Chapter 51: She Killed Someone
The sound-activated lights in the stairwell were flickering. Fortunately, it was daytime, and outside the alley was a bustling market with people coming and going.
But after entering the residential building within the alley, all the noise seemed to be silenced, even though the alley wasn’t that deep.
In the stairwell, the footsteps of the two sounded abrupt. As they turned the last step, Ruan Yi heard a sticky swallowing sound mixed in with her father’s coughing.
“We’re here. Xiao Yi, come in quickly.”
Cheng Huaiyuan’s voice carried a hint of delight.
Pushing open the ajar security door, a damp, rotting smell mixed with unpleasant dust hit her face.
Ruan Yi hesitated as she stepped into the room, her throat tightening.
She didn’t see the steaming dishes she had expected. Instead, there were only two cockroaches crawling across the corner of the table.
There wasn’t even the slightest scent of grease in the air.
Ruan Yi suppressed the discomfort surging in her stomach and pretended to casually move toward the door, trying to get closer to the exit.
But Cheng Huaiyuan’s body blocked the doorway firmly.
“Dad, didn’t you say there were sweet and sour ribs?”
The girl’s voice sounded exceptionally out of place in the silence.
“Xiao Yi, don’t be in a hurry.”
Cheng Huaiyuan slowly turned his head. His yellowed eyeballs were bloodshot, and his mouth pulled into an unnatural arc.
“Isn’t the meat… already here?”
The door lock suddenly fell with a “click.”
Cheng Huaiyuan’s fingers paused on the door handle for an instant before he suddenly pulled them back. The door slammed against the frame with a harsh bang.
Ruan Yi lunged for the door, her palms slamming against the wood.
What did her dad want to do? Just because she wouldn’t give him money?
“Dad! What do you mean? Dad?!”
This was her biological father; even a tiger wouldn’t eat its cubs. Moreover, she used to have such a good relationship with him.
Ruan Yi had already planned that if her father’s health were truly a serious issue, she would pay for his medical expenses—but only his medical expenses.
But what did he want now? To use her to force her mother to send money?
Only an empty echo responded to her. Cheng Huaiyuan’s hurried footsteps gradually moved away and completely vanished at the corner of the stairwell.
The girl’s cries pierced through layers of walls, buzzing in his ear canal.
Even though he had personally woven this nightmare, he didn’t even have the courage to witness it.
The man rushed into the darkness, as if that could let him escape the fact that he had personally pushed his own flesh and blood into the abyss.
“It’s nothing. Xiao Yi would have to get married and have children anyway. It’s just a matter of sooner or later. It’s nothing… nothing…”
Ruan Yi’s palms were already red from banging on the door. She pulled her hands back, her heart full of helplessness and anger. She took her phone out of her bag, preparing to call someone to rescue her.
Ruan Yi opened the chat interface, preparing to type a message to Gu Zhi. Suddenly, the silence in the room was broken by a dull thud.
Heavy footsteps came from the adjoining room, each step slamming hard against the floor.
The sound grew closer, accompanied by thick, ragged breathing. One step, then another.
When the foul stench hit her face, Ruan Yi looked up abruptly, meeting a pair of bloodshot, bulging eyeballs.
the man’s entire face was black and blue. His skewed jaw was twisted at a bizarre angle, as if it had been broken by brute force and then healed out of alignment.
How could it be him?!
Even though he was disfigured, his identity was still recognizable: it was Ruan Zhengyi.
Hadn’t he smuggled himself out? Was the police investigation wrong?
That jaw injury… Ruan Zhengyi was the kidnapper! But it was clearly investigated that the mother and son had boarded a sea vessel to flee the country.
Why would they give up the chance to escape their debt and go abroad to appear here?
Without any hesitation, the survival instinct pushed Ruan Yi to sprint toward the kitchen.
Her phone had an emergency contact setting; as long as she triggered the SOS emergency contact, she could call for help with one click.
Her trembling fingers frantically pressed the button on the right side of the phone. Just as she was about to press it for the last time, a demonic arm suddenly choked her neck.
the man’s roar of rage made her eardrums ache. Ruan Yi’s neck was slammed hard against the edge of the stove.
The phone flew in an arc through the air and smashed onto the floor, the screen instantly cracking.
The buttons were forever frozen half an inch from her fingertips.
