Xia Yiyi was startled into a violent shiver.
Something was covering her face, and she couldn’t see anything.
Where was she? What had happened?
She remembered going to see her father, Xia Jianye. He had told her to take the family’s money, sell it off, and use connections to get them bailed out.
So Xia Yiyi planned to play along with the scheme—have Zhang Youcai sell Xia Wanqing to some remote mountain village to bear children for an old bachelor.
At the same time, she could secretly pocket part of the family money to help Gu Xing start a business. Gu Xing would surely be grateful and reconcile with her.
And she could get rid of that bitch Xia Wanqing in the process—killing two birds with one stone.
When Zhang Youcai went to capture Xia Wanqing, Xia Yiyi wanted to tag along to watch the excitement. Unexpectedly, something pricked her neck. Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.
Later, she felt someone grabbing her. She wanted to say they had the wrong person, but her mouth was stuffed, and she couldn’t make a sound.
“Big brother, we’ve been walking along the railway all night. Let’s take a break,” someone said in a low voice.
Zhang Youcai looked around and pointed toward a small grove ahead. “That’s the handover spot. We’ll exchange money for goods there. Once we sell her, we split the cash.”
“Big brother, you’re really a good guy!”
Zhang Youcai carried the sack of money while the other two carried the woman toward the grove.
“This woman weighs like a pig!”
“Hang in there. Once the buyers arrive, we’ll sell her.”
“Mm—mm—mm…” Xia Yiyi tried to speak, but with something stuffed in her mouth, she could only make muffled sounds through her nose.
“Move again and I’ll beat you to death!”
Dragging someone was already exhausting, and Xia Yiyi’s struggling only made it worse.
She tried desperately to get Zhang Youcai’s attention. In his eyes, she was still his biological daughter. She struggled with all her strength, hoping he would notice.
The man carrying her lost his grip. Xia Yiyi fell hard onto the ground, landing on her backside. Pain brought tears to her eyes, but she didn’t give up, continuing to make muffled noises.
Smack!
A slap landed on her face.
Her head snapped to the side, her ears ringing loudly.
“Big brother, there are people ahead!” someone whispered.
Zhang Youcai squinted and said quietly, “They’re human traffickers.”
The two groups met in the grove. Dense forest surrounded them, and trains passed by from time to time—an ideal place to escape.
The trafficker was a middle-aged woman. Seeing Xia Yiyi tied up, she looked uneasy. “Why is she bound like this?”
Zhang Youcai put on a miserable expression. “She’s my daughter. Her younger brother is seriously ill, her mother ran away, and I really have no choice but to marry her off for a bride price.”
The woman didn’t bother verifying the story. He said it, so she believed it.
After some haggling, they settled on a price of 500 yuan.
Once the money was handed over, the woman grabbed Xia Yiyi’s hair through the cloth and called for her accomplices to come take her.
Seeing this was her last chance, Xia Yiyi gathered all her strength and hopped toward Zhang Youcai, making frantic noises through her nose.
In the struggle, the trafficker was left holding a piece of black cloth—with a lock of hair tangled in it.
A patch of Xia Yiyi’s scalp was left bare. The pain made tears gush out, but she still tried to draw Zhang Youcai’s attention.
“Yiyi!” Zhang Youcai looked up and saw her face. “Why is it you?!”
As he spoke, he pulled the filthy sock out of her mouth. “Why is it you?!”
Seeing the dirty sock, Xia Yiyi felt so disgusted she nearly vomited.
But with nothing in her stomach, she could only dry-heave.
Her jaw was so sore she could barely close her mouth. She could hardly feel her tongue as she mumbled, “Dad…”
Tears poured down like a breached flood. Zhang Youcai hurriedly untied her, only to see that the rope had already cut into her wrists.
Sensing something was wrong, the trafficker grabbed Xia Yiyi. “You’re backing out now?”
A burly man tensed his muscles, eyes wide, blocking Zhang Youcai when he tried to help.
