No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 1

It was a bright, beautiful day, with a clear sky that felt incredibly pleasant. In the serene woods, however, the river was unusually swift, as if it were carrying something along.

A person had been washed ashore by the rushing water, lying face up on the grassy bank. Her ears were ringing with a “rumbling” sound, and her lower body was still submerged in the cold water. She thought she was close to death, but fate had other plans.

Suddenly, a feeling of discomfort came over her. She propped herself up and coughed violently, expelling the water she had inhaled through her mouth and nose. Her foggy consciousness began to clear… She wasn’t happy to realize she was alive; she simply lay back down, not even wanting to pull herself out of the water.

She opened her dark eyes, looking at the bright, cloudless, azure sky above. This was one of the few things that could bring her a sense of peace.

Back in her school days, she would always lie on the grassy field during P.E. class, staring up at the sky and emptying her mind. Why did she like doing this? Perhaps it was because while all the other students had people to talk and play with, she was always alone.

Her name was Yang Lulong. After losing her footing and falling into a river, she was carried to this unfamiliar place.

As a solitary person, she had few friends and had never been in a relationship. Her parents divorced when she was very young, and her custody was granted to her father. But after he found a new wife, she became an outsider in the new family. After she went to college, it was natural that she gradually lost contact with them. The only time they reconnected was when her half-brother got married and invited her to the wedding, but she didn’t go. She didn’t even send a polite blessing.

She remembered when her younger brother was born, she was quite happy and wanted to play with him. But he didn’t seem to like her; every time she got close, he would cry loudly and resist her. This was the first time she, a young girl, felt disliked by someone. This feeling extended to her father and stepmother, while her memories of her own mother had grown blurry. Over time, her once-lively personality became quiet at home and she stopped talking much to others.

She was now, for all intents and purposes, a missing person, but she couldn’t think of anyone who would report it. Even her critical boss would probably just send her a termination letter for being absent from work for so long without contact.

She had just seen her life flash before her eyes, reviewing her past, yet death had not come.

She began to feel cold, and she could hear the sound of the wind rustling through the grass with crystal clarity.

The grass suddenly rustled. In this wilderness, it was likely an animal. What if it was a wolf? She could easily become its lunch. Yang Lulong thought this, and fear crept into her heart, but her body didn’t move. In an instant, she felt a sense of acceptance. It didn’t matter if this was how she died. She just hoped it wouldn’t hurt too much… With this thought, she closed her eyes.

She expected to be met with sharp teeth, but instead, she felt a warm hand. The hand touched her neck, likely checking her pulse. Yang Lulong was afraid to open her eyes, afraid of exposing her helpless state to someone else.

Suddenly, she felt warm breath on her face, and the scent of jasmine lingered in the air. This aroma gradually calmed her tense mind.

After a while, she heard footsteps moving away. Only then did Yang Lulong dare to slightly open her eyes, looking in the direction the person had left. Amidst the green foliage, a flash of white gradually disappeared.

The scent of jasmine from that person still remained.

Yang Lulong wanted to leave before the person returned, but she had no feeling in her lower body. After being in the cold water for so long, she couldn’t stand up at all. She struggled to prop herself up with her hands, wanting to use them to move her lower body out of the water. Unfortunately, her movements were too slow. Before she could even get going, she heard the sound of people talking in the distance. It seemed the person had gone to get help.

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

The voices of men and women grew closer.

“This one’s a Qian Yuan. Wan Niang, are you really going to take her home?”

“It’s fine. It’ll be convenient for me to take care of her,” the person who said this had a gentle tone.

“But you’re not married yet, and you’re a Kun Ze… This… What if people start to gossip?”

“Stop with the nonsense. Let’s just get her there. A life is what’s important,” another woman’s voice interrupted him.

Yang Lulong listened to them discuss something, but she didn’t quite understand what “Qian Yuan” and “Kun Ze” were. She only felt her body being lifted and then carried on someone’s back.

Throughout the journey, their conversation didn’t stop. Yang Lulong, pretending to be unconscious, could hear everything clearly but didn’t understand the meaning of their words.

She was a little curious, so she secretly opened her eyes just a crack. She saw a flash of white—the person who found her—walking beside the one carrying her. Fearing she would be discovered, Yang Lulong quickly closed her eyes tightly again.

“The clothes this person is wearing… they don’t look like they’re from a common family.”

“Maybe a wealthy family from the town, and a Qian Yuan at that…”

“If that’s the case, then… we might be handsomely rewarded…” The man’s happiness was evident in his voice.

“What are you thinking? If they thank anyone, they’ll thank Wan Niang first. If it wasn’t for her finding her…”

“Female Qian Yuans are pretty rare. The ones I know of are all from the capital, the children of nobles or generals. They’re either rich or powerful.”

“Still, Wan Niang… You’re taking her home to care for her, you should be careful. After all, she’s a Qian Yuan and you’re a Kun Ze. There’s a difference…”

“I know…” Wan Niang smiled helplessly, looking at Yang Lulong on the person’s back. She had been out gathering herbs today when she saw this person lying on the bank. Luckily, she checked, and the person was still alive. She then called the villagers to help. Since she was the only one in the village who knew anything about medicine, she had to take the person back to her home to care for her.

Yang Lulong listened to their conversation the whole way. It turned out the person who found her was a woman named “Wan Niang.” She seemed to be a doctor, and they were arranging to take her to her home, which Yang Lulong guessed was a small clinic or something. She thought this because, besides these few points, she had no idea what they were talking about. The conversation kept revolving around “Qian Yuan” and “Kun Ze.” It seemed the place she was in was really remote, with no hospital. She hoped there was a bank so she could withdraw some money. She also had to figure out how to explain to her boss not to fire her, and she needed to think about how to thank these people, maybe by commissioning a banner or something.

She had thought she could just get away, but in the end, she had to return to reality and continue her old life. Thinking this, Yang Lulong couldn’t help but feel sad.