Chapter 90: Jiang Ning’s Past
She stayed in the new home for a year. The human trafficker was caught, and she was rescued by the police.
The police saw she was pitiful and wanted to send her to an orphanage.
Seven-year-old Jiang Ning refused.
At that time, she thought that even if she starved to death, she didn’t want others to control her destiny.
The naive her already knew what bondage was.
It was the endless clothes to wash, the endless beatings, the hands and feet with sores, the hungry belly, and the malicious gazes.
She didn’t want to come out of one wolf’s den and enter another place.
She insisted on returning to the place where she grew up.
At least here there was grandmother’s grave accompanying her.
She felt she was still protected, by her loved ones’ side.
The aunt who cheated her out of money ran away with her husband, dodging high-interest loans.
People in the village saw she was a pitiful child and gave her food, warm clothes, occasionally let her do what she could, and gave her a few bucks as wages.
Jiang Ning grew up eating from many families.
From primary school in the village, to commuting to junior high in town, later going to the best high school in the county town, Jiang Ning adapted to her environment, learning everything she could, her life should have been ordinary.
Until she went to university.
Jiang Ning met a second generation rich. The second generation rich had power and influence. Jiang Ning was too eye-catching in appearance, catching the school second generation rich’s eye at once.
The second generation rich pursued her crazily, but he wasn’t Jiang Ning’s type, so Jiang Ning refused.
Jiang Ning didn’t expect this person to be so petty. Because of her refusal, the second generation rich flew into a rage and took revenge on her. Because he had power, no one around dared to associate with her.
Because of being targeted, even living in the dorm wasn’t peaceful, so she rented a house off-campus, working half-time and studying half-time.
Then she met a friend who was striving together.
Finally, she was tricked by the trusted friend into the dark room of a bar funded by the second generation rich.
There were more than just Jiang Ning who were tricked in, but most were voluntary, to climb up. Here it was decadent and luxurious, a place where the second generation rich kept his canaries.
For obedient prey, if they were pleased, they would give you resources, promote you to the entertainment industry, give you mansions, jewelry, luxury bags. The premise for getting these was that the prey had to be obedient enough, offering up everything—freedom, dignity.
If not obedient, they would tempt with expensive jewelry, or send you to the deep mountains to fend for yourself.
This was the controllers’ paradise, the players’ abyss.
At that time, Jiang Ning had only been in university for a year, second year hadn’t started yet, and she was trapped here.
The second generation rich wanted her to take off her clothes and spend one night with him, then let her go.
Of course, this was deceiving her; they just wanted to break her self-esteem.
But Jiang Ning happened to be the one with the hardest bones.
She would rather starve to death than do such a disgusting thing.
Seeing her unyielding even to death, the second generation rich got angry too, so he changed to another method.
Target shooting.
Give Jiang Ning a target gun; as long as she shot outside eight rings, she had to accept punishment.
But Jiang Ning had learned shooting for self-protection, and her aim was good, so this posed no difficulty for her.
The second generation rich saw he couldn’t humiliate her and she was even enjoying it, getting even angrier for a moment.
So he changed the punishment of tormenting her to tormenting others.
Jiang Ning despised this behavior, but under the roof, she had to bow her head.
Jiang Ning quietly told the girl to hold on a few more days; she hadn’t exposed that she had already found a method to report to the police, and the police would come soon.
None of the second generation riches in this dark clubhouse could escape.
The girl said hoarsely, somewhat desperately: “Can I get out alive?”
Jiang Ning firmly held her hand: “Yes, they haven’t gotten so arrogant that no one can control them. We will be rescued, believe me.”
The girl saw Jiang Ning’s eyes light up, she smiled and wiped away her tears, nodding to Jiang Ning: “Mm, we can all get out. I must live well. I’ll never be tricked by friends again. She said working part-time here for a month pays ten thousand. I was too greedy to fall into this trap.”
Jiang Ning pursed her lips. She wasn’t tricked here for money, but by a friend doing part-time together. She said her friend had gone missing here for days, knelt on the ground begging her to help look together. Go in the morning, back in the afternoon; they just needed to investigate secretly.
But Jiang Ning still kept her guard up.
She set up on the mobile phone in her rental room: if she didn’t use that phone in five days, it would automatically alert the police. And Jiang Ning had put a locator on herself; as long as the police found that phone, they would definitely find her.
She just needed to wait patiently. Seven days had passed since her disappearance; it would definitely draw attention.
Later, their demands on Jiang Ning went from eight rings to nine rings, to finally only hitting ten rings.
To spare the girl from torment, Jiang Ning practiced her skill to hit the bullseye every time.
Not daring to make a single mistake.
The second generation rich’s gaze grew darker and darker. He could force Jiang Ning, but she seemed to not know the word “kneel.” Her posture always stood straight; even these sturdy bodyguards around weren’t her opponents.
Also because of this, he was reluctant to kill her. He thought Jiang Ning had no weakness, but discovered she was kind, encouraging every girl in trouble around her not to give up hope. Ridiculous—they were all in; to get out, one could only kneel. So he thought of a new method: couldn’t torment her, then torment others; she would mentally break eventually.
Jiang Ning returned to the room; her hands trembled somewhat from holding the target gun. At night lying in the room with only one window, looking at the night sky outside, thinking tomorrow they should be rescued; hold on one more night, this dark den would surely be destroyed.
She was lost in thought when a black figure swiftly fell past in front of her.
Her body stiffened, and she sat against the wall in this unopenable room all night.
The next day she found out.
That girl couldn’t bear the humiliation and died.
After the girl died, the police found this hideout. The second generation rich was covered by his men in escape and accidentally fell to his death in the big pit.
Jiang Ning watched this demon take his last breath before turning to leave.
……
The radiance was somewhat tingling to the eyes.
It seemed someone was calling her.
“Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning, wake up.”
She struggled to open her eyes and found she was still in the classroom. Homeroom teacher Old Li stood by her seat, looking at her sternly.
As soon as Jiang Ning opened her eyes, it was this massive social death scene.
Usually when she slept, Old Li turned a blind eye, but now it was getting excessive—sleeping in class was one thing, but talking in her sleep too!
Mumbling unclearly.
“Alright, Jiang Ning, you need to pay attention in class too. Only this once; next time no sleeping in class. Classmates, focus your attention. Come, let’s look at the blackboard.”
Jiang Ning: “…”
She was really exhausted; she actually fell asleep in class and dreamed of things from long ago.
Jiang Ning had a bit of a headache.
Xie Jingyan’s dark eyes were deep; he propped his head with one hand, turned his head to look at her, tone flat and slow: “So, can you tell me who you killed?”
Jiang Ning’s body stiffened, her neck turning mechanically to look at him.
Begging for votes, typos, wrong sentences—help me spot them. Really stuck on writing today, sorry for keeping you babies waiting.
