The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

"Someone is following us."

Mango's voice was soft and steady, but it still made Thomas' hand tremble.

It was impossible for the men who followed them to be Nathaniel's men. Instead, it was very likely to be Abyss1 people.

Cold sweat began to form on Thomas1 forehead.

"Madam, if something happens, I'll lure them away while you drive away in another car."

Mango's expression was serious.

"Can you see who are they?"

"I can't see them clearly, but it's definitely not our people."

Then, Thomas started to speed up.

In the car, all of them started to become rather nervous.

In the end, Mango did not want to trouble everyone, so she whispered to them, "Okay, I want you guys to drive away after I get off the car over there." "Madam, you can't!"

"Listen to me, I'll make my own way to the plane once you just give me the location. If not, I'll find another way to get out of here because we have to avoid Abyss' men at all costs. Right now, Abyss knows that he can use me to threaten Nathaniel. As long as I'm not captured, he can't threaten Nathaniel. Oh right, please try your best to help Nathaniel with the incident at the construction site. Speaking of the deceased's family, don't just investigate their close connections, you have to check whether or not their relatives desperately need money. That could be a turning point for the case."

Mango's words enlightened Thomas instantly.

"Oh man, why didn't I think of that?"

"You'll have to get rid of them first, then drive slower as you approach the corner in front. Once we're there, I'll jump out of the car."

Mango's bold decision almost scared Thomas out of his wits.

"Madam, what the hell are you talking about? Jumping out of the car is very dangerous!"

"To be honest, it's better than dying. If Abyss' men really capture me, I'm as good as dead."

Thomas was unable to ignore the determined gleam in Mango's eyes.

So, this was the authority of Madam in the Ye Family!

This was a woman worthy of Mr. Ye!

Although Thomas did not really agree with Mango's idea, it seemed like there was no other solution.

"Madam, if you do this, Mr. Ye will kill me."

Thomas felt very despondent.

However, Mango cracked one of her rare smiles as she said. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you because you're just as important to him as I am." Mango's words warmed Thomas's heart.

In fact, Nathaniel regarded Thomas as his most trusted subordinate. No matter what happened in the Ye Family, Thomas was always by Nathaniel's side and he was entrusted with everything. So, Thomas' spirits were lifted when he heard Mango's words.

"Madam, do take care of yourself. Once you're safe, please remember to call me or Mr. Ye. Right now, we can't get to the private jet so we have to find another way out of here."

At this point, Thomas could see that Abyss was attempting every trick in the book to take Mango away from them. Furthermore, Abyss' recklessness was obvious for all to see. Mango nodded upon hearing that.

As the car approached the divider near the corner, Thomas drove the car close to the curb and he slowly reduced the speed of the car.

"Madam, please be careful."

"Flurry up and leave now!"

Then, Mango opened the car door and she looked at the curb outside. To be frank, she was rather afraid but when she thought of the situation that Nathaniel and she were in, she gritted her teeth and closed her eyes before she jumped out.

"Plop!" Mango jumped out of the car with a muffled crash, and that scared Thomas as he worried about Mango's condition.

Mango was not a professionally trained stuntwoman and she was rather weak. Thus, he had no clue whether or not Mango would be injured in this dangerous situation, alas he had no time to think about this any longer.

Next, Thomas sped up the car and it drove away with a deafening screech of its tires.

Meanwhile, Mango's leg was injured after she jumped out of the car. The skin of her knees was scraped bloody and they stung as if they were on fire. Fortunately, the car that followed them earlier was still hot on the heels of Thomas' car instead of coming for her.

She took a deep breath and her legs were in unbearable pain.

Right, where should she go now?

Where could she find a place that Abyss wasn't familiar with?

Mango had lived here for five years, but Abyss had lived here much longer than her. So, it would be very easy for Abyss to find her as he knew her habits very well.

Although Thomas had lured away her pursuers right now, Mango was in a difficult situation because she realized that she really had nowhere to hide.

Thus, she continued hiding in the woods beside the road. Mango dared not to move a muscle despite her leg hurting like hell.

Abyss1 gang were everywhere out there and there might be police officers as well. So, something was bound to happen if she went out.

She wanted to call Nathaniel to tell him she was safe but Mango feared that her phone would be monitored. Hence, she figured that the best course of action was not to contact Nathaniel. Mango waited until darkness fell.

After dark, it was extremely cold out here. To make matters worse, she shivered in the cold as she only wore a thin coat.

Nevertheless, Mango waited until there was no one left. Then, she limped out of the woods.

Truthfully, she had no clue where she could go, only the fact that she couldn't stay here.

Meanwhile, the wind blew hard against her body and it felt so cold as if someone had poured ice water on her.

Mango had not experienced the feeling of helplessness in a long time.

Five years ago, she had felt so helpless that she wished to die in the fire incident instead. Now, she was still defenseless and powerless, but at least she had hope in her heart.

