Jing Tian came back very early that day so we had dinner together. I was very happy. I noticed Jing Tian was very gentle to me that day. Before going to bed, I held Jing Tian’s hand and told him how excited I was for the trip tomorrow. Jing Tian stroked my head gently but said nothing.
…
Jing Tian brought me to somewhere very far away. He drove for 4 hours. I slept, ate, and drank on the passenger seat. When I was bored, I flirted with Jing Tian. Jing Tian looked worried when we departed, but after my endless attempt to flirt with him, he finally smiled. The car stopped at the foot of a mountain.
I got out of the car and asked, “Is this where we were kidnapped when we were young?”
Jing Tian nodded. “You still can’t remember anything?”
I shook my head. “It’s alright. If I can’t remember it, you can just tell me what happened. After all, you were there.”
We held hands and headed up the mountain. There was no hiker on the road. The scenery here was nice but it was not a good tourist spot. The cliff was very steep. That did make it a good location for a kidnapper’s lair.
Jing Tian said as he climbed, “I was already in junior high at that time. Our family driver was bribed and handed me to the kidnappers. Jing Ning, Nanyang, and you were taken from school and kindergarten. I don’t know how they got Gu Yan and Qu Hao. These people were professional kidnappers. They wanted to use us to force our families to pressure the government to release their boss from prison. They also demanded a huge amount of ransom money to prepare for their escape.”
“How much did they ask for?”
“Two billion,” Jing Tian answered calmly.
“Two… two billion! They sure had a big appetite!” I exclaimed.
Jing Tian nodded.
“But how come I feel like they didn’t really want the ransom money?” I said casually as I looked at the beautiful scenery along the way.
Jing Tian tightened his grip on my finger and turned his head to look at me seriously.
I snapped back to my senses and explained. “Why? Is that wrong? Think about it. 2 billion is a lot even now. For that amount of money, I don’t think they would really let us go. After they got the money, they had nothing to lose anymore. What was stopping them from killing the kids?”
Jing Tian smiled. “So that’s your logic? In any case, everyone was so anxious as they tried to raise the money. Even the police didn’t know what to do.”
I raised my chin proudly. “Well, sometimes one needs to look at things without too many complications. But I’m confused, why did they kidnap me? I am worth nothing to my big uncle. I should be thankful that he didn’t give the kidnappers extra money to kill me.”
Jing Tian looked at me and said, “I heard that when they caught Nanyang and Jing Tian, Nanyang said that you were the real favored miss of the Nan Family. She personally led the kidnappers to capture you. She thought after they caught you, the kidnappers would let her go. But the kidnappers just took off with the both of you.”
My mouth hung open for a long time. Jing Tian looked at me with empathy.
I nodded. “Wow, Nanyang’s heart has truly been black since she was born. I was too kind to her in the past. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? If you did, I would have taught her a severe lesson!”
Jing Tian sighed. “I only heard about this from the Nan Family’s servants when I looked into this matter. But Jing Ning vouched for Nanyang and claimed that she never did those things. Soon came the engagement between you and Jing Ning happened so no one mentioned it again.”
My heart thumped heavily as if it had been dropped to the ground. I felt an inexplicable pain.
I stopped in my tracks. “I heard that Jing Ning saved Old Master Jing when he was young. He told Old Master Jing that he liked me and that was why Old Master Jing married me to him. However, Jing Ning only did all these to help cover up Nanyang’s betrayal and probably to save his own skin. After all, when Nanyang told the kidnappers to come after me, he didn’t stop them either. Am I right?”
Jing Tian didn’t say anything.
I looked at him and asked softly, “Jing Tian, were you jealous?”
Jing Tian turned his head away and walked ahead. I caught up with him and pressed, “Jing Tian, were you jealous of him back then?”
Jing Tian ignored me.
I changed tact. “Jing Tian, where were you when Jing Ning made the decision to marry me?”
“I was injured and was being treated overseas.” Jing Tian sounded quite saddened. I got it then. I grabbed his hand and smiled. “So you were jealous after all! You were jealous that I was engaged to your nephew when you were away from the country!” I was sure that I was right.
Jing Tian ignored me and continued, “I was the oldest and thus had to protect the rest of you. For that, I angered the kidnappers and were beaten up badly for it. It couldn’t be helped, you guys were too young and innocent. Especially you, you thought we were playing house.” He shot a glare at me.
I smiled sheepishly. “I’ve always been simple-minded.”