‘Chat? Since when did having a chat require one side to be tied up?!’
“If you wanted to talk with us, you should’ve just come back home. Why go to so much trouble?” Father Bei continued speaking calmly.
“I had no choice.” Shi Sheng had a ‘helpless’ expression on as she shrugged. “As an orphan, I neither have the power nor backing to invite myself over to your house. How would I be able to see you anytime I want? So I could only go for the next best thing.”
Father Bei, “…” ‘Isn’t the Fu Family your backing now? Would you be able to kidnap us so easily if not for them?’
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you guys.” Shi Sheng waved her hand. “After all, you guys are influential people. Of course I wouldn’t dare to just randomly kill you off.”
Hearing Shi Sheng’s words, Father Bei heaved a sigh of relief. ‘It’s fine as long as she doesn’t harm us.’
But before he could relax, he heard the young woman in front of him mutter, seemingly to herself, “At the very least, I should livestream it. That’d live up to your worth.”
Father Bei nearly puked blood.
‘We really raised an ingrate! Even a dog would’ve been tamed if it were fed and clothed for the number of years we’ve spent taking care of her!’
“You think you can run, bitch?! Our disappearance will get the police here soon, just wait for a lifetime in jail! The thing I regret the most is bringing you back home back then!”
“Tsk tsk, Mr Bei, are you sure you’re just going to let your wife prattle on? If she succeeds in pissing me off, I won’t be able to guarantee your lives anymore.” Shi Sheng laughed gloatingly. “Anyways, I don’t actually mind if you don’t stop her. Should I offer your wife as sacrifice to my knife? What do you think, Mr Bei?”
“You dare!” Father Bei burst out. “What do you want?! Just tell us!”
Shi Sheng paced a couple of circles before a sinister smile bloomed on her face. “I’m waiting for someone to bring over what I want. However, sitting around doing nothing like this is too boring. Shall we play a game in the meantime?”
“Bei Zhi, don’t be rash! Whatever you want, as long as we have it, we’ll send it to you!”
‘It should’ve already been 2 hours since we were kidnapped, right? The police should know by now. As long as we stall for time, we’ll be saved!’
Father Bei signalled his wife to keep quiet and let him talk to preoccupy Shi Sheng. The girl, however, ignored his offer. “Don’t worry, it’s just a little game.”
“You should’ve seen something similar on TV. The rules are simple. You guys just need to pick from two choices: a) He lives and she dies, or b) She lives and he dies. Easy, right?”
Shi Sheng took out her phone and fiddled with it for a while before shifting the two a distance away from each other. After making sure the two of them couldn’t see each other, she held up the phone in front of Father Bei.
“Come on now, ladies first. Make your pick, Mr Bei.” On the screen of the phone, there were pictures of him and his wife with numbers over them. Below was written: Whoever you pick, dies. Only say the number.
‘Ladies first… then why am I the one picking first?!’
“Bei Zhi, why don’t you tell me what you really want?” Father Bei’s gaze shifted from the phone’s screen as he attempted to change the topic. He’d have to be crazy to participate in this perverted game!
“Didn’t I say this already? The thing I want is already on the way. Right now, we’re just playing a little game to pass the time.” Shi Sheng patiently explained. The next moment though, she grabbed the sword at the side and levelled it against Mother Bei’s neck.
“I’ll give you three seconds to choose. If you don’t, then I’ll make your choice for you.”
Mother Bei’s face paled upon feeling that the sword on her neck was real; all of her curses got stuck in her throat. There seemed to be an unseen pressure weighing her down, making her stay silent and unmoving.
“3… 2…”
Father Bei’s breathing quickened. He didn’t believe Shi Sheng would really do anything—no matter how much she tried to act arrogant, she won’t actually commit murder. She was just scaring them!
“1.”
As she counted, Shi Sheng’s hand exerted more force, causing a line of blood to appear on Mother Bei’s fair neck.
“No—stop! I pick 1, 1!” Father Bei’s voice rose in pitch from the fright.
“See? You should’ve just picked from the get-go instead of waiting for me to use force. My image is gone now.” Shi Sheng removed the sword from Mother Bei’s neck before placing it on Father Bei’s. “Well then, Mrs Bei, it’s your turn.”
Mother Bei had really been scared into meekness just now. Taking a glance at the phone, she immediately looked back at her husband disbelievingly. Her voice trembled as she spoke, “2. I pick 2.”
“Shu’rong, what are you doing?” Father Bei asked anxiously.
Mother Bei’s temper flared at that. “What am I doing? That’s what I should be asking you!”
“Shu’rong?”
Mother Bei glared at him fiercely. “I misjudged you!”
“Shu’rong, what are you talking about? Just now, I—”
Shi Sheng’s lips were curled up when she shook the phone and interrupted Father Bei, “Game’s over. I wouldn’t have done anything to you guys anyway, so no need to be so nervous. It was only a game meant to kill time.”
The Bei couple, “…” ‘You didn’t act like it was just a game just now!’
The screen Shi Sheng had shown Father Bei had 1 on his picture while 2 was a picture of Mother Bei. He had chosen 1, himself.
The screen she showed to Mother Bei though, switched the pictures, so 1 was her picture while 2 was a picture of Father Bei. She thought he had chosen her, so she picked his number in revenge.
If they had been smarter and trusted each other more, this kind of cheap trick wouldn’t work on them. It was clear though, that the Bei couple weren’t as harmonious as they appeared on the surface; the trust between them was very weak.
True to her word, Shi Sheng didn’t do anything else and left them unscathed, keeping only a few large men behind to keep an eye on them.
Bei Ze’s car had just so happened to have arrived when Shi Sheng descended from the second floor. There wasn’t any police following him, causing Shi Sheng to give him a somewhat satisfied look.
“Bei Zhi.” Upon seeing Shi Sheng once again after a long time, Bei Ze’s eyes seemed to ignite as he greedily gobbled her up with his gaze. He looked much thinner than before, but still retained his good looks even with the despondent aura around him.
‘As expected, male leads still manage to stay handsome no matter what.’
“Did you bring what I asked for?” Shi Sheng raised her brow at Bei Ze.
Having been reminded, Bei Ze hurriedly spoke, “Bei Zhi, I brought it! Don’t hurt them. At the very least… they raised you.”
Shi Sheng reached out and gestured for him to throw it over. After some hesitation, Bei Ze decided to toss it towards her in the end.
Shi Sheng checked the card and made sure nothing was wrong before making way. “They’re upstairs.”
Though Bei Ze wanted to say something, his worry for his parents overrode that urge. He could only go up to rescue his parents first.
By the time he came back downstairs, Shi Sheng had already disappeared.
A hint of disappointment flashed in Bei Ze’s eyes, but he didn’t have time to wallow in it. His parents’ argument was getting worse.
“Shu’rong, let me explain! I really picked myself just now!”
“Of course you’d say that now that we’re no longer in any danger but I’m telling you, this matter’s not over! We’re getting a divorce!” Mother Bei screamed.
“Shu’rong, this is all part of Bei Zhi’s scheme! She must’ve done something… Please believe me, I did pick myself!”
Mother Bei smiled coldly. “You can say whatever you want now since that little bitch Bei Zhi isn’t here, but I know what I saw!”
‘You think I don’t have eyes? When that slut Bei Zhi brought the phone over, she didn’t touch the screen at all! So how can it be a part of her plot?!’