Back Then, I Adored You

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

At the back of the club’s premises, there was not a single soul or even a streetlight.

With the light shining out from the club’s windows, Qin Zhi’ai could see a black sedan without a license plate parked at the curb.

The man who’d abducted her pressed the syringe against her back to keep her move quickly.

Teetering on cobblestones in her three-inch-heels made walking precarious, and one of her shoes slipped off her foot. Not noticing, the man impatiently kept pushing her forward.

Qin Zhi’ai kept silent about losing her shoe and continued to limp her way forward.

As they stood before the car, the man yanked open the car door and shoved her inside before slamming it shut. Hopping into the passenger seat, he ordered, “Hurry!”

With that, the car sped off.

Qin Zhi’ai was pushed into the car in a way that had her nearly flattened on her front, but as the driver slammed on the accelerator her body rocked violently and she managed prop herself up against the car seat. That was when she saw the mangled scar on the driver’s face, making her kidnapping feel all the more sinister.

Qin Zhi’ai could not understand why they would want her. She had been born into a modest family, and she didn’t have a feud with anyone.

She asked the men why they were taking her, but they didn’t utter a word.

Scarcely anyone lived in the suburbs and, as the car sped along the road, farmland began to populate both sides of the road. There was hardly a person or even a house in sight.

Qin Zhi’ai couldn’t tell where they were headed, and she had lost track of how much time had passed, but eventually she saw a few houses.

The town they were approaching appeared to be small, but she missed the name of it as the car sped through the gates and took a left toward a two-story villa.

As the car screeched to a stop at the entrance, the abductor got out of the passenger seat, pulled open the door to the back seat, and yanked her out. Gripping her elbow, he dragged her to the front door.

The driver also got out of the car, walked to the door, and pounded on it.

Within seconds, a thick, raspy male voice replied, “Coming.”

When the door opened, Qin Zhi’ai was pushed inside and, still wearing only one shoe, she lost her balance and fell flat on the floor.

In need of repair, the uneven cement floor left a burning rash on her elbow.

She clenched her teeth and, seizing a moment when her captors weren’t watching, she kicked her foot backward and kicked off her remaining high heel out the door.

Who knows, maybe two heels would be better, but no heels are better than just one. At the very least, a glimmer of hope?

When the abductor and driver were both inside, the door slammed. Right over Qin Zhi’ai’s head, a third man began barking out orders to the others. “Get cracking! You, set up the camera, quickly! You, get her on the sofa and remove her clothes!”