Chapter 96
Disaster struck.
That was the phrase that popped into Li Chu's mind after she was pulled into the car.
Rewind three minutes. Li Chu was talking to Zheng Ming on the side of the road.
As a minor character, Zheng Ming didn't have many scenes. Today was his last one. When work wrapped up that evening, Li Chu received a message from him. Zheng Ming said he was leaving the set tonight and wanted to thank her in person, offering her a gift.
Li Chu felt it was a kind gesture and didn't want to send her assistant, so she went with Yuanzi.
A car was parked by the roadside. Zheng Ming said the gift was inside and asked her to come over. Li Chu didn't notice anything in Zheng Ming's hands as she approached. She saw a look of apology on his face, and in the next instant, a hand reached out from the car and yanked her inside, while Zheng Ming pushed her from behind.
She was forced into the car. It all happened in a flash. Yuanzi chased after them for a while, but without a vehicle, she could only watch helplessly as the car sped away.
Li Chu hadn't expected such a mishap. Her kindness had been exploited.
There were three other people in the car: the driver, the burly man who'd pulled her in, and Zheng Ming. She was sitting between the burly man and Zheng Ming.
Thinking about the phone in her pocket and its location services, Li Chu calmed down.
She looked at Zheng Ming and asked, "Who told you to do this?"
Li Chu didn't think she'd made any enemies in the industry who would resort to such tactics. She figured she'd only truly provoked two people: Zhong Yue and Ning Yuxi. First, eliminate one wrong answer. It couldn't be Zhong Yue. Zhong Yue would at most snub her in person and snatch a couple of endorsements. They were on different career paths now, with no real competition. Besides their fans still squabbling online, they had little interaction.
Ning Yuxi was the most likely candidate. After all, the young master was quite vindictive. Ning Manqing assigning her two bodyguards was for her safety.
However, based on Li Chu's understanding of Ning Yuxi, she doubted he was clever enough to set her up like this.
Yet, this ambush and abduction seemed to fit the young master's impulsive personality.
Zheng Ming remained silent, head down, avoiding her gaze.
The burly man beside her was like a statue, eyes fixed on the road ahead.
Unable to get any answers, and with her hands tied behind her back, Li Chu couldn't reach her phone. She told herself to stay calm.
She'd inherited the female lead's role, so she should inherit the female lead's halo, right?
The car finally pulled up to a small villa. Li Chu was shoved and pushed through the front door and roughly thrown into the living room.
A man was sitting in the living room. Li Chu wasn't entirely unfamiliar with him, as she had once specifically searched online to find out who this jerk was.
Min Yiyuan, the owner of Zhaoxing Entertainment, Ming Zhi's former company.
He was the one who had drugged Ming Zhi and sent her to another second-generation rich kid, Chen Min.
"So, this is her. The one who ruined Chen Min's fun and got you beaten up by your sister, leaving you with a broken leg for three months. Tsk, she really is quite pretty."
Min Yiyuan leaned down to touch Li Chu's face, but she dodged him. He nonchalantly withdrew his hand and teased the person coming down the stairs.
Li Chu saw Ning Yuxi's face and thought, Sure enough, it's this idiot.
"You're disgusting, shut up!" Ning Yuxi felt a phantom pain in his broken left leg at the mention of Ning Manqing's name. Damn, is Ning Manqing really my sister? She might as well be my enemy. She was so ruthless! She'd made him lie in bed for so long, becoming a laughingstock in the industry. Every time he went out, people would mock him about his broken leg, making him resent Ning Manqing even more.
Ning Yuxi walked up to Li Chu and kicked her hard, sneering, "Look who's in my hands now. Ning Manqing really keeps a close eye on you, but what's the use?"
Li Chu frowned, her expression blank as she met Ning Yuxi's gaze.
"Still giving me that look? Who do you think you are?" Ning Yuxi was enraged by Li Chu's expression. He remembered that day in the restroom, how humiliatingly she'd hit him and taken photos.
Li Chu's face stung. This idiot, just die already! she cursed inwardly. But she didn't say it aloud. Her priority was to stall for time and wait for rescue, not to provoke Ning Yuxi into acting prematurely.
Although she didn't know what Ning Yuxi planned to do, she could guess it wouldn't be anything good.
"Why aren't you talking? Cat got your tongue? Weren't you quite talkative that day?"
"Do you want to hear me talk? It's fine even with others present. After all, I know your secret," Li Chu said suddenly, locking eyes with Ning Yuxi. "You ask who I am? Just an ordinary, law-abiding citizen who saw injustice. And you? You're someone who loves..."
"Shut up!" Ning Yuxi abruptly yelled, glaring at Li Chu.
Ning Yuxi's secret crush was something he didn't want anyone to know. It was a hidden part of him, and he didn't want to share it with anyone, especially not Min Yiyuan. They might seem like good friends, drinking buddies, but Ning Yuxi knew the truth of their relationship.
"Why'd you stop? Go on, tell us. Who does he love?" Min Yiyuan, intrigued, urged her to continue.
"Shut up! You and your people can leave now," Ning Yuxi snapped impatiently.
