C25 She Is a Fool Not an Idiot

Chapter Twenty-Five: She was Not an Idiot

Xiang Dongnan frowned at the judgement on Shao Yunchen's face. He himself was worried sick, so he did not try to defend himself.

After all, he was the one who brought Lu Yao here. If something bad happened to her, he had no one to blame but himself. He would not be able to handle the guilt.

He gave the address to Shao Yunchen and then gave him his cellphone number too. "Let's split and search. If you find her first, please give me a call..."

Shao Yunchen neither looked at him not waited for him to finish his sentence. He turned and walked out of the hotel at once.

Xiang Dongnan stared at his retreating back. His eyes darkened.

It was fortunate that the manager of the convenience store knew English. Lu Yao borrowed his phone charger. She found a place to sit down and plugged in her cell phone. Two minutes later, it turned on.

She tapped on her contact list and was about to call Xiang Dongnan back when the notifications started popping up on her screen, one by one. There were too many to count.

Lu Yao was surprised.

Blinking, she opened a few notifications.

Most of them were Xiang Dongnan's missed calls and messages, the latter asking where she was and why she was not picking up the phone.

When she pressed the return key, she inadvertently saw another number. Her eyes froze.

Shao Yunchen?

Was he looking for her?

She was still in shock when her phone suddenly rang. Her hand trembled when she saw the number and she accidentally pressed the button that connected the call.

"Where are you? Why did you pick up the phone only now?" It was a familiar deep, but steady, male voice. But for some reason, Lu Yao could hear a trace of anxiety in it.

She was dazed for a moment before she replied stiffly, "I... I ran out of battery before."

"Send me your location. I'll come pick you up," the man stated brusquely.

Lu Yao wanted to ask him why he had been trying to find her, but she stopped herself from doing so. She just pretended that nothing had happened and said, "There's no need for that. I'm charging my phone now. I'll take a cab and return to the hotel."

"Are you sure you can find the way? This is not China!" He could not help but mock her. "I'm driving now, so I can't be distracted on the phone anymore. Send your location over to me. I'll head over there right now."

Then, without giving her a chance to refuse, he hung up the phone.

Lu Yao was a bit embarrassed by his words. She had a poor sense of direction, but she was not an idiot. If she failed to find the hotel, she could still ask around or take help of the phone GPS.

She curled her lips, then tapped to share her location on WeChat. After walking for a long time, she was tired. The moment she had sat down, she did not want to move again.

While waiting, she called Xiang Dongnan.

"Hello, Dongnan."

"Where are you? I've been looking for you all over the place! I was about to die from anxiety." Xiang Dongnan was very relieved to finally hear her voice.

Lu Yao felt very guilty. "Sorry, Dongnan. I lost track of time. I didn't notice when my phone ran out of battery."

"It's good that you're fine now. Where are you? I'll come and pick you up."

Lu Yao pursed her lips and hesitated for a few seconds before asking, "Dongnan, are you alone? What about Tian Tian?"

"Tian Tian is still at the hotel. I've come out to look for you."

"Why is Shao Yunchen also looking for me?" she asked after a few seconds.

"He is staying at the same hotel as us," Xiang Dongnan said. "We bumped into each other at the entrance. I told him what happened. I was afraid something bad might happen to you, so it was more convenient for me to have one more person to help out."

As Lu Yao heard this, something indescribable rose in her heart. "Oh," she said softly.

So he was merely looking for her out of pity.

After a while, she said calmly, "Dongnan, you can go back. I am worried about Tian Tian being alone in the hotel room. Shao Yunchen called me saying that he's coming to pick me up. I'll come back in his car."

Xiang Dongnan sounded worried when he asked, "Will the two of you quarrel?"

Lu Yao and Shao Yunchen had just gotten divorced, so it was rather awkward for them to be around each other.

Lu Yao laughed. "What's the point of arguing after divorce? You think he'll leave me, a pregnant woman, on the streets?"

She knew Shao Yunchen. Even though he did not harbor have any feelings for her, he was still a person with dignity.

Xiang Dongnan misunderstood him. In the three years that Lao Yao and Shao Yunchen had been married, they had never quarreled per say. Shao Yunchen never once got angry with her. She in her own ways had occasionally caused trouble for no reason, otherwise their lives were boring and without spark. But he never quarreled with her. At most, he just behaved impatiently.

She had had enough of his indifference. Otherwise she would not have gone through with the divorce.

Xiang Dongnan was silent for a few seconds. He sounded gentle when he said, "All right, be careful then. Tell me when you get to the hotel."

"Okay."

Lu Yao hung up just in time to hear an engine going off in front of the store.

She put away her cell phone, got up and was about to go out to take a look when her ex-husband pushed open the door and walked in. His dark gaze swept over her body. He pressed his lips together but did not say anything except, "Let's go."

It was good that they had talked on the phone. Lu Yao felt quite awkward when she saw him. She did not know if she should smile or just not express anything.

She turned her face away from him, picked up her backpack, and nodded.

The car drove steadily along the road. Lu Yao was seated in the back seat and leaned her head against the door. She was tired and did not want to talk.

The man in the front seemed to be focused on driving, but for some reason, his mind was preoccupied with the woman seated behind him. From time to time, he would glance in the rear-view mirror.

She used to sit in the front passenger seat of the car with him before, but now she had gone straight for the rear without asking. Now more than ever he realized the deliberation in her actions.

He still had not recovered from their divorce, but she was already used to it. She wanted to keep her distance from him, to the point where even if he wanted to say something, she shunned him.

He slowly clenched his fist on the steering wheel, the outline of his handsome face becoming more pronounced. Anger filled his heart.