Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A sharp sound pierced the eardrums, making the two kidnappers freeze for a moment.

One of them swiftly reached out and covered my mouth, forcing all sounds back down my throat, and growled viciously:

“Want me to kill you right now?”

I shook my head vigorously, blinking my hopeful eyes, and forced out a sentence:

“I… don’t… believe… you. Kill… me… and… show… me…”

But the kidnapper had no intention of proving it to me. Instead, he fished my phone out of my pocket, held it up to my face to unlock it, and swiped with his thumb, dialing the most recent contact, Wen Suinian.

After a long, anxious wait, just before the call would have automatically hung up, it was finally answered.

Before the kidnapper could say a word, Wen Suinian’s detestable voice ricocheted around the cramped van:

“Jiang He, can’t you stop clinging to me like a damn leech? I’ve told you countless times, I’ll never acknowledge you as my sister in this lifetime!”

The last sentence echoed with deep, resounding fury.

The kidnapper was momentarily stunned, clearly taken aback by the other’s ferocity. But out of professional obligation, he still snarled menacingly:

“Your sister is in our hands. If you don’t come up with five million, I’ll kill her!”

Wen Suinian scoffed.

“Jiang He, is this your latest scheme? Pretending to be kidnapped to win my sympathy? I advise you to stop while you’re ahead and stop testing my patience. Aside from being jealous of Chuchu and framing her, what else can you do? Go ahead and kill her if you want. I won’t pay a single cent!”

From the other end of the line, a soft, gentle female voice coaxed:

“Brother, Sister Jiang just wants everyone to care about her more, that’s why she staged this kidnapping. Why don’t we go check on her? Sister Jiang is a girl all alone out there; it’s very dangerous…”

“Chuchu, you’re too kind. Someone who values her life as much as she does, whose only thought every day is how to squeeze more money out of the Wen Family, how could she possibly be kidnapped? This is just a clumsy act she’s put on herself.”

With that, the call was abruptly cut off.

Silence fell inside the van.

After a long moment, one kidnapper asked the other:

“I thought Jiang He was the real daughter of the Wen Family? Why does it seem like the family prefers that imposter?”

The two of them simultaneously turned to look at me, sizing me up.

My gaze darkened, and I couldn’t help but speak up to remind them to respect their own profession:

“What are you looking at me for? Just kill me already! There are still thirty minutes until sunset. If you don’t do it now, are you going to throw in a twenty-yuan dinner for me too?”