Chapter 26
The man suddenly covered Su Jin's mouth and dragged her into a deserted alley.
She struggled fiercely, but he was too strong—one forceful shove knocked her to the ground.
"What do you want?" Su Jin demanded coldly as she steadied herself, though her heart pounded wildly in her chest. She hadn't expected to run into something like this—was this a robbery?
"If it's money you want, I can give it to you," she said quickly, trying to assess the situation while glancing around for any help.
But the area was remote and silent. Not a single soul in sight.
She subtly reached into her bag, her fingers trembling as they found her phone. Without looking down, she pressed the emergency speed dial—number one.
The man noticed. "Stupid woman, trying to call for help?" he snarled, yanking out her phone and quickly cancelling the call. A cruel smile played on his lips.
Su Jin's heart sank.
She turned and bolted.
But she hadn't made it more than a few steps before he caught her again, grabbing her roughly by the arm.
In her panic, Su Jin clawed at his scarf, yanking it down.
Their eyes met.
Both froze.
Su Jin's eyes widened in disbelief. "It's you!"
The man was none other than Zhou Tao—the security guard who had mysteriously vanished after the incident at her grandmother's birthday banquet.
Seeing that he had been recognized, Zhou Tao's expression twisted into something vicious. "Since you've seen me… I'm afraid I can't let you live."
Before Su Jin could react, he shoved her into a nearby car, slammed the door shut, and sped off.
Her hands and feet were tightly bound, and her mouth was taped shut. She could only glare at him, her eyes burning with fury.
Zhou Tao glanced at her through the rearview mirror. Her piercing gaze made him uneasy. With a snarl, he turned and slapped her hard across the face.
"What are you staring at, huh? Someone wants you dead. Don't blame me!"
Someone wanted her dead?
Besides Gu Xiangyun, who else in the world would go so far as to want her life?
This was not ordinary thugs—He is clearly desperate, a ruthless person willing to do anything.
Su Jin knew she couldn't fight him head-on right now. She had to stay calm. For now, she would play along and wait for the right moment.
The car sped steadily toward the countryside. Su Jin stared out the window, watching the scenery blur past. Gradually, her panic faded, and her mind began to clear.
If Zhou Tao succeeds in taking her away, there would be only one outcome—death.
Curled up in the back seat, Su Jin quietly began to work on the ropes binding her hands. As long as she was patient enough, she might be able to escape.
"Hello." Zhou Tao spoke into his phone, no longer bothering to hide anything now that Su Jin had recognized him. "It's done. When will the money be transferred?"
"As long as you deliver her to me, the money will be wired to your account immediately," came Gu Xiangyun's voice through the speaker.
Su Jin's heart tightened.
Deliver her? What did Gu Xiangyun want from her that required going this far?
Zhou Tao sneered and replied coldly, "I'm risking my neck here. This kind of job means heads could roll. It's one hand for the money, one hand for the goods. No games."
As he spoke, he activated the camera on his phone, aimed it at Su Jin, and snapped a picture.
Then he hung up.
Su Jin understood instantly—he was sending proof to Gu Xiangyun to assure her that this time, there was no escape.
But Su Jin's eyes remained calm. If Gu Xiangyun thought she was still that helpless little girl, she was in for a surprise.
Not long after, Zhou Tao's phone rang. He glanced at the screen and whistled cheerfully.
---
Fu Group — Conference Room
Fu Siming was in the middle of an important board meeting when his assistant, Xu Tezhu, quietly entered the room and leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"Mr. Fu, Miss Su may be in danger."
Fu Siming's brows furrowed. "What did you say?"
"Just a few minutes ago, I received a call from her," Assistant Xu explained, lowering his voice. "But it was immediately hung up. When I tried to call back, the phone was switched off."
Fu Siming's expression darkened instantly. His voice dropped to a chilly tone. "Do you have any idea how important this meeting is?"
The air in the room froze. Everyone present dared not even breathe too loudly.
Assistant Xu felt a bead of sweat trickle down his neck, but he stood firm and continued, "Before disturbing you, I also called the Su family to check. But they said Miss Su never returned home."
The atmosphere grew heavier.
"She didn't go home, and now her phone is off?" Fu Siming narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in them.
Xu nodded. "Yes, sir. Something doesn't feel right."
There was a tense pause. Then, Fu Siming asked in a low voice, "Did you try to locate her phone?"
"I've already contacted the technical team to trace her last known location," Xu replied quickly. "They're working on it."
Fu Siming stood up abruptly, his chair screeching behind him. His voice was curt and final: "Cancel the meeting. Prepare the car."
Everyone in the room looked stunned, but no one dared question him.
Assistant Xu nodded gravely. "I tracked the location. Miss Su's phone last pinged just 500 meters from the Su residence… but she's nowhere nearby."
Hearing this, Fu Siyan immediately stood up, straightened his suit jacket, and turned to the room of stunned executives.
"The meeting is postponed." His tone was final, cold and sharp.
As he strode out of the conference room, he ordered crisply, "Lock down all roads in the vicinity. Pull traffic and surveillance footage—I want her location within five minutes."
