Ten Rules to Bind Her Heart - Chapter 72

The scene that had erupted before her left Xia Zhiyao’s mind utterly blank.

She stood rooted to the spot, as though someone had struck a pressure point and frozen her in place.

Only when Anya’s amused voice reached her did she come back to herself.

“What’s wrong, little rabbit? Scared silly? Don’t want to go anymore?”

“Dr… Dr. Anya…”

It took Xia Zhiyao considerable effort to find her voice.

“Didn’t you say… we were going to the market to shop?”

“We are.” Anya leaned lazily against the Wrangler’s door, smiling as though everything were perfectly reasonable.

“But… this…” Xia Zhiyao pointed a trembling finger at the two trucks, her voice faint.

The thunderstruck look on her face made Anya burst out laughing.

She shrugged and spread her hands in helpless resignation.

“What can I do? Someone has a habit of making mountains out of molehills and putting on a grand show.”

Anya slipped on her sunglasses, tipped her chin toward Ken in the distance, and joked in an exaggerated tone, “Shen Yu has spoken. If his precious darling loses so much as a single hair, everyone accompanying her gets tossed into the crocodile pool behind the mountain. Tell me, would Ken dare be careless?”

Of course, Shen Yu had never said any such thing.

But there had been no need for him to say it.

Ken approached with steady strides. Apparently long accustomed to Anya’s teasing, he did not so much as blink. He gently explained to the still-dazed Xia Zhiyao, “Miss Xia, these measures are for your safety.”

Anya merely shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

For her safety, indeed.

They were only going to a market in town. Was all this really necessary?

This was Black Wolf territory. Who could possibly be blind enough to come here and provoke them?

Xia Zhiyao, however, knew nothing of the undercurrents involved.

All at once, the pistol in her pocket seemed unbearably hot.

Without thinking, she reached down and felt the hard metal outline through the fabric of her dress.

Only minutes earlier, she had still been foolishly imagining that she could use this useless, unloaded gun to hold Anya hostage, fight her way through the blockade, and run to freedom…

And now…

Xia Zhiyao closed her eyes in despair.

Anya walked over, her tall figure blocking the harsh sunlight. She removed her sunglasses and leaned close, her deep-set eyes, touched by the beauty of South Asia, studying Xia Zhiyao with a smile.

“Why are you so pale? Not feeling well? We can go another day, if you’d rather.”

“No! Let’s go! Right now!”

Xia Zhiyao hurriedly opened her eyes, shaking and nodding her head at once.

She had already come this far!

Even if she could not escape, she could at least buy enough delicious food to eat herself to death!

Today, she was going to spend that tyrant Shen Yu into bankruptcy!

Yes, she would spend every last cent he had and make him regret abducting her!

Xia Zhiyao ground her molars, making the vicious pledge in her heart.

Besides…

What if…

What if a chance to escape did appear…?

She clung to that tiny hope, one she did not believe in herself. It flickered like a candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.

Ken stepped forward to remind them, “Miss Xia, Miss Anya, please get in. Security Team One will take point, Team Two will cover the rear, and drones will escort us the entire way. The route has been cleared to ensure there are no complications.”

Every trace of color drained from Xia Zhiyao’s face.

Drones…

The route… cleared…

Her escape plan had been crushed beneath an overwhelming display of force before it could even begin.

There was no what-if.

“Let’s get in, then, my little princess.”

The smile at Anya’s lips deepened at the sight of her expression.

She personally opened the Wrangler’s front passenger door with elegant grace and gestured for Xia Zhiyao to enter.

With a soft sigh, Xia Zhiyao gathered her skirt and climbed into the passenger seat like a martyr setting out for the execution ground.

This was no shopping trip.

It was practically an armed parade.

Ken was about to open the driver’s door when Anya stopped him with one hand.

“Ken, take the lead vehicle up front.”

She arched a brow at him. “I’ll drive the little rabbit myself.”

Ken hesitated. “But the boss ordered—”

“Oh, enough with the buts.”

Anya shoved him aside impatiently.

“We have this many people with us and security on every side. It’s not as if I could sell her off. What difference does it make who drives?”

“…All right.” Ken gave in.

Satisfied, Anya slipped behind the wheel.

Everyone else entered their vehicles in order and took their positions.

Ken climbed into the Hummer at the front and issued a command over the radio.

“Move out!”

The roar of engines erupted.

The Hummers and off-road vehicles ahead and behind started at once. The convoy slowly rolled forward, carrying a murderous chill as it passed through the gates of the heavily guarded base.

The air-conditioning inside the vehicle was set to a comfortable temperature.

Curled into the leather seat, Xia Zhiyao gazed out the window with eyes that yearned for freedom.

The windows were made from top-grade bulletproof glass. Seen from within, the landscape wore a faint gray-brown tint, lending it the unreal air of a world after the apocalypse.

The convoy soon entered a winding road through the rainforest.

The road was terrible and riddled with potholes, but the vehicle’s suspension was excellent, so she felt only a gentle jostling inside.

Dense primeval jungle stretched endlessly along both sides of the road. Towering trees blotted out the sky, while vines coiled around them like snakes.

Now and then, she spotted dark-skinned locals in ragged clothing trudging barefoot through the mud with bamboo baskets on their backs.

The moment they saw the menacing convoy, they scattered like frightened quail, stumbling into the brush beside the road. There they crouched with both hands clasped over their heads and their faces bowed nearly to the mud, not daring to look up even once.

Xia Zhiyao watched with a turmoil of emotions in her heart.

This was Shen Yu’s world.

Only now did she truly understand how naive she had been. To think she could escape this place with an empty gun and reckless courage was nothing short of a joke.

“What are you thinking about?”

Anya kept one hand on the wheel and tilted her head slightly, her gaze behind the sunglasses seeming to see through everything.

“Thinking about… how to run?”

Xia Zhiyao’s heart stopped, then nearly leaped out of her throat.

She turned to Anya in alarm.

“I… I’m not!”

She denied it at once, her guilty voice shooting several pitches higher and robbing the words of all conviction.

“I was just looking at the scenery!”

“Hmm.”

Anya gave a soft laugh and glanced at her again. Her gaze paused for a moment on the slight stiffness at the back of Xia Zhiyao’s waist, amusement flickering in her eyes.

“Relax, little rabbit.”

“Wanting to escape is perfectly normal. If I were locked inside that building, I would spend every day thinking of ways to run too.”

Xia Zhiyao stared at her.

Was Anya… comforting her?

“But as a doctor, I still have to give you some medical advice.”

Anya watched the road ahead. Her tone turned careless, though every word struck home.

“Everything within two hundred kilometers is Shen Yu’s private hunting ground.”

“Without his permission, not even a fly can get out.”

“Those little ideas of yours, faced with absolute power…”

“They don’t even qualify as playing house.”

She turned her head and glanced at the pocket of Xia Zhiyao’s dress.

“And hide that little toy in your pocket properly. Don’t let it fall out. If it goes missing…”

“You won’t be able to explain yourself when we return.”

Anya laughed softly.