FOBTS CH66

Chapter 66: Actually… Really Like Him?

Ten minutes earlier, Song Ruochen had just gotten into this black car.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, signaling a new message.

[Jian Yuheng]: What’s wrong?

[Song Ruochen]: bj

[Jian Yuheng]: Marking? Now?

[Song Ruochen]: …Kidnapping.

[Jian Yuheng]: ??? Location.

[Song Ruochen]: [Location]

The car was moving, making escape inconvenient. Here we go.

Song Ruochen pulled out his second “rewind voucher” and shouted the command: “Nothing can stop me! Ding-dang!”

Yan Ci: “?”

Meng Yumian: “?”

Song Ruochen: “…”

He lowered his head in embarrassment, noticing a line of fine print on the rewind voucher—

Cooldown time: 30 minutes.

Song Ruochen: “Uh…”

Had Brother Hawthorn felt this awkward back then?

I’ve tasted the bitterness you’ve tasted.

“Secretary Song? Ding-dang?” Yan Ci asked, eyes wide.

“Ding-dang… cat,” Song Ruochen said. “Right, I was talking about Doraemon. Secretary Song is as versatile as Doraemon.”

Oh no, he’d picked up Jian Yuheng’s knack for nonsense.

Meng Yumian nodded in realization.

Song Ruochen lowered his head to reply.

[Song Ruochen]: System’s on leave, prop restricted, I can’t rewind.

[Song Ruochen]: License plate xxxx.

[Song Ruochen]: [Location sharing enabled]

He glanced at the dashboard; the car was moving fast. Jumping out would likely leave him bruised and battered.

[Song Ruochen]: Six minutes left, Fuzzy-Zao-Grape will pass out.

[Jian Yuheng]: Already contacted my people, starting the pursuit.

[Song Ruochen]: Two cars are following us, I’ll send you their plates.

[Song Ruochen]: Never seen the driver, I’ll sneak a photo for you.

Song Ruochen typed at lightning speed.

[Song Ruochen]: Friend A, do you think I could grab the wheel, do a dragon’s tail swing, knock out the two kidnapper cars, and speed all the way to Xiaoshi?

If this were the original book’s Secretary Song, maybe he could pull off such a hardcore stunt.

But Song Ruochen—

[Jian Yuheng]: Da Zao and Fuzzy Monster doesn’t deserve this. Your driving skills are more lethal than the kidnappers.

In the midst of this tense kidnapping plot, Song Ruochen couldn’t help but laugh.

[Jian Yuheng]: Don’t panic. Being able to message me means Little Grape is already doing great.

[Song Ruochen]: ^ ^

[Jian Yuheng]: Don’t mess around on the highway. I’ll be there soon.

Song Ruochen began mentally reciting the original book with emotion.

In the book, Yan Zao and Fuzzy Monster Meng were kidnapped separately—one from the locker room after a match, the other after an art exhibition.

Both were people the kidnappers deemed important to Jian Feng. So why kidnap him?

Wasn’t kidnapping him a bit of a waste of resources?

Still, going along wasn’t bad. Since this was an inevitable plot point, he’d fast-track it instead of parachuting from a plane later.

“Driver, sir,” Song Ruochen said, canceling his theme park tickets.

The driver’s grip on the wheel tightened.

He wasn’t afraid of Song Ruochen causing trouble. Besides the knockout spray, they had backup outside.

“Got a blanket?” Song Ruochen asked.

Driver: “…”

Song Ruochen propped up a pillow, wrapped himself in a blanket, and upgraded his kidnapping sleep quality.

A scented mist filled the car. Yan Ci and Meng Yumian closed their eyes one after the other.

“Madam, Young Master Meng,” Song Ruochen said half-heartedly, “what’s wrong with you?”

“Stop the car,” Song Ruochen said lazily. “Madam, wake up quick—oh, my head, why am I so dizzy too?”

After delivering his lines, Song Ruochen tilted his head and “passed out.”

“Hey?” A voice crackled through the driver’s walkie-talkie. “They out?”

“They’re out,” the driver said. “But I feel insulted.”

“You’re a kidnapper now; don’t have such a strong sense of pride,” the voice replied. “As long as they’re out, head to the rendezvous point and take them to the mountains.”

“Got it.” The driver glanced at the rearview mirror.

All three were sleeping so peacefully. Was this normal?

—

At the top floor of Xiaoshi Group, a helicopter painted with a marriage certificate design was slowly taking off.

Jian Feng sat in the back, his expression deadly serious.

“Second Young Master,” Assistant Gong said, “Secretary Song’s phone signal is gone. The kidnappers switched cars.”

“The police and my people are on their way,” Jian Yuheng said. “By tomorrow at the latest, we’ll pinpoint their location.”

“Any more questions, brother?” Jian Yuheng asked.

“Do we have to take this helicopter?” Jian Feng asked.

Jian Yuheng: “.”

