Moonlight in the Wilderness - Chapter 20

In the days that followed, I was confined by Fu Jun in a secret villa.

The rescued hostages were being identified, and it was only a matter of time before the trail led back to the two masterminds-him and Xu Wanning.

So they began planning their escape.

Most of the Fu Family’s assets had already been gradually transferred overseas by Fu Jun.

That evening, Fu Jun had a bit to drink. He wheeled himself over to me, his drunken eyes hazy as he looked at me.

He said, “The divorce process isn’t finalized yet. Technically, we’re still husband and wife.”

“Jingjing, once we’re abroad, let’s start over.”

“You stayed by my side without complaint for seven years. I won’t treat you the way I did before. The mistakes I made, I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for them.”

It was rare for him to say so much to me, all of it filled with hopeful visions of the future.

But from beginning to end, I only looked at him coldly.

Perhaps stung by my indifference, Fu Jun suddenly brought up He Zhou.

“That He Zhou has been looking for you. Too bad he doesn’t have any direct evidence to prove I took you. Besides, he’s afraid that if he pushes me too far, I’ll destroy the evidence he’s been after all this time.”

I bit down on my tongue, forcing my mind to stay razor-sharp.

I spoke my first words of the night: “What evidence?”

Fu Jun looked at me and smiled faintly. “A list. A ledger.”

“Too bad he’ll never get his hands on them.”

“Tonight, I’ll even allow you to shed a tear for He Zhou, that soon-to-be-dead man.”

In the days that followed, he and Xu Wanning were busy preparing for their escape abroad.

Meanwhile, I was locked in a small, windowless room, racking my brain for a way to get my hands on the list and ledger he’d mentioned.

Fu Jun had always been arrogant, too proud to lie to me.

The evidence he spoke of must be extremely important.

I began creating opportunities within the confines of that room.

After running a high fever for two consecutive days, Fu Jun brought in a trusted private doctor to administer an IV drip and even moved me to a bedroom.

When the fever refused to subside, I felt a hand gently stroke my hair.

“Jingjing.”

“Even being sick won’t help you. I won’t let you go.”

I fluttered my lashes open, my pale face tinged with an unnatural flush. “Don’t be pathetic, Fu Jun.”

He tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Compared to the way you used to quietly endure everything, I find I like you better this way.”

“You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, growing up smoothly and unscathed. Who wronged you? Why would you harm your own people and commit such heinous acts?”

Fu Jun replied calmly:

“Doctors both at home and abroad said my legs couldn’t be cured. But I wanted to stand again.”

“They promised me that as long as enough extreme experiments were conducted on those people, they could develop a perfectly safe drug.”

I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, headlights suddenly flashed outside the window.

Fu Jun answered a call, and his expression changed instantly.

“The police have tracked us here. They’ll be here soon.”

His face darkened as he called for Xu Wanning. “Pack up. We’re leaving now. There’s a boat waiting for us at the dock.”

Xu Wanning shrieked, “The stuff in the room isn’t packed yet! And the paintings-”

“Burn them.”

He said coldly, “Except for ‘Moonlight in the Wilderness,’ leave the rest.”

Xu Wanning glared at me, her eyes filled with venomous hatred.

By the time the first light of dawn broke over the horizon, they had finally packed everything.

Seeing me silently gazing at the painting, Fu Jun lowered his eyes and softened his tone:

“Jingjing, if you like, you can continue painting once we’re somewhere safe.”

I glanced at him but said nothing.

A spark leapt from the villa’s curtains, growing into a raging blaze.

With the inferno roaring behind us, Xu Wanning shoved me into a black van.

Just as the door was about to close, I suddenly broke free and jumped out of the vehicle.

But I had only taken a few steps when a gunshot rang out behind me.

A bullet tore through my shoulder.

The searing pain from the torn flesh was so intense that within a second, cold sweat drenched me, and I could barely stand.

“Jingjing, come back.”

Fu Jun’s icy gaze pierced through the car window as he looked at me. “Do you really want to throw your life away?”

“Come back now, and I’ll have someone treat your wound. I’ll forget what just happened.”

“Who needs your forgiveness?”

I gritted my teeth against the escalating pain in my shoulder and forced a smile. “Go ahead, have them kill me. I’m not going with you.”

Xu Wanning screamed, “Do you really think I won’t kill you?!”

“Fu Jun, if you keep wasting time on her, the boat will leave without us! She’s just stalling for that damn cop to show up-”

I said, “The ones who deserve to die are the two of you.”

Fu Jun’s expression looked almost sorrowful. “Jingjing, would you rather die than come with me?”

“Yes.”

I nodded without hesitation.

The entire time, my left hand was clenched tightly, hidden behind the folds of my dress.

He hadn’t noticed that I had already taken what he had tried so hard to hide and smuggle away from the frame of “Moonlight in the Wilderness.”

A tiny USB drive, no bigger than the tip of my pinky, cold and metallic, with sharp edges and a faint sheen.

Inside it was the critical evidence for the entire case.

I couldn’t turn back, because behind me were Fu Jun and Xu Wanning, poised to flee the country.

I couldn’t escape down any clear path, because their armed men would kill me and discover the evidence I held.

I had only one option.

They had committed unspeakable crimes, scurrying toward the cover of darkness, unable to step into the light of day.

I turned and ran toward the blazing fire that lit up half the sky.

The second bullet struck my back just as I stepped into the raging flames.

The fire licked up my dress, blistering my calves with a trail of burns.

I turned my head, waving lightly at Fu Jun through the dancing flames.

Silently, I mouthed:

“You won’t get away.”

“Goodbye.”

The heat was so intense that the metal in my hand grew hotter and hotter, its edges beginning to soften.

So I opened my mouth and swallowed it.

The scalding metal slid down my throat, settling deep within the safest part of my body.

I believed He Zhou would come soon.

He would find it.