The third brother looked at Lin Qinghe with doubt, staring at her for a while. "Alright, if you're so cooperative, we won't hurt you. We're only after money. Call You Rong and tell his family to prepare five million to exchange for you. Once the money is in hand, we'll let you go!"
Lin Qinghe readily agreed, "Okay! Give me your phone, I'll call You Rong right now!"
The third brother gestured to the man behind him, who handed Lin Qinghe a phone.
Lin Qinghe glanced at the phone and felt like rolling her eyes, but maintained a calm demeanor. "Give me my phone, You Rong's number is in there."
The third brother said, "Huang Mao, get their phones."
"Yes, Third Brother."
The man called Huang Mao brought over the two phones. As Lin Qinghe reached for hers, the third brother's eyes flickered. He suddenly snatched the phone from her hand. "You agreed so easily. You're not planning something, are you?"
The expressions of the other men behind the third brother changed drastically. "Third Brother! She must be planning something! Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed so quickly. She won't call the police with the phone, will she?"
"..." Lin Qinghe explained helplessly, "You're overthinking things. I'm just scared of dying. With me in your hands, a weak woman like me can't escape. If I don't cooperate, what if you kill me in anger?"
The third brother considered Lin Qinghe's words and found them not entirely unreasonable, but he still decided to be cautious.
The third brother said, "You find You Rong's number, and I'll call him!"
Lin Qinghe found You Rong's number in the contacts as the third brother instructed. When the third brother dialed the number and got no answer, Lin Qinghe was almost furious.
You Rong had blocked her again!
The third brother's eyes glinted with ferocity. He grabbed Lin Qinghe's hair, forcing her head up. "Brat! You're playing me, aren't you! Did you just randomly find a number to fool me?"
Wen Qianyun, standing nearby, trembled all over and cried even harder.
Huang Mao irritably kicked a chair next to her and snarled, "Stop crying! You're too loud! If you cry again, believe it or not, I'll kill you!"
Startled, Wen Qianyun quickly covered her mouth, looked at Huang Mao with terrified eyes, and kept shaking her head.
Lin Qinghe's face contorted in pain. "I... I had a fight with You Rong, and he temporarily blocked me. If you don't believe me, use another phone to call this number. He'll definitely answer!"
The third brother roughly threw Lin Qinghe to the ground. "I'll believe you one more time! If it still doesn't connect, I'll kill you!"
The third brother took out his own phone and dialed You Rong's number. He looked up at the other two men and said, "Watch them. If they dare to speak anything during my call, don't be polite with them!"
"Yes, Third Brother!"
The third brother made the call. Lin Qinghe heard a familiar voice from the phone, "Hello?"
The third brother narrowed his eyes. "Are you You Rong? Your fiancée is currently..."
Before he could finish, You Rong coldly said, "No comment!" and hung up.
Listening to the dial tone, the third brother tried to call back, but You Rong had already turned off his phone.
The third brother's expression instantly turned sinister.
Lin Qinghe inwardly cursed You Rong to death.
He was going to get her killed!
The third brother grabbed Lin Qinghe's hair again, spitting viciously on the ground. "Brat! You've got guts, playing me!"
Lin Qinghe's face turned pale from the pain, her scalp feeling like it was being ripped off.
She said with difficulty, "I'm not lying to you. It connected just now, and the person who answered was indeed You Rong. But now that our engagement news is out, many entertainment reporters are trying to get information, and he's very annoyed. He probably thought you were also an entertainment reporter, so he hung up and turned off his phone... Why don't you try calling again later? I promise you! As long as the call connects and you let me speak to You Rong, forget five million, he'll give you even more money!"
"Heh! Do you take me for a three-year-old? I'll believe your tricks, you brat!"
"You... If you don't believe me..." Lin Qinghe endured the pain and said with difficulty, "You have no other choice, do you? You went to all this trouble to abduct someone... Do you want it to be all for nothing?"
Huang Mao whispered, "Third Brother, I think this brat's words have some sense. Since we've already brought them here, let's wait a bit longer. Once the call connects, we can get five million!"
"Five million my foot! What if this brat plays a trick, and you get nothing and end up in prison for eight or ten years!"
Lin Qinghe said with a wry smile, "Brother, you think too highly of me. What tricks can a weak woman like me pull off when I'm in your hands!"
Huang Mao said, "That's right, Third Brother. It's just two girls. No matter how capable they are, with us big men here, they can't cause any trouble!"
The third brother pondered for a moment, then fiercely threw Lin Qinghe aside. "Fine! I'll believe you one last time. If we don't get the money smoothly, I'll kill you two little girls as easily as killing a chick!"
With a bang, the door to the dimly lit room was shut.
When Lin Qinghe was thrown to the ground, her stomach hit the overturned chair, and she was in so much pain she could barely speak.
Wen Qianyun wiped away her tears and fumbled her way over. "Are... are you okay? You... Why aren't you speaking? You sob..."
Wen Qianyun's crying made Lin Qinghe's head buzz. She quickly said, "...I'm fine, stop crying."
Wen Qianyun finally stopped sobbing slightly. "Thank you just now. They were looking for me, and I implicated you. I'm sorry..."
Lin Qinghe rubbed her temples, the pain in her stomach subsiding. She propped herself up. "Stop crying, save your energy, and think about how to escape."
Although those people were after money, it was hard to say if they wouldn't resort to murder for it in the end. Moreover, who knew when they could contact You Rong. If he didn't turn on his phone for a few days, they'd be finished.
"Escape? We're locked in here, how can we escape?"
Lin Qinghe looked around. The door was shut. The only way out was the window.
She pushed herself to stand and walked towards the window. Seeing this, Wen Qianyun quickly followed.
Looking down from the window, their room was on the third floor, about ten meters high.
Lin Qinghe said softly, "Look around the room, see if there's any rope or cloth."
Wen Qianyun nodded heavily, and they separated to search the room. Fortunately, they found a thick rope used for tying goods.
Lin Qinghe tied several ropes together, tying one end to the wooden sofa in the room. After a moment's hesitation, she tied the other end to Wen Qianyun.
Wen Qianyun looked at her with confusion. "What are you doing..."
"I'll lower you down slowly while holding the rope. Once you reach the bottom, don't think about anything else, just run."
Wen Qianyun asked with a worried expression, "Then... what about you?"
"After you go down, I'll follow. I'm letting you run first because your stamina isn't as good as mine, and I'm afraid you'll slow me down later," Lin Qinghe said, annoyed.
Wen Qianyun believed her and let Lin Qinghe slowly lower her. After going down just one floor, Wen Qianyun, dangling in mid-air, felt her legs go weak. She cried, "I... I can't do it, I'm scared. Hurry and pull me up!"
"If you're scared, don't look down! Hold on a little longer, we're almost there!"
"Sob... I can't, I'm scared!"
The rope happened to slip from Lin Qinghe's grasp. Wen Qianyun suddenly fell downwards, letting out a startled cry. It was this sound that alerted the men outside.
Huang Mao kicked open the door and rushed in, seeing them trying to escape. He snarled, "Brat! You dare to play tricks!"
In her desperation, Lin Qinghe ignored everything else, rapidly lowering Wen Qianyun. She then untied the rope and threw it down. She shouted to Wen Qianyun, who had fallen to the ground below, "Get up! Run! What are you standing there for, you idiot!"
Just as she saw Wen Qianyun run a few steps, Lin Qinghe's hair was grabbed and she was forcefully pulled back.