Volume 1, Chapter 59: Femme Fatale

Han Feng went out on crutches!

He even instructed me to lock the door, not letting anyone in and discovering that I was here.

I lay on the sofa inside the room, anxiously waiting for Fu Xiaoya to return as various past events floated through my mind.

The memory that remained clearest was still that night.

Fu Xiaoya carried me on her bicycle, leaving the Xiangyang Inn.

Her waist was slender and supple, and her fragrance was intoxicating.

Her flowing hair brushed against my face, bringing a tickling sensation that was simply so comfortable.

...

At eleven o'clock in the evening, a knock finally sounded. Judging by the sound, it was indeed Fu Xiaoya.

I hurriedly sprang up from the sofa and opened the door.

Fu Xiaoya's smile was as radiant as a flower. Unable to control myself, I immediately pulled her into a tight embrace, truly terrified that letting go even slightly would cause me to lose her.

"Haha, there is nothing your older sister cannot handle!"

Fu Xiaoya laughed happily. Immersed in the joy of her tremendous success, she pushed me away, lit a women's cigarette, and dangled her feet while recounting what had just happened.

An hour ago, following the kidnappers' instructions, Fu Xiaoya had gone to a small bridge on the outskirts of town.

She stood there all alone, solitary at the bridgehead.

Three culprits disguised as farmers arrived driving a dilapidated three-wheeler.

Fu Xiaoya handed the money over to them.

Yet they stated that two hours later, they would reveal where Zhou Yan was hidden.

No sooner had they driven a short distance away than they were intercepted by ambush police cars. The police swarmed forward, apprehending all three and bringing them back to the county public security bureau for interrogation.

"Evildoers get what they deserve!" I raised my fist.

"Xiao Yan, you did the right thing. We must fight back to the end and never yield," Fu Xiaoya said passionately.

At that moment, Han Feng also walked in.

Fu Xiaoya returned the fifty thousand yuan she had brought back to Han Feng.

Not a single penny of the money was missing; it had merely passed through the kidnappers' filthy hands.

After Han Feng clarified the situation, he was equally overjoyed.

He marveled at the importance of social connections, noting that precisely because I had established a connection with Bureau Chief Chang Yong, and with him personally supervising the matter, the case could be resolved so swiftly.

I did not mention that Chang Yong actually strongly opposed my mingling with Han Feng and Old Black.

With the kidnappers caught and myself safe, my mood became exceptionally relaxed.

At this time, there were very few people left in the KTV.

At Han Feng's suggestion, bringing Fu Xiaoya along and calling for Old Black, the four of us went out for barbecue and draft beer, determined to drink until we were thoroughly intoxicated.

Ever since Fu Xiaoya left home, I had never shared a meal with her.

I was exceedingly happy, constantly passing her meat skewers and clinking glasses with everyone else.

Fu Xiaoya held her liquor very well, drinking cup after cup. Infected by the joyful atmosphere, she kept smiling throughout.

Halfway through the drinks, I cautiously brought up the subject of Chang Sisi.

To my great surprise, Fu Xiaoya was very supportive of my tutoring Chang Sisi.

In her view, girls raised in such families possessed excellent upbringing and were well worth associating with.

Inevitably, Fu Xiaoya cursed Yu Qingman again, calling her a sycophantic little blemish and a veritable femme fatale.

Every instance of trouble I encountered, time and time again, was connected to her.

"Elder Sister, why do you harbor such intense emotions toward Yu Qingman?"

I was somewhat drunk and mustered the courage to ask.

"You foolish bookworm, what the hell do you know?"

Fu Xiaoya rolled her eyes at me, took a fierce bite of a meat skewer, and finally told me the truth.

At school, besides Qin Shaohu, Yu Qingman had other boyfriends, and more than one at that.

Yet she had hidden this deeply all along, routinely presenting herself to the public as a pure and innocent maiden.

One of those men was even the son of a certain bureau chief.

How did Fu Xiaoya find out?

