Time passed quickly, and today was the day Qiao Haoyu and Zeng Guoqiang arrived in Shencheng. It was also the day for Wei Jiajia and her classmates to pick up their graduation certificates.
Wei Jiajia and Zhang Huimin arrived at school at 3 p.m. By the time they got there, many students had already collected their certificates and left. About a dozen students stayed behind, chatting casually in the classroom.
When the two of them walked in, a classmate waved enthusiastically and called out, “Jiajia, Huimin, come here! We’ve been waiting for you!”
Once the two sat down, someone came over with a notebook in hand.
“Here, we’ve been compiling everyone’s contact details. Write down yours too. Later, we’ll copy it so we can all stay connected after graduation. Even though we’re heading in different directions, we shouldn’t lose touch!”
Hearing this, the two of them added their home addresses to the list.
Unlike Zhang Huimin, who was outgoing and had many friends in the class, Wei Jiajia was quieter and only had a close friendship with Zhang Huimin.
Zhang Huimin, however, was a different story. Her straightforward personality and strong sense of loyalty made her popular among her classmates. Excited by the idea, she quickly pulled out her own notebook and began copying the contact details.
At this moment, Wang Weiguo walked over to Wei Jiajia and said, “Wei Jiajia, we’re graduating today. We’ve been classmates for three years, so we can call ourselves friends, right? Let’s make sure to stay in touch after we start our careers.”
“My family lives in the municipal government compound’s housing complex. If you ever run into trouble, feel free to come find me. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
Wang Weiguo’s tone was casual, and his face bore a warm, gentlemanly smile, giving him the air of a refined young man.
However, even though he carried himself humbly, his expression betrayed a hint of smugness. To someone like Wei Jiajia, who had experienced the ups and downs of life, it was impossible to miss the concealed arrogance in his demeanor.
Did she really look like someone who could be easily swayed?
She had already gone out of her way to distance herself from Wang Weiguo. Why couldn’t he pick up on it? The last thing she wanted was to become a tool in satisfying his ego and desire for conquest.
“Thank you, but my family doesn’t have any issues that need assistance. Maybe you could ask some of the other classmates if they do?” Wei Jiajia said with a calm yet distant expression, decisively turning him down.
Wang Weiguo’s smile faltered slightly. Normally, just revealing that he lived in the government compound was enough to make people go out of their way to curry favor with him. He had never faced someone like Wei Jiajia, who dismissed his offer so directly.
He was well aware that both Wei Jiajia and Zhang Huimin came from families whose financial situations were no worse than his own.
Both of them were undeniably beautiful, especially Wei Jiajia. Her skin was as smooth and pale as a peeled egg, and her eyes seemed to carry an irresistible charm—one glance from her, and it felt as though your entire being would melt.
Even if Wang Weiguo harbored any thoughts, he never dared to act on them, keeping everything buried deep in his heart.
As for Zhang Huimin, her family was on another level entirely. Her father was a high-ranking official in the finance bureau, and she had two uncles—one a senior manager at a textile factory and the other a division commander in the military. With that kind of family background, even when she repeatedly thwarted his plans, he had no choice but to swallow his pride.
But what about Wei Jiajia? What gave her the right to act so aloof and untouchable? Ever since her parents passed away, her family had been reduced to nothing but a cripple working at a scrapyard, along with women and children.
As someone without parental backing and no stable income to support her family—she should have come running the moment he crooked his finger.
And yet, here she was, acting all high and mighty. Did she still think she was the same privileged daughter of a division commander? In the end, she was nothing more than a pretty face with the label of “martyr’s child.”
Let’s see how long she can hold onto that pride, he sneered inwardly. Without connections, he wanted to know how she planned to survive when her face attracted trouble.
When the time came, he’d enjoy watching her pride crumble. By then, he’d make her crawl to beg him for help. Wang Weiguo seethed with hatred at the thought.
For a split second, Wei Jiajia thought she saw a flash of malice in Wang Weiguo’s eyes. But when she looked again, all she saw was his gentle, good-natured smile, as if her refusal hadn’t fazed him at all. It almost made her second-guess herself, as though turning him down had been the wrong thing to do.
