Chapter 65: Capturing Su Rou Alive
Si Ye finally spoke up: “Earlier, you said I wanted to imprison you, to keep you under house arrest. To be honest, I did have that thought in my mind. I need to apologize for that, but I truly just wanted to keep you safe when I said…”
“…that I should stay home and not go out.”
Xie Qiang was still a little angry about that.
She stopped looking at the stars and rolled onto her side to face Si Ye.
“Do you have any idea how much I hate being confined? Being kept in a cage like a canary.”
Si Ye didn’t speak; he just nodded.
Xie Qiang felt compelled to ask, “Why was your first thought to lock me up? What part of me gave you the impression that I was the type of person who could stay at home and never go out?”
“Is that not the case? Most women are like that, including… before…”
“Before?” Xie Qiang was confused. Why were they talking about the past?
Si Ye spoke slowly: “BeforeâI mean, before that day you came to the interrogation roomâyou had a deep conversation with me. You said as long as I could provide you with the resources you wanted, you were willing to stay by my side. You said youâd establish a match with only me and cut off all contact with everyone else.
You said youâd do whatever I wanted, and that I could even keep you in a cage if I liked. Although I don’t know why youâve changed so muchâto the point where you can defy me and start a cold warâI didn’t realize back then that you had changed.”
Only then did Xie Qiang understand why Si Ye had said those things and why he had struggled so much before speaking.
It turned out the original hostâs words and actions were completely different from her own, which had caused Si Yeâs confusion.
Aside from the original host, Si Ye had handled many matters between Sentinels and Guides.
In his experience, 85% of Guides were willing to stay at home as long as their Sentinels could meet their demands.
In his eyes, everyoneâincluding Xie Qiangâthought this way.
Xie Qiang finally understood. Because of their cold war, she had never talked this much with Si Ye.
She chose her words carefully: “Si Ye, Iâm not like other Guides. I don’t like to rely on you all for everything. Iâm capable of earning my own living. Thatâs why I opened the dessert shop. Even though I had… Yan Ciâs help to open it, everything from the shopâs operation to its design was handled by me.
So, Iâll never be a canary. Iâll only ever be a wild pheasant running around on the ground. Do you understand?”
Her words were incredibly blunt. How could Si Ye not understand? He nodded. “From now on, I won’t make assumptions about what youâre thinking. Iâll ask you directly, as long as you can give me a clear answer.”
Xie Qiang felt she finally had an understanding of Si Ye now. She nodded in agreement.
Despite being a Commander who led Sentinels with authority, he was actually quite prone to overthinking and getting stuck in his own head.
Bai Zhi was obsessive, Lei Lie was sincere, and Si Ye was stubborn.
Xie Qiang felt she knew how to handle Si Ye now, which was good.
The cold war between them had finally ended, and they both had smiles on their faces as they spoke. This was the scene Lei Lie saw when he barged into the room.
Si Ye was displeased that he had entered without knocking. He frowned and asked, “Didn’t we agree to rotate when the time was up? Iâve been in here for less than an hour.”
Lei Lie snapped out of it and shook his head. “No, itâs not that I want to rest. Bai Zhi caught someone. He wanted to know if Qiangqiang wants to see them.”
So, sincerity had its downsides too.
While Lei Lie didn’t always ask “why” when doing things, he was very direct.
For instance, now that something was happening, he didn’t care about knocking.
Xie Qiang sighed, climbed down from the foot of the bed, and asked, “Who did he catch? Do I have to see them?”
“Su Rou. Bai Zhi caught Su Rou!”
Xie Qiangâs eyes widened as she looked up at Lei Lie. She asked quickly, “How did he catch her? Hasn’t she been missing for a long time? How did Bai Zhi do it?”
She asked too many questions too quickly, and Lei Lie couldn’t keep up.
Xie Qiang realized Lei Lie was useless in this situation and walked directly out of the room.
The moment she entered the living room, the door opened, and Bai Zhi entered with Su Rou.
It turned out Su Rou had planned to appear as a witness against Xie Qiang and denounce her online today. Yan Ci, with his vast information network, had found out.
The three men couldn’t leave Xie Qiangâs side, so they told Bai Zhi about it.
They agreed that they had to capture Su Rou before she could make her formal accusation, but before they could even decide on a plan, Bai Zhi had already set out.
Since Yan Ciâs vehicle had found a secure parking spot and he would return after finishing his business, Bai Zhi went to find Su Rou alone.
Su Rou still harbored a deep hatred for Xie Qiang. Bai Zhi had set a trap, sending an anonymous message claiming he was in the slums and had captured a stray Xie Qiang. He told Su Rou to bring money to trade for her.
Su Rou hadn’t taken the bait at first. She only asked: “If you caught Xie Qiang, why not hand her over to the Emperor? His guards are searching for her.”
Bai Zhi had used a deliberately harsh voice and replied: “If the Empire was offering more money, I wouldn’t have said no. I just want the cash.”
The Emperorâs arrest warrant hadn’t mentioned a reward for her capture. Bai Zhi had used this fact, combined with Su Rouâs hatred for Xie Qiang, to successfully lure her out.
Su Rou gathered all her savings and went to the meeting spot.
However, she only found a man dressed in all white with a mask on his face. No one else was with him.
“Where is she? Whereâs Xie Qiang? You said you caught her.”
In a muffled voice, Bai Zhi pointed to the vehicle beside him, which was currently in stealth mode. “Sheâs in there. Driving here took a lot of energy; youâll have to compensate me for that, too.”
Su Rou was impatient. “Iâll pay. Iâll pay for everything. Just let me see Xie Qiang. Is she really in there?”
The blacked-out windows made it impossible to see inside.
Bai Zhi opened the door and told her to look in the back seat.
Su Rou looked around at their surroundings. No one was passing by. She was wondering if it was safe.
She had some brains and didn’t dare to approach carelessly.
Seeing this, Bai Zhi closed the door. “I see youâre not serious about this trade. The deal is off. I can find someone else to buy Xie Qiang.”
“Wait! Let me look. One look and Iâll give you the money.”
Bai Zhi thought to himself: As expected, you have to push people like this.
He opened the door again and waited for Su Rou to approach.
The moment Su Rou poked her head into the vehicle, Bai Zhi grabbed her.
Before she could even scream, a needle was plunged into her. He pushed her into the car.
Then, Bai Zhi activated the hovercarâs stealth mode. Instead of being cautious like Lei Lie and the others, he sped directly out of the city and returned to Yan Ciâs vehicle.
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