I was deceived by that brat Si Tong.
I couldn't withdraw the money from that card.
While I was trying to figure out a solution, Wu Mingyu, Grandma Wu's granddaughter, sent me a WeChat message asking what the bill was about.
I felt even more depressed.
"Your grandma bought a bunch of incense and candles this morning. She didn't bring any money, so she asked you to pay for them," I typed quickly on my phone. Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind.
When Grandma Wu came to our shop, the helmet she was carrying belonged to that rich playboy Wei Yuan.
People like them always like to use the best of everything!
That helmet... it must be worth something.
It was still early, and the helmet I had thrown into the trash can should not have been collected by the sanitation truck yet!
Thinking of this, I didn't care about Wu Mingyu's reply. I put away my phone, took out the frozen bank card, and dragged my suitcase as fast as I could towards home.
"Xiao He, are you just back from the hospital?" an old neighbor who had gone out for an early morning exercise greeted me.
"Yeah!" I replied while quickening my pace.
I prayed silently that those early - rising scavengers wouldn't pick up the helmet...
I could already see our shop in the distance. In the open space in front of the shop, the landlady was chatting cheerfully with a group of people, bursting into hearty laughter from time to time.
I frowned and couldn't help checking the time...
It was really a miracle!
It was just a little past six o'clock. The landlady, who usually loved to sleep in, was already neatly dressed and out chatting with others?
Alarm bells rang in my mind, and I tried to hide.
Unexpectedly, the sound of the wheels of the suitcase behind me was deafening in the early - morning alley. The landlady had already spotted me and waved at me with a big smile, saying, "Xiao He, where did you go so early in the morning? Mr. Si has been waiting for you for a long time!"
I stopped in my tracks for a moment and then suddenly turned around and ran.
I had already seen that tall and imposing figure standing out from the crowd.
Si Jiangchen!!
He turned his head and looked at me. His extremely handsome face was breathtakingly beautiful in the gentle morning light.
"Xiao He!! Hey!! This child!" the landlady shouted at the top of her voice, "Mr. Si is taking care of your business. Why are you running?"
"Maybe Miss Du has some misunderstandings," a soft voice came from behind. Immediately afterwards, I felt a warm touch on the back of my neck.
Before I could even let out a scream, I was grabbed by the neck and pulled back.
"Right? Miss Du?"
I was forced to turn around and met a pair of calm eyes. The dark pupils were like a black hole from which even light couldn't escape, almost sucking my soul in.
"Um... I..."
All the hairs on my body stood on end. Although his fingers were warm, they felt like the claws of a ghost that was coming for my life.
"No, you've got the wrong person! I don't know you!"
I struggled desperately to break free from his grasp and took several steps back. I pressed my body tightly against the blue - brick wall of the alley, as if this could give me a little bit of pitiful security.
There was still that faint smile on Si Jiangchen's face. To others, this great man seemed kind and approachable, but I knew how terrifying he could be when he turned into a demon!
"Oh? Really?"
Si Jiangchen's good - looking face suddenly loomed in front of me. He propped one hand on the wall, tilted his head slightly, squinted his eyes and looked at me playfully. His voice was only audible to the two of us, "It's only been a few hours, and you've already forgotten how it felt with me?"
His thin lips curved into a slight arc. He looked harmless and gentle, but I shivered several times, and a layer of goosebumps appeared on my neck.
Because his thumb had touched the wound on my lip.
"I don't mind making you relive it!"
"Ah!!"
I finally couldn't help screaming. I pushed his face away with both hands, "Get away!! You pervert... Um!!"
Si Jiangchen seemed to have anticipated what I was going to say. A kiss with a faint scent of orange blossom blocked all my words.
"Mmm..."
I struggled desperately, but he grabbed my neck, and with his other hand, he held my flailing hands above my head.
In an instant, everyone held their breath. The whole alley was so quiet that even the sound of the gentle breeze blowing through the leaves could be heard clearly.
"Everyone, please step aside," Si Jiangchen's subordinates almost instantly took the right action. Their tone was polite, but their behavior was extremely overbearing. They herded the landlady and others back into the courtyard like ducks.
The air around me quickly disappeared. I couldn't breathe, and my heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it was about to jump out of my chest.
Just when I thought I was going to die, he finally released me.
I immediately went weak in the knees and sat on the ground.
"Not allowing you to leave is for your own good," Si Jiangchen slowly bent down, twirled a lock of my hair with his fingers. There was still that faint smile on his face like a mask, as if that suffocating kiss just now was just my own imagination.
"Get away! I don't know you, and I don't need you to be good to me!"
I tried to raise my hand to push away his fingers, but he grabbed my hand again and pulled me up from the ground.
"Let me go. I don't know you. I didn't see you yesterday either..."
Tears welled up in my eyes. I didn't know what he wanted to do! But the terrifying pressure on him made me just want to run away, as far as possible!
"You've seen Si Tong," Si Jiangchen held my arm and still pinned me against the blue - brick wall, "If you can bring him back... I'll consider letting you go."
"That little brat?!" I replied instinctively.
I hated that little brat who had gotten me into such a difficult situation.
If it weren't for him asking me to save his "father haunted by a ghost", I wouldn't have seen the woman killed by Si Jiangchen, nor would I have seen Si Jiangchen turn into a demon. Of course, I wouldn't be trapped by this demon like a puppet at his mercy now.
"Yes, that little brat," Si Jiangchen looked at my expression with great interest and nodded, "He had a car accident half a year ago and hasn't woken up yet. Since you can see his living soul... please take him back into his body. His sixth birthday is coming soon. If his soul and body are still separated like this, his physical body won't be able to hold on."
He was talking about his own son, but his tone was still calm, and there was not a trace of anxiety or sadness on his face.
It seemed that Si Tong's life or death was just an ordinary little thing, like today's weather, like the breakfast menu, like a piece of clothing that could be discarded at any time!
"... I believe in your ability," Si Jiangchen leaned closer to my ear again, "You're the first one who can still be alive and kicking after being bitten by me!"