She is the Side Character! — Watch Her Change her fate!-Chapter 202: Victim: The Little Girl Who Had Her Ransom Rejected 2
Upon hearing Ah Chen give the detailed address, Jiang Yishi confirmed that the young girl’s home must be in Chang City.
But she’s only around seven years old, right? How did she end up here?
Earlier, she was standing outside the car, her clothes and hair covered in mud. He didn’t pay much attention, assuming she had just been naughty and got herself dirty.
Now, as she sat quietly in the back seat, Jiang Yishi felt differently.
This young girl didn’t seem like the type to play in the mud. The more he observed, the heavier his heart felt; his professional intuition told him there was something amiss.
"Do you remember how you came to this place?" he asked.
Jiang Xiang, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them abruptly upon hearing his father’s tone. Could it be that he had stumbled upon a case? Only when dealing with a case did his father have this attitude. Great, just back from vacation and already having to work? Can’t it wait until tomorrow?
He glanced at the young girl beside him, noting her excessively quiet demeanor after getting in the car. Her hair was covered in mud, and her clothes were too, all evenly smeared. Her exposed fingernails had mud as well.
Jiang Xiang rubbed his chin. Had she been digging through dirt?
Was she buried?
Could someone survive being buried?
Jiang Yishi was thinking about this too. However, the world is vast and full of wonders; there have indeed been such cases.
"I got into a familiar uncle’s car," Ah Chen said plainly.
Zheng Chengfeng and Qu Man were bold. They succeeded partly because this era wasn’t particularly backward or advanced; at least this time cameras weren’t widespread, and there was no Skynet. Hiding a young girl discreetly was simple enough.
Moreover, they had planned for this event a long time.
From the beginning, they had intended to silence her.
Not only to take Jiang Zhengjun and Dou Jia’s money but to hit them hard, leaving them devastated.
They envied Jiang Zhengjun and Dou Jia’s achievements, resenting that they wouldn’t give them money for nothing.
Upon hearing this answer, Jiang Yishi felt somewhat speechless and couldn’t resist interjecting with an off-topic comment: "Then why did you get into my car? I’m a stranger to you."
The young girl was overly calm, a type he’d not encountered before.
Since she had given her home address, he decided to take her there first, leaving discussions with her parents for later.
He didn’t ask more, fearing she might get scared during the ride, leading to complications.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable? Do you need to go to a hospital?" he asked, still worried.
Her little face was pale; if she hadn’t seemed fine, he would’ve headed directly to the hospital, though that would likely delay everything.
"No, uncle, please just take me home. I want to go home," Ah Chen refused to go to the hospital. Given her situation, going there would mean undergoing various checks, possibly disturbing others and causing complications with her plans. Effort and resources would be needed to present normal results.
A bit troublesome.
She wouldn’t stay in this body long, adjusting to normality, and after she left, it would leave people confused, possibly sleepless for life.
However, now it almost felt alright.
Leave the matter to the world’s consciousness to handle; she just needed to complete her task. The rest would be the consciousness’s duty. Once the small world stabilizes, it should be able to handle it.
"Jiang Xiang, play with your sister."
"Got it, dad." Jiang Xiang was rummaging through his backpack, searching and finally finding some candy, and also took out a toy car.
He handed the candy to Ah Chen: "Here, have some candy."
"Thank you, big brother," Ah Chen accepted, "But it’s evening, can’t eat candy, it’ll ruin my teeth."
Suddenly being called "big brother," Jiang Xiang’s cheeks turned red. He glanced elsewhere, pretending like nothing had happened.
"Save it for tomorrow then."
He gave the toy car to Ah Chen: "Play with the car."
Ah Chen took the toy and asked: "How do I play with it?"
Jiang Xiang scratched his head: "You hold it and look; it’s meant to be played on the ground. It has batteries and can move on its own."
Jiang Yishi was driving, almost chuckling at his silly son’s antics. It was rare to see him so clumsy.
"I’ll take you to play when there’s time," Jiang Xiang said, "What’s your name? I’m Jiang Xiang."
"Jiang Ying," Ah Chen said, giving the name of the body’s identity, yet she gestured for him to come closer, which he did, and then she quietly added, "My nickname is Chenchen, but don’t tell anyone, okay?"
Jiang Xiang looked puzzled, but suddenly entrusted with a secret, he nodded earnestly and whispered, "Got it, I won’t tell anyone."
"Brother Jiang is so cute."
Jiang Xiang’s face was burning; Chenchen really knew how to praise people. Thankfully, the car was dimly lit—hopefully, dad couldn’t see.
He subconsciously accepted Chenchen’s name, for some reason ignoring the "Jiang Ying" mentioned earlier. Of course, Jiang Xiang wasn’t thinking deeply; as they grew familiar, he became more talkative, conversing with Ah Chen throughout the journey.
The night was fully upon them, Jiang Yishi couldn’t hear the two children murmuring in the back but seeing them get along calmed him considerably, allowing him to focus on driving.
"Why aren’t you warming up?" Jiang Xiang touched Ah Chen’s cheek, it felt cold.
Ah Chen responded: "A bit longer and it’ll warm up."
It would warm a bit, but without necessity, she wouldn’t return to a regular temperature.
"Once we get out, I’ll find clothes from the trunk for you to wear, just to keep warm." Jiang Xiang had it all planned out; they were visiting his grandparents, hence bringing along more clothing.
Ah Chen didn’t refuse: "Thank you, Brother Jiang."
After three and a half hours, Jiang Yishi’s car reached Jianan Garden, within a district of Chang City.
Jiang Xiang got out first, instructing Jiang Yishi to open the trunk and quickly retrieving a clean jacket, which he handed to Ah Chen: "Put it on quickly."
Her face was still pale, certainly chilled. Jiang Xiang worried she might get sick after they returned.
Jiang Yishi chuckled at his son’s worried look.
This son didn’t like playing with female classmates, nor could he get along with his sisters, so why today was different?
They followed the directions given by Ah Chen, Jiang Yishi and Jiang Xiang accompanying her to the doorstep.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Jiang Yishi asked.
Ah Chen nodded: "Yes, it’s here."
She reached out and pressed the doorbell; it sounded, and noises came from inside.
Jiang Yishi had prepared himself, adopting a more serious demeanor, ready to chat properly with the young girl’s parents since she remembered who she had been with, which would ease resolving the matter.
Approaching footsteps, the door opened.
"Ah——" It was Qu Man who opened the door. Upon seeing Ah Chen standing outside, she couldn’t help screaming, staggering back several steps, her face turning ghost-white as though she had seen a ghost.
