Ba City University cafeteria, in the corner by the window.
Lu Jingxiu walked over with a tray, placing the small dishes one by one on the table. The portions weren't large, but there were many varieties, filling up the small table.
Lin Yutang looked at the table full of dishes, taken aback. "Isn't this too much?"
"No worries, we can pack up what we can't finish."
Lu Jingxiu pushed a cup of tea with milk in front of her, picked up another cup for himself, inserted a straw, and took a sip. "Go ahead and eat."
Lin Yutang nodded; she was indeed starving.
She started by sipping the soup in small gulps, then began picking at the dishes, and spooned rice into her mouth bite by bite. Her eating manner wasn't messy, but she was quick.
Lu Jingxiu didn't rush her, sipping his tea with milk as he waited for her to fill her stomach.
After she'd eaten about half a bowl of rice and finally slowed down, he asked, "What's the deal with you and that Tracy?"
Lin Yutang put down her chopsticks, picked up the cup of tea with milk Lu Jingxiu had bought for her, and took a big gulp.
The tea was warm, moderately sweet, with soft and chewy pearls.
She hadn't had something like this in a long time, and as the sweetness spread over her tongue, she almost felt like crying.
She steadied herself, took a deep breath, and began to speak.
"My parents died in a car accident when I was in high school. After the compensation came through, my uncle's family said I was too young and needed them to manage it for me. Then they moved into my house, claiming to take care of me."
Lu Jingxiu nodded, a classic start: parents deceased, relatives seizing the assets.
"Later, they started gambling and lost a lot of money. The compensation was soon gone, and the house was mortgaged." Lin Yutang paused, "And then, they got into a huge debt, and when the creditors came knocking, they... sold me."
"Sold you?" Lu Jingxiu raised an eyebrow; this was a serious crime.
"Yes, sold me to someone who ran a human trafficking operation." Lin Yutang's voice lowered, "Then I was taken to Germany, where Tracy bought me at something like an auction."
Lu Jingxiu couldn't help but twitch his lips at the word "auction."
Lin Yutang continued, "He took me to a very remote castle. It was large, looked ancient, and there were hardly any people, just a few servants and bodyguards. He wouldn't let me go out, use a phone, or contact the outside world. He said I was his collection, meant to stay by his side forever."
Lu Jingxiu silently took a sip of his tea with milk.
"I stayed there for a year," Lin Yutang went on, "This time, he brought me to Xia because he had an important contract to negotiate."
"He didn't want to bring me initially, but I begged him to let me see my home country again, and he agreed. On the plane, I started planning my escape. Once we reached the hotel, I took the chance to slip away under the guise of getting some air, and escaped through the fire exit."
What happened next, Lu Jingxiu already knew.
She ran out, was caught by Tracy's men near the park, bundled into a car, and then he happened to see it and called the police.
After finishing her story, Lin Yutang drank the last of her tea with milk, carefully sucking up the pearls at the bottom with her straw.
Then she picked up her chopsticks and cleaned off the remaining dishes and rice.
Only after finishing did she realize she had eaten quite a lot, and she looked at Lu Jingxiu with a bit of embarrassment.
Lu Jingxiu pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket, took one out, and handed it to her. You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
Lin Yutang accepted the tissue, wiped her mouth, then sat up straight, her expression becoming serious again.
"Lu Jingxiu, thank you for the meal, and thank you for calling the police that day," she said, looking into his eyes with a solemn tone, "But I really need to warn you, Tracy is extremely dangerous."
She lowered her voice, as if sharing a state secret, "Listen to me, he's not just some ordinary second-generation wealthy kid. His family has significant influence in Europe, with connections in both politics and business."
"In Germany, even if he causes trouble, a single phone call can settle it. Their family's legal team can turn black into white. The Xia police did a great job, but even they couldn't withstand the embassy's pressure, and eventually had to release him."
She paused, adding, "And Tracy himself is no fool. He earned dual PhDs in economics and law by the age of twenty, and started managing the family's Asian business at twenty-five."
