An Junxi didn't know what time it was, only that it was completely dark. There was no light in the room, just the faint moonlight streaming through the window. Occasionally a few crows flew past outside, their hoarse and miserable cries traveled far in the night, making one's spine tingle.
Gu Jinxiu, despite being bold, was still just a child. He was trembling all over and tightly snuggled against An Junxi, asking, "Cousin, what is that?"
Though he didn't utter a word of fear, he looked terrified.
An Junxi felt sorry for the child and reassured him, "It's just some birds, nothing to be scared of."
Gu Jinxiu nodded but continued to cling tightly to An Junxi, only then did he feel a bit more secure.
An Junxi stayed quiet for a while before shouting outside, "Is anyone there? We're starving!"
She had only had a simple meal at noon and had been hungry since early morning.
She then asked Gu Jinxiu, "Are you hungry?"
Gu Jinxiu nodded, looking pitiful.
Soon someone came to open the door, lit a candle in the room, and threw a few sandwiches and two bottles of water in front of them, "Eat!"
An Junxi said, "Big brother, how can we eat if you don't untie us? One of us is a girl and the other a child, where could we possibly run to?"
The man thought for a moment, seemingly agreeing, and reached out to untie them, "You have fifteen minutes!"
Another man said, "That's not a good idea, if Brother Tian finds out, we'll get scolded."
The man replied, "It doesn't matter, just for the time it takes to eat a meal."
The two men then left.
An Junxi flexed her sore limbs and carefully massaged Gu Jinxiu's limbs, gently asking, "Does it hurt?"
Gu Jinxiu seemed unaccustomed to such attention and awkwardly replied, "No, it doesn't."
An Junxi unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it to him, "Drink a few sips first, then eat." She also took a few sips herself.
Gu Jinxiu took a bite of the sandwich and frowned in disgust, "It's awful!"
An Junxi sighed helplessly, "My little master, we're in a tough situation now! It's good enough that we have something to eat! Make sure to finish the food and not waste it; we need the strength in case we try to escape, right?"
Gu Jinxiu reluctantly agreed and forced down the hard and tasteless sandwich with some water, thinking to himself that there are such terrible-tasting things in the world.
An Junxi was really starving and quickly finished her sandwich. She ran to the window to look outside, but it was pitch black with nothing to see. She pushed the iron bars, but they were welded tight and wouldn't budge.
Outside, the sound of a car stopping could be heard. An Junxi quickly ran back to sit properly, and sure enough, someone soon entered. Seeing the two of them sitting quietly, they said in a good mood, "Get up, we're changing locations!"
They came over and tied them up again.
An Junxi's heart sank, why were they changing locations? Were they ready to collect ransom? Then all the information she had previously revealed would have been for nothing.
Neither of them dared speak much. The kidnappers blindfolded and gagged them, then pushed them outside.
They stumbled onto a car, which had only been driving for about ten minutes, when the driver suddenly braked sharply. An Junxi hit the seatback in front, and Gu Jinxiu rolled to the floor.
The kidnappers asked sharply, "What's going on?" as they retrieved something from the seat compartment, and An Junxi seemed to hear the sound of a gun being loaded.
Her heart trembled, these kidnappers had guns! Oh my, what if they accidentally fired?
She hadn't yet reported back to her parents, hadn't started dating, and still had many things left to do; she didn't want to die!
The driver said, "There's a tree blocking the road." He seemed like he wanted to get out of the car to clear the obstruction.
The kidnapper sitting beside An Junxi said, "Don't open the door! Turn around and take another route!"
An Junxi was startled by his loud voice, thinking how cautious these kidnappers were. No wonder no one had come to rescue them yet. These people were too meticulous, leaving no clues, and she still hadn't figured out how many kidnappers there were.
The car quickly turned around and headed down a bumpy road.
Once the car drove away, a few people emerged from the nearby hill, one of them pressing an earpiece and whispering, "We have confirmed the young master is in the car, but the other side has guns. It's difficult to make a move; the target is moving southwest. B team, be on alert."
A voice responded, "B team received."
The car circled the mountain road several times, making An Junxi's head spin. She had initially wanted to determine the direction, but now she was completely disoriented, just hoping the car would stop soon; she was about to vomit.
The car finally turned onto a smoother road, and halfway through, they switched to a larger vehicle, encountering no obstacles along the way.
Silently calculating the time, An Junxi estimated the distance they had traveled. Gu Jinxiu, feeling sick, struggled a bit, and the kidnapper pushed him roughly, "Boy, be quiet!"
An Junxi was furious; this was their money maker, a small child, did they need to be so violent?
Gu Jinxiu, who had been cooperative all along, started struggling more violently. The kidnappers sensed something was wrong and illuminated him with a phone, discovering his face was flushed red. Alarmed, they quickly removed the cloth from his mouth; they hadn't yet collected the money; it wouldn't be good if he died!
Gu Jinxiu vomited all over, filling the car with the sour stench of food. The kidnappers cursed repeatedly.
An Junxi, feeling the urge to vomit, was more worried about Gu Jinxiu. Tied up as she was, there was little she could do.
She made muffled sounds, prompting the kidnappers to remove the cloth from her mouth. She immediately asked, "Jinxiu, are you car sick?" After circling for so long, anyone would get motion sickness, let alone Gu Jinxiu, a young master accustomed to luxury cars, who had never suffered like this.
Gu Jinxiu weakly said, "Cousin, I feel terrible."
His voice was so faint, clearly not pretending. An Junxi was scared out of her wits. She leaned over and barely managed to check his temperature, finding it alarmingly hot, "He has a fever!"
Though cautious, the kidnappers were ultimately rough men, unconcerned about such matters. It wasn't until An Junxi pointed it out that they realized something was wrong. One of them touched Gu Jinxiu's forehead and nervously said, "Brother Tian, he's really hot."
Brother Tian cursed, "Rich kids are useless!" Reluctantly, he took a box of medicine from the front seat and tossed it over, "Give it to him!"
An Junxi couldn't see, but she could guess what was happening by the sounds. She asked, "What medicine are you giving him? Is it expired? Kids shouldn't take random medicine; if something happens... mumble mumble!"
The kidnappers, annoyed by her talking, gagged her again.
An Junxi was desperate, unable to do anything but shield Gu Jinxiu's small body with her own, refusing to move no matter how the kidnappers tried to pull her away.
In the confined space of the car, the kidnappers couldn't maneuver well. Their patience quickly ran out, and a fist landed on An Junxi's back, making her see stars and nearly pass out. Just then, the car veered uncontrollably, crashing sideways. The kidnappers grabbed the door handle, "What's happening?"