After calling Jin Shuhan twice without an answer, Chu Zixuan felt puzzled. He recalled how strange Jin Shuhan had sounded when she called him the day before. After thinking for a moment, he decided to call her agent instead.
"Hello, Mr. Chu."
"Has something happened to Jin Shuhan lately?"
"I think her father is sick? I've been busy managing other newcomers these past couple of days, so I didn't get a chance to ask her in detail. She just asked me to inform Director Wang and took a short leave… But don't worry, Mr. Chu, she only requested two days off. It won't delay anything."
"Find out exactly what's going on. If it's something serious, contact the administration directly. They can handle it without my signature."
"Understood, Mr. Chu."
After hanging up, Chu Zixuan sent Jin Shuhan a WeChat message: "If you're in trouble, just tell me. Stop being difficult."
He then casually transferred 50,000 yuan to her.
He had heard from Zhao Yanan that Jin Shuhan had a tough life. She was juggling school and part-time acting while also caring for her paralyzed father. Fifty thousand yuan was nothing to him—barely a drop in the ocean—but it should be more than enough to cover a minor illness.
An hour later, in a private club room, Jin Shuhan weakly dressed herself, her chest still stinging from the burn marks left by cigarette butts.
In movies, wealthy heiresses were often portrayed as pure and innocent, but in reality, they saw far more of the world's darkness than ordinary girls. Jin Shuhan wasn't like Zhou Jie, who had never been involved in the grime of life. She knew the cost of everyday essentials, knew how to haggle at a market, and places like this high-end club terrified her. She wouldn't even dare enter a slightly upscale restaurant on her own.
She had seen news reports of girls being drugged before, but Zhou Jie was her class president, the person she was closest to in the class! She never imagined her class president would do this to her.
Wasn't she afraid of the police? Wasn't she afraid of going to jail?
How many naive girls had fallen into the abyss, thinking the same?
Little did they know, those bold enough to commit such atrocities weren't afraid of consequences.
Satisfied, Xue Can and his two companions rolled dice and drank, while strips of white powder were laid out on the table, which they snorted eagerly.
Jin Shuhan braced herself against the sofa, struggling to stand, her face pale as death.
Zhou Jie, having shed her mask, pointed mockingly at the piles of money on the table. "Take it. Your dad needs it to save his life, doesn't he?"
Jin Shuhan's eyes were icy cold, glaring at Xue Can and his companions before finally resting on Zhou Jie's face.
Zhou Jie sneered, "What? From the look on your face, are you thinking of calling the police? Heh…"
She pulled out her boyfriend's phone, opened the video recorded earlier, and warned, "Go ahead. You don't have any evidence to prove anything happened to you. The police won't be able to do a thing. But I can guarantee this video of you will be all over the school forum tonight, haha…"
The video didn't capture the faces of the three scumbags, but Jin Shuhan's face was crystal clear.
She bit her lip hard, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Zhou Jie continued her threat, "From now on, you better be obedient and come when called. You'll be paid… Don't forget, you've signed with an entertainment company. What was it called again? Qingya? Heh, I suggest you don't ruin your own future. Just take the money and go home."
At that moment, Xue Can, lounging on the sofa, suddenly looked at Jin Shuhan with interest. "Qingya? Your boss is Chu Zixuan?"
Jin Shuhan knew Xue Can had a grudge against Chu Zixuan, and the excited look in his eyes filled her with a deep sense of dread.
A few days ago, Xue Can had been beaten by his own father. While he still resented Chu Zixuan, he hadn't dared disobey his father's orders lately. However... bullying Chu Zixuan's employee didn't seem like a big deal at all, right? How could the Chu family care about something so trivial? If Chu Zixuan really wanted to make a fuss about it, wouldn't that be "going too far"?
Besides, Xue Can thought, maybe his father would personally take care of that arrogant Chu Zixuan for him.
With a sinister grin, Xue Can's eyes remained locked on Jin Shuhan, sending a shiver down her spine. She instinctively tried to run, but her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the sofa.
"Hahaha…" Xue Can laughed even louder. He turned to Zhou Jie's boyfriend. "Hey, didn't you say you have a small estate out in the countryside? Why don't we head there tonight for some fun?"
Zhou Jie's boyfriend glanced at Jin Shuhan with a smirk. "Sure, it's quiet out there. We can play however we want. Haha…"
Fear spread through Jin Shuhan's body like ice water, chilling her to the bone. Her terror was written all over her face as she pleaded, "Please, let me go… I won't call the police! I swear! My dad's still in the hospital; he needs me! Please, I'm begging you!"
But no matter how much she begged, it was futile.
Monsters have no mercy, and the more helpless the prey, the more excited they become.
Jin Shuhan was easily forced into the car. Less than an hour later, the vehicle had left the city and was heading down a desolate road toward the estate.
Throughout the journey, she kept pleading, her voice hoarse, only to be met with ridicule.
Fortunately, the drugs in her system were wearing off. She clenched her fists, realizing her strength had mostly returned, and her mind was no longer foggy.
At that moment, a police car appeared ahead, its lights flashing in the darkness. Hope flickered within Jin Shuhan as she quietly moved her hand to the car window button.
As the police car drew nearer, she seized the moment, ready to roll down the window, but Xue Can suddenly grabbed her hand and punched her hard in the face!
Her head slammed against the window as the police car sped past.
Dazed, Jin Shuhan pounded on the window, screaming in despair.
The three scumbags in the car roared with laughter. Xue Can slapped her twice more, taunting, "Why can't you behave? Huh? So disobedient, haha…"
He dipped his fingers into the blood at the corner of her mouth and licked them.
Jin Shuhan's breathing became shallow and labored. Tears streamed down her face as she rested her head against the window, her body trembling with sobs.
Not long after, a small bridge appeared ahead, with a high speed bump before it. As the car slowed down to cross it, Jin Shuhan saw her chance.
The moment the car started to accelerate again, she opened the door and jumped out!
Having once worked as a stunt double for a minor actress, she had been trained by professionals on how to jump from a moving vehicle. The car's speed was low, comparable to the filming, so she executed the roll flawlessly. As Xue Can and the others scrambled out of the car, she had already jumped off the bridge.
The bridge was about ten meters high, with a moderately deep river below. The three scumbags stood at the edge, squinting in the dark, but they could only hear her splashing in the water—they couldn't see her.
"D*mn it!" Zhou Jie's boyfriend cursed, while another man raged, cursing down at the river.
Xue Can's expression remained eerily calm as he licked the blood off his finger and grinned wickedly.