Chapter 152 Picking a Green Plum (End): Not Quite Used To It
The question from New Year's Eve remained unanswered. By the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the family had run out of food and it was time to go out and buy more.
It was still during the New Year, so there weren't many people in the supermarket. The two of them strolled around, bought enough groceries, and then went home.
Although there were only two of them, the appetite of the growing girls was not to be underestimated, and each of them carried a heavy bag of ingredients.
There weren't many people on the street. The two left the mall and bought two cups of milk tea.
"Same as last time?"
Xi Congshuang nodded: "Same as last time." Jasmine tea without added sugar.
"Okay, wait here for me for a while." Su Cheng went to order, while Xi Congshuang sat to the side looking at the ingredients and waiting quietly.
Those who were focused on the backs of the people queuing did not notice that a pair of eyes were watching her from the shadows.
Using the building's cover, the man took a photo with his phone and showed it to the people around him.
"Is it her? How could she possibly come to this wretched place? She's from Jincheng."
A thin man leaned closer, his fingers zooming in on the profile of the photo: "It's her. I'd recognize her even if she were ashes."
"Don't blame me for not telling you beforehand, her father Cong Zan is the president of Sanmu Sen Group, and her mother Xi Wenzhu is the president of Xi's Group. Aren't they both well-known figures at home and abroad, ranking high on the rich list, with countless assets?"
The string of titles left the two ignorant people next to him dumbfounded. They thought that someone who could own a company must be very rich.
"How rich? Ten million?"
"Ten million? That's not even enough to buy their cars!" The man with a cigarette in his mouth said, puffing out smoke. "My brother asked me to attend a banquet. I've met Cong Zan's daughter, Xi Congshuang. She's as proud as a swan. If someone dirties her dress, she can make the host apologize and hastily dismiss the host as an apology."
He claimed to be attending a banquet, but he was merely a waiter there. He was later fired for petty theft and ended up on the industry's blacklist.
The man lost his job and was burdened with gambling debts, worrying about how to pay them off. But then, during the Chinese New Year, he received good news.
Cong Zan's daughter.
I never expected to run into Cong Zan's daughter.
*
After dinner, Xi Congshuang put the dishes and chopsticks into the dishwasher, set the program, and started it running.
As I left the kitchen with my water glass, I heard my phone, which had been tossed onto the dining table, shake.
Xi Congshuang paused as she passed by, glancing at her phone screen from a distance, the sound of a shower rustling in the bathroom filling her ears.
The only person she'd be happy to see proactively messaging her is taking a shower, so that leaves two candidates.
—After finishing their social engagements and amidst the flattery, the couple finally remembered their daughter in the small town and sent her a message.
The teacup was set aside, and Xi Congshuang picked up her phone to look at it.
really.
"It seems you still haven't realized where you went wrong."
Xi Congshuang turned off the screen with her hand. Just then, someone came out of the bathroom behind her. Su Cheng came out rubbing her wet hair, her cheeks flushed from the heat in the bathroom.
Xi Congshuang didn't even turn her head: "Blow-dry your hair."
"Oh." Su Cheng then remembered that she hadn't dried her hair after washing it, and turned back. "No wonder my head feels so heavy."
Xi Congshuang: "..." She still doesn't like blow-drying her hair.
After washing my hair and putting on a hair drying cap, it definitely felt a bit heavier than usual.
Once the buzzing of the hairdryer stopped, Su Cheng came out with a head of fluffy hair. As soon as she saw Xi Congshuang, she couldn't help but laugh: "I feel like my head looks like a dandelion."
Xi Congshuang unscrewed the moisturizer: "Come here." She patted the sofa next to her with her other hand.
Recently, the weather has been cold and my skin has been dry. Su Cheng likes to blow-dry her hair in front of her face, blowing the stray hairs to the sides of her ears, which makes her skin even drier.
Su Cheng moved over with her dandelion-shaped head, sat down next to her, and closed her eyes.
A hand tucked a stray lock of hair behind her face, and a faint fragrance wafted over as fingers coated with moisturizer touched her cheek.
It gently and slowly wiped every inch of my face, as if a painter were carefully depicting it with a brush, and a faint, cool fragrance wafted from the cuffs.
Su Cheng secretly opened her eyes a crack and peeked at the person who was applying lotion to her while looking down at her.
