“The money will still be paid—but… you’ll have to do me a favor.”

“Y-yes, just say the word.” Hearing that he was still useful, a glimmer of hope appeared on the man’s face.
Si Zuochen reached out and patted his shoulder, the corner of his lips lifting into a strange, unsettling smile.

“Bzzz… bzzz…”

The abrupt vibration startled Jiang Ran awake from her sleep.

With her eyes still closed, she reached out and grabbed the phone from the bedside table.

“Who is this?” Her voice was hoarse, thick with sleep.

“Your son is in my hands right now. Prepare five million in ransom immediately! Come to the suburban internet café for the exchange! And remember—don’t call the police!”

“And don’t try any tricks, or I’ll tear the ticket right now!” A vicious male voice came from the other end of the line.

Hearing the threat, Jiang Ran’s eyes flew open as she became fully awake.

She glanced at the caller ID.

The contact name was… Little Bastard?!

What kind of nickname was that? Jiang Ran was momentarily speechless.

Did the original owner of this body really think she’d given birth to a bastard?

“What’s the name of the person you kidnapped?” Jiang Ran asked.

There were so many scams these days—it was entirely possible the phone had been lost and picked up by someone else.

On the other end, the “kidnapper,” bruised and battered, froze and looked pleadingly at Si Zuochen.

He had staked out the place for days, but knew nothing at all about this walking calamity.

Si Zuochen shot him a look, signaling him to stall. He then took out a pen and paper and wrote down the names.

“You don’t even know your own son’s name?” the kidnapper dragged for time, shooting back with a question.

The moment Jiang Ran heard that, she was about to hang up.

Where did this genius come from?

Didn’t even bother doing the homework beforehand?

“Si Zuochen. Si Youlin.”

Jiang Ran’s finger hovering over the hang-up button paused.

Then the kidnapper continued, “One of them’s wearing a dark blue baseball jacket and a khaki cap, right?”

Si Youlin?

Jiang Ran brought the phone back to her ear. “Let the two of them speak.”

“It’s too late—they’ve already been knocked out.”

Hearing that, Jiang Ran frowned, displeasure flashing across her face.

She then quickly calculated with her fingers and confirmed that neither of them was facing any life-threatening danger. Only then did she relax.

In her impression, those two kids were no pushovers.

Coming to her for help?

If the original Jiang Ran were still here, she’d probably wish they’d died sooner.

It looked like nothing more than a small, harmless hurdle in their fate. Since it was all alarm and no danger, why call her?

Those two were both shrewd beyond their years—who knew what kind of trouble they were cooking up.

Thinking that, Jiang Ran raised her brows slightly and said flatly, “You’ve got the wrong number. I don’t know them.”

The kidnapper nearly spat blood when she said that.

What kind of situation was this?

She was just about to have them speak to confirm, and now she suddenly claimed she didn’t know them?

“You don’t know them? But the contact name on the phone is ‘Mom’!” the kidnapper blurted out in panic.

He caught Si Zuochen’s displeased expression out of the corner of his eye but pretended not to see it. At this point, nothing else mattered.

Right now, he was playing a role that still had value—but he also knew very well that if that woman didn’t come, he’d be useless.

And what awaited him next would only be another brutal beating.

Hearing his words, Jiang Ran froze.

Mom?!

How was that possible?

They didn’t even call her that out loud—yet they secretly changed the contact name?

She didn’t know whether it was true or not, but hearing that title made her heart soften just a little.

Even though she’d already divined that nothing serious would happen, they were still children after all…

“I’m coming right now! Don’t touch them!” Jiang Ran threatened, then hung up decisively.

She quickly got out of bed and began changing clothes.

Just then, the phone she had just hung up rang again, at the worst possible moment.

Jiang Ran didn’t even look at it, assuming it was the kidnapper, and picked up immediately.

“What now?” Her tone was unavoidably irritable.

Lu Ziyi, used to Jiang Ran’s gentle demeanor, was momentarily caught off guard by her tone.

“Ranran… w-what’s wrong?” Lu Ziyi’s affected voice came through the receiver.

A classic phoenix-man.

Calling so late at night—he really had no sense of propriety.

Jiang Ran let out a cold laugh inwardly, then put on an innocent, confused tone.

“Ziyi, it’s you. I thought it was those people again, rushing me to grease some palms.”

“Don’t worry,” Lu Ziyi comforted her. “That’s exactly why I called.”

“I’m raising money lately. I’ll definitely be able to help you. Don’t worry—I’m here.”

Listening to Lu Ziyi made Jiang Ran feel a wave of greasy discomfort.

She genuinely wondered if the original owner of this body had been blind to fall for a man like this.

If she hadn’t promised him benefits, he wouldn’t part with a single cent.

Like a money-eating beast—only in, never out.

Raising money? Sounded so grand—but wasn’t it just squeezing it out of her in the end?

Though disgusted inside, none of it showed in her voice.

“Mhm, Ziyi. Right now, you’re the only one I have.”

“Once I sell my stocks and the funds come through, I’ll invest in your project.”

Hearing Jiang Ran’s promise, Lu Ziyi’s face lit up with delight.

Sure enough, this stupid woman was as easy to manipulate as ever.

A few sweet words, and she was wrapped around his finger.

“Ranran, don’t worry. Once everything’s settled, I’ll take you away—leave the Si family and live the life that belongs to us.”

Lu Ziyi painted her a beautiful fantasy.

Jiang Ran let out an almost imperceptible sneer.

“Okay.”

Once you cough up all that money, let’s see if you can still say that.

On the other side, after Jiang Ran hung up, a cold smile appeared on Si Zuochen’s lips.

She actually softened her heart?

Interesting.

The phone was on speaker; everyone had heard the whole exchange.

Si Youlin couldn’t help asking, “Brother, earlier when that woman asked us to speak, why did you signal that guy to stop?”

Si Zuochen curled his lips slightly, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I won’t show weakness to her.”

That call had only been a spur-of-the-moment test.

But if he spoke, the meaning would change entirely—it would become begging her to save them.

Beg?

A dark shadow passed through Si Zuochen’s eyes. That word would never apply to him.

Her coming was unexpected—but also within reason.

After all, no matter how much she hated them, if something really happened, once the police investigated, she’d be dragged into trouble herself.

Jiang Ran and Lu Ziyi were completely out of sync. After only a few exchanges, she quickly hung up.

She grabbed her car keys and headed straight out. Just as she reached the living room, she saw the butler approaching with two people behind him.

“Madam?” The butler froze when he saw her, then asked, “You’re heading out at this hour?”

“Yes.” Jiang Ran nodded. Then, noticing the two servants behind him carrying numerous luxury shopping bags, she asked curiously, “What’s that?”

The butler followed her gaze and quickly explained, “The spring clothes you ordered have arrived. We were just about to bring them upstairs.”