Chapter 59
Yu Miaomiao walked out of the office without stopping for a moment.
Ten minutes later, she returned home, opened the door, and saw two figures.
"Miss Yu, we meet again."
The woman named "Salt" greeted me with a smile.
She nodded. "You've arrived."
She wasn't shocked at all, because the meeting was something she had arranged just minutes earlier.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden, childish howl. In the other man's arms, a gray-white snow leopard suddenly pounced on Yu Miaomiao.
Yu Miaomiao was knocked backward by this "huge thing" and fell onto the chair.
The cub changes every day. In just half a month, it has grown several sizes larger, but it seems unaware of its own size. It rubs against Yu Miaomiao and tries to bury its big head in her collar.
Yu Miaomiao placed both hands under Xiaobai's armpits, trying to pull it away.
The parents tried to help, but the baby held on even tighter.
"Awoo, awoo, awoo!"
Disappear, bad, hug!
She discerned a few broken phrases from Xiaobai's cries and softened her pushing motion.
She straightened the cub's head and looked it directly into its smoky gray eyes—now that it could speak, she would communicate with it through reason.
"I'm going to rescue your other zookeeper. Don't make a fuss, be good."
The cub seemed to understand, blinking its big eyes and obediently squatting on Yu Miaomiao's lap.
"Awoo, awoo!"
Listen to me, save them!
Taking the opportunity, Dad hugged Xiaobai into his arms, and Mom got down to business: "Miss Yu, I am stronger than Yin. This time, I will help you."
Yu Miaomiao nodded, "Okay."
Then send the address to Salt.
Yan opened the map app, compared the distances, and made a judgment: "Although it's a bit far, it's fine."
Yu Miaomiao's hand was held by salt. She felt a cold force surge into her body. Her flesh and bones trembled at a strange frequency, as if resonating with something. Her vision began to blur, the buzzing in her ears gradually grew louder, and even her consciousness became hazy.
Is this what it feels like to jump through space?
Just before the noise completely overwhelmed her hearing, she heard Salt's voice say, "It might be a little uncomfortable, just bear with it."
It felt like an instant, yet also like several long hours had passed in a frozen space-time. Yu Miaomiao suddenly opened her eyes, her legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground.
She clutched her chest, enduring an indescribable feeling of nausea.
The body feels like it's been shattered into powder and then reassembled. The pain from every nerve ending converges in the cerebral cortex, and those with weak willpower may faint directly.
"Oh dear, Miss Yu, are you alright?"
Yan quickly helped Yu Miaomiao up, saying, "I've never taken anyone this far before."
"fine."
Yu Miaomiao leaned against the wall, panting, and didn't forget to take out her phone to locate the location. It was less than 500 meters away from Jiang Chengyi's house, and the accuracy was amazing.
After a few minutes, the first wave of pain subsided, and she straightened up to look around at the scenery.
This is a quiet alley, where you can faintly hear the lively voices of people not far away.
Yan said enthusiastically, "Miss Yu, would you like me to go with you to rescue them? I'm really good at fighting!"
Yu Miaomiao shook her head, "Thank you, but there's no need to fight."
Salt sighed, "Okay."
The two agreed to meet at the same place at seven o'clock the next morning. Yan waved his hand and disappeared into thin air.
Yu Miaomiao followed the navigation and walked out onto the street. A gust of cold wind blew by, and she shivered.
In December, the afternoon in H City was like a piece of crystal-clear ice, clean yet exuding a chill, with temperatures only a few degrees below zero. The clothes she was wearing were far from enough to keep warm, and many people cast questioning glances at her thin attire, assuming she was yet another tourist who hadn't done any research beforehand.
She ignored him and strode towards the residential area where Jiang Chengyi lived.
Following the detailed address provided by Cheng Nuo, she quickly found the specific building and floor, and stood in front of a door.
Yu Miaomiao first knocked gently on the door, but no one answered. However, she could clearly hear faint breathing sounds coming from just a door away.
So she pounded on the door hard and loudly for several minutes. During this time, the neighbor opened the door because of the noise. Just as he was about to curse, he saw whose door Yu Miaomiao was knocking on and immediately closed the door without saying a word.
The door finally opened, a chain swaying in the crack. The woman cautiously peeked out, her pupils contracting upon seeing who it was. "It's you!"
Her voice was shrill and disgusted.
"Good afternoon, Aunt Jiang," Yu Miaomiao said. "I've come to pick up Jiang Chengyi and take him back to school."
"Chengyi is in the hospital, not here!"
Jiang Yanlan replied hastily and then tried to close the door.
However, Yu Miaomiao held the door tightly, preventing the other person from closing it.
She shouted into the room, "Jiang Chengyi!"
There was no response.
Jiang Yanlan seized the opportunity, slammed the door shut, and left behind a loud bang.
Yu Miaomiao stood at the door, motionless for a long time.
The neighbor opened the door at some point and called out to her in a low voice, "Little girl, what brings you here to see her?"
Yu Miaomiao turned around, "She... took something very important to me."
"I never imagined she would do something like this!"
The neighbor looked at her with disdain, "No wonder her husband would rather leave with his mistress and have nothing than her."