Xi Congshuang said, "Is there something you want to tell me?"
Su Cheng opened her eyes: "You found out?"
Xi Congshuang: "It's hard not to notice."
"..." Indeed, it seemed that nothing could escape Xi Congshuang's eyes.
Su Cheng organized her thoughts before saying, "I need to go home."
Xi Congshuang: "Is it related to your uncle?"
Su Cheng didn't deny it: "More or less."
She had been away for quite a few days and had to go home to visit. The grandmother across the hall secretly sent her a message saying that her uncle was arguing with his wife all day long and that she should be careful he didn't try to take her house again.
Xi Congshuang lowered her head and screwed the cap of the moisturizer back on. Originally, she only had a slight thought of going back.
It's getting worse and worse.
Returning to the Xi family, even if the journey is long and they might go abroad in the future, is much better than being powerless to help when they are so close.
Solutions can always be found by people. Only by taking more initiative can we have more resources to protect those we want to protect.
It doesn't necessarily need to be something the other person knows.
Xi Congshuang: "Then let's go back. This time, I'll come visit you."
Both sides tacitly avoided mentioning the start of the new school year.
Su Cheng's mood improved considerably after that.
After moving back home, just as the old lady across the street had said, my brother-in-law often argued with his wife over trivial matters, smashing bowls and pots and making the house a mess.
Not long after, my uncle went out with a cigarette in his mouth.
Hearing the door slam shut, Su Cheng started to get a headache, and didn't regret her decision not to let Xi Congshuang come along.
She didn't want these things to offend her ears.
When evening came and her husband didn't come home, the aunt started another round of smashing and beating at home, making veiled insults.
With so many neighbors upstairs and downstairs, it's fine if they argue during the day; everyone can just listen to it as gossip. Isn't that more interesting than the radio?
It's already past midnight and it's still so noisy, that's considered disturbing the peace.
Sister Liu, who had just dyed her hair blonde, was the first to lose her temper. She shuffled up to the fourth floor in her slippers and saw that the door to room 403 was slightly ajar. She quickly waved her hand, telling Su Cheng to pull it back in.
She whispered, "Close the door tightly and watch my sister's battle through the peephole."
After saying that, she raised her hand and banged on the door to tell 402 to be quiet.
"What time is it? Still throwing bowls and plates around, does everyone want to stay up?"
Aunt was still angry. She opened the door and started arguing with Sister Liu, clearly intending to vent her anger on Sister Liu.
Sister Liu has been running an internet cafe for so many years, she's dealt with all sorts of people, and she's never been afraid of anyone.
She was plump and tall, using her height to her advantage, and looked down at her aunt with her hands on her hips: "My dad has high blood pressure, my mom has a heart condition, aren't you going to compensate me for not getting enough sleep?!"
Auntie was a little scared and wanted to close the door and not go out, but Sister Liu slapped her and pressed the door shut so she wouldn't close it.
Not content with that, Sister Liu dialed the phone again, and as soon as the call connected, she launched into a string of witty remarks: "Su Jizong, are you planning to buy the entire apartment building? Who are you putting on a show for every day? Are you out drinking and not at home? I thought you and your husband were putting on a show for us."
"Since you like drinking so much, I'll get a few men to keep you company until you're completely drunk. Give me the address, and I'll bring them over right away!"
The entire family of four was subjected to relentless attacks, and the aunt finally gave up.
The conflict subsided slightly, and we finally had a night of peace.
Su Cheng lay back on the bed, sprawled out in a staring-at-the-ceiling position, staring blankly at the ceiling. After tossing and turning for a moment, she took her phone out from under the covers.
I typed and edited a message, wanting to tell Xi Congshuang the legendary story of Sister Liu's battle against the noisy neighbors, which was very satisfying.
But halfway through the call, he realized that no matter how blurry his expression was, Xi Congshuang could still guess who was disturbing the peace.
After a moment's pause, Su Cheng deleted the words she had typed in the chat box, wanting to change the subject.
Then the top of the page changed; the snowflake icon for the notes changed to "typing..."
Su Cheng jumped up and sat up abruptly.
Snowflake: "It's so late, aren't you asleep yet?"
Although she didn't want to admit it, Su Cheng did feel her lips involuntarily curl up when she saw that line of text.
Su Cheng typed a line of text and sent it over.
"It feels a bit quiet; I'm not used to it."
