"Then I'm relieved." Jiang Zhiyuan curled the corners of his mouth and let out a long breath. In the distance, Pei Yi and Feng Zhongliang were approaching this side, and the people behind them followed. He stood there without moving, like a trapped beast willing to wait to be caught, and had lost the will to resist.
In fact, he thought that his daughter might not want to recognize him. After all, he was not a good father. But when he really confirmed that she did not recognize him, he still felt extremely desperate.
When she didn't even want to call him 'father', it made no difference to him whether she was outside, in prison, alive or dead.
"If you want Feng Nan to live, go save her and tell Feng Zhongliang that she is in her old position." He smiled, "If you don't want to save her, forget what I said and be well."
He looked at Jiang Se, with reluctance and relief in his eyes. His eyes were deep and his pupils were extremely dark. There was a strong despair that was like a thick cloud, blocking the glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Feng Zhongliang and Pei Yi had come over. The people behind Pei Yi stood beside Jiang Zhiyuan. He surrendered. Pei Yi's face turned pale. He reached out to touch Jiang Se's face, his hand still shaking, and asked her:
"Are you okay?"
She frightened him.
Jiang Se shook his head, and Feng Zhongliang looked at Jiang Zhiyuan coldly:
"You'll be in jail for life!"
He didn't care and only looked at Jiang Se. He felt a little sorry that the time he spent with his daughter was so short. It was also a pity that his daughter had grown up so much but he had never heard her call him once.
When he was first imprisoned, she was still young and unable to speak. Now that she can speak, she is unwilling to open her mouth for various reasons.
Maybe this is retribution!
"I didn't believe in retribution before, but now I do." He lowered his head and smiled, with a faint smile on the corners of his mouth:
"It's probably a good thing for my daughter that I'm in jail."
He said this, and the next moment he raised his eyelids and raised his eyebrows. Even at this point, he was still fearless: "As for whether I go to jail or not, it's not up to you, it depends on what my daughter thinks!"
The meaning of Jiang Zhiyuan's words is worth pondering. Feng Zhongliang subconsciously looked at Jiang Se and said:
"I lost that year." He was referring to the failed kidnapping and being captured by Feng Zhongliang. "But now I have won you."
No matter whether it was 'Feng Nan' or Jiang Se, now she was his daughter and her blood flowed in her!
He looked at Feng Zhongliang's livid face and laughed: "Whether you recognize me or not, whether you call me or not, I am still your father."
At this point, he looked at Pei Yi again. When he smiled, he looked very similar to Jiang Se. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes showed traces of frost, and his eyes were a little fierce:
"Be nice to her, boy!"
He did not attend Jiang Se's wedding and regrettably lost the opportunity to lead her to happiness, but he said the same words as Feng Zhongliang on the wedding day.
Feng Zhongliang was stunned. The two of them had been in opposition to each other because of the same person, wishing each other dead, but they also felt similar because of the same person.
After Jiang Zhiyuan finished speaking, he no longer looked at Jiang Se's face and turned around and said:
"My daughter, I leave it to you!"
Feng Zhongliang suppressed the complicated feelings in her heart. Seeing Pei Yi holding Jiang Se tightly, she hid in Pei Yi's arms, relying on the fact that Pei Yi couldn't do anything to her, and used Pei Yi as a shield.
"You're not obedient!" Feng Zhongliang cursed angrily. When he learned that she was meeting Jiang Zhiyuan, Feng Zhongliang was so anxious that he almost had a heart attack. This girl was really too willful.
He was not so disobedient when he was little, but now that he has grown up, he seems to be in a rebellious phase. He slammed the cane in his hand heavily on the ground:
"It's all Ah Yi's fault!"
"Grandpa, please stop blaming her."
Pei Yi was also worried before, but he was relieved to see that she was fine. He was reluctant to let Jiang Se be blamed by Feng Zhongliang, so he quickly spoke out to protect her. Feng Zhongliang sighed, shook his head, and said with a gloomy face:
"If you continue to spoil him like this, he will become even more lawless in the future."
Feng Zhongliang said this, but he still felt relieved when he heard Pei Yi defending Jiang Se.
He was the first to blame Jiang Se because he was afraid that Pei Yi would be furious. Now that he had scolded him like that and seeing Pei Yi defending him, he estimated that there were no major problems between the two of them in private.
