It wasn't that she wasn't strong enough; the most important thing was that Xu Qingzhu was in the other party's hands.
as well as……
Liang Shi said coldly, "Also, the kidnapper is very likely to be the washed-up star Chen Liuying. They can now track my phone and find my location, but we need to be quick. If possible, please have the police check Chen Liuying's travel itinerary, especially her records of appearing near Minghui Jewelry. Of course, it's best not to expose the information that Xu Qingzhu was kidnapped, otherwise it will affect Minghui Jewelry."
That was Xu Qingzhu's hard work, and Liang Shi wanted to protect it for her.
After hearing this, Zhao Xuning's morning grumpiness vanished completely, and he simply advised, "Be careful in everything."
Liang responded with a soft "hmm".
Zhao Xuning said, "I will take care of these things for you."
Liang Shi said in a muffled voice, "Thank you."
His tone carried a hint of tragic grandeur.
It was precisely because he trusted Zhao Xuning that Liang Shi chose to call her.
Zhao Xuning has a much stronger network of connections here than she does, so it would be more efficient for Zhao Xuning to do this than for her to do it herself.
After hanging up the phone, Liang Shi turned a corner. Ahead was a wide, open road. She stepped on the gas and sped off.
The windshield wipers kept scraping the glass. As dusk fell, the fine rain looked particularly desolate under the dim streetlights. The car kept brushing past other vehicles.
Gradually disappearing.
//
The endless darkness made even my head feel heavy.
There's a smell of freshly turned soil; it must have rained.
In the boundless darkness, I seemed to hear the sound of waves crashing, and for a moment I thought I had arrived at the seaside.
My body felt weak and I couldn't muster any strength; my eyelids felt incredibly heavy and I couldn't open them no matter what I did.
Xu Qingzhu heard a rustling sound, but couldn't tell what it was.
Even though she was dressed warmly enough, she still felt cold in this environment.
She sniffed and could still smell the damp, salty smell in the air, much like the smell of the sea, but not as strong.
This smell also appears in the air whenever it rains heavily in Haizhou City.
Xu Qingzhu used all her strength to barely open her eyes, but she had no strength at all, like a soft ball of cotton, and wouldn't react even if someone punched her.
My body and mind felt groggy, which was probably due to the medication.
She felt a dull pain in the back of her neck, especially the skin there, which seemed numb, just like when she was given anesthesia before surgery.
But this anesthetic must contain more than just pain relief; there must be something else in it that prevents her from exerting any strength.
In addition, her back was sore from being pressed against something, and she also felt cold and damp.
Even though she tried her best to open her eyes, it was still pitch black.
Her mouth was also taped shut, and she was very strong. Her hands and feet were all tied up. If she wanted to move now, she would probably have to jump by moving her hips, or squat and stand up by using her waist and abdomen strength, and then jump with both feet in parallel.
But this is a very difficult thing.
Xu Qingzhu doesn't exercise often and is in poor health. Now, with her eyes covered and trapped in a dark and damp place, she keeps telling herself not to be afraid, that she is no longer the person she was when she was a child.
But fear still kept welling up from the bottom of my heart.
She was afraid and terrified, wanting to escape this environment, wanting to see the light, wanting to bask in the sun.
Memories from many years ago kept flooding her mind, overlapping with the current scene. She clenched her palms tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh. She tried to hypnotize herself: It's okay, someone will come to rescue me, the kidnappers won't do anything to me.
It was to no avail.
The psychological defenses built up over the years are on the verge of collapse, with reason and emotion completely at odds.
Xu Qingzhu swallowed. In this quiet environment, even the sound of swallowing was loud, almost drowning out her heartbeat.
Xu Qingzhu didn't dare to move again, hoping not to be noticed.
But a moment later, something cold landed on his face, like a folding knife.
The cold metallic feel sent a shiver down her spine, and tears welled up instantly in her eyes.
Crystalline tears slid down her cheeks, but Xu Qingzhu didn't move. Then she heard a voice say, "Baby, are you awake?"
The voice carried a hint of teasing, and also a touch of intimacy.
Calling someone "baby" is so saccharine it makes you want to vomit.
Xu Qingzhu didn't dare to move. The cold metallic sensation kept triggering her memories, but she tried her best to suppress them, afraid that her emotions would collapse.
The saying "long illness makes one a doctor" has some credibility and feasibility to a certain extent.
After so many years of psychotherapy, Xu Qingzhu can suppress her emotions slightly through self-hypnosis, but she cannot remain as calm as she does on ordinary days.
The voice rang in my ears again: "You've been quite pleased with yourself lately."
Xu Qingzhu couldn't speak, and when she wanted to question them, she could only sob. After trying to understand why she couldn't speak, she couldn't even sob anymore. She didn't dare to talk to the kidnappers, fearing a direct confrontation.
In such an environment, it seemed that only sleep could soothe her anxious and fearful heart.
But when you find yourself in such a dangerous environment, no one can sleep.
