Reborn in the 1990s, I want my husband to live to be a hundred.

Chapter 193 Midnight Horror

Back home, Deng Xiuzhen could no longer maintain her composure. She collapsed onto the bed, her hands and feet, which had been bound for so long, swollen and bruised, and she was in excruciating pain.

Recalling Li Zhigang's words, she felt a wave of fear. She shouldn't have thought that way, that they only wanted money and that if she obeyed and cooperated, they would release her after getting the money.

Don't they realize that people capable of kidnapping are unlikely to be kind, have no moral compass, no integrity, and certainly no compassion?

Besides, even kidnappers who initially only wanted money might change their minds depending on the circumstances!

I was so naive as to not even think of a way to escape!

If it weren't for Tian Guoqiang's shrewdness, he would probably be a corpse by now, or even chopped up and put into a pressure cooker.

Deng Xiuzhen became more and more frightened the more she thought about it.

The thought of not hearing from Qin Yanlin at all left her mind in turmoil. The possibility that something might have happened to Qin Yanlin made her feel as if she were being torn apart by a knife.

Feeling as if her head was about to explode and her whole body was burning hot, she struggled to get up and took the fever reducer and anti-inflammatory medicine prescribed by the doctor.

I finally drifted off to sleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever that had subsided, but my hands and feet were still sore, though less so than before, and my mind was much clearer.

I feel more comfortable now, and my stomach is starting to feel hungry.

Deng Xiuzhen got up, went to the kitchen and cooked some noodles. After eating, she felt much better.

Noticing a strange odor on herself, Deng Xiuzhen boiled water and took a bath, then put her clothes in the washing machine to wash before preparing to go back to bed.

A series of knocks sounded at the door, startling Deng Xiuzhen so much that her heart almost stopped beating.

She held her breath and strained her ears to listen.

The sound disappeared, and Deng Xiuzhen breathed a sigh of relief. She quietly walked towards the bedside.

The knocking sounded again.

Deng Xiuzhen took off her slippers, walked barefoot to the bedside, picked up her phone, and hid under the bed to check the surveillance footage.

In the surveillance footage, a burly man stood at the doorway with his arms bare. Due to the angle, his face was not clearly visible, but the eagle tattooed on his arm looked particularly sharp and eerie under the dim hallway light.

Deng Xiuzhen was so frightened that her heart was pounding wildly.

She wanted to call for help, but shouting or making a phone call might provoke the other person. Deng Xiuzhen thought for a moment, then, with trembling hands, sent Tian Guoqiang a message: "I'm at home, and a bad guy is at my door. Please come and save me immediately!!!"

She knew that Tian Guoqiang was most likely asleep at this hour and might not see the text message.

However, with this text message sent, even if danger strikes and her call is interrupted, the other party will know what happened.

After the text message was successfully sent, Deng Xiuzhen checked the surveillance footage again.

The man continued knocking on the door, but with significantly increased force, almost like pounding on it.

The sound of pounding on the door actually reassured Deng Xiuzhen somewhat. This person was probably not a criminal; most likely, they were either mentally challenged or mentally unstable.

Only someone like that would knock on someone else's door in the middle of the night, and so loudly.

Deng Xiuzhen huddled under the bed, neither coming out nor making a sound.

She dared not go out, because she could see from the surveillance footage that the man was getting more and more agitated as he knocked, and if this continued, he might break down the door at any moment.

She hesitated whether to call Tian Guoqiang. Because of the incident with Zhang Bin and Cai Bang, she was still traumatized and hesitant to call the police.

Just then, she saw on the security camera that people were coming towards her door, and there were more than one or two of them. Upon closer inspection, she realized that they were people from her neighboring houses.

Deng Xiuzhen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here?" the newcomer asked the tattooed man.

"What am I supposed to do? What can I do? This family has been making a racket in the house since 2 a.m. Listen, it's still going on! How am I supposed to get some sleep if they keep making this noise?" the man shouted back.

Around 2 AM? A noise?

Hearing the sound of the washing machine, Deng Xiuzhen understood what was going on.

She quickly crawled out from under the bed and turned off the washing machine. She thought she should go and apologize to the other person.

But the man wouldn't listen to reason and continued to wave his fists in a fit of rage.

Deng Xiuzhen dared not take the risk; one could not confront a person in such a rage directly.

Even if you want to apologize, you should wait until the other person is calmer and apologize in front of a crowd.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going back to sleep?" A petite woman walked over and patted the man's arm as she asked.

"I'll be right back, I'll be right back." The man's expression changed instantly, and he said in a low voice with a fawning smile.

Her voice was incredibly gentle, and her demeanor was incredibly considerate.

Those nearby were covered in goosebumps.

Deng Xiuzhen remembered; she had seen the woman before. She was a tenant who had moved in a few days ago, living next door and right next to the bathroom, where the washing machine was located…

Finally, everyone outside the door left.

Deng Xiuzhen took out her phone and sent another text message to Tian Guoqiang, telling him not to come, that it was a misunderstanding and had been resolved.

"Tap tap tap, tap tap tap," I was typing when there was another knock on the door. This time, however, the knocking wasn't very loud.

Deng Xiuzhen's heart skipped a beat. She stopped sending the text message and quickly checked the surveillance footage.

It was Tian Guoqiang who knocked on the door.

Deng Xiuzhen quickly got up to open the door.

"What happened?" Tian Guoqiang asked, his eyes scanning Deng Xiuzhen and the room.

"I'm sorry, it was a misunderstanding. I was just sending you a text message to explain, but I hadn't finished typing it when you arrived." Deng Xiuzhen recounted what had just happened.

"You'll have to explain this misunderstanding to someone tomorrow," Tian Guoqiang said with a smile.

"Yes, we'll go apologize to them tomorrow. But I just thought of something, would you like to hear it?" With Tian Guoqiang around, Deng Xiuzhen felt very at ease.

"What is it? Go ahead and say it, but keep your voice down, or someone will be knocking on the door again soon." Tian Guoqiang still had a smile on his face.

After a moment's thought, Deng Xiuzhen said, "When I hid under the bed just now, I suddenly thought of a case."

There was a man who disguised himself as an old woman. He took advantage of people's kindness and sympathy for the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, luring them to his home and locking them in his cellar.

In that case, only young women and little girls were arrested; no men were arrested.

"That old woman didn't seem to be faking it; she was a real old woman. But if she had accomplices and was just acting as bait, then it all makes sense."

But Qin Yanlin is a man, why are they arresting a man? Tian Guoqiang's eyebrows furrowed together.

Deng Xiuzhen remained silent. She knew that Tian Guoqiang was deep in thought, and it was best not to interrupt him in this situation.

A series of gurgling sounds broke through Tian Guoqiang's train of thought.

He smiled awkwardly and said, "It's okay, it'll be dawn soon. I'll go have breakfast after I finish talking."