Ding—
Meng Jingwei’s WeChat rang.
She opened her phone and saw a message from Qing Muyue: [Today is your birthday. I’ve ordered a cake for you. Send me your location, and I’ll deliver it. I won’t be coming myself.]
Today is my birthday?
Meng Jingwei frowned. She knew very well her birthday had already passed two days ago in Country C.
On that birthday, Qing Muyue had ravished her for an entire night. What kind of birthday was that?
But now, what did his message mean?
Suddenly, Meng Jingwei understood.
Although she had deliberately used a certain tone with Qing Muyue earlier, making it seem like she was picking a fight, it was merely a way to keep him from overthinking.
But he was too smart; he still knew she had been kidnapped.
His message was a test, a way to check if she was safe.
If she was safe, she should send him her location and let him come to her rescue.
Meng Jingwei thought a lot, but it all flashed through her mind in an instant.
She was hesitating.
Should she send Qing Muyue her location or not?
“What are you looking at? Give me your phone.”
Xiao Cheng’s cold eyes fixed on Meng Jingwei. Noticing her staring blankly at her phone, a sense of crisis inexplicably arose in him. He snatched the phone from her hand.
At the same time.
Qing Muyue sat in his car and called Song Jun, “Immediately contact the bank manager and approve a loan for the Xiao family.”
“Ah? Boss, why are we suddenly approving a loan for the Xiao family?” Song Jun sounded confused.
“Stop with the nonsense. You, now, immediately, go and do it!”
Qing Muyue’s deep voice emphasized it several times on the phone. Although Song Jun didn’t know what was going on, he knew the seriousness of the matter.
After hanging up the phone, he immediately contacted the manager of Lancheng Bank to process the loan for the Xiao family.
Meanwhile, in a derelict building on the outskirts, Meng Jingwei waited anxiously, glancing at her watch from time to time. “Don’t worry, Qing Muyue will definitely handle it.”
Meng Jingwei tried to comfort Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng, however, sat there, holding Meng Jingwei’s phone, looking at her chat history with Qing Muyue.
Qing Muyue had offered to deliver her cake, and Meng Jingwei had only replied: [I don’t want your cake even if you deliver it.]
“It’s your birthday today?”
Xiao Cheng raised an eyebrow. “After knowing you for so long, I honestly didn’t know when your birthday was.”
He gave a self-deprecating smile.
Meng Jingwei let out a long sigh, secretly thinking: Thankfully, you didn’t know. If you had, I would be dead.
“Since it’s your birthday, I’ll grant you a wish.”
He suddenly became interested, speaking to Meng Jingwei as if bestowing an imperial favor.
“A wish?”
Meng Jingwei smiled helplessly, lifting her stray hair from her forehead.
As the building had no glass windows, a cold wind blew through, making her shiver.
“As if you’d actually grant it if I made one.”
“How will you know if I won’t grant it if you don’t say it?”
“This…”
Meng Jingwei hesitated for a moment, her red lips pursed. She thought for a while, “I just wish for Lin Meng to be safe and sound.”
She, from beginning to end, was innocent.
“Good!”
Xiao Cheng nodded. He picked up the walkie-talkie and said to the person on the other end, “Send someone to escort Lin Meng out. However, she must sleep through the night.”
This meant he was still worried that Lin Meng would report him after being released.
Meng Jingwei wasn’t angry. For a kidnapper, being cautious was normal.
However, Meng Jingwei’s feelings towards Xiao Cheng became increasingly conflicted.
What kind of person was he?
One moment he said he wanted to kill Lin Meng, and the next, because it was her 'birthday,' he granted a wish.
Perhaps, he loved her in his heart.
“Xiao Cheng, thank…”
As Meng Jingwei’s grateful words left her lips, she heard Xiao Cheng ask, “Have the other person been caught?”
Her heart skipped a beat when she heard this, frightening her.
“Who?”
Meng Jingwei demanded.
Then she heard a man’s voice from the walkie-talkie say, “Shi Ran has been brought in.”
“Swap her in.”
“Yes, Boss… Ah, what are you doing? Woohoo, help me, woohoo…”
As Xiao Cheng’s subordinate finished speaking into the walkie-talkie, Meng Jingwei heard Shi Ran’s desperate cries.
No matter how much Meng Jingwei forced herself to remain calm, she couldn’t anymore.
She stood up abruptly, her cold eyes looking down at Xiao Cheng. “What exactly do you want? I told you, if you have a problem, come at me. What’s the point of being ruthless to two girls?”
Seeing her anger, Xiao Cheng merely smiled calmly. “Already upset? It’s a choice between two. Didn’t you make a choice between me and Qing Muyue back then?”
“Xiao Cheng, you are a complete pervert!”
Meng Jingwei, unable to tolerate it any longer, turned to go downstairs.
“Go ahead. If you leave this floor, Lin Meng and Shi Ran will become your lifelong nightmare!”
Behind her, Xiao Cheng said slowly.
The words sent a chill down Meng Jingwei’s spine. The fists hanging by her sides clenched, her teeth gritted, and her eyes blazed with anger.
Ring, ring, ring—
Xiao Cheng’s phone suddenly rang.
He immediately answered, “Speak. What? The loan has been approved? How much? Five hundred million? Heh, good, very good.”
Listening to Xiao Cheng’s conversation with the person on the other end, Meng Jingwei’s hanging heart finally settled. “The loan the Xiao family requested has been approved. Can you release Lin Meng and Shi Ran now?”
Qing Muyue’s efficiency was indeed high.
“You just said you wanted to give me a sum of money to leave Lancheng, is that right?”
He asked instead of answering.
“Yes. If you leave Lancheng, I will give you a sum of money.” This was the last thing she could do for Xiao Cheng.
However, just over ten minutes ago, she had indeed thought that.
Now, Meng Jingwei felt that Xiao Cheng… didn’t deserve it!
“Escort me.”
Xiao Cheng suddenly said.
Meng Jingwei was stunned.
What did that mean?
“As you wish, I will release Lin Meng and Shi Ran immediately, but you have to escort me out of Lancheng. Otherwise, who knows if I’ll be able to leave alive?”
Xiao Cheng intended to use Meng Jingwei as a hostage.
“Okay. I agree.”
Meng Jingwei naturally understood Xiao Cheng’s intention. But for now, she had to ensure Lin Meng and Shi Ran’s safety. As long as they were out of his clutches, she could find a way to escape.
Xiao Cheng got up and limped towards her.
He stopped two meters away and waved at her, “Little Weiwei, come, support me.”
“What, aren’t you afraid I’ll throw you off the building?”
Meng Jingwei’s words were half-true and half-false. Her face wore a perfunctory smile, making her thoughts unreadable.
“Afraid, of course, I’m afraid. I’m also afraid that if you kill me, I’ll suffer a loss.”
As he spoke, he walked up to Meng Jingwei, raised his hand, and put his arm around her neck. “But Little Weiwei surely wouldn’t bear to.”
Closer to Meng Jingwei, Xiao Cheng tilted his head, sniffed her neck, and closed his eyes, savoring her scent with a hint of lingering affection.
“Damn, still the same familiar scent. If I had known, I shouldn’t have pretended to be a gentleman in front of you back then.”