novelraw Chapter 128: Not By My Side
Chapter 128: Not By My Side
Qian’s grandma watched her supposedly stomach-aching granddaughter sprint, almost as if she could fly, hardly looking like someone with a stomach ache.
There was a small grove in the backyard; passing through it would lead to the village road.
Qian led her grandma, not daring to slow down at all. Qu Xue wasn’t dumb; if she slowed, that woman would shout at the door for a while, and when no one responded, she’d realize they had run out the back door.
Her grandma absolutely couldn’t be upset, as agitation would trigger her illness, so they had to be quick.
Unexpectedly, what Jia Xiufang did in a past life, Qu Xue was doing in this life.
The woman’s usual tricks were nothing new; causing a scene with Chen Lin didn’t work, so she’d come to upset the elderly instead.
Qian was so close to her grandma that naturally, she wouldn’t let Qu Xue drag her grandma into trouble. Although if Qu Xue did, she’d suffer greatly later, Qian didn’t want to handle it that way. Even if considered a villain, she had her limits, and she wouldn’t harm her family.
From the backyard, they made their way onto the road. Grandma, still puzzled, watched as Qian looked around. A cart loaded with beans was conveniently passing by, and Qian bowed her head to ask grandma.
"What do you call this person?" She hadn’t been in the village for years, and didn’t know these people.
"You call him Uncle Si."
"Uncle Si!" Qian waved, and the middle-aged driver stopped, smiling as he greeted Qian and her grandma.
"Auntie, is this your granddaughter or granddaughter-in-law? She’s quite pretty."
"She’s my youngest son’s daughter. Just got into university this year. Such a filial child, coming back to see me." Grandma wanted to chat for a bit; anyone would be proud of such a child.
"Uncle Si, I have a bit of a stomachache. Could you give us a lift to the village clinic?"
Qian cut off their conversation; folks in the village couldn’t stop chatting once they started.
Hearing the child was uncomfortable, the honest Uncle Si quickly invited Qian and grandma onto the cart. With no room left, Qian climbed atop the beans, looking into the distance from her high perch.
Qu Xue and her group hadn’t appeared yet, probably hadn’t reacted, but it wouldn’t take long before they did.
Qian knew the village clinic was right by the roadside. Cars heading to the city also passed through there. Going to the clinic was just a pretense. Once they arrived, she’d directly put her unsuspecting grandma on a long-distance bus.
"Qian’er, what are you doing? Weren’t we going to the clinic?" Grandma was bewildered by Qian.
"We’ll see the doctor in the city." Qian smiled warmly, but her eyes were deep and calm; everything was under her control.
At this point, grandma knew nothing and was directly hustled onto the bus by her granddaughter.
The long-distance bus had to wait at the village entrance for more passengers; it was only half-full now.
Qian let her grandma sit on the bus as she found a nearby store to call Yu Minglang.
When she returned, she’d definitely buy a mobile phone. It’s just too inconvenient without one. Hopefully, Yu Minglang wasn’t on a business trip today.
Calling Yu Minglang’s mobile phone, it was busy, in the middle of a call.
Calling the landline, the secretary’s office said he had left a while ago.
Qian pondered for a few seconds.
In this situation, theoretically speaking, as long as she got grandma on a long-distance bus toward the city, they’d be safe from Qu Xue’s group. That malicious woman could be handled later.
But for some reason, she felt uneasy. Qian always handled things with utmost certainty, never doing anything without confidence.
Grabbing the phone again, she dialed Zheng Xu, who answered immediately.
"Zheng Xu, I need your help."
"Go ahead." It was not the time Zheng Xu and Qian had agreed upon for her treatment, so Zheng Xu was pleasantly surprised to hear from her.
"Send a car, a stable one, along the provincial road toward Zilong County. Look out for the long-distance bus I’m on and honk when you see it. Pick me up to return to the city; I’ll tell you the license plate number." After giving the bus’s license number, Qian added for assurance.
"Have another car follow, with at least five brothers who can fight."
She spoke so seriously, causing Zheng Xu to grow concerned.
"What happened?"
It sounded quite severe.
"Nothing has happened yet, but it would be too late if it did. Be fully prepared; speed is crucial."
Qian hung up the phone but still felt uneasy. She went into the clinic to buy some emergency heart medication and stuffed it into her pocket before returning to the bus.
This bus trip to the city would take one and a half hours. With stops along the way, it could be more than two hours. During that time, who could say what Qu Xue might do? Qian couldn’t gamble with her grandma’s health and ensured she’d covered all bases before boarding the bus.
Grandma was still wondering what was going on, wanting to ask Qian exactly what was happening, but Qian just held her stomach, claiming it hurt. Grandma dared not ask more, nurturing Qian along the bumpy bus ride to the city.
Qu Xue initially had ill intentions, planning to find the old lady and cry about being wronged, demanding that her family compensate her with a house, threatening to tear off the roof if they refused, so no one could live in peace.
But after kicking at the door for ages outside, with no one opening, she thought she’d create a scene for the neighbors to hear, shouting outside without anyone coming out.
By then, Qu Xue realized that Chen Xiaoqian had probably snuck off with the old lady. Going around to chase them through the back door was too late.
"Sis, are we just going back like this?" Qu Xue’s brother asked.
"Go back? Not until I make a scene today." Reputation? Qu Xue had tossed it aside when she left the house.
Her reputation in the village wasn’t great, mixing with small-time thugs before she was even an adult. Chen Lin wasn’t her first man, and she didn’t particularly like him, just thought the old guy still had some value to be squeezed out. Even if they broke up, she’d strip him of a few layers of skin.
"What now? They’ve disappeared."
After blocking the door and shouting for ages with no response, it was frustrating.
"Find them. I don’t believe they can vanish into thin air!"
Qu Xue snooped around and indeed found out that Qian and grandma had boarded a long-distance bus. Many people had seen it.
"This little troublemaker, she’s quite the schemer. Let’s go; we’ll drive to catch up!" Qu Xue’s family had a little van. The few of them crammed into it, and although they were ten minutes late, a private car was definitely faster than a long-distance bus.
If they really wanted to catch up, it was doable.
Qian sat on the long-distance bus, eyes closed, resting.
The bus bumbled along, starting and stopping. She still wore her reversed farm work clothes, having not had time to change, her headscarf now removed.
At this moment, Qian’s mind was calculating a math problem.
If Qu Xue and her group were driving over, at the maximum speed of a private car, how long would it take to catch up with this stop-and-go bus?
Looking at her grandma’s profile, a sudden anxiety unsettled Qian’s calm mind.
She wasn’t afraid of trouble but feared losing the people she cared about.
On her wrist, the translucent jade bracelet reflected a shimmering light in the sun. Yu Minglang, why do you always disappear when I need you the most...