Xiao Churan settled her parents into their room. Seeing how good the conditions were, the couple immediately felt much more at ease.
They had been most afraid of suffering hardships on the escape route. They also feared that once they arrived on that island in the South Pacific, the conditions there would be too harsh.
However, seeing that even the escape boat had such excellent facilities made them naturally feel more secure.
Xiao Changkun looked left and right. He touched the carpet and furniture in the room and said to Ma Lan, “Wow, everything on this ship is top-notch. This furniture is made of premium rosewood. The carpet is a pure handmade wool one and particularly thick. I remember these carpets come from the Middle East. One square metre costs tens of thousands. Even our escape boat has such good conditions. The island in the South Pacific must be no worse.”
“Really?” Ma Lan asked in surprise. She squatted down and touched a corner of the carpet, puzzled. “Can this thing really be that expensive?”
Xiao Changkun reminded her, “Have you forgotten the carpet we saw at the Abu Dhabi Mosque? That one cost tens of thousands of dollars per square metre. Do you think there is any difference between this carpet and that one?”
“It really is!” Ma Lan exclaimed with emotion. “You can tell just by touching it that it is a fine item.”
As she spoke, she could not help but sigh. “It seems that this young fellow Ye Chen is indeed of good character. Even though he is in the midst of a scandal himself, he still takes such thoughtful care of us.”
Xiao Changkun sighed. He said somewhat heartbrokenly, “Did you not hear what our daughter said? He sold the house and car. He pooled all the cash and used it to arrange for our family of three. That is truly righteous.”
Ma Lan also looked a bit sad. She sighed faintly several times. Then she said solemnly, “Husband, Churan, since Ye Chen has been so good to us, we certainly cannot let him down!”
Xiao Churan looked at her mother in great surprise. She thought her mother’s humanity had finally been elevated.
Unexpectedly, Ma Lan said very seriously, “Ye Chen has put in so much hard work and effort to create this situation for us. We must not let his efforts go to waste. In other words, we absolutely must not let anyone know where our family of three is going. Once we arrive, we must also absolutely not let anyone know we are there. Because if someone finds out and it spreads, Ye Chen’s efforts might all come to nothing.”
The faint spark of hope that had just ignited in Xiao Churan’s heart instantly shattered. She smiled self-mockingly. She felt that she was almost thirty years old and yet still had not seen reality clearly. She had known all along what kind of person her mother was. Yet she had still harboured the extravagant hope in her heart that she might change. It was simply wishful thinking.
Meanwhile, her father Xiao Changkun fully agreed. He gave Ma Lan two thumbs up and praised, “Wife, you are absolutely right. At a time like this, we need that kind of resolve to cut off one’s wrist like a hero. We certainly cannot let Ye Chen’s efforts go down the drain.”
As he spoke, he muttered under his breath, “Lately, those scoundrels involved in telecom fraud have been getting sentenced one after another, have they not? Once caught, no one can escape. Their family assets are all confiscated too. If Ye Chen really becomes a fraudster in the end, everything he left for us would be proceeds of crime. In theory, that would all be forfeited. But as long as no one can find us, we can live without a care in the South Pacific!”
Ma Lan could not help but ask, “What if Ye Chen gets caught? Will he rat us out? After all, turning state’s evidence can reduce his sentence. And like what happened to Qian Hongyan back then, they say that as long as you return the stolen goods and compensate, you can get a lighter sentence too.”
Xiao Changkun nodded and said, “I still believe in Ye Chen’s character. Since he has already made this decision now, going on the run himself while letting us enjoy life, that proves he definitely wants to protect us. As long as we do not expose ourselves, safety will not be an issue.”
Ma Lan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, “Still, the point is, no matter what, we cannot let anyone know.”
Xiao Churan listened to her parents’ muttering on the side. While she felt sorrow in her heart, she suddenly seemed to comprehend something.
She realised that some matters and problems were really too difficult to explain if told truthfully to those close by. One would hesitate and worry excessively.
Like this time, when she had brought her parents away from China indefinitely without a word. If she explained truthfully, her parents would not know how shocked they would be. And thinking of Ye Chen’s trillions in assets, they would probably itch even more. With her mother’s money-obsessed personality that valued wealth over life, she would not care about any danger to Ye Chen. She would definitely find a way to tell the whole world that she was Ye Chen’s mother-in-law.
At that point, handling everything would become even more troublesome.
But if she lied, everything became far too simple.
Once this lie was told, she would never have to worry about her parents dragging her down. The biggest and most difficult problem would be solved in the easiest and best way.
She suddenly thought of Ye Chen’s own lie. A moment of realisation dawned on her, and she understood even more why Ye Chen had decided to conceal things from her.
