Chapter 735: A Million Times for You (97)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“I heard from Xu Baizhi’s mother that she was abducted when she was an infant. Her nanny was killed too. Who was the one who brought her here?”
“That’s three decades ago, I was only a year old at that time. The leaders here are always changing. I don’t think anyone knows the answer to your question. There’s no way to find out now,” said Pei Yi, who had no interest in Xu Baizhi’s affairs at all.
“I guess that’s what they mean by there’s always something detestable about a pitiful person.” An Xiaoning sat down and tapped on the half-filled plastic bottle. “I’ve written some words on most of the paper cranes in here. Wishes only come true when you write them on paper cranes. From now on, I’m going to write my wishes on every paper crane that I fold.”
“What wishes?”
“My well wishes for you.” She picked up a black pen and wrote a message on the square piece of origami paper. She waited for the ink to dry before folding the paper into a crane and placing it inside the bottle.
“Aren’t you bored of folding paper cranes? You’ve already folded almost two full bottles of them.”
“The second bottle will be full soon. I’ll stop folding them once it’s full. My fingers are hurting anyway.” Placing her arms on the desk while folding the paper cranes, she asked, “Master Pei, the weather is so fair today. Would you like to go out for a walk?”
“Nah, I have to attend a gathering with my friends later…” Before he had even finished speaking, An Xiaoning sprung up from her seat as pangs of panic engulfed her all of a sudden.
She turned pale immediately and murmured, “Master Pei…”
“What’s wrong?”
“My sixth sense has always been very accurate. I would feel unusually fl.u.s.tered every single time a mishap is about to happen to me. The anxiety varies from time to time. I had an ominous feeling just now too. Could you please instruct your subordinates not to kill me? I’m afraid they would when you’re not around…”
Pei Yi chuckled and said, “Who’d dare lay a finger on you without my permission?”
“I know, but…” An Xiaoning really did feel the panic and anxiety.
“Calm down, are you getting too paranoid? You’ll be the safest in here. No one would dare to touch you without my permission,” said Pei Yi, who did not believe in a sixth sense at all.
An Xiaoning stared at him, feeling helpless upon seeing how confident he was about it being safe.
Her forehead creased into a frown as she felt ill at ease.
I’ve already experienced such a feeling countless times before!
How could I not know what it means?
I would get this feeling every single time I’m about to be met with danger.
“Master Pei, could you give me a dagger to keep myself safe?”
“Do you think… I’d let you carry a weapon when you’re around me all the time?”
“I’ll give it back to you once you’re back.”
He immediately refused, “No! As I’ve said, this is the safest place you can be. What are you worried about? No one can stop me if I want you to die. Likewise, no one will dare to kill you if I don’t want you to die.”
An Xiaoning returned to her seat, not daring to utter another word.
Noticing the awful expression on her face, Pei Yi went out straight away.
She continued to fold paper cranes and filled the second bottle to the brim. She then put the lid on the bottle and stared at the paper cranes while her heart palpitated vigorously. An Xiaoning could not help but feel dismayed and terrorized by the overbearing ominous feeling.
She returned to the bedroom and locked the door from the inside.
She seemed to feel a little more at ease.
However, the sense of security she felt was short-lived. Less than 20 minutes later, she heard the door being opened from outside, followed by a conversation between two women.
Shortly after, they opened the door with the spare keys, which took An Xiaoning by surprise.
Standing by the door was Qin Guo and an elderly lady who appeared to be in her sixties and resembled Pei Yi greatly.
After hearing Qin Guo address her as “Madam,” An Xiaoning immediately figured that she was Pei Yi’s mother.
The ominous feeling she felt had proven to be true. Pei Yi had greatly overestimated himself by saying that no one would dare to touch An Xiaoning without his permission. However, he had forgotten about his mother.
Everyone in his mansion would obey his instructions. Everyone except his mother.
In fact, he might even have to abide by his mother’s orders.
“Are you An Xiaoning?” the elderly lady asked. She was dressed in lavish clothing, and her hair was pulled back behind her head. She appeared younger than her age and was well groomed, with a pair of crystal jade earrings on her ears and a similar ring on her finger. Clearly, she was not one to be trifled with!
“Yes, Madam,” An Xiaoning answered as politely as she could.
The elderly lady entered and scanned An Xiaoning from head to toe. “You’re just another pretty face. You must really be something to make my son spare your life,” she sneered.
Qin Guo brazenly interjected, “Madam, we can’t let this woman stay. She’s already caused so much trouble for Ancestor in such a short amount of time. Who knows what’ll happen in the future?”
The elderly lady gave her the side-eye and said, “I don’t need you to tell me what to do. Get the servants to bring her away to be executed in secret. It’d be too late for Pei Yi to save her when he comes back later. Hurry and step on it.”
“Yes,” Qin Guo acknowledged gleefully and turned to instruct the bodyguards.
Not long after, two men entered in an attempt to drag An Xiaoning away. However, she naturally refused to budge.
She grabbed onto Pei Yi’s couch tightly and vehemently refused to let go.
The men had no choice but to carry her out by holding her head and legs up.
An Xiaoning could not put her combat skills to use since her legs were chained together and her mouth was sealed by duct tape.
She could not help but s.h.i.+ver in the biting cold when she was dragged out of the room, especially since she was dressed in thin fabric.
The location of execution was in the underground dungeon. In order to get to the dungeon, they would have to use the elevator and pa.s.s by the area where Jin Qingyan was on duty.
An Xiaoning felt less petrified at the thought of it and stopped struggling.
However, she immediately felt anxious again upon recalling that Jin Qingyan was in charge of the night s.h.i.+ft and, thus, was probably sleeping.
She began struggling again in order to stall for some time.
Once they arrived at the dungeon, the men tied her to a cement panel and aimed a rifle at her.
An Xiaoning’s heart was ricocheting against her chest, overwhelmed with fear.
She had pinned all her hopes on Jin Qingyan.
Will he risk his life to save me?
Was it worth him doing that?
Was it worth it at all?
The man squinted and began moving his fingers. Just as he was about to pull the trigger after aiming the gun at An Xiaoning’s forehead, a deafening explosion occurred.
The dungeon immediately collapsed and dust and ashes filled the air.
A pungent odor infiltrated An Xiaoning’s senses and sent her coughing vigorously. At this very moment, a piece of wet towel was placed over her mouth. An Xiaoning turned around and struggled to open her eyes. She raised a hand to hold the towel in place.
Still wearing his mask, Jin Qingyan cut the ropes that were tied around her.
Before she could even recover from the shock, he picked her up in his arms and carried her out.
Despite the chaotic situation, Jin Qingyan could still move steadily in one direction.
At this very moment, the sounds of explosions began ringing in their ears again. However, the sounds seemed to come from somewhere else nearby.
The sounds of explosions and guns firing were incessant, causing An Xiaoning to feel as if she was in the midst of a war.