Chapter 211: Another Ending
When Sun Tianci returned, he was flush with cash. He told his men about it, and everyone was overjoyed. It meant their operation had succeeded once again.
“This is great! We’ll get a huge cut this time.”
“All these rich people are the same.”
Inside, Ye Zhiyun heard their conversation but remained unmoved. She just pressed closer to Yu Linna, trying to soothe her.
“Don’t worry. My dad might seem playful, but he’s very reliable when it counts. I’m sure once these people get the money, they’ll let us go. You can rest easy about that.”
“You don’t seem scared at all.”
“I am, of course I’m scared. But you’re here.”
Ye Zhiyun smiled.
In a situation like this, she felt she was actually quite lucky because Yu Linna was by her side. That was better than anything. The most important thing was that the most important person was with her.
It was only after this incident that Ye Zhiyun realized just how high a place this girl held in her heart. To knowingly walk into a trap, a situation where she might be caught, all for the sake of her safety—the Ye Zhiyun of the past would never have done such a thing.
It turned out that this person’s importance had far surpassed her own.
“Big Brother, we’ve been in this line of work for so many years, but this is the first time we’ve gotten this much money.”
“I started doing this a long time ago, before you all even entered the game. I still remember, fourteen years ago, I was just a human trafficker. I never imagined I’d make it this far.”
Sun Tianci said with a laugh.
Over a decade of experience had long since calmed his heart. Even when committing crimes, he no longer felt any fear or trepidation.
Whether it was the laws of the mainland or those of Hong Kong and Taiwan, he had never taken them seriously.
“Speaking of that little blonde girl, I sold a blonde girl many years ago. She looked a bit like her…”
Ye Zhiyun didn’t pay much attention to what was being said outside.
She and Yu Linna leaned against each other, back to back in the darkness. Neither of them planned to do anything rash. With their phones confiscated and all communication cut off, it was better to be obedient than to try and reenact some drama from a TV show. Perhaps they could even spare themselves some suffering.
They stayed there for two days, and during that time, they were very cooperative. Sun Tianci was quite satisfied.
President Ye also kept his promise. He went to the bank to withdraw the money, all in cash, and delivered it in two separate shipments. Sun Tianci had to call for two transport vehicles.
“This money is enough for your startup capital. Use it to start a business, Mr. Sun.”
Ye Siyuan’s expression didn’t change; he still wore a smile.
“Heh heh. You jest, Mr. Ye. We’ll meet again. Since you’ve done me this favor, I promise not to touch the Ye family in the future.”
“Then I thank you.”
He said it, but Ye Siyuan knew it was just a pleasantry. Only a fool would turn down free money.
This gambler would have no reason not to target him again. It’s not the thief you fear, but the fact that the thief is always thinking about you. However, they probably wouldn’t come knocking again for a while, which was a good thing.
Wenqing had also prepared three hundred million in cash early on and handed over the ransom to the kidnappers.
In total, Sun Tianci had obtained a ransom of 1.3 billion.
Divided among his men, everyone would get a substantial share. He himself received four hundred million.
Sun Tianci also kept his promise. Once he had the ransom, he immediately told them they could go home soon.
“You’re lucky. Neither of them called the police. They both paid the ransom. You can leave tomorrow. Go home and have a nice meal.”
When Sun Tianci said this, both Yu Linna and Ye Zhiyun breathed a sigh of relief. At least their safety was guaranteed. Staying in this dark, sunless place was not a good thing. Who would want to stay here? And they were constantly on edge. Thank heavens this life was finally ending.
“Girl, I just realized you look a lot like someone.”
Out of nowhere, Sun Tianci started talking to Yu Linna.
“I forget what she looked like exactly, but I did sell a mixed-race girl like you before. I remember that little brat fetched a high price. I don’t remember who I sold her to. Anyway, I feel like you look a lot like her.”
Yu Linna’s pupils dilated.
Looking at this man, something deep inside her began to awaken.
“But forget it, it’s not important anymore. I’ll have someone send you away tomorrow.”
Sun Tianci waved his hand and left, leaving Yu Linna standing there in a daze.
Human trafficker…
Those were the only words left in Yu Linna’s mind. She was certain that this man had been a human trafficker in the past.
But it couldn’t be such a coincidence… right?
After all, it was so many years ago. Who could guarantee they would still remember? Yu Linna herself couldn’t remember clearly, and her head had been injured. These things shouldn’t exist, right?
“Nana?”
“…My head… it hurts a little…”
Those sealed memories seemed to be slowly awakening. Things that even Yu Linna had once forgotten seemed to be breaking through their seals.
(“Why are you still crying?”)
(“Where did you buy her from? No one wants to buy her, and she’s so expensive. She’s just a nuisance to keep around.”)
