Chapter 93

The young man breathed heavily in fear, staggering forward and refraining from looking back.

Even after the young man had walked away, Jiang Ji remained facing the wall, showing no intention of moving.

Qin Qingzhuo slowly pried open Jiang Ji’s clenched fist, sliding his fingers into the gaps between his, holding onto them, and softly said, “Let’s go.”

He tried to lead Jiang Ji forward, but Jiang Ji slowly withdrew his fingers.

Usually, it was he who took Qin Qingzhuo’s hand outside, but this time, their roles seemed reversed.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Qingzhuo looked at him.

Jiang Ji shook his head and let out a soft sigh. “I shouldn’t have brought you here.”

“It’s okay, I’m not as fragile as you think,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled. “These things happen, just ignore it.”

Jiang Ji remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly grabbed Qin Qingzhuo’s arm and pulled him towards the nearby street corner. “Let’s go.”

“Where to?” Qin Qingzhuo followed him. “Aren’t we taking the motorcycle?”

Jiang Ji nodded but didn’t answer the first question.

Standing on the street corner, Jiang Ji hailed a taxi and let Qin Qingzhuo get in first.

After Qin Qingzhuo sat down, Jiang Ji didn’t join him but bent down to speak to the driver, giving Qin Qingzhuo’s studio address. “Go to the vicinity of Anyuan Bridge.”

“What about you?” Qin Qingzhuo realized he was letting him go first.

“I’ll keep looking,” Jiang Ji’s voice softened only when speaking to Qin Qingzhuo. “You go back and rest.”

Before Qin Qingzhuo could say anything else, Jiang Ji closed the car door and walked towards his motorcycle.

By the time Qin Qingzhuo got out of the taxi to catch up with him, Jiang Ji had already mounted the motorcycle and sped off into the street, disappearing into the traffic within seconds, out of Qin Qingzhuo’s sight.

Standing on the roadside, Qin Qingzhuo furrowed his brows slightly.

He could sense that Jiang Ji had refrained from hitting the young man just now solely because he was present, suppressing his anger.

So where would Jiang Ji go next, to continue searching for Jiang Bei? But he had just asked Jiang Ji if there was any other place Jiang Bei might go, and Jiang Ji had clearly shaken his head to indicate a negative answer…

“Are we still going?” the driver waiting on the roadside poked his head out and asked.

“…Yes.” Qin Qingzhuo snapped back to reality, got back into the back seat of the taxi, and said, “Driver, let’s go somewhere else instead of Anyuan Bridge.”

At the intersection, Jiang Ji watched the countdown on the traffic light through the windshield.

Where could Jiang Bei be… They had already searched all the places Jiang Bei might frequent, but she was still nowhere to be found.

Although this wasn’t the first time experiencing such a situation, and he knew Jiang Bei was capable of taking care of herself, the anxiety in his heart didn’t diminish at all; instead, it intensified, fermenting in his chest.

In addition to that, the phrase “Homosexuals are motherf*cking disgusting” lingered in his mind, refusing to fade away.

He could endure being scolded himself, after all, he didn’t care how others perceived him. However, the thought of that person looking at Qin Qingzhuo with disgust fueled his anger, which he couldn’t calm.

As the red light turned green, Jiang Ji twisted the throttle and accelerated through the intersection.

At the moment, there was only one person who might know Jiang Bei’s whereabouts, and that person was also the instigator of all this.

He had to go and find him. Behind the windshield of his helmet, Jiang Ji pondered as he looked ahead at the traffic.

The recording building of “Restless Band” was brightly lit, with all the staff working overtime to prepare for tomorrow’s semi-final live broadcast.

Xia Qi was busy, confirming the stage effects with the stage design team, and then busy upstairs coordinating tomorrow’s program flow with the directing team.

Since the program had changed to a live broadcast, her workload as an assistant director had suddenly increased several times, while Shi Yao, as the program’s executive director, had become the one with less work — Shi Yao’s reasons were quite sufficient; Xia Qi had experience in organizing large music festivals and was more adept at live broadcasting, so she should take on more important tasks.

“It’s also a kind of experience for you. If this program is to prepare for a second season, I recommend you to be the executive director.”

Thinking of Shi Yao’s original words, Xia Qi couldn’t help rolling her eyes — how could there be such a self-righteous person?

Separated by a few meters, the elevator lobby rang with a “ding” sound. Xia Qi hurriedly walked over.

Running too hastily, she almost bumped into someone coming out of the elevator lobby. She apologized, then lifted her head and froze for a moment. “Jiang Ji?”

Jiang Ji’s face looked somewhat cold. When he saw Xia Qi, he paused, then called out to her, “Sister Qi.”

