Chapter 77
The two of them spent time in the office until the end of the day, and then went to visit Wen Ci together.
Wu Xianyong is about to face a public trial, and Wen Ci will attend as a witness. During this period, he lived alone in a small apartment outside the Third Ring Road. He was in much better condition, wearing linen home clothes and looking calm and gentle.
He adopted a stray calico cat that was less than one month old in the apartment. The little guy was not afraid of people. He crawled out from the gap between the sofas, jumped onto Xiao Ziyu's legs, and stepped on the milk with his thin paw pads.
Xiao Ziyu was very good at soothing cats, stroking their fur with just the right amount of force. He looked up at Wen Ci and asked, "What are you going to do next?"
"Maybe I will go back to teach kids classical dance," Wen Ci smiled, and was very calm when talking about his dream. "I used to think I had no talent and couldn't make money. Now I think it was this thought that made me less courageous."
The side effects of the injected drug will not subside in a short time. His voice is still soft and hoarse: "Zi Yu, thank you again."
Xiao Ziyu shook his head: "You are the only one who made the decision. It takes a lot of courage to choose to leave Wu Xianyong."
Wen Ci was slightly startled, and said in a self-deprecating tone: "Really..."
There was no regret or sympathy in Xiao Ziyu's tone, he just stated the facts: "It's not too late to start over. You may become an excellent classical dance teacher and then find someone who truly loves you."
Wen Ci smiled and shook his head, then took the kitten and held it in his arms. What he had experienced had made it impossible for him to enjoy a normal intimate relationship, but who knows, without the huge debt, maybe life wouldn't continue to get worse.
After leaving Wen Ci's house, the two went to the mall to order custom dresses for the Star and Moon Awards Ceremony.
Xiao Ziyu picked out a loose French lapel shirt with a lot of white space at the collar. The style was bold and romantic, and paired with his long hair, he looked very romantic and elegant.
Yuan Heng raised his eyebrows, and stepped forward amid the endless praise from the salesgirl. While adjusting someone's collar, he brushed his slender knuckles across their collarbones, lowered his head and asked, "Why did you choose this style?"
Xiao Ziyu raised a smile at the corner of his lips, stretched out two fingers into his collar, hooked out a thin platinum chain, and pressed the sapphire outside the shirt collar: "Because I want to show it."
Yuan Heng's eyes narrowed, and he almost wanted to kiss the curve of the lips: "You make me feel very stressed."
In the end, he picked a pure black coat in accordance with his daily dressing style. The coat had a crisp stand-up collar and brass buttons. From a distance, it looked intimidating, but up close, it was repulsive. Only the blue-dyed square scarf on his chest softened his sharp aura, which unexpectedly matched the sapphire necklace.
"Isn't it too obvious?" Xiao Ziyu laughed.
"No third person will notice it." Yuan Heng said.
"That's not necessarily true," Xiao Ziyu shook his head, "My senior brother can do it."
Yuan Heng did not comment. Even if the misunderstanding was resolved, he still could not agree with some of his elder brother's actions. His upright and serious gaze always followed him, as if he was guarding against him, fearing that he would make the slightest ambiguous move towards Xiao Ziyu.
Xiao Ziyu saw the emotion in his eyes and warned him in advance: "Don't get the prince's disease again."
Yuan Heng felt so wronged that he defended himself as he walked out of the mall: "You have to understand clearly that he is the one who is prejudiced against me."
Xiao Ziyu had a headache after living his life again and had to deal with the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law issues. "Why don't you just stop messing around?"
Yuan Heng opened the door of the Range Rover for him, but saw Xiao Ziyu pause and look behind him hesitantly. He couldn't help but turn back to catch his gaze: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, maybe I saw it wrong." Xiao Ziyu sat in the car thoughtfully and suddenly said, "How is Xue Jinling doing recently?"
After Yuan Qi'an's death, Xue Jinling has been living in Meilin Garden. Yuan Ye is busy with his photography exhibition and rarely comes home. Yuan Heng doesn't pay much attention to her: "She should be at home."
Xiao Ziyu also felt that he was a little suspicious. There were so many people in the mall, and he seemed to have seen the caregiver next to Yuan Qian'an, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye, without him even having a chance to confirm.
He suppressed his doubts and said, "Whether she is really sad or pretending to be sad, she will act for a while."