"This woman is strong and has a bad temper. You won't get it back by doing this, and you might even get beaten up. Maybe you should call the police, but they've come several times already, and it's been useless..."
While her neighbor was still enthusiastically trying to come up with ideas, Yu Miaomiao shook her head, "I already know how to get it back."
-
Jiang Yanlan closed the door, paced anxiously around the living room a few times, took a few deep breaths, smoothed her slightly messy sideburns in front of the full-length mirror, went to the kitchen to get the food, and walked into a room further inside.
Opening the door, you'll find a very ordinary bedroom inside.
The room was fully equipped with a bathroom, bed, and desk. Strangely, iron bars had been installed at the door, and even the windows had narrow bars, turning the room into a small prison.
Jiang Chengyi was the only prisoner in the prison.
She smiled gently at the inside of the railing, "Chengyi, come and eat."
She was met with silence.
Jiang Cheng sat by the window, looking out through the iron bars. His forehead was wrapped in white gauze, with a faint trace of blood seeping through. His face was pale, but his expression was calm.
She opened a small door in the iron railing, brought the food in, and muttered, "No matter how angry I am with my mother, I still have to eat. I can't joke around with my health."
"Remember to change the dressing on your wound. I've put it in the cabinet by your bedside."
"Your withdrawal certificate has been issued. I contacted the teachers at No. 2 Middle School. Your last college entrance examination results were very good, and they agreed to accept your student status. However, you will still be studying at home. You should start reading the books I bought for you. This year's college entrance examination has been reformed, and many question types are different from before."
"Chengyi, did you hear me?"
"Chengyi, speak."
"Chengyi, speak!"
Her breathing became rapid, and then, gripping the railing, she shook it violently, shouting, "Chengyi, speak! Do you hear me?! Speak!!! Speak!!!"
As she shook herself wildly, the food was knocked over, and soup and vegetable leaves were scattered all over the ground.
Still no response.
Jiang Yanlan knelt down along the railing, her forehead pressed against the cold iron bar, and suddenly choked up.
"Chengyi, please don't treat Mom like this. Don't ignore Mom. What do you want? Tell Mom, and Mom will give you anything!"
Her eyes were red and swollen, her once neatly combed hair was now disheveled again, and her expression was one of despair and pleading. Compared to Jiang Chengyi, who was confined to the room, she looked more like a prisoner trapped in a cage.
She cried for a long time before finally wiping away her tears, cleaning up the mess on the floor, and standing up. "I'm sorry, Chengyi, Mommy acted impulsively again. I'll get you another serving of rice."
Jiang Chengyi finally turned around and, amidst Jiang Yanlan's surprised expression, asked an unrelated question: "Has Miaomiao arrived?"
The woman's expression changed slightly. "What Miaomiao? No one has been here."
Jiang Chengyi's tone was certain, "You're lying, I heard her voice."
Jiang Yanlan sneered: "Fine, fine, you guessed right, she's here."
Jiang Chengyi let out a soft breath, "I knew it."
The woman looked at her son's suddenly gentle expression and felt a surge of anger.
Do you think she cares about you that much?
"You've done so much for her, you've gotten hurt for her, have you ever received anything in return? You've been gone for so long, has she ever sent you a single message or made a single phone call?"
"Do you think she came to see you because she cares about you? Let me tell you, I just gave her a few casual words and she left without asking a single question!"
"You want to leave with her? Absolutely not!"
Jiang Chengyi remained unmoved by Jiang Yanlan's words. He looked out the window again and curled his lips into a smile.
"I believe her."
-
Yu Miaomiao took the elevator downstairs, her mind still replaying the scene she had glimpsed through the crack in the door.
She certainly didn't think that if she just went to their door demanding the person, Jiang Yanlan would obediently hand them over. She had only knocked to confirm the interior environment and... Jiang Chengyi's location.
After going downstairs, she walked around the building.
This is a high-end residential area with large gaps between the buildings, separated by green belts. She looked up, counted to the 10th floor where Jiang Chengyi was, and then located the south-facing window.
The noise just now came from that room; if I'm not mistaken, Jiang Chengyi was there.
Yu Miaomiao waited until nightfall, when it was dark. She found a place without surveillance cameras, transformed into her original form, and leaped onto a tree. From the treetop, she jumped onto the outer wall.
Fortunately, the exterior walls in the north have a layer of insulation material, which is relatively soft and allows the claws to penetrate. If it were a cement wall in the south, Yu Miaomiao would have to resort to force.
She climbed for a while, then rested for a while, and after half an hour, she finally reached the tenth floor.
She pulled a claw from the wall and tapped the glass with the tip of her claw.
Because of the climb, Yu Miaomiao had little strength left, and the sound of her tapping was so soft that it was almost inaudible.
Just as she was gathering her strength to knock hard, the window was suddenly opened.
"You've arrived."
A calm and confident voice rang out, with a slight smile, showing no surprise whatsoever.
Yu Miaomiao was startled and raised her small head to look up, where Jiang Chengyi's face appeared in front of her.
Through the iron bars, his phoenix eyes lowered as he gazed at Yu Miaomiao.
