Chapter 7

After dinner, Xu Ze called my phone again.

This time, surprisingly, it was answered.

His pent-up anger finally had an outlet.

“Xu Tao!! Are you an animal? You don’t come home for your sister’s wedding, you make Mom and Dad sad, do you think you’re so great, playing us for fools?”

There was a moment of silence.

Then, a hoarse male voice came from the other end of the line.

“I’m her boyfriend.”

“She said your whole family is disgusting, and she won’t be coming back to see you.”

“Don’t call again.”

The call ended.

Xu Ze stared in disbelief, and a moment later, he furiously kicked over a chair and cursed.

But I was already frozen stiff, drained of all strength.

The moment that voice sounded.

I was forcibly dragged back into that memory.

Before I died, I missed the last high-speed train because of overtime.

I had to take a taxi to the bus station.

The driver was a pale young man with a somewhat gloomy look in his eyes.

He seemed familiar, but my mind was so exhausted that I just held my things and rested against the window.

At first, everything was normal.

He made small talk with me like any other driver.

Then, Xu Jiao suddenly called.

Even on the eve of her wedding, the bride-to-be couldn’t forget to provoke me.

“Taotao, I’m marrying Song Fei tomorrow. I’m actually a little too excited to sleep.”

She said sweetly, “Thank you for bringing him home.”

I pressed my lips together, my voice suppressing my anger.

“Xu Jiao, how many more times are you going to play these disgusting games, use these dirty tricks, before you get tired of it?”

She seemed completely oblivious.

Her tone became even lighter and sweeter.

“Then it’s settled. You have to come to the wedding tomorrow.”

I hung up, my breath coming in short, rapid gasps, my chest heaving.

The driver suddenly spoke. “Arguing with your family?”

I frowned and looked up, only to realize the car had, at some point, been driven to a desolate, wild area.

My heart began to pound violently. I forced myself to calm down and asked him, “How much money do you want?”

But he didn’t want money.

Consecutive days of overtime had left me utterly exhausted, my limbs weak. I was no match for the strength of a young man.

He covered my mouth and dragged me into the woods.

The night wind was still, the moonlight soft.

He choked me tightly with one hand while slapping me hard with the other.

He said, “You bitch, do you regret leaving me now?”

“Why should that rich guy you’re with look down on me?”

“Beg me. Bark like a dog, and I’ll let you go.”

But I didn’t even know him.

Who are you?

Who are you?

His hand on my throat suddenly loosened.

He began to gently stroke my face.

He said, “I’m your man.”

I felt he wasn’t a complete stranger.

But I just couldn’t remember where I had seen him.

I struggled with all my might and actually managed to reach my phone.

The speed dial would call back the most recent number.

Beep… beep…

After two rings.

Xu Jiao unhesitatingly declined the call.

The man noticed. He let out a cruel laugh, pocketed my phone, and then broke every finger on my right hand.

He also had a switchblade in his pocket.

While I was still conscious, I felt the blade cut into my left wrist, being pulled, sawed off bit by bit.

The tip of the knife sliced open my cheek, tearing off a ragged piece of skin.

He said, “Bitch, let’s see you seduce anyone with this face now.”