It was just a way to earn some coins for Grape, just in case.

“Secretary Song’s impressive,” said Assistant Gong, piloting the chopper. “He figured out they were kidnappers just minutes after getting in.”

“Tell our people to hurry,” Jian Yuheng said.

He and Jian Feng had both been kidnapped plenty as kids. As a crude tactic in business wars, it rarely endangered lives—kidnappers usually negotiated. But he didn’t want Song Ruochen to suffer even the slightest grievance.

“Yan Ci,” Jian Feng clenched his fist, “wait for me.”

—

In the mountains, inside an iron cage in an abandoned factory, Yan Ci and Meng Yumian had been awake for a while.

Song Ruochen: “Zzzzz.”

“Kidnapper brother,” Yan Ci raised a hand, “did you give him a different drug than us?”

“Nonsense, I treat everyone equally,” the kidnapper said.

“Then why hasn’t he woken up?” Yan Ci asked, worried.

Early rising ruins the day. Song Ruochen was simply sleeping in, out like a light. When someone shook him awake, he opened his eyes to see metal bars.

Song Ruochen: “?”

Song Ruochen: “So I’m really just cheap cage labor.”

Kidnapper: “…”

Yan Ci: “0.0. Little Grape, you’re awake!”

Fully rested, Song Ruochen sat up lazily. “What time is it?”

“Chenchen, we’ve been kidnapped!” Meng Yumian said. “Our park tickets are going to expire.”

“I canceled them,” Song Ruochen said.

Meng Yumian: “Oh, then it’s fine.”

“Just lie down,” Song Ruochen said. “Young Master One and Two will come save us.”

“Really?” Yan Ci asked.

“Yup,” Song Ruochen said. “I told Second Young Master.”

Yan Ci: “0.0*”

“I just asked—they’re from the Hungry Salary Organization,” Meng Yumian said. “Hired to kidnap us, probably to extort something.”

“You two are high-status, so it makes sense to kidnap you,” Song Ruochen mused. “But why me?”

At the factory entrance, the kidnappers were also debating.

“Kidnapping the president’s wife and childhood friend, I get,” Kidnapper A said. “But the president’s secretary? What’s the point?”

“This isn’t just any secretary,” Kidnapper B said. “The client said he’s Xiaoshi’s main artery.”

“That impressive?” Kidnapper C said. “All I see is he’s pretty. Really good-looking, a refined, aloof omega.”

The aloof omega was currently being interrogated by B and O.

“How far have you and Little Brother gotten?” Yan Ci asked.

“Just… you know, like that,” Song Ruochen replied.

When did Da Zao get so chill? Was this remote place really the spot for this conversation?

“Didn’t you go on a date?” Meng Yumian asked. “How many times has he kissed you?”

Song Ruochen: “Just… once or twice.”

“Where?” Yan Ci asked.

“Lips and… cheeks,” Song Ruochen said. “Stop asking! Look at the situation!”

“A 100% match rate, wow,” Yan Ci said. “Secretary Song’s so innocent.”

Song Ruochen: “…”

“Not really,” Song Ruochen said. “He showed me the three uses of alpha pheromones.”

“And you?” Meng Yumian asked.

“I don’t know if I like him,” Song Ruochen said. “Sometimes I want to be close to him, as close as possible. Second Young Master said it’s the effect of a temporary mark, to let it happen naturally.”

Why did these two have so many questions? They were making him blush.

“If it’s your first bite, a temporary mark wears off in a week,” Yan Ci said. “It’s been way longer for you two.”

Song Ruochen: “…”

Two weeks.

“It’s not the mark,” Yan Ci said. “Little Grape, you’re drawn to him as a person, not his pheromones.”

Song Ruochen: “!!!”

What?

So his recent urges to touch and be touched by him weren’t caused by the temporary mark?

Those little, fleeting actions suddenly lost their grand excuse, making his head spin.

Wait—if he, an outsider, didn’t know, how could Jian Yuheng not know?

Why give him a convenient excuse to get close and cuddle?

If the excuse didn’t hold… did that mean he actually… really liked Jian Yuheng?

“I’m hungry,” Meng Yumian said.

A whiff of food drifted from outside the factory. The kidnappers were eating.

“Someone come here,” Song Ruochen said.

Kidnapper: “?”

A kidnapper approached. “What’s up?”

“Bring four portions of food,” Song Ruochen said. “Our madam’s hungry.”

“…Hostages don’t get food,” the kidnapper said. “The client didn’t pay for your meals.”

“If I’m not mistaken, we’re not the kind of hostages who get killed,” Song Ruochen said. “You need us to trade with Xiaoshi, right?”

“Secretary Song, don’t play smart with me,” the kidnapper said, tapping the iron cage with his gun, looking menacing. “The client only said to keep you alive, not to send you back in one piece.”

Yan Ci: “0.0.”

