Li Xiuying felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She wasn't sure whether it was due to the the fear or the excitment or both. Her senses were on overdrive. She could hear her own rapid heartbeat drumming in her ears. Her airways expanded, pupils dilated and her mind became sharper and rapidly processed millions of stimuli.
Li Xiuying wasn't even aware that her once lifeless eyes were sparkling with vitality.
She knew that she couldn't slow down. She couldn't afford to be seen. This may be her only chance to get away. Her family had complete control of her life, they could cut of her means to survive with a snap of their fingers. If anything happpened to her they could simple say to the outside world that she was ill and recuperating no one would be any the wiser. No one would question if she was dead or alive.
Li Xiuying brought her focus back to the obstavles in front of her. The fence was now only two meters in front. She dived into the rose bushes anterior to the fence. She was sprawled out on her stomach in the soil trying to catch her breath.
Li Xiuying looked towards the house and froze.
She could sort of make out two male figures at the entrance to the back garden. They were dressedin black from head to toe. 'Who are they? What are they doing here right now?! Do they know already that I'm here?'
Suit 1 started walking towards her location whilst Suit 2 started walking in the opposite direction.
Even though suit 1 was a safe distance away, Li Xiuying didn't dare to move because of the fear of even any small movement catching his attention. She was concentrating on the man walking towards her. The man in the black suit was quickly eating up the ground with his steps. He was getting closer and closer to where she was hiding.
He seemed to be looking around on the ground as he was walking.
Li Xiuying questioned 'What is he looking for? Could it be that I left obvious footprints in the grass? Did I drop something?' She immediately wanted to check if her rucksack was open btu resisted the urge.
The man paused a mere five meters in front of her.
Li Xiuying's heart rate was rapidly increasing.
Li Xiuying started panicking internally: 'He's looking straight at me! What should I do? How could I have been so stupid and impulsive?! I should have waited until tonight and used the cover of the night, no one would even think to check on me until the morning.'
Despair marred Li Xiuying's face. Her so-called family had never cared about her whereabouts before. She could go days even weeks without seeing anyone one of them. Her uncle was the only one she was in contact with regularly because he emailed her the daily surgery list. Other than that they would only seek her out when they had a use for her and it was something they didn't want to demand over the phone.
Li Xiuying had a sudden realization: 'Wait! They couldn't be looking for me. They don't care about me at all so why would I suddenly rise in importance to them today? Besides they won't be able to track me without my phone.'
Li Xiuying felt herself slowly calming down and turned her attention back to suit 1. He was fiddling with what looked like a walkie-talkie in his hand. He bought it close to his ear.
Li Xiuying listened attentively. She heard some static and then a male voice ringing out.
Male voice: "Make sure you find my fiancé's earring or you and your brother can collect your last paycheck today."
Li Xiuying's eyes widened in surprise. It was the voice of her former fiancé. Chen Wei!
Suit 1: "Affirmative, we are now searching the back garden."
A sweet female voice then rang out: " Brother Wei don't be so hard on them, I'm sure they're trying their very best. I think it fell somewhere near where we had lunch on Friday".
Li Xiuying frowned: 'Why did the voice belong to Li Yu Yan? What happened to her shopping trip with her friends?'
The man clipped his walkie-talkie to his belt and walked a few more steps before bending forward and picking up something between his thumb and forefinger. The sun was shining and reflected off the item. It was an earring.
Suit 1: "Boss I've found the item belonging to Madam."
Chen Wei: "Great, everyone gets to keep their jobs." Li Yu Yan also spoke: "Thank you all for the trouble. These earrings match the outfit I'll be wearing on a very important day in the near future so it means a lot."
Li Xiuying ignored the conversation her gaze was firmly on the earring. She started with an intensity that could make a mountain crumble under its pressure. She knew this piece of jewellery, it was her mother's earring.
When Li Xiuying's parents had passed away she had inherited quite a few things which included a small box of her mother's jewelry.
Her aunt, Li Mei Wu had said she would put the jewelry box inside their safe and Li Xiuying could look at it whenever she wanted.
Only a few days had passed and the house was mysteriously burgled. All the contents of the safe were taken of course this included her mother's jewelry box.
After the burglary, Li Xiuying cried herself to sleep for a whole year. In her previous life, she had truly believed her mother's jewelry was stolen, never to be seen again. However, today the truth was finally revealed. Her mother's jewelry was in the hands of her selfish cousin and despicable aunt.
Li Xiuying clenched her fists. In her mind, she screamed: 'I must get it all back!!!'
Suit 1 signaled to suit 2 to start heading inside. They both made their way to the house without turning back.
After what seemed like hours, Li Xiuying finally turned away from the house of deception and lies. Her heart was heavy when she left, but the burden seemed to keep increasing in intensity.