Shan Xiaoya, seeing that he hadn’t recognized her, let out a sigh of relief. “Ah! That was close! What a narrow escape. Didn’t expect to meet him here. He’s really persistent. Fortunately, I’m lucky and he didn’t recognize me. If I’m not going to run now, when will I?” Taking a step forward, she turned back with a furtive look, discovering Zhao Yeqing wasn’t paying attention to her. Perfect! She quickened her pace, running down the mountain. Unexpectedly, after just a few steps, she heard someone call: “Wait a moment!”
Shan Xiaoya’s heart skipped a beat, her foot suspended in mid-air. Blinking nervously, she reluctantly turned around, forcing a smile. “Were you calling me?”
Zhao Yeqing nodded and walked back. “Brother, I want to ask, have you seen a woman, about this tall?” He gestured with his hand in front of Shan Xiaoya’s eyes. “Arched eyebrows, big eyes, quite a beautiful woman?”
Hearing this, Shan Xiaoya knew he hadn’t recognized her, and her confidence grew. “If we’re talking about women like that passing by me daily, there haven’t been a thousand, but at least eight hundred. Can you be more specific?”
Zhao Yeqing pulled out a portrait from his chest, opened it, and showed it to Shan Xiaoya. “Young brother, this is the woman I’m looking for. Have you seen her?”
Shan Xiaoya glanced at the portrait and quickly lowered her head.
His left hand cleverly scratched his head, blocking Zhao Yeqing’s view. The portrait was of none other than himself. He was surprised at how accurately he was depicted, almost like a modern photograph. It seemed Zhao Yeqing was still searching for him, wanting to retrieve the bracelet. He had such determination. The bracelet was his; maybe he would find a way to remove it from his wrist. But if he directly said, “I’m the thief who stole your item, now take back your bracelet,” that definitely wouldn’t work. He needed a good plan.
Shan Xiaoya blinked, suppressing his inner unease. He rolled up the portrait and returned it to Zhao Yeqing, lowering his voice. “I haven’t seen this lady. You should ask someone else!” Zhao Yeqing took the portrait, feeling something was off but nodded at Shan Xiaoya and continued up the mountain.
