Chapter 16: Chen Yuanlin Waits for the Hare

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The tree house still had quite a few limitations. Whether she simply had not found a suitable place to set it up, Fang Yun did not know, but even she could not enter it. Supplies could only be moved in and out through the villa space.

This caused Fang Yun considerable trouble. Before long, she began to feel listless, and a dull headache came over her.

Setting the tree house aside, she leaned against the neatly folded bedding and rested for a while, easing her fatigue.

The sudden, drastic drop in temperature had dealt a devastating blow to many people on Eastcry Mountain. Not only had countless people frozen to death, but the struggle to survive had grown even more difficult.

Before the sea had frozen over, the military and government forces had sent people out every day to search for usable supplies.

Now that the sea was frozen, all the supplies lay trapped beneath the ice. Without the necessary equipment and technical support, there was simply no way to retrieve them.

Even if they could break through the ice, the surface was already bitterly cold. The water below would be colder still, and no one was willing to risk their life diving in.

Li Wangcheng and the others had been leaving early and returning late these past few days. The military and government forces were short-handed, and after both sides had negotiated over retrieving Ma Qibo's supplies, they had asked Li Wangcheng and his companions to help as well.

For reasons of his own, Li Wangcheng had actually agreed.

He had not, however, asked Fang Yun to go with them. As long as she stayed behind, one person would remain to keep her company.

Fang Yun was not idle either. Drawing on her knowledge of Eastcry Mountain from her previous life, she had uncovered several pieces of information unknown to Li Wangcheng and the others.

For instance, she had learned that Chen Yuanlin and his people were making inquiries about her.

They were not making a great show of it, but Fang Yun had keenly noticed that two separate groups were looking into her whereabouts.

One group was obviously Chen Yuanlin's. Without her in this life, the Chen family's standing was nowhere near as prominent as it had been before.

It was not difficult to imagine why Chen Yuanlin was looking for her.

But who did the other group belong to?

Just as Fang Yun was doing everything she could to find out, Chen Yuanlin could no longer sit back and wait. He came after her in person.

That day, as usual, Fang Yun finished lunch and planned to take a walk, while casually gathering whatever new information she could.

The moment she stepped outside the military-government camp, she ran straight into Chen Yuanlin, who had been lying in wait.

Seeing that he looked considerably more haggard than before, Fang Yun could not help revealing a gleeful smile.

“Fang Yun.” Chen Yuanlin failed to notice the change in her expression and anxiously blocked her path.

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Fang Yun did not reply. She merely stared at him.

“Thank heavens you’re all right. I thought you hadn’t managed to escape. Seeing you today made me realize that I still have feelings for you.”

Fang Yun was stunned by his words.

What nonsense was this? How could he say something so nauseating without the slightest embarrassment? What did he mean by saying he still had feelings for her? He had no feelings for her at all. He simply wanted to deceive her once more and make use of her.

“Aren’t you afraid Ji Qingwan will find out you said that?” Fang Yun asked with a cold laugh.

Sure enough, the moment he heard Ji Qingwan’s name, his expression stiffened. A trace of guilt and irritation flashed in his eyes.

If she had been hopelessly love-struck in her previous life, deceived by Chen Yuanlin’s honeyed words and left with a miserable fate, then she had only herself to blame.

Compared with her, however, Ji Qingwan was a far more advanced case. She was utterly devoted to Chen Yuanlin—and, more importantly, that woman’s heart was harder than hers.

In this life, Ji Qingwan had severed ties with Chen Yuanlin early on. Without Fang Yun standing in the way, Chen Yuanlin should have recognized Ji Qingwan’s true nature much sooner.

That was probably why he had begun to feel irritated with her. Ji Qingwan was likely keeping such a close watch on him that he had been unable to find an opportunity to strike deals of mutual benefit with the other families.

At present, the Chen family was practically at the bottom. Its influence was even weaker than the Ji family’s, and that had to be making Chen Yuanlin terribly anxious.

A man as arrogant as him would never tolerate being trampled beneath a woman’s feet. From the fact that he had come looking for Fang Yun, it was clear that he had already begun to resent Ji Qingwan.

“Little Yun, I knew you still cared about what happened between Qingwan and me.” Mistaking Fang Yun’s attitude for lingering affection, Chen Yuanlin’s eyes lit up, and he immediately began his performance.

“You weren’t by my side, so you don’t understand how complicated things are on Eastcry Mountain. Qingwan and I only share the affection of growing up together, and our families have always had business dealings. If we severed ties now, the Chen family would be in dire straits.”

Wasn’t he indirectly admitting that he now had to depend on Ji Qingwan for his livelihood?

And yet, despite that, he still could not face his own position honestly. He had come to see Fang Yun behind Ji Qingwan’s back.

Was he really not afraid of what Ji Qingwan would do if she found out and went mad?

That woman was terrifying when she lost control. In her previous life, she had caused no small amount of trouble merely out of jealousy.

Wait.

Could Fang Yun make use of that madwoman, Ji Qingwan?

Fang Yun cast a thoughtful glance at Chen Yuanlin, wondering how she could drag this treacherous pair into the trap banquet the day after tomorrow.

“Little Yun…” Chen Yuanlin was still trying to persuade her, but Fang Yun no longer wanted to listen.

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She cut him off. “I’m already divorced from you. Your family’s affairs have nothing to do with me. If you’re hoping to get something from me, I advise you not to waste your effort. I will never help you.”

With that, she made as if to leave, silently counting in her heart.

Three, two, one.

As expected, Chen Yuanlin immediately grabbed her and stopped her from leaving.

Fang Yun had been prepared for it, but she still felt disgusted when he touched her. She shook his hand off at once.

“What are you doing?” She did not need to pretend in the slightest. Her hatred for Chen Yuanlin was so intense that she could have drawn a knife and stabbed him on the spot.

Confronted by the hatred in her gaze, Chen Yuanlin was momentarily stunned. He quickly recovered, however.

He assumed that his involvement with Ji Qingwan had broken Fang Yun’s heart, and that this was why she was reacting so strongly after finally letting go. He did not think any further.

Nor was this the time to investigate the matter. He had not yet achieved his purpose in coming, so how could he possibly let Fang Yun leave?

He hurriedly said, “Little Yun, I don’t know how you managed to get acquainted with Li Wangcheng, but for the sake of what we once shared, could you help me get in touch with him?”

Fang Yun paused. She glanced at him, somewhat surprised.

She had thought he had come to manipulate her emotionally, then deceive her as he had in her previous life and trade her for supplies. She had not expected him to be here because of Li Wangcheng.

For a moment, her feelings were complicated. If she had not met Li Wangcheng ahead of time and gone up the mountain with Feng Li and the others again, would she be living in an entirely different situation now?

“I can’t do that.” Fang Yun refused outright.

Naturally, she would never agree. Otherwise, how could she carry out her plan?

“Little Yun, all you have to do is help me meet Li Wangcheng. I’ll handle everything else myself.” For once, a pleading note entered Chen Yuanlin’s voice.

When he saw that she remained unmoved, Chen Yuanlin gritted his teeth. He took a bulging backpack from one of his subordinates and held it out to Fang Yun.

“This is for you. Consider it some compensation from me. If you can arrange a meeting with Li Wangcheng, I’ll give you as many supplies as you want.”

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