Chapter 97 Chapter 97 Humble as a Dog

Outside the intensive care unit, Sun Laoer had never seen Zhao Jingqun in such a state - stubble quickly grew all over his chin, dark circles under his eyes, and the flesh on his cheeks was sunken because he had not slept for a whole day and night. The air of ease he once had was gone, and his 1.9-meter height collapsed like a mountain.

It looked like his soul had been sucked out of him, leaving only a shell standing there. Only the pair of empty and bloodshot eyes on his face proved that he was still alive.

Sun Lao Er had no doubt that if he received any more bad news about Tao Ning, this once-indomitable man would completely collapse. He even had the terrifying thought that if Tao Ning died, Zhao Jingqun would definitely commit suicide for love.

Frightened by the thought, Sun Lao Er was also overwhelmed by a deep sense of guilt. He hurriedly choked out his words and said, "Brother Zhao, go back and rest. Your condition is too bad. Xu Jun was beaten like that. He will need to be in the ICU for a while. And even if he wakes up... maybe..."

Perhaps there will be no clues related to Tao Ning's whereabouts.

But these words are too cruel to Zhao Jingqun now.

Sun Laoer recalled that after he told Zhao Jingqun about this incident that day, he quickly calmed down and then called the police at an extremely fast speed. He himself could not leave Haizhou because he was still under police surveillance.

After calling the police, Zhao Jingqun began to call Zhao Yi, but no matter how many times he called, the other party would hang up. At the very end, there was even a provocative message: [What are you in such a hurry for?]

Veins bulged on his forehead, and Zhao Jingqun's eyes burned bloodshot. It took all his willpower to avoid falling into the trap. If he showed any anxiety or concern for Tao Ning, Zhao Yi, with his vengeful nature, would not let this kidnapping and ransom situation go unpunished.

He hated himself! He hated his own incompetence! He hated himself for being useless! He hated himself for not protecting Tao Ning!

If something happens to Tao Ning... No, nothing will ever happen to Tao Ning.

Zhao Jingqun's breathing began to tremble, but from the outside, he looked very calm, as if he was just dealing with a difficult matter. But only he knew that if there was any more trouble, he would be unable to bear it.

This slight disturbance led to Xu Jun being admitted to the intensive care unit. The doctor explained, "The patient has multiple fractures, ruptured and bleeding vital organs like his liver and spleen, and a sharp abdominal wound. He is currently experiencing hemorrhagic shock. Fortunately, he was brought to the hospital promptly. However, after surgery, he faces significant risks of infection and other serious risks, requiring close observation in the intensive care unit."

This news made Zhao Jingqun's eyes go dark... What about his baby? What about Tao Ning? What's going on with her now?

He is going crazy.

Fear and worry turned into painful torture. Zhao Jingqun did not sleep for a day and a night. All his men went out to find Tao Ning's whereabouts, and some people were searching everywhere for Zhao Yi.

"Brother Zhao! The young lady sent a message. She has been in contact with Zhao Yi recently..." At this moment, Sun Laoer saw the message on the mobile phone. He was delighted and quickly showed the message interface to Zhao Jingqun.

The next moment, Zhao Jingqun snatched the phone away and called without hesitation. The moment the call was connected, Zhao Jingqun asked directly, "Where is Zhao Yi?"

"...Brother Jingqun?" The person on the other side seemed frightened by Zhao Jingqun's cold questioning.

Forcing himself to calm down, Zhao Jingqun took a deep breath. He had no feelings for his biological sister to begin with, and his usual friendly demeanor was just an act in front of the Zhao family. Now that Tao Ning's life was at stake, he had no mood to pretend anymore.

"I'll ask again, where is Zhao Yi? Tell his mother to get out here!" At the end, Zhao Jingqun almost growled.

"What's your attitude? Sui Sui..." Another voice suddenly appeared on the other end of the line, but was quickly interrupted by Zhao Jingsui, with a slightly unstable tone, "I'm fine, you go out first."

Zhao Jingqun narrowed his eyes.

After a while, Zhao Jingsui's gentle voice continued, "Brother, what happened? It's just that some time ago, Brother Zhao Yi asked me where you were and wanted to have dinner with you, so I told him you were in Haizhou...Brother, did you have a fight?"

She gently advised, "We are a family. Although there will inevitably be friction when we get along, it cannot change the bond between us by blood. In the future, we brothers and sisters must rely on our family to support each other. Brother Jingqun, you and Brother Zhaoyi are both my brothers. Seeing you quarreling, I feel very uncomfortable. How about we have a meal together some other day..."

"Enough, I'm not in the mood to listen to your acting now." Zhao Jingqun became impatient and interrupted her directly.

