Chapter 430: Weak-Kneed With Fright
Her heart sank. As she turned to leave, a voice suddenly boomed, “Sister Nian!” It was Bai Yuan.
Li Beinian jumped and almost took to her heels on reflex.
Gu Mingye’s party, on the other hand, was stunned momentarily before they shouted, “Give chase!”
In all her life, Li Beinian had never felt this sort of guilt.
Her knees went wobbly, and she couldn’t be sure if it was from the activity of the previous night or from being chased by these men.
She was about to run down the escalator when, from the corner of her eyes, she saw the elevator stopping on this floor.
She took a quick turn and ran towards the elevator.
The men giving chase were all trained veteran soldiers from the special forces. So, they were naturally very quick on their feet.
It didn’t take much effort for them to catch up.
Alas, Li Beinian had managed to squeeze into the elevator just as the doors were shutting.
Still, she hit the lift button frantically as she saw Bai Yuan dashing towards her. Then, as he was just about four to five meters away from the elevator, the doors firmly snapped shut.
She heaved a giant sigh of relief when she felt the elevator starting its descent.
There were two other ladies in the elevator. They had observed the situation and were curious enough to ask, “Had an argument with your boyfriend?”
Li Beinian gave an embarrassed smile and lowered her head without answering.
Not only that.
She had bedded him, and then dumped him!
It wouldn’t be funny if she got captured.
That was one thing Li Beinian could be sure of. As the elevator descended floor by floor, her anxiety grew.
But it was a building with many floors, and the lower floors were designated for commercial use. There would be many shoppers around.
The elevator descended with various stops in-between. More than a minute had passed, and they had only moved about ten floors down.
She couldn’t take it anymore. At the next stop, just as she had decided to squeeze past the crowd to get out, she saw a familiar face.
He was a new member of Gu Mingye’s troop. His name was Ma Lin or something like that.
Li Beinian shrank back into the crowded elevator, her heart racing.
That was it.
It was over for her.
Obviously, these men weren’t going to let her get away easily!
What on earth did they want?
Did Mu Xichen feel humiliated because she had dumped him, and now he wanted to capture her for revenge?
She could feel her heart pounding in her throat.
But the elevator continued its journey downwards at a snail’s pace.
Finally, they were on floor thirty-something. Li Beinian saw a growing ray of hope. She noticed that she had broken out in light perspiration.
Suddenly, she felt someone tugging at her dress.
She turned to look. A girl, probably of school-going age, with lit-up eyes was looking back at her. The girl sounded a little embarrassed as she spoke hesitantly, “Eh… may I know if you’re Li Beinian?”
Li Beinian was stunned for a moment. She didn’t think that anyone would recognize her after having dressed herself down to this extent.
At this point, upon hearing the girl’s words, a few heads had turned in the elevator.
Li Beinian lowered her head and adjusted her mask. Then, putting on a hoarse voice, she said, “No, I’m not.”
“Indeed, you are!” Another person in the elevator confirmed this by pointing to the Legend Of The Dragon Pearl poster in the elevator. The person added, “There’s a mole on her earlobe. Look, I see it!”
Everyone’s eyes fell on her earlobe. Indeed!
“Ah, really. Is this really Li Beinian?”
“I like you so much! You were too awesome as Concubine Yun!”
“Uh-huh. Big sister, may I ask for your autograph?”
“Li Beinian, Nian Nian!”
…
Li Beinian kept her eyes fixed on the elevator panel. After she realized they had more than twenty floors to go still, she relented and took the piece of paper and the pen that the young girl was holding out to her.
She quickly signed her name. Then, another one.
The people in the elevator surrounded her, all talking at once. But Li Beinian was too distracted to take notice of what they were saying. There was too much going on in her own head.
She signed her name on one piece of paper after another, her action almost robotic. Ever so often she raised her eyes to look at the elevator panel, taking note of the floor they were on.
By the time they reached the ground floor, she was drenched in perspiration.