Chapter 4: A Runaway Plan

After my confession went nowhere, I shut myself in my room.
He didn’t love me. He didn’t love me.
That was all I could think about, day after day. My hatred for Tong Xueyou only grew. Meanwhile, the wedding drew closer, and the whole house was caught up in the excitement.
She’d finally done it. Tong Xueyou had taken my place as the one who brought everyone joy.
The door opened, and Mom and Dad came in.
“Yijun, time to eat. Look—your favorite steamed eggs.”
One glance at them, then I burrowed under the covers.
“I don’t like them.”
“That temper of yours! What are we going to do with you?” Dad began, but Mom stopped him.
“Come on, Yijun. Eat something, then we can go out and buy you a few new outfits.”
“I’m not going.”
“Then what would you like to eat? I’ll take you out. I hear Bala Café has some new pastries. Shall we try them?”
“You’re so noisy! Can’t you leave me alone for a minute? Just put it down. I’ll eat when I’m hungry.”
“But it’ll go cold—”
“I know, I know! I’ll eat when I’m hungry. Go away!”
Every word came from beneath the covers.
They were clearly fed up with my temper, but with Big Brother and my sister getting married, they knew I was upset. So they left me to it.
Tomorrow was Sunday.
The more I thought about it, the less I could bear it. Was I really going to sit there and watch Tong Xueyou take Big Brother away from me?
No. Absolutely not.
Out of bed I scrambled. There had to be a way to stop them.
I’d run away.
Yes! Run away from home. With me missing, who would be in any mood to arrange their wedding?
What a brilliant idea.
A smile crept across my face.
Downstairs, there were guests in the house. Without bothering to greet anyone, I walked straight outside. Mom and Tong Xueyou followed.
“Where are you going, Yijun?” Tong Xueyou caught my arm, her voice gentle.
“Yes, where are you rushing off to?” Mom took hold of me too.
“Just out for a walk.”
“That might do you some good.”
Fine, my sister did have a pretty smile. I could admit that. But to me, it looked fake and thoroughly irritating.
With a shove, I freed myself from her and swept away, head held high.
Uncle Qing drove me to the department store. After telling him to wait in the parking lot, I slipped away.
Once clear of the store, I called Jiajia.
“Song Jiajia, you’ve got half an hour. Get over here.”
Jiajia was a school friend and my best friend. With a temper like mine, friends were hardly plentiful. She was the only silly girl who could put up with me bossing her around and still smile about it.
That was why our friendship had lasted.
She arrived in her little red car.
“Yijun, I’m not late, am I?”
“Mm. Not bad.”
By then, I was sitting in a café with my legs crossed.
Like me, Jiajia had curly hair. Hers was shorter, though, and the curls came from a salon. So did the color.
My phone rang. Uncle Qing.
A leisurely press of the button switched it off.
“Hey, why aren’t you answering?”
“Because I’ve run away from home.”
“Run away?”
Her voice shot up in surprise.
I nodded as though it were nothing.
“Why?”
A mysterious smile was all the answer she got.
“You don’t need to know everything. Anyway, we shouldn’t stay here too long. You’ve got a cousin who owns a hotel, right? Can you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“I don’t want my name on the guest register. They’ll find me in no time.”
“Hmm… That should be easy enough. My cousin will probably agree.”
“Good.”
After a sip of coffee, I gave her a warning.
“Don’t tell anyone where I am. If Mom and Dad can’t find me, you’ll probably be the first person they call.”
“I know. I’ll say I don’t know anything and haven’t seen you for days. Oh, but aren’t your brother and sister getting married soon? Is this really a good time to run away?”
“Mind your own business.”
“I’m only asking.” She looked worried. “It still doesn’t seem right. If you go missing, how are they supposed to enjoy their wedding?”
Exactly.
“What’s that got to do with me? Hurry up and drink. Then we’re going to the hotel.”
“Okay.”
“And I’m warning you again. Tell anyone where I am, and you’ll answer to me.”
“No, no, I won’t!”
She hastily offered a reassuring smile.
On the way to the hotel, Jiajia talked nonstop about her wonderful cousin.
“When my uncle died, my cousin hadn’t even finished university. The hotels were in a complete mess. They were short of money and barely staying afloat. My aunt didn’t want him to, but he dropped out and came home anyway.”
“So he never graduated?”
“No, but he’s amazing! He got everything running smoothly, then expanded the chain from three hotels to seven. How many people his age have achieved that much?”
“What? Only seven? And you’re bragging about it?”
“Seven is a lot!” she protested. “They’re five-star hotels. Five-star! Do you have any idea how much it costs to open another one? It’s not like opening a clothing shop.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you comparing his seven hotels to Feifan Group?”
“Of course not!” she said quickly. “His hotels couldn’t possibly compare to Feifan Group. But he really is capable. You’ll see when you meet him. He can do anything, just like your brother.”
“Oh, please. Don’t compare other people to Big Brother.”
Her cousin’s chain was called Qinglang Hotels. The one where I’d be staying was its headquarters, and Jiajia said both he and her aunt worked there.
None of that interested me.
Surely they’d noticed I was missing by now?
Jiajia took me straight into her cousin’s private office.
“Feiyang!”
So this was Ji Feiyang.
His name had come up often enough in her chatter, but we’d never met. According to Jiajia, he was sharp, capable and impressive, someone people respected. His only fault was being too serious and particular about how things were done. Still, he was thoughtful and knew how to look after people.
He was younger than I’d expected. A black blazer over a plain white T-shirt, gray trousers—somewhere between businesslike and casual.
The confidence in his eyes was the first thing I noticed.
But how could he compare to Big Brother? Big Brother was still better-looking.
“Feiyang, this is my friend, Tang Yijun.”
Then she turned to me.
“Yijun, this is my cousin, Ji Feiyang. He’s the general manager of Qinglang Hotels.”
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
We shook hands.
“My friend would like to stay at the hotel for a few days,” Jiajia said. “But she’s lost her ID. Could you make an exception?”
“Lost her ID? She remembers the number, doesn’t she?”
“Well…”
Jiajia faltered.
“Of course,” I said.
Ji Feiyang considered it for a moment.
“The hotel has rules we have to follow. But a friend of yours is a friend of mine. If Miss Tang doesn’t mind, she could stay at my house for the time being. It’s right next door, and just as comfortable as the hotel.”
“That’s a great idea!”
Jiajia turned to see what I thought.
“Would that… really be all right?”
He gave a little chuckle.
“There are only two of us at home, and we’re both busy. We’re hardly there. It’s quieter than the hotel, so you won’t be disturbing us.”
“Well… All right, then.”
It was a good hiding place. Nobody would ever think to look for me in a stranger’s house.
Only a wall separated it from the hotel. Jiajia led me through a gate, and there we were.
We’d barely got to the room when her phone rang. She pressed a finger to her lips, warning me to stay quiet.
“Hello, Auntie… No… She hasn’t come to see me… All right.”
“What happened?”
The moment she hung up, I caught her arm.
“Your mom. She wanted to know if you were with me. She said to call them if I saw you.”
We exchanged grins, then rolled around on the bed.
“By the way, how long are you planning to stay away?”
“We’ll see.”
She kept me company for a while, watching television and chatting, before heading home. Before she left, I told her to call my family later, ask how things were going, then report back to me.
After that, there was nothing to do but watch television and play on my phone to pass the time.