Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
Sunlight streamed in through the window.
A black USB drive rested quietly beside a jade thumb ring of excellent water clarity.
Jiang Se picked up the wooden block on the bedside table, looked down at it for a moment, then tossed it back into the metal box in the drawer.
She didn’t need it anymore.
Twelve o’clock.
Lu Huaiyan sent her a WeChat message saying he had already set off to the outskirts to pick up Han Yin.
Jiang Se didn’t rush to reply. She placed the needle on the record and, stepping to the lazy beat of the drums, walked toward the bathroom.
On the vanity sat a metal makeup case.
The oval mirror reflected her face, and the deep and shallow purple bruises scattered across the skin exposed by her camisole slip dress.
All marks Lu Huaiyan had left on her these past few days.
Last night she clung to him, wanting him to not hold back just like in the car. The hickey on her collarbone was especially unbearable to look at.
Jiang Se opened the makeup case, took out a concealer stick, and listening to the music coming from the living room, unhurriedly applied a thin layer of concealer over her collarbone.
When the record reached its end, she came out of the bathroom, changed clothes, picked up her phone, and replied to Lu Huaiyan with a simple “Mm.”
By this time Zhu Mingli had already arrived at the club’s parking lot.
Today was Friday and daytime at that, so there were barely any customers, and few cars parked in the lot.
In the past, no matter the event, Jiang Se always liked to arrive twenty minutes early, but today she showed up right on time.
When the bright red Ferrari appeared in the rearview mirror, Zhu Mingli took out her phone and dialed.
“Direction nine o’clock, my car is parked here. Get in and talk,” she said, then hung up.
The red sedan paused slightly, then quickly turned and stopped beside Zhu Mingli’s car.
A slender figure stepped down from the driver’s seat.
Zhu Mingli stared at Jiang Se’s gradually approaching figure, lightly licking her dry lips.
Jiang Se directly pulled open the passenger door, stood outside the car and looked at her, saying faintly: “Not getting in?”
“Did you not see the screenshot of the conversation I sent you?” Zhu Mingli said: “My stepmother is bringing several of her nieces to the club. It’s not convenient to talk inside. We’ll talk in the car.”
Jiang Se indeed hadn’t seen it. Hearing that, she took out her phone and glanced at it.
Half an hour ago, Zhu Mingli’s stepmother really had sent her such a WeChat message.
Jiang Se glanced toward the back seat; all she saw was emptiness, no one.
Zhu Mingli tossed the documents from the central console onto the passenger seat cushion, saying impatiently: “I’m too lazy to see that group of poor relatives who come knocking for favors. This is a villa under Fu Yun’s aunt’s name. You’ll probably be interested in this villa.”
Jiang Se lowered her eyes and looked. It really was a villa under Tian Xiangyi’s name.
She didn’t hesitate further and bent down to sit in the car.
Cold air was running in the cabin, and Zhu Mingli’s palms grew a bit sweaty.
The moment the door closed, the car automatically locked. At the same time, a very soft sigh suddenly sounded from the back seat.
Jiang Se’s hand flipping through the property contract froze. She was about to turn her head when a gloved hand suddenly reached from behind, tightly covering her mouth and nose.
The memory of being drugged and carried away by Zhao Zhicheng seven years ago rushed in instantly.
The familiar soft cloth, the familiar gloves.
The familiar suffocating feeling.
Jiang Se struggled fiercely, her fingertips clawing hard at the man’s wrist.
Fu Yun didn’t feel any pain at all. Smiling softly, he coaxed her: “Don’t struggle, Sese, the more you struggle the worse it feels. Be good, it’ll be over soon.”
He was wearing a mask and a baseball cap, his voice muffled behind the mask, sounding even gentler than usual.
Ten seconds passed, and Jiang Se’s strength began slipping away, her movements slowing.
Half a minute passed, the intense “mmph mmph” sounds weakened, her lashes like tired butterfly wings unable to stay lifted, half-closed.
One minute passed, her lashes slowly closed, her hand falling limp.
The drug took effect in one minute. Fu Yun pressed for an extra half minute before letting go.
Within less than two minutes, the cabin was completely silent again.
“I’ll go move her car.”
Zhu Mingli rummaged through Jiang Se’s fallen bag, found the car key, and prepared to open the door.
Her face was pale, her voice tight.
Fu Yun glanced at her, frowning as he soothed: “Calm down, Lili. Put on sunglasses, keep your head down. Looking like this, no one will tell you’re not Jiang Se. Follow the route I told you yesterday and drive the car to the abandoned factory.”
Under Fu Yun’s instruction, Zhu Mingli changed into Jiang Se’s trench coat and put on the sunglasses from her bag. She picked up Jiang Se’s handbag and got out of the car.
Her long straight black hair and similar figure made her passable at a glance, she could indeed fool people.
The red Ferrari drove out of the parking lot.
Fu Yun glanced at Jiang Se beside him, his gaze sweeping inch by inch over her brows and eyes, then slowly picked up the property contract by her hand.
“This house was prepared for you from the beginning. I hadn’t planned to send you in so soon,” the man curled his lips, his voice tinged with doting, “but you’ve been too disobedient.”
