After the Second Playthrough, the CP-Less Female Lead Kneels and Begs Me for Forgiveness [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 58

“Last night on XX Road, a car accident occurred. A vehicle suddenly exploded, and the owner, Song XX…”

The news anchor’s deep, magnetic voice echoed in her ears.

Shao Xibei slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Her head was still groggy; she remembered going to watch a car race with Shang Yin yesterday, but she had been ambushed while going to the restroom.

“Cough, cough.” Her throat felt dry and itchy, and she couldn’t help but cough twice.

The anchor’s voice stopped abruptly.

“Awake? It seems I used a little too little dosage,” a voice said. It was distorted by a voice changer, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.

The environment was dim, with not a single ray of light breaking through. Shao Xibei followed the sound and saw only the flickering ember of a cigarette in the darkness. The smell of smoke wafting toward her nose let her know someone was smoking, yet beneath the tobacco was the briny scent of seawater.

Shao Xibei wasn’t foolish enough to ask the useless question of “Who are you?” Her hands and feet were tied, preventing her from moving; she seemed to be leaning against a wall.

“Are we at sea?” Shao Xibei asked calmly, her voice raspy.

“Heh, no shouting or screaming, and you can even analyze your environment. You’re quite clever.” This response served as confirmation that they were indeed at sea.

Shao Xibei’s gaze locked onto the glowing ember, the only light source in the room. “Can I know why you kidnapped me?”

The ember suddenly went out. Click.

Warm yellow light instantly flooded the room. Shao Xibei’s eyes stung from the sudden brightness, and a few tears moistened her eyes. However, she could now see the layout of the room; it appeared to be a warehouse filled with piles of junk.

“Not really.”

The tap-tap-tap of footsteps stopped very close to her. A shadow loomed over her.

Shao Xibei looked up and met a pair of sunglasses. The person before her was wrapped in a green military overcoat, their head completely covered by a black balaclava, leaving not a single patch of skin exposed. She noticed that even their hands were thoroughly covered.

All she could discern was that he was a tall man. He held an old radio, which was likely where the news broadcast had been coming from.

As they stared at each other, the man suddenly asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”

Shao Xibei smiled slightly. “If I’m afraid, will you let me go?”

“Heh.” The man gave a light chuckle; his voice-changed tone seemed full of interest.

Shao Xibei’s expression remained unchanged. “It seems I’m in no immediate danger of losing my life.”

“Correct,” the man replied bluntly, making no attempt to hide it. “Seeing as you aren’t particularly annoying, I’ll tell you this: the employer asked for you to be delivered in one piece.”

Shao Xibei lowered her eyes in thought as an idea quietly surfaced.

The man saw her expression. “Perhaps you already have an answer.”

Shao Xibei did not respond.

The man gave another light laugh and slowly walked away. The room returned to darkness.

In the silent, pitch-black void, time passed slowly. The smell of smoke gradually faded, leaving only the salty, damp scent of the sea. Because the room was so dark that she couldn’t see anything, her gaze lost focus, resting on nothing.

She wondered how Shang Yin would react to her disappearance. She hoped Shang Yin could keep the news quiet so that her father and Shao Yu wouldn’t find out. Fortunately, before leaving, she had mentioned she was going out to play with friends for a while.

Song Xin: The former “kept man” and suitor of the Shao family’s second young miss. However, this person loathed her and once stabbed her in the heart at a hospital—an incident suppressed by a certain powerful force.

Song Xiuran: Song Xin’s non-blood-related older sister. The two had a poor relationship. She suddenly resigned from her hospital job in June and, after a period of time, appeared at the bar the second young miss frequented, becoming her current “kept partner”…

Li Chenxu: The third young master of the Li family, also associated with the second young miss…

…

After reviewing all of Shao Xibei’s social interactions, Shang Yin rubbed her swollen eyes. Looking at these files, it was impossible to tell who had kidnapped her.

“Brother, who do you think is the most likely suspect?” Shang Yin asked with a frown, looking at Shang Yuan beside her.

Shang Yuan scanned the data. “The Song sisters are both ordinary people; they don’t have enough money to hire professionals. Furthermore, given that we haven’t found a single lead, the person who kidnapped the second young miss must be someone extraordinary.”

“As for the others, they have absolutely no motive to kidnap her.”

“Is it possible a rival company did it?”

Shang Yuan shook his head. “According to our investigation, the Shao family’s industries rarely interfere with the interests of other enterprises. Moreover, smaller companies are desperate to cooperate with the Shaos; why would they kidnap the second young miss?”

Shang Yin’s brow furrowed deeper.

That day, Shao Xibei had gone to the restroom and hadn’t returned for a long time. Her phone wouldn’t go through, and Shang Yin had immediately realized something was wrong. She called the police right away.

However, it was to no avail. The matter escalated, and both Father Shao and Shao Yu found out. Father Shao was so furious that he was hospitalized. Shao Yu had to care for his father, manage the company, and send people out to find Shao Xibei all at once. He was dizzy with exhaustion.

At that very moment, someone leaked information that the company’s products were defective, and many people who used them were hospitalized. The company’s stock plummeted.

Someone was targeting the Shao family.

Shao Yu sat by his father’s hospital bed and sighed. His face was etched with unavoidable fatigue. His two closest relatives were in trouble, and the defamatory news about the company online could not be erased.

