Chapter 045: She Had No Idea How to Walk the Road Ahead

At last, she managed to support herself all the way to the airport.

Though she had been here before, it was always to greet someone; in her entire life, she had never been on a plane. Shi Runrun never imagined that her first flight would be for the purpose of escaping him...

She wandered aimlessly, searching for the airport entrance. At this hour, the place was crowded, and she let herself be swept along with the throng into the terminal.

The moment she appeared in her hospital gown, she drew the attention of many around her. Shi Runrun overheard people whispering about her, some wondering if she was mad to show up dressed like this. A few well-meaning individuals approached, asking if she needed help.

Smiling, she politely declined, forcing herself onward despite the pain wracking her body, seeking the ticket counter.

There were many people buying tickets today, forming a long queue. Shi Runrun joined the line, raising her gaze to the giant screen above, uncertain where she might go.

It felt as though there was no place left for her in this world...

Could it really be that, after leaving him, she would have nowhere to go?

Shi Runrun refused to believe it. She steadied herself, determined not to faint, and after waiting for more than twenty minutes, it was finally her turn.

“Miss, where would you like to go?” The counter clerk smiled at her.

Shi Runrun paused, silent.

Where to? She had not decided yet...

Though she had resolved to leave him, she still had no idea where she could go...

She had lived in Jing City for so long, never once leaving, and now, alone, she did not know where else she could turn...

And what about her studies? Would she never return to school?

“Miss?!” The clerk called again, this time with an urgency born of the long queue behind her.

Shi Runrun snapped out of her reverie and said quickly, “Which flight departs soonest?”

“The soonest departing flight from this airport is to City B, leaving in an hour. Would you like to go to City B?”

City B—a place she had never visited.

Shi Runrun hesitated, but not wanting to hold up the line, she bought a ticket to City B.

Including airport construction and fuel surcharges, the total was 550 yuan, a steep price that caused her a pang of regret. All she had was the 2,000 she’d just borrowed from Cen Huan, and now a quarter was gone on this ticket. She had no idea what lay ahead.

Taking her ticket, she wandered in confusion, searching for the security checkpoint.

In the vast airport, dressed in her hospital gown, she was utterly alone, struggling forward on her battered, aching body, searching for the way through...

Shi Runrun had once imagined that perhaps, after marrying, she would travel with her future husband, fly to other cities, see the world. The vision of soaring through the blue sky beside the one she loved had always seemed so beautiful...

After marrying Xiao Xuezheng, she even dreamed that he might be that person.

But reality had struck her violently, a cruel blow.

From now on, she could only rely on herself...

Lost in thought, tears welled in her eyes as she joined the queue for security, unable to hold them back...

Everyone in the security line stared at her hospital gown, and as she shuffled forward, she wept softly.

When would the heavens cease their rain? Why had her wounds yet to heal?

Passing through security, she found the boarding gate and settled onto a bench.

Looking at the boarding pass in her hand, she wiped away her tears.

Soon, the boarding announcement sounded, and her flight was called.

Watching others rise and line up, she joined them, taking her place at the end of the queue.

In that moment, she finally realized she was leaving this city—leaving him.

But... why, then, was her heart so reluctant to part?

Reluctant to leave here, reluctant to leave Huanhuan, and—reluctant to leave him...

Even after all he had done, even though he had cost her the baby, in her heart, she still harbored hope for him...

Only now did Shi Runrun realize how deeply she had fallen...

She had never expected to love him—love him to such an extent...

But she mustn't. Shi Runrun, you must be strong. You and he belong to different worlds. It ends here...

She told herself this, biting her lip, pushing herself forward despite the pain in her body and heart, handing her boarding pass to the attendant, and stepping through the gate...

...

Five o'clock in the afternoon, the sun sinking behind the hills.

In the city center hospital, hurried footsteps echoed down the VIP ward corridor.

Ji Yunan, drenched in cold sweat, rushed down the hallway and met Xiao Xuezheng’s secretary, Qin Feng, on the other side.

Seeing him, he immediately asked, “Well? Have you found her?!”

Qin Feng’s face was tense, worry written all over it. “No. I asked the hospital staff—they have no idea where Madam has gone! I’ve already sent someone to check the surveillance footage from today.”

“Damn! Where’s Xuezheng? Hasn’t he arrived yet?”

Qin Feng wiped the sweat from his cheek, speaking grimly, “Mr. Xiao is on his way. This afternoon’s meeting was too important, too urgent, so he had to leave the hospital for the company. No one expected Madam would...”

Before he could finish, Xiao Xuezheng’s tall, imposing figure appeared at the end of the corridor.

He was travel-worn, sweating, chest heaving as he caught his breath.

But before he could steady himself, he strode over, his dark eyes brooding, and demanded of Ji Yunan, “Yunan, what’s going on? What do you mean Runrun is missing?!”

Ji Yunan saw the darkness in the man’s expression and pressed his lips together, his face grave. “At noon, Cen Huan asked me to bring something to little sister-in-law. When I arrived at the ward at one o’clock, the door was wide open and the room was empty! I thought maybe she felt stuffy and went downstairs, or the doctor called her away, so I waited in the room. After more than an hour, she still hadn’t returned! I couldn’t wait any longer and asked the nurse. When she came to look, we found that even the medicines prescribed for her were gone!”

Xiao Xuezheng said nothing.

Ji Yunan could not bear his increasingly icy gaze, nor the swollen red eyes that came from two weeks of sleepless nights spent at the hospital. Ji Yunan’s voice unconsciously softened.

“I immediately sent people to search, but we combed the entire hospital and couldn’t find her. I had no choice but to ask Qin Feng to notify you. But don’t worry, Xuezheng—we’re already checking the hospital’s surveillance footage!”

But even these words brought Xiao Xuezheng no comfort.

All he could hear was a buzzing in his ears, his whole body chilled and trembling. Suddenly, his vision went black, and he staggered, barely keeping upright as he leaned against the wall.

“Xuezheng!”