Chapter 190: Prophetic Escape!
……
It turned fuzzy all around him!
The chattering noise from the reporters had disappeared suddenly!
……
Room 318
When Zhang Ye came back to his senses, the dizziness had gone away. He looked left and right, and he found himself back in the familiar room. It was back to the point when he had saved!
“Still not leaving?” Zhang Yuanqi said behind him.
Zhang Ye looked behind and said, “Let’s go together.”
Zhang Yuanqi frowned, “Didn’t you say that you were going to scout ahead?”
“No need for that, let’s go. The faster the better!” Zhang Ye had already scouted. But he did so at a time that the Heavenly Queen and anyone else would never know of.
Zhang Yuanqi didn’t say a word but she followed along.
“Your heels.” Zhang Ye lowered his head to look at the pair of beautiful red stiletto heels, “You can’t wear them, it will be too loud. Hold it in your hands?”
Zhang Yuanqi bent down and removed her high heels.
“Don’t move after I have opened the door. Follow my gestures accordingly.” saying that, Zhang Ye proceeded to open the door but he did not step out. He took a coin out of his pocket and flicked it outside with his finger. Ta, ta, the coin landed on the corridor’s carpet and made a sound. It sounded like footstep sounds.
The Heavenly Queen was about to open her mouth to ask, not knowing what was going on.
The next moment, a door beside the escape stairway slammed open — It was the middle-aged reporter who had discovered Zhang Ye previously. He came outside and looked around but he saw no one. Wondering aloud, he could only go back inside and shut the door.
The soundproofing was not too good as they heard the conversation in the room.
“What’s the matter, Brother Shao?”
“Nothing, I thought there was someone there.”
“It’s already the middle of the night. There’s definitely nothing to expect anymore.”
“Right, I think the Heavenly Queen isn’t here, the chances are too slim.”
“Even if there’s a low probability, we have to keep watch. What if we really discover them, wouldn’t that be big news?”
Making use of the time they were chatting, Zhang Ye signaled to the Heavenly Queen to move out into the corridor. Zhang Ye gestured for her to keep her head low as there were peep holes on the doors. It was safer to stay low.
1 step…..
10 steps…..
The two of them made it to the stairway and walked down quietly.
The Heavenly Queen holding her shoes asked, “How did you know that there were reporters in that room?”
Zhang Ye quickly gestured, “Shh!”
Zhang Yuanqi had a doubtful expression but she remained quiet.
Zhang Ye did not say a word. He just quietly stayed at the second floor’s stairway and waited. He did not show himself or intend to walk forward.
After about a minute.
There was a sudden sound on the second floor’s corridor. It was the sound of someone stepping on a cigarette butt to extinguish it. A cough from a youth could be heard. Bang, the sound of the door closing, then silence.
Zhang Yuanqi looked at Zhang Ye in surprise. She did not understand how Zhang Ye knew that there was someone there.
Zhang Ye of course did not answer. When he saw that the Heavenly Queen wanted to go down the stairs, he grabbed her arm and shook his head. That wasn’t the right place to go, it was full of people. Zhang Ye led the way in front as they walked onto the second floor’s corridor. Zhang Yuanqi looked on but she could only follow along.
On the left were the rooms, the elevator and the entrance area.
But on the right? There was only one room. The sign on it said that it was a staff room, a place for the staff. Placed outside of it was a broom and some unwashed bed linen sheets.
“Why are we here?” the Heavenly Queen whispered softly.
Zhang Ye said, “Open the door.”
“How do I open it?” the Heavenly Queen asked.
“Just follow my instructions.” Zhang Ye said.
