Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A repulsion surged within Song Yu and she felt nauseated, especially because Jian Yi was so close to her and her ears could feel his breath—she found it utterly disgusting. Song Yu felt the chills when he threatened to harm her child all of a sudden.

Both of Song Yu"s arms and legs were bound. She could neither move nor hide from him. She was truly afraid that he would harm the child. Since he was Qi Chengzhi"s child, it should not be an exaggeration to say that he detested him.

She could only open her mouth and shouted, "Chengzhi!"

Qi Chengzhi felt his heart skipped a beat when he heard her voice from his phone. He narrowed his reddened eyes and said with his teeth clenched, "Jian Yi, what do you want?"

Jian Yi looked down at Song Yu"s belly and sneered at her. Song Yu was afraid that Qi Chengzhi would be worried, so she did not ask Jian Yi to remove his hand.

Jian Yi"s continued to put his hand on her belly. He stared into Song Yu"s eyes and said to Qi Chengzhi, "50 million in cash—send it here within one hour. Come here alone and don"t report to the police. Otherwise, your unborn child won"t make it to see the world."

Jian Yi glimpsed at Song Yu"s belly. "Song Yu"s belly is already so big, if something bad happened to the child, I think she would find it hard to stay alive."

"One hour is such a short time, shouldn"t you give me some time to prepare the money? Who would usually have such a big amount of cash available? Even if I go to the bank to withdraw, I must make an appointment first to withdraw so huge an amount." Qi Chengzhi was clutching his phone tightly and his hand was trembling.

"That"s none of my business, I"ve kidnapped Song Yu and committed a crime anyway. I don"t mind committing another crime, it would be worth it if I could see you suffer and lost all hopes in life." Jian Yi was showing a crazy expression like he wanted to take everyone down with himself. He said fiercely, "One hour. If you"re late by one second then you"d never see your child and Song Yu again."

Qi Chengzhi clenched his teeth. "Okay, where should I send the money to?"

"I"ll contact you again," said Jian Yi indifferently.

Qi Chengzhi said in his deep voice, "Jian Yi, I promise you I would give you the things you want, but don"t you dare to harm Song Yu within this period."

"Qi Chengzhi, I don"t expect you to have such a helpless moment. Even if I harm her, what can you do to me?" Jian Yi snickered proudly. "I"m truly happy to see you feeling so powerless, panicky, and anxious. Haven"t you experienced a situation like this before in your whole life? So helpless like this?"

After saying that, Jian Yi hung up the phone.

"Jian Yi, are you crazy? If you"re arrested by the police, do you plan on staying in jail for the rest of your life?" Song Yu did not expect him to demand 50 million.

"Do you think I want this?" Jian Yi"s hand finally left her belly and he retracted half a step. "If Qi Chengzhi didn"t bully me to this extent until I have no other choice, would I choose to do this?"

"Isn"t it too late to regret? Why did you become a person like this? You weren"t like this previously!" Song Yu was furious and agitated. After all, Jian Yi was her friend for more than twenty years. She could still remember the memories of them being friends. "Jian Yi, please stop this—it"s still not too late if you quit now. You can release me and run away immediately, isn"t that good? If you wait for Chengzhi to send the money to you later, you"d be charged for abduction and extortion—it would be too late for you to regret then! You"re not alone in this world, you still have your parents. Your mother is in jail now, but she"d be released after two months. Do you really want to abandon them?"

"Don"t talk like I"ll surely go to jail!" yelled Jian Yi angrily. "Don"t talk about my mum. She went to jail because of Qi Chengzhi!"

Song Yu said with resignation, "When did Chengzhi have anything to do with that? Your mum hurt Guan Xiaolin so the Guan family sued her. Please don"t put the blame on Chengzhi for everything that happened."

"How did he have nothing to do with it? It was he who forced Guan Xiaolin to abort the pregnancy. Otherwise, I would"ve married her and now our son would be born soon. My mum wouldn"t have found Guan Xiaolin to avenge me. Wasn"t the loss of my child the reason she went to beat up Guan Xiaolin?" Jian Yi was getting more incensed as he talked. "In the end, it was all Qi Chengzhi"s fault!"

