She had stayed awake all night.
Early in the morning, Xie Bingxia showed up at the dining room with two huge panda eyes. To give her a nutritional boost, Xiaomei had prepared a whole table of dishes for breakfast. There were Chinese, American, British, Japanese and Thai cuisines—every type of breakfast was covered.
Xie Bingxia was in a daze. She had spent the whole night pondering the logic behind what Gu Bei had said last night—why did Gu Bei apologize to Xia Jingwei after kissing her? She had analyzed and dismissed various possibilities over and over again, and finally had to admit that there was only one reasonable explanation: Gu Bei had fallen for her, but still harbored feelings for Xia Jingwei. He must have thought he had betrayed his former girlfriend, so he apologized to her.
But that didn't make sense! Gu Bei had callously caused Xia Jingwei's death. How could he still be attached to her? It was a total paradox!
"Ahhh! So annoying! So sleepy!" Xie Bingxia grabbed her hair, and a few strands stuck up like antennae.
Xiaomei was snickering on the side. She had seen with her own eyes last night that the young master, all clean and smelling good, had entered Miss Xie's bedroom. Seeing Miss Xie so sleep - deprived this morning, Xiaomei's mind was already filled with tens of thousands of words of restricted - level fan - fiction. So she comforted Xie Bingxia, saying, "Young men are impulsive and don't know how to restrain themselves. Next time I'll give him a good talking - to."
"Huh?" Xie Bingxia was too lazy to figure out the deeper meaning behind Xiaomei's words. She mechanically stuffed the American - style scrambled eggs into her mouth.
"Are you going back to school later, Miss?" Xiaomei asked again. "I've made a lot of snacks. Let me pack some for you."
Right, school—Xie Bingxia thought she had to go back quickly and discuss countermeasures with Qin Feng. Just then, as if on cue, Qin Feng called. "Bingxia, something terrible has happened! Yan Xiaoyi has been kidnapped!"
*
During the morning rush hour, the city was filled with red taillights, and the honking of cars was incessant. Qin Feng was gripping the steering wheel impatiently and couldn't help but honk his horn too.
Xie Bingxia, sitting in the passenger seat, tried to console him. "Don't be so impatient. Let's go to Yan Xiaoyi's house first and see what's going on."
"How can I not be impatient!" Qin Feng had already imagined a whole movie in his head, a plot about a rich kid being kidnapped with an uncertain fate. "I'm afraid something will happen to him!"
As soon as they got through the traffic jam, Qin Feng stepped on the accelerator and sped towards the Guixiang Villa Area like the wind. When they arrived at Yan Xiaoyi's house, they could hear Yan's father's thunderous roar from inside. "You unfilial son! Always causing me trouble!"
Qin Feng quickly rang the doorbell. When Yan's mother came out, her eyes were red and swollen, and her voice was hoarse. "Qin Feng, you're here," she said, then looked at Xie Bingxia. "And this is..."
"She's Xie Bingxia, the young mistress of the Xie Group. She's also a friend of Xiaoyi's."
Yan's mother was shocked. "The young mistress of the Xie family? Come in quickly! I'm really sorry to trouble you to come all the way here."
"Don't mention it." Xie Bingxia greeted politely. After they followed Yan's mother into the house, they saw the place in a complete mess. Qin Feng guessed that Yan's father must have had a fit of anger and smashed everything he could.
Xie Bingxia helped Yan's mother sit down on the sofa. "Auntie, what did the kidnappers say on the phone?"
Just mentioning the phone call made Yan's mother's eyes redden again. She sobbed, "They, they said Xiaoyi is in their hands. Prepare two million yuan to redeem him..."
"You believe them?!" Yan's father was furious, and the veins on his forehead bulged. "It could be some little brat trying to fool us!"
"Xiaoyi has been missing for several days. How can I not believe them? You never care about our son's life or death. Waaah—" Yan's mother covered her face and cried. Instead of comforting her, Yan's father got even angrier. "That good - for - nothing! He has no skills at all! I might as well pick up a stray dog. It would be more useful than him!"
"So what should we do?" Yan's mother choked. "Let's call the police!"
"No police!" Yan's father refused sternly. "If we call the police, won't our family's shame be made public? I've failed to raise my son properly, and now he's been kidnapped! You may not be ashamed, but I am!"
"Then what should we do? Huh? Tell me what to do! Waaahhh—" Yan's mother was getting desperate, and her cries grew louder. She grabbed Yan's father's arm. "He's our only son. What if something happens to him? Waaah, your Yan family will have no heirs! Waaahhh—"
"Shut up!" Yan's father shook off his wife. "It's just two million yuan. Give it to them! Spend money to ward off disaster!" With that, he walked upstairs without looking back, as if the people present had nothing to do with him.
Xie Bingxia and Qin Feng comforted Yan's mother a bit more, then walked to a corner of the living room and started whispering to each other.
"The Yan family is really..." Xie Bingxia sighed. "Can a kid grow up healthily in such a family?"
Qin Feng looked helpless. "As a rich kid, Yan Xiaoyi didn't want to follow the usual path. He wasn't very willing to take over the family business. He liked to tinker with music and even had connections with underground bands..."
"Uncle Yan has scolded Xiaoyi many times. He even sent him to Qingya University to study business management, but it didn't work. So he just gave up on him and doesn't like or care about him much."
