Ten Rules to Bind Her Heart - Chapter 43

Shen Yu’s unfathomable eyes studied her in silence for a long moment, as though dissecting her very soul.

Xia Zhiyao felt as if he could see through every inch of her. The tension nearly suffocated her.

At last, his lips curved and he gave a quiet laugh.

“All right.”

Stupid puppy.

At least her memory was good.

“You said it yourself.”

He withdrew the hand that had been stroking her cheek.

“Remember what you said today.”

Xia Zhiyao nodded so vigorously that her tears flew.

Shen Yu settled back against the broad seat. Without another word, he closed his eyes again.

Silence returned to the cabin.

For some inexplicable reason, Xia Zhiyao felt slightly relieved.

Did this mean… he would not send her away?

As long as he did not cast her into that hell, she would do anything.

Yet she still did not dare relax completely. The fear embedded in her bones would not let her rest.

The convoy suddenly slowed and entered an area surrounded by layers of barbed-wire fencing.

It resembled the compound where she had previously been held, though this place seemed even more dilapidated.

It looked more like a temporary livestock transfer station.

The convoy gradually came to a stop, and the roar of the engines faded.

Ken’s voice came from the front. “Mr. Shen, we’ve arrived.”

Arrived?

Where were they?

Xia Zhiyao went rigid. Instinctively, she peered through the tinted bulletproof window beside her.

Several makeshift sheet-metal buildings stood scattered across a muddy clearing. Armed men with dark skin and vicious eyes surrounded them.

At the edge of the clearing, a large group of ragged people squatted together.

There were men and women, most of them with Chinese faces.

They huddled together like livestock in a pen, their expressions numb and terrified.

The sight through the tinted glass made Xia Zhiyao’s heart contract.

Where was this?

A “piglet” transfer station for trafficked victims.

Why had Shen Yu brought her here?

Did he intend to show her what would become of her if she disobeyed?

The convoy stopped approximately fifty meters from the crowd.

Shen Yu made no move to get out.

He lowered the window halfway, letting the humid heat rush inside. Then he lit a cigarette and indifferently swept his gaze over the swarm of insignificant lives.

Xia Zhiyao did not dare look around. She cowered in the corner, trembling.

“Look.”

Shen Yu tipped his chin toward the window.

Look… at what?

Xia Zhiyao stiffly raised her head and followed his gaze toward the desolate scene outside.

The guards barked at the crowd, forcing them to move.

Then a familiar figure abruptly entered her field of vision.

There was considerable distance between them. The man wore a filthy shirt, his graying hair was tangled, and his back had become stooped.

But that figure was… engraved into her blood and bones.

Like a bolt of electricity, recognition pierced Xia Zhiyao’s heart.

She immediately pressed herself against the window and stared. Her eyes widened in disbelief, her breath stopped, and she even forgot to blink.

The woman supporting him beside him… had grown gaunt. Her face was haggard, and she clutched half a bottle of mineral water.

Armed guards were herding the two of them toward the center of the clearing, making them stumble as they walked.

That was…

That was!

That was her mom and dad!

The shock wiped Xia Zhiyao’s mind blank.

She stared desperately in their direction. Her lips trembled, but no sound emerged.

Was it an illusion?

Had her longing for home conjured a vision?

She whipped around to Shen Yu. Her tears broke free at once, and enormous shock filled her eyes.

Shen Yu remained perfectly unruffled, smoking at an unhurried pace.

“Mr. Shen… I saw… I saw…”

She wanted to say that those were her parents, but the words caught in her throat, strangled by a tremendous fear.

She knew Shen Yu forbade her from thinking about home.

She was also afraid this was a beautiful dream that would end if she carelessly exposed it.

Shen Yu inhaled deeply. Smoke rose and blurred his hard features.

“What did you see?” he asked, despite knowing full well.

Xia Zhiyao finally made up her mind and cried out with all the strength in her body.

“I… I saw my mom and dad! They’re right over there! Right there!”

Shen Yu smiled faintly without speaking.

He had no interest in scenes of families torn apart or reunited after long separations.

But the excitement of the puppy beside him…

That was quite entertaining.

Ken stepped out of the front passenger seat. A short, stout man who appeared to run the compound had been waiting in the distance. He immediately hurried over, bowing and scraping. He exchanged a few words with Ken, then bowed repeatedly to Mr. Shen inside the car from a safe distance. His smile was ingratiating, but he did not dare come closer.

Before long, Ken approached the window and said respectfully, “Mr. Shen, everything has been arranged.”

“Mm.” Shen Yu gave a slight nod.

Ken walked around the vehicle and opened Xia Zhiyao’s door.

“Please step out, Miss Xia. Mr. Shen arranged this meeting for you.”

Xia Zhiyao’s eyes filled with shock and confusion. She spun around and looked at Shen Yu once more.

Shen Yu lounged against the seat with a cigarette between his fingers, watching her from the side. When she turned to him, he gave her a faint smile filled with the indulgence of a man far above everyone else.

He nodded gently.

“Go.”

His voice was almost tender.

At that moment, Xia Zhiyao forgot everything else.

She scrambled out of the car on hands and knees. In her haste, her shoe twisted beneath her and she nearly fell into the mud, but she did not care about the pain.

“Dad! Mom!”

Her heart-rending cry tore through the sweltering air.

The crowd squatting on the ground stirred. Several guards instinctively raised their rifle stocks to strike them, but when they saw the armored vehicle with its special license plate behind Xia Zhiyao, they stopped themselves and retreated.

The Peacock King skirt was narrow, designed to restrict a woman’s stride so that she could do no more than walk with graceful, swaying steps.

It was utterly unsuitable for running.

Xia Zhiyao no longer cared. Gathering the expensive, elaborate skirt in her hands, she raced recklessly toward the two figures she had missed day and night.

At the familiar voice, the middle-aged couple squatting on the ground jolted. Something stirred in their dull eyes, and they slowly raised their heads.

Against the light, they saw a girl in luxurious dark green clothes running toward them like a ray of light tearing through darkness.

She rushed up to them. The tight skirt prevented her from crouching, so she dropped heavily onto both knees, plunging the priceless fabric straight into muddy water.

Without hesitation, she threw her arms around them.

“Dad! Mom! It’s me… It’s Yaoyao!”

Xia Zhiyao burst into loud sobs. More than ten days of fear, grievance, and longing broke free all at once.

Hot tears washed through the light makeup on her face, leaving her streaked and disheveled.

“Yao… Yaoyao?”

Xia Zhiyao’s mother raised a shaking hand to her daughter’s face. Only when she felt warm skin beneath her fingers did she dare believe this was not an illusion before death.

“Is it really you? My daughter… is it really you?”

Xia Zhiyao nodded through uncontrollable sobs.

“It’s me! It’s me! Mom, Dad, I thought… I thought I’d never see you again…”

“Yaoyao… Thank goodness. You’re alive…”

Her father’s aged face streamed with tears.

“Yaoyao… you’ve suffered…”

He pulled his daughter and wife into his arms and began to wail.

“Your father is useless… I couldn’t protect you…”

In the dusty clearing, the family of three clung to one another and wept, oblivious to everything around them.

“Miss Xia.”

Ken’s calm voice suddenly sounded behind her, breaking into their grief.

“Mr. Shen has given you five minutes.”

Ken’s words were a warning.