"Jian Yi, I beg you, can you please talk reasonably?" Song Yu started to cry involuntarily. "Weren"t we friends since a long time ago? I still remember you were enthusiastic and ambitious. Your academic results and moral conduct were outstanding. You"d buy food for the stray dogs and cats on the roadside. How did you turn into a person like this? You kidnapped me—how could you have the heart to do this?"

When she thought of the knockout drugs that Jian Yi let her inhaled, she was worried they would harm her child.

"How could you threaten to murder my child? You knew that my pregnancy is already quite advanced. If I have a miscarriage, my life would be in danger as well. Do you really want to do this? How could you hurt me after more than twenty years of friends.h.i.+p? Don"t tell me you don"t remember the day you first met me?" Song Yu was not only worried about herself as she was worried and angry with him too. She was furious that he had changed into this kind of person. "We were so innocent at that time. You were a gentle teenager and we had a lot of fun moments together. Why did you…"

Jian Yi"s stare at her turned gentler and it appeared as though he was touched by her words. He held her cheek with his palm and used his thumb to wipe off her tears. "If I could, I would like to return to the old times and start anew. I"d jump into the lake to save you without a second thought. I"d find a way to make you cherish me in your heart. I wouldn"t lose to Qi Chengzhi, and we would"ve been married by now no matter how Qi Chengzhi try to stop us. You would"ve known about the truth of the Song family"s bankruptcy and would have loathed him for it."

"But nothing can be done now." Jian Yi shook his head slowly and his expression turned dark and ruthless. "We could never return to the old times since everything had changed, and I shouldn"t allow myself to feel regret on my own. I want Qi Chengzhi to regret the things he had done."

Song Yu was scared by his expression and felt that he did not only want the 50 million, he was plotting for something more. "Jian Yi, what are you planning to do? Besides money, what more do you want?"

Jian Yi smiled at her faintly. His smile was so placid, he removed his hand from her cheek and turned around and left the house.

"Jian Yi!" shouted Song Yu loudly. She was extremely uneasy.

Qi Chengzhi went to prepare the money after he hung up the phone. The total amount of cash he raised had reached 17 million. It was raised from his accounts, the company"s cash which Qi Chenglin helped him to get, and the cash from the headquarter and Qilin Properties.

They first went back to the old manor. Xia Wenna called them just now to ask for the progress—she went to raise money immediately after she was informed about the abduction.

Qi Chengzhi asked Xiao Fan to fetch Yu Qianying to the old manor to wait for the latest news. Then he shared a car with Qi Chenglin, Liu Dui, and a few policemen in to go back to the old manor. Qi Chengyue and Cheng Dongge went back in another car.

"It was all my fault…" Qi Chengyue was sobbing and she took a deep breath. She tried to suppress her crying and her voice sounded cold and dejected. "If I had never been together with Jian Yi, there wouldn"t have been so many troubles. It was me who invited him into the Qi family and caused a lot of trouble."

She was dispirited and was blaming herself. She lowered her head and regretted inviting such a big trouble into the Qi family. If she did not request a divorce with Jian Yi that resulted with his banishment from their family without gaining anything and became so miserable, he would not have gone into hiding and kidnapped Song Yu to extort money from Qi Chengzhi.

Maybe Jian Yi had hated Qi Chengzhi since a long time ago, but she knew that the divorce caused him to lose everything he gained after much scheming. That deepened the hatred he had for Qi Chengzhi and prompted him to carry out more extreme actions.

She felt that the divorce was the breaking point and it caused the affairs that happened to become out of control.

Cheng Dongge stretched his arm and held her hand. He pinched it firmly for a few times and spoke with his deep and steady voice, "It was he who tried to get close to you in the beginning and lied to you. Besides, even if you didn"t marry him, he would"ve hated Young Master Cheng as long as Song Yu marry him, and he"d still act in an extreme way to hurt Young Master Cheng."