"Just using and discarding, huh? I provided the car and the people. Don't I get to watch the fun? This omega is still a virgin, right? No alpha scent on her. Wouldn't it be a waste to let someone else have her? I'll play with her first, then you can give her to whoever you want," Min Yiyuan said, looking at Li Chu with a playful expression.
But in the next second, he changed his mind.
"Forget it. I'm not going up against Ning Manqing. Last time, messing with that old woman caused me enough trouble. If I hadn't gotten my old man to intervene quickly, Mu Xiao would have swallowed my company whole. I'm staying out of your business. I'm always the one who ends up unlucky. Last time, it was Chen Min who wanted someone, so I provided. Then Mu Xiao poached her to deal with me. This time, I'm not cleaning up your mess. This is your family's affair; deal with it yourself."
Min Yiyuan stood up, preparing to leave.
Ning Yuxi wasn't happy to hear this. He sneered, "Don't think you can just wash your hands of this. We're in the same boat. You were the one who volunteered to help me get revenge. Now you want to walk away? No way."
From their conversation, Li Chu understood the whole story. Ning Yuxi wanted to get back at her, but because of Ning Manqing's protection, he hadn't succeeded. Zheng Ming was Min Yiyuan's man, either recruited before or after joining the set, it didn't matter. Zheng Ming helped Min Yiyuan bring her to Ning Yuxi for him to carry out his revenge.
"Ning Yuxi, this isn't very nice of you. Instead of arguing with me about who's responsible, you should just deal with this quickly. If Ning Manqing comes after you, I was just helping you out. From beginning to end, it was Ning Manqing who was in the wrong. That Chen Min incident had nothing to do with you, right? She broke your leg, so it's only natural for you to retaliate. Your parents should be on your side, logically and emotionally."
Li Chu inwardly scoffed. Min Yiyuan was a bit smarter than the malicious young master. Saying this shifted all the blame.
But whether or not he could truly escape responsibility, anyone with eyes could see. At least Li Chu didn't believe he orchestrated all this just to help Ning Yuxi. Min Yiyuan must have some personal vendetta against Ning Manqing. Because she had contacted Ning Manqing, who then contacted Mu Xiao, he was targeted by Mu Xiao.
Ultimately, these people were bullies, picking on the weak and fearing the strong. Tiange Group was at its peak, so Min Yiyuan didn't dare to provoke Mu Xiao. Instead, he instigated the brainless and malicious Ning Yuxi to come after her.
Ning Yuxi was swayed by Min Yiyuan's words, thinking it made sense. His parents doted on him anyway. Besides, he hadn't targeted Ning Manqing directly, just a small-time celebrity. If Ning Manqing made a fuss about this, then she would be in the wrong.
Min Yiyuan took Zheng Ming and left, leaving Ning Yuxi, Li Chu, and the burly man, presumably Ning Yuxi's bodyguard, in the living room.
"It was my left leg that was injured, so you should pay me back with your left leg," Ning Yuxi said, gesturing at Li Chu's left leg with a stick.
Li Chu felt anxious, wondering if Ning Manqing had found her. There shouldn't be any signal blockers here, right?
But she didn't show any anxiety on her face. Instead, she looked at Ning Yuxi with pity.
Li Chu knew Ning Manqing would definitely send someone to rescue her, and Ning Yuxi was an idiot who acted impulsively. So, to protect her leg and herself, she had to stall.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ning Yuxi, as expected, was riled up by her look. The prideful young master hated being looked at with pity, as if he were some tragically miserable person.
Li Chu shrugged. "I pity you."
"Pity me? You, a low-born omega from the countryside, pity me? Are you sick? I have everything I want. You're the one tied up. Instead of pitying me, you should pity yourself. I've prepared a grand gift for you. Break your leg and then throw you to a bunch of people to play with. Not bad, huh?"
"Have everything you want? I don't think you have anything at all. You were born into the Ning family, but those things aren't yours. Knowing your parents, you'll probably be married off soon as a bargaining chip. The Ning family's assets have nothing to do with you."
"Do you think they have anything to do with Ning Manqing? She's already severed ties with the Ning family!"
"If she severed ties, why did they insist on her returning to the family home for New Year's Eve? And why is her name still in the family register? Actually, I'm curious about something. Why do you only target Ning Manqing and not your older brother and sister?"
Li Chu knew the answer, of course, but she wanted to lead Ning Yuxi into pouring out his years of bitterness and resentment. After all, this kind of person always felt misunderstood.
The not-so-bright young master took the bait. He sneered, "You don't understand! You don't understand how annoying someone like Ning Manqing is!"
[Omitted: Ning Yuxi's angry rant]
As Ning Yuxi's rant neared its end, Li Chu's rescue finally arrived.
The door was kicked open. A Yao knocked down the burly man at the door, and Yuanzi quickly subdued Ning Yuxi, untying Li Chu.
Li Chu moved her wrists, the circulation returning after being bound. She glanced indifferently at Ning Yuxi.
"I want to tell you a truth."
Ning Yuxi subconsciously asked, "What?"
"Forget it, never mind."
"Damn you!" Ning Yuxi was so angry he almost vomited blood, his eyes venomous.
Li Chu did it on purpose, leaving Ning Yuxi to stew in his own thoughts.
The truth was: villains die because they talk too much.
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