Chapter 3534: Going Against the Norm

After Xiao Changkun and Ma Lan entered a deep coma, Sun Mengmeng first opened the rear car window, then switched the air conditioning to external circulation, and after the air was completely refreshed, she retracted the partitioned television.

Xiao Churan turned to look at the two of them, saw that they were sleeping soundly with regular chest movements, and thus completely put her mind at ease.

Sun Mengmeng glanced at her and smiled, saying: "Madam Xiao, you need not worry; both of them are quite safe."

"Alright." Xiao Churan lightly nodded, then asked her: "By the way, once Ye Chen arrives in Australia, he should contact me immediately; if I cannot reach him then, he will surely be worried—should I leave him a message?"

Sun Mengmeng said: "After you board the ship, we will handle everything else; the young master will certainly be anxious, but I believe that no matter how we part, the pain of separation is unavoidable, and I lack the ability to solve any problems for the young master—only he can slowly digest it himself."

Having said that, she turned to Xiao Churan and earnestly said: "Madam Xiao, although separation brings pain, from the broader perspective, it will surely be beneficial and harmless for the young master's revenge and your safety."

"I understand." Xiao Churan gave a wry smile, slightly nodded, and thought to herself: "No matter what, I cannot burden Ye Chen again—he has so much to do, while I not only cannot help him but will only become his encumbrance; I hope that after I leave, he can set his mind at ease and devote himself fully to what he ought to do."

On the highway, the entire convoy sped at the maximum speed limit.

From Jin Ling to Qi Lu Island City, the entire highway journey was very smooth.

What Xiao Churan did not notice was that on the highway, many vehicles identical to the business car she was riding in kept appearing.

Moreover, these vehicles were also brand-new like this one, and none had official license plates attached.

At this moment, Sun Mengmeng reached out and pulled off the temporary license plate from the windshield in front of the driver's seat.

Inside the other identical vehicle models, the same operation was also being carried out.

The rear windows of these vehicles were completely private; although the front windshield was transparent, it had undergone special modification—any surveillance probe along the way, if its flash or fill light was turned on, would capture the windshield as a completely blank white expanse, showing nothing.

And under the current lighting conditions, without flash or fill light, the interior could not be captured at all.

Subsequently, those other identical vehicles began frequently overtaking and changing lanes.

Dozens of identical vehicles on the highway continuously adjusted their relative positions, like mahjong tiles on a mahjong table, constantly shuffled—without special markings, no one could tell which was which.

After being shuffled, these vehicles began turning onto different roads at various intersections or exiting the highway via different exits, just like fireworks scattered after being launched.

The reason for this operation was to interfere as much as possible with Ye Chen's line of sight; so many vehicles from the outside that revealed no clues, when mixed together, would prevent Ye Chen from quickly determining where Xiao Churan had gone.

If he insisted on finding Xiao Churan, he could only resort to the most foolish method—tracking vehicle by vehicle and clue by clue.

Moreover, each clue was an open-ended riddle; as long as he did not find Xiao Churan, he could not verify the truth of that clue.

Thus, even if given one or two years, Ye Chen might not be able to trace the final destinations of all these vehicles.

Even if Ye Chen ultimately confirmed that Xiao Churan's vehicle had gone to Qi Lu Island City, he would still find it difficult to determine where she went from the island city.

Even if Ye Chen discovered that Xiao Churan had boarded a ship from the island city, what then? Once the ship reached international waters, arrangements would be made for Xiao Churan's family and accompanying team to transfer to other vessels—by then, Ye Chen's pursuit would only become more difficult.

All of this was An Chengxi's plan.

She knew Ye Chen's current strength was already formidable—not only did he have an AI model, but also the top-tier detective Li Yalin secretly assisting him, making it impossible for her to let Xiao Churan disappear without leaving traces.

Rather than painstakingly erasing traces only to have Li Yalin seize a small loophole and tear everything open, it was better to go against the norm—leave traces everywhere, so that anyone investigating them would be exhausted to the point of collapse, including Li Yalin himself.

For police solving a case, if there is only one suspect, they need not worry—by deeply investigating that person, they will surely uncover the desired clues.

But what if there were a hundred suspects?

That would be a hundred riddles for them to solve one by one, absolutely becoming their nightmare.