She shook her head and smiled to herself, dismissing the thought as nothing more than a momentary illusion.
She had assumed that repeatedly rejecting him would at most wound his pride, making him give up and realize she wasn’t interested. Surely, he would move on and stop pursuing her. It never occurred to her that someone’s thoughts could run so dark and twisted.
In the classroom, Wei Jiajia and Zhang Huimin joined their classmates lively conversations about their dreams and plans for the future. Hours slipped by without them noticing.
A group of close-knit girlfriends suggested pooling their money to have a nice meal at a state-run restaurant, followed by a movie, as a way to celebrate the end of their high school years.
Zhang Huimin, knowing she’d soon be joining the military and wouldn’t see these dear friends for years, eagerly pulled Wei Jiajia along to join them.
By the time they left the cinema, the sky had already turned dark. The girls made a promise to stay in touch and never lose contact, exchanged heartfelt goodbyes, and then went their separate ways.
Wei Jiajia and Zhang Huimin didn’t their bicycle when they went out earlier. Now it was nearly 8 p.m., and the last buses had already stopped running. Walking home would take another hour.
Not wanting to worry their families by getting home too late, the two discussed it and decided to take a shortcut through a secluded path. It was quieter, but it would save them a third of the walking distance.
As they approached one of the alleyways, Wei Jiajia suddenly stopped and grabbed Zhang Huimin’s arm, her expression grave. In a low voice, she said, “Don’t look back. Just keep walking. I think someone is following us. When I tell you to run, you run as fast as you can.”
Zhang Huimin swallowed hard, her body trembling as she nodded silently.
They walked a little further. When they were about to turn a corner, Wei Jiajia leaned closer and said, “When the time comes, you run straight ahead. Don’t look back, and don’t wait for me. I’ll distract them. You’re faster than I am. When you reach the main road, find help and come back for me.”
“No!” Zhang Huimin protested, shaking her head, tears forming in her eyes. “I can’t leave you behind. If we’re going, we’re going together.”
“Listen to me,” Wei Jiajia insisted, her voice firm. “If you run and find someone, we’ll both have a chance to be saved. If we stay here together, no one will come to help us in this deserted place.”
When they reached the corner, Wei Jiajia suddenly pushed Zhang Huimin forward with all her strength. “Run!”
With tears streaming down her face, Zhang Huimin sprinted toward the main road as fast as she could. She knew Jiajia was right—her only chance to save her was to find help.
Wei Jiajia’s decision wasn’t made on impulse. Zhang Huimin was indeed faster than her, and if one of them could escape, that was better than neither.
Moreover, she still had her space. She didn’t know yet what the people following them wanted, but if it came to it, she could hide in her space. If Zhang Huimin stayed, she couldn’t risk exposing its existence.
The men behind them realized their cover had been blown when the girls started running and immediately gave chase.
That same morning, Qiao Haoyu and Zeng Guoqiang had boarded their train at 7 a.m. The trip was supposed to take ten hours, but due to a two-hour delay, they didn’t reach Shencheng until close to 8 p.m.
Since it was already late, the two decided to stay at a guesthouse near the Zhang family home and head to his grandmother’s house the next day.
On their way to the guesthouse, just as they rounded a corner, a girl came running out of nowhere and collided straight into Zeng Guoqiang, who was walking ahead.
“Ouch!” Zeng Guoqiang exclaimed as he instinctively reached out to steady the girl who had stumbled into his arms.
Having never been this close to a girl before, he couldn’t help but marvel at how her body felt.
Zhang Huimin, now standing breathless on the main road, had only one thought in her mind: Jiajia was counting on her to find help and save her.
As Zhang Huimin turned the corner, she accidentally collided with someone. A male voice exclaimed in surprise, and when she looked up, she saw a green military uniform. Grabbing his arm before he could let go, she pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
“Please, I’m begging you—save my friend! We’re being followed by several men, and she’s still back there…” Zhang Huimin’s voice trembled as she tried to explain through her sobs.