Although he said that to her, Qi Chengyue was still extremely regretful. She covered her mouth to cover the sound of her weeping. "I hope nothing bad would happen to Song Yu. If he hurt Song Yu and the child in her belly, then…I"m truly worried. He hated Big Brother so much, I"m afraid he"d hurt the child."

Cheng Dongge stopped talking because he had no convincing reasons to comfort Qi Chengyue with. Even he was worried.

Qi Chengzhi and Qi Chenglin were back to the old manor. When they entered the manor, they saw Yan Beicheng and Chu Zhaoyang were there too.

Grandmother Qi and Xia Wenna"s eyes were red as they were crying non-stop. Guan Liya was comforting them. When they saw that he was back, Yan Beicheng and Chu Zhaoyang stood up.

"Why did you all come?" asked Qi Chengzhi. He saw there was a piece of luggage on the coffee table.

"We"re here to send money." Yan Beicheng pointed at the luggage on the coffee table. "We received Chenglin"s message so Lao Chu, Xiao Han, Gui Zi and I put together 23 million. The two of them were in another city, so they asked their brothers to send the money to us."

"Thanks," said Qi Chengzhi softly and he nodded at them.

"Don"t mention it," replied Yan Beicheng. The money was taken from their savings—they did not tell their family about the abduction.

At this moment, Qi Chengzhi"s phone rang again. Liu Dui became alert instantly. Qi Chengzhi answered it, the caller was Jian Yi.

"Have you raised the money? There"s no time left if you haven"t," taunted Jian Yi through the phone.

"Tell me where you want me to go," replied Qi Chengzhi coldly.

After that, he followed Jian Yi"s instructions and got into the car alone. Liu Dui and the few policemen stayed in the old manor.

Grandmother Qi nervously prayed while holding a bunch of prayer beads. "Please bless us, bodhisattva 1 . Please bless us, Buddha, please don"t let anything bad happen to the children. Please make sure they"re safe and sound."

The floor was cold so Song Yu dared not sit on it until now. However, she felt like her legs became swollen after standing for so long. She could no longer bear the pain at her calves and her lower back. She could only support her waist with her hands and ma.s.saged it. She started to support her body with her elbows so that she could lean against the wall for a while without being in contact with it.

The iron door opened again. Jian Yi walked in and untied her legs.

Song Yu felt her heart thumped once. "Qi Chengzhi is here?"

Jian Yi sneered at her. He did not talk and stood up to hold her arms, then he stopped moving.

Qi Chengzhi was standing outside of the old and deserted workshop. He shouted in a loud voice, "Jian Yi, I"m here. Where"s Song Yu?"

After a while, the workshop"s iron door opened slowly with a creaking sound. He then saw Jian Yi was grabbing Song Yu"s arm and walking out of the workshop. Qi Chengzhi nearly went ballistic.

Jian Yi had a gun which Qi Chengzhi did not know where he got it from. The gun barrel was pressing against Song Yu"s belly and her face was deathly pale. She looked at Qi Chengzhi yearningly.

He was standing a few meters in front of her and carrying a piece of luggage in his hand. He was still standing upright but he appeared to be haggard. She could not help but regret going back home today.

"Jian Yu, this is the money you asked for. Put the gun away," said Qi Chengzhi with his teeth ground. He was clenching his fists and took a step forward. Jian Yi pulled Song Yu and retreated one step.

"Don"t move. If you take one more step forward, I"ll shoot her belly," warned Jian Yi.

"Jian Yi, you"re crazy!" Song Yu felt Jian Yi was pressing the gun barrel on her belly when he talked. "If you dare, just shoot the gun and kill me! I shouldn"t have saved you in the beginning! I really regretted knowing you in my life! b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You"re a beast!"

"Song Yu!" shouted Qi Chengzhi inadvertently as he was worried that Jian Yi would be provoked by her words.

Previously he never felt that Jian Yi would hurt Song Yu, but when he witnessed Jian Yi"s current deranged manner, he became unsure of it. He dared not stimulate Jian Yi because it would risk Song Yu"s life.

