Xia Qianqian was so angry she laughed. “So this was what you had in mind all along!”
Xia Ming had wanted her to marry an old, balding man because he coveted the investment that man would put into his company!
The five hundred thousand in bride price was nothing but a smokescreen Xia Ming had used to deceive her!
Xia Ming frowned. “Qianqian, watch your tone.”
“Your father’s only doing this for your own good. President Wang is a great catch. He’s loaded. If you marry him, you can be a rich wife and enjoy the good life. It’s much better than that godforsaken backwater village you grew up in!”
“Don’t take your good fortune for granted and throw away such a fine match!”
Xia Qianqian hadn’t fallen for his manipulative act. If anything, she found it laughable.
“If you think marrying that old man would be such a blessing, why don’t you let Xia Youyou marry him?”
Xia Youyou was Xia Ming and that woman’s daughter. Xia Ming had raised her by his side and treasured her above all else.
Xia Ming immediately snapped, “Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Youyou is so outstanding. How could she marry that old bald bastard who’s nearly fifty?”
Xia Qianqian smiled, but as she did, tears welled in her eyes.
“You think Xia Youyou is too good for him, so I’m the one who deserves to marry that old bastard?”
“Dad, we’re both your daughters, but you couldn’t be more biased!”
Xia Ming’s gaze flickered. “Qianqian, Youyou is different from you. She’s always been by my side. She’s accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She’s elegant and refined, with the bearing of a socialite. She’s nothing like you, who grew up in the countryside—unpolished and uneducated. You can’t compare to her.”
“She’s destined to marry into a wealthy family and become a rich man’s wife!”
Xia Qianqian couldn’t believe her father thought she was so utterly worthless.
Who had abandoned her in the countryside and ignored her all those years?
And now he looked down on her for being unpolished and uneducated, for not measuring up to Xia Youyou, whom he’d raised by his side?!
Her heart turned cold. “No matter what, I will not marry that old bastard. You can give up on that!”
Xia Ming’s voice darkened. “Qianqian, don’t force your father’s hand!”
“If you don’t come apologize to President Wang right now, I’ll have the hospital stop treating your grandmother!”
“You!”
Before Xia Qianqian could say another word, Xia Ming hung up.
After ending the call, he sent her the hospital’s address and the room number, apparently certain she would go.
Xia Qianqian’s eyes reddened with fury.
She never thought Xia Ming would stoop to using Grandma to threaten her just to get what he wanted. He was utterly ruthless!
For Grandma’s sake, Xia Qianqian had no choice but to go.
She took a taxi to the hospital address Xia Ming had sent.
When she reached the room, she found only that old bald bastard, President Wang, inside.
Xia Ming wasn’t there at all!
Realizing something was wrong, Xia Qianqian tried to flee.
But in the next instant, two tall bodyguards blocked her way out.
“You little brat, we finally caught you! Let’s see where you’ll run this time!”
President Wang’s head had been cracked open the previous night, and it was now wrapped in several thick layers of gauze.
The bandages covered one eye, leaving the other exposed. It glinted with a vicious, predatory look.
Xia Qianqian was terrified, but forced herself to stay calm.
“President Wang, what are you doing?”
“Kidnapping an innocent woman in a hospital? Do you think I won’t call the police?!”
“Call the police?”
President Wang laughed as if she’d just told the funniest joke in the world. “Your father’s already sold you to me to be my wife. What good would calling the police do?”
Xia Qianqian trembled with rage. “I don’t agree! Buying and selling people is illegal!”
President Wang nodded, as if only then realizing his mistake. “Oh, right. It’s not a sale. It’s a bride price!”
“I gave your father ten million, and he agreed to let you be my wife.”
Ten million in bride price?
But Xia Ming had told her it was only five hundred thousand!
Ha. Her own father had deceived her again!
He’d lied to her about everything. There wasn’t a trace of fatherly affection left between them!
“You shameless bastard!”
“Tell your men to move, or I’ll call the police right now!”
Xia Qianqian pulled out her phone and was just about to call the police.
The next second, a bodyguard outside the door snatched it from her hand.
President Wang sneered. “You want to call the police? You’ll have to ask my permission first!”
Xia Qianqian’s heart sank. Now she didn’t even have a phone to call the police with.
The old man had bodyguards with him, too, standing watch at the door. She had no chance of escaping.
“Help!”
Xia Qianqian instinctively tried to scream for help.
Suddenly, pain shot through the back of her head, and she was knocked unconscious.
When Xia Qianqian came to, she found herself in a hotel room again.
She was tied up tightly and couldn’t move.
Water ran noisily in the bathroom.
The bulky silhouette behind the frosted glass door could only be President Wang, that old bald bastard.
Panicking, Xia Qianqian twisted and struggled, trying to get away from the bed.
She had to escape!
But before she could crawl off the bed—
Click.
The bathroom door swung open.
President Wang emerged in a white bathrobe. Though his head was wrapped up like a toad’s, he still looked refreshed and smug.
He looked at Xia Qianqian, bound hand and foot on the bed, his one visible eye gleaming with lecherous amusement.
“Sweetheart, there’s no way you’re escaping me now!”
Xia Qianqian was stunning: delicate features, beautiful eyes, a vulnerable, moving expression, and cherry-red lips that made a man want to sin.
Her curvaceous figure made her the very picture of a seductress!
He’d taken one look at her and wanted to have his way with her at once, to make their marriage a done deal!
If another man hadn’t taken her away the night before, she would already have been his woman!
President Wang hurried over to Xia Qianqian. Ignoring the disgust and hatred in her eyes, he yanked open the collar of her shirt.
The moment he saw the marks beneath it, left by another man’s caresses, his face changed completely.
“Bitch!”
“So you’ve already been fucked by another man!”
“Was it that bastard from last night?!”
Xia Qianqian’s eyes reddened. “That’s because you drugged me!”
President Wang sneered. “So what if I drugged you? You were so stubborn and refused to cooperate!”
“Now that you’re no longer pure, you’re not good enough for me. I’d never marry a woman another man has already used!”
“I may not marry you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun. Tonight, I’ll make sure to wreck that ruined body of yours!”
With that, he threw his heavy body onto Xia Qianqian.
“No!”
Xia Qianqian kicked at him in protest.
But with all four limbs tied up, she could barely resist.
Despair welled in her eyes.
Was there really no way to escape this old man’s clutches today…?
Bang!
Someone kicked the firmly shut door open.
Before Xia Qianqian could even react, someone grabbed President Wang by the back of his collar. As if he were a chick, the man lifted him up and flung him heavily aside.
Through tear-blurred eyes, Xia Qianqian stared at the man who had suddenly appeared.
He stood tall and straight, his gaze haughty and commanding. A cold, murderous glint shone in his eyes. Like a lion hunting its prey in the jungle, he was terrifying and dangerous!
Xia Qianqian’s heart gave a sudden lurch.
It was him?!