At this moment, Madam Tang and a group of noblewomen were in the mall when they bumped into a bunch of reporters. Faced with the reporters’ questions, Madam Tang only smiled politely and pretended to be gentle. She said, “Ruge is a gentle and kind child. She doesn’t want to make everyone unhappy over a small matter. I hope you won’t have any ill intentions to ruin the relationship between her and her friend.

“Actually… Sigh! Forget it.”

The noblewomen beside Madam Tang said helplessly, “It’s only because Ruge isn’t willing to bicker that we—”

“Don’t say anymore. It’s all in the past now. Our Ruge doesn’t care about the zither either. She’ll come across other musical instruments that she likes.” Madam Tang smiled gently and continued speaking to the reporters, “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Ruge doesn’t even care, so don’t make a fuss.”

However, the more Madam Tang spoke like this, the more people thought that Qiao Xi had deliberately snatched Tang Ruge’s things. Meanwhile, the eldest daughter of the Tang family had a good temper and was unwilling to make things too ugly with her friend. Hence, she could only swallow her anger.

After this interview, the news that Qiao Xi had bought the Guqin immediately broke out on the internet. Then, someone revealed that Qiao Xi had rushed to the charity banquet early to snatch the award gift that should have belonged to Tang Ruge because she was jealous of Tang Ruge. Weibo instantly exploded.

[So that’s the truth! Qiao Xi clearly knew that the ancient zither belonged to Miss Fu Sheng, yet she still insisted on buying it. She’s too scheming!]

[Miss Fu Sheng is so pitiful! She treats Qiao Xi as a friend, but Qiao Xi doesn’t treat her as a friend! It’s fine that Qiao Xi doesn’t have the ability, but she even played these small tricks behind Miss Fu Sheng’s back. How shameless!]

[Miss Fu Sheng is loyal to her, yet she actually did such a thing?]

[Madam Wenlai said that if she can’t give the ancient zither to Miss Fu Sheng, she’ll regret it for the rest of her life. However, a certain someone who can’t stand seeing others do well just had to interfere!]

The netizens stood up to express their opinions, while the Tang family and Planet Music Festival’s officials did not retort. They just let public opinion ferment as if they had already tacitly agreed to all the allegations.

At this moment, Qiao Xi was looking at the news on the internet coldly. It was unknown if Tang Ruge was deliberately stirring up trouble or if she had hired fake commenters. These people on the internet were using the excuse of protecting Fu Sheng to scold her indiscriminately.

The corners of Qiao Xi’s mouth curled up slightly as she dressed up and left. There were still six hours before the award ceremony began, and the sun had just risen. She had just left Longwan Residential when she heard footsteps behind her.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer. A few men rushed over and captured her. One of them held a handkerchief that had been soaked in chloroform and pressed it to her nose. In a few seconds, her entire body went limp. Then, the few of them quickly carried her to the truck.

“I thought I would have to wait a few days to kidnap this woman. I didn’t expect to get her so easily.”

“Ease it. This woman is very delicate. If she gets hurt, we won’t be able to get a good price for her!”

“She’s living in such a big villa. This woman is no ordinary person! If we really sell her to such a place, she’ll definitely die!”

“She’ll accept her fate after being beaten a few times. Hurry up and drive. Don’t let anyone find out. Let’s quickly deal with this woman to avoid any trouble.”

…

At this moment, Qiao Xi slowly opened her eyes in the truck. Her gaze was cold, and she did not seem to have fainted in the slightest. She quickly untied the rope around her wrists, then indifferently sized up the truck.

The truck was not big, and there was a faint smell of blood. It seemed that this was not the first time they had done such a thing. Previously, the Tang family had also used this truck to commit human trafficking.

The truck door was tightly shut, and it was dark before her eyes. Qiao Xi could only grope around as she moved forward. Suddenly, a strange movement came from behind her. Qiao Xi turned around vigilantly and raised her hand to slap the man. Unexpectedly, her wrist was grabbed by someone, and her body swayed before she fell into a warm and familiar embrace

The man’s voice was low and magnetic. There was a refreshing fragrance of tea in his breath as he whispered in her ear, “Xi Xi, it’s me.”

Hot air sprayed onto Qiao Xi’s neck, causing her entire body to tremble. It was clearly dark before her eyes, yet she seemed to be able to see the other party’s face clearly.

“Ah Zheng, why are you here?” Qiao Xi was surprised.

She had long guessed that Tang Ruge would attack her. Coincidentally, Second Brother was investigating the Tang family’s human trafficking activity, so she suggested being the bait to help Second Brother destroy the Tang family.