After hearing Qin Feng's explanation, Xie Bingxia felt sad. "I can see that Auntie Yan is a weak - willed person. She must not get a good reception at home. Sigh..."
Qin Feng sighed with her and then said, "What do you think about the kidnappers? I know you're the modern - day Sherlock Holmes. Use your brain quickly!"
Xie Bingxia gave a bitter smile. "You're making me sound too amazing. But I do have some ideas about the kidnappers. Do you remember the cigarette butts we saw in the small hotel yesterday?"
Qin Feng suddenly realized. "You mean... the other two people?"
"Exactly," Xie Bingxia nodded. "What if Yan Xiaoyi wasn't really missing at first, but was kidnapped and held in that small hotel by those two people, and then they were just waiting for the right time to extort the ransom?"
"Then we must call the police!" Qin Feng said firmly. "This is not something we can handle on our own."
Xie Bingxia fell into deep thought. She was recalling the scene of the hotel room she had seen last night in her mind. There was always something that seemed out of place. Qin Feng saw her expression and knew she was thinking. He quietly stood aside, waiting for her to speak.
Suddenly, Yan's mother stumbled over, holding her phone. "Qin Feng! Miss Xie! The kidnappers are on the phone!"
Xie Bingxia immediately covered the phone's mouthpiece and whispered to Yan's mother, "Ask about Xiaoyi's situation first. See if he's okay."
Yan's mother was trembling. She said into the phone, "Hello, hello. Let me hear my son's voice first..."
"Mom..." The voice on the other end of the phone was indeed Yan Xiaoyi's.
"Son!" Yan's mother cried loudly. "Are you okay? Huh? Are you injured anywhere? Have you been eating well? Have they been giving you a hard time?"
"Mom, I'm fine. Just listen to them and prepare the money, and I'll be okay." He was surprisingly calm.
Xie Bingxia frowned and nodded at Yan's mother. Yan's mother continued, "Don't worry. Your dad has agreed to give them the money. You'll be okay..."
Yan's mother wanted to say more to Yan Xiaoyi, but someone else snatched the phone. After the person on the other end rambled on for a while, Yan's mother immediately looked extremely embarrassed. "This, this..."
The kidnappers hung up the phone quickly. Yan's mother glanced at Xie Bingxia and suddenly knelt in front of her, which really scared Xie Bingxia.
"Auntie, what are you doing? Get up quickly!"
"Miss Xie, I know you treat Xiaoyi as a friend. Please, save him!" Yan's mother grabbed Xie Bingxia's hand and cried uncontrollably. The pleading look in her eyes was heart - wrenching.
"The kidnappers are demanding... demanding that you deliver the ransom..."
"Me?!" Xie Bingxia's eyes widened in shock.
Qin Feng stepped forward to help Yan's mother up. "Auntie, get up first. Bingxia is a girl. I'll go and deliver it!" But Xie Bingxia interrupted him. "No. We'll do as they ask. I'll go."
Only then did Yan's mother get up from the ground. Wiping her tears, she said, "I'm sorry to trouble you... Our whole family will be grateful to you, Miss Xie."
After the matter was basically settled, Xie Bingxia and Qin Feng said their goodbyes and left. Yan's mother saw them off to the front gate and said that after Yan's father had prepared the money, the kidnappers would call again to tell them where to leave the ransom. She told them to go back and wait for the news.
Qin Feng still wasn't at ease. Xie Bingxia patted his shoulder and said, "Yan Xiaoyi is okay. They just want the money. I'll deliver it."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure yet who planned this, but they're definitely not real kidnappers, at least not like the ones you see in TV shows."
Xie Bingxia walked towards where Qin Feng's car was parked. Qin Feng asked, "So we don't need to call the police either?"
"What do you think?" Xie Bingxia showed a mysterious smile, which really confused Qin Feng. She said slowly, "Don't you think this is a good opportunity to expose that guy surnamed Yuan's true face?"
"But..." Qin Feng hesitated.
"Qin Feng, do you trust me?" Xie Bingxia's expression was extremely serious. Qin Feng swallowed hard, and his face gradually showed determination. "I'll always trust you!"
"If you trust me, then listen to me!"
"Okay!" Qin Feng was as obedient as a puppy.
"Let's go. What we need to do now is go back to school, have a good meal, and get a good sleep!" After running around all morning, sleepiness came over Xie Bingxia again. She yawned several times in a row.
After Qin Feng dropped Xie Bingxia off at school, she flopped onto her dormitory bed and slept until six or seven in the evening. If Qin Feng hadn't called to wake her up for dinner, she might have slept until the next morning.
Xie Bingxia got up, changed her clothes, and casually fixed her hair and makeup. When she went downstairs, she saw Qin Feng waiting for her at the door.
Qin Feng made a gesture. "Let's go to the barbecue place on the back street?"
"Sure." Xie Bingxia's stomach was growling. Her mind was already flying to the barbecue restaurant. But they hadn't walked a few steps when a black car suddenly rushed over and stopped in front of them.
The window of the driver's seat rolled down, and Gu Bei's face looked extremely gloomy. He stared fixedly at the two of them.
"Xie Bingxia, get in the car. I need to talk to you."
Xie Bingxia put her hands on her hips. "Say it now."
Gu Bei opened the car door and stepped out with his long legs. Standing up straight, he was half a head taller than Qin Feng. He sized up Qin Feng almost condescendingly, then grabbed Xie Bingxia's wrist. "Get in the car. It's important."