Chased by My Heartless Ex - Chapter 83

“Who are you?”

Xu You’s fingers tightened around the door handle, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. The warmth drained from her fingertips, and she felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar, overwhelmed by collapse and despair.

The psychological trauma from the murderer she encountered a week ago had just begun to fade, but now, faced with this situation, every nerve in her body was stretched taut. Struggling to keep her voice steady, she secretly pulled the handle inward from her blind spot, constantly looking for an opportunity to escape.

The eyes in the rearview mirror didn’t move, locked firmly on Xu You’s face. He seemed not to understand what she was saying, or perhaps he was dissatisfied, or maybe it was something else, his brows gradually furrowed, and a displeased expression slowly emerged.

The pressure inside the car dropped bit by bit, as if all the oxygen had been stolen. Xu You felt inexplicably dizzy, her face pale as she tried to maintain composure. She had tried and struggled, but the car door was firmly locked, she couldn’t get out.

The man was nearly twice her size. Xu You took a deep breath, repeatedly reminding herself not to provoke him.

“What do you want? Name your conditions. As long as you don’t harm me, I’ll do my best to meet your demands.” With her plan to escape through the door thwarted, she tried to soothe his emotions while her hand moved to her pocket to search for her phone.

“Conditions?” The man seemed even more puzzled. His hand on the gearshift was the size of a sandbag, capable of leaving a dent wherever it struck.

He twisted his upper body slightly, his gaze shifting from the rearview mirror. Xu You, who had just found her phone, froze and stopped all movement.

“Miss Xu, I won’t harm you. And,” he glanced sideways out the window, “someone has already paid my fee.”

Xu You’s mind went blank for a moment.

A hired killer?

She racked her brains but couldn’t figure out who she had offended so badly that they would want her dead. As time passed, her psychological defenses crumbled bit by bit. Xu You briefly recalled her short life, sorrow filling her chest.

She closed her eyes, bitterness rising in her throat. “Your employer is…”

As she spoke, the phone in her hand suddenly rang loudly, the ringtone echoing inside the car. Without opening her eyes, Xu You couldn’t tell if the sound had angered the man. She lifted her eyelids and asked humbly, “May I answer the phone?”

“Of course.” A flicker of surprise passed through the man’s eyes, but his face was too fierce for Xu You to notice.

Xu You treated this call as her last lifeline. No matter who it was, they would be her hope for survival, the floating plank she must cling to. So, when she saw that the caller was Zhou Siyu, she pressed the answer button without hesitation.

“It’s me. I’m downstairs at the company.” Before the caller could speak, Xu You blurted out her location.

After all, they had shared a bed for years. In her heart, she begged Zhou Siyu to read between the lines, if she couldn’t come to rescue her personally, calling the police would be enough.

Zhou Siyu clearly didn’t pick up on the signal. She asked, “You’re here? How are you feeling today? Actually, you could rest a bit longer. The project can be delayed.”

When her life was on the line, who cared about money or exhausting work?

“I said I’m downstairs. Have you arrived?” Xu You gritted her teeth, forcing the words out through clenched teeth.

Zhou Siyu still had one more intersection to go before reaching the entrance of the industrial park. As the red light switched to green and vehicles began moving, a sudden realization struck her. Shifting into gear and starting the car, she said, “Is this about the design draft? Then wait a moment and come upstairs with me. I’ll be there in about two minutes.”

For Xu You, Zhou Siyu’s promise was undoubtedly great news. Ignoring the design draft, she focused only on the fact that Zhou Siyu would arrive soon, which gave her confidence. When she looked at the man again, her gaze was resolute.

“Whatever your purpose is, or who sent you, the order details are all recorded. Please open the car door now, I need to get out.”

The man’s lips, which had been set in a straight line, pressed downward, and he shot her a puzzled look.

“Miss Xu, I’m not a ride-hailing driver.”

“Youyou, didn’t the driver pick you up?”

Two voices, one from the phone and one from inside the car, spoke simultaneously, leaving Xu You’s mind reeling. In an instant, all the small details she hadn’t paid attention to on the road flooded back: she hadn’t heard a single navigation instruction the entire trip. She moved the phone away from her ear and switched to the ride-hailing app.

The screen didn’t show an ongoing order but rather the state before submitting one. A line of small text at the top indicated that her order had been canceled by the driver, with the penalty fee already credited to her account.

“Youyou?” Hearing no response from the other end, Zhou Siyu raised her voice anxiously.

Xu You and the driver locked eyes, both reading complex emotions in each other’s expressions.

“I’m here. Where are you? Are you okay?”

The situation was too complicated for Xu You to process immediately. Spotting a familiar car outside the window, her expression stiffened. “I’m in the car to your left. Turn around.”

Zhou Siyu turned to the spot Xu You mentioned, unbuckled her seatbelt with one hand, opened the car door, and stepped out. In a few quick strides, she approached the other vehicle. Unable to pull the door open, she knocked on the rear window. The window rolled down, revealing Xu You’s bewildered face and the equally confused man in the driver’s seat.

The car unlocked, and Zhou Siyu opened the door from the outside.

Without another word, Xu You scrambled out of the car. “What’s going on?”

Zhou Siyu put her phone away and closed the car door, her expression even more innocent than Xu You’s. “This is the driver I arranged for you. The other day, well, I thought it wasn’t safe for you to commute alone, so I hired a driver for you. Qian Doudou submitted your leave form until yesterday, so I asked him to pick you up today. He sent you a message, didn’t you receive it?”

