CHAPTER 296: CHAPTER 296: HEARTS CONNECTED

She hadn’t slept at all; she was pretending the entire time.

Now that Tang Xiaowan had regained most of her memory, she naturally knew her own special talents, such as her keen sense of smell.

So, after the first sip of water, she took the opportunity to turn around and secretly spit the water onto her black dress.

She was sure it contained something that would induce sleep, and even if it didn’t, there was no harm done.

"Big brother, my head hurts so much. Don’t you have any motion sickness medicine? Could I be getting motion sickness?" Tang Xiaowan asked weakly.

She yawned one after another, intermittently hammering her temples with her hands.

The car suddenly became quiet.

Motion sickness?

Du Jiahao was startled, looking at Tang Xiaowan’s slightly opened eyes; his instinct told him that the girl wasn’t lying—she really was both drowsy and uncomfortable.

That was right, the water did have something added to it.

Drowsiness could indeed cause discomfort.

Eventually, he found himself moved by compassion, put away the handcuffs, and chose to change lanes.

"Endure it, there’s no motion sickness medicine."

"Oh, alright."

Thus, Tang Xiaowan continued to pretend to sleep.

A few minutes later, through the rearview mirror, she inadvertently saw a black SUV following them at a moderate distance, though she couldn’t see the license plate clearly.

Their car had just changed lanes, moving onto another freeway, and that vehicle quickly followed suit.

Could it be Cheng Shi, coming to rescue me?

Oh right, it could also be Huahua; we had agreed to go to the sea today.

He must be looking for an opportunity to rescue me.

Suppressing the excitement in her heart, Tang Xiaowan felt she had to do something, whether it was him or not.

Immediately, she took advantage of Du Jiahao’s inattention, yawned, turned to her side, and secretly stuck her fingers down her throat.

Following her actions, she began coughing and retching.

"Big brother, I, I feel so nauseous," Tang Xiaowan said weakly with a touch of grogginess, as if she hadn’t fully woken up.

"What’s wrong, you’re not going to throw up, are you?"

"Ugh... I feel terrible, stop the car."

"We can’t stop on the freeway. Just endure it for a bit; wait until we get to a service area... Don’t throw up in the car, okay? Maybe use a bottle instead?"

After saying this, he felt it was inappropriate.

The mouth of the mineral water bottle was too small; it was an impossible task.

"Big brother, I’m, I’m sorry!"

"Hold on, let me find a..."

Seeing that Tang Xiaowan looked like she couldn’t hold back any longer, Du Jiahao slammed on the brakes and immediately unlocked the passenger door.

Her plan successful, Tang Xiaowan quickly got out of the car.

Perhaps due to excitement, her hands trembled uncontrollably.

Du Jiahao noticed the anomaly, quickly walked up to her, and while reaching into his jacket pocket, said, "Are you done? It’s time to get back in the car."

"I haven’t eaten, just dry retching... It’s so unbearable, I’ll be fine soon."

Du Jiahao frowned, clearly skeptical of her answer but didn’t say much more. He just silently stood by her side, cautiously eyeing the black SUV behind them.

Just then, a black helicopter flew towards them from the direction behind.

Du Jiahao sharply sensed something was off and immediately grabbed Tang Xiaowan’s arm, violently pulling her up. At the same time, a round object pressed against her waist.

"Get in the car, quick."

"Oh, okay, big brother, what’s happening?" Tang Xiaowan asked timidly.

"No time for questions, get in the car."

Before they could get back in the car, the black SUV behind them sped past them without any intention of stopping.

A white sedan was following closely behind.

At this moment, looking up at the sky, the helicopter had flown far, far away—it was no longer visible.

Ah, it turned out to be a false alarm!

Du Jiahao silently sighed and then turned to Tang Xiaowan, asking indifferently, "There are compressed biscuits and ham in the trunk... would you like some?"

"Yes, thank you, big brother."

At this point, Tang Xiaowan was no longer nervous because she had clearly seen that the black SUV was indeed the one driven by Cheng Shi. Though the license plate wasn’t the right one—it was from Huang City—there was a very familiar square scarf tied on the spare tire.

It was the gift that she and Leng Lingxiao had specifically chosen for Grandma at the shopping center.

The pattern on it was one of Tang Mei’s favorite flowers, called the Red Heart Cherry Blossom. The blossoms were white and pink, grouped in bunches—very beautiful.

Du Jiahao wouldn’t have noticed the tire; as long as no one approached, the crisis could be temporarily averted.

He dragged Tang Xiaowan from the trunk to get food and then immediately continued forward, increasing the speed due to a sudden detour to a longer route.

But what he didn’t know was that, ahead in the black SUV, Tang Mei and the others were waiting with grave faces for the right moment.

After all, Tang Xiaowan was still in someone else’s hands; they couldn’t act rashly.

"Madam, what should we do next?" Cheng Shi asked in a low voice, his eyes occasionally glancing back at the gradient-colored SUV.

The gap between the two vehicles was closing.

It would only take a few minutes to overtake them.

Tang Mei frowned deeply, worried about Tang Xiaowan’s safety and also contemplating how to rescue her safely and quickly.

"Wait until we get to Jin City, then decide. There are too many cars on the road to make a move," Tang Mei answered gravely.

"Yes, Madam."

Wang Jinhui also nodded along, showing his strong agreement with Tang Mei’s idea.

Meanwhile, the driver, Wang Meijuan, furrowed her brows and asked in confusion, "Madam, how do you know they would take the lady to Jin City?"

"I guessed," Tang Mei stated blandly.

Wang Jinhui: "?"

Wang Meijuan: "?"

"Oh, then... should we contact Li Zishen in advance? After all, Jin City is his turf; maybe he can offer some help," Wang Meijuan asked tentatively again.

Actually, she didn’t want Li Zishen to get involved, believing that the heroic rescue scene should be left for Leng Lingxiao.

However, Tang Mei’s answer shocked her.

"No need, Leng Lingxiao will make arrangements. I suppose Li Zishen has already started preparing."

"Are those two not love rivals?"

"They are both capable of yielding and accommodating, it’s just that their stances differ."

Wang Meijuan listened, dumbfounded, and after a brief pause, she nodded thoughtfully. Because on the way here, Tang Mei had used Cheng Shi’s phone twice, seemingly to send texts. To whom and what was said remained unknown.

Now thinking about it, it was very likely that the messages were sent to Leng Lingxiao and Li Zishen.

But why not make a phone call?

Everyone in the car was their own people!

That Mr. Leng was actually willing to cooperate with Li Zishen... according to his character, this should not be possible?

With this in mind, Wang Meijuan couldn’t help but grip the steering wheel tighter—she was increasingly unable to understand Tang Mei and Cheng Shi.

One only issued commands without explanation, and the other only carried them out without delving deeper.

"Madam, they have driven past."

Cheng Shi suddenly blurted out, then clenched his fists tightly, gazing at Tang Mei in the back seat.

"Meijuan, keep some distance."

"Okay, Madam."

Just as everyone tensed up, Wang Jinhui hesitantly spoke, "Tang Mei, this is for you—in case you encounter bad people, it can be used for self-defense."

As he spoke, he pulled out a wooden box.