Knock, knock.

The ward door was tapped. Without turning his head, Shao Yu said, “Come in.”

Having received permission, Shang Yin opened the door and walked inside.

She first placed a fruit basket on the table, then slowly approached Shao Yu’s side: “I’m sorry, if it weren’t for me…”

Shao Yu knew what she was going to say and waved his hand dismissively: “It’s not your fault.”

Shang Yin bit her lip and added: “The people spreading rumors online… a few have been caught. They were all acting under instructions. We’ve already done our best to find people to suppress the situation.”

Shao Yu closed his eyes: “Thank you.”

Sensing that Shao Yu didn’t want to talk more, Shang Yin remained silent for a while before finally walking out. Shao Yu didn’t make a single move. Shang Yin gently closed the door, sealing away Shao Yu’s heavy sigh.

When the news of Shao Xibei’s disappearance first broke, Shao Yu had come looking for her immediately. Shang Yin had thought he came to blame her, but unexpectedly, he only wanted to know the specific details of the incident.

When Shang Yin returned home, Shang Yuan was still looking over the documents.

“How is it? Is Uncle Shao’s condition any better?”

“Still the same,” Shang Yin replied.

Recently, Shang Yuan had handed over his company’s affairs to his deputy. He had no choice; his sister was the one who “lost” the girl, so how could he, as an older brother, not help her? Furthermore, the Shao family and theirs shared a friendly history; otherwise, their parents wouldn’t have thought of setting him up on a blind date with a Shao daughter. However, his parents were currently abroad.

“By the way, Song Xiuran was in a car accident two days ago. She’s still lying in the hospital,” Shang Yuan noted. “According to Xiao Chen’s latest investigation, Song Xin has been staying at home, only occasionally going out to buy groceries.”

Shang Yin asked in confusion: “Brother, do you suspect the two of them?”

Shang Yuan nodded but didn’t explain why: “I’ve hired people to watch them. I just feel like something is wrong with them.”

Shang Yin nodded and asked further: “What about the situation online?”

Shang Yuan put down the documents and propped his head up with both hands: “It’s strange. There seems to be another power protecting the Shao Corporation. Our family’s influence domestically is actually quite small. Such powerful online public opinion is usually very hard to suppress, yet someone is out there helping us quiet it down.”

Shao Xibei lay weakly on the ground. Four days had passed, and during this time, she had only had water. It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about escaping, but she was restrained by iron chains that she simply couldn’t break.

Suddenly, Shao Xibei was blindfolded and hoisted onto someone’s shoulder.

“The person has been delivered. Boss, we’ve finished another job. Let’s go out and have some fun tonight.”

“Heh, sure.”

Shao Xibei heard the voice of the person from the beginning.

“You guys wait for me here. I’ll be back in an hour.”

Her stomach was being pressed hard against the man’s shoulder, making her feel terribly ill. Her face was pale, but the man carrying her couldn’t care less. With her eyes covered, her sense of hearing was amplified; she heard birds chirping nearby and guessed they were now on land.

After about forty minutes, the man stopped.

“Alright, I’ve brought the person to you.”

“Hehe, thank you.” Shao Xibei’s ears twitched. This voice… wasn’t it Song Xin’s?

Although she had already suspected it, she was still somewhat shocked when it actually happened. The cloth covering her eyes was suddenly removed.

What appeared before her was a lush green forest and Song Xin’s pure, beautiful face. Surrounding them were several men who looked like bodyguards. Iron chains were still firmly bound to her body; the skin on her wrists and ankles had already been chafed raw by the metal, with traces of blood seeping out.

“Song Xin? Why did you have people kidnap me?” Shao Xibei asked.

Meeting Shao Xibei’s gaze, Song Xin smiled with a tender, lingering affection.

“You’ll know in the future, Ah Xi.”

The man in the military coat interrupted: “Alright, I won’t disturb your reunion. Remember to transfer the money to my account. I’m leaving.” Without waiting for Song Xin’s reply, he turned and strode away.

Song Xin knelt down and leaned close to Shao Xibei. “Ah Xi, I’ll unlock the chains for you, but please don’t run away, okay?”

Shao Xibei said nothing.

Song Xin lowered her eyes, took out a key, and unlocked the chains on her ankles. Without hesitation, Shao Xibei kicked Song Xin away.

Seeing this, the burly men in combat gear around them promptly drew their guns. The dark muzzles were all aimed at Shao Xibei.

“Tsk.” Quite the setup.

Song Xin stood up from the ground and frowned. She waved her hand: “Don’t scare Ah Xi.” Seeing this, the bodyguards retracted their weapons and stood in place, silent and motionless as statues.

“Ah Xi, don’t be afraid. I didn’t do this on purpose; it’s just that if I asked you to come out with me, you certainly wouldn’t agree.”

“So, I could only ask others for help.”

Shao Xibei sneered. To describe a kidnapping in such high-sounding terms—she truly was a master at being disgusting.

Song Xin walked over and embraced Shao Xibei, whispering in her ear: “I’m sorry, Ah Xi. Sleep for a little longer.”

A sharp sting pierced her neck. Everything went black, and Shao Xibei fainted.

As Song Xin held the unconscious Shao Xibei in her arms, her face was filled with a morbid, sickly pleasure.

“Ah Xi, you’ll forgive me, won’t you? I just want to be with you.”

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