0063 063 We brushed past each other and met.
Qi Shuyao heard the phone ring in the middle of the night. She frowned, closed her eyes, and reached out from under the covers to grope for her phone on the bedside table. She finally found it, then pulled it back under the covers and answered it without even checking who it was.
"Hello?"
She heard soft breathing from the other end of the line, as if someone was breathing into her ear. She propped herself up on her arms and sat up, staring at the phone number on the screen. It looked familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
Hello? May I ask who you are?
"Yaoyao..."
Finally, voices came from the other end. A shout struck Qi Shuyao like a hammer blow to the head, instantly waking her up. She was so excited that she stammered.
"Tu Mi? Is that you? Where did you go! No, who took you away? Are you safe now?"
"I think I'm safe. I've been doing quite well. The person who took me away was a man. He said he was my father and even gave me a name."
"Dad? Are you sure? You're not lying, are you?"
"I overheard the maids in the house talking. They said that he and I had a DNA test done to confirm it before they brought him back. And, and I also noticed that his face looks somewhat similar to mine."
"Who is he? Where did he come from? Why didn't he show up before? Why is he suddenly appearing to claim kinship? Wait, where are you now? Do you know your exact location?"
"I know, I'm in Jingyang too, Yao Yao. Don't ask anymore. Can I see you? Tomorrow, let's meet in the building outside that dance hall at noon, okay? Please..."
"Okay, okay, see you tomorrow. Don't cry, it's not your fault. But how are you going to get out? Will he allow you to come out?"
"I'm about to climb out of the window and leave. Don't worry, I've already taken care of everything. See you tomorrow."
"Then be careful."
After hanging up the phone, Qi Shuyao couldn't fall asleep. She wrapped herself in the blanket and leaned against the headboard, her mind in a state of unprecedented chaos.
The next morning, Qi Yu took Qi Shuyao to Jingyang, dropped her off at the school gate, and hugged her in the car for a while before leaving.
Qi Shuyao had no classes in the morning. She returned to her dormitory, sat on a chair, and stared at the painting in front of her for a long time before finally putting it away. She also put the paint that had been scattered on the table back into the cabinet and wiped the table clean.
Her roommate propped himself up in bed to look at her, quite puzzled.
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to draw anymore?"
"Take care of things, it looks so neat and tidy, it makes me feel good."
She changed into comfortable clothes, wrapped a scarf around her neck, and was about to leave again with her phone in hand when her roommate loudly called out to her to bring lunch back.
"You can order takeout. I'm leaving school and I don't know when I'll be back."
"You've been so busy lately, I don't see you very often..."
Qi Shuyao smiled at them and gently closed the door.
She took a taxi to an abandoned building in the old town. More than a year had passed, and the place was still the same as before, undeveloped and deserted.
The bloodstains where Tu Mi fell from the building have long been washed away and are now covered with a layer of snow, with not a single footprint on the snow.
I wonder if the underground business is still going on. In this cold weather, is there any heating down there? Those girls have lived like this, never seeing the light of day, year after year. They're probably all afraid of the surface. Even when the door is pushed open, no one dares to run out.
She heard a car horn behind her, turned around, and saw a man walking towards her.
In Qi Shuyao's mind, Guan Xiang had always been a short, fat old man, but the person walking towards her looked to be under forty years old, and his height even looked about the same as Qi Yu's. He had a well-proportioned figure and, when he didn't show his expression, he exuded a natural sense of authority.
It was at the moment she saw his face clearly that she suddenly realized they had met so long ago.
He walked straight toward her, smiling and greeting her.
"Miss Qi, don't you recognize me? We met when we were little."
"What... are you doing here?"
"Of course, it's to see you."
"You are! No, you are not..."
"Fortunately, Miss Qi chose a place without surveillance cameras or people. Although I don't know what you're here for, you'll have to come with me."
A hand reached out from behind and covered Qi Shuyao's mouth. Before she completely lost consciousness, she felt herself being lifted into the car.
Tu Mi followed the navigation app she had just learned to use on her phone and arrived at the abandoned building. Her legs were so weak from running that she had to lean against the wall to walk over. She saw some messy footprints on the ground, but there was no one around.
She called Qi Shuyao on her phone, but no one answered. She sent a message, but no one replied. She was so anxious that she paced around on the ground, but then she heard a sound coming from behind her.
Tu Mi quickly hid in a snowdrift nearby, lay down on the ground, and watched as a large group of people walked out of the building.
The woman at the front had curly hair and an unlit cigarette dangling from her mouth. She was wearing an open coat, revealing only a thin dress underneath, as if she were oblivious to her surroundings. Behind her were more than a dozen men, all with their heads drooping and dark circles under their eyes bigger than their eyes.
It was Monday, and the woman in the lead was saying something like "I overslept today." Tu Mi's mind raced, and she immediately matched the woman in front of her with the "Sister Hong" her friend had mentioned who brought people to gamble over the weekend.
When Sister Hong walked onto the road, several more cars drove up. She helped the men into the cars one by one, and then drove off with another car.
Tu Mi stared at the unanswered messages on her phone, gritted her teeth, hailed a taxi, and followed Sister Hong.
