Chapter 145: The So-Called Journey

"You are going on a trip?"

Hearing the news, Bian Yang immediately said, "I'll go back and pack my things right now and go with you."

Tang Yu gently tugged at the corner of his shirt, raised her head slightly, and spoke in a soft voice, "But I've already made plans with Wang Qing. This is a trip for us girls. It wouldn't be appropriate for you to tag along..."

"So you're saying you want to dump me here by myself while you go out and run wild?"

Tang Yu blinked her eyes. "How can a graduation trip be considered running wild..."

Bian Yang's voice carried as much resentment as his gaze. He poked her on the head with his finger. "Just the other day, someone told me she wanted to think of me every single day, and in the blink of an eye, she's running off on a trip alone with someone else... Tang Xiaoyu, don't you think this is a bit too much?!"

Tang Yu hugged his arm and shook it back and forth. "It's all Wang Qing's fault. Wang Qing insisted on dragging me along on this trip. I originally wanted to bring you, but she said if she brought you, she wouldn't go..."

For now, she had to let Wang Qing take the blame.

She put on a pitiful expression. "She's my only good friend. It wouldn't be right to turn her down, would it?"

Bian Yang let out a soft scoff through his nose. "So for a good friend, you're ditching your boyfriend."

"Of course not! I'm just going on a graduation trip, it's not like I'm never coming back."

Bian Yang didn't make a sound. He turned his narrow waist and broad shoulders toward her, giving her an indifferent back, leaving her to guess his mood.

Tang Yu walked around to stand in front of him. There was hardly anyone around. She stretched her hands out, loosely circling the teenager's slender waist, and wheedled, "Besides, aren't they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder? Before this, we were stuck together every single day, and you didn't even have any time to yourself. While I'm away on this trip, it'll be a great opportunity for you to hang out with your friends."

Bian Yang lowered his eyelids, looking down at her from a high posture, nonchalant and cool. "I think you're just annoyed with me."

With an extremely strong survival instinct, Tang Yu shook her head rapidly. "Of course not!"

"Then what should I do?" She drooped her head. "I've already promised Wang Qing. If I flake on her now, she'll never forgive me."

Out of the corner of her eye, she peeked at him. Meeting Bian Yang's scrutinizing gaze, she instantly slumped again, looking dejected. "Well, I guess I'll just have to do this for my boyfriend's sake. Friends come and go, but I only have one boyfriend, and the boyfriend is much more important. I'll call her right now and tell her I'm not going."

Sighing, she took out her phone, preparing to call Wang Qing.

Bian Yang pressed his lips together and plucked the phone straight out of her palm.

When Tang Yu lowered her head, the corners of her lips curved up slightly for a split second before she flattened them again. Looking up, she feigned confusion and stared at him. "What's wrong?"

"Going on a trip... is fine."

Bian Yang compromised, though he still seemed to be holding back.

His little girl had a very small social circle and normally didn't even have anyone to talk to. How could he bear to actually leave her with not a single friend?

Even though he didn't want her to go at all.

"Send me your travel itinerary."

He would take a step back; following far behind so Wang Qing wouldn't notice would be fine, right?

Tang Yu shook her head immediately. "If I give you the itinerary, you'll definitely follow us." She said softly, "That way, we won't be able to enjoy ourselves comfortably, and you'll just be wasting your time. It would be better if I just didn't go."

Bian Yang looked down at her for a long while, the tip of his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek, thoroughly amused by her into anger.

She was completely treating him like a hindrance!

Tang Yu gently tugged at the corner of his shirt, putting on an obedient expression while actually playing hard to get. "Don't put yourself in a difficult position. I just won't go after all."

"Cut it out, stop acting for me!"

With a light press of his lips, Bian Yang reached out and ruffled her hair roughly, venting his frustration. "Don't think I don't know you're dying to go on this trip."

Tang Yu stood there with a bird's nest on her head and smiled sweetly at him.