She had once been in a relationship with that very young master, only to have him snatched away by Yu Qingman.

Moreover, Yu Qingman had even slandered Fu Xiaoya, speaking a great deal of malicious gossip behind her back.

Later on, Yu Qingman broke up with that young master, but Fu Xiaoya had also completely lost that opportunity.

I was extremely astonished, utterly unable to fathom that Yu Qingman could be such a person.

Yet it was hardly strange.

I had always studied diligently, deaf to the world outside my window, and presumably, most other classmates were much the same!

"You brat, keep your eyes wide open in the future!"

Fu Xiaoya rolled her eyes at me once more with a huff.

"Since I am so useless, why would she choose to be with me?"

I was puzzled.

By this point, I no longer believed that Yu Qingman liked me simply because I used my clothes to shield her during a physical education class when her period started.

"You dummy, do you really think your charm is limitless? She merely used you to distract Qin Shaohu. Look at how damn successful that was!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she became.

Unwilling to pay me any more mind, Fu Xiaoya raised her glass and resumed drinking with Han Feng and Old Black.

I stood frozen in place, suddenly realizing that Fu Xiaoya's analysis was entirely correct.

While I fought tooth and nail with Qin Shaohu and diverted his attention, Yu Qingman successfully attached herself to Lin Fangyang, thereby stepping into true high society.

In comparison, neither Qin Shaohu nor I amounted to anything.

Yu Qingman's scheming was far too deep. I could not help shivering, overcome by a lingering sense of terror.

I took out my mobile phone and added Yu Qingman's number to my blacklist.

That night, I got drunk again, and had no recollection of how I managed to return to the KTV.

Waking up the next afternoon, I received a call from Officer Liu, who asked me to make a trip to the county public security bureau.

I immediately hailed a taxi and arrived at the county public security bureau.

Officer Liu received me and led me to a room. Behind a large glass window stood three handcuffed men, all wearing dejected expressions.

I looked closely and recognized them as the three individuals who had kidnapped me.

Officer Liu nodded with satisfaction, brought me to his office, poured me a cup of tea, and roughly explained the details of the case.

The three kidnappers were employees of a certain repair shop and both had prior criminal records involving theft and brawls.

Qin Shaohu frequently went there to repair his motorcycle and thus became acquainted with the three, eventually developing a friendly relationship where they often smoked, drank, and even gambled together.

To prevent me from taking the college entrance examination, Qin Shaohu had offered five thousand yuan.

Using a customer's vehicle with forged license plates, the three of them had waylaid and abducted me into the small woods.

One reason these three had acted with such reckless daring was that Qin Shaohu had boasted that even if trouble arose, his father, serving as the police station chief, could smooth things over.

Since I did not report the crime to the authorities, Qin Shaohu became even more convinced that I was weak and easily bullied, rendering him all the more uninhibited.

This kidnapping incident was indeed related to Qin Shaohu.

Yet it could not be considered directly connected.

Last night at the hospital, Qin Shaohu had received a severe scolding from his father for possessing the sheer audacity to hijack a college entrance examination candidate and prevent him from taking the test.

Refusing to admit to it, Qin Shaohu waited until his father left before frantically calling the three men to warn them to keep their mouths shut at all costs.

There is no such thing as an airtight wall!

The three mechanics understood this principle all too well. Fearing that their previous crime would be exposed, they decided to take a desperate gamble: kidnapping me to extort a ransom and then fleeing far away.

The taxi used had been stolen.

The small earthen hut was a place they occasionally discovered while catching birds, originally used by forest rangers as a shelter from the rain.

They faced yet another grave charge: the use of illegal drugs capable of inducing unconsciousness, traces of which were found in my physical examination report.

The authorities were currently tracing the upstream supplier.

"Zhou Yan, that is the situation. Relying on your intelligence and calmness, you managed to escape the kidnapping site ahead of time, which also bought precious initiative for our investigation," Officer Liu praised.

I smiled, yet brought up another crucial matter.

"Has Qin Shaohu been arrested?"