She was clearly lying through her teeth. The noise from the neighbor's house had only subsided for a few minutes when the whole building was in an uproar.
Snowflake: "Me too."
Is it because you're not used to it yet?
Su Cheng wanted to ask, but was too embarrassed to, feeling a little awkward.
Soon, another message popped up on the other end.
Snowflake: "You're always the one who comes to find me. I'll come to find you tomorrow."
Before Su Cheng could think of a reasonable excuse, her phone vibrated again, and a new message came from the other end.
Snowflake: "Don't you want me to come find you?"
That's a complete injustice!
Without saying a word, Su Cheng sent a message: "I didn't, I'm very willing."
Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Xi Congshuang smiled and typed, "Then it's settled."
Little did anyone know, on the other end of the phone, Su Cheng buried her head in the blankets and wailed, "How could I have given in? I actually agreed!"
With the start of the new school term approaching, Xi Congshuang wanted to personally explain the matter of returning home to Su Cheng in person.
The location must be her home. If we make it clear at her current residence that she will no longer live in the distant city or continue to live here, wouldn't it be easy for Su Cheng to forget about me?
If it were at her home, would Su Cheng remember, every time she returned home, that someone had once visited her home and promised her a future?
She knew she was going too far, but she just wanted to leave a deeper impression on the person she liked.
Ideally, every time I come home, seeing the familiar furnishings should remind me of Xi Congshuang.
*
After a good night's sleep, Xi Congshuang made an appointment with Su Cheng at the next morning and prepared to go to her house.
During the six months she lived in the distant city, Xi Congshuang only visited Su Cheng's house once, yet she remembered the way.
She thought today was an unusual day, but she never imagined it would be this unusual.
The reason why Xi Congshuang chose to return to the year she was fifteen has finally come to light.
The unexpected happened, catching everyone off guard.
Fifteen-year-old Xi Congshuang was not yet overly sensitive to the gazes around her, but a towel soaked in anesthetic was extended from the shadows and covered her mouth and nose.
The drug was pungent and strong, instantly causing the person to lose consciousness. They dragged the person into a van in a sparsely populated blind spot where surveillance cameras were not monitoring them.
As Red Apple says, in this timeline, what has already happened cannot be changed.
While in a coma, Xi Congshuang struggled with all her might, her eyelids trembling uncontrollably. Ultimately, she couldn't withstand the pressure of having her mouth and nose covered again, and the doubled dose of medication hit her, causing her to completely lose consciousness.
The seemingly unremarkable silver-gray minivan drove out of the city, stopping several times along the way to change its license plate before continuing its journey.
During the morning rush hour, the roads were bustling with traffic, and no one knew that two desperate criminals were sitting in an ordinary-looking van.
All for money.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off..."
After hearing the phone shut down again, Su Cheng felt something was wrong. She made another call, but got the same result.
"What happened? She's never late."
Having spent half a year together, Su Cheng felt she understood Xi Congshuang's personality well. She was quiet and reserved, liked to watch works with strong emotions, and had a strict schedule. She was the most trustworthy person she had ever met.
After waiting for half an hour without receiving any news, Su Cheng decisively went to the nearby police station.
*
Deep in the suburbs, the person who had been thrown into the room gradually began to regain consciousness.
Her hearing returned even faster than her sight; she could hear several people talking loudly outside the thin wooden door, interspersed with the sound of glass clattering.
Xi Congshuang smelled the scent of wood and dust, as well as the smell of beer.
These people had been drinking.
She didn't open her eyes rashly, but opened them a crack to observe her surroundings, remaining in her original posture.
From the perspective of the people outside the door, Xi Congshuang was knocked unconscious by double the dose of medicine and wouldn't wake up until tomorrow.
There's also the possibility that he won't wake up tomorrow, so they just leave him in the woodshed without any worries.
How could a strong and healthy adult man possibly be afraid of a teenage student who is still in school?
"Is 20 million too much?"
The fat man sitting in the middle was allergic to alcohol. He looked longingly at his two companions who were drinking heavily, while his hands were peeling peanuts at a fast pace.
The skinny man scoffed, "More than 20 million? Fatty, you have no idea how rich these rich people are. 20 million isn't even enough to buy the cars they ride in."