Compared to half a month ago, his face was much paler and he was slightly thinner. The most striking features were the gauze and bloodstains on his forehead.
"Meow!"
What’s wrong with you!
Yu Miaomiao jumped onto the window, squeezed through the gap in the iron bars, and then jumped directly onto Jiang Chengyi's shoulder, pulling at his collar to see the wound on his forehead.
"When I was being taken to the car, I tried to escape, but someone hit me with a stick."
Jiang Chengyi explained it casually.
"Were you brought into the car by your mother? How did you get here?"
The kitten wasn't fooled by subtle wordplay. She jumped onto the table and sternly patted Jiang Chengyi's face with her paw pads, saying, "No omissions allowed."
Jiang Cheng then recounted the whole story, "That night, she stopped me in the neighborhood, and she said..."
He believed Jiang Yanlan's lie that she had figured things out and went to have one last meal with her. However, when they arrived at their destination, he was met by several burly men who, without saying a word, restrained him, shoved him into a van, and drove north towards H City without stopping.
He was injected with a muscle relaxant and didn't even have the strength to call for help. Once, he seized an opportunity to jump out of the car and ran two hundred meters, but he was still found. During the struggle, just as he was about to be discovered by passersby, Jiang Yanlan picked up a wooden stick and knocked him unconscious.
After saying that, Jiang Cheng gave a bitter smile, "I originally thought that she had really come to her senses, but I didn't expect that she had only improved her acting skills. She still can't let go of her obsession with making me drop out of school and take the entrance exam for Tsinghua and Peking University."
Beneath those relaxed and composed faces and resigned words lies a deeper obsession and madness than ever before.
"How could you be so stupid as to believe something like that!"
The kitten slammed its fist on the table in exasperation, "How could she possibly understand something she's held onto for over twenty years in just a few days?"
"Do you even know that your withdrawal certificate has already been stamped? If it weren't for me, you really would have had to drop out of school!"
"I know."
"Knowing that is still—"
"Thank you for coming to save me."
Yu Miaomiao was taken aback.
Jiang Cheng picked up the kitten and held it up to his eyes. A soft smile appeared in his phoenix eyes. He raised his head slightly, and his high nose touched the kitten's soft pink nose. He gently rubbed against it.
"Miaomiao, thanks to you."
The kitten shifted its gaze uncomfortably, "I... I know, that's good."
"Hurry up and put me down."
Yu Miaomiao was placed on the table and resumed her serious demeanor, except that her tail was still swaying from side to side, showing a light and cheerful appearance.
“At midnight, I would sneak out and steal the key to the iron bars. Do you know where she put the key?”
"I roughly know where she would put the keys. I'll draw a diagram for you later. By the way, I also need to find another key."
Jiang Cheng pulled up his trouser leg, revealing two finger-thick iron chains around his ankle.
"Used to untie this."
Yu Miaomiao nodded, noticing the cold food on the table, which still looked quite appetizing, and asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"
Jiang Cheng shook his head. "There's a muscle relaxant in the food. If I eat it, I won't be able to walk."
Yu Miaomiao looked at the food, then at Jiang Chengyi, and finally realized that the other person had been sitting there not because he didn't want to stand up, but because he simply couldn't.
She stared in disbelief. "Is your mother crazy? Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?"
"Maybe she went crazy the day that man divorced her."
She became interested. "What exactly happened between your mother and that man back then?"
Jiang Chengyi silently stared at the gleaming silver chains and told an extremely clichéd story.
Love at first sight, vows of eternal love, marriage, infidelity during pregnancy.
The heavily pregnant woman cried, cursed, and begged like a madwoman, even holding a knife to her neck, demanding that the man choose between the mistress and her.
The man eventually divorced her and chose his mistress. The two quickly married, had children, and the children's birth dates were less than six months apart.
“From then on, Shen Hanhai and Xiao Yijin became an inescapable shadow and knot in her heart. The better they did, the more painful she became, and the more painful she became, the more she wanted to vent on me.”
"She felt that as long as I was trained to be successful and surpass Xiao Yijin's son, it would prove that Shen Hanhai's choice was wrong and make him regret it."
“Shenyang Shu went to the best primary school, so I must go too; Shenyang Shu got into the No. 1 Middle School, so I must get in too; Shenyang Shu has a Grade 10 piano certificate, so I must also have a Grade 10 piano certificate. Her son got into Tsinghua and Peking University, so I absolutely cannot apply to any school other than Tsinghua and Peking University.”
Jiang Chengyi's voice carried a hint of sneer, "In her eyes, I'm nothing more than a tool to be compared with Shen Yangshu."
"It's not a tool."
Another voice rang out, no longer the meow of a cat that could be understood, but a clear, cold yet firm voice that belonged only to Yu Miaomiao.
A girl with light-colored long hair stood in front of Jiang Chengyi, bent down, and used her cold hands to lift his face, her deep green cat eyes staring unblinkingly at his dim phoenix eyes.
"He is neither Jiang Yanlan's tool nor Shen Yangshu's opponent."
"Jiang Chengyi is Jiang Chengyi."
"You are you."
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