Chapter 36: Arrest Her Uncle Immediately!
Chi Lisen: “…She’s with your second brother. Don’t make a scene. If you can’t calm down, drink some more.”
Chi Fengxiao stood on the roadside, utterly baffled.
Qian Qian…
Kidnapped by his second brother?!!
*
At Jing Shui Garden.
Chi Chaoshen parked, got out, and told Chi Qian to follow him into a luxury apartment.
Each unit took up an entire floor, with the elevator going straight to the fifteenth after a key swipe.
Compared to Chi Fengxiao’s murder-scene-like apartment, Chi Chaoshen’s place screamed neat-freak and OCD. Everything was perfectly in order.
The décor was minimalist, almost austere.
“What do you want to drink?” Chi Chaoshen headed for the fridge.
Chi Qian lounged on the sofa, completely lacking hostage awareness. “Ice-cold Coke. With a straw.”
“No Coke. Milk okay?”
“Milk is for kids. Grown-ups drink Coke.”
“…What about milk?”
“Sweet milk, maybe. Plain milk? Nope.”
Kids were such a hassle.
Not even ten minutes in, and Chi Chaoshen already wanted to send her back.
But his studio funds hadn’t arrived yet.
A friend had promised to hold some fine Qing-dynasty antiques for him.
Right now he only had a measly few billion on hand—not nearly enough.
He’d have to wait for his father to relent.
Massaging his temples, Chi Chaoshen plugged in his phone, opened the delivery app, and ordered Coke plus toiletries for her.
He asked if she wanted anything else.
Chi Qian immediately sat up straight: “Spicy strips, chips, dried fish, sour plums, beef jerky, pickled chicken feet—the brand and flavor are…”
“I meant toiletries.”
“Anything’s fine, I’m not picky.”
Half an hour later, the delivery arrived.
Chi Chaoshen brought the bags into the living room—just as his phone rang again.
But it wasn’t Chi Lisen this time.
Seeing Chi Fengxiao’s name on the screen, Chi Chaoshen immediately hung up. Not long after, the ringtone came again.
This time, it was his friend who ran an antique shop.
“That batch of goods arrived so quickly? Mm, I don’t have surgery tomorrow, just so happens I’m free. I’ll come find you then.”
After setting the time, Chi Chaoshen hung up the phone and turned around—
Chi Qian was peeking at him sneakily from the sofa.
Chi Chaoshen paused. “What is it?”
“Uncle, don’t go making mistakes.”
“Hm?”
“I just heard you say ‘that batch of goods.’” Chi Qian lowered her voice like a conspirator. “In detective movies, whenever they talk about ‘that batch of goods,’ it’s either smuggling, or some contraband that’ll land you in prison for life…”
Chi Chaoshen looked helpless. “It’s not what you think. Just some antiques.”
“You’re already in debt up to your ears, and you’re still playing with antiques?”
“Who told you I was in debt?”
Chi Qian answered honestly, “My third uncle.”
Chi Chaoshen instantly guessed Chi Fengxiao hadn’t spoken well of him.
But he didn’t really mind. After all, in a few days he’d be sending the hostage back anyway.
Chi Chaoshen said, “Your room’s on the second floor, left-hand side. If you’re missing anything, just let me know. I’m turning in for the night.”
“Good night, Second Uncle.”
“Mm.”
Chi Chaoshen turned and went upstairs.
A few seconds later, an ear-splitting TV broadcast erupted from the living room.
“Today’s health tip: Let food be your best medicine. These eight foods can help prevent wrinkles…”
“Daily Wellness Lecture: Let’s review yesterday’s key point—taking naps can prevent coronary heart disease…”
“Do you know these health basics? The three ‘don’ts’ of holding it in—first, don’t hold your urine; second…”
At his bedroom door, Chi Chaoshen silently turned back. On the sofa sat the little girl, taking furious notes as she watched the health program.
How old was she really??
Was she fifteen… or fifty?
*
The next morning.
When Chi Qian woke, Chi Chaoshen was already gone, and he hadn’t left her any food.
She spotted a utility bill stuck to the fridge with a bold, flamboyant signature underneath—
Chi Chaoshen.
Chi Qian froze. That name…
Wasn’t he the one in the book who got arrested for antique smuggling, framed by a friend, then released after the truth came out— but whose reputation was ruined, eventually bankrupting the Chi family as one of its fallen villains?
So that unlucky guy was her second uncle!
And the “batch of goods” he mentioned yesterday… was smuggled antiques?
He wasn’t just going out—he was heading straight toward prison!
Chi Qian had no phone with her, and there was no landline in the apartment, so she decided to leave.
But the front door was locked.
Chi Chaoshen must have forgotten she was still inside and locked it up.
Frowning, Chi Qian glanced at the living room’s floor-to-ceiling window.
Fifteenth floor. She could do it.
Grunting and straining, she climbed down the side of the building—when suddenly, a scream echoed from a balcony below.
“Take all the money, just please don’t hurt my son—!”
Chi Qian froze, then craned her neck to look.
A robber with a black stocking mask over his head and a knife in hand was clutching a boy of five or six.
The boy’s mother lay on the floor, clutching her stomach in pain after being kicked aside.
From that angle, her eyes met Chi Qian’s, who was dangling precariously outside the balcony.
Chi Qian pressed a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, then swung herself in.
Silent as a shadow.
The boy’s mother’s eyes widened, her throat working as she swallowed hard.
While the robber was rifling through the drawers with his back turned, Chi Qian lifted her leg and kicked him hard in the crotch.
“AAARRGH—!” The robber let out a eunuch’s wail, his lower body twisted in agony as he collapsed, releasing the boy.
Chi Qian quickly kicked the knife out of his hand, then tied him up with bedsheets.
“Call the police.”
“O-okay!” The boy’s mother nodded frantically. “Thank you so much, I’ll repay you somehow!”
Chi Qian: “No need. This is all my own fault anyway.”
“…Huh?”
Not long after, police cars arrived—reporters too.
Meanwhile, Chi Chaoshen, sitting in a car, ordered his driver, “Faster. I’m in a hurry.”
“Yes, sir,” the driver replied, flipping on the news channel.
The anchor’s voice came through the speakers:
“A young girl stepped in to save a mother and child from a home invasion robbery—but the shocking truth behind the story is even more unbelievable!”
Reporter: “Can you tell us how you managed to stop the robber?”
“I just gave him a fatal chicken-kick, and he immediately lost the will to fight. Maybe he was just too weak.” Chi Qian answered modestly.
Recognizing her voice, Chi Chaoshen stiffened.
Reporter: “It’s said you spotted the crime while outside the balcony. But why were you on someone else’s balcony in the first place?”
Chi Qian sighed. “My second uncle locked me inside the house, and there wasn’t any food. I was starving, so I climbed out the window to find something to eat.”
Chi Chaoshen sat bolt upright. He… seemed to have forgotten she was still in his house.
Reporter: “Why would your uncle lock you up at home?”
Chi Qian, all sincerity: “I don’t know. But I believe Second Uncle never meant to starve me to death!”
The reporter’s face darkened. “Officer, this young girl may be suffering abuse at the hands of her family. Please arrest her uncle immediately!”
Chi Chaoshen: !!!
“Turn around! Back to the apartment!”