It was an abandoned chemical plant, a dark place where no sunlight could penetrate. A dim yellow light illuminated the huge factory building, making it impossible to see clearly.
Several children huddled together, keeping each other warm.
There will still be troublemakers, there will still be those who don't fit in, and there will still be those who dare to "stand out," but without exception, the final result is death.
That was a kidnapping case from many years ago. Groups of two or three people were sitting in the factory, smoking and drinking, chatting in a regional dialect, and occasionally speaking Mandarin, which was not very standard.
They were all looking forward to a bright future, imagining the luxurious life they would lead after receiving the ransom, how many houses and cars they could buy, and how many wives they could marry.
The younger children couldn't understand their language, but they could understand what they meant from their non-standard Mandarin.
Some even went so far as to let people there pick a child to take back and raise, so that the child would become their wife when the child grew up.
They discussed those things without restraint in front of the children, and those vulgar and filthy words came out of their mouths all day long.
At first, they were also thrown into a corner, not given food, and only given a sip of cold water.
Even cold water is shared among several people in one bowl.
A little girl broke a bowl, but she was beaten badly because they scolded her for trying to escape in that way.
But they forgot that a child of a few years old has no strength to untie the knots they tied.
Xu Qingzhu was afraid of the dark because those people were bored after they had eaten and drunk their fill, and they treated the kidnapped children like toys.
Her eyes were covered with black cloth, making them completely dark and unable to let in any light.
Someone handed her a knife and told her to use it to stab.
In front of her was Liang Shi, who was holding a piece of foam board.
Liang Shi was always smiling, which made him stand out from the group of children who were trembling with fear.
Even though she was standing there holding a foam board, facing a terrible threat to her life, her smile never stopped.
One of the kidnappers was so creeped out by her laughter that he kicked her to tell her to stop laughing.
Liang Shi pursed his lips, but after a moment he smiled again, though not as wide as before.
Even though her eyes were filled with tears and she looked incredibly pitiful.
The kidnapper said, "Is this guy some kind of idiot?"
Another person said, "What a pity, it's quite beautiful."
Everyone assumed she was a fool, but she secretly told Xu Qingzhu, "Life is hard enough, so we should smile more. If we smile more, life will always get better."
She would talk to Xu Qingzhu, whisper comfort to Xu Qingzhu, coax Xu Qingzhu not to cry, and take out White Rabbit milk candy from her pocket and hand it to Xu Qingzhu.
She was like a little angel; Xu Qingzhu thought she was amazing back then.
During their time imprisoned here, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they depended on each other for survival.
However, it was precisely because their interactions were too frequent that those despicable kidnappers dragged them out to "play games."
Their tastes were cruel and bloody. Just the moment Xu Qingzhu held the knife, she was so frightened she wanted to cry. Her pretty little face was covered in tears as she timidly called out, "Sister..."
Xu Qingzhu's hands trembled, and the knife slipped from her sweaty grasp. Liang Shi, standing opposite her, clearly knew he might be in trouble, and his legs were still shaking with fear, but he still smiled and said, "It's okay, don't be afraid."
It was as if she were the one holding the knife.
Xu Qingzhu was blindfolded, and someone held her shoulders, leading her towards Liang Shi.
The factory was quiet, damp, with the rustling of rats, a disgusting smell of smoke and alcohol, and painful laughter. Most importantly, there was an unknown fear.
The fear stemmed from the possibility that she might kill someone, that she might use that knife to harm someone very close to her.
Her voice trembled as she called out again and again, "Sister... Sister..."
The laughter grew louder and louder. "What a show of sisterly affection! Go ahead and stab me, see if you can stab your good sister."
Xu Qingzhu's delicate white hands were forcibly shoved with a knife. She could feel the cold metallic texture and even the sharpness of the blade. She could clearly hear the sound of it cutting through the air.
It seems capable of breaking through the wind.
This is probably the pain of having too good hearing.
Xu Qingzhu frowned as she walked forward, her legs seemingly not her own. She numbly continued walking, her arms all tucked back, afraid of hurting anyone.
She tried to keep the knife pointing downwards, but those people noticed and grabbed her hair.
The pain and shame of being humiliated struck her in an instant, and even after many years, she still couldn't forget it.
At that time, she was also blindfolded and could not see anything. She could only rely on her good hearing to move forward. She was afraid of becoming a murderer and of hurting Liang Shi.
Tears soaked the black cloth strip, revealing a faint glow.
She didn't dare to cry loudly when she was bullied; she could only bite her lip and sob quietly, because children who cried loudly here would be beaten.
The dilapidated, abandoned old factory buildings were a living hell.
The instant her hair was pulled, Liang Shi threw down the foam board to hit the man. She was young and not very strong, and had been hungry for a long time, so she was no match for the man. But she was not afraid. She couldn't beat him with her hands and feet, so she used her teeth to bite him. When the man felt pain, he let go and slapped her.
The poor child was bullied there and had no way to fight back.
It's a miracle that they survived.