Chapter 257 Rescue

Xia Mian glanced at the unconscious thug, raised her head, and turned to her left as if by telepathy.

On the left, Zhou Pingchuan was surrounded by dozens of mercenaries, who were walking briskly towards him.

Their eyes met in mid-air, and for some reason, Zhou Pingchuan suddenly froze in place, staring at him with a dazed look.

After watching for a full half minute, Zhou Pingchuan resumed his movements. He walked faster and faster, and perhaps finding the cane in the way, he simply threw the ever-present antler staff aside.

In the last dozen or so meters, he even started running. Without the balance of his cane, he stumbled and staggered, like a reckless teenager, only knowing to run towards the person he longed for day and night, regardless of status or the opinions of everyone in the world.

At the finish line, he stumbled and almost fell on Xia Mian. Xia Mian tried to catch him, but her hands were tied and she couldn't move.

Zhou Pingchuan struggled to stand firm and pulled Xia Mian into a tight embrace, as if he wanted to press him into his own bones and blood. Xia Mian's back ached from the tight embrace.

"Mianmian, I love you."

Xia Mian's eyes widened slightly. He thought Zhou Pingchuan would ask him if he was injured or scared, but he didn't expect him to say something so abrupt.

But those words brought a bitter taste to his mouth: "I love you too."

Hearing Xia Mian's response, Zhou Pingchuan finally felt at ease. He hugged her for another two minutes before letting go and carefully looking her up and down.

His clothes were wrinkled, and his face and hair were dusty, but there were no obvious injuries or signs of abuse.

This was all thanks to Zhou Pingchuan. The kidnappers knew Zhou Pingchuan's methods, and since taking Xia Mian to prison, they had been racing against time to implement their "plan," so they dared not waste time on torture.

"Brother Chuan," Xia Mian whispered, "could you help me untie the ropes first?"

Zhou Pingchuan glanced at him, took out a dagger from his pocket, and used his backhand to untie the knot and pull off the rope.

Xia Mian could sense Zhou Pingchuan's tension, so she tried to ease the tension with a joke: "I brought the daggers, so I'm planning to fight them hand-to-hand."

Zhou Pingchuan replied, "Before kidnapping you, they bought a large amount of gasoline in different places. I guess they wanted to start a fire. They didn't bring a gun, only a dagger. If the fire wasn't on when I arrived, I could avoid an explosion caused by using firearms. If the fire was already on when I arrived, I could use it to end my own life."

His tone was very flat.

Xia Mian listened with a heart full of bitterness.

"What are you doing... Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged men are plentiful. If I'm not around, you can find someone else and be just as happy."

Zhou Pingchuan's face instantly darkened: "Not here? Where are you going?"

"...I didn't go anywhere, I just said it casually, don't take it seriously."

Zhou Pingchuan focused on untying the ropes and didn't reply. Xia Mian cooperated obsequiously. Only after his arms were freed did Xia Mian realize that his hands had been trembling the whole time.

Facing death for the first time in his life, it was impossible not to be afraid. Only adrenaline kept him going, allowing him to suppress his fear and calmly stall for time.

Xia Mian shook her arm, wincing in pain. Just then, Zhou Pingchuan suddenly said, "If you have even the slightest thought of leaving, I'll have a birdcage custom-made and lock you inside."

Xia Mian was still joking: "The three happiest things for a middle-aged person are getting promoted, making money, and losing their wife. You should be happy, right?"

I'm unhappy. There's only one you in the world.

There is only one Xia Mian in the world, and Zhou Pingchuan cannot love anyone but Xia Mian.

Zhou Pingchuan was naturally aloof and rarely said anything like a confession, not even in bed. Now, with his repeated displays of "true feelings," how could Xia Mian possibly resist?

"Okay, okay," he held up two fingers, "I'll stay in your cage forever, for all eternity, for all lifetimes, okay?"

Zhou Pingchuan finally showed a slight smile.

The ropes binding her legs were also untied. With Zhou Pingchuan's help, Xia Mian got up and tried to move her ankles to regain the ability to walk freely.

Only then did they remember that Zhou Ting was still standing there.

Zhou Pingchuan followed suit, using his dagger to untie the knots on Zhou Ting's body: "Thanks."

If Zhou Ting hadn't contacted Zhou Pingchuan after receiving Liu Er's call, Zhou Pingchuan wouldn't have been able to install the tracking device in the necklace, let alone locate Xia Mian's position so quickly.

Zhou Ting deserves credit for rescuing Xia Mian unharmed and is worthy of this thanks.

Zhou Ting's expression was complicated: "Third Uncle... I don't know if I can still call you that. No need to thank me, it's all what I should do. Take good care of Xia Mian and yourself, I'll be going now."

The phrase "I'm leaving first" is filled with resentment and regret. But what can resentment do? What can regret do?

Third Uncle is right, he really can't compare to anyone else.

Therefore, after learning that Xia Mian was in danger, he weighed his options carefully and decided to contact Zhou Pingchuan. The moment he dialed the number, he knew he was destined to fail and be eliminated in the struggle for Xia Mian.

Fortunately, it had a good ending.

Losing to my third uncle is still an honorable defeat.

After speaking, Zhou Ting turned around, intending to leave the scene. Zhou Pingchuan watched his retreating figure and said, "A-Ting, I will always be your third uncle."

The tense relationship between uncle and nephew was finally resolved when Zhou Ting was eliminated.

Zhou Ting paused for a moment, but without turning around, he waved to them with his back turned and left the unfinished building with light steps, returning to the dust.

Let's return to his story.

In this story, Xia Mian is like a butterfly, fluttering past him. He chased after her all the way, stumbling, getting lost, and bumping into innocent passersby.

Although he ultimately failed to catch up, he felt quite lucky to have witnessed the beauty of the butterfly.

He willingly returned to where he started.

Watching Zhou Ting walk further and further away, Xia Mian breathed a sigh of relief. He had always felt guilty for causing the uncle and nephew to become enemies, and it was the best outcome that Zhou Ting had come to his senses.

This was not a place to stay for long. Not knowing if the kidnappers had set up any other traps, Zhou Pingchuan took off his coat and wrapped it around Xia Mian, intending to return to China first.

"Jack, these three men on the ground are yours," Zhou Pingchuan instructed the mercenary leader.

"Yes, sir, how should we handle this?"

Zhou Pingchuan said coldly, "Gasoline can't be bought for nothing."

That means... to give them a taste of their own medicine, to burn them alive with the gasoline they bought! Xia Mian quickly stopped her, saying, "Brother Chuan, wait!"

Zhou Pingchuan disagreed: "These three people cannot be kept."

“They’re capable of kidnapping and murder, those three deserve to die. I’m not a saint, I’m not pleading for them. I asked you to wait because these three are useful,” Xia Mian frowned. “There must be someone behind them, someone who knows about my past with Zhou Ting, knows about Zhou Ting…”

“Xia Mingzhao,” Zhou Pingchuan said calmly, “that person is Xia Mingzhao.”