After solving this matter, he was still anxious to ask about Feng Nan's whereabouts. Feng Nan couldn't get into trouble. Once something happened to her, the truth would be revealed. Even if the Feng family kept it a secret, some gossip would inevitably leak out, involving Jiang Zhiyuan, which might bring some trouble to Jiang Se.
"Let's go." He tapped his crutches, signaling the people around him to take Jiang Zhiyuan away first. The person standing next to Jiang Zhiyuan pushed him, but he didn't move, just looked into the distance.
Jiang Se followed his gaze and saw the cable car slowly going up the mountain in the sky. Through the transparent glass, he could vaguely see the happy travelers sitting inside. They should be a family of three. A child was held in the arms of an adult, pointing to the distance, and they looked very happy.
Her eyes flickered, and she felt like she was punched in the heart.
Feng Zhongliang was annoyed when he saw Jiang Zhiyuan standing there without moving, and said sternly:
"What else do you want to do?"
He looked at Jiang Se deeply. Maybe this was the first time in their lives that the father and daughter had talked, gone up the mountain, and watched the sunrise. Perhaps he would not be able to see Jiang Se again in the future. He just wanted to see her a few more times so that he could survive the next life in prison.
Jiang Zhiyuan was pushed into the car. He was still looking back at Jiang Se and Pei Yi snuggling together.
Before the car door closed, he was still looking in the direction of Jiang Se. Feng Zhongliang stood outside and watched him quietly. After a long time, he couldn't help but asked:
"When Sese called you, you should have known that your number was exposed. Why didn't you turn off your phone?" It was only a matter of time for the Feng family to find out his location based on his phone number.
He was a smart man. He should have known that at this moment, the only way to protect himself was to turn off the phone, but he not only did not turn it off, but allowed the Feng family to keep calling him until they determined his exact location.
Jiang Zhiyuan threw away this phone more than three hours ago.
Given his cautious character, he should not have made such a low-level mistake. If he had not revealed his whereabouts, it would not have been easy for everyone to find him this time.
Feng Zhongliang was really curious about this. He had made all the necessary preparations, but was caught because of such a mistake. What awaits him may be severe punishment by law.
"My daughter is calling me to arrange a date, why should I turn off my phone?"
He smiled and was very calm after being caught, just like he was more than 20 years ago. There was no hysterical resentment or struggle. He was so calm that he didn't seem like a heartless kidnapper.
Feng Zhongliang was silent for a moment and nodded. The people hired by the Feng family closed the car door, blocking the light from outside and also blocking his view of Jiang Se. The car drove down the mountain, gradually increasing the distance between him and Jiang Se, and finally completely cut them off, with no connection anymore.
It was as if there was a huge hole in his heart and he could no longer feel any joy or pain. The longing and reluctance in his eyes eventually turned into numbness and calmness like two stagnant pools of water.
On the top of the mountain, Jiang Zhiyuan had already left, and Pei Yi was still a little frightened:
"Are you afraid?"
The anxiety and fear that he had initially felt because of her disobedience turned into heartache at this moment. Feng Zhongliang had already made him reluctant to let her go after scolding her a few words before, so naturally he would not scold Jiang Se now.
He interlocked his fingers with hers and held them tightly to calm his fear.
“I was a little scared at first.”
Jiang Se knew Pei Yi's worries. Even though it hurt a little when he grabbed her hand, she didn't pull her hand back. Instead, she held his hand tightly and walked with him on the top of the mountain to see the surrounding scenery.
"But gradually I am no longer afraid." The scene of meeting Jiang Zhiyuan this time made her confirm that the nightmares in her childhood were just the result of her inner fear. "He is not that scary. What I am afraid of is being abandoned by others."
She was afraid that she was dispensable in the Feng family, that her parents, relatives, and friends didn't care much about her life or death, that she would be abandoned by her parents, and that family ties in a place like the Feng family were as thin as paper.
"When I thought about how you were still worried about me when I came here, afraid that something might happen to me, begging me not to see him, and about to cry, I wasn't so scared anymore."
Because she knew he was right behind her and he would try his best to come. She knew that this time Pei Yi and Grandpa would not give up on her. She felt at ease and when she faced Jiang Zhiyuan, she felt that he was not that scary.
Pei Yi held her hand to his lips and kissed it gently:
"I've been following Jiang Se."
After he arrived and saw Jiang Se right under his nose, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew what was in her heart and did not disturb her meeting with Jiang Zhiyuan, for fear that she would have a grudge.
