Chapter 24 Chapter 24 "Shen Qingyuan will stay here to redeem you...
The shock of Shen Qingyuan not being gay was too great for her. Yao Yingxia stood there motionless for a long time, just letting him hold her.
Fortunately, she was not stiff and resistant like before.
It seems like my brain just crashed.
This was not too much of a blow to Shen Qingyuan, and he finally let her go before she restarted.
He lay on his back, looking at the mottled rust in the pipe, and said to her, "Yingxia, please don't feel any pressure. I don't need you to respond right now."
He just wanted to completely resolve his own worries before taking any risks, but now it has become her worry.
Yao Yingxia didn't know what to say for a moment. She was not so dull as to not see her own true heart, nor was she easily shaken by others. So she knew very well that she was grateful and trusted Shen Qingyuan, but she did not have that kind of feeling. To be precise, she did not have that kind of feeling for anyone else.
Having witnessed Yao Qihang's atrocities since childhood, she knew too well that men could be extremely cruel. Even if he had been gentle and considerate to her mother, once they lost their patience, they could turn hostile in an instant and do anything to hurt them. Yao Yingxia was afraid of all men from the bottom of her heart.
Except for Xiao An. When she was with him, Yao Yingxia always felt particularly at ease.
Now Shen Qingyuan also feels at ease, but it is not love at all, or any other ambiguous feelings.
Yao Yingxia has always disliked dragging things out, and she doesn't want anyone to waste time on her. But being in such a dangerous situation, it seems too cruel to tell Shen Qingyuan directly.
They don't know whether there will be a tomorrow.
Yao Yingxia finally made up her mind to turn around, only to find Shen Qingyuan already asleep. He looked calm, as if this was just an ordinary nap.
Her allies were far more powerful than she had imagined, and surprisingly strong and reliable.
Yao Yingxia smiled, grateful for his thoughtfulness at this moment.
No one spoke to divert her attention, and the feeling of hunger and sleepiness became more obvious. She knew she should rest and try to conserve as much energy as possible, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fall asleep.
She thought blankly that she would not be able to rest until Shen Qingyuan could return safely.
He just sat there in a daze for an unknown amount of time before Shen Qingyuan finally woke up from his dream.
He opened his eyes and saw Yao Yingxia sitting next to him. His absent-minded eyes gradually came into focus. The two smiled at each other and tacitly agreed not to mention the matter again.
Shen Qingyuan quickly gathered his thoughts and said goodbye to her: "Yingxia, goodbye."
He often said this, every time he was about to say goodbye to her, after school, or at the end of weekend study, and at this moment, his tone was no different.
This made her feel at ease, as if they would be able to meet again soon.
She just said, "Qingyuan, goodbye."
The boy took one last look at her and climbed down the nails. He quickly walked to the open door, looked around cautiously, and disappeared into the darkness.
Yao Yingxia was a staunch atheist, and at this moment she could only pray to God to bless Shen Qingyuan's safe return. All she could do next was to wait.
Without a timing device, she had no idea of the passage of time when she was alone. She suddenly remembered the physical examination she had just had at school two months ago, and her heart rate was about 80 beats per minute.
Yao Yingxia placed her hand on her pulse and began to count patiently. When she reached five thousand, it had been almost an hour since Shen Qingyuan left.
After such a long time, if he hadn't encountered any accidents, he would have been able to come back to find her. Yao Yingxia couldn't help but wonder what exactly Shen Qingyuan was going through.
Could he be lost? Yao Yingxia was still optimistic at this moment, forcing herself to continue counting patiently. When she reached 10,000, her heart finally sank.
At this time, two hours had passed since Shen Qingyuan left.
Yao Yingxia moved to the cave entrance and looked at the sky outside the window. It was still pitch black. From the time they just woke up to this moment, there was no change at all. This night was too long.
She could no longer deceive herself and make reasonable assumptions about his absence. Yao Yingxia was very aware that Shen Qingyuan was most likely in trouble.
