He closed his eyes, hoping to rest for a moment. Yet, the moment he did, Pei Sichen’s sinister, brooding eyes appeared before him. The sensation of Pei Sichen’s warm breath against his skin felt like a venomous snake coiling around him. It was inescapable, leaving him no choice but to let it constrict the life out of him.
He looked up at the glaring lights, reaching out as if to grasp at something, but the movement tugged at the wound on his neck. His face went pale, and he retracted his hand with a dejected sigh.
“Jiang Ruobai, you really are a pathetic mess.” He whispered to himself, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
The wound on his neck was a constant reminder of the depraved night he had just endured. But what truly plunged him into despair was that transaction with Pei Sichen; it was an involuntary deal for which there had been no other options.
Jiang Ruobai took a deep breath, but instead of feeling relieved, his head only ached more. He thought in a fit of self-abandonment: Did I commit some heinous crime in my past life to deserve meeting Pei Sichen?
He leaned against the sofa in the living room, panting, afraid to fall asleep. His phone lay on the coffee table, and he stared blankly as the sun slowly set.
When the clock struck eight, Jiang Ruobai finally shook off his numb, trancelike state. Watching the silent phone on the coffee table, he prayed silently, begging that it would not ring tonight and that Pei Sichen would just let him go.
The bedroom was lit only by a dim lamp, its faint glow barely covering his curled-up silhouette. His eyes were fixed on the hands of the clock on the wall. In the silent room, the only sound was his own trembling breath; every other noise made him jump like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.
As the seconds ticked by, his pale fingertips dug deeply into the back of his hands, trying to use pain to dissipate the rising fear within him.
“Don’t ring.” He prayed silently, like a prisoner backed into a corner, pleading for divine protection. “Please, I beg you, do not ring.”
Looking at the phone, he even had an absurd thought: Should I throw it away? Would that stop them from finding me? But the thought vanished as quickly as it came, crushed by a greater fear. If he dared to do that, the consequences would likely be a hundred times more devastating than he could imagine.
The sound of traffic outside drifted in, now near, now far.
Suddenly, a short, sharp honk from a car outside caused him to flinch violently like a startled rabbit. His pupils constricted, and he stared at the phone in terror. Only when he confirmed there was still no message did he slowly let out a breath, his limbs going limp. His eyes were veiled in a mist of pain, and it felt as if the entire world had turned gray.
Who knows how much time passed like this.
“BANG!”
A massive crash outside the door jolted Jiang Ruobai from his light sleep. The old door, battered and worn, fell to the floor with a clatter as several well-trained bodyguards in black suits stormed in.
Jiang Ruobai did not even have time to think; his first instinct was to run. But before he could take two steps, one of the bodyguards grabbed him like a defenseless chick. The other two quickly bound his hands and feet with ropes.
Their movements were skilled and their expressions calm; they were clearly professionals at this.
“Who are you? What do you want? Do you have the wrong person?” Jiang Ruobai, pinned to the floor, grabbed the pant leg of one of the men in black and shouted, “I don’t know you! You really have the wrong person!”
The three men ignored him, continuing their work and pulling the ropes tighter.
“Guys, the person you are looking for really is not me. I…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Ruobai fell silent. Until now, the men had been standing against the light, making it impossible to see them clearly. But now, he realized that one of the bodyguards was actually one of Pei Sichen’s own men.
This meant these three had been sent by Pei Sichen to capture him.
Jiang Ruobai was hoisted onto a shoulder. His stomach churned, and his heart was filled with intense apprehension. They carried him to a car parked on the suburban road and unceremoniously dumped him onto the ground.
“Ugh!”
He groaned in pain. As he tried to scramble to his feet, he heard Pei Sichen’s cold, sharp voice drift from inside the car.
“Kneel properly.”
Jiang Ruobai’s body stiffened, and he knelt beside the car door. The cold night air seeped through his thin clothing, chilling his very bones, and sharp gravel bit into his knees. Yet, he did not dare utter a single word of complaint.
The black window glass slowly descended. Pei Sichen sat in the back seat, half his face hidden in shadows. Only the scarlet glow of a cigarette and the cold, glinting ruby ring on his finger were visible.
“Jiang Ruobai, you are quite fond of running, are you not?” Pei Sichen’s voice carried no detectable emotion, yet it chilled Jiang Ruobai to the core. “If you want to run, then tonight, I will let you run to your heart’s content.”
Pei Sichen’s voice was low, carrying a hint of displeasure; it was the precursor to an outburst. “Go and release Hector and Dante.”
After saying this, Pei Sichen stepped out of the car. He looked down at the kneeling Jiang Ruobai, a cold, sinister smile playing on his face.
“Jiang Ruobai, I will give you a chance. I will give you three minutes. If you can avoid being caught, I will give you one million and let you go. How about that?”
Jiang Ruobai looked at Pei Sichen in astonishment, unable to believe the man could be so generous.
One million. And freedom.
The massive temptation felt like a boulder dropped into stagnant water, stirring a storm within his heart. With that million, Xinsu’s medical bills could be covered, and he could finally stay far away from Pei Sichen. It was such a beautiful dream.
But was Pei Sichen really so kind?
Fear and doubt were like a fragile thread, tethering his last bit of sanity. But clearly, Pei Sichen was not giving him a choice. He grabbed Jiang Ruobai’s chin with one hand, forcing him to meet his gaze. “I am giving you one minute to hide. Remember! You only have one chance.”
With that, Pei Sichen released his grip and signaled the bodyguards to untie Jiang Ruobai. Jiang Ruobai stood up and looked at Pei Sichen, who lifted his wrist to check his watch with a smile.
“The timer starts.”
The moment the words fell, Jiang Ruobai sprang up, stumbling due to his long time spent kneeling and his sheer terror. He fell, but scrambled back up, ignoring the injuries on his legs. He bolted, running with everything he had, hurling himself into the vast night.
One million. Freedom.
These two words burned in his mind, giving him an incredible burst of strength and speed.
Pei Sichen watched Jiang Ruobai disappear into the distance, his eyes cold and dark. He chuckled, saying, “This is what you brought upon yourself.”
With that, the two bodyguards led out two half-meter-tall hunting dogs from the back of the vehicle. Pei Sichen glanced at the direction Jiang Ruobai had fled and whispered to the black hounds with a faint smile, “Catch him. You will get extra food tonight.”
“Woof! Woof!”
As the leashes were released, the two hounds shot forward like lightning.
Jiang Ruobai had never felt twenty seconds move so slowly, yet so quickly. He ran blindly, and in the fleeting illusion that he might be alone, he mistakenly thought he had grasped the tail of salvation, completely unaware of the danger closing in behind him.
Two barks shattered the silence of the night. Jiang Ruobai turned his head in panic, only to see the two massive, vicious dogs charging toward him.
His blood seemed to freeze in an instant; fear gripped his heart like a giant hand, making his scalp tingle. He turned away and sprinted again, as if possessed.
But how could a human on foot possibly outrun trained hunting dogs?
Just two or three seconds later, a massive force slammed into his lower back. Jiang Ruobai cried out in pain, lost his balance entirely, and crashed hard into the ground.
Before he could rise, the two hounds, eyes gleaming with ferocity, walked slowly up to him. They stared at their prey, saliva dripping from their sharp white teeth onto the dirt, as if the next moment their fangs would pierce his throat and tear him to shreds.
He closed his eyes helplessly, tears streaming down his face; it was the result of being backed into a dead end, full of despair and resignation.
“Are you still going to run?”
The familiar voice suddenly echoed from behind. Jiang Ruobai shivered involuntarily, looking back in terror and disbelief.