Almost as soon as they finished their call with Pei Yuan, Pei Sen and the others immediately pulled Tang Ning up from the ground and continued their journey towards Yun City with her.
It was still that dilapidated van, filled with the smells of sweat, smoke, and cheap leather.
Tang Ning had just been pushed in when she saw Xia Yang, dressed smartly, being brought in to sit with her in the back seat.
As soon as she sat in the car and smelled the odor inside, Xia Yang's brows furrowed tightly, her disgust evident in her eyes. However, she was forced to endure the situation because she had completely broken ties with Pei Sen. She could neither advance nor retreat.
When their eyes met, she gritted her teeth in anger and embarrassment, "What are you looking at?"
"I didn't see anything."
Tang Ning shifted her gaze without changing her expression.
She really hadn't seen anything, and besides, Xia Yang wasn't particularly attractive to her. She simply couldn't understand what kind of mindset the other woman had always been exposed to. She was clearly a top student at Qingda University, a first-class university in China, and she'd heard her entrance score was quite high. Add to that a beautiful face, and she just couldn't understand why this woman always pinned her hopes on men—from the rich second-generation who offered her the opportunity to study abroad during her university years, to Han Jun, and then to Pei Sen.
As it turned out, they were all unreliable.
Is what a man gives you really more appealing than what you earn yourself?
Maybe...
After all, if she hadn't come along, Xia Yang and Han Jun would have had a happy ending in the story. But given Han Jun's personality, the original owner of the body who had suffered and struggled with him for ten years and loved him to the core could be discarded like trash. If it were Xia Yang, who had humiliated and abandoned him in the past, could they really grow old together?
It can only be said that Pei Yuan acted too quickly. Before the two could even settle into a mess, he swiftly and decisively drove them to a dead end, leaving them trapped in a quagmire of despair for the rest of their lives.
On the other side, even though Tang Ning had said she hadn't seen anything, Xia Yang still didn't look away. Her eyes were fixed on Tang Ning's profile, as if trying to find something in her eyes, but nothing. No matter how long she looked, she found nothing.
There was no mockery, no ridicule, no contempt, nothing at all.
But it shouldn't be like this. If it weren't for her, Tang Ning probably wouldn't have ended up in such a dangerous situation. When she saw her being rejected and humiliated, shouldn't she at least show a smug and triumphant expression?
But no, Xia Yang's gaze almost pierced through Tang Ning, yet she saw nothing at all.
This realization made Xia Yang almost laugh. The lover she cherished was disgusting and repulsed by her, while the enemy she hated so much showed no intention of taking advantage of her misfortune.
She felt that Xia Yang was a joke, a complete joke.
The woman lowered her eyes slightly, a fleeting hint of self-mockery flashing across them.
Xia Yang didn't know how long she had been sitting quietly, but she slowly moved towards Tang Ning.
Noticing her movement, Tang Ning subconsciously turned her head to look over, but because the other person's head was always lowered, Tang Ning couldn't see her expression at all.
But the next second, Tang Ning felt the other person's hand suddenly reach behind her. Her eyes sharpened, and she looked down to meet Xia Yang's gaze as Xia Yang raised her head at the same time.
Feeling the knots binding their wrists being slowly rubbed by a sharp weapon that Xia Yang had hidden in her sleeve, neither of them spoke.
After about five minutes of struggling, Tang Ning could feel that the knot in her hand had become so weak that she could easily break it with a little effort. Xia Yang finally stopped and quietly sat back down in her original spot.
Aside from the noisy chatter of the American people, there was nothing else in the van.
Tang Ning subconsciously turned her head to look at Xia Yang beside her, but still couldn't figure out what she was thinking. Why would she suddenly do something like this? Was it to get revenge on Pei Sen, or... a sudden pang of conscience?
Tang Ning narrowed her eyes slightly, and then heard a small gasp from 54088 floating beside her.
Following its exclamation, Tang Ning took the opportunity to open the system's favorability interface.
Su Mo's current favorability rating: 99.
Because she had just witnessed Xia Yang being kidnapped, then drugged, and then the appearance of Pei Yuan's obviously scumbag younger brother, Pei Sen, and his fascinating conversation with Pei Yuan, Tang Ning had no time to pay attention to the changes in the system's favorability rating.
Only then did she realize that about an hour ago, Su Mo's favorability rating for her had jumped to 99.
This made Tang Ning raise an eyebrow in her mind.
How should I put it?
Unexpected, yet reasonable.