"Understood," Assistant Xu replied and hurried off.
Exactly five minutes later, Xu returned, face tense. "Sir, we found her. Miss Su has been kidnapped."
---
Abandoned Hospital – Outskirts of Beijing
Su Jin's had already successfully untied the rope but was still pretending her wrists were bound, but her gaze was sharp and unyielding as she glared at the man approaching with a long knife.
"What are you planning to do?" Her voice was cold, despite the fear building in her chest.
Zhou Tao grinned menacingly, his expression twisted with greed. "If you don't want to suffer too much, you'd better behave."
His eyes roamed over her, and he let out a bone-chilling chuckle. "I'll make it quick. You won't feel a thing. Can't believe your heart's worth twenty million. Even if I worked a lifetime, I'd never earn that."
Su Jin's face drained of colour.
Gu Xiangyun… she'd really gone this far?
Desperate to save Su Nuo, she was now trying to steal her heart—literally.
Su Jin let out a cold laugh. "You want my heart? Dream on. Even if I die, I won't let her get what she wants."
With those words, she suddenly grabbed a pair of surgical scissors from the tray beside her and raised it toward her own chest.
"No—!" Zhou Tao's face went pale with panic. He lunged forward to stop her.
But just as his hand reached her, Su Jin twisted the scissors at the last second—plunging it straight into his chest instead.
Caught off guard, Zhou Tao barely managed to throw his hand up. The blade pierced clean through his palm and embedded itself into the table behind him.
"Aaaah!" he howled in agony, clutching his bleeding hand.
Su Jin didn't hesitate. She shoved past him and bolted for the door.
She had pushed herself to the brink—gambling everything on one bold move. She had bet that Zhou Tao's greed would keep him from hurting her too soon.
And she had been right.
Downstairs, a car sat idling. Without looking back, Su Jin jumped inside, slammed the door, and started the engine with shaking hands. The tires screeched as she pulled out onto the narrow country road.
But her relief was short-lived.
In the rear-view mirror, she saw Zhou Tao emerge, blood dripping from his hand, eyes crazed with fury. He leapt into another vehicle and began to chase her.
His face twisted in rage, like a demon emerging from hell.
"You filthy woman! You dare hurt me? I'll kill you!" he roared, gaining on her fast.
Then—
BANG!
The impact rocked her car violently. Her head slammed into the windshield with a dull thud, stars exploding in her vision.
Dizzy, she clutched the steering wheel, trying to regain control.
But Zhou Tao wasn't done. The nightmare was far from over.
The instinct to survive surged through Su Jin's veins as she slammed her foot down on the accelerator. The engine roared beneath her, the speedometer climbing. But behind her, Zhou Tao refused to give up. His eyes burned with madness—he wanted her dead, wanted to flay her alive, drink her blood, and tear her apart.
Bang!
Another violent collision rocked her car, the metal frame groaning in protest. Su Jin gritted her teeth and clung to the steering wheel, refusing to look back.
Suddenly, a blinding light exploded in front of her. The roar of a truck's horn tore through the air as a massive eighteen-wheeler barreled straight toward them from the opposite lane.
Her heart nearly stopped.
In the split second before impact, Su Jin yanked the steering wheel with all her strength. The car swerved violently off the road, crashing into the roadside guardrail with a deafening screech of metal.
Zhou Tao wasn't so lucky.
With a gut-wrenching crunch, the truck slammed into his vehicle, crumpling it like paper beneath its enormous wheels.
Su Jin's car spun to a halt on the gravel shoulder, the front end crushed. Her head throbbed from the impact, and darkness crept in around the edges of her vision. Before she blacked out completely, a sharp, chemical stench filled her nose.
Gasoline.
Somewhere in her hazy mind, alarm bells rang.
Her eyes fluttered open. Flames danced just a few meters ahead of the hood. A fire had sparked.
She reached for her seatbelt—clicked the latch—but her body wouldn't move. Her leg was pinned beneath the dashboard, and no matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn't budge.
Smoke began to fill the cabin.
Panic gripped her throat. She coughed, her eyes stinging. Desperately, she tried again to free herself, her trembling fingers fumbling with the bent metal.
And then—
A tall figure appeared through the smoke.
Like a phantom cutting through fire and chaos, he moved toward her with powerful strides. The flames reflected in his dark eyes. His face was sharp, cold, and terrifyingly calm.
"Don't move," he ordered.
Before Su Jin could respond, strong arms reached in through the broken window.
Everything after that happened in a blur.
It was Fu Siyan.
He emerged through the thick smoke like a storm—tall, composed, and sharp-eyed, as if the blazing fire didn't faze him at all.
Su Jin's blurred vision cleared slightly the moment she saw him. A strange warmth surged through her chest.
He came... He really came.
But the next second, panic overtook her. She waved at him, her voice hoarse from the smoke.
"Go! Don't worry about me! The car's going to explode!"
Her leg was trapped under the crushed dashboard—she knew she wouldn't be able to get out in time.
She had already owed Fu Siyan once. She didn't want to owe him a second time.
To her shock, Fu Siyan frowned slightly, glanced at her without a word—
And turned to leave.