Chapter 1169 - 1169 1144 Extra Story Seventeen (26)

Chapter 1169: 1144, Extra Story Seventeen (26) Chapter 1169: 1144, Extra Story Seventeen (26) Xu Ran rushed to the counter and negotiated with the store manager, who helped bring up the surveillance footage that Xu Ran stood watching.

She stared intently at the screen and suddenly called out.

“Stop right there.”

The frame on the screen froze at the side door, where a woman dressed in white with black pants was helping someone out. The person she was assisting had their entire face covered with a hat and mask and was indistinct, but those white canvas shoes were all too familiar to Xu Ran.

White canvas shoes were common, but these shoes were distinctive, adorned with cartoon doodles drawn by Xi An’an herself; there wasn’t a second pair like them in the world.

Xu Ran’s face darkened abruptly, “Please copy this video for me.”

The store manager hastily agreed.

Unable to fathom what the kidnapper of Xi An’an was thinking, Xu Ran didn’t dare to call the police rashly and stepped aside to make a phone call to Quan Tianqi.

The man in the company office received the call from Xi An’an, and his thin lips curled unconsciously, “Finished with your coffee?”

“President Quan, it’s me,” Xu Ran said, “An’an is missing.”

“What do you mean?” The smile vanished from Quan Tianqi’s eyes.

“An’an went to the bathroom and hasn’t come out since. I had the cafe’s staff check the surveillance footage, and someone took An’an away,” Xu Ran calmly explained the situation.

“President Quan, should we call the police now?”

Quan Tianqi’s dark eyes narrowed, a hint of coldness flickering, “Don’t call the police for now. Leave this matter to me, and send a copy of the surveillance video to my phone.”

Xu Ran said, “Understood.”

After hanging up, Quan Tianqi stood up, took his car keys, and walked out, sending a message to Jian Qing as he did.

In the dimly lit rental room, it was cold and damp.

Hiss.

Xi An’an muttered softly and slowly opened her eyes.

She shook her dazed head, and her delicate eyebrows twisted into faint furrows.

Where is this?

She looked down at the ropes tied around her body, and her heart skipped a beat.

“Hah!”

A sinister laugh ripped through the air, sending a shiver down one’s spine.

Xi An’an followed the source of the laughter and met a pair of familiar eyes, and the memories from before she passed out flooded back into her mind.

“Xi Yu!”

Xi Yu sneered coldly, “What a rarity, you remember me.”

“Xi Yu, what in the world do you want?” Xi An’an struggled with all her might to break free from the ropes, her face turning red, but the tightly knotted rope wouldn’t loosen in the slightest.

“This is kidnapping, it’s against the law.”

“Xi An’an, since I dared to take you, do you think there’s anything left that I’m afraid of?” Xi Yu walked over, looking down on her with disdain in her eyes.

And a jealousy that reached deep into her bones.

“Xi An’an, are you satisfied now? The Xi Family is nearly ruined because of you, and I’ve also completely fallen out with my own family. I have nothing left. Are you proud of yourself, huh?”

“Xi Yu, I don’t want to argue with you. Just release me now, and I can pretend nothing ever happened,” Xi An’an said coldly.

“Let you go? Ha, that’s wishful thinking.” Xi Yu glared at her, her eyes emitting a ferocious light, “Do you have any idea how much effort I’ve put into catching you, Xi An’an? Let me tell you, now that I have caught you, I don’t intend to live either. Even if I’m going to hell, I’m dragging you down with me.”

The desperation in her words made Xi An’an inwardly curse, “Xi Yu, if you won’t think of yourself, at least think of your parents. Even if you drag me down with you, what good does that do you?”

“Don’t talk to me about them. Do you know what happened to me after I left home that day? Xi An’an, you can never comprehend the despair I felt.” Thinking about that humiliating night, Xi Yu felt a wave of nausea.

Xi An’an was taken aback. Xi Yu lifted her hand and removed the mask from her face, revealing cheekbones marked by handprints, especially the crimson slash across her left cheek, deep enough to show bone.

“See this, Xi An’an? This is all your fault. If it weren’t for you, my dad wouldn’t have taken out his anger about the Xi Group on me, I wouldn’t have run away from home, and I wouldn’t have encountered those drunken men. It’s all because of you,” Xi Yu said emotionally, roughly grabbing her hair and staring at her with bloodshot eyes.

“Now I am in such a dire state, while you’ve climbed up the social ladder, getting together with Quan Tianqu. How could I possibly accept this?” The rented room had poor sound insulation, so she could not scream, and instead whispered through gritted teeth.

The pain from her scalp being pulled made Xi An’an’s small face crumple, “Xi Yu, you’ve kidnapped me, but Tianqi will find us soon. Even if you get your revenge, you won’t end up any better yourself.”

“Heh,” Xi Yu smirked contemptuously, “Of course I’m aware that I can’t contend with Quan Tianqi by myself. Since he is so fond of you, tell me, if he arrives to find your corpse, do you think he would be devastated?” Xi Yu said with a chilly laugh.

Then, she let go and walked towards the tiny kitchen that was just a few square meters large.

Xi An’an felt an ominous premonition deep inside.

Her hands clenched tightly, palms sweating without her noticing.

The next moment, when she saw Xi Yu pushing a gas canister from the kitchen, a wave of panic swept over Xi An’an’s eyes.

“Xi Yu, you’ve gone mad, what are you trying to do?” Her gaze anxiously scanned the surroundings, looking for a possible escape.

Having been pampered since childhood, Xi Yu struggled immensely to move the gas canister, pulling and pushing it with much effort, gasping for air.

Looking up at Xi An’an and seeing her panicked, Xi Yu felt a surge of vindictive satisfaction, “Xi An’an, what’s wrong, are you afraid now?”

Exerting all her strength, Xi An’an shifted the chair, “You lunatic.”

Xi Yu strode forward, yanked her up, and dragged her towards a nearby wardrobe with Xi An’an trying to resist, her shoe soles scraping against the floor, “Xi Yu, let go of me, let go…”

“Shut up.”

Xi Yu swung back her hand and a dull slap echoed loudly in the confined rented room.

The corner of Xi An’an’s mouth split, blood trickling down.

Xi Yu grabbed the duct tape from the table, pressed Xi An’an down on the edge of the bed, one hand pinning her down, and the other tearing off tape to cover her mouth.

“Xi An’an, you can’t escape,” she spat viciously.

“Mmm—”

With her legs bound too, Xi An’an was completely immobilized. At that moment, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness nearly swallowed her whole.

Tianqi, why haven’t you come yet.

Was she never going to see him again?

Her peripheral vision caught sight of the gas canister, her eyes reddened in urgency.

Xi Yu opened the wardrobe, reached in to pull her out, and then shoved her into the closet, closing the closet door without blinking an eye.