A few hours earlier.
After entering the staff passage, Qiao Hua did not dare waste a second. She ran straight for the exit, glancing back as she went to see whether the bodyguards were chasing her.
Outside the staff passage, a black minivan was parked on the street.
Qiao Hua recognized it as the getaway vehicle Yan Yu had sent her a picture of. She checked her surroundings warily, hurried to the rear passenger door, and knocked on the window.
As the window rolled down, Yan Yu's handsome face came into view.
"You made it?" Yan Yu visibly relaxed at the sight of Qiao Hua safe and sound. "I was worried you wouldn't be able to get away."
Qiao Hua opened the door and climbed in. Only once she was seated did she finally breathe easier. "I slipped away while the bodyguards and Gu Jinman weren't paying attention, but they've probably noticed I'm gone by now."
Yan Yu smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. By the time they notice, you'll already be gone."
This was no place to chat, so Yan Yu told the driver to leave.
The minivan quickly pulled away, avoiding the surveillance cameras around the mall before merging into traffic and heading south.
Then Yan Yu handed her something. "Here's what you asked for."
Qiao Hua took it and looked inside. It was a new SIM card.
She had specifically asked Yan Yu to prepare it for her.
"When you first said you needed a new phone number, even I didn't catch on right away." Yan Yu could not help admiring her vigilance. He teased, "You're so practiced at this that anyone who didn't know better would think you'd run away plenty of times."
Qiao Hua blinked. "You don't have to do something yourself to know how it works."