My Youth Began With Him

“My god! Are these people all here to get you?” The auntie was frazzled by the sight.

“Yes.” Huo Mian nodded.

“Hurry, hide in the upstairs closet of my room. Don’t let them find you.”

The auntie thought of a place for Huo Mian to hide, but Huo Mian couldn’t, in good conscience, hide in the auntie’s home.

“No, Auntie, I can’t. They’ll ransack your home. I have to leave.”

“But it’s still dark out. Where are you going to go?”

“It’s okay. I can go anywhere but I can’t drag you into this mess. Auntie, does this place have a back door? I should leave from there.”

“Why don’t you hide in the basement? Do you have to leave?”

“You don’t know their ways, Auntie. They will do anything and everything to find me. We’ve just met and you’ve already been such a big help…you even made me food. Auntie, I’ll remember everything you’ve done for me. Please take this money.” Huo Mian took out a stack of money.

“Oh my goodness, Honey, this is not the time to think about money. I don’t want it. If you insist, go from the back door.” The Auntie refused to take the money.

“Then… if I don’t die, I’ll definitely pay you back. Thank you, Auntie.”

Huo Mian was very sincere, bowing deeply in front of the auntie from Shandong.

This lady was probably the only kind person she met throughout her escape…

“Don’t do this, Honey. You’re pregnant, don’t hurt yourself…” The Auntie didn’t know how to react.

After that, the auntie guided Huo Mian to the store’s back door.

There was already a glimmer of light in the sky, a wash of white appearing in the far distance.

“Honey, how about this? Find a place to hide for the rest of the night. Once it gets light and everyone’s gone to work, go to the Chinese consulate and seek protection. They’ll send you home and won’t let your boyfriend harm you.”

“Okay.” Huo Mian nodded without much explanation.

“Then… I’ll leave… Auntie, if they come in, tell them you don’t know anything. They shouldn’t cause you too much trouble.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve been here for years now. I know how to handle them.”

With that, Huo Mian thanked the auntie one last time and left the store.

Huo Mian didn’t know where she was headed. She was in an unfamiliar place… so all she could do was take it one step at a time…

Even so, she knew that she had to run. If she was caught again, they’d never let her get away. That much she knew.

– Sydney, Australia –

Qiao Fei received Lu Yan’s phone call and the two met up in a hotel.

When Lu Yan came through the door, her face was written with worry.

“How’s it going? Did you find her?” Qiao Fei stood up.

“No… shit, I searched everything… but none of them matched.” Lu Yan cursed.

“That’s impossible. If Qin Chu located Sister Mian in Australia, she has to be in Australia. How could we not find her?” Qiao Fei trusted that the information from Qin Chu was accurate.

“I’ve looked through all the databases.”

“What do you mean?” Qiao Fei seemed to have caught on.

“The thing is though… there’s information not included in the database. Australia’s so strange… The government sold the islands and after a couple of resales, they’re impossible to investigate…”

“Then what should we do?” Qiao Fei walked over to Lu Yan, wanting to comfort her.