The faces of Nathaniel and their children kept appearing in her mind. Right now, she was Nathaniel's wife and the mother of their children. Thus, there was no way that Mango would let herself give up, nor would she let Abyss succeed in his evil plan.

However, she could not resist the exhaustion, hunger, and cold that sapped her energy even if she tried her best to fight against it. Then, her vision went black and she crashed to the floor.

After some time, a car slowly drove past and it stopped when it passed Mango's unconscious Next, a woman got off the car. She was middle-aged and she had an air of elegance about her. She froze when she saw Mango on the ground and she frowned slightly as she deliberated whether to rescue Mango or not.

After a few minutes of pause, the woman sighed and she dragged Mango into the car before she drove away.

After that, Mango awoke in a luxurious villa.

The villa's decor was inspired by Mediterranean styles, and it looked very comfortable.

Then, Mango was afraid that she had failed to escape Abyss' men and he had captured her. However, as far as she knew, Abyss did not like this sort of decor.

Next, Mango pulled off the quilt that covered her and she realized that someone had changed her clothes. Furthermore, the wound on her leg had been bandaged. Then, she slowly got out of bed before she opened the door and walked out.

The villa was very quiet, it was as if there was no one around.

Mango was a little confused as she did not find anybody despite walking through all the rooms in the villa. Why would someone leave her alone here after they saved her?

Mango was slightly puzzled, but then she found a sliver of light coming from a dark room.

Mango then walked over slowly. The pitch-dark room was similar to a guest room, but all the curtains were drawn shut.

When Mango opened the door, she saw a woman was holding a palette as she painted on a canvas.

At that time, she was painting a watercolor painting that primarily featured outdoor scenery. Moreover, the fullness of the brushstrokes was familiar to Mango as if she'd seen this style of painting somewhere before.

Nevertheless, Mango did not make a sound and she just stood there quietly. She found that the woman was beautiful even from behind, and she was just as stunning as the painting she worked on.

Mango did not realize that the woman had gotten up after she finished painting. Then, the woman realized Mango was standing in the doorway.

"Oh, you're awake?"

The woman's voice was warm and pleasant.

Due to the low light, Mango could not see her face clearly but she was sure that the woman was very beautiful.

Mango smiled politely and she said, "Thank you for saving me."

"I was just passing by. It's rather remote here and few people ever come by. You're lucky."

Next, the woman did not ask anything further but she seemed more energetic when she realized Mango was observing her painting.

"Do you know how to paint?"

"I do, but certainly not as good as you." This was the truth.

In fact, Mango loved painting, but she didn't major in it after she married Nathaniel. Furthermore, in order to survive after she came to the United States, she had no choice but to learn car design. So, her painting was still at a basic level as she did not further her studies in it. As she experienced the myriad of emotions in this woman's painting, Mango regretted why she had not persevered in the first place. The woman was a little surprised when she heard Mango's words.

"It's rare for young girls to be so fond of painting when they're as old as you."

"Ha, I'm not young anymore! In fact, I'm almost thirty years old."

Mango never felt that she was young at all.

The woman smiled as she looked at Mango. Then, she pointed at the painting that she just completed before she asked, "What's your opinion on it?"

"The emotions in it are quite delicate, however, it carries a hint of sadness. You've drawn a landscape because you enjoy the scenery outside, right? However, I'm not sure if I've mistaken it for something else, but there's a solemnness in your painting."

Mango gave her opinion freely.

The woman's painting was indeed very good, but there was a hint of sadness to it. Even the clouds in the painting seemed bleak.

The woman was stunned for a moment before she said with a bitter smile, "It's so rare to have someone understand my paintings. My name's Queena Xiao, what's yours?"

"You can call me Mango."

Mango introduced herself to Queena.

Whether or not there was a record of her existence back home, Mango insisted on keeping the identity she had ever since she was born. Even though she had lived here in the United States for five years as Katherine, she was still Mango Shen.

Queena smiled and she turned off the dark lights before she flipped on the regular lights in the room.

For a moment, Mango could not adapt to the sudden change in lighting so she hurriedly stretched out her arm to shield her eyes. Then, Mango only put her arm down after she'd adapted to the lighting.

Next, Queena took the painting she just finished and gave it to Mango before she said with a smile, "Hope you won't think it's too pretentious of me to give this to you."

"No, of course I won't."

Mango was flattered but the moment she looked up at Queena, she was immediately stunned.

"You, you're..."

The surprise in Mango's eyes was so obvious that Queena could not ignore it even if she tried.

"Huh? You know me?"

Nevertheless, Queena did not have much of a reaction but in the end, she raised her eyebrows slightly.

In fact, there was not much that Queena cared about over the past few years. However, the absolute astonishment in this woman's expression piqued her curiosity.