After returning to the Zhao family, Zhao Jingqun only spent a day or two with Zhao Jingsui before she knew what kind of personality her biological sister had. It was obvious they were siblings, both wicked to the core. However, due to Zhao's parents' reputation and the kinship Zhao Jingsui had mentioned, Zhao Jingqun didn't expose her like she had exposed Zhao Yi.

But this doesn't mean that he would still be in the mood to act with her when his precious life force was gone.

Obviously, Zhao Jingqun didn't expect this kind of reaction. There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while, and then he choked up and said, "I don't know where Brother Zhao Yi is..."

The hope that had ignited in his heart was instantly extinguished. Zhao Jingqun's face turned pale. He was about to hang up the phone when the other party suddenly paused and pretended to be frightened and said, "Brother...Brother! Brother Zhao Yi sent me a text message...Ah!!"

She screamed, as if she saw something extremely terrifying.

"What did I send you?!" Zhao Jingqun's fingers tightened around the phone, and he growled, "...Tell me!"

Zhao Jingsui burst into tears and was almost speechless: "It's...it's related to Tao Ning..."

This sentence made Zhao Jingqun's head spin. If Sun Laoer hadn't supported him in time, he would have fallen to the ground. After a long time, Zhao Jingqun clicked on the photo with shaking hands.

The person in the photo was tied to a cold iron chair, his upper body soaked in blood, even trickling down his left wristwatch, the once glittering dial now obscured by the glaring blood. And his most cherished child, with its head hanging low, its neck exposed like a dying swan, its life or death unknown.

A desperate wail like a wild beast came from his throat, and Zhao Jingqun spat out a mouthful of blood due to anger.

*

"I don't care what your relationship with that jerk is. Do what I say right now. If you try to play any tricks, I'll make sure you don't see the sun tomorrow."

After Zhao Jingsui's ambiguous phone call, Zhao Yi completely lost his patience. He also had a vague feeling that things were not going well and wanted a quick resolution. He impatiently dialed Zhao Jingqun's number and put it to Tao Ning's ear.

The phone rang for only a second before it was connected.

Tao Ning didn't say anything at first, until the harsh voice on the other end of the phone broke the silence, "...Tao Ning, is that you?"

As soon as this familiar voice sounded, the pain and grievance that she had been suppressing for many days washed over Tao Ning like a tide. She quickly lowered her head, not wanting Zhao Yi to see her red eyes. Tao Ning tried hard to swallow the fear that was creeping into her throat and pretended to be calm in her response:

"......Um."

After hearing only one syllable, the other end of the phone fell into a long silence. No one knew what Zhao Jingqun was thinking at this moment, and no one could understand his mood at this moment.

Just when Zhao Yi was about to lose his patience, the other party asked, "Zhao Yi, tell me...what do you want?"

With just one sentence, Zhao Yi knew he'd won the bet. If it weren't for the wrong timing, he'd have burst out laughing. Hahahahahahaha! This arrogant piece of trash actually fell in love with a man! He actually loves someone! And because this man was so humble as to beg him like a dog!

Funny! So funny!!

Zhao Yi couldn't help but laugh out loud, his calculating face filled with mockery and amusement. "His life is in my hands now, Zhao Jingqun. What do you think I want? If I'm not satisfied with the exchange, your life will be gone. Master Zhao, you need to think this through."

"...Zhao Yi, I remember never opposing you at home. Why do you hate me so much?"

Zhao Yi gnashed his teeth at the mention of this. He remembered being compared to Zhao Jingqun for years, and the voices that had been suppressing and mocking him, both openly and covertly, emerged before his eyes. He immediately shouted angrily, "You're no different from those old, dog-eyed, contemptuous people! It's all because of you that my status has plummeted. Those company projects and the position of power were originally mine! You don't deserve it and you have no right to take them away!"

"Grandpa, my parents care about you very much. They would be so sad if they knew you had come to this point." Zhao Jingqun's voice was flat.

However, these words completely aroused Zhao Yi's anger.

"fart!"

Zhao Yi cursed, "They're just as hypocritical as trash like you! I'm obviously better than you at everything. I've been to prestigious universities and have an excellent resume. I've done everything they asked me to do, and I've done it brilliantly. I even took a knife for that old man... But ever since you came back, everything has changed. They look down on my birth and my parents, constantly comparing me to you, thinking my over a decade of hard work can't compare to your four short years. But how is that even possible?! Besides being born better, how else can you compare to me?"

"So the Zhao family's company and the position of the person in charge originally belonged to me!" Zhao Yi said excitedly, "I'm just taking back what belongs to me from you. You're not worthy enough for me to hate you..."