"He's ruthless and reckless. Whatever he wants, or whoever he wants to deal with, he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals."
"This time, he suffered a loss in Xia and was arrested by the police, which is an utter humiliation for him. He will definitely seek revenge, and you, as the one who called the police, are his first target."
Lin Yutang finished in one breath, then looked at Lu Jingxiu, her eyes filled with obvious concern.
She hoped he would take her seriously and be cautious.
Lu Jingxiu's mind had already wandered.
A mysterious heir to a German capitalist family, a castle, imprisonment, the ability to make someone disappear at will. Influence so vast it could prompt an embassy to intervene, and a promise of retribution after being humiliated.
This Tracy had all the standard settings of a dominant president novel's male lead, except the story was set in Europe instead of domestically.
Castle Imprisonment Love: German Edition.
Seeing him silent for a while, Lin Yutang thought he finally took it seriously, so she added, "That's why I told you to be careful. I'm not joking; I don't want you to get into trouble because you helped me."
Lu Jingxiu finished his tea with milk, placed the cup on the table, and smiled, "Alright, I got it."
Once Lin Yutang nodded, he asked, "Where do you plan to go next?"
Lin Yutang was taken aback, not expecting him to ask that.
She shook her head, "I don't know, just leave here first, find a small city where he can't find me, do some odd jobs, and settle down."
As she said this, her eyes lacked focus, as if she didn't quite believe this plan would succeed.
Lu Jingxiu could tell.
A girl who had been confined abroad for so long, just escaped and was almost kidnapped again, only to narrowly get away, had probably thought about "what to do next" countless times in her mind.
And her answer was simply to "take it one step at a time."
This female lead, imprisoned by a dominant president, was like Zhu Yuanzhang starting on hell mode.
One started as a beggar, the other as a slave.
"Do you have any money?" Lu Jingxiu asked again.
Lin Yutang looked up, answering honestly, "Just a hundred yuan, given by the police for travel expenses."
Lin Yutang shook her head.
Lu Jingxiu looked at the girl in front of him, amused by her absurd situation.
Wearing a dirty white dress, with only a hundred yuan in her pocket, no phone, no change of clothes, and no one to rely on.
And yet she had just seriously told him, "You need to be careful of Tracy, he's very dangerous."
She was the one in the most danger.
"I have no classes this afternoon," Lu Jingxiu said, "I'll take you to buy a phone and get a change of clothes."
Lin Yutang opened her mouth, wanting to refuse.
But Lu Jingxiu didn't give her the chance, continuing, "You can't just wear this one outfit for several days without changing, then go to another city to find work, can you? You'll stink by then."
"And without a phone, even calling the police is inconvenient. If that kidnapper shows up again, you won't even be able to dial 110, and that would be a real disaster."
Lin Yutang said nothing.
Because he made a lot of sense, and there was no hint of charity or pity in his tone.
This white dress was indeed dirty, with various stains on the hem, and she could smell an unpleasant odor herself.
Lu Jingxiu stood up, "Let's go. You can pay me back after you earn some money from work."
Lin Yutang looked at his face, which showed no concern for Tracy, and hesitated.
She had told him all about Tracy's identity, background, and influence, trying to make him understand what kind of opponent he was facing.
But after hearing it all, Lu Jingxiu's expression barely changed, as if he really didn't care.
She couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you really afraid?"
"Of course not," Lu Jingxiu's lips curled up, "Because this is Xia."
It's not a place where an outsider can do as they please.
With that, he turned and walked out of the cafeteria.
As he walked, he pulled out his phone, opened his contacts, found a number, and dialed.
"Uncle Zhang, it's me, Jingxiu. I need your help with something..."
Lin Yutang stood there, blinking, then quietly sniffed her dress and wrinkled her nose.
...It really did smell bad.
Oh well, she'll pay back this kind person after she earns some money from work.
In her current state, she really couldn't start over somewhere else.
She pressed her lips together, then hurried to catch up with Lu Jingxiu's departing figure.