Chapter 157

Chapter 157: Chu Tang Begins Her Counterattack Chu Tang furrowed her brows, staring at the text message as she sank into deep thought. The message could have been sent by Fu Yuanzhou's people, but it could also have been sent by someone with ulterior motives impersonating Fu Yuanzhou's people. She couldn't act rashly—she had to verify the source of the message before making any move. She couldn't just walk into a trap and let herself be slaughtered. When she lay back down, all traces of sleepiness had vanished. Thinking of her sister, still missing with no word of her fate, her heart felt heavy and unbearably pained. And Chen Wan's extremist fans posed a potential threat to her as well. The vicious, hate-filled expression on the bespectacled man's face as he threw sulfuric acid at her was seared into Chu Tang's mind, becoming her nightmare. Chu Tang had never experienced anything like this before. One bespectacled man—she'd gotten lucky and dodged him. But what about next time? Chen Wan had over five million followers. Open attacks were easy to dodge, but hidden arrows were hard to defend against. Chu Tang had no idea when she might face retaliation from other fans. No, she had to take measures. She couldn't let what happened yesterday happen again. Her mind churned with countless thoughts. Chu Tang's eyelids grew heavier and heavier as drowsiness set in, and she finally closed her eyes. She didn't sleep well that night—she tossed and turned, waking several times. The last time she woke was at eight in the morning, when dawn had finally broken. The first thing Chu Tang did upon opening her eyes was call a friend who was a top expert in the communications field. "Help me trace the source of this number." The number that sent the message wasn't a standard eleven-digit phone number, but a long string of digits like those from spam messages. She couldn't identify where the number came from, so she had to ask a friend for help. Her friend replied, "No problem. I'll get back to you later." "Thanks." "Don't mention it—we're friends." Soon, her friend called back. "The message was sent from within the country. The location is Jiangcheng." Jiangcheng? Could Fu Yuanzhou still have people stationed in Jiangcheng? Her friend said, "I'll send you the detailed address." "Okay." After hanging up, she received the address from her friend on WeChat. Chu Tang immediately forwarded the address to someone else, asking him to look into it. As the young miss of the Ruan family in Jiangcheng, she had access to abundant resources and connections. When she wanted to use them, she could do so freely—looking into things like this was a piece of cake. Soon, the man replied: "It's an apartment. The owner of the apartment is Chen Wan." Chu Tang's expression turned cold. It was Chen Wan. Chen Wan again! Did this woman have nothing better to do every day? Her account had been permanently banned, and a lawyer's letter had been sent to her. Why wouldn't she just stop? Last time, when she'd gone to see Gu Zechuan, Chen Wan had been there too, and she'd overheard everything Chu Tang said to him. So it wasn't surprising that Chen Wan knew about Ruan Jiaojiao's kidnapping. It seemed the account ban had hit Chen Wan hard—she was so desperate she was using Ruan Jiaojiao to threaten people. Stupid and malicious, through and through. It really was time to teach her a lesson she wouldn't forget. ... Chu Tang investigated Chen Wan's background and found her father's company—a limited liability company in the garment business with a registered capital of only five million yuan, and not even fully paid in. A small company like that—she could drive it into bankruptcy with a snap of her fingers. In the past, Chu Tang had only regarded Chen Wan as a clown and a digital pet, not worth her time or attention. But times had changed. With her sister kidnapped, Chu Tang was emotionally shattered, physically and mentally exhausted, with a taut string pulled tight all day long. At this critical moment, Chen Wan had spread rumors, incited online harassment, directed her fans to commit offline assault, and now she was even using Ruan Jiaojiao's situation to deceive her. Chu Tang had reached her limit. Bringing down the Chen family's company was too trivial a matter for Ruan Chutang to handle personally. All she needed to do was state her requirements to others—there were plenty of people willing to set up a scheme to destroy the Chen family's company in exchange for a favor from the young miss of the Ruan family. In the afternoon, Chu Tang paid a visit to the hospital. Yang Xuelian's spirits were still very low. She was in poor condition overall—pale-faced, haggard, with dark circles under her eyes. Ruan Shaodong had gone back to the company to handle work, leaving only a caregiver in the hospital room. "Tangtang, is there any news about Jiaojiao?" Yang Xuelian's eyes reddened instantly at the mention of Ruan Jiaojiao. Chu Tang shook her head silently. Yang Xuelian's tears streamed down her face in an instant. The woman sobbed quietly. