Jiang Zhao hurriedly said, “Grandpa, I want to attend Xiao Li’s birthday banquet. It really has nothing to do with the inheritance. It’s just that…”
Before Jiang Zhao could finish, Old Master Jiang hung up the phone.
Listening to the busy tone on the other end, Jiang Zhao lowered his phone helplessly and slumped back in his computer chair.
He looked up at the ceiling, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his lips. All right. Now even Grandpa had completely given up on their family.
…
Three days later.
In a remote village, inside a filthy, disorderly cowshed.
“Hey, Big Sis, you’re pretty pitiful too. You’ve been missing for three days, and no one has even contacted you. Looks like your husband really is heartless, and your two sons are nothing but a pair of lousy brats.” The male driver who had kidnapped Qin Yulian stood outside the cowshed, both hands resting on the railing as he idly toyed with the phone he had taken from her.
Qin Yulian, shackled by two iron chains, immediately retorted, “What nonsense are you talking about? My husband treats me very well! My two sons have just been too busy lately to pay attention to me!”
“Is that so? Or are you simply unwilling to admit that they truly don’t care whether you live or die?” The male driver tossed the phone to Qin Yulian. “Why don’t you try calling them and see who comes to rescue you?”
Qin Yulian froze. She had not expected the man to actually return her phone.
For the past three days, this man had done nothing but beat and curse at her, feed her slop, and give her leftovers meant for dogs.
At first, she had still possessed enough dignity to refuse to eat.
But after going hungry for two whole days, she could no longer hold out. Even food that a dog had already eaten, she swallowed without hesitation.
As she knelt on the ground eating slop and dog food, the man had stood to one side laughing loudly and filming her with her phone.
Qin Yulian had shed tears and endured the humiliation, forcing down mouthful after mouthful to fill her stomach and hold on until now.
The man only wanted to torment and humiliate her, not kill her. She could not make things harder for herself.
She had to stay alive. Only then could she settle accounts with that wicked daughter of hers!
With that thought, Qin Yulian reached down and picked up her phone from the ground. The iron chain around her wrist clanged loudly.
She picked up the phone, then looked uncertainly at the man. When she confirmed that he had no intention of stopping her, she hurriedly dialed her husband’s number.
After a long while, the call connected. Qin Yulian immediately cried for help. “Yangxu, save me! Jiang Youli sent someone to kidnap me…”
There was a moment of silence on the other end before Jiang Yangxu said, “Yulian, how can you still be slandering Youli at a time like this?”
Qin Yulian shouted, “I’m not slandering her! I really have been kidnapped. Jiang Youli was the one who arranged it. Come save me!”
“That’s enough, Yulian. You went to bring Xing’er back, didn’t you? Did Xing’er refuse to come home, so you took your anger out on Youli?”
Hearing her husband’s words of disbelief, Qin Yulian panicked. “No, Yangxu! I really was kidnapped…”
“If you were really being held captive, how would you have had the chance to call me?”
“The kidnapper said I could call you all. He said he would let me go if you came to rescue me…”
“You’re terrible at lying. If the kidnapper were really that kind, why would he have gone to all the trouble of abducting you? Enough. Stop causing trouble for Youli. If you can’t bring Xing’er back, just come home by yourself.”
With that, he hung up before Qin Yulian could explain any further.
The man watched her and said, “Big Sis, I told you. Your husband and sons don’t care in the slightest whether you live or die.”
“Shut up! They’re not like that!” Qin Yulian immediately dialed her eldest son Jiang Xing’s number.
But the phone was still switched off.
Left with no choice, Qin Yulian finally called her second son, Jiang Zhao.
This time, the call was answered almost immediately. However, Jiang Zhao’s tone was filled with impatience.
“Mom, what is it this time?”
This time?
Why did he always ask what it was this time?
Was she really that much of a nuisance?
Unwilling to accept it, Qin Yulian asked, “Zhao’er, if I told you I’d been kidnapped, would you believe me?”
There was silence on the other end.
Qin Yulian raised her eyes to look at the man in front of her, who was staring at her with a mocking smile. Her heart pounded wildly with fear.
After a long while, Jiang Zhao sighed. “Mom, can you stop this already? I’m working overtime every day recording songs so I can become famous as soon as possible and make Xiao Li forgive me. Don’t make trouble for me.”
“How is being kidnapped making trouble? Do you think I staged this myself?” Qin Yulian’s fear and anxiety had turned into despair and fury.
Jiang Zhao said, “You didn’t stage it yourself. I was talking nonsense, all right? It’s late, and I have work tomorrow. I really can’t stay on the phone chatting with you. That’s enough. Go to sleep early too.”
With that, he hung up.
Qin Yulian stared blankly at the phone in her hand. She had never imagined that the bastard would actually be right—the man and sons she had devoted herself to truly did not care whether she lived or died.
“Hahaha…” The man watching from the side burst into laughter.
This time, Qin Yulian’s heart was completely dead.
She glared at him. “So what exactly do you want?”
“Nothing much,” the man replied. “Like I said, I just want to teach you a lesson. If you know what’s good for you, behave yourself from now on and stop bothering Jiang Youli.”
As he spoke, he stepped forward and bent down to take Qin Yulian’s phone from her again.
“Until Jiang Youli’s birthday banquet is over, you can stay here and suffer.”
With that, the man left, leaving Qin Yulian behind. Her heart broken beyond repair, she collapsed onto the ground and began to wail in agony.
…
After leaving the cowshed, the man used Qin Yulian’s phone to dial Jiang Yangxu’s number again.
“Hello. I’ll send you the video of your wife shortly. Then, on the eve of Jiang Youli’s birthday banquet, I’ll deliberately pretend to let her escape. She’ll definitely run to the banquet and cause a scene. You can find an opportunity to play the videos of your wife being humiliated during this period. That will infuriate her even more and make her hate her daughter, Jiang Youli, to the bone.
“After that, if your wife dies, it’ll be much more convincing to frame Jiang Youli for it.”
After listening, Jiang Yangxu answered with a quiet, “Mm. I understand.”
The man said, “I’ll send you the videos of your wife being abused shortly. Enjoy them. And remember, this is all your daughter Jiang Youli’s fault. It has nothing to do with me.”
“I know. That’s all for now.”
Jiang Yangxu’s voice sounded somewhat low, as though he were even choking back sobs. He hurriedly hung up.
The man snorted disdainfully. “Why pretend you can’t bear it? You look like a decent man, but you’re worse than me.”
He lowered his head and sent Jiang Yangxu the videos he had recorded of Qin Yulian being abused.
