Knowing that she had made up her mind, Zhang Cishu did not insist, but simply reminded her, "If anything happens, be sure to call me immediately, don't try to tough it out."
Xu Xinghe nodded and followed Lao Hei toward the woodshed in the corner of the backyard.
The door to the woodshed was made of rough wood and had a large lock on it.
Old Hei unlocked the door. "He's inside. I won't bother you here. You can do whatever you want without worry. There won't be anyone else around."
Xu Xinghe walked into the woodshed, and it was surprisingly clean, not as messy as he had imagined. The firewood was neatly piled in the corner, leaving a large open space in the middle.
Xu Mingli lay on the ground, bound hand and foot. The wound on his shoulder had been bandaged with cloth strips, but his face was still deathly pale.
His eyes lit up immediately when he saw Xu Xinghe enter. He struggled to sit up, his tone full of flattery, "Xinghe, you're here! I knew you wouldn't abandon me!"
He had already decided last night that he had to find a way to escape.
But now he has completely run out of tricks, and the only thing he can do is play the victim.
Xu Xinghe didn't speak, she just stood in front of him and looked at him coldly.
Seeing that she remained silent, Xu Mingli immediately began to plead for forgiveness, "Xinghe, I know I was wrong! I shouldn't have hit you, but I was sincere towards you! Have you forgotten? When you were little, you were sick, and I carried you to the hospital. When you were bullied by other children, I stood up for you. As your older brother, I was so good to you. Please forgive me this time and let me go! I promise I will never bother you again!"
As he spoke, he squeezed out a few tears, trying to move Xu Xinghe with their past friendship.
Xu Xinghe looked at his hypocritical face and sneered inwardly.
She spoke slowly and calmly, “I heard a story about a woman who, after her parents died, was tricked into signing a marriage contract by her brother, whom she thought was a relative. After the man took her family’s property, he locked her in the basement and gave her no freedom. Later, for his own benefit, he gave her to a wealthy businessman, who then abused her. In the end, the woman finally managed to escape, only to be run over and killed by a car.”
Xu Mingli was stunned; he couldn't understand what Xu Xinghe was saying at all.
He had never gotten Xu Xinghe from the beginning, so naturally he never had the idea of locking her up, and had no idea what this story had to do with him.
Xu Xinghe didn't care whether he could understand or not. She finished speaking to herself, then suddenly squatted down, grabbed his collar, and slapped him hard across the face!
The sharp crack was particularly jarring in the quiet woodshed.
"You're just as despicable as that person in the story!" Xu Xinghe's eyes were icy cold. "For profit, you'll do anything, no matter how heartless! My parents kindly adopted you and treated you like their own son, and what did you do? You coveted the Xu family's wealth, tried to trick me into marriage, and even murdered someone to frame them! You ingrates don't deserve to live in this world!"
Xu Mingli was so dizzy from the beating that his face stung.
He quickly begged for forgiveness, "Xinghe, I was wrong! I was really wrong! I'm not like the people in the story, I'm not that bad! I really like you, I want to be with you, I want to give you a future! I don't care about the Xu family's assets at all, I just like you!"
As he spoke, he deliberately put on a deeply affectionate look, his eyes full of sincerity.
Xu Xinghe felt disgusted when she saw his face.
She raised her hand and slapped him twice more across the face, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth. "Put those dog eyes away! If you dare look at me like that again, I'll gouge your eyes out! Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You're just trying to trick me into letting you go so you can get revenge later! Let me tell you, that's impossible!"
Xu Mingli was beaten so badly that he dared not speak anymore. He could only curl up on the ground, his eyes filled with fear and resentment.
He didn't expect Xu Xinghe to become so tough now, completely unmoved by his tactics!
Seeing his expression, Xu Xinghe didn't get angry anymore. Instead, she went out the door and called out, "Could you please have someone bring in a chair?"
Soon, a henchman carried in a wooden chair and placed it behind Xu Xinghe.
Xu Xinghe sat down, leaning slightly forward, staring at Xu Mingli. "I'll ask, you answer. What have you been doing since you arrived in Heilongjiang Province? Who is that stand-in who impersonated Chen An? How did you two get in touch? And how did you acquire your identity as Chen An? If you tell me the truth, I'll give you some food and water to ease your suffering. If you refuse to talk, then you'll just have to continue to starve and thirst. I have plenty of time to waste with you. Anyway, now that you're in my hands, whether you live or die depends entirely on my mood."
Xu Mingli swallowed hard; his throat was already dry and sore, and his stomach was growling with hunger.
Since he was arrested yesterday, he hasn't eaten a single bite of food or drunk a single drop of water. He's also injured, and his body is already extremely weak.
But he still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that as long as he didn't give in, Xu Xinghe couldn't do anything to him, and maybe he could still get a chance to escape.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Xu Mingli gritted his teeth and said stubbornly, "I'm just an ordinary citizen who came to Heilongjiang Province just to find a job. I don't know any Feng Qiushi at all! Don't try to force a confession out of me!"
Since she wouldn't listen to reason, Xu Mingli saw no need to continue playing the victim.
Xu Xinghe looked at his stubbornness and a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.
She had long anticipated that he wouldn't speak up easily, so she never intended to show him any leniency from the beginning.
She called out towards the door again, "Have someone bring in another big flatbread, freshly baked."
Not long after, the younger brother came in with a steaming cornbread and handed it to Xu Xinghe.
The aroma of the flatbread instantly filled the woodshed, making Xu Mingli's stomach growl even louder. His eyes involuntarily drifted towards the large flatbread, and his throat began to itch again.
Xu Xinghe ignored his reaction and instead said to her underling, "Tear the pancake into pieces and feed it to him."
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