The girl lay slumped in the passenger seat, lashes lowered, as if deeply asleep.
The route Fu Yun took with Zhu Mingli last night had very few surveillance cameras.
He was always cautious. As soon as the red Ferrari stopped on the patch of overgrown weeds in front of the factory, he got out, bent down to inspect the inside, and only after ensuring all traces were erased did he lock the car and leave.
“You drive,” he instructed Zhu Mingli warmly. “I want to drink a bit.”
Zhu Mingli glanced at Jiang Se, now somehow in the back seat, carried there by him at some point, pressed her lips together, and sat in the driver’s seat.
There was a small fridge in the back seat, filled with beer.
Fu Yun had always had this habit. Whenever his emotions fluctuated greatly, he wanted to drink.
He must be feeling excited now.
Once seated, Fu Yun took a can of beer from the fridge, pulled open the tab, and drank while looking at the unconscious Jiang Se lying beside him.
The cold beer slid down his throat, Adam’s apple rolling with each swallow.
The man’s cold fingers slowly brushed aside the hair covering her face, using the back of his fingers to quietly feel the temperature of her skin.
The year he came to Beicheng, the first thing he heard from that old man was her name.
Among this group of wealthy young masters and ladies, she seemed very famous.
Fu Jingyao said Cen Se was the person he had carefully chosen to be Fu Jun’s wife.
“Her genes are the most perfect: family background, IQ, EQ, appearance, all flawless. Ah Jun, Cen Se is the one most suited for you. You two have a childhood engagement. Once she turns eighteen, I will bring up the marriage arrangement with the Cen family.” Fu Jingyao said earnestly to his grandson, “The Cen family is snobbish. You must behave well enough for them to acknowledge this engagement.”
It should’ve been his second month back in Beicheng, standing in the corridor outside the Fu family study, before he even saw her, he heard her name—
Cen Se.
The old man’s idea of the most perfect marriage match.
On the first day of school in August, he did see her.
Fu Jun got out of the car a moment ahead of him, took two steps, then stopped, staring fixedly at the little girl being escorted into the school gate.
The girl was only eleven or twelve, yet already striking, slender, delicate. Among the crowd of students in identical uniforms, she was the one people noticed at first glance.
A noble swan, or a princess living in a castle.
Either name seemed to suit her.
Fu Yun followed Fu Jun’s gaze and looked once, then quickly withdrew his eyes.
In the Fu family he was just a decoration. Fu Jun had never spared him a real look, and even Fu Jingyao didn’t treat him as anything significant.
Fu Yun knew he wasn’t qualified to approach her.
Of course, at that time he hadn’t wanted to approach that kind of high-above, wealthy young lady.
The reason he noticed her was merely because she was the one Fu Jun would marry in the future.
But the more his gaze lingered on her, he gradually discovered a bit of surprise.
This girl was somewhat different inside and out.
On the surface she was an elegant and gentle white swan, but in truth she was a black swan full of arrogance and rebellion.
Truly interesting.
“Ah Yun, we’re here.”
Zhu Mingli’s call interrupted all of Fu Yun’s thoughts.
The villa’s garage door slowly rolled open. Zhu Mingli drove the car inside, looked back at Fu Yun, and her gaze quietly swept over the beer can in his hand and the man’s fingers resting on Jiang Se’s face.
This business van was something Fu Yun bought from the black market, said to have been used by some washed-up celebrity; the entire rear seat used reflective glass, giving it excellent privacy.
The car was already quite old. Zhu Mingli had never known he had such a vehicle or such an inconspicuous place.
This large flat-level unit, registered under Fu Yun’s aunt’s name, was extremely remote, almost outside Beicheng’s boundaries.
Yesterday Fu Yun had specifically brought her here to record her fingerprint; now only the two of them could enter this villa.
She had become Fu Yun’s accomplice completely.
“You did very well.” Removing his hand from Jiang Se’s cheek, Fu Yun spoke softly to Zhu Mingli, “Now drive your own car back to ‘Huaqing Pool’, don’t be nervous. I’ve already arranged everything for what comes next, no one will trace anything back to us.”
He spoke to her in a praising, affectionate tone, his expression confident and arrogant.
Zhu Mingli seemed to have swallowed a calming pill, and obediently got out of the car.
After she drove away, Fu Yun lifted Jiang Se into his arms.
This villa had been renovated; on the surface it looked like a large flat unit, but inside there was something else entirely, beneath the garage was a very hidden basement.
Fu Yun carried her directly to the basement. The wooden steps creaked, and the damp, stifling air grew heavier with each step he took.
The basement smelled unpleasant, but the interior was decorated very tastefully.
Light green cabinets, a white dining table, a dark green leather sofa.
Behind the sofa was a princess bed shaped like a black swan.
“Everything here is in your favorite colors, you will definitely like it here.” Fu Yun placed the girl in his arms onto the princess bed, smiling, “I’ll have to tie you up for a while first. Once you completely accept me, I’ll give you freedom again.”
He straightened up, about to retrieve the items he had prepared. But at the corner of his eye, something suddenly caught his attention, his movement abruptly froze, his head slowly turning back, landing on Jiang Se’s collar.
