No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 5

Early in the morning, Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang visited Wan Niang’s house.

“What is this?” Wan Niang had just spread herbs on the sieve when she saw the two of them enter from outside.

“Nothing big, just looking for Xiao Yang to help out. Grandpa Li’s house is undergoing renovations, and they need a few extra hands,” Xiao Wen said with a smile.

Wan Niang looked at Brother Zhang and saw his glum face. She wondered, what are these two planning? Why did they suddenly decide to look for Yang Lulong?

Xiao Wen noticed Wan Niang’s surprised look and turned to Brother Zhang, whose face was still glum as if very unwilling. She subtly nudged him with her hand. Only then did Brother Zhang manage to force out a friendlier expression.

Just then, Yang Lulong stretched and emerged from her room. It was truly rare to wake up naturally; her routine hadn’t been this regular in a long time. Her mood naturally brightened.

“There, you two go ask her yourselves,” Wan Niang said, looking at Yang Lulong.

“Hmm?” Yang Lulong looked at the two, confusion on her face.

••••

Earlier, on their way there…

“Do we really have to call her?” Brother Zhang complained reluctantly.

“I thought about it yesterday, and I think you’re right. She’s a Qianyuan after all, and it’s not safe for her to just live at Wan Niang’s house,” Xiao Wen recalled Sister Fang from last night and immediately thought of that scumbag Wu Yu. After much thought, she felt they still needed to be cautious around Qianyuan.

“Then do we need to call her to Grandpa Li’s house?” Brother Zhang was still unhappy.

“We have to test her first. I’ve discussed it with Li Cui’er; we’ll test her together.”

The “Li Cui’er” Xiao Wen mentioned was Grandpa Li’s granddaughter, also a Kunze.

“Wouldn’t that be bad…? If Grandpa Li finds out, he’ll surely beat you.”

“Didn’t you think she had ill intentions? I’m just testing her out. Look, if she’s a lecher, we can use this to send her back to wherever she came from. If she’s not, you can rest assured. We’re also thinking about Wan Niang’s future happiness, aren’t we?”

“What if she can still fake it?”

“Impossible. If she’s truly lecherous, she won’t be able to fake it.”

“But in that case, Li Cui’er would be in danger.”

“Do you think I haven’t considered that? We’ll just secretly watch them from the side. If Li Cui’er is in danger, we’ll go up and beat her up.”

“Oh~ you’re so smart…” Brother Zhang couldn’t help but say admiringly.

••••

“Is something wrong?” Yang Lulong asked timidly. The ill-intentioned looks from the two made her very uncomfortable.

“We need people to move things, so we came to ask for your help,” Xiao Wen smiled.

Yang Lulong first glanced at Wan Niang, who was busy with her own things. If she agreed, it would also be helping Wan Niang. Then, without hesitation, she readily agreed.

“We were waiting for you to say that,” as soon as she agreed, Xiao Wen came over, grabbed her arm, and pulled her out, as if afraid she’d run away. “Oh, and Wan Niang, you don’t need to prepare food for her. Grandpa Li is providing meals.”

Wan Niang just watched these few people leave in a hurry.

Since Yang Lulong became a Qianyuan, physical labor was a breeze for her; where others carried one log, she could carry several. And she wasn’t one to slack off, always working diligently. With her help, the construction even finished ahead of schedule.

In a blink of an eye, it was lunchtime. Grandpa Li and Li Cui’er brought out the food they had prepared for everyone. There were fragrant flatbreads and some homemade pickled vegetables.

When serving the food, Xiao Wen gave Li Cui’er a look, signaling her to begin.

Yang Lulong took what was given to her and found a quiet spot to enjoy her lunch. Li Cui’er had been observing her, secretly followed, and sat directly beside her.

Yang Lulong didn’t pay much attention, just assuming someone happened to sit there.

Li Cui’er decided not to initiate, wanting to see her reaction. But the person almost finished her flatbread without even glancing at her.

Ever since Li Cui’er sat down, Yang Lulong did occasionally smell a faint osmanthus scent, but she didn’t understand that this was actually a unique scent of Kunze used to attract Qianyuan. She just thought there was an osmanthus tree nearby.

Li Cui’er looked behind her and saw Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang hiding behind a large tree. She immediately gave Xiao Wen a meaningful look, pointing at Yang Lulong, who was completely unaware of her presence.

Xiao Wen waved her hand, telling her to just go for it.

Receiving the instruction, Li Cui’er reluctantly rolled her eyes; she cleared her throat dramatically: “Ahem…”

Yang Lulong still didn’t notice her, continuing to eat her food oblivious.

“They said you were found by the river?” Li Cui’er finally asked her directly.

“Hmm?” Yang Lulong finally noticed the person beside her.

“I’ve never seen a female Qianyuan before. You’re quite beautiful,” Li Cui’er said, feigning shyness.

“?” Yang Lulong still didn’t understand what they meant by Qianyuan.

“I’m Grandpa Li’s granddaughter. My name is Li Cui’er,” seeing her so dull, Li Cui’er had to brace herself and strike up a conversation.

“Hello… My name is Yang Lulong…”

A period of silence fell, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

Seeing that she had no intention of talking, Li Cui’er felt incredibly embarrassed and couldn’t help but ask her, “Are you not interested in Kunze?” From earlier until now, she hadn’t detected any scent from her. Usually, Qianyuan would uncontrollably release their aura when facing a Kunze, even the most self-controlled Qianyuan would still show some trace.

