Chapter 174 - 170: Good-for-nothing x Innocent Little Tyrant 9

Chapter 174: Chapter 170: Good-for-nothing x Innocent Little Tyrant 9

"How did you move out of the Ji family’s house so easily?"

Jiang Yao and Ji Xiaosong walked side by side, and he asked, feigning casualness.

"I thought you’d wait a bit longer before wanting to move out. I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly."

Ji Xiaosong didn’t seem to notice anything unusual about his question and just answered earnestly, "The Ji Family has their hands full right now, so no one will realize I’ve already run away. By the time they react, I might not have been able to escape that hellhole."

"So... was it your doing, the Ji Family members getting beaten up for no reason?"

Jiang Yao found it hard to believe. Although the girl before him had found the courage to leave the Ji family, he doubted she could have beaten up its members so quietly all on her own.

"Of course not. I don’t have that kind of ability. Since you know something happened to the Ji family, you must have your own sources. It shouldn’t be hard for you to find out who was really behind it."

"Speaking of which, while I have many sources, I actually don’t know who targeted the Ji family. Given the way they treat people, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone was just messing with them. After all, they’ve offended too many people."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the apartment Jiang Yao had arranged for Ji Xiaosong.

After registering Ji Xiaosong’s fingerprint and iris scan, he pushed open the bronze door, revealing a foyer with a hand-painted mural of a dawn sky.

"This luxury flat isn’t huge, only a little over three hundred square meters, but it’s more than enough for you to live in alone."

"Um... Jiang Yao, I was hoping I could bring my mother to live here with me. She’s about to be discharged from the hospital, and if Ji Fu gets his hands on her, she’ll become my weakness. I don’t want to be manipulated by anyone. Since I’ve already left the Ji family, there’s no reason to go back."

"That’s even better. I’ve heard a little about Ms. Shen’s past. If she lives with you, you’ll be able to look after each other. I’m lending you this place, so arrange it however you like. I won’t make any demands. As long as you don’t break the law, anything is fine."

Jiang Yao gave Ji Xiaosong a tour of the apartment before he left.

Watching his retreating figure, Ji Xiaosong breathed a sigh of relief.

’An apartment with a monthly rent of over a hundred thousand, and Jiang Yao just lent it to me like that. I really need to work harder to make money in the future.’

Inside the Ji family mansion, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

The moment Ji Fu learned that Ji Xiaosong had disappeared from the confinement room, his eyes flew wide, veins bulged on his forehead, and his face contorted with fury.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

His roars echoed through the spacious hall, the sound so loud it made everyone’s eardrums ache.

The bodyguards, standing in a row, all had their heads bowed, not daring to even breathe.

Ji Fu rushed up to the bodyguard at the front, grabbed him by the collar, and hauled him up. "Speak! How did Ji Xiaosong escape? What the hell do I pay you for?"

The bodyguard’s legs went weak, and he stammered, "Ch-Chairman, we really don’t know. We were guarding the door the whole time and didn’t see anyone go in or out."

"All of you, on your knees!"

Ji Fu roared. The rest of the bodyguards dropped to their knees with a THUD, and the only sound left in the hall was Ji Fu’s heavy, ragged breathing.

"What’s the use of keeping you people around? You let a girl locked in the confinement room get away!"

He paced back and forth, each step so heavy it seemed he was trying to stomp a hole in the floor.

When he was tired of shouting, Ji Fu finally remembered the security cameras.

He immediately ordered someone to pull up all the surveillance footage while he sat on the sofa, his eyes glued to the screen as if trying to burn a hole through it with his gaze.

The footage played frame by frame. From the moment Ji Xiaosong was locked in the confinement room, everything appeared normal.

The bodyguards stood guard at the door, and nothing out of the ordinary occurred.

But when the video reached the time of Ji Xiaosong’s disappearance, the screen suddenly filled with static. After a moment of interference, the picture returned to normal, but the confinement room was empty.

"What the hell is this?"

Ji Fu shot to his feet and roared again, "How could the surveillance be down? Did you useless bastards mess with it on purpose?"

The security staff in charge of the cameras turned pale with fright. "Ch-Chairman, we really don’t know. The surveillance was running normally, and then the interference just suddenly appeared."

Ji Fu kicked over the coffee table in front of him. "Find her! Tear this whole estate apart if you have to, but find Ji Xiaosong! And find out who’s pulling the strings behind the scenes. Whoever dares to touch a member of my Ji family, I will never let them go!"

With that, he collapsed onto the sofa, his eyes filled with indignation and rage. He could never have imagined that Ji Xiaosong, whom he had always kept so firmly under his thumb, could escape right under his nose so cleanly and without a trace.

Just as Ji Fu was at his wit’s end over Ji Xiaosong’s escape and unleashing his fury on his subordinates, Assistant Li rushed into the Ji family mansion.

Her expression was panicked, fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and her hurried steps nearly caused her to slip on the smooth marble floor.

"Chairman!"

Assistant Li came to a stop, panting heavily as she spoke.

Ji Fu glanced up at her impatiently and snapped, "What is it now? Can’t you see I’m busy?"

Assistant Li swallowed and said cautiously, "Chairman, Ji Xiaosong participated in a singing competition a few days ago. She’s even a trending topic online."

Ji Fu’s already grim face instantly turned uglier. He shot up from the sofa, his eyes wide with fury, and bellowed, "What did you say? She had the nerve to enter a singing competition?"

Assistant Li nodded quickly, fumbling to pull out her phone, open the trending topics page, and hand it to Ji Fu.

Ji Fu snatched the phone. Seeing the image of a radiant Ji Xiaosong on stage, he felt the blood rush to his head and nearly smashed the device.

"That insolent girl!"

He cursed through clenched teeth, "She’s gotten bold, openly defying me!"

Assistant Li quietly reminded him from the side, "Chairman, judging by the time of the competition, she must have signed up before she escaped."

Ji Fu shot her a vicious glare. "You think I need you to tell me that? How did I raise such a disobedient daughter!"

He paced back and forth on the spot, his mind racing.

’Since Ji Xiaosong is able to generate buzz online, it means a lot of people are paying attention to her now.’

’It won’t be so easy to drag her back quietly.’

But Ji Fu couldn’t swallow this insult. He absolutely could not tolerate Ji Xiaosong escaping his control.

"Contact the media! Have them take down all the news about Ji Xiaosong!"

Ji Fu ordered Assistant Li. "And put more men on finding her. I don’t care where she’s hiding, you will find her!"

Assistant Li nodded hastily in agreement, not daring to show the slightest hesitation, and turned to hurry away and carry out his orders.

Ji Fu sat back down on the sofa, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He stared out at the empty hall, his heart filled with rage and resentment.

This daughter, whom he had always seen as a puppet to be manipulated at will, was now like a bird that had broken free from its cage, leaving him with an unprecedented sense of defeat.