Couple of Mirrors – Chapter 19: Rescuing Xu Youyi
As rain continues to fall, Yan Wei undoes the latch of the window with a piece of wire. She leaps through the window, landing stylishly…
…and the man guarding the room springs up from the sofa. ‘Who goes there?’ he demands.
Yan Wei kicks him in the head, and he lands in an unconscious heap in a corner.
Yan Wei turns on the lamp and looks around the otherwise empty room.
Why isn’t Xu Youyi here? she wonders. How is that possible? She glances at the unconscious guard. I definitely heard him say ‘the woman right here’ just a few minutes ago.
Then she looks up at the bookcase. Wait! The length of this room… it’s much shorter than it looked from outside. Could there be a room hidden behind the bookcase?
Yan Wei examines the bookcase carefully.
On one shelf is a vase that seems to be fixed to the bookcase itself. Hm? she wonders, unable to make it budge.
Yan Wei manages to rotate the vase, and the two halves of the bookcase part to reveal a door. As I expected.
She picks the lock with a piece of wire.
On the other side of the door, Xu Youyi stares warily at the turning handle. Anyone coming in here at this hour must be up to no good…
The door opens, and Xu Youyi rushes at the intruder, pen held out in front of her like a weapon.
The intruder is, of course, Yan Wei, who grabs hold of Xu Youyi by the wrist. ‘Xu Youyi, it’s me!’ she exclaims.
‘Yan Wei?’ Xu Youyi stares at her in surprise and gratitude. ‘How did you manage to find your way here?’
‘Er,’ says Yan Wei, ‘I saw you being kidnapped, so…’
‘Then you did go to the police station to look for me earlier!’ says Xu Youyi. ‘You also found the evidence that cleared me of suspicion, didn’t you?’
‘Mm,’ agrees Yan Wei, staring at her blankly.
Xu Youyi throws her arms around Yan Wei. ‘Thank you, Yan Wei,’ she murmurs.
After a wordless moment, Yan Wei slowly reaches out to stroke Xu Youyi’s back—
Xu Youyi draws back suddenly. ‘There’s a guard outside, and the door is locked. How did you get in?’
‘Er…’ Yan Wei begins. She flashes back to all the things she did to get into the secret room: climbing up the drainpipe, jumping in through the window, picking the lock… How do I explain all this to her?
Yan Wei coughs. ‘It’s a long story,’ she says. ‘You need to come with me now. I’ll explain later.’ She takes Xu Youyi’s hand and leads her out of the secret room.
Xu Youyi is startled to see the unconscious guard. She gives Yan Wei a considering look. ‘Yan Wei, I can’t leave with you just yet,’ she says.
‘Why not?’ asks Yan Wei.
‘If I leave like this, it won’t solve anything,’ says Xu Youyi. ‘I’ll only be a burden to you.’
‘I’m not afraid,’ says Yan Wei.
‘Yan Wei, from the looks of things, the Zhou family needs me to give this sham press conference for them,’ Xu Youyi explains. ‘I’m sure they won’t let me come to too much harm before then.’
‘But…’ Yan Wei begins.
‘Let me explain,’ says Xu Youyi. ‘I’ve already thought of a way to resolve this once and for all….’ She whispers her plan into Yan Wei’s ear.
‘Trust me,’ she concludes.
‘All… all right…’ Yan Wei stutters.
Xu Youyi goes over to the unconscious guard, rifles through his clothing, and finds his wallet. ‘Take this with you,’ she tells Yan Wei, handing over a wad of cash from the guard’s wallet. ‘To divert suspicion.’
‘Yes,’ says Yan Wei.
Xu Youyi turns to head back into the secret room. ‘Remember to lock the door,’ she tells Yan Wei.
‘Wait for me to come home,’ she adds.
The door shuts behind her, and the bookcase closes over the door with a rumble.
***
Please view the original manhua here.
douqi 随笔 