No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 1

It’s a day of bright sunshine, a clear and boundless sky, very comfortable. In the tranquil woods, however, the river was unusually swift, as if carrying something along.

A person was swept over by the rapid river, lying face-up on the grassy bank. Her ears were ringing, and her lower body was still immersed in the cold water. She thought she was close to death, but heaven didn’t think so.

Suddenly, a nauseating feeling surged, and she propped herself up, coughing violently, expelling the water she had inhaled through her mouth and nose. Her blurred consciousness gradually cleared… When she realized she was still alive, she wasn’t particularly happy; she just lay back down, unwilling even to pull her body out of the water.

She opened her dark eyes, looking at the bright sky above, cloudless and a vast expanse of blue; doing this was perhaps one of the few things that could bring her a sense of peace.

During her student days, whenever it was time for physical education class, she would always lie down like this on the grassy field, staring at the sky with her eyes open, emptying her mind. Why did she like this? Perhaps it was because her classmates all had people to talk to and play with, while she was always alone.

Her name was Yang Lulong. Because she accidentally fell into the river, she was brought to this unfamiliar place.

Introverted by nature, she had few friends and no romantic experience. Her parents divorced when she was very young, and her custody was given to her father. But after her father found a new wife, she became superfluous in this new family. After entering university, naturally, she gradually lost contact with this family. The only contact was when her half-brother got married and invited her to attend, but she didn’t go, not even sending a polite congratulatory message.

She still remembered when her younger brother was just born, she was quite happy and wanted to play with him, but this brother didn’t seem to like her. Every time she approached him, he would cry loudly and strongly reject her. This made the young her feel the sensation of being disliked for the first time, a feeling that even extended to her father and stepmother, while her memory of her own biological mother had already faded. Over time, the originally lively her stopped talking much at home and even became unwilling to talk much to others.

She could be considered missing now, but she couldn’t think of anyone who would report it. Even that mean superior of hers, after she was absent from work for so long and couldn’t be contacted, would probably just send her a letter of dismissal.

She had a flash of her life, reviewing her first half, but the Grim Reaper had not yet arrived.

She began to feel cold, and she could hear the sound of the wind blowing through the grass very clearly.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the grass. In this desolate wilderness, it was very likely to be wild animals. What if it was a wolf? She might very well become its lunch. Thinking this, fear crept into Yang Lulong’s heart, but her body remained unmoved. In an instant, she felt relieved again. Dying like this wouldn’t be a big deal, she just hoped it wouldn’t be too painful… Thinking this, she closed her eyes.

She thought what would touch her next would be sharp teeth, never expecting it to be a warm hand. This hand touched her neck, probably checking her pulse. Yang Lulong didn’t dare to open her eyes, afraid that her disheveled appearance would be exposed to others.

Suddenly, she felt warm breath fall on her face, and a jasmine fragrance lingered around her. This scent actually gradually calmed her tense mood.

After a while, hearing footsteps moving away, Yang Lulong dared to open her eyes slightly, looking in the direction the person had left. In the green shade of the bushes, a white figure gradually disappeared.

The jasmine fragrance from that person still lingered here.

Yang Lulong wanted to take advantage of the person not being back yet to leave quickly, but her lower body was numb. After soaking in the cold water for so long, she couldn’t stand up at all. She laboriously propped herself up with her hands, wanting to use them to move her lower body out of the water. Unfortunately, she was too slow. Before she could move, she heard some noisy voices not far away. It seemed that the person had called a few people to help.

Yang Lulong had no choice but to lie down and continue to pretend to be unconscious.

The sound of a man’s voice gradually approached, with a woman’s voice mixed in.

“This is a Qianyuan, Wan Niang, are you really going to take her home?”

“It’s okay, it’s convenient for me to take care of her,” the person who said this spoke gently.

“But you haven’t married yet, and you’re a Kunze… This… If others gossip…”

“Enough nonsense, let’s take the person over first, life is more important,” another female voice interrupted him.

Yang Lulong listened to these people discussing something, but didn’t quite understand what they meant by “Qianyuan” and “Kunze.” She only felt her body being lifted and then carried on someone’s back.

Along the way, these people kept talking. Yang Lulong, who was pretending to be unconscious, clearly heard everything but didn’t quite understand what they were saying.

She was a little curious, so she secretly opened her eyes a slit. She saw a white figure, the person who had found her, walking beside the person carrying her. Afraid of being discovered, Yang Lulong quickly closed her eyes again.

“The clothes this person is wearing don’t look like those of ordinary people.”

“Probably from a wealthy family in town, and also a Qianyuan…”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t that… mean we’ll be greatly rewarded…” The man’s happiness was evident in his voice.

“What are you thinking? If anyone is going to thank us, they’ll thank our Wan Niang first. If Wan Niang hadn’t found her…”

“Female Qianyuan are quite rare. The ones I know are all from the capital, children of nobles and generals, all rich and powerful.”

“However, Wan Niang… taking her home to take care of her, you still need to be careful. After all, she’s a Qianyuan and you’re a Kunze, there’s a difference…”

“I know…” Wan Niang smiled helplessly, looking at Yang Lulong on the person’s back. She had come out to gather herbs today and saw this person lying on the bank. Luckily, she checked and found she was still alive, so she called the villagers to help. She was the only one in the whole village who knew a bit of medicine, so she had no choice but to take her home to take care of her.

All the way, Yang Lulong just listened to their casual conversation. It turned out that the person who found her initially was a girl named “Wan Niang.” Coincidentally, she was probably a doctor or something, and they were discussing taking her to her house, perhaps some kind of small clinic. That’s what Yang Lulong thought, because apart from these few points she understood, she didn’t know what else they were talking about. They kept talking about “Qianyuan” and “Kunze.” It seemed that she had been brought to a truly remote place, without even a hospital. She hoped there was a bank here so she could withdraw some money. She also had to figure out how to explain things to her superior and ask him not to fire her. And she had to think about how to thank these people, maybe by ordering a silk banner or something.

She thought she could just leave like this, but in the end, she still had to return to reality and continue her previous life. Thinking of this, Yang Lulong couldn’t help but feel sad.