It doesn't cost money to raise a woman who is as obedient as dodder. Yuan Heng has no intention of getting rid of her: "The assets that Yuan Qi'an left her are enough for her to live comfortably for the rest of her life."
Xiao Ziyu nodded. After all, she was Yuan Ye's mother. Yuan Heng and Yuan Ye were like brothers. If she really had evil intentions, she would have to consider her own son.
The Star-Moon Awards Ceremony is held once a year and is of great value. Many drama critics and people from art troupes will participate. Even if you are not nominated, getting an admission ticket is a great opportunity to see the world and build your network.
The ceremony was held in the evening. Xiao Jinchuan's plane landed on the same day and Xiao Ziyu went to greet him in advance.
Xiao Ziyu had lunch in Yuantai's CEO's office, and then took a short rest in the private lounge. Before leaving, Yuan Heng reminded him, "Pay attention to which exit to pick you up at, don't run around, and ask Qi Huai if you don't understand something."
He had a meeting to attend in the afternoon, so he could only let Xiao Ziyu go alone, and handed Lan Sheng and Qi Huai to him: "Forget it if you really can't find him, Xiao Jinchuan has hands and feet, he won't get lost."
"I won't get lost either," Xiao Ziyu said with a smile, "Let's go directly to the venue to meet."
The National Day holiday had just passed and the airport was crowded with tourists carrying large and small bags and people returning home to visit relatives. As luck would have it, it rained yesterday, which caused some flights to be delayed, and some people even had to sleep on the floor in the airport lobby.
They couldn't stay too long at the airport pick-up gate, so Xiao Ziyu said to Qi Huai, "Put me down first, park the car, and then come over."
Qi Huai drove the Range Rover to find a parking space. Xiao Ziyu was wandering alone in front of the entrance. He thought about how scared he was when he went through security check for the first time. He got lost after passing security check and it was Yuan Heng who showed up in time to pick him up.
He had just arrived in modern society and was still ignorant. It turned out that Yuan Heng was secretly observing him at that time.
He lowered his head and sent a message to Xiao Jinchuan, telling him his location. Before he could put his phone away, he was bumped into by someone in panic.
The one who bumped into him was a woman in her forties, with a hunched back. Seeing Xiao Ziyu, she felt as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw: "Kind person, please help me, my daughter suddenly fainted, she is over there, can you help me call 120?"
Xiao Ziyu didn't think about it and comforted her first: "Sister, don't worry, do you have a cell phone?"
"My cell phone is out of battery," the elder sister said. Her skin was dark red and rough, and her clothes were very simple. She looked like one of the thousands of parents visiting their relatives. She cried anxiously, "My little daughter is only eight years old, and now no one can contact her..."
Seeing this, Xiao Ziyu turned around and looked around. Qi Huai still hadn't come back yet, so he didn't care: "I'll go with you first, don't worry, it's okay."
"It's over there," the woman pointed, "over there, over there by the public restroom."
Xiao Ziyu and she left the airport entrance and crossed the road, where the flow of people gradually thinned out. He was afraid that Qi Huai couldn't find him, so he said as he ran, "Sister, let me call my friend first."
The woman suddenly raised the volume of her cries: "It's right over there, kind people, please save my daughter and help me call an ambulance."
Xiao Ziyu was dragged forward by her. There were restrictions near the airport, and there was a large deserted lot behind the public toilet.
When he turned the corner, there was no one there. Xiao Ziyu's heart was filled with alarm. Before he could turn around, a dark shadow rushed over from behind and covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief.
Without any particularly intense struggle, Xiao Ziyu's body fell limply. The woman stood in the corner in astonishment, as if she had not expected the effect to be so quick. She stammered, "Is this really all right?"
"Take the money and leave. Don't reveal a single word about what happened today." The man who tied up Xiao Ziyu threatened viciously while wearing a mask and a hat. If Xiao Ziyu was still conscious, he would definitely recognize the familiar pair of eyes that flashed by him in the mall. It was the caregiver who took care of Yuan Qian'an.
He seemed to be trapped in a nightmare from which he could not wake up. His body felt weak and his head felt heavy. He suddenly thought that he was back in the fire in the East Palace, and a dull feeling of suffocation came from his chest.
As if from a nightmare, Xiao Ziyu suddenly regained consciousness, and almost instantly, he realized his situation. His wrists and ankles were tied, something was taped to his mouth, and he was unable to break free.
