Chapter Fifteen: The Memory of Being Kidnapped

Ruan Mianmian was now completely overwhelmed; she hadn’t resolved things with Jiang Ce yet, and now Shen Ting had appeared, each person more ruthless than the last. How was she supposed to handle this? Having deviated from the novel’s timeline, she found herself unprepared for the current situation. Even calling the police seemed unrealistic, given what was on that USB drive—things that absolutely couldn’t see the light of day.

“Forget it. At least I still have shares in Hanhai Group. If it comes down to it, I’ll scrape together the money and redeem the USB drive.” She made up her mind, deciding to return home first and then gather people to discuss the matter of auctioning her shares. That way, she’d be able to deal with Shen Ting.

Back in the underground parking lot, Ruan Mianmian saw from a distance that someone was already sitting in the car they’d arrived in.

“Why did you come back alone? You didn’t even tell me,” she said to A Kuan, who sat in the driver’s seat, a hint of reproach in her voice.

A Kuan seemed uneasy, unsure of what he’d done, and quickly beckoned her into the car.

With the air conditioning running, Ruan Mianmian sank comfortably against the seatback and asked, “What were you just doing? I saw you talking to someone, didn’t I?”

A Kuan was momentarily startled, stammering, “You must’ve seen wrong, Miss Ruan. It’s just me here. Who else could I talk to?”

Was that so? Ruan Mianmian frowned suspiciously.

But she had too much chaos on her plate already to bother with this, so she dismissed it from her mind.

“Miss Ruan, did you sort out your affairs?” A Kuan asked.

She nodded weakly. “More or less. Anyway, I won’t be coming back again.”

A Kuan’s eyes glinted with a smile. When he’d reported the falling out between Miss Ruan and that young master of the Jian family, Brother Qing hadn’t believed him. Now, surely, they’d accept it.

The car started, and A Kuan drove slowly out of the garage with Ruan Mianmian. She listlessly pressed the window switch, letting the glass rise and fall, clearly bored.

But A Kuan was busy being secretly delighted for someone else, so he didn’t notice.

They hadn’t gone far when a shout suddenly rang out from behind, “Stop! Stop!”

The cry startled even those on the other side of the monitor.

Jiang Ce leaned forward sharply, eyes fixed on the monitor, only relaxing when he confirmed nothing untoward had happened.

A Kuan slowed down, asking, “Miss Ruan, what’s wrong?”

Ruan Mianmian was leaning out the window, half her body outside, peering behind for something.

Once the car stopped, she jumped out and chased after whatever she’d seen.

A deep, electric voice crackled to life, “A Kuan, follow her.”

“Yes, boss.” A Kuan responded toward the camera and hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt, running after her.

Ahead was a corner. Ruan Mianmian hunched slightly, pausing to steady her breath, but her eyes never stopped scanning her surroundings, searching for something.

“Miss Ruan, what happened?” A Kuan caught up and asked.

“I… I saw someone.” She was still shaken, and her hand trembled as she suddenly remembered something.

Seeing her face turn deathly pale, A Kuan quickly supported her back to the car and handed her a bottle of water.

She took it, but her hands trembled so violently that the bottle slipped and rolled to her feet.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, A Kuan saw cold sweat beading on her forehead. He had no idea what she’d seen to frighten her so badly.

“Miss Ruan, are you all right?” he asked anxiously.

She nodded, then shook her head, lost and distracted. A Kuan dared not delay, pressing the accelerator and speeding toward Starfish Bay.

Ruan Mianmian sat silently in the back, head bowed, her face ashen as if possessed, eyes fixed on some distant point, lost in thought.

Since transmigrating into the novel, she’d gradually merged with the original Ruan Mianmian, inheriting her memories and experiences. But the events of the day she was kidnapped—those memories had always been unclear.

Everything was hazy; she never really understood the details of the abduction.

Until this moment, she hadn’t recognized anything unusual. But just now, it struck her: her memories of the kidnapping were always from a god’s-eye perspective, never the true recollections and feelings of the original character.

But when she saw that person—especially that face—a flood of vivid, bloody memories suddenly exploded in her mind, spreading and overwhelming her thoughts.

Ruan Mianmian struggled to steady her breath and calm herself, but found it impossible; her hands shook uncontrollably.

Only now did she truly understand what the original Ruan Mianmian had endured that day. The fear and terror were etched deep in her memory—a trembling of the soul itself.

Perhaps the experience was so traumatic that her body had instinctively blocked it out.

She hadn’t realized before that her memories of the kidnapping came from her own reality, a perspective from outside the story.

Now, suddenly, all the details of that day were crystal clear in her mind.

Her vision seemed filled with crimson—the blood of Jiang Ce, who’d stood before her, shielding her from the knife.

At that thought, her sight blurred, and tears spilled down her cheeks, large and sudden. She finally understood what it meant to feel pain to the depths of her soul.

A Kuan drove while constantly checking her reactions in the rearview mirror, worrying not only about her but about how the boss, watching from the other side of the camera, would react to this scene.

This journey was the most emotionally complex he’d ever experienced; he almost wished he was piloting a helicopter, able to reach Starfish Bay in an instant.

At last, after what seemed an eternity, the villa at Starfish Bay appeared ahead.

A Kuan saw hope and became instantly excited, “Miss Ruan, we’re almost at Starfish Bay. Are you okay?”

She didn’t answer, still suppressing her emotions, but he could clearly hear her quiet sobs.

Miss Ruan was still crying…

He could imagine the boss, waiting at the Beishan Sanatorium and watching the monitor, must be beside himself with worry.

A sudden roar of helicopter blades thundered overhead. A Kuan stared in shock.

“That’s the boss’s private helicopter! Why is it here?”