He knew that she had 'possessed' Jiang Se's body, and she must have had a complicated mentality when facing Jiang Zhiyuan. She had to untie this knot by herself, and he could not replace her.
Even though he wished he could solve everything for her, even though he wanted to hold her in his palm, hold her in his mouth, pamper her, cherish her, and love her, and not let her bear the wind and rain.
Growing up as childhood sweethearts and accompanying each other for many years, the relationship between the two sides knows each other well and is mutually understanding. There is no need for extra glances or redundant explanations. He understands her and she also understands what Pei Yi wants to say.
"Ayi, thank you." She tilted her head and leaned on Pei Yi's shoulder, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder, and took the initiative to promise:
"I will listen to you more in the future and won't make you worry like this again."
When she said this, she remembered something:
"By the way, Jiang," she just opened her mouth, then pursed her lips and changed her name:
"He mentioned Feng Nan's whereabouts. I should tell Grandpa."
Pei Yi's eyes flashed, he opened his coat, wrapped her up in it, put his lips against her hair, and whispered softly:
"Sese, this person doesn't belong here."
Jiang Se understood what he meant.
Feng Nan is a time bomb for Jiang Se. She harbors ill will towards Jiang Se. This time she fell into Jiang Zhiyuan's hands, and she may have said something to Jiang Zhiyuan.
She had made a scene before and tried to ruin Jiang Se's reputation. Now that she has been kidnapped again, it is very likely that she will not talk nonsense after being rescued.
Jiang Se understood all these principles. She let go of Pei Yi's tightly held hands and instead wrapped her arms around his strong waist:
"I know everything." Her voice was muffled by Pei Yi's coat, and was somewhat unclear:
"It's just that I've been kidnapped before and I know how that feels. I don't know where she came from or what kind of person she is, and I don't want to ask anymore. What will happen to her in the future has nothing to do with me." But she understands the panic of being in a desperate situation and knows the principle of not doing to others what you don't want others do to you.
If something happens to Feng Nan one day, it will be her own fault and has nothing to do with Jiang Zhiyuan or her, so she naturally won't care so much.
She called Feng Zhongliang and told him about Feng Nan's whereabouts. She and Pei Yi decided to spend two days in Hong Kong during the hard-earned vacation and indulge themselves a little.
Feng Nan's condition is not very good. She has suffered a lot of physical and mental torture and trauma, and her emotions are on the verge of collapse. She doesn't even dare to mention the names of Jiang Zhiyuan and Jiang Se, and is used to hiding in a dark environment.
When Pei Yi went to see her, her curtains were drawn tightly. The slightest sound of footsteps was enough to make her tremble all over. She opened her mouth in fear, but could not make a sound.
"Whether you are pretending to be crazy or it is real." His voice was cold, and his tall figure formed a shadow in the room that was enough to suffocate Feng Nan, making it impossible for her to breathe. She grabbed her neck, and her nails scratched her neck until it was covered in blood. She opened her mouth and gasped in pain, like a fish short of oxygen.
"But you'd better not have any more ideas or talk nonsense to try to ruin my wife's reputation." He pulled a chair and sat down, looking at the person who was trying to curl up on the bed:
"The grudge between you and Jiang Se should be left in the era you originally lived in. I don't know what hatred there is between you, but I know you have parents and relatives."
After she was reborn, she must have checked her own information and left traces.
As soon as Pei Yi finished speaking, Feng Nan's body trembled, obviously he had heard his words, and his eyes became clear for a moment.
"You know, there are many ways to shut you up, but I hope it's in a more civilized way."
After he left, Feng Nan cut himself with a fruit knife and tried to commit suicide, but fortunately he was discovered in time.
She didn't know what Jiang Zhiyuan had done, but she would tremble when she heard Jiang Se's name. She couldn't even mention anything related to the word "Jiang". She would go crazy when she heard it.
This was obviously what Jiang Zhiyuan did on purpose. She couldn't possibly say anything in this state.
Physical injuries can be healed, but psychological trauma is not so easy to heal.
Xia Chaoqun called and asked her to rush back to the capital tomorrow. The premiere of "Criminal Suspect" would be tomorrow night, and she, who won the Best Actress Award at the French Film Festival, could not be absent.
Pei Yi had already returned to Xijiuzhou because of Mr. Pei's urgent call. He hurried to Hong Kong and had to deal with some things when he returned. (To be continued)