Standing nearby, Qiao Haoyu immediately recognized the tear-streaked face in Zeng Guoqiang’s arms. It was his cousin, Zhang Huimin, from his eldest uncle’s family.
He quickly pulled her away from Zeng Guoqiang, his expression serious. “Huimin, what’s going on? Who’s chasing you?”
Hearing someone call her name, Zhang Huimin turned toward the familiar voice and saw her cousin’s concerned face. She rushed toward him and grabbed his arm tightly.
“Cousin! It’s Jiajia—Jiajia stayed back for me! She’s still in the alley! Please, hurry and save her…”
Before she could finish, Qiao Haoyu let go of her and ran into the alley without hesitation. Zeng Guoqiang, realizing there was a woman in danger, quickly followed behind him.
Zhang Huimin watched as her cousin ran off to rescue Jiajia, then collapsed onto the ground.
She’d been so focused on running for help that her mind had gone blank. Now, her legs were shaking so badly that she couldn’t even stand.
After catching her breath, Zhang Huimin stood up and headed toward the alley. She had to find Jiajia—Jiajia must be terrified right now.
This was all her fault. If she hadn’t insisted on dragging Jiajia to watch a movie, none of this would have happened. If anything bad happened to Jiajia, Zhang Huimin wouldn’t forgive herself. Tears streamed down her face as she ran.
At the same time, Wei Jiajia found herself surrounded by a group of street thugs.
The leader was a man in his thirties with a scar on his face. His hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in ages, and a strong smell of body odor emanated from him.
One of the younger thugs turned to the scar-faced man and asked, “Boss, one of them got away. What should we do? Do we go after her?”
The scar-faced man waved his hand dismissively. “We’ve got this one, and that’s enough. Let the other one go. Just hurry up and tie her up so we can deliver her to the location we agreed on.”
Hearing this, Wei Jiajia’s heart sank, she realized this wasn’t some spur-of-the-moment attack. These men had been following them with a plan, and it was highly likely that she had been their target all along.
But no matter how much Wei Jiajia thought about it, she couldn’t figure out who she might have offended. She searched through the original owner’s memories—the original owner had a shy and cautious personalitys, she was unlikely to have offended anyone intentionally.
These men didn’t seem like human traffickers, either. The only explanation she could think of was that her appearance had caused trouble.
If that really was the case, and they succeeded in taking her, things would not end well—especially if she didn’t have her space as a trump card.
“Who are you? Who sent you?” Wei Jiajia asked.
The scar-faced man smirked. “Don’t waste your breath, girl. We’re paid to do a job, and there’s no way we’re telling you who hired us. You’ll find out soon enough when you get there.”
One of the younger thugs, distracted by the thought of the money they’d earn, glanced at Wei Jiajia’s beautiful face. A lewd smile spread across his face as he spoke with a teasing tone, “She’s trying to haggle, huh? How cute.”
“How much did they pay you? I’ll double it,” Wei Jiajia countered, her voice steady.
For now, her only option was to negotiate and buy herself some time. Huimin would find help and return—she just had to hold on.
If they succeeded in taking her away, she had no idea what would happen next. Especially with an unknown figure orchestrating things from the shadows, the possibilities were chilling.
The scar-faced leader scowled and barked at the younger thug, ““Shut your mouth, don’t let anything slip.”
Turning to Wei Jiajia, his tone grew colder. “Don’t bother resisting. Come with us quietly, and you won’t suffer as much.”
He motioned to the others and added sharply, “If she says another word, knock her out.”
Hearing this, Wei Jiajia’s heart sank. To say she wasn’t afraid would be a lie. Traveling from the modern world, an era full of safety and surveillance, to this time, where law and order felt much looser, had already been a disorienting experience, but never had she imagined being kidnapped. Here, no cameras would capture her disappearance, no authorities would track her down. If these men succeeded, she might never return home.
The men began closing in, their expressions cold and determined. Just as one reached out to grab her, Wei Jiajia spotted something—or rather, someone—at the alley’s entrance.
At that moment, her fear ebbed ever so slightly, replaced by an overwhelming sense of relief. A sense of gratitude and affection for the green color surged in her heart.
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