“Boss, I did send it. Miss Xu didn’t reply. I even searched her number and tried to add her as a friend, but she didn’t respond either.” The driver’s voice chimed in hastily from inside the car, sounding deeply aggrieved.

Xu You’s lips twitched. She had set her phone to block messages from unknown senders. Given how small their social circle was domestically, she wasn’t in the habit of constantly checking unread messages.

She hadn’t asked, Zhou Siyu hadn’t explained, and the driver hadn’t reacted in time, everything had spiraled into chaos.

No one was entirely blameless in this mess. Instead of shifting the blame, Xu You swallowed her frustration and told Zhou Siyu, “I don’t need a driver.”

The man in the car lost his earlier composure, his confident expression crumbling as he hurriedly tried to salvage his job. “Ah, Miss Xu, my driving skills are excellent. You experienced it yourself just now. Please reconsider.”

“You do need one,” Zhou Siyu said, her tone suddenly stern.

“I don’t need any special treatment from you. There are only two weeks left. I can take ride-hails or find my own driver. I don’t need you to do this.” Xu You always remembered not to get too entangled with Zhou Siyu.

Her concern was not accepted, leaving Zhou Siyu feeling somewhat disheartened. She didn’t give up and gently persuaded, “It’s not just special treatment for Xu You, but also consideration for Esme. You are now my collaborator, and I have an obligation to ensure your safety until the project concludes.”

“Rest assured, he will only take orders from you and serve you alone. I will neither interfere with nor pry into your whereabouts. I can agree to anything else you ask, but for the sake of safety, this point is non-negotiable.” As she spoke, her tone grew firmer and more resolute.

Zhou Siyu’s unwavering tone dragged Xu You back to memories from years ago. She snapped out of her daze as the spring breeze swept away her scattered thoughts, allowing her to refocus.

The reason for her resistance to the driver was laid bare by Zhou Siyu. After receiving assurances, Xu You pondered for a few seconds and nodded, agreeing to let the burly man become her personal driver.

“That’s wonderful, Miss Xu! What time should I pick you up tonight? Feel free to contact me if you need anything!”

The driver, sharp-eyed and noticing her nod of approval, was visibly relieved that his job was secure. His tone lifted with joy, and his face lit up with excitement. Xu You caught his expression unintentionally and could only offer a similarly stiff smile in return.

“I need to finish my drafts, so my off-duty hours aren’t fixed. I’ll accept your friend request later, and we can coordinate the specific time then.”

“Got it.”

In the blink of an eye, the driver sped off in his car, as if afraid that lingering any longer might make them change their minds.

Xu You redirected her attention to Zhou Siyu’s face. Now that they were alone, she dropped her forced smile. “Thank you for this, but I hope there won’t be a next time.”

“Okay.”

Zhou Siyu understood that Xu You strongly disliked her interference and arrangements in her life. Acknowledging her overstep, she obediently agreed.

Zhou Siyu needed to park her car in the underground garage, while Xu You entered directly through the company’s main entrance. With no possibility of walking together, they parted ways at the company gate, each heading to their respective places to focus on their own tasks.

After a week apart, her colleagues didn’t greet Xu You with excessive enthusiasm. As the final submission deadline drew nearer day by day, everyone grew increasingly tense, and nothing outside of work could distract them.

Xu You had initially worried that gossip about her and Zhou Siyu would draw unwanted attention. But as she stepped into the office, she breathed a sigh of relief.

As the team leader, she had already packaged and submitted her two assigned drafts to the department head. Her time in the company would now be entirely dedicated to designing and refining the character images of Nüwa and Daji.

The folder labeled “Nüwa” contained numerous fragmented sketches of facial features and body parts, silhouettes recorded during the week based on her imagination of Zhou Siyu. Xu You reviewed them all, realizing that memories always differ from reality. Unable to fully immerse herself now, she closed the folder and turned her attention to designing Daji’s in-game appearance.

Zhou Siyu had been waiting for Xu You’s invitation ever since she agreed to be her model. From that day on, she had Zheng Ran reschedule all her evening work, freeing up ample time in anticipation of Xu You’s arrival.

One day passed, then two, with no word. Nearly half a month went by, and still, there was no contact. She felt like a concubine in an ancient palace, anxiously awaiting the emperor’s summons, growing more impatient and longing with each passing day.

Finally, on the Friday of Xu You’s return to the workplace, she received the good news from the “imperial household.”

Zhou Siyu was in the middle of a high-level meeting when she received the message. In recent years, the gaming industry had exploded, with companies large and small sprouting up like mushrooms after rain. Competition was fierce, and their company’s market share had shrunk, leaving the financial statements looking like absolute garbage.

Halfway through the meeting, the head of the tech department, his face so pudgy his eyes were nearly squeezed shut, was droning on. Zhou Siyu, seated at the head of the table, had to restrain herself from slamming the documents right into his six-month-pregnant-looking belly.

Her anger was simmering, ready to boil over, when she felt a vibration against the elbow she had propped on the table. She scanned the room, her gaze sharp enough to incinerate whoever had dared interrupt the meeting.

Not a single quail in the room moved or made a sound. Annoyance mounting, she snapped her folder shut, about to smack it onto the table, when the vibration came again. This time, Zhou Siyu pinpointed the source. She glanced down and realized it was her own phone. Irritated, she set the folder aside and unlocked her screen with a sigh.

[Xu You: Are you free tonight? I’d like to borrow two hours of your time.]

[Xu You: If you’re really busy, even one hour is fine.]

Her anger evaporated instantly. Keeping a straight face, Zhou Siyu replied that she could make it work. When she looked up again, she couldn’t resist calling out the tech department head by name.