No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 5

Early in the morning, Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang came to visit Wan Niang’s home.

“Is everything okay?” Wan Niang had just finished spreading herbs on a sieve when she saw the two of them enter through the gate.

“Nothing major. We just need to find someone to help us out. Old Man Li is renovating his house and needs a few workers,” Xiao Wen said with a smile.

Wan Niang looked at Brother Zhang, who had a long face. She wondered what the two of them were planning. Why did they suddenly think of asking Yang Lulong for help?

Xiao Wen noticed Wan Niang’s puzzled look and turned to Brother Zhang, who looked very reluctant. She discreetly patted him with her hand. Brother Zhang then forced out a slightly friendlier expression.

Just then, Yang Lulong came out of her room, stretching. It was a rare luxury for her to wake up naturally, and her routine hadn’t been this regular for a long time. She was in a good mood.

“There. You can go ask her yourselves,” Wan Niang said to them, pointing at Yang Lulong.

“Huh?” Yang Lulong looked at the two of them, a puzzled expression on her face.

••••

Earlier, on their way over…

“Are we really going to ask her to come along?” Brother Zhang complained reluctantly.

“I thought about it last night, and I think you’re right. She’s a Qian Yuan after all, and it’s not safe for her to stay at Wan Niang’s house alone,” Xiao Wen said. Thinking of Sister Fang’s situation last night, she recalled that scumbag, Wu Yu. She decided it was best to be wary of Qian Yuans.

“But do we have to ask her to go to Old Man Li’s house?” Brother Zhang was still unhappy.

“We have to test her first. I’ve already talked to Li Cui’er, and we’ll test her together.”

Li Cui’er, whom Xiao Wen mentioned, was Old Man Li’s granddaughter and a Kun Ze.

“Is that a good idea…? If Old Man Li finds out, he’ll give you a beating.”

“Didn’t you say she had bad intentions? I’m just testing her. Look, if she’s a pervert, we can use this to drive her away. If she’s not, you can rest assured. We’re also doing this for Wan Niang’s future happiness, aren’t we?”

“What if she’s a good actress and can trick us?”

“That’s impossible. If she’s really a pervert, she won’t be able to keep up the act.”

“But then Li Cui’er will be in danger.”

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

“Oh~ you’re so smart…” Brother Zhang said with admiration.

••••

“Is something wrong?” Yang Lulong asked timidly. The two of them were looking at her with bad intentions, which made her very uncomfortable.

“We’re short on people to move things and we’re here to ask for your help,” Xiao Wen said with a smile.

Yang Lulong first glanced at Wan Niang, who was busy with her own things. If she agreed, it would be a way to help Wan Niang. She then agreed without hesitation.

“That’s what we were waiting for!” As soon as she agreed, Xiao Wen went over, grabbed her arm, and walked her out the door, as if afraid she would run away. “Oh, by the way, Wan Niang, you don’t need to prepare a meal for her. Old Man Li is providing meals.”

Wan Niang watched as the group left in a flurry.

Since she had become a Qian Yuan, physical labor came easily to Yang Lulong. Where others could carry one log, she could carry several. She also didn’t slack off, working diligently the whole time, and because of her, the work was even finished ahead of schedule.

Before long, it was lunchtime. Old Man Li and Li Cui’er brought out the food they had prepared for everyone: large, fragrant flatbreads and some of their own pickled vegetables.

While handing out the food, Xiao Wen gave Li Cui’er a look, signaling that she could start.

Yang Lulong took the food she was given and found a quiet place to sit and enjoy her lunch. Li Cui’er had been watching her and secretly went over to sit right next to her.

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

Li Cui’er decided not to initiate conversation to see how Yang Lulong would react. But Yang Lulong was almost done with her flatbread and hadn’t even looked at her once.

From the moment Li Cui’er sat down, Yang Lulong did occasionally smell a faint scent of osmanthus. But she didn’t know that this was a unique scent used by Kun Ze to attract Qian Yuan. 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 big tree. She immediately gave Xiao Wen a look and pointed at Yang Lulong, who had no idea she was being observed.

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

Li Cui’er, having received her instructions, rolled her eyes and cleared her throat loudly. “Ahem…”

Yang Lulong still didn’t notice her and continued eating her food.

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

“Huh?” Yang Lulong finally noticed the person next to her.

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

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

“I’m Old Man Li’s granddaughter. My name is Li Cui’er.” Seeing how dense she was, Li Cui’er had to take the initiative to talk to her.

“Hello… My name is Yang Lulong…”

Silence fell between them, and the atmosphere became awkward.

Seeing that she had no intention of talking, Li Cui’er felt incredibly embarrassed. She couldn’t help but ask, “Are you not interested in Kun Ze?” From the moment she sat down, she hadn’t detected any scent from Yang Lulong. Usually, when a Qian Yuan is near a Kun Ze, they will uncontrollably release their own scent. Even the most self-controlled Qian Yuan would show some sign.