(“Can’t you just sell her off quickly? Dammit, why did I have to pick up a foreign devil?”)
What kind of life had she lived in the past…?
Why couldn’t she remember?
She only knew that she had been sold, then ended up in an orphanage where she met Director Wu Siyu, and then went to the Huo family. That was the beginning of her memories.
But where she came from, who her parents were—she truly couldn’t remember.
Too much time had passed.
“Nana? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. I want to be alone for a bit. We’re leaving tomorrow anyway. I want to rest.”
With that, she scooted over to a corner and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes.
Perhaps closing her eyes and forgetting everything was the best thing to do.
As for the human trafficking case from over a decade ago, the specific truth was impossible to verify. It involved too many children and families, and tracing it back to the source was an incredibly difficult task.
Only Sun Tianci himself knew his role and status in all of this back then.
At dawn the next day, he kept his word. He had his men blindfold them and drive them out to the remote countryside, dropping them off at a farm.
Once the car drove away, Yu Linna and Ye Zhiyun were truly free. Their phones were returned as well. They checked the map and found they were still quite far from the city center.
“A memory I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”
“Yeah. Thinking back on it now, it’s still hard to believe we were actually kidnapped.”
The incident could be described as a scare without any real danger. After both parties paid the ransom, they were set free.
Sun Tianci was a career criminal, after all. His actions would be exposed sooner or later. But he seemed to have no fear of the mainland’s laws. Perhaps he had a powerful backer behind him.
“But letting a villain like that get away with it… I really can’t be happy about it.”
Hearing Yu Linna say this, Ye Zhiyun just smiled and said nothing.
It was true, she didn’t have the means to deal with him. She only cared about Yu Linna. But it didn’t matter. Someone else would deal with him.
Ye Siyuan found the released Ye Zhiyun and Yu Linna right away, picked them up in his car, and handed them hot water.
“You’ve both been through a lot. Let’s go home. Everything will be better at home.”
Ye Siyuan usually teased his daughter, but today he was much more reserved, much more composed.
“I’m fine. But Dad, with your personality, are you really going to let this go?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Dad will handle it. The most important thing is that you’re safe.”
Ye Siyuan smiled.
In this world, nothing was more important than family. Money was just an external possession to him. The sum was enormous, but to him, it was far less important than his own child. As long as she was safe, it wasn’t a big deal.
And after this incident, the confusion in Ye Zhiyun’s heart seemed to have vanished. She had once been lost in a fog, but now the clouds had parted.
Especially regarding her feelings for Yu Linna.
When Wenqing received the news that Shion-Sensei was safe, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They showered her with concern, and Yu Linna was very moved. Wenqing had been so righteous this time, paying such a large ransom for her after learning she had been kidnapped. One had to remember that Yu Linna was a “three-no” resident: no parents, no relatives, no house.
Originally, she hadn’t felt much for Wenqing, but after this incident, her opinion of them had changed. She wanted to repay their kindness.
As for Sun Tianci?
He had indeed gotten a large sum of money, but this gambler didn’t put it to good use. Instead, he went to the casinos in Las Vegas and squandered it all. The mentality of a gambler is to chase the thrill of gambling. The amount of money was not the issue. And so, he lost ninety million in one night, but he was happy.
With such a large sum and a taste of this success, Sun Tianci grew even more arrogant.
Two years later, Sun Tianci planned to kidnap a world-famous designer visiting China and was captured by the police. At that time, he still believed he could continue to get away with it, relying on his connections and the people he knew in high places. Unfortunately for him, the times had changed. The era of relying on connections and bribing officials was over. In this new era of anti-corruption, there was no place for someone like him. He was naturally brought to justice under the mainland’s laws. He later confessed to many of his crimes. When asked about his past offenses, he mentioned that he had once kidnapped the daughter of the Ye family and the Wenqing author, Shion-Sensei.
When this was made public, the entire nation was shocked. No one had imagined this man was capable of such things.
Ye Siyuan’s chance for revenge had also come. He revealed a great deal to the police, providing all the details, and even stated that he had reported the case two years prior, but the police had not taken it seriously until the era of anti-corruption arrived.
With that, the incident was truly over.
But at this time, Yu Linna was far from being as famous as she would be in the future. Her identity was still kept secret. After this incident, the people from Wenqing personally drove her home from Shanghai, completely ignoring the dark expression on Ye Zhiyun’s face.
Yu Linna returned safely to Guangnan City. Worried that something might happen to her, Chen Xi made a point of visiting her every few days, telling her not to go out and just stay at home. Wenqing was so afraid something would happen to her that they arranged for different editors to go to the market to buy groceries for her every day, just to keep her from going out. Can you imagine the editors making a schedule, discussing whose turn it was to go to the market today?
Half of July quickly passed.