Zhang Ye walked to the side window. The windows here were the old metal wire grille type. He easily removed a few strands of wire from of it. After fiddling with it a bit with some fast hand movements, he made the wire into the length he wanted and proceeded to slot it into the staff room’s lock. Zhang Ye had eaten several of the lockpicking skill experience books before. It had really become of good use, it was really a case of having more skills without additional burden. It was unexpected that he could use this skill in such a critical moment. The motel’s other rooms were all unlocked with swipe cards. They were more high tech, the locks were operated digitally too. With Zhang Ye’s lockpicking skills, he wouldn’t be able to open those kinds of locks. But for the workers’ rooms, they were had the traditional locksets. Maybe it was more convenient for the staff to use a traditional lock and key.
Ka-cha.
The door was unlocked without much effort.
The room was dark and of course, he did not switch on the lights. Staying hidden was of utmost priority.
Zhang Ye had considered the layout and he knew that there wasn’t anyone in this room. It was a storeroom. He led Zhang Yuanqi with familiarity inside, then, he closed the door gently.
Zhang Yuanqi looked at him, “That was pretty nifty.”
Zhang Ye said nervously, “I’m not that good.”
Zhang Yuanqi said, “I don’t think that this is your first time doing such things.”
“Hur Hur, I’m a man of many talents, you know that.” Zhang Ye changed the subject and walked to the bed and pulled the curtainsaside, “Let’s go.”
Zhang Yuanqi narrowed her eyes and asked, “How?”
Only at this moment did Zhang Ye inform her of the plan, “We will not go to the first floor. There are many reporters waiting by the stairway. The entrance is out of the question too. There will be people at the elevator too. If we want to leave this place, we will have to jump out of the window. This is the second floor, it’s not that high up. We are at the staff room and this side of the windows goes out to the back of the motel. That side is blocked by a metal fence, so no reporter can get in. If we go out from here, it would be the safest option. Moreover, no one has thought of going to the back to keep watch, because no one would be expecting that the famous Heavenly Queen to escape from the windows. In their minds, this is something that would never happen.”
Zhang Yuanqi frowned, “Jump through the window?”
Zhang Ye assured her, “Don’t worry, it won’t be dangerous. I will go down first and catch you. You can slowly climb down, I will take care of your safety.”
Zhang Yuanqi shook her head without saying anything.
“Quickly, if we don’t leave now, there won’t be another chance. Who cares about face now!?” Zhang Ye encouraged her, “I will definitely catch you!”
Zhang Yuanqi gave him a skeptical look.
Actually, Zhang Ye did not have any confidence too. The Heavenly Queen was not plump, but neither was she very light. She was rather tall so her weight couldn’t be that light. Zhang Ye thought about his arm strength which was rather lousy. But in this situation, this was the only way.
Zhang Ye tugged at the windows, and did not wait for the Heavenly Queen’s agreement. Jumping onto the window sill, he stood there. Looking at the ground that wasn’t that far off, he flipped around and squatted down. With his hands against the window sill, he lowered himself bit by bit, before letting his body extend fully. He then let go.
Smash!
He landed on the ground!
Zhang Ye did not manage to balance himself and fell down. His legs were hurting. He only managed to stand up after a long while, looking embarrassed with a red face.
Seeing Zhang Ye in this pathetic state, Zhang Yuanqi froze at the side of the window. She could only muster a cold laugh and muttered something along the lines of — A guy like you already took so much effort just to jump down, what do you expect from a female comrade like me?
Zhang Ye whispered and signaled, “Hurry! I will catch you!”
The Heavenly Queen said, “Think of another way.”
Zhang Ye pondered a little. To ask a woman to jump like this was indeed asking too much of her. She did not have the strength nor courage to do it. She was the Heavenly Queen after all, not a brute like Zhang Ye who could take a fall. After some thinking, Zhang Ye had an idea. He looked at the staff room on the first floor and with a lift, he stood on the window of the first floor. The window was not locked, so it allowed Zhang Ye to grab onto it. Then he looked up and faced the Heavenly Queen, saying, “Sister Zhang, you come down bit by bit. I’ll hold you, so there certainly won’t be any problems.”