"You're still smiling." Only she had this magical ability to make Bian Yang furious and yet leave him completely powerless in the end.

After fuming for a long time, he finally sighed and reached out helplessly. His pale, cool fingertips gently smoothed out the girl's hair that he had just messed up. "Be careful on the road. Don't go to deserted places, don't strike up conversations with strangers casually, especially men."

For every single precaution he listed, Tang Yu nodded obediently.

"If you're not going to send me the itinerary, you can at least take a photo and send it to me every time you arrive somewhere to let me know you're safe, right?"

Bian Yang tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, naturally pinching her soft cheek as he lowered his voice, "If I can't see you in person, at least let me see photos to ease my longing."

"Mhm!" Tang Yu's eyes lit up slightly. "Bian Yang, you're the best!"

Clearly reluctant to let her go, he had still compromised.

"Don't hand me your good guy card!"

He suddenly pinched her cheek a bit harder, the words seemingly squeezed out between his teeth in a fierce manner. Tang Yu even felt a slight sting. "If you ever fail to send a photo one day, I'll hunt you down. Even if you run to the ends of the earth, I'll drag you back!"

Tang Yu puffed out her cheeks and nodded repeatedly. "You won't need to hunt me down. I have legs; I'll run right back to your side all by myself."

Only then did Bian Yang let out an unwilling hum, considering it letting her off the hook.

Lowering her head, Tang Yu let out a quiet breath of relief—she had managed to muddle through.

That very day, Tang Yu boarded the high-speed train and left Beijing.

It was as if she had grown little wings, vanishing into thin air in the blink of an eye. Walking out of the high-speed train station, Bian Yang felt utterly empty inside.

It was as if the moment she left, she had taken all the warmth of Beijing with her.

Yet, because he wanted Tang Xiaoyu and loved Tang Xiaoyu, he wished for her to live a peaceful, joyous life free of worries for a hundred years, rather than clipping her wings and trapping her by his side.

***

After Bian Yang left, Tang Yu stealthily headed to a completely different platform.

The platform bound for Minquan County.

During this period, based on the address and information provided by Zhang Dexing, she had contacted the local police and sought help from her senior fellow apprentices.

Her senior brothers and sisters had been deeply entrenched in this industry for decades and had long established deep-rooted connections.

Fortunately, one of her senior martial brothers ran a law firm located in the urban area directly under the jurisdiction of Minquan County, and he was quite renowned locally.

A year ago, that same senior brother had handled a case involving HIV infection, similarly plagued by the victim's lack of sufficient evidence, leaving the case suspended indefinitely. Tang Yu wasn't sure if it was the same case, but she intended to go to Minquan County to follow up.

When she arrived in Minquan County, the sky had already grown pitch dark.

Her senior brother was twenty years older than her, thirty-eight this year.

Seeing the young girl standing there prettily with her suitcase, a kind and amused smile lit up the senior brother's face.

Weren't beauty filters all the rage nowadays? Most photos girls posted were filtered to some extent, but in reality, this junior sister of his was even prettier than her pictures, her skin glowing so white it seemed to emit light in the night.

"Senior Brother!"

Tang Yu recognized him from afar and waved.

They had previously exchanged photos.

The senior brother took her suitcase and said as they walked toward the car, "It's too late today, so I booked a hotel near the police station. It'll be convenient for you to head to the police station together tomorrow."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Tang Yu thanked him sweetly, bringing warmth to his heart.

Starting the car, the senior brother said, "My daughter is five years older—wait, she's thirteen this year. Looking at you feels just like looking at my daughter, so don't stand on ceremony with me. Once we drop your luggage off later, I'll take you home for a visit. My wife knew you were coming and prepared a table full of good food in advance!"

Her senior brother was a wonderful person—direct and warm in his speech.

Tang Yu gripped her seatbelt, feeling a surge of warmth in her heart. "Thank you, Senior Brother!"