“You really are a Qian Yuan, right?” Li Cui’er only knew that this person was a Qian Yuan because Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang told her, but they were both Zhong Yong, so how did they know she was a Qian Yuan? Li Cui’er sniffed carefully, but there was really no scent.

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

“No way? If you’re really faking amnesia like they say, then you not knowing what a Qian Yuan is, isn’t that a little too much?” Li Cui’er was shocked. Qian Yuan, Zhong Yong, Kun Ze—these were things she had known since she was a child.

When she heard Li Cui’er say she was faking amnesia, Yang Lulong felt a little nervous. She was indeed pretending to have amnesia, but she truly didn’t know what Qian Yuan and Kun Ze were.

Li Cui’er saw the confusion and thirst for knowledge in her eyes. It seemed this person really didn’t know.

“Let me put it this way, Qian Yuan is…” Li Cui’er completely forgot about the test and began to earnestly explain what Qian Yuan and Kun Ze were to Yang Lulong.

Behind the tree, Xiao Wen saw that the two were getting along and a sneer appeared on her face. It seemed a Qian Yuan was a Qian Yuan after all…

“What are you two doing here, sneaking around?” Wan Niang’s voice rang out.

“!!!” Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang were startled and quickly stood in a line, blocking the two people they had been watching.

“N-nothing at all… Wan Niang… What are you doing here?” Xiao Wen stammered.

“I just came to see how the work was going at Old Man Li’s house.” Wan Niang curiously tried to peek behind them, but they blocked her. “Where’s Yang Lulong?”

Honest Brother Zhang tried to point behind them, but Xiao Wen slapped his hand away. She continued to make things up: “I-I don’t know… Maybe she went to the outhouse…”

“Then I’ll go ask Old Man Li…” Wan Niang pretended to leave, and when the two of them weren’t paying attention, she took a look and saw Yang Lulong and Li Cui’er sitting together, seeming to be in conversation.

Wan Niang was puzzled. Li Cui’er had told her that she disliked Qian Yuan and had no interest in them. She had also revealed that she preferred Kun Ze. Seeing them chatting so happily, for some reason, Wan Niang felt a little put out… Yang Lulong had never talked to her so much…

“Do you think… a Qian Yuan and a Qian Yuan, or a Kun Ze and a Kun Ze, can be together?” Li Cui’er asked with a hint of sadness.

Yang Lulong thought about it. “I guess it doesn’t matter…”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Li Cui’er had only ever revealed this preference to Wan Niang. Yang Lulong was the second person to know, and she wanted to hear what a Qian Yuan thought about it.

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

Yang Lulong’s answer surprised Li Cui’er. It was the first time she had ever heard someone say that. “You really think that?”

••••

The two of them continued to discuss the topic. After hearing Yang Lulong’s perspective, Li Cui’er felt a sense of clarity. She said goodbye to Yang Lulong and quickly went over to Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang.

“You don’t have to worry. She’s a good Qian Yuan to be around and definitely not like that scumbag Wu Yu… What’s with your faces?” Li Cui’er hadn’t noticed Wan Niang was there. When she saw her, she quickly changed her tone. “I think… I need to go make some tea for Grandpa. I’ll talk to you later…” She made up an excuse and scurried away.

“You two better explain what’s going on…” Wan Niang raised an eyebrow and looked at the two conspirators.

When the work was done, Old Man Li, as a token of his gratitude, gave everyone some of the sweet potatoes he had stored.

Yang Lulong took her share and was about to leave when Old Man Li called her back and gave her a bunch more. “This is for Wan Niang. She’s helped me a lot in the past. When I tried to give her some before, she wouldn’t take them. So you take them for her.”

“Thank you… Old Man Li…”

Yang Lulong didn’t expect to run into Wan Niang right outside Old Man Li’s gate.

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

When Wan Niang saw Yang Lulong, she walked over and looked at the sack in her hand. “What’s this?”

“Sweet potatoes.” Yang Lulong avoided her gaze, looking down at the sack of sweet potatoes in her hand.

“Are we having roasted sweet potatoes for dinner tonight?”

“Yeah…”

The two of them walked side by side on their way home.

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

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

“She told me about Qian Yuan…” Yang Lulong explained everything to her.

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

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

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

Xiao Wen and Brother Zhang, the uninvited guests, arrived again. They handed a basket full of herbs to Yang Lulong and told her not to bother Wan Niang. They just needed her to tell Wan Niang that they had stopped by. They quickly left, not giving Yang Lulong time to react.

Wan Niang came out with a plate of hot, roasted sweet potatoes. Seeing the two baskets, she understood immediately.

“They came by?”

“Yeah. What are these?” Yang Lulong looked at the baskets full of herbs, puzzled as to why the two would suddenly bring Wan Niang herbs.

“They’re herbs. They’ll be bringing these over for the next few days,” Wan Niang said nonchalantly as she blew on a sweet potato in her hand and began to peel it.

Yang Lulong didn’t think much of it. She was just a little surprised. They had disappeared after lunch, and now she knew they had gone to gather herbs.