Chapter 054
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Chapter 054 Warm Current Under the Iceberg
Hmph, what a jerk.
Lin Aoxue snorted, then said coldly: “Let go of me, I want to sit down.”
Su Rui had already noticed many empty seats nearby, but since Lin Aoxue hadn’t said anything, he deliberately played dumb. But now that the young Miss Lin had spoken up, he couldn’t brazenly continue holding her.
“Oh, I didn’t notice any empty seats. Go ahead and sit down then.” Su Rui covered up shamelessly, as usual maintaining his composure without blushing.
Lin Aoxue directly found a seat and sat down, continuing to look out the window. For some reason, she felt uncomfortable no matter how she sat in this seat, even less comfortable than when she was standing earlier. This feeling was truly quite strange.
“Hey hey, Aoxue girl, look over here!” Just as Lin Aoxue was lost in thought about that strange feeling, Su Rui pointed at himself and suddenly called out to her.
Lin Aoxue had become completely immune to the term “Aoxue girl.” Rather than arguing with him and getting upset, she might as well let this annoying guy call her whatever he wanted.
Lin Aoxue looked curiously at Su Rui, who smiled mischievously and said: “Are you feeling like the bus ride wasn’t enough? We’re getting off at the next stop, and we’ll need to transfer to the subway, which is even more crowded than this bus.”
Lin Aoxue’s face immediately darkened. It seemed Su Rui was looking for another opportunity to take advantage of her. Why had she agreed to this guy’s request to take the bus and subway? Not using a car was just asking for trouble.
But there was no turning back now. To avoid being mocked by Su Rui, Lin Aoxue could only grit her teeth and endure.
“Alright, we’ve reached our stop, let’s get off.” As the bus stopped, Su Rui seemed about to come forward to escort Lin Aoxue, but she saw through his intentions and quickly walked ahead to get off the bus.
“Why don’t you want me to help you?”
Lin Aoxue replied coldly: “I’m not disabled. Don’t I know how to walk?”
Su Rui couldn’t help but say helplessly: “Hey, you girl, why do you always mistake good intentions? You’re like a dog biting Lü Dongbin. If I wasn’t concerned about your high heels making it difficult to walk, who would bother offering you a hand?”
After getting off the bus, Su Rui was still recalling the feeling of holding Lin Aoxue, looking at her nape up close had felt as refreshing as drinking a cold beverage.
Her skin was so delicate it seemed like she bathed in milk daily, smooth and silky like satin. Su Rui even worried that if he applied any pressure when touching her, he might break her skin.
The two got off the bus and transferred to the subway. Unfortunately, this subway station was relatively remote, so the subway wasn’t as crowded as the bus. Su Rui had no chance to get close to her again and could only watch Lin Aoxue standing less than two meters away. This time, he couldn’t touch her or even smell that faint fragrance from her body.
What Su Rui and Lin Aoxue didn’t know was that shortly after they entered the subway, several motorcycles sped to the bus stop where they had just gotten off!
The motorcycle riders all looked like delinquents, and one of them was none other than the pickpocket who had been forced to jump off the bus by Su Rui earlier.
“Strange, we’re a step too late. I wonder where that man and woman went!”
It seemed this was a gang operation!
After being thrown off the bus, they had become furious and chased the bus on motorcycles, but they were just a few minutes late and had lost Su Rui and Lin Aoxue!
“It doesn’t matter, I remember what that couple looks like, especially that beautiful woman. I’d recognize her even if she turned to ashes,” the thug said viciously.
“Fine then, I’ll wait for them here, even until dark. I don’t believe those two won’t show up! Damn it, making me jump off the bus, and Xiao Liu even got his leg broken by a car because of this. This revenge must be taken!”
As he spoke, the pickpocket’s face revealed a lewd expression. When he thought of Lin Aoxue’s beautiful face and devilish figure, he felt itchy inside. His talk of avenging his brother was false; what he really wanted was to violate this woman!
“So, after riding the bus and subway for so long, do you feel more down-to-earth now?” Su Rui looked at Lin Aoxue and asked with a smile.
Lin Aoxue didn’t answer because she really didn’t want to respond to Su Rui. What did he mean by “not down-to-earth”? This guy was implying that she was usually high and mighty, detached from ordinary life and unaware of people’s hardships. How annoying, he always seized every opportunity to mock her.
“Yes, where are we going now?” Lin Aoxue was obviously just humoring Su Rui.
The two had already exited the subway station. The scenery outside was completely different from the city center, with more lush greenery and fewer skyscrapers, giving it a fresher atmosphere.
