But just as her hand was about to touch Shen Qingqing, Shen Qingqing suddenly sidestepped as if she had eyes in the back of her head.
The smile on Shen Jiaojiao’s face had not yet disappeared when the force of her own momentum caused her to stumble. The next moment, she pitched forward.
Not far in front of Shen Qingqing was the thief who was waving a knife around, trying to grab someone as a hostage.
Because the thief had a knife, everyone had deliberately kept their distance from him. No one expected someone to run straight into him. Taking advantage of the situation, the thief immediately grabbed Shen Jiaojiao and pressed the dagger against her neck.
Shen Jiaojiao’s face turned frantic, and she screamed uncontrollably, “No! Help me!”
The conductors and police officers who had been chasing the thief also arrived. Together with the young man who had chased him onto the train, they surrounded the thief from both sides.
The thief looked vicious. Although he was panicking, his grip was incredibly strong. He held Shen Jiaojiao’s arms tightly and refused to let go.
Shen Jiaojiao was completely restrained by his strength. With the blade pressed against her neck, she had no doubt that if she made even the slightest movement, the cold knife would instantly slice through a major artery.
Everything had happened in an instant.
Shen Jiaojiao had thought her plan was about to succeed, but who could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, the person who had been captured by the thief as a hostage had changed from Shen Qingqing to her!
Shen Jiaojiao trembled violently with fear, almost unable to control the muscles in her face. She screamed and sobbed uncontrollably, which only made the already-frantic thief more agitated.
He pressed the dagger harder against her neck and snarled through clenched teeth, “Shut up! Make another sound and I’ll kill you!”
Hearing this, Shen Jiaojiao could only bite her lips tightly and dare not make another sound. But she still couldn’t stop trembling from fear, and cold sweat broke out all over her body from the tension.
She looked at Shen Qingqing with pleading eyes, hoping someone would hurry up and save her!
The police officers and the young man surrounded the thief and Shen Jiaojiao. The thief watched their reactions while cautiously moving toward a corner.
He glared viciously at the people in front of him and shouted, “Nobody come any closer! Stay away from me, or I’ll kill this bitch in my hands!”
As he spoke, he tightened his grip again. The force was enough for the dagger to leave a thin cut on Shen Jiaojiao’s neck.
Feeling the pain in her neck, Shen Jiaojiao became even more terrified.
When she thought about the woman whose face had been disfigured in her previous life, her fear intensified, and her entire body began shaking violently.
No! She couldn’t be disfigured!
She didn’t want to become an ugly monster!
Someone, please save me! Somebody!
But she was far too frightened and nervous to even speak. Large tears of terror streamed from her eyes.
The people around them were also stunned by the sudden turn of events. Once they came to their senses, the entire carriage descended into chaos.
People screamed and scrambled to escape, pushing and shoving as they desperately fled in the opposite direction from the thief.
Shen Qingqing quickly put on an anxious and frightened expression as well. She stared worriedly at Shen Jiaojiao and the thief and cried out, “Someone help! Please, someone save my sister! She’s been taken hostage by a thief!”
The young soldier and the police officers who had chased after the thief did not dare act recklessly when they saw the situation.
They could only keep a close eye on his every movement, their bodies tense and ready to rush forward at any moment.
The thief became even more frenzied. The muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably, and sweat streamed down his forehead, blurring his vision.
But he couldn’t spare a hand to wipe it away. He simply stared fixedly at the people in front of him, terrified that he would be tackled if he let his guard down for even a second.
Thus, he placed all his attention on Shen Jiaojiao, tightening his grip even further.
The weather was sweltering. The screams and cries of the crowd filled her ears. Shen Jiaojiao could smell the stench of sweat coming from the man, while his sticky hands remained tightly wrapped around her.
She was so nauseated that she nearly vomited, but she didn’t dare.
She remembered very clearly what the woman whose face had been disfigured in her previous life had looked like. The terrifying wound had stretched across half of her face, with blood smeared everywhere.
It had looked horrifying.
She didn’t want that.
She absolutely didn’t want to become an ugly monster!
So Shen Jiaojiao did everything she could to remain calm. She forced her trembling body to stay still, terrified that the slightest wrong move would anger the thief.
A cold glint flashed through Shen Qingqing’s eyes.
Looking at Shen Jiaojiao’s terrified expression, she had thought the other woman wouldn’t be afraid.
Yet when it was finally her turn to become the victim, she was more frightened than anyone else.
If that was the case, then why had she gone to such lengths to harm Shen Qingqing in the first place?
Shen Qingqing was being kept behind the young soldier and the police officers, but she wore an expression of genuine anxiety and concern, looking every bit like a sister desperately worried about her younger sibling.
She grabbed the soldier’s arm and pleaded through her tears, “Please, sir, save my sister! You have to rescue her from that criminal, please!”
The thief was already extremely nervous and on guard. Hearing Shen Qingqing’s clear, ringing voice made him tighten his grip on Shen Jiaojiao even more.
He even raised the dagger and pressed it against her face.
He viciously threatened, “Shut up! Otherwise, I’ll slash her face!”
As he spoke, he increased the pressure of the blade.
Terrified, Shen Jiaojiao desperately tried to pull her head backward, but the thief wasn’t about to give her the opportunity.
His grip was incredibly strong, and the sharp blade had already cut into her delicate cheek.
Shen Jiaojiao felt a sharp sting across her face.
Then a warm stream of blood began to flow.
She instantly panicked.
She cried even more desperately and shouted incoherently, “My face!”
“No! Big brother, I was wrong! I’ll cooperate with you! I’ll behave! Please don’t cut my face! Please, I’ll do whatever you say!”
She was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe, yet she was terrified of provoking the thief, so she desperately tried to keep herself as calm as possible.
Perhaps sensing that the woman in his arms had stopped struggling, the thief cooperatively moved the knife back to Shen Jiaojiao’s neck.
While warily watching the police officers and soldier in front of him, he leaned toward her ear and threatened, “You’d better behave. If you do, I won’t hurt you. Otherwise, you can forget about keeping either your face or your life!”
Hearing this, Shen Jiaojiao cried even harder.
Tears poured down her face like a spring. The salty tears ran across the wound, and she felt a fiery pain there.
Tears mixed with blood and dripped onto the front of her clothes.
Shen Jiaojiao closed her eyes in despair.
She bit her lips resentfully, her heart overflowing with hatred toward Shen Qingqing.
If it weren’t for that wretched girl saying those things, the thief wouldn’t have attacked her face so soon.
Shen Qingqing!
Shen Jiaojiao cursed her bitterly in her heart.
When she opened her eyes again, they were bloodshot, filled with rage and hatred as she glared at Shen Qingqing, as though she wanted to tear her apart and devour her.