“Three seconds from now, a bat will fly into the old factory,” Song Ruochen suddenly said. “3, 2, 1.”

A bat’s wings, catching the light of the setting sun, fluttered over the kidnapper’s head.

Kidnapper: “?”

“Five seconds from now, your phone will ring,” Song Ruochen said. “5… 3, 2, 1.”

The kidnapper’s phone rang.

“It’s a debt collector,” Song Ruochen said. “You owe 240,000.”

The kidnapper hesitated, then answered the call, his face turning pale.

“Twenty seconds from now, you’ll hear your friend scream,” Song Ruochen said. “Countdown…”

The kidnapper nervously looked outside. Sure enough, a scream came from outdoors: “Ow, my tooth!”

The kidnapper looked at Song Ruochen like he was a ghost.

“M-Master,” Kidnapper A stammered, “can you predict the future?”

Song Ruochen: “.”

Predict what? I memorized it from before the rewind, just messing with you.

Also, I threw a rewind idiot into your colleague’s bowl, turning cooked rice back to raw grains.

“I was an emperor a thousand years ago,” Song Ruochen said. “In this life, I awakened at Xiaoshi Group as a secretary. I can foresee all things and change fate. The end is near—follow me, and I’ll make you rise to greatness.”

Kidnapper A’s mouth fell open.

“Now, go get me four bowls of rice,” Song Ruochen said.

“Yes, sir.” Kidnapper A scurried off.

Yan Ci: “?”

“Little Grape, how’d you get him to obey?” Meng Yumian asked, shocked.

“Tricked him,” Song Ruochen said. “He’s a kidnapper—how smart can he be?”

“Secretary Song handles things, and I’m totally at ease,” Meng Yumian said.

Soon, four bowls of rice were brought up under the puzzled gazes of Kidnappers B, C, and D.

“There’s only three of them,” Kidnapper B said. “Why four bowls?”

Song Ruochen: “0.o?”

I’m eating two bowls. Got a problem?

“Let him eat,” Kidnapper A said. “If he starves, how can we extort Xiaoshi?”

“Starve? No way,” Kidnapper C said. “We left them snacks. They’ve been munching all afternoon, even tossing out melon seed shells. We didn’t give dinner because we were worried they’d overeat.”

“Stop arguing,” Kidnapper D said. “How did Xiaoshi track us down so fast? We planned to wait a couple of days. Since they’re here, it’s time to contact Xiaoshi. Demand a video call. The client wants money first, but only one person gets released. Next step, they’ll raise higher demands. Let President Jian choose—his precious wife or his precious childhood friend.”

At a suburban campsite, Jian Feng paced anxiously.

“Nanchi, Guaiwei, Kuwei—these are the companies with grudges against Xiaoshi,” Jian Feng said. “We can’t confirm who’s behind it yet, so we can only negotiate with the kidnappers.”

Jian Feng: “Brother, aren’t you worried?”

Jian Yuheng was plenty worried, but Song Ruochen had rewound once, using the command “Ding, play a bit, dang.”

If Song Ruochen still had the mood to play…

“Doesn’t matter who it is. Kidnap the bosses of Nanchi, Guaiwei, and Kuwei,” Jian Yuheng said. “Make their companies help find Song Ruochen.”

“Yes, sir!” Assistant Gong said. “They’ll learn the cost of crossing Second Young Master.”

Jian Feng: “…”

Jian Feng: “Brother, are you the villain?”

“Second Young Master,” Assistant Gong said, “there’s a video call coming in, from the president’s wife.”

Jian Yuheng: “Answer it.”

The video call connected.

Jian Yuheng immediately spotted Song Ruochen in the frame, holding a rice bowl, with Yan Ci and Meng Yumian beside him.

“Second Young Master, good evening,” Song Ruochen said. “How are you?”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

“Prepare 1 million in ransom,” Song Ruochen said. “Deliver it to the designated address.”

Song Ruochen turned: “Anything to add, everyone?”

Kidnappers: “…”

That’s our line.

“This time, only one person can be released,” Kidnapper B roared. “President Jian of Xiaoshi, who do you choose—your darling wife or your childhood friend?”

Song Ruochen: “?”

Oh no, the original book’s plot was kicking in.

He didn’t want to run around the world looking for Yan Ci or Mao Monster.

“Choose Mianmian,” Yan Ci said firmly. “Let Mianmian go first. Secretary Song can stay with me through this.”

“Dream on, Da Zao,” Meng Yumian countered, pitching himself. “Choose Yan Ci. Fragile omega, can’t handle the stress—take him quick. I can hold out, with Secretary Song by my side.”

Yan Ci: “You’re the sickly beta, get out first.”

Meng Yumian raised a fist.

Song Ruochen: “…”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

__

Author’s Note:

Kidnapper B: scratches head.jpg. Did the client not do their homework? Wasn’t this supposed to put President Jian in a dilemma?

Kidnapper A: ! With so many followers, he really is an emperor!