Chapter 17: Swearing a Vicious Oath

"Stop talking, stop talking!"

"I didn't kill anyone, I didn't kill anyone..."

Inside the enclosed car, the air had somehow become cold and thin. Shi Yi's chest heaved violently, her lips slightly parted and already turning a faint shade of purple. She breathed with all her might:

"Please, cough, cough, cough... open the window... I'm... having trouble breathing."

Shi Heng, however, ignored her completely and sneered:

"I believe you didn't kill anyone, but the police don't believe it, the court doesn't believe it. Guess whether your beloved Wang Mama would believe it?!"

Shi Yi's heart gave a violent jolt, as if a large hand had suddenly seized it, causing her such pain she couldn't catch her breath.

"Don't tell Wang Mama!"

"Please, cough, cough, cough... don't... tell... Wang... Mama..."

"I didn't kill anyone..."

Shi Heng did not turn around. Through the rearview mirror, he saw Shi Yi clutching her chest in agony, her body beginning to tremble slightly.

"Swear a vicious oath."

He parted his thin lips and calmly spat out the three words.

"Swear... swear what..."

"Naturally, swear that you won't go to Sozali. Then I naturally won't tell your beloved Wang Mama, and we can pretend this never happened. Otherwise..."

Shi Heng suddenly raised his hand, his slender fingers hovering over the horn button on the console.

"How about we make a bet right now and see if Wang Mama is asleep yet?"

"No!"

Shi Yi squeezed the word out from her throat, her voice heart-wrenching.

"I swear, I swear! Cough, cough, cough..."

"I will not go to Sozali... cough, cough, cough... Republic... will not join... the international... cough, cough, cough... medical team..." Shi Yi said with great difficulty, gasping for air.

As she spoke, she held up three fingers in front of her chest, making the gesture of an oath.

"Otherwise, cough, cough, cough, otherwise..."

"May I die without a burial place!"

"Enough!"

Shi Heng barked sharply.

The next second, his finger fell lightly—not on the horn button, but on the switch controlling the car window.

*Whirrr—*

The glass window slowly descended. Shi Yi immediately bent over like a fish out of water, gasping for air in large gulps. As she breathed, she choked and coughed, her voice trembling uncontrollably, her expression one of extreme pain.

Through the rearview mirror, Shi Heng saw her face turn deathly pale, beads of sweat the size of beans falling incessantly. A trace of hidden reluctance stirred in his heart.

Nevertheless, he pursed his lips and said coldly:

"With a body like yours, you still want to go to Sozali? Don't dream!"

Having said that, he stepped on the accelerator, and with a "Boom—", the car drove away from the courtyard of Wang Mama's house.

After Shi Yi swore the oath, Shi Heng kept his promise and did not tell anyone in the Shi Family about the incident.

He knew that if he really told Shi Zhenyuan, Shi Yi might lose half her life.

However, after Shi Yi returned home, she began vomiting incessantly and developed a persistent low-grade fever. Shi Heng knew this was a sequela of PTSD, but for safety's sake, he still called the family doctor from last time.

The old Chinese medicine practitioner arrived at Shi Yi's bedside, shook his head helplessly as usual, and said her body was still too weak and needed a period of recuperation.

The matter of starting her job at the Shi Corporation had to be delayed until next month.

Shi Heng, however, was not in a hurry. What he worried about most was that Shi Yi had not given up and was still thinking about the Sozali Medical Team! Thus, he forcefully confiscated Shi Yi's only mobile phone.

Shi Yi did not resist; she obediently handed over the phone, her eyes like a pool of stagnant water devoid of life.

Still uneasy, Shi Heng installed many surveillance cameras in the house. When he wasn't busy with work, he would pull up the feed to see what Shi Yi was doing.

One day, while at work, Shi Heng suddenly saw Shi Yi push open the front gate and walk out.

He immediately dialed a call to Zhang Ma.

"Where did Shi Yi go?"

"Eldest Young Master, the Master has important guests coming to the house today to discuss business. The Madam said to let the Second Miss go out to avoid them."

"Coming to the house to discuss business?"

Shi Heng frowned. Nowadays, he managed all the major and minor affairs of the Shi Group, and Shi Zhenyuan had already retired behind the scenes. He didn't recall any business needing to be discussed during this period.

However, it was not his place to question his father's affairs.

So he nodded and said:

"Understood."

Outside, it had begun to drizzle at some point. Shi Yi found a tattered black umbrella in the basement and walked out of the house holding it.

Not long after leaving the Shi Residence, a few "meow" sounds came from ahead.

Immediately after, a small black stray cat walked over with cautious steps. It was limping; looking closely, one could see that one of its hind legs was broken.

Shi Yi squatted down, took a ham sausage she had prepared in advance from her pocket, broke it into small pieces, and placed it in front of the cat.

"Xiao Meiqiu, eat quickly. You must be starving..."

While holding the umbrella for it, Shi Yi gently stroked its back with her fingers. The cat was entirely black, so Shi Yi simply named it Xiao Meiqiu. Because it had a lame leg, Shi Yi always felt it was as pitiful as she was, and she would come out to feed it whenever she had the chance.

Over time, the cat was no longer afraid of Shi Yi. Whenever it saw her come out, it would actively rub against her to beg for food.

Just then, a "woo" sound of a whistle came from the road; a large truck was driving over from not far away.

The next second, "Xiao Meiqiu" shuddered violently, a look of extreme terror appearing in its green eyes, and it leaped away rapidly in the other direction.

"Xiao Meiqiu!"

Shi Yi chased after it, realizing in her heart as she ran that the cat's leg must have been crushed by a large truck, causing it to have a stress reaction to them.

The black shadow moved like lightning, reaching the center of the road in the blink of an eye.

However, the cat was limping after all and could not cross the road quickly.

Just then, a blinding light shot out; from another direction at the intersection, a black sedan suddenly drove through, caught off guard.

"Xiao Meiqiu!"

Shi Yi's pupils contracted violently. Almost instinctively, she threw away the umbrella in her hand, took a giant leap to the center of the road, and quickly scooped up the small black ball on the ground.

However, the sedan was already bearing down on them.

It was too late for Shi Yi to dodge. Her feet felt as if they were glued to the spot, unable to move. She could only hold the cat tightly in her arms, her amber eyes fixed on the direction of the car.

The next second, a shrill screech of tires sounded.

The car stopped just barely, less than half a meter away from Shi Yi.

Immediately after, the car door opened, and a tall, handsome figure hurried out, walking quickly to her side, his face full of anxiety:

"Little girl, are you alright?!" ===== CHAPTER 18 =====