Jian Yi had now gone crazy and had as though lost his human nature.

Jian Yi smiled coldly. "Open the luggage and let me see what"s inside."

Qi Chengzhi unzipped it and revealed the money inside. Jian Yi gauged the amount of money inside and ordered, "Throw it here."

Qi Chengzhi threw the luggage filled with money before Jian Yi. The luggage landed with a thud.

"I"ve given you the money, now release her," said Qi Chengzhi immediately.

Jian Yi snorted. He reached for a dagger kept at his lower back and took it out. Qi Chengzhi stared at him and saw a dagger was thrown to the ground beside his feet.

"Pick it up, stab yourself to death, then I"ll let her go," said Jian Yi softly.

Song Yu opened her eyes widely—tears were streaming from her eyes. "Jian Yi! You"re not a man to threaten him like this. Shoot the gun if you dare, just kill me!"

Now Song Yu knew the reason Jian Yi laughed when she questioned him in the workshop just now.

He did not simply want the 50 million—he also wanted Qi Chengzhi to be dead!

Since the night before their wedding, he already wanted him dead and he had not given up until now.

Immediately after, Song Yi heard Jian Yi loaded the gun. "You really want me to kill you? With your unborn child? Think about it, the baby in your belly is your child with Qi Chengzhi. After today, I"m afraid he"ll be the only child of Qi Chengzhi left, so do you want him to die? He"d be dead before being born and seeing the world."

"If I die, Qi Chengzhi would be alive and he can marry another woman. This wouldn"t be his only child!" said Song Yu as she started to cry. "Jian Yi, please kill me! Just kill me! Aren"t you trying to make use of me to threaten Qi Chengzhi! I rather die than being used by you to threaten his life! Just shoot me if you dare! Didn"t you load the gun? Kill me now! You"re a beast—I regret knowing you. Why did you turn into this kind of person? Aren"t you ashamed of saying that you like me by treating me like this? The only person you love is yourself, I shouldn"t help you at that time and should let the group of people beat you to death! You"re a b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Why are you so evil? How could you be so evil?!"

"Qi Chengzhi framed me and planned to murder me through the hands of w.a.n.g Qingyi. Why didn"t you say something about it? You only allow him to kill me? If you must choose one of us to die, you"d surely choose me without any hesitation, right? Song Yu, you kept on repeating that our friends.h.i.+p had lasted for more than twenty years yet this is what I get from you in the end?" said Jian Yi ferociously as he stared at Song Yu mockingly.

Song Yu"s pupil was quivering as she saw he was sneering at her. "Why can"t you talk anymore? This is what you"re thinking of, right?"

"I don"t wish for anyone to die. Why must you make someone die?" Song Yu was exasperated.

Jian Yi did not answer her and instead turned his head and looked at Qi Chengzhi. "Qi Chengzhi, she was willing to die for you. What do you think about it? Are you going to stand there and watch me kill her? I had tried my best to be benevolent by not torturing you and making you stab yourself slowly to death. Today, I"ll let you die swiftly. Just stab yourself at the heart and I"ll straight away release her and your child."

"Why should I believe you? Previously you said you"d let her go after receiving the 50 million, but you didn"t keep your promise." Qi Chengzhi stared firmly at Jian Yi, his hands trembling due to the tension.

He dared not look at Song Yu"s belly because he was afraid that he would have a nervous breakdown. There was a loaded pistol pointing at it.

"I told you I wanted 50 million at that time but I didn"t promise to let her go," Jian Yi sneered. "Looks like you couldn"t think properly due to your concern for her. You"re such a smart guy, how could you overlook this kind of trick?"

Jian Yi was pressing the gun barrel forcibly at Song Yu"s belly again. "Please make your decision faster—do you want your life or do you value the lives of Song Yu and the child more? I"ll count to three, and I"ll shoot if you don"t pick up the knife."

After Jian Yi finished talking, he started to count. "One."

Qi Chengzhi dared not hesitate, he quickly bent his body and picked up the dagger. He was pointing the dagger toward himself and holding it tightly. "Can you guarantee you"d let her go this time?"

