The Counterattack of a Wealthy Family's Substitute

Uncertain? That means they might leave too.

Xi Yuanchen's expression was indifferent; he stared straight ahead without saying a word, his hand resting on the steering wheel.

Yao Yingxi gazed into the distance. She was all alone and helpless. There was no one in Yuncheng who held her dear anymore.

She's staying here because the city has someone she loves.

If... if in the future...

Seeing Xi Yuanchen remain silent, she opened the car window slightly and looked out.

Unconsciously, Yao Yingxi's gaze fell on the black car in the rearview mirror. For a moment, she felt as if her eyes were meeting those of the driver of the car behind her.

The car has just left Jiangcheng and is about to get on the highway. There were few cars on the way here, but on the way back, there are twice as many cars as before.

Yao Yingxi didn't think much of it and turned her gaze back from outside.

Xi Yuanchen felt increasingly agitated as he thought about what Yao Yingxi had just said. He touched his suit jacket, looking for something, but realized that he hadn't touched that thing in a long time and didn't know if he had it in the car.

He freed one hand to open the box on the right, saw a pack of cigarettes inside, and took it out.

Yao Yingxi turned her head and looked at his actions without saying a word.

Since she got together with Xi Yuanchen, she has rarely seen him smoke, unless he is feeling irritable.

She sighed softly.

Xi Yuanchen took a cigarette from the pack and put it in his mouth. He rolled down the car window and was about to take a moment to look down and light his lighter.

Without realizing it, I saw a black car slowly following me in the rearview mirror.

He frowned slightly, lowered his eyes, lit a cigarette, took a puff, held the cigarette between his left and right hands, and rested his elbow on the wide-open car window.

A cold wind blew into the car, making Yao Yingxi shiver.

Xi Yuanchen glanced to the side and saw this, subconsciously throwing away the cigarette in his hand and closing the car window.

The car was traveling at a steady pace on the highway. About half an hour later, when she looked out the window, she could still see the black car behind her in the rearview mirror, and her brows furrowed more and more.

Just as she was about to speak up to remind Xi Yuanchen, he spoke first.

"Fasten your seatbelt and grab the ring above your head."

Yao Yingxi glanced at him sideways. "Mr. Xi, did you see that too? It seems like that car behind us has been following us all the way."

Xi Yuanchen remained silent, his expression somewhat serious. His eyes, sharp as an eagle's, were fixed ahead as he pressed the accelerator, accelerating.

Seeing Xi Yuanchen's actions, Yao Yingxi was stunned for a moment. When she saw the black car in the rearview mirror, she immediately realized that those people were following them.

This was the first time she had encountered such a situation in all the time they had been together. She nervously stared at the rearview mirror, her hands growing cold.

The vehicle sped along like a rocket.

Yao Yingxi accidentally opened the window a crack, and a gentle breeze blew into the car. Xi Yuanchen felt it too, glanced at it, and frowned slightly: "Close the window."

The car was going so fast that the wind felt like knives hitting my face.

Yao Yingxi gripped the pull ring fearfully, her breathing rapid and her heart trembling.

Upon hearing Xi Yuanchen's words, he quickly freed one hand to close the car window.

She took a deep breath, trying to appear calm.

Xi Yuanchen's deep voice rang out: "With me here, nothing will happen."

Yao Yingxi turned her head and stared at him.

Xi Yuanchen pursed his chin slightly, his sharply defined features staring coldly ahead.

Xi Yuanchen's voice seemed to carry a spell. Whenever she was nervous or scared, he didn't need to do anything; just saying "I'm here" would instantly calm her restless heart.

Regardless of whether Xi Yuanchen turned to look at her or not, she nodded solemnly: "Yes."

Xi Yuanchen glanced at her and felt a gentle breeze in his heart. He couldn't help but raise his hand and ruffle her hair.

Yao Yingxi looked up at him in surprise and blinked her almond-shaped eyes.

Xi Yuanchen withdrew his hand and continued to focus his gaze ahead.

The car was speeding along, and Xi Yuanchen was a very skilled driver. He swerved the steering wheel and weaved through the gaps between oncoming traffic.

Perhaps because the car was quite valuable, whenever he drove through a group of cars, they would stop and let him pass.

In no time, they had pulled far ahead of the other car, but the two were too happy. When they were about to exit the highway, the roads were becoming increasingly deserted, and they could see the black car that had followed them from afar.

Xi Yuanchen frowned, took out his phone, and was about to make a call.

To make matters worse, a mechanical female voice inside the car announced that the car was out of gas.

The car slowed down completely, and then came to a complete stop, surrounded by dense trees.

When Yao Yingxi saw the car stop, she stared blankly at Xi Yuanchen.

As Xi Yuanchen unfastened his safety harness, he said into the phone, "Bring some people to pick me up."

Upon hearing Xi Yuanchen's cold and unsmiling voice on the phone, Anan paused for a few seconds before hurriedly asking, "Boss, where are you now?"

Although Xi Yuanchen's voice was always very serious, his tone suggested that something had happened.

He looked around at the buildings, reached up to unbuckle his seatbelt, and held his phone between his ear and shoulder.

Xi Yuanchen handed the phone to Yao Yingxi, whose palms were covered in cold sweat from nervousness. The cold wind felt like sharp knives.

“Take this and tell Anan that I’ll go down and distract those men, and you run into the woods.”

Yao Yingxi took the phone, tugged at Xi Yuanchen's hand and shook her head, then said into the phone, "Secretary Nan, I don't know where we are now, but it seems we're not far from Yuncheng. There are many camphor trees here, and we can see the iconic clock tower of Yuncheng from the front."

Upon hearing Yao Yingxi's voice on the phone, Anan didn't hesitate and quickly replied, "Okay, Miss Yao, I'll have someone come over right away."

Yao Yingxi hung up the phone, still tugging at Xi Yuanchen's hand: "Mr. Xi, I'll go with you, okay?"

Her tone was pleading and suggestive. She didn't know how many people were in that car, and if she let Xi Yuanchen out, she would worry even more if she couldn't see him.

Seeing the emotion in her eyes, Xi Yuanchen thought she was scared, so he raised his hand to comfort her: "I'll go this way to distract them. You run into the woods. Those people's target is me, so you'll be fine."

Yao Yingxi shook her head again: "Mr. Xi, it's too dangerous for you to go out like this."

As the car in the rearview mirror drew closer, Xi Yuanchen's brows furrowed more and more. Hearing Yao Yingxi's words, which seemed to express concern for him, warmed his heart. He reassured her, "I'm very skilled. As long as those people don't have guns, I'll be fine."

“They’re not targeting you. You’ve run far away, and I can handle them on my own. If you stay with me, I won’t be able to focus on dealing with these people, and one of us might get hurt.”

"Listen to me, get out of the car and run into the woods, wait for Anan to come over."

He spoke unusually gently, as if he were talking to a teenager.

Xi Yuanchen thought to himself that Yao Yingxi had been by his side for almost a year, or rather, she had never encountered such a situation before, so he couldn't let her get hurt.

Yao Yingxi hesitated for a while before nodding: "Okay, Mr. Xi, please be careful."