There was a few seconds of hesitation from the top.
Finally, Zhang Yuanqi’s figure appeared. Clearly, she had made up her mind. Her hand stretched out from the second floor’s window and handed her pair of high heels to Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye tiptoed and after trying very hard, he grabbed the high heels. He then lowered his head and kept them properly.
Zhang Yuanqi was already on the window sill. Her motions were not as smooth as Zhang Ye, but as a woman, it was already pretty fast. Without any hesitation, Zhang Yuanqi did the same motions Zhang Ye did.
……
Behind the motel was the perimeter of a small district. It was also an out-of-the-way garden, filled with grass.
Zhang Ye did not need to pick the lock. A glance was enough to tell that the lock had rusted due to years of disuse. With a hard push, the rusty lock fell apart.
“You go first. I’ll circle around the district and drive the car to pick you up.”
After saying that, he wore his sunglasses. After he circled around and entered the small district, he noticed that there were still many people waiting by the motel’s entrance. They did not notice that someone had come in from behind. They clearly didn’t realize that the Heavenly Queen would escape from the windows. Besides, Zhang Ye had even used a “Save” item in order to prevent any mishaps. Carry on waiting, guys. Zhang Ye ignored them. He went to the parking lot to pick his car up and drove off. He did not attract the attention of others. Even if others saw his car, they would not have recognized him. After all, Zhang Ye was not as famous as Zhang Yuanqi. It was not at the level where he was placed under a microscope.
……
Outside.
It was already midnight, the roads were deserted.
Zhang Ye drove over to the trees where Zhang Yuanqi was waiting. After pulling over, the Heavenly Queen quickly got into the car and closed the door.
Whew!
They were finally out!
Zhang Ye breathed a sigh of relief, “Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay.”
“Where are you going?”
“Beicheng, just stop me at the Lishui Bridge. Someone will come and fetch me.”
Zhang Yuanqi was probably tired as she shut her eyes for a nap. The past two days had taken its toll on her and Zhang Ye.
……
They reached the venue.
The Heavenly Queen took Zhang Ye’s almost flat phone and contacted her management through the internet. The car stopped and she got off. She sat on a bench at the roadside to wait.
Zhang Ye did not leave. Instead, he parked at a distance and waited for her to leave safely. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be at ease.
A few minutes later, a luxury car that Zhang Ye had seen before but could not put a name to stopped in front of Zhang Yuanqi. The Heavenly Queen stood up and got into the car. Looking through the glass, there were two women in the car. Upon seeing the Heavenly Queen, they began their chattering, one looking like she was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, another looking like she was bearing a grudge. They looked super anxious. Whereas Zhang Yuanqi’s face was full of smiles, she spoke very calmly with them.
He couldn’t hear them, so he did not know what they were talking about.
But when Zhang Ye was preparing to drive off, he suddenly noticed that Zhang Yuanqi had raised her hand while in the luxury car’s back seat. She did not turn her head but it was obvious that her hands were waving. In the end, she put it down without attracting the attention of her assistants.
Was she saying goodbye to me?
Zhang Ye smiled. He felt that the relationship between him and Zhang Yuanqi had become even more complicated. It could be said that they had become closer, at least, they could now be considered friends.
They were stuck together, in the same room, and slept on the same bed together. They escaped together and he gave her a shoulder ride. They even nearly created a scandal together.
All these images floated in front of Zhang Ye. After the storm passed, a feeling of warmth took over. Especially that last wave from Zhang Yuanqi. It was like a farewell gesture between two soldiers-in-arms who had battled for two days. It made Zhang Ye feel that the Heavenly Queen’s indifferent bad temper to be not as irritating as before.
Good temper?
Bad temper?
A lot of people who hated Zhang Ye scolded him, saying that his temper was as bad as a hooligan’s. But those who really knew and understood Zhang Ye did not feel that his temper was bad at all.
It was just a matter of perception.