The Tragic Heroine Fell in Love with Me - Chapter 38

“Oh, aren’t you clever?” The bald man walked over and crouched down, grabbing Xiao San’s phone and yanking it away forcefully. “Oh dear, looks like the phone’s broken now.”

Xiao San felt like crying but had no tears left.

“How about I give you a better phone?” As he spoke, the bald man removed the restraint from Xiao San’s mouth and placed his own phone in her hand. “You!”

Before he could finish, Xiao San had already quickly dialed 110. But before she could complete the call, the bald man snatched the phone back.

“You!”

The bald man hadn’t expected Xiao San to be so bold. Even though she knew he was toying with her, she still dared to make the call.

Xiao San stared stubbornly at the bald man. “If you’ve got guts, don’t take it away. Let me make the call. If you don’t even dare to let me call 110, what kind of hero are you pretending to be?”

The bald man became intrigued by Xiao San. He probably hadn’t encountered a girl like this before.

“If it weren’t for this situation, I might even try to pursue you.”

Suppressing her disgust, Xiao San finally remembered she couldn’t afford to be too impulsive. “You just asked Lin Nuanyan for one million. I’ll give you two million, as long as you let me go.”

“Two million?” The bald man seemed skeptical.

“I know I definitely don’t have that much money, but my friend, that Zheng Qi Lin Nuanyan mentioned, she’s very wealthy. She would definitely pay to ransom me.”

“Friend?”

Afraid the bald man wouldn’t believe her, Xiao San insisted, “Zheng Qi and I have been classmates since high school. We’ve known each other for six or seven years. She’s like family to me and would definitely be willing to spend money to save me.”

“Oh, really?” The bald man turned back to Lin Nuanyan, who was still struggling, and said, “She’s offering two million.”

Xiao San hadn’t expected the bald man to be so underhanded, actually going to Lin Nuanyan with this, this was clearly just driving up the price.

Lin Nuanyan had been struggling for so long that she was almost out of strength.

Just as she was about to resign herself to fate, she heard the bald man’s words and started struggling again. She had sacrificed so much; if everything was ruined because of Xiao San’s words, wouldn’t that make her too pitiful?

“Two million one hundred thousand! I’ll give you two million one hundred thousand!”

“Two million five hundred thousand!” Xiao San immediately shouted.

So what if she was driving up the price? She just hoped Zheng Qi had that much money.

“Three million.” Lin Nuanyan gritted her teeth. “She can’t possibly come up with that much money. I can. I can give you cash. Just this bag of mine is worth over a million. Three million is just the cost of a few of my bags. What does she have? She’s just a pauper.”

Xiao San had nothing to say in response.

The bald man stood up and walked over to Lin Nuanyan, signaling the others to step back.

He held a knife and traced the tip along Lin Nuanyan’s clothes. The blade was extremely sharp, easily slicing through the fabric.

The others had been causing a commotion all this time, as if they were just deliberately stalling.

The bald man’s actions were the real means they could employ.

The bald man said, “You really are rich, huh? A bag worth over a million, yet you only offered us two hundred thousand to take a life?”

As he spoke, the bald man grabbed Lin Nuanyan’s clothes and tore them open with a rip. Lin Nuanyan hurriedly used both hands to cover her vital areas. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m a man of my word. I said five million, and not a cent less. Five million for your nude photos and her life.” The bald man tilted his chin toward Xiao San.

“Five million, why don’t you just rob a bank!” Lin Nuanyan yelled.

“Hahaha.” The thugs all laughed.

The bald man gently patted Lin Nuanyan’s face. “Isn’t that exactly what I’m doing right now? Besides,” he glanced at Xiao San, “my brothers aren’t without wives either. Doing that kind of thing can easily leave DNA evidence. What era do you think this is? Do you think it’s like the old days?”

“You bastard!” Lin Nuanyan’s face flushed red.

The bald man tried to persuade her, “If my brothers get caught, they’ll need some support money for their families, won’t they? I’m sure you won’t refuse.”

“You’re just insatiably greedy,” Lin Nuanyan continued to shout.

“Hey, you just called that girl an idiot, but aren’t you being one too? I’m not insatiably greedy. I’m just proposing a reasonable price. Of course, you can refuse,” the bald man stood up and paced around. “I can easily take her money instead. Then, you won’t have a chance to regret it.”

Xiao San nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, yes! Take my money! Five million, no problem! I’ll scrape together every penny I have to give it to you!”

But the bald man turned to Lin Nuanyan and asked, “Do you agree?”

Xiao San cried out, “Handsome, look at me! Five million, it’s the same five million! Can’t you just look at me?”

Annoyed by Xiao San’s noise, the bald man walked over to her. “Shh!”

Only when the bald man pressed his index finger against Xiao San’s lips did she realize she was already crying uncontrollably.

Who wouldn’t be terrified?

She thought Lin Nuanyan was insane, and this bald man was insane too.

But there was no other way. No matter how crazy they were, she had to placate them now.

“Brother, I can give you five million too. I may not be rich, but I at least have wealthy friends. Besides, my family owns a house. I can sell it to get you the money if I have to.”

