The moment the elevator opened,
Xin Yu rushed into the garage.
Se Cai’s attention was instantly
drawn to the multiple gleaming sport cars parked there.
“Goodness, you have so many
treasures here, why did you choose to take the Lexus to get to work?”
Se Cai asked with a jealous
glint in his eyes. The impressive arrays of cars had drawn out his inner boy.
“Then which model do you think I
should drive to work? The Aston Martin One77 or the Maserati?”
Xin Yu replied sarcastically.
County S was after all a small
township. Driving an overly flashy car to work was practically asking for the
townspeople to gossip about her. She knew she had to keep a low profile.
“In any case, we’re on the run
here. Pick any car you like and I’ll give it to you after we’ve successfully
escape!”
Xin Yu halted before the white Aston
Martin. She changed her mind because the car was maintained by Sister Xu. She
turned to head towards the yellow sports car beside it.
“All these cars are maintained
by Sister Xu, I’m not sure whether they have been tampered but to be safe, let’s
take this one. It just arrived several days ago!”
“Tesla P85D? This beauty shouldn’t
even have reached the country yet!”
An impressed Se Cai said. The Tesla
was a newly marketed fully electronic car. That coupled with the Lexus that Xin
Yu took every day to work showed her preference for the more
environmentally-friendly means of transport.
The Tesla was much lower than
the price range of the Aston Martin or even the Maserati, it was basically the
cheapest car in that garage but it was fashionable and contemporary, which made
it a hit among the younger demographic.
The fact it had all the
properties of a sports car while being an electronic car only added to its
allure.
Electronic cars usually had a
smaller local market so there weren’t much of them going around in the first
place. Se Cai guessed this Tesla was the only one of its model to be in the
country.
“I’ll drive!”
Xin Yu announced as she jumped
into the driver seat. She put on her seatbelt as she waited for the garage door
to open and Se Cai to get in.
“Fine, I’m used to driving my
old Santana anyway…”
Se Cai groused under his breath.
The moment he put on the
seatbelt, the car came to life and he was pulled back against the seat.
As an electronic sports car, the
Tesla greatest strength was its silence. There was no loud groaning of engine
that normally accompanied ignition. The sudden lurch to life tended to take its
passengers by surprise.
Se Cai felt he was on a low
flying plane as the car shot out of the garage.
“Sit tight!”
Xin Yu said excitedly as the car
merged into the residential area’s main road. Then, she gunned the throttle!
The Tesla ran on electricity so
it had a better acceleration.
“This woman is one hell of a
crazy driver!”
A blanched Se Cai thought
inwardly as he held onto the seat for his dear life.
Thankfully, it was late night so
there were no other cars on the road to pose any danger.
If he had known he would be treated
to such a roller-coaster ride, he would have taken the keys from Xin Yu!
Luckily, Xin Yu was a good
driver. She handled the famously difficult to drive Tesla quite well, Se Cai
unwillingly admitted.
Finally, the car skidded around a
corner with the sound of grinding tires and the residential area’s iron gate
appeared before them.
“Careful!”
Se Cai yelled as a warning.
“Don’t be scared. The gate is
sensor-activated.”
Xin Yu said calmly as she slowed
the car down for a bit.
“No, stop the car, something’s
not right!”
Se Cai roared as he leaned over
to grab at the steering wheel.
With his enhanced vision, he saw
the trap that was lying in wait for them. It was not the gate that had raised
his alarm but the thing that lied beyond it.
The gate swung open and a chorus
of car honks sounded in front of them.
Suddenly, a spotlight lit up the
night, shining down on the Tesla.
“My eyes… I can’t see!”
Xin Yu screamed as she instinctually
pulled up her hands to shield her eyes.
“Hit the brakes!”
Se Cai commanded as he took over
the steering wheel.
Xin Yu hit the brakes with all
the might in her body and the car screeched to a halt.
