Deliberately Approaching
Chapter 157: Does She Have Acrophobia?

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Does She Have Acrophobia?

Jin City, Li Garden.

In just 20 hours, Li Zishen’s people had turned Jin City upside down, regardless of whether it was somewhere they could search or not; they had searched everywhere.

Still, they hadn’t found a trace of Tang Xiaowan.

At the moment, Bai Long was standing in front of the office desk, waiting for the next instructions.

Li Zishen didn’t speak, and Bai Long didn’t dare to make a sound.

Having failed such a simple task as finding someone, he felt quite ashamed.

In fact, it wasn’t really Bai Long’s fault; he had tried his best. Searching for Tang Xiaowan in secret without publicly disclosing her name was already a difficult task, let alone the fact that he was facing the entirety of Mei Garden.

Those involved in the response did so, and the others provided cover. Tang Xiaowan had long understood Bai Long’s tracking methods like the back of her hand.

Every move she made had been carefully calculated.

Moreover, Bai Long would never have guessed that the seemingly frail Tang Xiaowan had left the urban area on a motorcycle—a men’s heavy-duty bike at that.

"It’s six o’clock. Why isn’t there any information yet?"

Bai Long hurriedly replied, "Maybe Lady Tang is busy at the moment, perhaps she is in..."

"You think she found out we’re looking for her, believes I haven’t kept my promise, and is angry?"

Clearly, Li Zishen felt guilty.

He indeed had failed to keep the promise between them, and with Tang Xiaowan being such a clever girl, it was only a matter of time before she found out.

"Brother Shen, don’t worry. That won’t happen."

"You don’t understand Xiao Wan. She just doesn’t like to use her brain much, but her IQ is definitely not any lower than..." Li Zishen paused, his eyes settling on Bai Long, "Forget it, call everyone back."

Bai Long awkwardly lowered his head.

"What about Leng Lingxiao..."

As he was speaking, a message from Tang Xiaowan arrived, but regrettably, it was only a simple eight characters.

[All is well, please do not disturb.]

Li Zishen repeated the message in his mind several times, his eyes downcast, feeling somewhat despondent.

Ah, couldn’t she have written just a few more words?

I wonder if she’s eaten yet, or if she had a good night’s sleep last night?

Tomorrow is Saturday. Maybe I should go to Mei Garden to check; Xiao Wan is definitely hiding there. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go.

No, I should go now; I can’t let her whims run wild!

Just as it happened, as Li Zishen was about to stand and move, a warning message came through.

[Don’t come to Mei Garden, or it’s over!]

Li Zishen felt even worse after reading it, opened the drawer, and took out the cotton linen bag containing a wooden figurine.

He looked at it, trying to calm his anxiety.

Bai Long, with his chin slightly tucked, tentatively asked, "Brother Shen, that was a message from Lady Tang, wasn’t it? Should I take a trip to Qingcheng? Maybe..."

"No need, go and rest."

Li Zishen’s voice was very deep, and right after he said this, he headed toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.

But before he even got there, he spoke up again.

"Bai Long, tell me... What do you think it’s like when a girl likes someone? Does she hope to see him every day?"

It was clear that he was asking about Tang Xiaowan.

Bai Long cleared his throat and quickly answered, "Brother Shen, this kind of thing... I reckon it might have something to do with personality."

Bai Long had never been in love, but he knew that to like someone meant wanting to be inseparable, wishing to be by their side every single day.

The most crucial thing was to consider the other person’s feelings.

However, Tang Xiaowan’s behavior did not seem to match this state of mind.

No one knew this better than Bai Long.

Ever since Tang Xiaowan arrived at Li Garden, she never had a moment of peace.

Whether it was the bodyguards, the regular security, or other staff members, all of them feared encountering her and would avoid doing so if possible, because the level of chaos she could cause was astonishing.

A single small action of hers could keep everyone busy for quite some time.

Whether it was about money or not didn’t matter; after all, Li Zishen wasn’t short on cash, but it was just so infuriating to watch, with anger that couldn’t be voiced.

Therefore, Bai Long had long since reached a conclusion.

Tang Xiaowan’s heart was never on Li Zishen, nor was she a little girl who could be easily controlled; she was clever and bold.

Leaving Li Garden was simply a matter of time.

Li Zishen smiled faintly and said indifferently, "I forgot, you’ve never been in one. I shouldn’t ask you, go on down."

"Yes, Brother Shen."

After Bai Long left, silence returned to the study, and Li Zishen could be heard letting out a light sigh.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, his silhouette was both towering and lonely.

...

Meanwhile, in Qingcheng Nanshan.

A cool black motorcycle sped by, with Leng Lingxiao taking Tang Xiaowan away from Mei Garden, freely weaving through the mountain trails.

"Take me out to have fun!"

This was the first thing Tang Xiaowan said upon waking up, and also the only thing.

Her tone was firm, her eyes brimming with tears.

Thus, they ran out like this, without even a bodyguard in tow, completely letting themselves go, just like when they were kids.

Regarding her grandmother, Tang Xiaowan did not mention a single word.

Two hours later...

White-water rafting, roller coasters, frantic pendulum swings—every thrilling attraction in the amusement park, Leng Lingxiao went through them all with Tang Xiaowan, except for bungee jumping.

Now it was night, different from the daytime, yet Tang Xiaowan stopped at the entrance, raising her hand to point, indicating she wanted to try it.

"No way!" Leng Lingxiao frowned.

Tang Xiaowan’s gaze fixed on the jumping platform, intense and piercing.

"It’s too late today. Next time, next time I will definitely take you, okay?"

Tang Xiaowan remained silent and, after a few seconds of pause, proceeded on her own.

"Hey, wait for me!"

Helpless, Leng Lingxiao had no choice but to follow.

The elevator rose quickly, soon reaching the highest part of the platform.

"Tangtang, together?"

This was Leng Lingxiao’s limit!

Tang Xiaowan shook her head expressionlessly and walked straight to the staff.

After glancing at Leng Lingxiao, the staff member carefully helped Tang Xiaowan get dressed, checked the elasticity of the rubber cord, and asked about any heart conditions, high blood pressure, and whether she was sure she wanted to jump.

Tang Xiaowan nodded where necessary, shook her head where not, still without speaking.

Her mind was made up; she wanted to jump.

Li Zishen said she had a fear of heights, that she couldn’t take a plane, but Cheng Shi said that she had loved heights since she was a child, either climbing rooftops or trees, very agile in her movements.

Moreover, she had a passport.

How would she travel abroad without flying? Were those country stamps self-made?

What a joke, impossible!

I’m going to see who’s telling the truth in just a moment.

The jumping platform was equivalent to 20 stories high.

Standing on top, one could see the distant overpasses, skyscrapers, and even the neon lights of the gas station near Nanshan.

Leng Lingxiao became more and more entangled.

This girl isn’t planning to do something rash, is she?

No, no, impossible!

Yet no matter how tough Leng Lingxiao’s heart was, at this moment it was soft, worried, with various wild thoughts flooding his mind.

"Tangtang, I’m a bit hungry. How about we have dinner first and come back tomorrow?"

While Leng Lingxiao was talking, he cautiously moved closer, ready to step forward and forcibly pull Tang Xiaowan back. Unexpectedly, he watched, eyes wide open, as she leapt into the air and jumped down.