After circling around inside, Dong Jian finally had him stop in front of a dilapidated house.
"This is it, thank you, sir."
Shang Jincheng remained seated, waiting for him to open the car door himself.
But Dong Jian couldn't even find the handle, fumbling for a few moments without success.
Tian Tian saw his predicament in the rearview mirror, got out to open the door for him, and then helped him out of the car.
Dong Jian thanked her repeatedly, hobbled to the entrance of the shack, and while fumbling for his keys to open the door, sincerely invited them in.
"Why don't you come in and sit for a while? Although my home is humble and not worth dirtying your feet, you are my benefactors. Let me offer you a cup of water to express my gratitude. Otherwise, I truly wouldn't feel right."
Tian Tian said, "No need, no need to feel uneasy. As I said before, in life, who doesn't encounter difficulties? Take care of yourself, and your days will get better and better. We have other matters to attend to, so we won't disturb you further."
Dong Jian, afraid she might leave, quickly called out again.
"Wait. Miss, it's like this. I have nothing worthy to offer you as thanks. My mother liked to grow flowers and plants. She had a potted orchid that she was quite fond of, having nurtured it for many years. It has some ornamental value. If you don't mind, I'd like to give it to you. It's the least I can do to show my appreciation."
Tian Tian thought that since it was left by his mother, it wouldn't be right to take it, and tried to decline.
Unexpectedly, Dong Jian knelt before her with a thud.
"Just let me do something to repay you! Otherwise, my conscience will truly not be at peace! Miss, please do me this favor!"
For the first time in her life, a grown man knelt before her. Tian Tian felt it was merely a small gesture and was extremely embarrassed, quickly helping him up.
"Don't do that. Alright, alright, please get up first. I'll take it, okay?"
Dong Jian was once again painstakingly helped up by her, and they entered the dark house together.
Shang Jincheng watched from the car, thinking: A sheltered young lady from a wealthy family is indeed pure-hearted and naive. Anyone else would have avoided such a person. The Zhan family's upbringing is truly remarkable.
He waited for a minute, but no one came out. After two minutes, still no one.
Five minutes passed, and there was no movement from the dark house. Shang Jincheng grew suspicious.
"Why aren't they out yet? Five minutes, that small room, they could have walked back and forth several times. What exactly are they doing?"
Not trusting Tian Tian, he turned off the engine, pushed open the car door, and followed her.
As soon as he stepped inside, a wet towel was pressed over his nose and mouth.
He felt a pungent odor approaching, and before he could react, he lost consciousness.
Dong Jian had prepared a large amount of ether and had knocked them both out, dragging them into a very old cellar behind the shack, a relic from the last century, specifically used for shelter.
After a thorough binding, their mouths were sealed with tape, and the cellar's entrance was covered.
He called Zeng Hui: "It's done. When do we make our move?"
Zeng Hui was very pleased: "I'm on my way. Wait until I arrive to make your move. Keep an eye on them for now."
Tian Tian's mind was hazy, she kept dreaming, feeling uncomfortable all over, wanting to wake up from her dream but unable to open her eyes.
She tried hard to remind herself to wake up, to wake up quickly, she still had to attend Ge'er's party, and there were many things left undone. Suddenly, a chill ran through her entire body.
It was a chill that struck the crown of her head. She finally opened her eyes.
Water dripped from her hair, and her clothes were soaked.
It was the height of summer, and although the sun was blinding outside, she felt an icy chill.
Someone had poured a basin of cold water over her head from above.
She immediately remembered what had happened before she lost consciousness.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively turned her head to look for Shang Jincheng.
As soon as she saw him lying to her left, bound by ropes, with tape over his mouth, another basin of water was poured from above with a splash, drenching Shang Jincheng's head.
Tian Tian looked up in the direction of the water flow. They were currently in a hole resembling a basement.
The hole was about two to three meters high. Two people were crouched at the opening, their features unclear.
One of them held a red basin, and the water had likely been poured by him.
Tian Tian never imagined that her good intentions to help would lead her into such a predicament.
Where was this? Why was this person tying them up? What did he want to do?
She instinctively opened her mouth to call out, only to realize her mouth was also gagged.
Shang Jincheng, next to her, also woke up from the cold water. He shook his hair vigorously, clearing the water from his face.
Opening his eyes, he saw Tian Tian in such a state and was startled by the scene before him.
After a two-second reaction, he made muffled sounds and moved forcefully towards Tian Tian.
The two of them suddenly became like grasshoppers on a string, about to die. Tian Tian had never felt such a desperate need for him.
She also made muffled sounds and leaned towards him.
As soon as they managed to get close to each other with all their might, the two people at the opening threw down a soft ladder and climbed down.
The first to descend was the cripple, followed by a woman.
Although the light was poor, and they were looking down, making it difficult to see clearly against the light, Tian Tian recognized her at a glance.
Zeng Hui.
No wonder she had encountered a cripple for no reason and had been tricked into coming here.
It turned out everything was her arrangement!
She was quite cunning and understood her well.
She had gone to great lengths to trick her into coming here!
At this moment, Tian Tian realized how terrifying a woman's jealousy could be when it flared up.
Although Chen Dongyang had given her ten million as a settlement, and although Chen Dongyang had not had an easy time over the years, separating from Zeng Hui was a mistake.
She didn't realize Chen Dongyang's contributions, only resenting him for abandoning her, and by extension, resenting Tian Tian.
She and Chen Dongyang were both too naive, too trusting of Zeng Hui's character.
Zeng Hui knew Tian Tian recognized her from the look in her eyes and let out a cold laugh, slowly crouching down.
A triumphant smile played on her lips as she met Tian Tian's gaze.
"Jiang Jing Tian, Miss Zhan, I bet you never expected to run into me here."
She truly hadn't.
Tian Tian now only regretted her own saintly nature, having fallen into her scheme.
Was she scared? Of course, she was. She didn't know how much Zeng Hui hated her or what she planned to do next.
But what she feared more was Shang Jincheng being implicated along with her.
He was innocent and shouldn't have been dragged into this!
Tian Tian made muffled sounds, wanting them to remove the tape so she could talk to Zeng Hui.
Zeng Hui was overjoyed to see her in this state.
"You have something to say to me? You want me to remove the tape for you? Heh, dream on!"
"Before, I wanted to talk to you, to tell you about Chen Dongyang and me, did you give me a chance? You two repeatedly deceived me, played me for a fool, thinking I was a pig, that I shouldn't have any temper no matter how you manipulated me. Now you realize I'm not, right?"