The girl on the princess bed wore a square-neck, double-breasted knit top; the fabric at the neckline had been tugged loose when he placed her down, revealing half a collarbone.
Fu Yun stared at that bit of collarbone, then leaned down again, pulling her collar lower.
Although concealer had been used, that skin full of marks couldn’t stand close scrutiny at all.
“You let Lu Huaiyan touch you?” Fu Yun half-narrowed his eyes, his gaze a little cold. “You still have feelings for him? The one who should have gone in to save you back then was clearly me.”
He had arranged everything. The moment he went in, he would kill Zhao Zhicheng, then save her, become her savior.
But Lu Huaiyan beat him to it.
He was just one step late!
The man’s breathing and gaze gradually grew heated.
She was the only prey he had failed to completely destroy, and the reward he had saved for himself after climbing to the peak of power.
Fu Jingyao wanted to save all the best things for Fu Jun.
First place in their grade, the Fu Corporation, and Cen Se as well.
But he wanted those things too!
“You were originally mine. How can you have another man’s mark on you?”
The man lowered his lips to the thin skin of her collarbone, slowly leaving behind his own mark, completely unconcerned with the bitter cosmetic taste coating his mouth.
The dim yellow light spread quietly through the sealed space.
Fu Yun’s breathing grew heavier, he wanted to take her early, right now!
Just as his lips lifted from her collarbone, the light above suddenly shifted, cold light slashed toward him from behind.
Fu Yun had already sensed something wrong the moment Jiang Se raised her hand.
But his body reacted two seconds slower than his brain; he avoided the vital spot, but not the blade. The sharp tip cut a palm-length gash from collarbone to chest.
Blood soaked into his shirt.
After stabbing him, Jiang Se kicked him hard, stood up from the bed and stepped back several paces, her expression cold as she stared at him.
Fu Yun clutched his wound. He didn’t rush to seize the knife from her hand, instead he lifted his eyes to examine her.
“You truly surprise me!”
He seemed to feel no pain at all. His lips curved in an exaggerated arc, his gaze burning as he looked at Jiang Se.
“You shouldn’t have woken up so quickly. Have you developed a resistance to the sedative?”
Jiang Se said, “I have trained for it.” But that wasn’t the reason she remained conscious.
Fu Yun quietly watched her, the smile on his face unchanging. “Sese, you can’t get out of this place. There’s no signal here, and you can’t open the door. No one outside can hear your cries for help. Put down the knife, don’t force me to hurt you.”
“Force you to hurt me?” Jiang Se tightened her grip on the folding knife. “Fu Yun, seven years ago, was I the one who forced you to kidnap me?”
Her eyes were cold, her expression cold as well, carrying an unapproachable dignity.
“And besides, how do you know the one who’ll need saving is me, and not you?”
Fu Yun’s smile remained gentle, tinged with fondness.
Inside the cabinet behind him were the things he had prepared for her. He slowly opened a drawer and took out a thumb-thick leather cord.
Between a man and a woman, their strength gap was large, he wasn’t afraid of the knife in Jiang Se’s hand at all.
In the past, back in Bo County, he hadn’t even lost when fighting knives bare-handed, let alone now.
“If I hurt you in a moment, as long as you beg for mercy, I’ll forgive you, Sese.” The man walked toward Jiang Se, his steps unhurried, carrying the leisurely confidence of a cat toying with a mouse.
Jiang Se didn’t dodge, her expression showing no fear at all.
When the two of them were only a few steps apart, she suddenly curled her lips into a smile: “Is your vision starting to double?”
Fu Yun’s smile froze. He stopped walking, his eyes sweeping toward her collarbone.
“I did put something on my collarbone, but it shouldn’t have taken effect this quickly.” Jiang Se slowly withdrew the smile at the corner of her lips. “How was the beer, Fu Yun? Back then those two men also put the drug in the beer and forced me to drink it, saying you couldn’t taste any bitterness. Even though you only drank less than half a can, I’ve been talking with you until now, enough time for it to kick in.”
Beer?
Fu Yun abruptly lifted his eyes.
“Zhu Mingli really is quite good at doing this kind of thing. How does it feel to have both of your preys join hands and fight back?”
Jiang Se aimed the knife in her hand at the man whose face had grown dark as water, her gaze steady and calm.
“Weren’t you saying I wouldn’t be able to get out and that I’d have no way to call for help? Fu Yun, if you dare take one more step toward me, I’ll start saving myself!”
—
On a small road less than two kilometers from the villa, a white BMW with its hazards on was parked by the roadside.
The blue sports car was too eye-catching, so when Zhu Mingli came last night, she had switched to another car.
Once the car came to a complete stop, she lifted her wrist and checked her watch, one forty-five.
Less than fifteen minutes until two o’clock.
She immediately took out her phone and dialed.
After only two “beep beep” tones, the call was picked up.
Zhu Mingli didn’t wait for the other party to speak at all. Staring at the windshield, teeth clenched, she said: “Lu Huaiyan, Jiang Se is trapped in Fu Yun’s villa right now. If you want me to tell you where they are, you have to promise me one thing!”
