Moonlight Allure - Chapter 25

Xiao Qingyu blinked, a teasing glint dancing in her eyes as she looked between the two. “I see how it is.”

By now, Qiao Wanyi and Ruan Mingyue had moved away to handle the official business. The ship had been in an uproar for a while following the police raid, but for the passengers who weren’t being arrested, life returned to its usual rhythm. The cruise ship was now carving its way back toward the shore.

The three of them found a quiet spot to sit and talk. It was mostly Xiao Nianru and Xiao Qingyu speaking, while Jiang Xueyin listened intently.

“Back when I was with the Lin family, Lin Shan was the only one who cared about me. I truly depended on her,” Xiao Qingyu explained. “I mistook that dependency for love and did everything I could to soak up her warmth. At that time, she was my entire world.”

Xiao Nianru patted her sister’s shoulder gently. “That’s perfectly natural. Don’t blame your past self.”

Xiao Qingyu shook her head. “But the results of my presentation didn’t go the way everyone hoped. I presented as an Alpha.”

A sea breeze brushed past, messing up her brown curls. She reached up to pull her hair into a ponytail and continued, “Lin Shan was determined. She faced immense pressure and was even willing to give up her inheritance rights for the Lin Group just to be with me. But I didn’t want that. So, I accepted her parents’ conditions: I took a sum of money and left the country to study abroad.”

Jiang Xueyin’s mind drifted. Isn’t this just a mirror image of the Scum Alpha and Xiao Nianru? Except the two sisters had made opposite choices. Xiao Nianru had stayed and chosen the Scum Alpha with all her heart, only to be betrayed.

Jiang Xueyin turned to look at Xiao Nianru, her heart aching for her. If only I had come to this world sooner, I would never have let her suffer a single grievance.

Xiao Qingyu let out a light laugh, her voice sounding liberated. “It was the best choice I could have made at the time.”

Hearing this, Xiao Nianru softened her voice. “Were you sad back then?”

“Not really,” Xiao Qingyu shook her head. “I’m the type who can pick things up and put them down. Once I chose to leave, I wasn’t going to linger. Later, I met a very gentle and romantic female Omega who was also studying in Country W. It was only after falling in love with her that I truly experienced what love feels like. I wasn’t anyone’s accessory; I was free. So, even though she eventually gave up on me under Lin Shan’s threats and bribes, I’m still grateful to her. She gave me a wonderful emotional experience.”

“And what about Lin Shan?” Jiang Xueyin asked, wanting to confirm the girl’s current feelings.

The smile on Xiao Qingyu’s face dimmed. “Lin Shan loves me, but her love is distorted, too suffocating. I can’t accept it. Only by leaving her can I be truly free.”

Jiang Xueyin nodded. This aligned with the original novel; by the end, Xiao Qingyu no longer loved Lin Shan.

“Lin Shan will be punished,” Jiang Xueyin said firmly. Not just her, but all the “filth” on this cruise would be dragged into the light for judgment.

Xiao Qingyu hesitated. “But, it’s highly likely Lin Shan will walk out of that police station unscathed. She’s the head of the Lin family, and they have people in the high-ranking police echelons. They could easily write the whole thing off as a domestic dispute.”

Jiang Xueyin’s face shifted. In the original novel, Ruan Mingyue’s rise was gradual. It was only after a massive internal purge of the police department that the Li and Lin families were finally taken down. The cruise case wasn’t even exposed until much later in the story by another victim.

Right now, Ruan Mingyue didn’t have enough authority. What Xiao Qingyu feared was very likely to happen.

“If that’s the case.” Jiang Xueyin focused her gaze on Xiao Qingyu. “Once Lin Shan gets out, she won’t let you go.”

Xiao Nianru frowned. “What if she goes abroad? Surely Lin Shan’s influence doesn’t span the entire globe?”

“I was studying in Country W, and the Lin family has power there. As for other places, I don’t know.” Xiao Qingyu shook her head, her face clouded with worry. She was happy to have escaped, but she was now effectively a fugitive.

Jiang Xueyin weighed her knowledge of the world. “Country Y. It’s a constitutional monarchy, and the Lin family once offended the royalty there. All members of the Lin family are barred from entry. You should consider going there. As for the recommendation letter needed to transfer schools, I can handle that.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law.” Xiao Qingyu looked at Jiang Xueyin with gratitude.

Jiang Xueyin’s face instantly flushed, the tips of her ears burning. “N-no problem,” she stammered.

“Xueyin, thank you.” Xiao Nianru smiled beautifully at the blushing girl. “Is there anything you want? I’ll do my best to grant it.”

Jiang Xueyin thought seriously, her eyes full of hope. “I want to go to an amusement park with you. Would that be okay? If it’s not convenient here, we could go abroad together when we drop off your sister.”

“Just that?” Xiao Nianru was surprised. She had expected Jiang Xueyin to ask not to divorce.

Jiang Xueyin nodded. “Just that.” She had no intention of using her help as leverage.

Xiao Nianru gave a slight nod. “Alright.”

The ship docked, and the tourists began to disembark in waves. Jiang Xueyin walked down the ramp with Xiao Nianru on her arm and Xiao Qingyu by her side, looking for all the world like a family of three.

However, from a distance, Jiang Xueyin spotted a familiar car, her parents’ car.

Her heart skipped a beat. She felt a sudden, heavy intuition that something was wrong. Why are they here?

Xiao Nianru saw them too. She discreetly withdrew her arm. “I’ll leave you here. Your family has come to pick you up.”

“Wait.” Jiang Xueyin circled her fingers around Xiao Nianru’s wrist, looking at her with a piteous expression. “Could you, could you message me when you get home? Just to let me know you’re safe.”

“Okay,” Xiao Nianru said.

Xiao Qingyu looked at them, puzzled. “Aren’t you two married? Why are you living apart?”

“Go with your sister; she’ll explain everything to you later.” Jiang Xueyin smiled and waved goodbye to Xiao Nianru.

The moment she turned around, the smile vanished. She didn’t know when she would see her again. Perhaps the next time would be at the divorce filing.

Jiang Jue and Jiang Tingshuo stepped out of the black car, both dressed in suits. Their expressions were grim, as if something terrible had happened.

Jiang Xueyin froze. She looked back at the two sisters walking away hand-in-hand, her heart rate accelerating.

Several bodyguards in black suits climbed out of two other cars, walking toward her with expressionless faces. They gestured toward the vehicle. “Miss, please get in the car.”

Jiang Xueyin felt a surge of unease. She had legs; why did they need these hulking men to “escort” her? It felt less like a pickup and more like an arrest.

Alarm bells rang in her head. She instinctively took a step back.

The two lead bodyguards exchanged a glance, and before she could react, they hoisted her up. A blur of motion followed, and before she knew it, she had been tossed into the back seat of the business van.

She looked blankly at the silhouettes in the front seats. It was definitely Jiang Tingshuo and Jiang Jue, but the atmosphere was suffocatingly wrong.