Humiliation! Utter humiliation!
Zhong Yangyang’s face flushed crimson, her teeth clenched on her lower lip as she remained silent. Yet the pain, growing sharper with each strike, echoed through the desolate mountain road along with the resounding slaps.
“Will you behave or not!” Kong Xiyan raised her hand high, ready to strike again, when she noticed a car with a license plate starting with the character “Jing” pulling to a stop less than three meters away from them.
Kong Xiyan lifted Zhong Yangyang off her lap as if handling a chick.
As soon as she steadied herself on the ground, Zhong Yangyang turned her head away, her eyes red with a mix of grievance and resentment as she glared at Kong Xiyan.
Only then did she notice several burly, masked men lying haphazardly on the ground.
“They…” Zhong Yangyang recognized them as the very men who had kidnapped her earlier. She looked suspiciously at Kong Xiyan. “You…”
Could it be… that Kong Xiyan had saved her?
Kong Xiyan glanced at the car, then turned back to Zhong Yangyang. “Can you scream?”
“Scream… scream what?”
“For help.”
“What?” Zhong Yangyang didn’t grasp Kong Xiyan’s meaning at first, but seeing Kong Xiyan’s hand raised high again, she instinctively covered her bottom and let out a shriek, her voice cracking with fear. “Help! Help! Help!!”
“Third Young Master, they’re screaming for help,” the driver in the car said, looking at the man in the back seat with a somewhat helpless expression.
Everyone knew that their Third Young Master despised meddling in others’ affairs. Even if someone died right in front of him, he wouldn’t spare a glance—such was his cold and detached nature.
Seeking help from him would only earn their annoyance for being too noisy!
Third Young Master’s gaze swept over Zhong Yangyang before settling on Kong Xiyan, who stood there with an air of nonchalance. “Since someone is asking for help, lend a hand.”
“Huh?” The driver was stunned.
What? Lend a hand…?
Had he heard correctly? Such a humane sentiment coming from his Third Young Master?
The driver’s inner monologue was intense, but he dared not show it in front of Third Young Master. Instead, he quickly opened the car door, stepped out, and inquired about the situation.
Upon learning that Zhong Yangyang had been kidnapped right off the street, the driver was startled. He hurried back to the car and reported the matter to Third Young Master. “The two young ladies don’t have their phones with them. They’d like us to help call the police.”
“Hah.” Third Young Master sneered. They didn’t seem like the type who needed help calling the police. Even if they didn’t have phones, surely the kidnappers did?
In the end, they just wanted them to serve as witnesses.
Well, having just arrived in Nancheng and encountering such an interesting situation, he didn’t mind wasting a little time.
“Call the police,” Third Young Master said after a pause. “Invite them into the car for a moment.”
“Huh?” The driver was dumbfounded again. What? Into the car?
Though his mind was reeling with shock, the driver obediently complied, inviting Zhong Yangyang and Kong Xiyan to get into the car.
Zhong Yangyang had been busy at the orphanage all morning, endured a kidnapping, and been spanked by Kong Xiyan. By now, she was both exhausted and hungry. Hearing that they were being invited into the car to rest, and that there seemed to be snacks and drinks inside, she thanked them and was about to follow the driver.
But the moment she took a step forward, Kong Xiyan grabbed her by the collar and yanked her back.
“Have you learned nothing?” Kong Xiyan glared at Zhong Yangyang.
What’s up with this Zhong Yangyang? Just got kidnapped, and now she’s about to get into a stranger’s car.
“Thank you for your kindness, but we have our own ride. Just help us call the police, please.” After saying this, Kong Xiyan pulled Zhong Yangyang over to the electric tricycle she had driven here. In the back of the tricycle were about a dozen watermelons: “Sit among the melons.”
“Why! I’m not a badger!”
“Then stand.” Kong Xiyan ignored her, sitting directly on the soft driver’s seat of the tricycle, crossing her arms behind her head, looking up at the sky with a carefree expression.
“Seriously…” Zhong Yangyang was filled with grievance but could only silently climb into the back, squeezing out a spot among the melons and slowly sitting down, muttering under her breath: “I’m not a badger…”
“Interesting.” Third Young Master curled the corner of his lips, truly never expecting that someone in this world would dare to use him and reject him at the same time.
“Third Young Master…” The driver wiped away the sweat from nervousness and unease: “I’ve already called the police, that…”
Third Young Master ignored the driver, opened the car door, stepped out, and walked straight toward the electric tricycle.