After all, she had deliberately driven past Su Mo, who was coming out of the market to buy groceries, and Tang Ning had seen it all clearly in the rearview mirror, including the boy chasing after her.
You asked her why she had to walk right past Su Mo for no reason.
What's so great about it?
The truth is, during the few days she spent learning to make cakes at that private dessert studio, she had already noticed that two different groups of people were watching her. The first group was naturally Pei Yuan, but he later withdrew his people. As soon as his people left, a group of poorly trained trackers naturally followed behind Tang Ning.
So clumsy that sometimes Tang Ning had to learn from Pei Yuan and pretend to be completely blind in order to ignore the abruptness behind her.
On the day she picked up the cake, she had barely left the studio when she noticed that Xia Yang had joined the little tail following her.
Her appearance made Tang Ning realize immediately that these people had finally lost their temper.
Tang Ning then thought of going to show her face in front of Su Mo.
Just when Tang Ning thought something had happened to her, given Su Mo's current level of favorability, he would at least jump out to make his presence known, and Tang Ning could take the opportunity to finish off his last bit of favorability.
Surprisingly, Su Mo never appeared throughout the entire process. Even more interestingly, despite his absence, his popularity rating still increased significantly.
“54088…”
"Tangbao, what's wrong?"
Upon hearing Tang Ning's call, the little system immediately responded.
"Can you find out what happened to Su Mo an hour ago, when I was kidnapped?"
"Of course you can."
As soon as 54088 finished speaking, scenes immediately appeared before Tang Ning's eyes—
Standing in the alley across the street, Su Mo was still carrying the groceries he had specially bought for Su Ya, and his expression became visibly anxious.
Because Tang Ning and Xia Yang had been talking for far too long, no one in the world knew Xia Yang better than him. From childhood to adulthood, she had never told a single truth.
She had already broken ties with Tang Ning long ago, yet she sat in front of Tang Ning with a smile, clearly indicating that her intentions were impure.
No, he couldn't let Tang Ning continue talking to her like this, even if it would make Tang Ning dislike him. He accepted it.
With that thought in mind, Su Mo decided to cross the street without hesitation.
He had barely made a move when the situation in the coffee shop changed; Xia Yang left first.
Did she really just come over to talk to Tang Ning?
Su Mo didn't believe it!
He and Xia Yang have always been the same kind of people. They always have their own purpose in doing things and would never do something as pointless as chatting with people they don't like.
Xia Yang definitely has her own agenda.
For some reason, Su Mo was just so sure!
Sure enough, as soon as Xia Yang stepped out of the store, she smiled and subconsciously glanced back at the coffee shop behind her.
Less than a minute later, Tang Ning ran out with a brand new Hermes bag that was completely out of her taste. As soon as she saw that Xia Yangren had already walked to the alley entrance on the side, she immediately chased after her.
In an instant, Su Mo realized that this was definitely a trap, a trap set for Tang Ning.
Unfortunately, the entrance to Wanwen Shopping Mall was bustling with people, and he and Tang Ning were quite far apart. Even if he shouted to remind her, Tang Ning might not be able to hear him.
Su Mo's eyes widened in panic, and he was about to rush across the street.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, a group of men in black leather jackets blocked the alley entrance from both sides. The leader took off his sunglasses and spat on the wall.
Upon seeing the person's face clearly, Su Mo's pupils dilated sharply.
Wang Li!
How could he... how could he be here?
"What's wrong, Su Mo? Seeing your brother Li, you don't seem very happy. Your expression is making your brother Li a little unhappy, isn't it? Before, your brother Li took pity on you and lent you so much money to spend, but then you disappeared. After a year and a half, you still have this expression when we meet again. Do you look down on your brother Li? Hmm?"
The man in the leather jacket and sunglasses had a cold and ruthless smile.
Just as they were talking, Tang Ning, who was not far away, arrived at the alley that Xia Yang had just entered. Then, Su Mo, who was standing directly opposite, saw several people rush out, cover Xia Yang's mouth, and shove her into a van parked on the side of the road.
Even after witnessing such a thing, Tang Ning still carefully walked forward while making a phone call.
This made Su Mo's heart jump instantly.
"don't want……"
Staring intently at the alley opposite, Su Mo immediately shouted without regard for anything else.
This is a trap, an absolute trap.
The old swindler had taught him this trick before. Xia Yang is absolutely fine. Xia Yang is definitely in cahoots with those people. The only person they've been scheming against from beginning to end is Tang Ning. Don't go over there, don't go over there!
But being so far away, Tang Ning couldn't hear his voice at all.
