The night was growing deeper.

The car had been driving for several hours.

Grandma Chen briefly regained consciousness during the incident, but soon fell back into a coma.

There was a highway service area ahead of the car.

Qiangzi turned on his right turn signal and drove into the service station. He parked the car in a secluded corner.

He took out a cigarette case, shook it, and put a cigarette in his mouth: "I'm going to the bathroom for a smoke. Sakura, keep an eye on them."

"Alright, alright, hurry up and come back."

The door slammed shut.

Sakura sat in the passenger seat, idly scrolling through short videos to pass the time.

Ning Yanshu and Wang Zihao, sitting in the back seat, leaned against each other side by side.

Ning Yanshu carefully untied Wang Zihao. He dared not make any sudden movements, lest he arouse Yingzi's suspicion.

The knot was about to be untied.

Suddenly, Sakura called out to him, "Hey, kid."

Ning Yanshu was startled and stopped what he was doing.

He forced himself to remain calm and asked, "Pretty lady, what's wrong?"

Sakura turned to him and asked, "I clearly put tape over your mouth, how did you take it off?"

Ning Yanshu blinked and mumbled, "...It's...it's just like that that it loosened."

Sakura gave him a deep look but didn't say anything.

After a while, he turned back to playing on his phone.

Ning Yanshu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After a while, he mustered up his courage and asked again, "Pretty ladies, are you here to kidnap us?"

“You guessed wrong this time. We’re here specifically to kidnap you.” Sakura said without turning her head, scrolling through her phone. “Isn’t your father that rich businessman named Shen Fu? If we kidnap you and then demand a ransom from him, we can make money much faster.”

"Think back to the first time we met, I almost kidnapped you, but you got away before I knew it. I never imagined that after all this time, you'd end up back in my hands." Sakura leaned back deliberately and asked, "Don't you think we're destined for each other?"

Ning Yanshu: "..."

How presumptuous of you to speak like that!

This is fate; whoever wants it can have it...

...

Seeing that Yingzi was in a good mood, Ning Yanshu tentatively asked, "Since the pretty lady came here specifically to kidnap me, could you let the two of them leave?"

“Their family is very poor, not as rich as my father,” Ning Yanshu said. “And look at them, one is so chubby it’s hard to lift him. And the other is injured and still bleeding.”

Ignoring Wang Zihao's protesting sobs, Ning Yanshu continued to coax him gently, "Grandma is so old, and she was just seriously injured by that bad uncle. What if something dangerous happens to her?"

"The person was injured elsewhere, but ended up being blamed on this pretty lady. It's so unfair that she's being made the scapegoat; I feel so sorry for her!"

Seeing Ning Yanshu's indignant expression, Yingzi smiled and asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"

"If you ask me, we should just leave them here! Let them fend for themselves!"

Changing the subject, Ning Yanshu smiled ingratiatingly again: "But I think you're a kind-hearted and compassionate woman, so you'll definitely call an ambulance for Grandma, right?"

Looking at Ning Yanshu blinking her eyes, she had an innocent and harmless look on her face, but was actually a mischievous little devil.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh and said, "Kid, you're very smart. But you also like to think you're so clever."

"Let them go, then call the police to arrest me?" Sakura's smile vanished, her face suddenly darkening. "I'm not stupid."

Ning Yanshu sighed deeply: "You adults are truly treacherous and cunning."

Not long after, Qiangzi returned.

She was also carrying a shopping bag: "I bought some milk and bread to tide me over. After I drop the three of them off at the shop owner's place, we'll go eat crayfish."

Ning Yanshu, still hungry: "..."

Are you even polite?!

...

"So, where are we now?" Sakura asked, taking the bag. "Why don't you call the client again and see if they've arrived yet?"

Qiangzi listened to Yingzi and picked up his phone to dial a number.

Ning Yanshu strained her ears and heard Qiangzi grunt a few times on the other end of the phone.

Then he exclaimed in surprise, "What?"

After a long while, he slowly hung up the phone.

Seeing Qiangzi's ashen face, Yingzi asked anxiously, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Qiangzi didn't answer, but silently opened the door and got out of the car.

He went around to the trunk and took out a brand new license plate number from a box inside.

He then explained to Sakura, who was following behind him, "The client requested that we meet at a different location and drive back."

"Go back?" Sakura was stunned. "That's too risky. The police are still investigating us everywhere. What if we get discovered?"

With swift and efficient movements, Qiangzi changed the license plate, put away his tools, and closed the trunk.

He smiled nonchalantly at Sakura: "Alright, I'm here for you, don't worry."

"We can't stay here any longer; it'll attract attention," Qiangzi said. "Let's go, let's get back to the car."

The car restarted its engine, spraying out a long trail of exhaust fumes.

The red car lights kept flashing until they finally disappeared into the vast night...

...

When Song Mengwan arrived at the store, the atmosphere in the entire boxed lunch shop was particularly somber.

Ning Wan sat at the table, staring blankly at her phone.

At that moment, she desperately wanted a phone call, even if it was a threat or extortion, anything would do.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!