Ruan Yi was slammed heavily onto the floor amidst the wreckage. Ignoring the intense pain, she struggled to crawl quickly toward where the phone had fallen.
“Still want to call for help?”
The next second, a tearing pain came from her scalp. Ruan Yi was suddenly yanked up by her hair, her body involuntarily following the man’s force as she was dragged toward the door.
Ruan Yi’s vision went black from the pain. she let out a cry of agony, her hands struggling wildly at her side, trying to grab something to steady herself.
Her fingertips brushed against the edge of the stove, touching a piece of cold, hard metal.
the man was still pulling her hair with force as he moved outward, his steps hurried, his gaze entirely fixed on the door ahead.
“Ruan Zhengyi! What exactly do you want to do!”
The girl’s hand was tightly gripping something, hidden behind her forearm.
“What do I want? That lunatic from the Shen family beat me like this; how do you think I’m going to retaliate?”
Ruan Zhengyi’s already disfigured face became even more hideous and terrifying at this moment.
“If he beat you, go find him!”
Ruan Yi forced herself to meet the other’s gaze, her eyes filled with tears of physiological pain and resentment.
Ruan Zhengyi seemed to be choked by something. Recalling the intense pain of that punch, he shrank back a little. But such cowardice only existed for an instant, covered by even thicker gloom.
“You’re afraid of Shen Xun, heh… You only dare to show your pathetically weak power in front of me over and over?”
Ruan Zhengyi suddenly raised his hand, the sound of wind following as he prepared to slap the girl’s face. But with his wrist raised halfway, he seemed to suddenly remember something.
He slowly pulled his hand back, his finger pad brushing against Ruan Yi’s chin, leaving behind a disgusting sensation.
“This time, I won’t use my hands.”
His voice was pressed extremely low, the greed in his eyes nearly overflowing. He looked up at the red dot reflected by the micro-camera on top of the cabinet.
“Soon, you will be my woman. Carry my seed… By then, no matter how much you and that bitch Ruan Ying struggle, it will be useless.”
Ruan Yi’s eyes widened, the blood in her body seemingly freezing instantly. She felt as if she had heard the most absurd thing in the world.
Ruan Zhengyi was her mother’s nephew, her cousin. They were genuine close relatives. He could actually say such words that violated human ethics.
“Ruan Zhengyi, you’re crazy! You beast!”
The ferocity on the man’s face distorted into an almost crazed grimace.
“Keep on cursing. Once I get the Ruan Corporation, you’ll have to kneel at my feet and beg me!”
the man gripped her collar tightly, the sound of fabric tearing ringing out. The desire and greed in his eyes were nauseating.
So disgusting! Is it because I’m a malicious female supporting character that such vile plotlines can happen?
Rather than being defiled by such a beast…
Her life would never end in humiliation again.
Ruan Yi stopped struggling. the man laughed and relaxed his guard slightly. The moment he leaned in, Ruan Yi’s hand from behind her waist lunged out at maximum speed.
The next second, she used all her strength. Without any hesitation, the blade was plunged straight into Ruan Zhengyi’s neck.
Squeltch. The moment the blade entered, a warm, thick liquid suddenly geysered out.
The arterial blood sprayed across the wall, and the air was instantly filled with a heavy metallic scent.
the man’s movements stopped abruptly. His hand suddenly let go. He widened his eyes in disbelief, clutching his neck as he stumbled back, each step leaving a trail of blood on the floor.
The girl froze in place, her hand holding the knife handle trembling violently.
Her anger was still burning, but more fear poured down like ice water. Ruan Yi looked at her own hands, covered in fresh blood, her stomach churning.
She had killed someone.
A massive bang echoed as the door was kicked open from the outside.
A man rushed into the room, his hurried steps stopping abruptly the moment he saw the scene inside.
As far as he could see, crimson blood soaked the floor, continuously gushing from Ruan Zhengyi’s neck.
The girl stood in the middle of the mess, her eyes—usually so bright—now terrifyingly hollow. She was still clutching the knife.
The man’s pupils contracted. Shock only remained in his eyes for half a second before being drowned by overwhelming heartache.
Fu Jingchen lightened his steps as he walked over. He didn’t ask anything; he just reached out, his palm gently covering the girl’s cold, trembling hand.
“Xiao Yi, you did well.”
The man slowly extracted the blood-stained knife from her stiff palm.
“Xiao Yi protected herself.”
“Very brave, very impressive.”
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