“I want to search for some history,” Su Rui suddenly said, looking at the road under renovation ahead.
“What kind of history?” Lin Aoxue was confused, as Su Rui’s statement left her completely lost.
“Looking for my history.” Su Rui looked at Lin Aoxue with a smile and said: “How about it? Are you interested in learning about my past? If you’ve changed your mind, we can still take a taxi back now, and I promise I won’t mock you.”
“Hmph.” Lin Aoxue let out a cold snort and walked ahead of Su Rui.
“Hey, Miss, wait up! I haven’t been back here for many years and can barely recognize the roads. You’re walking so fast—what if I get lost?”
Lin Aoxue turned her face and said: “I know this place.”
“You know it? What do you mean? How would a high-class young lady like you know such a remote area?” Su Rui looked disbelieving.
Lin Aoxue replied calmly: “Two years ago, Bikan started a real estate project here, and there’s a Bikan branch factory five kilometers from here that I personally supervised during construction. How could I not be familiar with it?”
“So that’s why.” Su Rui rubbed his nose and thought to himself that this Lin Aoxue girl was really something.
“Do you remember if there’s an orphanage around here?”
“An orphanage?” Lin Aoxue frowned thoughtfully and said after careful consideration: “I really don’t recall one.”
“That’s understandable. I haven’t been back for almost twenty years.”
“Ninghai has developed so rapidly these years, changing day by day. Each year looks different from the last. How can we find something from twenty years ago? It’s probably been demolished and relocated to some corner, and perhaps the former director and teachers are no longer alive.”
Su Rui looked around at the wide asphalt roads and new high-rises, feeling emotional.
Lin Aoxue observed Su Rui’s expression, feeling something complex in her heart.
After a moment of silence, she gently asked: “So, you were from this orphanage?”
Su Rui smiled and said: “Yes, to be honest, I’m a native of Ninghai. Nowadays, a Ninghai household registration is so valuable that a fake marriage can earn you a million yuan. If I had grown up in Ninghai all along, I might be a multimillionaire by now.”
As he said this, Su Rui didn’t realize that his assets were far beyond the million-yuan level, even much higher. He had just extorted nearly a hundred million from Zhang Qibing. Money to him now wasn’t about numbers but concepts.
“I understand now.”
Lin Aoxue hadn’t expected Su Rui to have such a background. This seemingly carefree and cynical person was actually from an orphanage. It was completely unimaginable that he had such a history!
It’s well known that all children in orphanages are orphans—without parents or relatives, with no one to raise them. They can only be entrusted to society’s care. Children who grow up in orphanages might become self-deprecating or withdrawn, but more often they become cold and violent. Without the love and care of family, without parents’ companionship from a young age, lacking sufficient affection, they might enter society as early as their teens and end up on the streets.
Unless some lucky children are adopted by wealthy families or well-off middle-class families, the future for the rest isn’t bright, and they often end up in the margins of society.
Knowing all this, Lin Aoxue felt even more emotional.
The young Miss Lin seemed to have forgotten how long it had been since she had felt so moved by something.
“What was the name of the children’s welfare institute you mentioned? I can try to help you find it,” Lin Aoxue suddenly said.
Su Rui looked at Lin Aoxue with slight surprise, but before he could respond, she continued: “Of course, I can’t guarantee I’ll find it, but I have some connections in Ninghai that might be useful, and we might get some clues.”
After a pause, Lin Aoxue added: “Besides, in this world, anything that has existed must have left traces, especially a welfare institute. If it was demolished, there would definitely be follow-up information. Even after twenty years, we should be able to find some clues.”
These three sentences together must have been over a hundred words, which was extremely rare for the usually taciturn Miss Lin, who typically spoke just two or three words at a time.
Hearing this, Su Rui looked deeply into Lin Aoxue’s eyes and said very sincerely: “Comrade Aoxue, you’re actually a good person.”
Though this was meant as a compliment, it didn’t sound that way to Lin Aoxue.
Really, what did he mean by saying she was “actually” a good person? Did she look like a bad person on the surface? What was this annoying guy implying?
In Su Rui’s view, Lin Aoxue had initially seemed like an ice beauty, impatient, with a cold and irritable personality. But after today’s interaction, Su Rui realized he was completely wrong!
Lin Aoxue might not be as cold at heart as she appeared on the surface. She actually had a helpful nature; it just needed time to open up her heart!
For some reason, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, she had closed her heart and locked away that passionate side, showing only her cold exterior.