After nearly twenty hours without a drop of water, her stomach had begun to cramp, and the immense pressure of despair was making her feel slightly dizzy. She was very familiar with this feeling. If she didn't eat, she would soon faint from hypoglycemia. Even if she could wake up, it would be almost impossible to climb out.
The worst had already happened, but she mustered up her courage and climbed down the iron nails while she still had strength left.
The familiar dizziness hit her when she landed. She leaned against the wall for a while to relax. After her blood sugar level stabilized again, she walked to the iron gate and looked out cautiously.
Originally, she and Shen Qingyuan thought that they would be outside after exiting this door, but they didn't expect that it was just connected to a very long, enclosed corridor. With the incandescent light behind them, they could vaguely see a door at the end.
She ran quickly to the opposite side, and sure enough, the door was open. Shen Qingyuan had just passed by here. She stuck her head out, and all she saw was endless darkness.
The lighting in the large workshop we had initially been in was no longer enough to reach here, and we couldn't see the road ahead. The only thing we could confirm was that this was still a confined space.
The fear in her heart lasted too long and became a little dull. She took a last look at the light source from which she came, completely immersed in the darkness, and began to move forward by groping the wall.
After walking for a few hundred meters, Yao Yingxia finally found a big door and felt a gust of air at the crack of the door. She breathed in the fresh air after a long time.
This leads to the outdoors!
She was so excited that she immediately pushed the door, but no matter how hard she tried, the door didn't budge at all.
So how did Shen Qingyuan get out? Or was he trapped in this darkness?
Yao Yingxia felt a chill of fear, as if there were demons and monsters standing behind her, and she didn't dare to look back.
She frantically grabbed the door handle and pushed and pulled, but she didn't expect the door to open. It turned out that she had just pushed in the wrong direction.
When she walked out of the iron gate, Yao Yingxia couldn't believe that she had escaped like this, but when she looked up, she saw a bright moon in the sky and twinkling stars. It was a very sunny day.
She took a deep breath, and seemed to come back to life. She quickly looked around, trying to find a route that would not be easily discovered to continue her escape. Finally, her eyes were fixed on a patch of weeds not far away.
It shouldn't be easy to get discovered if you go through there.
Just as she was about to take action, she heard a voice behind her: "Yingxia."
A chill rose from the fingertips and quickly spread throughout the body.
The man seemed to be laughing and asked softly, "Do you want to play for a while longer?"
As soon as she finished speaking, laughter broke out in the empty and quiet factory building. The headlights above her head suddenly turned on, shrouding her in light again.
She was so scared that she stood there motionless. She wanted to run away, but found that her legs were out of control.
He Ming's voice came again, revealing a strange sense of ease and joy: "Yingxia, you can leave, it's okay."
He would never be so merciful. Yao Yingxia sensed the confidence in his tone, and sure enough, the next second she heard him say, "Shen Qingyuan will stay here to atone for your sins."
She finally turned around.
This should be a huge warehouse, with piles of cardboard boxes everywhere, stacked very high but neatly. However, there is a thick layer of dust on the ground, and it seems that no one has cleaned it for a long time.
Near the gate, there was a separate room where He Ming and others stood.
There was only one person sitting, and if he wasn't wearing a school uniform, Yao Yingxia would hardly recognize that it was Shen Qingyuan.
He was covered in blood and tied to a chair. The most serious injury was on his forehead, probably from being hit by a heavy weapon. His face was covered in blood and he had completely lost consciousness.
Seeing her face pale and the worry in her eyes even overshadowing her fear, He Ming's smile deepened: "He is quite courageous. We just tried every possible way to torture him and force him to confess your whereabouts, but he refused to tell us even if he died."
At this time, a cold wind blew outside the house. She shivered like a weed and finally returned to the warehouse on her own initiative.
He Ming was pleased that she was so sensible and pointed to the place behind the door: "Yingxia, there is a lock there. Take it down, lock the door, and you can come in."
At this moment, Fan Xiangyang took out a switchblade from his pocket and pressed it against Shen Qingyuan's neck.
She was like a soulless puppet, completely losing her independent consciousness. She could only obey his instructions and lock the door with trembling fingers.