Another person said dreamily, "That's 20 million. After we get it, we'll pay off Brother Jian's 3 million debt, and there will still be plenty left. It'll be enough for the three of us brothers to live a carefree life for the rest of our lives."
The fat man quickly said, "Let's make it clear first, we have to split the money equally once we get it."
Having clearly heard that there were three people who had kidnapped her, and that they were obviously prepared, Xi Congshuang forced herself to suppress any physical reaction, even though her body was trembling with shock.
With her hands and feet bound in front of her, the light shone from the front. She had just peeked out and saw that the door was only slightly ajar. Any movement she made could provoke the kidnappers.
Do not move, absolutely do not move.
Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. In this critical moment, her adrenaline surged. Xi Congshuang could hardly feel the pain of her limbs being bound. Her rationality kept washing away the drowsiness brought on by the drug.
From what I understand, these people have already negotiated with her parents, demanding a ransom of 20 million.
But she couldn't let her guard down. There was a worst-case scenario: they received the ransom but then killed the hostage.
She remembered that when she woke up in the hospital, she was covered in severe injuries, and it took a long time for her injuries to heal. She had no idea what happened during the kidnapping.
The doctor said that her brain adopted a protective mechanism under stress, causing her to forget the memory. She may never remember it, or she may remember it one day due to some opportunity.
The brain is a very complex system, and doctors cannot give her any guarantees.
However, judging from the current situation, the kidnappers are unaware that her phone contains a GPS chip. If the phone is still there, it shouldn't be too difficult for her parents and the police to find it.
But why... was she asked to learn to shoot afterwards?
And what her mother said was: "You won't be so lucky next time, finding a loaded gun."
It sounds like... she dealt with the kidnappers and the crisis before the police arrived.
Why is this happening?
Soon, Xi Congshuang understood why: the three of them were arguing over the stolen money that they had not yet received.
The two skinny guys believed that they were the ones who kidnapped Xi Congshuang, and that the fat guy had only provided his own forest farm and hadn't done anything, so why should he get to share the profits equally with everyone else?
The fat man disagreed and started arguing with the two men. After receiving a phone call, Brother Jian impatiently yelled at the other end, "I know, I know! I can pay you back three million tomorrow, so stop barking at me!"
The scene fell silent for a moment, then the other two looked on.
Brother Jian: "Let me tell you the truth, I owe three million in debt. If I split it equally with you, I'll be at a huge disadvantage."
He pulled something out from his lower back and slammed it on the table. The two men were startled when they saw what it was.
This is a homemade gun. I had heard that Brother Jian's ancestors were bandits and that there were guns buried in the backyard that had not been handed over. I didn't expect it to be true.
Jian Ge: "It's good that Fatty provided the venue, but let me make this clear beforehand: I'm the one who found the guy, and I'm the one who led you guys to pull this job, so I have to take the lion's share."
Fatty: "How many do you want?"
Jian: "I want 15 million, and you and Lao Dong can split the rest."
This is clearly unfair.
Before Lao Dong could speak, the fat man, who hadn't been drinking, was the most impulsive: "I'll split the remaining five million with Lao Dong. Do you really think I'm an idiot?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than gunshots rang out in the night. Lao Dong, who was closest to Jian Ge, shuddered.
Xi Congshuang gritted her teeth and endured it. Then she heard the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground. The faint smell of blood mixed with the smell of dust and wood stimulated her senses.
Those who cannot see are the easiest to imagine.
Watching helplessly as the fat man collapsed, Lao Dong dared not anger Brother Jian.
"What ten million?" Jian Ge's eyes reddened. "Who told you I was going to split it with you? I owe five million. If I don't pay it back, they'll chop off my hands and feet and throw me on the street to beg."
Turning the gun around and pointing it at Lao Dong, Jian Ge said, "If everyone shares a little with me, how much will I have left?"
Lao Dong finally realized that Brother Jian had been overwhelmed by the ransom amount and had lost his mind.
"The most important thing now is to get the ransom. Let's both calm down. So what if it's a fool? With you, Brother Jian, by my side, do you think I can't make a fortune?"
Old Dong's smooth talk made Jian Ge temporarily lower his guard. He tucked the gun back into his waistband and prepared to clean up the fat man's body with Old Dong.
However, just a few minutes later, another gunshot rang out near the deserted forest.
Jian Ge, enraged, shouted, "You dare to try and steal my gun?"