There was silence on the other end of the phone until Zhao Yi finished speaking. After a moment, the voice on the other end seemed a little apologetic, "I didn't know you thought this way. If you had told me earlier, maybe we could sit down and work it out."

Zhao Yi sneered, "It's too late, there's no room for negotiation on this matter." After saying that, he looked at Tao Ning coldly, indicating that he should do as he had said before.

Zhao Jingqun didn't seem like the type to talk to him about this. Unless... Tao Ning lowered her eyes and said, "I forgot."

"You...!" Zhao Yi instantly overturned his previous idea that this person was quite smart. He looked at him with disdain and was about to speak again. But at this moment, someone stumbled in and said in horror: "Boss! Something happened to the boss!"

"The police are here! We, we are surrounded..."

"What did you say?!" Zhao Yi finally realized what was happening. Damn it! That scumbag was stalling for time! But he hadn't revealed the news to anyone. How did Zhao Jingqun find this place?

Could it be that bitch Zhao Jingsui who said that? No, impossible! She doesn't know the location either...

And at this time on the other side.

Under He Niannian's tantrum and coquettish offensive, Zhao Jingsui gave in and took He Niannian out of the hotel to stroll on the street, but he repeatedly reminded her not to leave his sight during this period.

"Sui Sui, have you been feeling unwell lately? You stopped buying bags and clothes with me, and you're always staying at home. Now that you finally come out, you're acting so mysterious again..."

Amid the bustling crowd, He Niannian pouted, looking very dissatisfied, with her hands on her hips, questioning the absent-minded Zhao Jingsui.

"Really?" Zhao Jingsui came back to his senses.

She was simply calculating the time in her mind. It had been a while since she'd sent the confusing photos and the incorrect location to Zhao Jingqun. If nothing unexpected had happened, her people should have started taking action by now. But she still felt a sense of unease in her heart, and Zhao Jingqun always trusted her sixth sense.

"Sorry, Niannian, I have something to do, please wait for me for a moment." Zhao Jingsui comforted He Niannian. In order to ensure the progress of the plan, she decided to keep an eye on it.

Zhao Jingqun opened his phone and happened to open his eyes slightly at this moment, because his subordinates sent him several text messages in succession:

[Miss, for some reason, Zhao Jingqun didn't take the bait.]

[Something terrible is happening! Zhao Jingqun and the police have surrounded Zhao Yi...]

[Miss, what should we do?]

…

Zhao Jingsui was startled, cold sweat forming on her temples. Why was this happening? From what she knew of Zhao Jingqun, whenever anything related to Tao Ning came up, he would become a blinded fool, unable to resist the temptation.

The face that was a mixture of coldness and tenderness turned ugly in an instant, but after only a few seconds, Zhao Jingsui calmed down and thought about where she had been exposed. But it didn't matter, even if the matter was traced back to her, she could put all the blame on Zhao Yi.

As long as Zhao Yi dies...

Zhao Jingsui's eyes flashed with viciousness, and his neatly manicured hands quickly typed out a line of words: [Immediately destroy all information about me, then smash the phone. Afterwards, I will visit your family and your two children.]

After sending the message, Zhao Jingsui regained her gentle expression and turned off the screen. But when she looked up, she found that the girl who had just stood in front of her and chattered was gone! All that was left was the crowded crowd and the incessant sound of car horns.

“Niannian?…Niannian, where are you?—He Niannian?!”

Zhao Jingsui's heart instantly sank to the bottom, and she finally showed a panic expression on her face. She started shouting everywhere without caring about her image. People around her looked at the long-haired girl in surprise. Some people wanted to take the opportunity to approach her and chat, but she almost slapped them in the face.

"Get lost." Zhao Jingsui was tall and showed no signs of gentleness when he wasn't smiling. His almond-shaped eyes gave people a cold and chilling feeling as if he was being stared at by a poisonous snake.

The man who was trying to strike up a conversation shrank his neck and left cursing.

In order to ensure the smooth execution of the murder plan, Zhao Jingsui sent all his men to encircle Zhao Jingqun, so she had no bodyguards around her. If He Niannian fell into the wrong hands, Zhao Jingsui couldn't imagine what would happen...

A full ten minutes passed before his panicked heart finally calmed down. Oh, right, the phone! That idiot never lets go of his phone! Zhao Jingsui quickly opened his address book and called the person marked "stupid."

After a while, the call was connected. Zhao Jingsui could no longer suppress his anger and yelled at her for the first time: "Where have you been? Do you know how dangerous it is outside? You..."

"Second Miss, it's me."

The voice from the other side interrupted her.