He Ming was very satisfied and stretched out his hand to her: "Be good, come here."
She approached slowly, and the greedy eyes cast on her almost penetrated her. Some of them were already licking the corners of their mouths, as if eager to try.
She walked too slowly, and every step felt like walking through a sea of fire and swords. However, the distance was only a dozen meters. She finally arrived in front of He Ming, who grabbed her arm and "invited" her into the room.
This should be a monitoring lounge, with two simple beds and a huge display screen at the end, which is broadcasting the internal surveillance of the entire factory.
At this moment, Yao Yingxia finally understood that He Ming was not unaware of where they were hiding, but just wanted to play a vicious game of cat and mouse.
He had deliberately gone in to search just now, just as a pretense, to increase their fear. Later, torturing Shen Qingyuan to reveal her whereabouts was a deliberate venting of his anger.
These people are so shameless.
Yao Yingxia stood in front of them, like a rabbit that had strayed into a wolf's den. She knew very well what would happen to her next, but there was no way out.
He Ming sighed: "Yingxia, I thought you could be more patient. I lost the bet."
She didn't care about their bet at all, and just said in a stiff voice: "Can you send him to the hospital first?"
Looking closer, Shen Qingyuan's condition was even worse. His lips were already turning a little blue. Severe head injuries were very fatal, and he didn't have much time to waste here.
Qin Mian said frivolously, "That depends on your performance." Yao Yingxia was extremely fragile at this moment, and he really wanted to see her completely collapse.
Zhao Xiaohui on the side showed a very obscene smile: "Old classmate, after you have taken care of us all, you can take him away from here."
Yao Yingxia's hazy eyes swept over their disgusting faces one by one, then she lowered her head in great fear, staring at her toes. "This is a very serious crime. If the police catch you, your lives will be ruined."
She always felt that they were classmates and would not go to such an extent.
Just now, these people all had smiles on their faces, but now they all frowned, even though they were full of malice.
It was Zhao Xiaohui who spoke first: "Our family's company went bankrupt some time ago. My father was so anxious that he couldn't sleep for several days and nights. He suddenly had a stroke and was admitted to the ICU."
Then there was Qin Mian: "Our family is in a similar situation. Debt collectors block our door every day and take away all our valuables. My mother has a mental problem. She either beats people or hurts herself every day." He never thought that his gentle and beautiful mother would turn into a mad woman.
Fan Xiangyang stared at her fiercely: "My father is the chief financial officer of Mingge's family. He was reported for tax evasion and sentenced to five years. My grandmother cried so much that she went blind." Generally, large enterprises will have some tax avoidance operations, and they will not be checked so strictly at ordinary times. But this time, the relevant departments took away all the account books, checked them one by one, and checked every payment.
Finally, it was He Ming's turn. He stamped his foot lightly and said, "This factory is where our family started. It started as a family workshop and gradually expanded to 30,000 square meters. Later, we opened branches in more than a dozen cities across the country."
He Ming grew up little by little in the factory after he was born. Before he had experienced a few days of hardship, the He family benefited from the dividends of the times. The factory expanded rapidly and was at its peak, with annual turnover reaching billions.
He thought he could inherit such a huge fortune smoothly and live a life of luxury.
But the dream was soon shattered.
He Ming recounted his experiences over the past few months: "First, there was a fire inspection, forcing the factory to shut down for a long time and pay a large amount of liquidated damages. Then there was a tax inspection, which took away all the accounting documents and financial personnel. Later, buyers terminated their cooperation one after another, and all banks stopped lending to us."
The most important thing for factory operation is turnover. The monthly wages of tens of thousands of workers added up are very scary, not to mention other costs. The interruption of loans is almost a fatal blow.
When the building was about to collapse, his father tried every possible way to save it, even kneeling down to beg others to borrow money, trying to recover the fruits of his life's hard work.
But even such a vast empire that was once so well-ordered and glorious collapsed extremely quickly.
He Ming grabbed her arm tightly and threw her to the ground: "A month ago, my father and my mother jumped from this building and committed suicide. Yingxia, this is all thanks to you."
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