Not content with killing someone, he went on to deliver a few more kicks to vent his anger. The alcohol rushed to his brain at that moment, driving Jian Ge into a rage.
After walking around several times and cursing a bunch of incomprehensible words, Brother Jian discovered another survivor still alive at the scene.
Even without opening her eyes, Xi Congshuang could feel a murderous gaze falling on her. A moment later, heavy footsteps approached, and he pushed the door open wider.
At the critical moment, the fat man, whose shot had hit fat but not vital organs, woke up and lunged at him to grab the gun.
"Damn it! How come he's still alive?!"
The two fought each other in the small wooden house. The fat man was stubborn and insisted on taking the gun from Jian Ge's hand, refusing to let go even after being shot in the gun by elbow.
"Let go! Let go! Let go! If you're not afraid of dying, let go!"
"If you let go, you'll kill me!"
Xi Congshuang took the opportunity to quietly move her position; the situation before her was clearly not right.
After several loud thuds, the fat man, still wounded by a gunshot, finally gave up. Jian Ge had his wound widened several times over, and the blood kept flowing.
With his last ounce of strength, he managed to pry open the gun barrel and punched Brother Jian in the eye, causing the gun to fly from his hand.
The homemade gun was thrown to Xi Congshuang's feet, but she quickly picked it up and grabbed it in her hand.
Her wrists were bound with superglue, but it did not affect her grip or firing the gun.
On the other side, Jian Ge grabbed a chair and smashed it against the fat man until his head was a bloody mess before he stopped.
He turned around and was confronted by a girl holding a gun.
Having killed two people, Jian Ge's mentality had undergone a complete transformation, and his red and swollen eyes stared at Xi Congshuang.
"You're awake. When did you wake up?"
As he spoke, he dragged the blood-stained stool into the woodshed.
Seeing Xi Congshuang's trembling hands, he suddenly smiled.
"You look so delicate, do you dare to fire a gun?"
As soon as the word "open" was uttered, Xi Congshuang pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
This was the first sound; she struck the gaunt man between the eyebrows, and blood flowed from the small hole, yet his body still maintained its forward momentum.
Xi Congshuang's instinctive survival instinct made her keep pulling the trigger. The recoil caused her hands to ache terribly, but she dared not let go or stop.
"Bang bang bang!"
She didn't know how many shots she fired, nor how badly her hands were shaking. She vaguely remembered seeing a blood-red scene before her eyes, and the people on the ground were all silent.
They're all dead, and the magazines are empty. It's time to end this.
If she could, Xi Congshuang would like to travel through time and carry her trembling fifteen-year-old self outside the door.
Instead of watching helplessly as blood splattered everywhere, and having to move towards the door with blurred vision, because being bound and maintaining the same posture for too long made all the muscles in the body stiff and numb.
The slender girl trembled as she avoided the people on the ground, gritting her teeth and using her arms to support herself as she moved closer to the door.
As she passed the corpse by the door, she didn't even dare to look into its unseeing eyes.
Finally, Xi Congshuang found a machete in the corner of the room, cut the super duct tape on her hand, and cut the back of her hand with the blade, but she didn't have time to care about it.
He turned around, picked up the old, peeling button phone from the table, and dialed a number: "Hello? I want to call the police. I've been kidnapped."
Having done all this, Xi Congshuang, not daring to linger any longer, walked shakily into the depths of the orchard.
She would rather live with venomous snakes than stay in this seemingly brightly lit hell.
At that moment, she was unaware that her phone had been resold, making it extremely difficult to thoroughly investigate her whereabouts in the forest area, which had almost no surveillance coverage.
There is no human habitation within a radius of several hundred meters, and the area is surrounded by mountains, which makes the search and rescue operation quite difficult.
The phone call that Xi Congshuang broadcast successfully saved her life.
Unfortunately, misfortune struck again. In her panic, the girl accidentally stepped into a dug pit, hit the back of her head on a rock, and lost consciousness.
As she passed out, Xi Congshuang felt a lightness in her body. She had a feeling that this was a sign that it was time for her to leave.
Now that we know the cause and effect, it is indeed time to leave.
The only regret was that I had to say goodbye to Su Cheng in person and promise to meet her again someday.
Shortly after, the police found the unconscious girl in a ditch near the log cabin in the forest, and the sounds of sirens and ambulances echoed through the mountains.
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