Chapter 74 My Little Princess, Long Time No See

After the meal, Xiao Xiang was tactful enough to take his leave.

“I’ll walk you out,” Jiang Yao stood up.

He Yunqing reached out, firmly pulling Jiang Yao to his side, then flashed Xiao Xiang a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll walk you out.”

Jiang Yao could only make a helpless, inviting gesture to the two of them. Fine, fine, you walk him out.

Along a quiet path in the small town, He Yunqing and Xiao Xiang walked side by side, drawing the occasional curious glance from passersby.

“Cousin, I get the feeling you don’t really like me,” Xiao Xiang turned to He Yunqing.

He Yunqing clasped his hands behind his back, strolling forward at a measured pace. “Your feeling is quite right.”

Xiao Xiang looked slightly embarrassed. “Why don’t you like me? Sister Yao likes me a lot.”

He Yunqing gave a soft snort. “Did she say she liked you?”

True to his name, Xiao Xiang’s posture at that moment really did resemble a bird about to take flight. “She didn’t say it, but I can feel it. I’m planning to go with her to meet her family soon, get a sense of what they think.”

He Yunqing fell silent. Jiang Yao, she had no family left.

“I’ve already told you, I don’t agree,” He Yunqing frowned.

Xiao Xiang studied He Yunqing closely, then suddenly broke into a dazzling smile, as bright as the noonday summer sun. “You’re not really her cousin, are you?”

He Yunqing shot him a cool glance. “And what does that have to do with you?”

“You like Sister Yao too, don’t you?” Xiao Xiang pressed on.

He Yunqing’s expression suddenly became particularly resolute.

His jet-black eyes fixed on Xiao Xiang. “That’s right. Do you have a problem with that?”

Xiao Xiang crossed his arms, a look of triumph on his face as if everything had gone according to plan. “Of course it matters. That means I’ll have to start calling you brother-in-law!”

“Hm?”

Xiao Xiang stepped in front of He Yunqing. “I could tell from earlier that you were different with her. Cousin, cousin—nobody would believe that. To tell the truth, I like Sister Yao a lot, but not in that way; it’s more like how a younger brother likes his older sister. Unfortunately, my family keeps trying to get us together.”

He Yunqing gazed at the young man before him, feeling—strangely enough—that he’d just been played.

“But you must treat her well,” Xiao Xiang sighed softly. “She’s had such a hard time.”

“Mm.”

“When she first came here, her place was even more rundown than it is now. Such a broken house, yet she managed to tidy it up and make it what it is,” Xiao Xiang continued. “I never could figure out what she was after, leaving a big city for a place like this.”

“You know, I once asked her why she chose this place,” Xiao Xiang said conspiratorially. “Guess what she said?”

“What did she say?”

“She said...” Xiao Xiang paused to recall. “She said this was her beloved’s hometown, and she wanted to see it for herself. The look on her face when she said it—I knew, right then, that no man in this town, myself included, had any chance at all.”

He Yunqing was stunned.

“Cousin—no,” Xiao Xiang smiled and asked, “Are you the one she loves?”

A trace of a smile flickered across He Yunqing’s lips. Placing his hands on Xiao Xiang’s shoulders, he gave a gentle squeeze. “Go home now, young man.”

Turning away, He Yunqing strode back, his pace noticeably quicker than usual.

Only one thought filled his mind: I must see Jiang Yao, and soon.

“Ah Yao.” Returning to Jiang Yao’s little house, He Yunqing flung open the door.

But Jiang Yao was nowhere to be seen.

The dishes on the table were still untouched, and a bowl had shattered on the floor, fragments scattered about.

“Ah Yao...” He Yunqing called her name again, but there was still no answer.

A wave of dread surged through him.

He hurried to the next house to ask Aunt Qing. She looked at He Yunqing in surprise. “No, I haven’t seen her since yesterday.”

Jiang Yao’s head felt like it was about to explode.

She struggled to lift her eyelids, but could only make out blurred shapes in front of her.

Thinking back, she remembered watching He Yunqing and Xiao Xiang leave, planning to clear the dishes afterward, when suddenly she thought she saw a dark shadow in the courtyard.

She put down the dishes and went out to look, but found nothing.

She returned to tidying up, still puzzled, when suddenly something was pressed hard over her nose and mouth—a sharp, acrid smell flooded her senses, and she blacked out.

“Is anyone there?” Her voice was hoarse as she struggled to open her eyes, finally seeing her surroundings clearly.

It seemed to be an abandoned, half-finished building.

Jiang Yao had no idea how many stories up she was.

She tried to move, only to discover her hands and feet were tied. A rope was looped around her neck, the other end fastened to a pillar.

“Somebody, help!” Jiang Yao called out with difficulty.

“Your voice is just as lovely as ever.”

A sinister voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

A chill ran through her. She whipped her head around.

Zeng Qiwen’s malevolent face loomed suddenly before her.

He smiled coldly, regarding her as one would a plaything. “My little princess, it’s been a long time.”

Jiang Yao shivered.

Ten years ago, Zeng Qiwen had been a successful businessman—outwardly glorious, always impeccably dressed. Almost no one would have believed him capable of the monstrous things he’d done.

Now, ten years later, released from prison, he’d lost everything. His face had grown even more twisted, and he seemed all the more deranged.

“You were hard to find,” Zeng Qiwen’s clammy, rough hand slid slowly across Jiang Yao’s face. “I never imagined you’d come all the way here just to escape me.”

Jiang Yao looked at him with disgust. “Why won’t you leave me alone?”

“Leave you alone?” Zeng Qiwen suddenly burst into mad laughter. “Xiaoqing, I always loved your innocence. Who was it, after all, who sent me to prison?”

He yanked hard on the rope around her neck, his tone turning vicious. “Because of you, I lost everything—my reputation, my life! My father tried to get rid of that damned teacher Chen for me, and got thrown in jail himself. He died there not long after...”

“He’s dead... Did you hear me? He’s dead...” Zeng Qiwen’s expression was an indecipherable mix of laughter and tears. “You want me to let you go? After what you did to me, you think you can just live happily ever after? Dream on!”

Jiang Yao stared at him in disbelief, the rope biting into her neck, making it almost impossible to breathe.

“You did this to yourself, you pervert,” she managed to rasp out, glaring at Zeng Qiwen with hatred. “How pitiful—you’re still alive, but your soul has long since descended into hell.”