Kong Xiyan noticed someone approaching and slowly opened her eyes to look over.
The person was about 1.83 meters tall, wearing a plain white short-sleeved shirt on top and dark jeans on the bottom. The simple outfit was worn with a different flair, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist forming an excellent proportion, as if ready to walk the runway at any moment.
His fair, smooth face had sharp angles, and a pair of dark eyes seemed to possess a sharpness that could see through people.
A tall, straight nose bridge, and a well-shaped mouth without any hint of a smile, adding a layer of cold detachment.
Black short hair, with bangs in front faintly revealing a mole between his eyebrows, lending a touch of soft elegance to his entire face.
“A mole between the eyebrows means wealth or nobility; earlobes like hanging pearls signify innate fortune. It’s just a pity, thin familial bonds, often troubled by petty people…” Kong Xiyan murmured to herself, sitting up and looking at Third Young Master as he drew closer: “Want some melon?”
“Huh?”
Under Third Young Master’s slightly puzzled gaze, Kong Xiyan swiftly got down from the driver’s seat, walked around to the back, picked up a watermelon, grabbed the watermelon knife from the back seat, cut it open, and handed the largest piece to Third Young Master: “Thank you for helping us call the police.”
Seeing that Kong Xiyan was expressing gratitude, Third Young Master accepted the piece of watermelon.
Kong Xiyan then handed another slightly larger piece to Zhong Yangyang: “Have some melon, badger.”
Zhong Yangyang was thirsty, hungry, and tired by now, and couldn’t resist the juicy watermelon. She just muttered, “Annoying…” before taking the watermelon and eating it in big bites.
The sweet watermelon juice slid down her throat, easing the discomfort from motion sickness. Zhong Yangyang felt like crying—today had been too hard for her—so she channeled all her grievances into the motivation to eat the melon.
“You’ve got watermelon seeds all over your face.” Seeing her messy eating, Kong Xiyan reached out and wiped the watermelon seeds from Zhong Yangyang’s cheeks: “Eat slowly.”
Zhong Yangyang froze for a moment, looking up at Kong Xiyan with an awkward expression tinged with shyness.
She had two older brothers and one younger brother. If she really had a sister…
Zhong Yangyang blinked, looking as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t, and in the end, she didn’t manage to utter anything embarrassing, just buried her head and ate the melon in big bites.
Perhaps infected by Zhong Yangyang’s truly relishful eating, Third Young Master also took a bite of the melon.
The watermelon was juicy, fresh, and sweet—indeed delicious.
Not long after, police cars arrived and gathered information at the scene.
“Are they all kidnappers?” an officer asked while taking notes. “What about that tricycle?”
“I drove it here,” Kong Xiyan answered truthfully.
“Captain, we’ve already found the kidnapping case report. Also, this tricycle… seems to be the one a melon farmer reported as stolen on the street earlier.”
An officer’s words left everyone completely stunned, and they immediately looked at Kong Xiyan in astonishment.
“Yes, I snatched it from the roadside,” Kong Xiyan nodded, appearing nonchalant.
“You! What else have you done!?” The captain’s expression darkened as he stared at Kong Xiyan.
“Cut a melon,” Kong Xiyan pointed her finger one by one at Zhong Yangyang, Third Young Master, and the shocked driver. “They all ate it.”
“What?” Zhong Yangyang’s mind buzzed, and she raised her voice loudly. “Kong! Xi! Yan! You! You fed me stolen goods!”
Third Young Master’s face also darkened—this little girl had quite the nerve!
“What stolen goods? It’s clean!” Kong Xiyan frowned. “Weren’t you quite happy while eating it?”
What’s wrong with eating a melon?!
If she hadn’t snatched that melon farmer’s tricycle back then, at the next intersection, the farmer would have run a red light and knocked over a woman pushing a stroller!
That would have been very dangerous, okay!
Besides, was she supposed to chase after the kidnapped Zhong Yangyang on foot?
After saving so many lives, couldn’t she even eat a melon?
“You! I!” Zhong Yangyang was so infuriated by Kong Xiyan’s words that she couldn’t speak.
“Forget it, all of you come with me…” The captain felt a bit weary. “Take them away! Take them all away!”
“Th… Third Young Master…” The driver, looking at Third Young Master’s gloomy expression, couldn’t help but tremble.
This is terrible… the sky is about to fall…