Chapter 14 The Trap
I smiled politely. “Hello, Zhu Dashi.”
Zhu Dashi grinned. “Look how big you’ve gotten.”
Then his gaze zeroed in on Lin Qi beside me. “And this is?”
I recalled the original plot: the foster parents tested the host this way after he admitted his relationship with the heroine.
His naive admission led to her kidnapping; during the rescue, an accident nearly killed her while she saved him, and Lin Qi died protecting her—yet the foster parents escaped justice.
They must have heard rumors about us. That was why Zhu Dashi was here, probing.
I kept smiling. “He’s Secretary Lin’s younger brother. Basically family of an employee.”
Zhu Dashi chuckled. “President Huo really takes care of his people.”
“Employee benefits.”
The rest of the night, Lin Qi stayed silent. Zhu Dashi stuck to my side. I never got a chance to explain.
Near the end, Lin Qi said he wasn’t feeling well and left early.
When I got home, everything of his was gone. Even the little doodles he’d stuck on the fridge were ripped away, leaving only scraps of tape.
I sat in the dark, calling him over and over until the voicemail turned to busy tones.
Late that night, a message came: 【Let’s break up, I’m sick of it.】
I typed and deleted, typed and deleted.
Maybe breaking up would keep him safe.
Fine. Let it be.
Then the foster parents kidnapped me.
“Sign the papers, or wait for that kid to join you in the ground.”
They meant Lin Qi.
“What the hell do you want?”
“To lure him here, of course. Then make you cooperate.”
I gritted my teeth. “Animals.”
Lin Qi actually came. The steel door crashed open with a deafening bang.
He stood in the doorway, blood running down his temple, staining half his face red.
The second his eyes found mine, he ran to me. “I’m here. Don’t be scared. I’m here.”
I closed my eyes. “Idiot. Why did you come?”
I’d known for a while that the foster parents were watching me.
Because I remembered the original plot, I set a trap and waited for them to walk into it.
I never told Lin Qi. I wasn’t sure the plan would work. His leaving—that was part of it too. Only if he was gone could I do this without dragging him in.
“Let him go.” My voice was shredded. “He leaves, and I’ll sign right now.”
The foster father spun the gun against my temple. “Touching. Too bad…”
He suddenly aimed at Lin Qi. “Rules just changed.”
The trigger clicked.
Blood roared in my ears. My body moved before my brain caught up—I threw myself, chair and all, at the foster father.
The shot rang out. Pain exploded in my shoulder.
“Huo Chichen!” Lin Qi’s scream tore through the air.
In my blurring vision, someone swung a metal pipe at his back. He grunted, dropped to his knees, but still wrapped his arms around me tight.
“Sign!” The foster father yanked my hair, shoving the papers in my face. “Or I shoot him right now!”
I bit my tongue to stay conscious.
“Three. Two. One.”
I smiled. “You’re done.”
His face twisted. “You called the cops?”