“Since you call me ‘brother,’ I’ll be honest with you,” the bald man said, his fingers lightly tracing Xiao San’s face and back. “But there’s no helping it. You’re a good person, and I’m a villain. I believe Miss Lin, though unwilling, will still pay up. But you,” He pressed Xiao San tightly against his chest, his hands rubbing her back, a look of pleasure spreading across his face. “You’re a good person. You’d call the police.”

Xiao San suppressed her disgust. “I swear, I absolutely won’t call the police.”

The bald man said, “Miss Lin, look, she’s sworn it.”

Lin Nuanyan replied, “Five million. I’ll give you five million. Not a penny more. I can’t give you any more than that.”

The bald man smiled, his expression growing even more detached. “Alright, Miss Lin. Then I’ll endure the hardship first and give you a token of my sincerity.”

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Xiao San’s clothes, slipping a hand inside as if to violate her.

Xiao San struggled desperately to pull away, but how could her strength compare to the bald man’s?

“After being locked up for so long, I haven’t had a taste of a woman yet.”

“Boss, remember to share with us after you’re done. She looks like a virgin.”

“Don’t worry, when have I ever let you down?”

Xiao San felt the slimy, roaming hands on her body and tried to struggle, but suddenly her mind went blank, and her body stiffened momentarily.

She was so terrified that she lost the ability to resist.

“Bang!”

Suddenly, a car crashed through the unsealed floor-to-ceiling window. The black vehicle showed no intention of slowing down, charging straight ahead. The incident was so abrupt that everyone’s gaze snapped toward the car, yet their hands continued moving without pause.

Amid the swirling dust, the car slammed violently into the wall, its front end nearly deformed. The driver, retaining at least a shred of rationality, had stomped on the brakes at the last moment.

The car door swung open, and a woman in a tailored ladies’ suit stepped out. The moment she emerged, crimson blood trickled down her forehead. Her eyelashes blocked it for only an instant before the blood smeared across her left eye.

She raised a hand, gently wiping the blood from her brow with her fingers. Yet some had already seeped into her eye, staining her left vision a deep red.

If gods and demons existed in this world, she would undoubtedly be a vengeful spirit clawing her way out of hell. Her stunning beauty did nothing to evoke pity instead, it magnified the terror she exuded.

“Let her go.”

Xiao San’s unfocused pupils finally sharpened. She looked toward Zheng Qi.

The person before her displayed a side Xiao San had never seen her steps heavy, her presence imposing as she advanced.

“Run!”

Xiao San wanted to scream, but only managed to whisper a single word.

She had longed for Zheng Qi’s arrival, but not like this. “Call the police.”

Lin Nuanyan’s true target was Zheng Qi; Xiao San was merely collateral damage. She ought to resent Lin Nuanyan, even direct her anger at Zheng Qi. But Zheng Qi was her dearest friend. Despite her fear, despite being dragged into this, she couldn’t bear the thought of Zheng Qi getting hurt.

She dreaded to imagine what Lin Nuanyan might do to Zheng Qi now that she had walked right into the trap.

The bald man’s fear lasted only a moment. He convinced himself it was the shock of the car’s sudden entrance that had made Zheng Qi seem intimidating.

Being frightened by a woman was, to him, an unbearable humiliation. His face twisted into a more ferocious scowl, rage seeming to erupt from the crown of his head toward the heavens.

But he didn’t release Xiao San in a fit of panic. Instead, he tightened his grip on her shoulders, yanking her closer against his chest. “You’re here for her?”

“Hahaha, I never thought you’d deliver yourself to us,” Lin Nuanyan laughed maniacally, shouting at the bald man, “Brother Li, it’s her! She’s Zheng Qi! Kill her! Kill her!”

Lin Nuanyan had abandoned her original plan. Now, all she wanted was Zheng Qi dead.

If not for Zheng Qi, she would never have fallen this far.

It was all Zheng Qi’s fault.

If only Zheng Qi had never shown up.

Without Zheng Qi, Shen Lin would have married her, and she would rightfully be Mrs. Shen.

“Shut up!” Bald Li roared at Lin Nuanyan. “You’d better keep your mouth shut.”

Zheng Qi’s gaze never once strayed toward Lin Nuanyan. Her eyes remained locked on Xiao San, noticing her pallid face and her own fear intensified.

This dread felt exactly like when she learned of her aunt’s death.

She was terrified that Xiao San, like her aunt, would never stay by her side again.

All her self-deceptions crumbled to dust in that instant.

Shen Lin, childhood promises, stubborn obsessions she could never let go, none of it mattered as much as Xiao San.

“I said, let her go.” Zheng Qi enunciated each word, cold and deliberate.

“Hahaha, I’m not letting go, what can you do about it?” Brother Li laughed heartily, taunting as he spoke, “The boys have long said two women aren’t enough, and now another one’s delivered right to us. We’re truly blessed today.”

“Hahaha.”

The exterior of the abandoned building was dilapidated and worn, with broken stones and wooden debris scattered everywhere. These crumbling walls and ruins seemed like a place forgotten by time unless someone deliberately navigated here, no vehicles would ever pass by.

Brother Li had only just been released from prison when he found such a perfect spot, and he had been gloating about it for quite a while.

Women, after all, were nothing but playthings for men.

He despised these women because they were all shallow and materialistic, it was because of a woman’s betrayal that he ended up in prison.

How dare these playthings even think of resisting.

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