She sent a message to Qi Shuyao from the car, saying that she had other things to do and had to leave first. After saying that, she skillfully put her phone on silent.
Hongjie's car was parked outside a large villa. Tumi got out of the car and was stopped by the bodyguards at the gate when she walked over.
As she stood frozen in place trying to find an excuse, the bodyguard suddenly leaned closer to look at her and shoved her inside.
"So Sister Hong took her out this week. She's really pretty."
Tu Mi lifted her foot and slowly walked inside, clenching her fist.
Qi Shuyao woke up in a warm room. She propped herself up on her arms and got up. The blurry scene in front of her gradually became clear. The small room was quite cozy, and there was only one woman sitting there eating sunflower seeds.
Seeing that she had gotten up, the woman actually pushed the sunflower seeds towards her.
"Want something to eat?"
Who are you?
"I know what you're going to ask, but I can't answer you because I don't know the answers to these questions either. Someone told me to keep an eye on you. Don't worry, I won't mistreat you. You'll have plenty of food and drink. Once the men outside reach a deal, you can leave."
Qi Shuyao rubbed her throbbing head, her voice a little hoarse.
"What does Guan Xiang want from my dad?"
"I really don't know, he never tells me these things."
Guan Xiang stood outside the door smoking. He had smoked as much as he used to in a year in the last few days, and his throat was starting to feel uncomfortable, and his heart was trembling abnormally.
If his father were still standing in front of him, he would definitely laugh at his incompetence. He said that he had lived a smooth life without encountering any setbacks.
He finally finished the cigarette, stood in the wind to let the smoke dissipate, and then turned to go inside.
Inside the room, Qi Shuyao and the second wife were leaning against the wall, one slumped in a chair, the other reclining in one. A table full of sunflower seed chips lay scattered in front of them. He glanced down at them, a satisfied smile on his face.
"It seems Miss Qi is quite comfortable here. Please stay a few more days, don't be shy."
Qi Shuyao sat in the corner with her legs drawn up, appearing completely calm. She looked Guan Xiang up and down, then said in a very soft voice,
"How dare you be so bold? Who's protecting you so well?"
Guan Xiang laughed along, then sat down next to the second wife and pressed down on her hand that was playing with melon seeds.
"Look at this, this is the mindset of a young lady raised in an official's family. She thinks that just because her father is an official, she's amazing. Little girl, you've experienced several political changes, can't you see? Power can't be held by just one person, but money can. Some people think that with absolute power, no amount of money is useful. But you can't hold onto power. Only money is written in my name and belongs to me. Today, if someone surnamed He is an official, I can use money to make him work for me. Tomorrow, if someone surnamed Lin comes back, I can also make him my man."
Qi Shuyao rolled her eyes inadvertently. He looked somewhat deranged. From the moment they met until now, his image had become increasingly different from the rumors about him.
She couldn't be bothered to look at his crazy antics, and didn't respond.
"Where's my phone? Have I received any messages?"
"Your dad is busy and doesn't have time to look for you."
"I made an appointment with someone, and you brought me here. Doesn't that mean I have to break my promise? You have no integrity."
"Boyfriend, let's go on a date."
"It's so vulgar."
Her words were filled with undisguised disdain, and she didn't even glance at him. Guan Xiang was stunned, and the atmosphere froze for a moment.
Suddenly, a burst of laughter came from beside him. The second wife covered her face with her hands, laughing uncontrollably. She peeked at Qi Shuyao through her fingers, then at Guan Xiang, but she just couldn't help but laugh.
She nudged Guan Xiang with her elbow.
"You can go out now. I'll take good care of this little girl for you. Go, go, go."
Guan Xiang left, leaving only Qi Shuyao watching the incessantly laughing Second Madam. She wiped tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingers, laughing as she spoke.
"Little Yao Yao, right? I like you. You used just two words to express my opinion of him. You are truly a cultured person. How come I didn't think of that word?"
Guan Xiang went to the cool breeze again to take deep breaths, this time to calm his temper. He stood there until his ears were numb from the cold, when his phone finally rang. He raised his hand and stiffly answered it.
"Secretary Qi, are you finally done with your work?"
"You haven't improved at all over the years."
“Secretary Qi, you can’t say that. Whether the method is clever or not, as long as it works, that’s fine. Besides, we’re old acquaintances. You know I really like your youngest daughter. It’s just that I don’t have a daughter myself. I’m just bringing her to my house to play for a few days. With so many older sisters and cousins in my family, I can definitely take good care of her.”
The second wife finally calmed down. She propped her face up with one hand, and her face, which showed her age, looked very charming in the dim light. Her eyes were fixed on you, as if you were flying.
What do you like about me?
Qi Shuyao took the initiative to strike up a conversation with her, which the second wife found quite pleasing. She extended a finger with red nail polish and traced it up and down her body.
"From head to toe, especially this bracelet on your wrist."
Qi Shuyao subconsciously pulled her sleeve over to cover the bracelet.
"However, you are good-looking, but I don't like your face. And no matter how I look at you, you look a bit like that vixen from a few years ago."
Who is it?
"Sigh, you wouldn't even recognize someone like that, Miss. Xu Mei, the famous beauty in Jingyang City. The lower half of your face looks so much like her."
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