Panicking, Zhang Youcai clutched Xia Yiyi’s hand. “She’s my daughter. I’m not selling her.”
The woman snorted coldly. “Didn’t you say earlier that your son was seriously ill, your wife had run away, and you were selling your daughter to raise money for treatment?”
Zhang Youcai urgently called to his companions, “Come help! She really is my daughter—I’m not selling her!”
The two men exchanged a glance, then grabbed the money sack and ran.
Splitting money between two people instead of three—anyone could do that math.
Seeing the money slip away, Zhang Youcai let go of Xia Yiyi and chased after them. “My money! Come back!”
At the mention of money, the trafficker and her accomplices’ eyes lit up. Forgetting about Xia Yiyi, they also ran after it.
Five people chased ahead. Seeing her chance, Xia Yiyi limped off in the opposite direction.
She didn’t know why she’d been captured, but she definitely didn’t want to be sold to the mountains to bear children for an old bachelor.
There were plenty of valuables at home. Selling just a few would be enough for her to live comfortably.
Meanwhile, the burly man caught up with the two men carrying the money and grabbed the coarse cloth sack, refusing to let go.
The five of them struggled, none willing to yield.
Finally, unable to withstand the pulling from all sides, the sack ripped open with a rip—rip—.
The contents flew into the air, scattering everywhere.
Everyone froze.
There was no money in the sack—only white paper cut to the size of banknotes.
“Damn it! What money? It’s all blank paper!”
“Zhang Youcai, we worked all night—did you secretly swap the money?”
Zhang Youcai was dumbfounded too. “I wasn’t the only one carrying it! Did one of you switch it midway?”
To be fair, they had taken turns carrying the sack. All three had carried it alone at some point.
“You planned the route! How would we have time to swap the money? It must have been you!”
The other two pinned Zhang Youcai down and started beating him. “Hand over the money now!”
The trafficker was furious as well. “You tricked me! That woman ran off too—give me my money back! Sang Biao, beat him!”
The five of them fought in a tangled mess, completely unaware that their commotion had attracted the attention of the police.
The night before, they’d received a call telling them to watch out for suspicious people in the coming days. The railway department had increased patrols, and unexpectedly, they really did catch something.
One officer hid nearby to observe while another ran off to call for backup.
Soon, more than a dozen officers arrived and surrounded the five men.
…
Xia Yiyi stepped on a stone. Her foot slipped, and a sharp pain shot through her ankle.
She sucked in a breath and rolled up her pant leg. Her ankle was visibly swollen.
“Waa—” Tears spilled out uncontrollably.
Why had this life become so unlucky?
Gu Xing found her embarrassing, her parents had been arrested, and she’d almost been sold into the mountains.
Was it because she’d changed the course of events?
Regret filled her heart. After drugging Xia Wanqing, she should have done as she did in her previous life—tricked Gu Xing into the room—instead of switching to Gu Huaichuan.
Gu Huaichuan…
Xia Yiyi frowned.
If she could get everything back on track, maybe things could still turn around.
Gu Huaichuan would die soon anyway. As long as she regained Gu Xing’s affection, she could continue being the billionaire’s wife.
Dragging her injured leg, Xia Yiyi finally returned to Shanghai two days later.
Along the way, she was afraid of running into traffickers, didn’t dare talk to anyone, drank river water when she was thirsty, and ate wild fruit when she was hungry.
At last, she reached the city—only to see police officers on the street as soon as she entered.
Overjoyed, she rushed forward. “Officer, I’m lost. I haven’t eaten in days. Could you lend me some money?”
“You’re Xia Yiyi?”
Xia Yiyi nodded vigorously, not noticing the wary look in the officer’s eyes.
The next second, the world spun. Her face was slammed hard against the ground, rough gravel scraping her skin painfully.
Her face must be ruined.
Gu Xing wouldn’t dislike her, would he?
That was the first thought that flashed through her mind.
Then confusion followed—she had come for help. Why was she being treated like a criminal?