Security guard Xiao Liu was yawning as he made his routine late-night patrol.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in his field of vision. Xiao Liu squinted, and his hair stood on end. He saw a woman in white, her hair disheveled and hanging over her face. Standing there in the dim, yellowish light, she looked for all the world like a ghost, and Xiao Liu nearly let out a shout.
However, he quickly realized that the "ghost" in front of him seemed even more frightened than he was.
Xiao Liu immediately braced himself, shouting, "Who’s there? Don't move!"
Lixi was incredibly nervous upon seeing Xiao Liu, but she quickly realized that he didn't seem to recognize her. That made sense; she figured that outside of the Shen Residence, no one in the entire Eastern District would know who she was.
With that thought, Lixi let out a small sigh of relief. She put on a brave face and said, "I was kicked out."
With just that one sentence, combined with the time and place, an image instantly formed in Xiao Liu’s mind: a mistress showing up at the doorstep only to be thrown out by the wife.
In an instant, the look he gave Lixi turned disdainful. He curled his lip and said, "Go on, get moving. The Eastern District isn't some place where someone like you can just wander around."
"If someone else finds you, you’ll likely end up in the police station."
He would have to write an incident report and lose pay, and he might even lose his job.
Xiao Liu’s words played right into Lixi’s hands. She hurriedly followed up, "But I don't know the way. Could you please lead me out?"
Xiao Liu wanted to curse when he heard that. If you don't know the way, how did you get in here in the first place?
But then he had a change of heart. Everyone who lived in the Eastern District was either incredibly wealthy or highly influential. If this woman happened to be someone secretly kept by a big shot, and he offended her too deeply, he would be in for a lot of trouble later. Besides, the woman wasn't wearing any designer brands; she might just be a one-night stand for someone important.A big shot just played with her and then cast her aside, yet she had taken it seriously and come looking for him, only to be thrown out.
Xiao Liu felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of sympathy. Taking her out wouldn't take much effort anyway, so he said, "Fine, then follow me. I'll take you out."
A wave of relief washed over Lixi, and she immediately lifted her foot to follow Xiao Liu. But the moment she took a step, her vision suddenly went black.
After catching her breath for a moment, she said, "Mister, do you have any food on you? I... I haven't eaten in two days, and I really don't have any strength left."
Seeing Lixi's pale face and fearing she might actually faint here and cause him trouble, Xiao Liu pulled a biscuit out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Here, this is the only one I've got. Make do with this for now, and get out of here as soon as you're done!"
Lixi hurriedly took it and whispered her thanks.
She tore open the packaging and wolfed down the biscuit in a few bites. Feeling slightly better, she followed Xiao Liu as he continued forward.
However, the two of them hadn't walked far when they saw several people heading their way. Xiao Liu's expression changed, and he muttered under his breath, "What is going on tonight? So unlucky. The patrol squad picked right now to do a spot check."
Xiao Liu turned to look at Lixi, whose expression was equally grim, and whispered, "Hide in that bush over there first. Come out after they've gone, or if you get caught, I'll be punished too."
Lixi looked in the direction Xiao Liu was pointing and saw a waist-high bush. Without hesitation, she crouched down and hid inside.
Just as Lixi finished hiding, the patrol squad arrived. One of them asked, "Xiao Liu, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be patrolling further up by now? Why are you dragging your feet here?""You are still on probation, so stop thinking about slacking off. Do you have any idea how many people are dying to get into the Eastern District and can't? Pay attention."
Xiao Liu said ingratiatingly, "Brother Qian, I know. It's just that I've never seen such a luxury residential area before, and I wanted to take a couple of extra looks, which is why I wasted some time."
"Besides, Brother Qian, aren't you off tonight? Why are you out doing spot checks?"
Brother Qian sighed, "It's because something happened over at the Shen family. Word is that the young mistress of the Shen family has gone off, and they want us to help look for her. We're rushing over to check it out now. Have you seen anyone suspicious?"
Xiao Liu immediately thought of the woman from a moment ago, but could the young mistress of the Shen family possibly be that woman with the pale complexion?
If she was, turning her in would surely net him a handsome reward from the Shen family.
Yet if she wasn't, and he wasted time that should have been spent searching, he would definitely lose his job.
Besides, the way Lixi had wolfed down those crackers bore no resemblance whatsoever to the graceful and poised demeanor of wealthy ladies.
After a brief moment of thought, Xiao Liu immediately replied, "I just started my patrol over here, I haven't seen anyone."
Not wanting to waste any more time, Brother Qian led his men away.
Only after they had walked far enough away did Xiao Liu let out a long breath of relief. He walked over to the edge of the bushes and called out softly, "Hey, you can come out now, they're gone."
Lixi crawled out from the bushes with a few leaves stuck in her hair, looking even more disheveled than before.
Xiao Liu looked at Lixi, hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help asking, "Hey, I have to ask, who on earth are you? And how did you get into the Eastern District?"
Knowing that the person in front of her had just helped her, Lixi didn't want to lie to him.
Yet fearing that he might actually turn around and send her back, she didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Seeing Lixi stammering and refusing to speak, Xiao Liu figured it out. She was most likely the young mistress of the Shen family.
Judging by her state of dress, however, she certainly wasn't living well. Could this be one of those rumored captivity scenarios?
A chill ran down Xiao Liu's spine. Rich people really had all sorts of twisted games, and his sympathy for the woman before him deepened.
He didn't press any further, merely muttering, "Fine, whatever, I don't want to get mixed up in these matters anyway. Just watch out for yourself."
After walking a bit further together, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the Eastern District.
Ordinarily there should have been four guards at the gate, but right now there was nobody around.
Xiao Liu couldn't help marveling that this woman really had good fortune.
Otherwise, if they had run into the guards, he wouldn't have known how to explain things.
At this moment, the night outside the gates of the Eastern District looked increasingly deep and dark, with the lights of the distant urban area glowing faintly.
Though it looked close, it was actually still quite a long distance away.
Pointing outside the gate, Xiao Liu said, "Once you go out through here, just keep following the main road straight ahead and you'll reach the city. Since outside vehicles aren't allowed in here, you won't be able to hail a cab either. You'll just have to walk all the way to the foot of the mountain before you can catch one."
With that, Xiao Liu went and brought over a bag and a jacket. Inside the bag were some small snacks and a bottle of water.
A warmth welled up in Lixi's heart as she looked at these things, and she gazed earnestly at Xiao Liu, "Thank you. If I get the chance, I will definitely pay you back."
Then Lixi put on the jacket, walked out through the main gate, and slowly vanished into the night.
Once she was completely out of sight, Xiao Liu suddenly remembered something: there were security cameras along the road!
He had gotten so caught up in playing the hero that he completely forgot about that detail, and a wave of regret washed over him.
And yet, thinking back to Lixi's pitiful appearance, Xiao Liu's heart softened.
Oh well, whatever, he would just treat it as doing a good deed. Worst case scenario, if he got fired afterward, he would go enlist in the Southern District.
The Southern District was easier to get into, just a bit harder on the work.