Tall trees swayed back and forth under the bright sun, making rustling sounds and leaving behind mottled shadows as the soft sea-breeze gently blew past. Lan Jinyao was currently leaning against one of the large trees with closed eyes and a grumbling stomach. She tried her utmost to lighten her breathing in order to lessen her energy consumption.

  Aside from the rustling of the wind, there were no other sounds in the forest. This quietness made Lan Jinyao feel somewhat restless.

  But then, she suddenly heard a noise. She quickly opened her eyes and vigilantly scanned her surroundings. For a moment, she thought she’d been found by Jiang Cheng or the aunt. However, after looking around for a while, she didn’t see anyone.

  What she saw was something emerald green amongst the thick clump of grass. At this sight, her eyes instantly lit up.

  Her current feelings were like that of someone who’d found a clear water spring after having walked in the desert under the scorching sun for long hours. This kind of excitement came from the bottom of her heart.

  It was a green apple, seemingly still unripe. This caught her by surprise, and she quickly reached out her hand to grab it. As soon as she got ahold of it, she rubbed it on her clothes before taking a bite. It was so sour that she narrowed her eyes, but she was hungry and there was nothing else to eat, so she had no choice.

  Lan Jinyao didn’t stop and ate mouthful after mouthful of the apple.

  The noise she’d heard earlier must’ve been the apple falling from the tree. The sky was still dark when she’d fled into the forest, so she hadn’t noticed what kind of tree was behind her.

  Was it a fruit tree? If so, she didn’t have to worry about food anymore.

  After she’d finished eating the apple, she threw the core away and looked up at the tree. As soon as she did, she instantly froze. This was an ordinary tree, not an apple tree. She glanced at all the trees around her and realised that the apple she’d eaten hadn’t fallen off a tree.

  At this moment, her heart leapt to her throat.

  Then, where did the apple came from?

  Suddenly, Jiang Cheng’s sinister smiling expression flashed in her mind.

  “Jiang Cheng-”


  She looked around in horror, not neglecting any nearby corners, but she didn’t see Jiang Cheng at all.

  After a while, she eventually calmed down and closed her eyes as she leaned against the trunk of the tree.

  Since there were no apple trees here, and an apple had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, then Jiang Cheng or the aunt must be nearby. She’d been found already, yet Jiang Cheng didn’t come forward to confront her. No matter what game he wanted to play, she’d pretend not to know and continue to sleep. In any case, she wasn’t held captive in the house at this moment, so she could run away at any moment as long as Jiang Cheng wasn’t paying attention.

  Since Jiang Cheng wanted to hide in the dark to observe her, then she’d let him look as much as he wanted. As the saying goes, what the eye didn’t see, the heart didn’t grieve over.

  Soon after, the sun rose above the horizon. Here at the island, the sun would be scorching at noon. It was already so hot in the morning, then in the afternoon…… Lan Jinyao shut her eyes again and didn’t dwell on this further. The more she thought about it, the more jittery she felt.

  The scorching sun slowly ascended, and the temperature grew hotter by the minute. Lan Jinyao took cover in the shade of the tree, but there were still thin layers of sweat forming on her forehead. Meanwhile, under the mottled sunlight, a colourful rainbow was reflected.

  At this time, a bottle of cold mineral water suddenly appeared next to her. It was seemingly just taken out of the freezer, but it was soon enveloped with layers of condensation due to the heat.

  Lan Jinyao opened her eyes and extended her finger to touch the bottle of water before holding onto it tightly with both hands. She couldn’t drink it because it was too cold, but she could use it to cool herself down.

  The scorching sun slowly turned the cold water into warm water. Lan Jinyao then unscrewed the cap and drank a few mouthfuls. In fact, she’d been sweating a lot, and this had made her more dehydrated. If it hadn’t been for this bottle of water, she might’ve gone back to the house already.

  There were a few times where Lan Jinyao secretly scolded herself for being stupid. She could’ve just stayed at the house and waited for Fu Bainian to come and save her. Yet, she had to flee all the way to the forest just to play hide-and-seek with Jiang Cheng. Now she had to suffer all of this as a consequence and, in the end, she was damaging her health.

  However, these thoughts only lasted for a moment. After that, she secretly cheered herself on. If she’d remained at that place, then the child in her belly would've been discovered by Jiang Cheng, and by then, based on Jiang Cheng’s temperament, he might've gotten rid of her child by force. After all, this was Fu Bainian’s child.

  It was just that, as things stood now, she might not be able to survive if she remained here.

  Lan Jinyao inwardly told herself: Just wait a bit longer……a bit longer……until you really can’t hold on any more. When that happens, you can go out and surrender, and stop playing hide-and-seek with Jiang Cheng.

  All thanks to her self-encouragement, she managed to persevere for several more hours.

  Then, the sun started descending, and the afterglow of the sunset gradually disappeared, causing the temperature of the ground to cool down in the process.

  After struggling for so many hours, Lan Jinyao suddenly felt that she had no more strength left. And, right at that moment, she heard a yacht sailing in her direction. Thus, in that split second, she felt like she’d seen a ray of hope.

  She struggled to get up and walked away step by step with her waist bent like a cat. It wasn’t completely dark yet, so she had to be careful. Jiang Cheng might be on the yacht, and as soon as she showed up, she might be found out. So, she had to be extra vigilant.

  Jiang Cheng had already boarded the yacht. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen this kind of luxurious yacht. With her gaze locked on it, she quickly rushed towards it.

  No matter where Jiang Cheng wanted to take her, she had to board the yacht first and then see. It would be even better if she could get to the mainland safely, if not, then…… Lan Jinyao gritted her teeth and hardened her heart. If she couldn’t reach the mainland, then when they were close enough, she’d just dive into the water and swim ashore!

  After boarding the yacht, Lan Jinyao felt that Jiang Cheng had done it on purpose. He knew that she would follow, and he also knew that she would board the yacht. So, when she stood on the deck, she saw a table placed in the middle with her favourite dishes. As soon as she saw those dishes, she swallowed her saliva with great difficulty. She was famished.