Jiangjing Luxury Residences.
Li Qiao arrived by taxi and stood near the building, scanning her surroundings with a calm gaze.
Pedestrians passed by as usual, and the security guard in the booth was dozing off.
It was a lazy weekend afternoon—everything looked perfectly normal. No signs of the tension or chaos one might expect at the scene of a kidnapping.
After a brief pause, Li Qiao strolled casually into the building, took the elevator, and went straight to Li Shaoquan's apartment. She unlocked the door using the fingerprint scanner.
The moment the door opened, a thick, acrid smell of smoke hit her—stronger than usual.
Li Qiao bypassed the entryway and stepped into the duplex living room. The moment she appeared, the room fell completely silent.
"Mmmph! Mmmph!" The first to react was Li Shaoquan.
He was trussed up tightly and tossed onto the floor, his mouth taped shut. When he saw Li Qiao, he began wriggling and making muffled noises, clearly trying to get her attention.
Li Qiao stood there, expressionless, surveying the smoky mess of a living room. Besides Li Shaoquan, there were four other people—three men and one woman.
The one in charge appeared to be a tall, brawny young man around twenty-five or twenty-six. He was wearing a faded camouflage outfit, puffing on a cigarette, and arrogantly asked, "You bring the household register?"
Li Qiao glanced at him without emotion, then casually walked over to Li Shaoquan and squatted beside him. With a sharp rip, she yanked the tape off his mouth—brutally.
"Aghh!" Li Shaoquan cried out in pain, feeling like she'd just torn the skin off his lips. "Could you be a little gentler?!"
The tall man and his companions stared in stunned silence.
Wait, was this gorgeous girl here to deliver the household register… or to finish the hostage?
Why did she act more ruthless than the so-called kidnappers?
Without bothering to untie her brother, Li Qiao casually perched herself on the armrest of the sofa, arms crossed, chin tilted slightly upward. "Talk. What the hell is going on?"
Li Shaoquan averted his eyes, clearly guilty. He mumbled with his head down, "It's… exactly what it looks like. They kidnapped me…"
The two siblings conversed like no one else was in the room.
The camo-clad man looked insulted, like his status as "kidnapper" was being undermined. He flicked his cigarette to the floor and stomped over, grabbing Li Shaoquan by the collar and hoisting him up. He growled, "Still yappin'? I'm asking you one last time—are you gonna marry my sister or not? If not, I'll send you straight to hell!"
Li Shaoquan was visibly terrified. Still bound, he could only shoot desperate glances at Li Qiao. "Dad… help me!"
Li Qiao ignored him and instead turned her gaze toward the young woman in the corner.
From the moment she entered, the girl had sat quietly with her head down. Her clothes were plain—somewhat worn—and she had a round figure, dark skin, and a timid air about her.
From the man's earlier rant, Li Qiao had already started putting the pieces together. Impatiently, she frowned and looked back at him, her voice laced with mockery. "A forced marriage? Really?"
The guy puffed up his chest and glared at her with fake bravado, jabbing a finger at Li Shaoquan. "So what if it's forced? He's marrying my sister whether he likes it or not!"
Clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Li Qiao rubbed her temple with a sigh. "Why? What's your reason?"
The man yanked on Li Shaoquan's collar again, shaking him furiously. "This bastard dated my sister online for three months. Now that he's met her in person, he wants to break up? No way. She's never even had a boyfriend before—he's her first love!"
Li Qiao stared at Li Shaoquan for a long moment, finally digesting what she'd just heard.
Her voice was flat, but her eyebrow arched in disbelief. "You? Online dating?"
So that's where all his time as a shut-in went—pouring his heart into virtual romance.
Li Shaoquan turned his face away stubbornly and mumbled, "How is that my fault? His sister used 100-level beauty filters to catfish me!"