“How come you’re here?” Xia Qi asked casually.

“Just came over for something.” The elevator door behind him slowly closed. Jiang Ji raised his hand to stop it, reminding her, “The elevator door is closing.”

“Oh,” Xia Qi hurried into the elevator lobby. “Thanks.”

Jiang Ji didn’t say anything else, turned around and walked away.

Today wasn’t the day for the program’s live broadcast, and Asperatus didn’t need to participate in the semi-finals. Why did Jiang Ji come over today? Xia Qi wondered as this question popped into her mind. At that moment, her phone rang.

She glanced at her phone, and the caller ID showed… Qin Qingzhuo.

The door of the control room was half open, and Shi Yao was leaning back against the table with headphones on, listening to the demo submitted by the band while flipping through some materials he had on hand.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and he turned his head to look.

Seeing Jiang Ji standing by the door, he paused, his expression becoming slightly unnatural. He put down the materials in his hand and asked, “Do you need something?”

Ignoring his question, Jiang Ji walked straight to him, lifted his headphones off his head, and threw them to the ground.

“Speak,” he looked at Shi Yao, his tone cold, “Where is my sister?”

“What about your sister,” Shi Yao’s face showed annoyance as his headphones were rudely removed, “How would I know where your sister is?!”

“I remember warning you last time,” Jiang Ji looked at him coldly, “Touching my sister will have consequences. Do you think I’m just joking with you?”

“I told you I don’t know where your sister is,” Shi Yao frowned impatiently, “Just get out of here!”

“Do you know who posted that post online?” Jiang Ji grabbed his collar, clenched his fist, and pushed Shi Yao forward, “Do you know why she disappeared this time?”

Shi Yao reached for the desk behind him, presumably to call security, but Jiang Ji exerted force, pulling him away from the desk by his collar, then lifted his leg and pushed him against the wall.

As his back hit the wall hard, a hint of fear finally appeared on Shi Yao’s face. He had seen the footage of the members of the band being beaten from the surveillance cameras, knowing that Jiang Ji was reckless when he started a fight, but he still pretended to be calm, maintaining his dignity, “Let me remind you, my office has surveillance cameras. Don’t mess around.”

“Surveillance cameras?” Jiang Ji sneered, “Are you planning to buy a hot search or planning to call the police?”

As he spoke, he took out his phone and played a recording. Shi Yao’s voice came out from the phone’s speaker: “Your sister’s situation, I only know a little bit about it. It’s already the best situation for her to be able to live with you…”

It was the recording from the bar on the second floor, where Shi Yao wanted to pressure Jiang Ji into signing a contract.

Hearing the recording, Shi Yao’s face changed slightly, but he didn’t say anything.

“Didn’t expect it, did you, Director Shi? Do you feel that a thug is not worth guarding against? Didn’t expect one day you’d be caught red-handed by a thug, huh?” Jiang Ji held the phone at the bottom, lightly tapping his face twice, “You can go to the police. My sister’s disappearance needs your cooperation in the investigation, or I can bribe a moderator to release this recording, so everyone knows what kind of scum you are, how about that?”

Before Shi Yao could react, Jiang Ji suddenly lifted his knee and hit Shi Yao hard in front of him.

Seeing Shi Yao arching his back in unexpected pain, he felt a bit of relief from the anger that had been pent up in his chest.

However, it was far from enough.

Not only Jiang Bei’s disappearance, but also that phrase “Homosexuality is motherf*cking disgusting,” and the pale-faced Qin Qingzhuo standing on the stage a month ago, he would settle all these scores with Shi Yao one by one.

Jiang Ji exerted force on Shi Yao’s body, forcing him to stand upright. He clenched his fist, ready to strike, but the next moment, the overhead light in the room suddenly went out.

With the sudden darkness, their vision was enveloped in pitch black.

A few steps away, the door to the room was pushed open, and someone walked in.

Jiang Ji instinctively closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them, quickly adjusting to the darkness.

Barely making out the silhouette of the newcomer in the dim light from outside, he hesitated for a moment, loosening his grip on Shi Yao’s collar.

The person turned on the flashlight on their phone, shining it towards the two of them, precisely towards Shi Yao.

The bright light contrasted sharply with the darkness, making it difficult for Shi Yao to see, and his face contorted as he squinted.

“It really is Director Shi…”

Hearing the familiar voice of the newcomer, Shi Yao, unable to see clearly, called out “Qingzhuo” as if seeing a savior.

But Qin Qingzhuo ignored him, instead, he locked the door behind him and then turned to Jiang Ji:

“Can’t see well, can you? Keep going, I’ll use the flashlight to help you see.”

TN:

Let me cackle a little hehehe. Deserved Sh*t Yao