Su Mo panicked and, completely ignoring Li Ge and the others blocking his way, rushed forward.
"Hey hey hey..."
As soon as they rushed to Li Ge's side, these people immediately grabbed his arms.
Feeling their restraint, Su Mo's eyes reddened with anxiety, but she still softened her voice and pleaded, "Brother Li, I beg you, I beg you, I have something very important to do right now, really, I'm not lying to you, I really have something to do, please..."
"Is something really wrong?"
Li Ge smiled and patted Su Mo's cheek. "I seem to remember someone telling me before that they had an emergency, a life-or-death emergency, and had to leave, and then they completely disappeared. Do you want me to help you remember? Hmm?"
At that moment, two people silently followed Tang Ning from behind in the alley across the street. One of them even took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and got closer and closer to Tang Ning...
Su Mo's eyes were bloodshot with rage.
"Tang Ning! Tang Ning! Be careful..."
Before Su Mo could even finish speaking, his mouth was covered by someone ordered by Li Ge, whose expression suddenly changed, and he was forced to the ground, his face contorted in pain.
Then he saw the person behind Tang Ning reach out and cover Tang Ning's mouth and nose. The woman struggled violently, but the struggles became weaker and weaker. After a while, her hand went limp and the phone she was holding fell to the ground...
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
"Help... Tang Ning!"
Su Mo's tears fell instantly, and he began to struggle frantically. For a moment, the men holding him down, including Brother Li, were unable to hold him back, and he managed to break free for a brief moment. However, he could not run more than two steps before he was once again pushed to the ground by the people behind him.
But his actions immediately enraged Brother Li. The lawless man didn't care that he was in a busy shopping mall entrance and immediately ordered his men to attack him.
A barrage of punches and kicks rained down on Su Mo.
The boy's eyes remained fixed on Tang Ning, who had been stealthily hoisted up opposite him, and he desperately tried to crawl forward.
Unfortunately, as soon as he realized his intention, Brother Li immediately ordered his men to drag him back. Su Mo gripped the wall tightly with his fingers, blood flowing down between his fingers, but he couldn't stop them from dragging him back.
Just then, amidst the punches and kicks, he managed to move to Li Ge's side, grabbed the man's jeans leg with such force that his knuckles turned slightly white, and began to plead incoherently.
"Brother Li... I beg you, please, she's going to be taken away, she's going to be taken away! I... I beg you, let me go save her, save her... I was wrong, it was all my fault..."
But his actions suddenly amused Li Ge, who was standing to the side, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Su Mo's pleading voices mixed with Li Ge's loud laughter made everything seem so ironic.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Mo was about to run into the alley across the street, but unexpectedly he was tripped by Wang Li and the others and fell heavily to the ground. The next second, a dirty black leather shoe stepped on his back and rubbed it hard.
"Still trying to run?"
At this moment, Su Mo stared blankly at the empty alley, his eyes filled with despair and death.
Is this retribution?
It's karma!
This is retribution for deceiving so many people.
That's why he had to watch helplessly as his beloved was kidnapped, not knowing what kind of treatment she would suffer, not knowing if there was any chance... for her to come back...
But it was clearly his fault, so why wasn't the punishment directed at him, but at Tang Ning?
Why?
What did she do wrong?
What did she do wrong?!
The worst thing she ever did was save that ungrateful, shameless ingrate!
Tang Ning...
It was at this moment that Brother Li spoke up again, "Kid, let me teach you a lesson today. What goes around comes around..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ge, who had been standing with his foot on Su Mo's back, beckoned to the person next to him. A baseball bat was quickly handed to him, pointed at Su Mo's right arm, and a smirk appeared on his face, his eyes hardening...
"ah!!!!!!!"
A scream echoed throughout the alley.
Seeing that people around them had been drawn by the guy's voice, Li Ge and the others turned around without hesitation and fled from the other end of the alley.
Su Mo was left lying on the ground, his face almost transparently pale, his body convulsing from the excruciating pain. Large beads of sweat slowly rolled down his forehead, but his gradually dimming eyes remained fixed on the direction of the alley across the street until they slowly closed...
Tang... Ning...
Author's Note:
The next story, "The Young Marshal's Dark Moonlight," features three potential love interests: the sickly, wheelchair-bound tycoon Xu Sinian; the ruthless and cunning young marshal Lu Chen; and the innocent and righteous Taoist priest Yu Ming, who has just descended from the mountain and is easily teased. Tang Ning, on the other hand, is a charming and alluring songstress from a fictional Republic of China era.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com