Visa On Arrival Chapter 25
byBiological Father
Qi Ranyue struggled desperately against the thick ropes binding her wrists, her mind a chaotic mess.
New grudges and old debts?
Her father was coming!
Settling it all together?
As these words swirled in her head, Qi Ranyue suddenly froze, as if a bolt of lightning had cleaved through the chaos.
Wait!
He just said… old debts!
She remembered their first meeting, the perfectly timed “accidental” encounters, how he knew all her preferences, her personality, and her temper…
It turned out!
Every step!
Every detail!
Wasn’t a coincidence!
It was all a calculated scheme!
Qi Ranyue stopped struggling and leaned against the headboard, staring at the door as the fragments in her mind slowly pieced themselves together.
She thought back to what Xu Xingci had just said, the tone of intense hatred he used when mentioning her father.
New grudges and old debts!
From the very beginning, she had been part of his plan!
It was a calculation!
Perhaps there was some love too?
The corners of her mouth slowly curled into a cold, realizing smile.
So that was it!
The door suddenly opened.
Xu Xingci stood at the doorway. The wound on his leg had been crudely bandaged, and blood was seeping through the white gauze.
He looked at her, his face expressionless. “Baby, let’s go.”
She was stunned. “You’re letting me go?”
“In your dreams. Don’t talk,” Xu Xingci interrupted. He walked over and untied the ropes on her feet but left her wrists bound. “You’ll understand once we get there.”
Qi Ranyue was pulled up. She stumbled and he caught her.
“Sorry, I’ll walk slower.”
The car drove for a long time.
The scenery outside became increasingly desolate until they stopped in front of an abandoned, unfinished building.
The walls were mottled, and the weeds grew taller than a person.
Xu Xingci pulled her out of the car and dragged her inside.
The stairs were concrete, covered in a thick layer of dust that kicked up with every step.
He dragged her up floor by floor until they reached the rooftop.
The wind was strong, whipping her hair into a mess.
Xu Xingci dragged her to the edge of the roof, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number.
Ring… ring… ring…
It connected.
Xu Xingci spoke, his voice calm. “The rooftop of the unfinished Building B in the West District. Come see her.”
There was a second of silence on the other end. “Who are you?”
“Don’t ask so much,” Xu Xingci glanced at Qi Ranyue. “If you dare call the police, I’ll jump off with her. She doesn’t love me anymore anyway.” He paused, looked at the distant sky, and smiled. “Then we can die together. It’s quite romantic, actually.”
The wind on the rooftop was fierce.
Looking out from the edge, there were abandoned factories, rusted cranes, and weed-choked vacant lots. A few scattered cars drove by in the distance…
Qi Ranyue stood there, only half a step from the edge. Her wrists were still tied. The wind made her unsteady; every time she swayed, her heart leaped into her throat.
The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds. “What do you want?”
“What do I want?” Xu Xingci repeated. He looked down at his leg; the gauze was soaked through with blood, a piercing red. “Don’t you already know what I want? What are you pretending for?”
The voice on the phone spoke again: “Calm down first. I’m coming over right now. We can talk in person.”
“Talk in person?” Xu Xingci tilted his head. “Fine. Come, we’ll talk face-to-face. But you better hurry. The wind is strong; she can’t stand steady. If…”
Xu Xingci held the phone and checked the time on the screen. “I’ll give you fifteen minutes. Bring the item. You know the consequences of being late.”
The person on the other end said something urgently.
He didn’t listen and hung up.
The wind swept across the rooftop, blowing her hair into a tangled mess, but her eyes remained fixed on the distance.
She didn’t know how much time had passed.
It could have been a long time, or just a moment.
Suddenly, footsteps came from the stairwell.
Hurried, disorganized—more than one person.
Qi Ranyue’s heart hammered in her chest.
The door was pushed open.
Two people rushed out.
They were two men!
Qi Yihuai!
Ran Jin!
Qi Ranyue was stunned.
Why was Ran Jin here?
Qi Ranyue turned to look at him, her eyes full of confusion and bewilderment.
Seeing her expression, Xu Xingci smiled softly. “Is it strange? You must already know that Qi Yihuai is your biological father. After all, I sent that anonymous message to you. I don’t believe you didn’t investigate.”
Qi Ranyue’s head buzzed.
A year ago.
Sunlight had streamed through the classroom window. She had finished packing her bag and checked her phone.
An anonymous text message.
Just one line: “Qi Yihuai is your biological father.”
“That text…” Qi Ranyue’s voice trembled. “You sent it?”
Xu Xingci smiled but didn’t answer. He pointed at Ran Jin and continued, “As for him, he is also your biological father.”
Qi Ranyue was completely frozen, as if something had exploded in her brain.
The lounge!
Ran Jin!
That story!
“My partner and I were very much in love. After being together for over a year, we had a child.”
“Later, for his own benefit and power, he married someone else of equal social standing.”
“He was afraid I would retaliate, so he secretly took our child away.”
“He didn’t raise the child himself either; he let someone else adopt her.”
The little girl in that story.
The stolen little girl.
The adopted little girl.
It was her?
It was her!
Qi Ranyue snapped her gaze toward Ran Jin.
Qi Ranyue, Qi Ranyue.
She thought her name came from the poem, “Amidst the clouds, the scenery is fresh and new; joy arises from a nature unstained by dust.”
She never imagined it was the Qi from Qi Yihuai and the Ran from Ran Jin.
She should have known. She should have known…
But she still couldn’t believe it!
“No…” Qi Ranyue’s voice was so faint it was scattered by the wind. “Impossible…”
She took a step back, then another.
Behind her was the edge of the roof. One more step and she would fall. But she didn’t seem to feel it, only shaking her head, her eyes filled with chaos and collapse.
“Impossible…”
Xu Xingci looked at Ran Jin and spoke slowly. “That day at the tea restaurant, you must have recognized me.”
Ran Jin was stunned and looked at him.
Xu Xingci continued, “Otherwise, why would the two of us have broken up? You must have warned Qi Lan and told him to make us break up. Do you know? If we hadn’t broken up, I would have died before telling her any of this.”
Ran Jin looked at him, his eyes red. His lips moved, but no words came out. However, the expression on his face already explained everything.
Xu Xingci looked at that expression and nodded slightly. “So it really was you. You only have yourself to blame.”
The wind howled, making the hem of his clothes flutter loudly.
Xu Xingci lowered his head and looked at Qi Ranyue. His voice suddenly softened, carrying an indescribable emotion: “You know? You weren’t supposed to find out about any of this. You could have continued being your happy little princess, with a father who loves you, a boyfriend who dotes on you, and a stable life. But they wouldn’t let me have a good life, so I won’t let them have one either.”
Xu Xingci looked up at the two men and smiled. “Now it’s perfect. No one gets to have a good life.”
The wind continued to howl.
Xu Xingci looked at the two of them, a faint smile on his lips. “Did you bring the thing I asked for?”
Qi Yihuai slowly pushed forward a case that was white on top and blue on the bottom.
Xu Xingci nodded. “Open it.”
Qi Yihuai looked down at the case, took a deep breath, and pressed the switch.
Click.
The case opened.
Inside lay a beating heart.
Bright red, it pulsed rhythmically, connected to thin tubes and submerged in a transparent liquid, glistening under the sunlight.
Xu Xingci looked at her terrified face and suddenly gave a soft laugh. That laugh sounded exceptionally eerie in the howling wind. “Don’t worry, it’s not human. But… you’ve seen it before.”
Qi Ranyue looked at him blankly. “Seen… seen it?”