……

At three o'clock in the morning, the business car carrying Xiao Churan entered the harbor dock of Qi Lu Island City.

The ship they were to board was already waiting at the berth, the entire vessel loaded with containers, preparing to sail for New Zealand.

After entering international waters, this ship would meet in the Pacific with another freighter sailing from Hu City to Argentina; Xiao Churan's family would transfer there to that freighter and continue southeastward; when passing a route several hundred nautical miles from Tahiti, a luxury yacht belonging to a Silicon Valley billionaire would pick them up and take them to the Windward Islands of French Polynesia.

Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands, but not the true destination of Xiao Churan's journey; the island An Chengxi prepared for them is an obscure small island in the Windward Islands, and moreover, it is a privately purchased island with usage rights, not open to the outside.

The vehicle carrying Xiao Churan drove directly into an empty container; shortly after, several staff members came over and closed the container doors; the container was lifted by a crane and hoisted onto this container freighter.

However, this container was not placed atop the mountain-like stack of containers, but was directly hoisted onto the deck.

Once the container was stably positioned on the deck, staff immediately came over to open the door; Sun Mengmeng immediately started the car and reversed out of the container; then the staff opened the vehicle door and respectfully said to Xiao Churan inside: "Madam Ye!"

Xiao Churan felt somewhat unaccustomed—first, to so many people speaking to her respectfully; second, to being collectively addressed as "Madam Ye."

At this moment, a middle-aged woman approached and said to Xiao Churan: "Madam, the freighter is about to set sail; you have endured much travel—please follow me to the cabin to rest."

Xiao Churan nervously asked: "What about my parents?"

The middle-aged woman smiled: "We will arrange for your parents to rest in the observation room, with a doctor accompanying them throughout; they will likely wake up tomorrow afternoon, and I will notify you in advance then."

Having said that, she waved to those behind her, and four medical staff in white coats came running, pushing two mobile hospital beds.

The middle-aged woman then asked Xiao Churan: "Madam Ye, do you have any other questions? If not, I will have them take your parents away first."

Xiao Churan shook her head and said: "I have no other questions—please take good care of them."

"Rest assured." The middle-aged woman smiled: "After I later take you to your room to settle in, I will take you to see them—we will not restrict your visits at any time."

Xiao Churan nodded in agreement; Sun Mengmeng helped her with her luggage, and they entered the interior of the cabin.

Although this is a freighter, it has also been specially modified—the cabin interior was pre-decorated with several rooms comparable to five-star hotel suites, not only with high-end brand furnishings but also with all household appliances fully equipped.

In addition, there are several other rooms: a medical room, an activity room, a dining hall, and a cinema.

Even the ingredients prepared for Xiao Churan's family are the finest and most precious in the world, and the chefs in charge are Michelin-level masters.

The middle-aged woman acting as a guide introduced Xiao Churan to all the hardware and software here; as she looked around bit by bit, the entire person was secretly amazed.

When she entered that luxuriously extravagant room, she could not help but marvel at the thoughtfulness of these people, and she could not help but say: "We are only staying on this ship for a short time—perhaps ten or eight days—there is absolutely no need to pour so much manpower and material into the decoration."

The middle-aged woman smiled: "You are the young master's wife—even if you only stay on this ship for two hours, we must certainly prepare thoroughly; we must not be negligent in the slightest."

Xiao Churan felt a sourness in her heart, yet still politely said: "Thank you all."

The middle-aged woman shook her head: "Madam, you need not be so courteous with us servants."

Having said that, she told Xiao Churan: "Madam, let Mengmeng help you settle in—I will not disturb you further; the ship will depart the berth in ten minutes, and I must go follow up."

Xiao Churan nodded slightly and politely said: "Then you go ahead and attend to your duties."

Xiao Churan did not know that all of this had been personally arranged by An Chengxi, who had gone to great trouble.

She did this partly because she felt guilty toward Xiao Churan, and partly because she hoped that in the future, when she reunites with Ye Chen and his mother and confesses everything, Ye Chen would bear less resentment toward her.

Ten minutes later, as a low, deep horn sounded, the freighter slowly pulled away from the berth, then proceeded out of the harbor and entered the Yellow Sea.

Xiao Churan silently watched the receding harbor from the porthole, unable to hold back tears streaming down her face again...