At the villa, after a quick wash, Xiao Moyan immediately drove to the company, using all her resources to investigate Xia Lingying’s whereabouts. She did not notify the police. She didn’t want them involved. Once it went through legal channels, Xiaxia’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed. Xiao Moyan believed that no one yet dared to harm the woman she cared for. Xiaxia’s disappearance must have an unavoidable reason.  

In just half a day, A'Sen completed everything Xiao Moyan ordered. During the days Xiao Moyan was away, almost all of Xia Lingying’s calls were to her, with only a few from radio stations. The company’s surveillance footage showed nothing unusual. Xia Lingying had never appeared, and as for Xia Lingying…  

A'Sen stood beside Xiao Moyan, not daring to look up at her.  

Xiao Moyan looked at Xiao Nian beside him, her face dark as iron. Her grip tightened.  

Xiao Nian still smoked with style, squinting at her.  

“Xiaoxiao, I said no one can touch Qiu Muying.”  

Xiao Moyan ground her teeth, anger like fire in her eyes.  

“Xiao Nian, you can do what you want to me. After all, I carry your dirty blood. But Xia Lingying—”  

“She is Muying’s real daughter. Muying would not hurt her. Xia Ran, on the other hand—”  

Xiao Nian sneered and stared at Xiao Moyan without a word. Xiao Moyan took a deep breath and stepped in front of him, looking straight into his eyes.  

“Xiao Nian, I said it before. Xia Lingying is my woman. No one can touch her. Because of her, I put up with you and Qiu Muying for so long. Now, if you want to hide her to use against me, fine. I’ll tell you clearly. I, Xiao Moyan, will dig up the earth if I must, to find her. When I find her, I will spare no one, not you and not Qiu Muying.”  

She took a heavy drag and blew smoke from her nose. Xiao Nian looked up with pain in his eyes.  

“Xiaoxiao, it’s this time now, and you still won’t forgive your father? Don’t you know Dad is the only family you can trust in this world?”  

Xiao Moyan shook her head, crossed her arms and gave a cold laugh.  

“Xiao Nian, you’re wrong. The only family I could trust died with hate in her heart. Now, aside from Mrs. Xu and Xiaxia, I trust no one. As for those so-called moves you did behind my back to wipe out the Xia family remnant, I will settle them all with you. If you want, I can give you back all this blood on my hands. But when it comes to asking for forgiveness, I think the one who should beg isn’t me!”

Author’s Note:

If nothing goes wrong, the story will finish next week, daily update day two.  

(Xiao Yi: Angry! Why has it only been updated for a few days?! My bazooka aaahh....= =)  

Hello, does everyone know who I am? Because some idiot's campus network is not good, so I’m the one posting la la la la~~~

I am Xiao Yi Gongjun~~~HOHO~~~~

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