He closed his eyelids, then slowly opened them a crack, his hearing and vision gradually recovered. This place seemed like an unfinished building, with a large space filled with construction waste and garbage. A few rays of daylight came in through the windows.
Not knowing whether that woman came to him on purpose, Xiao Ziyu was terrified that she would actually use the excuse of saving someone to do such a despicable thing. The footsteps approached, and all his guesses seemed to come true. He saw the nurse who was taking care of Yuan Qia'an.
When they first met, he felt that the other person was muscular and stronger than an ordinary person. They met several times in the sanatorium, and although they were silent, he always gave people an elusive feeling.
Xiao Ziyu calmed down and looked up. Without much fear in his eyes, he asked directly, "Who are you to Xue Jinling?"
The nurse didn't say much: "Mr. Xiao, there's no need to be curious. Our target is Yuan Heng. As long as Yuan Heng cooperates, I won't make things difficult for you."
He half-knelt down, looked at Xiao Ziyu, and patted his cheek with the back of his hand, with a sinister malice in his eyes: "If Yuan Heng refuses to give in, this big star's face may not be saved."
Xiao Ziyu ignored him and followed his own train of thought: "You followed us in the mall that day."
The nurse stood up with his arms folded, saying nothing: "Mr. Xiao has a good eye. Yuan Heng's life is too secretive. If you were not alone this time, we would not have found an opportunity to take action."
"What do you want, the shares of Yuantai?" Xiao Ziyu asked with narrowed eyes, "Who is the beneficiary? Xue Jinling is used to climbing up the social ladder. She can't count on Yuan Ye, so who is she going to rely on next?"
The nurse stood up, obviously not intending to waste any more time talking to him. Xue Jinling and he had been childhood sweethearts. If it weren't for the fact that during those years when he was away in the army, that old fellow Yuan Qian'an got there first, she wouldn't have given birth to a useless son like Yuan Ye.
Not far away, someone came over with Xiao Ziyu's phone, also with a muscular body: "Connected."
"Come, talk to your lover in person." The nurse brought the phone closer to Xiao Ziyu, and before Xiao Ziyu could speak, the man behind him kicked him hard on the knee. Sharp pain came immediately, and he frowned and let out a groan.
Yuan Heng's voice came over the phone. Although it was deliberately modified, the trembling at the end of the voice could still be heard: "Nanzhu!"
Xiao Ziyu held back his breath: "I'm fine..."
"Boss Yuan, did you hear that?" The nurse said slowly to the phone, "As long as you sign the equity transfer agreement and withdraw from Yunjing, I promise not to scratch your lover's face."
Without waiting for a reply from the other end, the nurse hung up the phone and threw the phone to his subordinate.
"I just randomly found a male wife, but you actually developed feelings for her." He sneered and looked at Xiao Ziyu with contempt, "It seems that you are good in bed."
Xiao Ziyu gritted his teeth and did not answer. Even though he fell to the ground, covered in dust, there was a hint of contempt in his eyes, as if he totally disdained what he said.
The nurse kicked him on the back and grabbed Xiao Ziyu's long hair to force him to look up: "You'd better not play any tricks. This is the 23rd floor. Even a god would die if he fell down."
Xiao Ziyu's mouth was filled with a fishy-sweet taste, and his spine felt like it was being crushed. He simply closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and refused to show weakness.
Time passed minute by minute, and the caregiver was right. This was an empty attic, narrow at both ends and wide in the middle. There were people guarding the doors, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Xiao Ziyu silently calculated the time. About half an hour later, his cell phone rang again. The nurse's voice came from afar, and there seemed to be an echo: "Yuan Heng is already downstairs, you..."
He was giving orders halfway when he turned around in shock. There was only hemp rope and bloodstains left where the bindings were made, and there was no trace of Xiao Ziyu!
Then came the roar: "Where are the people?!"
The men woke up as if from a dream. Everything was normal at the door and people would not disappear out of thin air.
On the 23rd floor, with their hands and feet tied and injured, they were in a situation where they could not escape even if they had wings, so they underestimated the enemy under high pressure.
Xiao Ziyu huddled behind a pile of cement bags and gritted his teeth to reconnect his dislocated wrist and ankle. Shrinking bones is a childhood skill and was also the first skill he learned when he entered the opera world.
He glanced at the few bastards outside. Apart from Crown Prince Yuan Heng, no one could really imprison him.
I'm updating ahead of schedule after finishing the coding. I'll take a break tomorrow~ You may also feel that it's almost finished.
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