"Would you believe me even if I said I guarantee it?" Jian Yi sneered at him. "If you don"t do it, Song Yu and the child would surely die. If you do it, maybe they"ll live. You want my guarantee? Do you think you still have the power to choose now?"

Qi Chengzhi clenched his teeth. "Jian Yi, if you"re still a man, then keep your promise."

"Hehe," laughed Jian Yi arrogantly. "Qi Chengzhi, it"s your turn now. Do you remember how you forced me and Guan Xiaolin to abort the pregnancy? Didn"t it feel good to be able to control and change others" fate as you wish? Today I"m going to let you experience the helpless feeling when a person was being threatened and forced to do something."

Qi Chengzhi kept quiet and placed the tip of the knife on his stomach.

Jian Yi narrowed his eyes. "I want you to stab your heart, not your stomach."

"I"ll die even if I stab here, but I"d die slower and suffered more. I want to watch you let Song Yu go with my own eyes, even after the knife was stabbed into my body." The knife"s tip was pushed slightly deeper and Qi Chengzhi could feel a sharp pain from his belly.

"Stop!" shrieked Song Yu. "Qi Chengzhi, stop it! Qi Chengzhi, please leave! He"d never kill me, just go away! I don"t allow you to continue stabbing yourself!"

"Two," said Jian Yi loudly.

"Jian Yi, you could still make it if you leave now and n.o.body would stop you. I guarantee that we won"t report to the police and Qi Chengzhi would tell them nothing. Please stop. Just take the money and go wherever you want," said Song Yu anxiously.

Jian Yi did not look at Song Yu, he was glaring at Qi Chengzhi maliciously. "Three!"

Qi Chengzhi clenched his teeth and abruptly stabbed himself forcibly with the dagger.

"Qi Chengzhi!" Song Yu could not stop him as she saw the entire dagger embedded into his abdomen. His hands which still looked elegant and attractive were holding the handle of the dagger firmly. He did not even bend his body—there was nothing that could make him bow, not even death. He stood there straight and upright.

Song Yu"s vision had become blurred and all she could see was a dense fog surrounding her. She could see his s.h.i.+rt turned into a deep red at the abdomen part. The red color slowly spread to the adjacent part and became a larger area. Then, the hands of Qi Chengzhi which were holding the knife became red too.

"Qi Chengzhi, what are you doing?! Qi Chengzhi! Are you abandoning me and our child?" shouted Song Yu as she started to fall apart. She was struggling relentlessly. She burst into tears when she thought of a world without Qi Chengzhi in the future. Qi Chengzhi would not be around anymore for the rest of her life. "Qi Chengzhi, have you gotten crazy or dumb? Jian Yi, let go of me!"

"Song Yu, please don"t move, don"t let him hurt you," said Qi Chengzhi nervously. His face had turned chalk-white. He felt like he could not stand anymore, his body swaying.

"Don"t cry." Qi Chengzhi smiled at Song Yu. His gaze was as gentle as it usually was. "You take good care of the child and remember me for the rest of your life, okay? I seldom tell you that I love you."

"I know it! I know it! I know you love me, there"s no need to express your love in this way. You"re a b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Qi Chengzhi… Do you plan on abandoning me like this?" Song Yu would have chosen to die with him if she was not pregnant, but she had a child to look after. "Jian Yi, let go of me, let go of me! I wanted to look at him! You said you would let me go, let go of me now!"

She wanted to accompany Qi Chengzhi and stayed by his side now, she could not bear not touching him as she watched him dying slowly in front of her.

"I had done what you asked, release her," said Qi Chengzhi weakly, his lips were pale and dry. His blood was flowing continuously out of his body from the abdomen, his hands were painted red.

"Qi Chengzhi, don"t worry, I"ll keep my promise," said Jian Yi softly, he was extremely pleased. "I won"t kill Song Yu and your child, but I"ll take them away with me. I"ll use your money, feed your wife and sleep with her. Once your child is born, I"ll throw him away. He may not be able to survive. Even if he does, he"d never become the son of the Qi family as he could only be a homeless child. Maybe he"d resort to stealing, robbing or taking drugs. I wonder how long he"ll survive?"