Thankfully, it didn’t slam into
anything. Se Cai unlatched his seatbelt and pulled out a dagger that he took
from Jin Feng. He held it tightly in his hands.
His sight wasn’t affected by the
glare and he saw a series of headlights arranged in a neat row blocking the
gate.
“Are these people your father’s
men or not?”
Se Cai asked cautiously after a
deep breath.
As he got a clearer view, he
realized these cars weren’t normal civilian cars but military vehicles.
A rudimentary headcounts put
them at about 10 in total and among them were armored cars.
He heard a whistle then another
ray of light shot down from the sky. It was a military helicopter!
Se Cai’s heart sunk. They were
screwed if this army platoon meant them harm.
“They should be friendly. Dad
has some military connections and he did mention pulling some strings over
there to get help for us.”
Xin Yu said as she tried to peer
out from between her fingers.
She quickly took off her seatbelt.
She nodded affirmatively at Se Cai, adding, “That should be right. There’s an
army garrison near County S and I doubt as powerful as Sister Xu is, she could
deploy a military platoon to kidnap me.”
The garrison was nearby because
XY Residence was home to some of the most rich and famous in the county. They
value their safety as much as their privacy. A small army garrison could help
deter parties that might want to mean them harm.
Se Cai was dumbfounded because
he didn’t expect Zhang Chang Seng to be influential enough to mobilize an army
unit. It showed how deeply ingrained Chang Seng was in the political world.
“I’m here, and I’m safe!”
Xin Yu pulled down her side of
the window and waved.
After spotting Xin Yu, the
platoon relaxed in their stance and a jeep with military plates disengaged from
the platoon to enter the residential area.
After all, XY Residence was home
to many influential people, they didn’t want to create such a big commotion in
the middle of the night.
With a deft movement, Xin Yu
pulled out a make-up kit from her Dior bag and started fixing her face using
the rearview mirror.
After a long night of running,
she was looking rather disheveled.
However, with a quick brush here
and there, she recovered some of her usual elegance and confidence.
“What are you looking at?”
Xin Yu felt Se Cai’s stare so
she asked offhandedly.
“No, I’m just impressed at how
fast you can do your make-up.”
“Well, the faster I can finish
my make-up, the quicker I can start and finish taping for the Tv Station. I too
wish to leave work as earliest as possible, you know. So, in a way, I’ve been practicing
daily.”
Xin Yu said with a smile, her
previous addled state falling away.
Her good family upbringing started
to shine through.
She descended the car gracefully,
and said, “Come, let us go meet the person that come to save our lives. Even
though their timing is not perfect but it’s still common courtesy for us to say
thanks.”
“I’m sure you can represent the
both of us. I’m ashamed meeting your father’s contact looking like this…”
Se Cai fidgeted in his seat,
feeling once more like how he did when he stood in Xin Yu’s living room, like
he didn’t belong there.
“What do you have to be ashamed
for?”
Xin Yu walked over to his side
and forcefully pulled him out, adding, “You’re my life savior! You should be holding
your head high, so why are you feeling ashamed?”
Then, the door of the jeep
opened. A man in military fatigue jumped down hurriedly.
Xin Yu gasped when the light
revealed the soldier’s profile.
“Xin Yu, are you okay?”
The man was tall and heavily
built. His muscular physique filling up the uniform he was sporting nicely. He
exuded an imposing presence.
Concern was written all over his
face.
“What are you doing here?”
Xin Yu frowned, adding, “Wu Bin,
you’re the commander-in-chief’s son. What are you doing in a small garrison at
County S?”
From Xin Yu tone, it could be
perceived that the two of them had had a history.
“I just got promoted to deputy
battalion commander. It’s only been half a month since I was assigned to this
post so I didn’t have time to inform you… By the way, who is this?”
The officer by the name of Wu
Bin straightened his cap. He was going to continue the conversation with Xin Yu
when he noticed Se Cai standing beside her and his face dropped.
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