“You are indeed a Qianyuan, right?” Li Cui’er herself only knew that the person in front of her was a Qianyuan because Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang had told her, but how did those two, who were Zhongyong, know she was a Qianyuan? Li Cui’er sniffed intently, and indeed, there was no scent.

“What is… Qianyuan?” Yang Lulong finally asked the question that had been bothering her.

“No way? If you’re really faking amnesia like they said, and you don’t even know what a Qianyuan is, aren’t you overdoing the act a bit?” Li Cui’er was shocked. Basic knowledge like Qianyuan, Zhongyong, and Kunze, she had known since childhood.

Hearing her say she was faking amnesia, Yang Lulong felt a bit nervous. She was indeed faking it, but she truly didn’t know what Qianyuan or Kunze were.

Li Cui’er looked at her confused expression, that thirst for knowledge in her eyes; this person seemed to genuinely not know.

“Then let me tell you this way, Qianyuan is…” The test was completely forgotten by Li Cui’er, and she began to seriously explain what Qianyuan and Kunze were to Yang Lulong.

Xiao Wen, hidden behind the tree, saw the two chatting warmly and gave a sarcastic smile. It seemed a Qianyuan was a Qianyuan after all…

“What are you two secretly watching here?” Wan Niang’s voice rang out.

“!!!” Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang were startled, quickly standing in a line to block the two who were talking.

“No… nothing? Wan Niang… why are you here?” Xiao Wen stammered.

“I just came to see how Grandpa Li’s construction work was progressing,” Wan Niang curiously tried to look behind them, but they blocked her. “Where’s Yang Lulong?”

Honest Brother Zhang tried to point behind him but was slapped down by Xiao Wen. She then fabricated, “Don’t… don’t know… maybe she went to the outhouse…”

“Then I’ll go ask Grandpa Li…” Wan Niang pretended to leave, and while the two weren’t paying attention, she looked over and saw Yang Lulong and Li Cui’er sitting together, appearing to be chatting.

Wan Niang was initially puzzled. Li Cui’er had told her that she strongly disliked Qianyuan and had no interest in them, even revealing that she preferred Kunze. Seeing them chatting so animatedly, she felt a little strange inside for some reason… Yang Lulong hadn’t even talked that much with her…

“Tell me… can a Qianyuan and a Qianyuan, or a Kunze and a Kunze, be together?” Li Cui’er asked with a hint of sadness.

Yang Lulong thought about it, “Doesn’t matter, right…?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Li Cui’er had only revealed this tendency of hers to Wan Niang. Yang Lulong was the second person to know, and she also wanted to know what a Qianyuan would think.

“It has nothing to do with me. It’s their own business who they’re with.”

Yang Lulong’s answer surprised Li Cui’er. It was the first time she had heard such a perspective. “Do you really think that?”

••••

The two continued to discuss this issue. After hearing Yang Lulong’s views, Li Cui’er felt a sudden enlightenment. She bid farewell to Yang Lulong and quickly went to Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang.

“You don’t have to worry anymore. This is a good Qianyuan who can be friends with, definitely not like that scumbag Wu Yu… What’s wrong with your faces?” Li Cui’er hadn’t noticed Wan Niang was also there. Upon seeing Wan Niang, she quickly changed her tune: “I think… I still need to make tea for Grandpa. Talk to you later…” She found an excuse and slipped away.

“You two explain what happened…” Wan Niang raised an eyebrow, looking at the two who had been up to no good.

When the construction work finished, Grandpa Li, as a token of gratitude, also distributed some sweet potatoes he had stored earlier.

Yang Lulong received her share and was about to leave when Grandpa Li called out to her. He gave her several more. “Consider this for Wan Niang. She helps me a lot usually. I offered them to her before, but she wouldn’t take them, so you take them for her.”

“Thank you… Grandpa…”

Yang Lulong didn’t expect to run into Wan Niang right after leaving Grandpa Li’s house.

She was still in her white clothes, her ink-black hair gently swaying in the breeze. She was waiting for her.

As soon as Wan Niang saw Yang Lulong, she walked over, looked at the burlap bag in her hand, and asked, “What’s this?”

“Sweet potatoes.” Yang Lulong dared not meet her gaze, looking down at the bag of sweet potatoes in her hand.

“So, roasted sweet potatoes tonight?”

“Mmm…”

The two walked side by side on their way home.

Wan Niang gradually moved closer to her, the distance between their shoulders slowly narrowing.

“I saw you chatting with Cui’er. What were you talking about?”

“She told me about Qianyuan…” Yang Lulong recounted everything to her.

“If you don’t understand… why didn’t you ask me?” Wan Niang sounded a little unhappy.

“I…” Yang Lulong was too embarrassed to say she was shy.

The sun had set. Wan Niang was busy in the kitchen, and Yang Lulong was feeding the little chicks in the courtyard again, feeling quite content.

Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang, these uninvited guests, arrived again. They handed a basket full of herbs to Yang Lulong, telling her not to call Wan Niang out, just to tell her they had been there. After giving the instructions, they ran off quickly, not even giving Yang Lulong time to react.

Wan Niang came out with the hot roasted sweet potatoes and understood when she saw the two baskets.

“They were here?”

“Yes, what are these?” Yang Lulong looked at the baskets full of herbs, very confused as to why these two would suddenly bring herbs to Wan Niang.

“Herbs. They’ll be bringing these for the next few days,” Wan Niang casually blew on the sweet potato in her hand, peeling off the skin.

Yang Lulong didn’t pay much attention, only wondering why the two had disappeared after lunch. Now she knew, they had gone to gather herbs.