Qi Chengzhi could no longer stand anymore. He could only glare at him tenaciously as he listened to him.

Song Yu was glaring at Jian Yi as her hands were tied to her back by the ropes. It was then when she showed determination in her eyes. She clenched her teeth and knocked Jian Yi"s chest strongly with her head.

Qi Chengzhi felt his heart almost jumped out of his body. He was afraid that Jian Yi would just pull the trigger—his pistol was already loaded!

"Song Yu!" shouted Qi Chengzhi feebly. He fell to the ground facing down after he took just one step forward.

Apparently, Jian Yi did not expect Song Yu to do this. He stumbled after he was knocked by her and unconsciously let go of Song Yu"s arms. Song Yu had no time to consider the safety of her child as she hurriedly staggered toward Qi Chengzhi, but her arm was immediately clutched by Jian Yi.

Song Yu grappled with him with all her might, she heard a gunshot when Jian Yi was just about to aim his gun at her.

Song Yu was stunned, she looked at Qi Chengzhi and saw no extra wound. She then looked at her body and noticed it was uninjured too and she felt no pain. Suddenly, she heard something fell to the ground. Song Yu turned her back and saw blood was flowing out from a wound at Jian Yi"s arm. His gun was dropped beside his feet.

Jian Yi bent his body to pick up the pistol when another gunshot and his right chest was shot as well. Jian Yi screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Song Yu kicked his gun far away from him without hesitation, then she ran toward Qi Chengzhi.

At the same time, a group of fully armed policemen appeared out of nowhere. This place was a flat land with no objects to hide behind and that was the reason Jian Yi chose this place.

They dashed toward them and captured Jian Yi. One of the policemen untied Song Yu.

"Chengzhi!" shouted Song Yu while crying. Once her hands were unbound, she ran to Qi Chengzhi"s side in a split second.

Song Yu was grabbing Qi Chengzhi"s hand forcibly. His hands were covered with blood. Qi Chengzhi forced a difficult smile at her. "My hands are dirty."

"What nonsense are you talking!" Song Yu was grasping his hands and helped him to wipe off the blood on his hands, but there was too much blood and she could not clean his hand at all. Her hands had turned red too.

"Don"t cry… It"ll be bad for your body," whispered Qi Chengzhi weakly.

"Now you care about my body, but when you stabbed yourself, why didn"t you think of what should I do if you abandon me? You take care of me so well, I couldn"t even feed myself with food after you"ve pampered me for so long. Don"t you feel worried to leave me alone? I was counting on you to raise our child!" Song Yu stared at his weak face and was very afraid.

She really hoped that he was healthy now. She missed his brooding and shameless expressions and she missed his stare which would make her feel nervous. She did not want to see him like this—incapacitated and staring at her wearily.

A policeman shouted from far away. "There"s no bullet in the gun."

Song Yu stared at Jian Yi who had fainted in astonishment. At this moment, the emergency medical staff walked to them carrying a stretcher. The ambulance was waiting at a place far from here to prevent any unwanted casualties.

They carefully put Qi Chengzhi on the stretcher. Two policemen were helping Song Yu up and they gave her a thin blanket to wrap her body.

"I want to stay beside my husband," said Song Yu. She got into the same ambulance as Qi Chengzhi with the help of others.

Jian Yi was carried into another ambulance but Song Yu did not think of paying attention to him.

In the car, the medical staff worked in cooperation to clean Qi Chengzhi"s wound and the blood on his body and hands. They helped him wore an oxygen mask.

Song Yu saw Qi Chengzhi"s pale face which showed no redness at all. She felt like her heart was gripped by something as she feared he might not make it.

The medical staff was giving him emergency treatment, but they dared not pull out the knife yet. Although he was feeling dizzy and worn out, Qi Chengzhi dared not shut his eyes. He felt very drowsy but he restrained himself from sleeping. He could not shut his eyes because he knew Song Yu would be concerned.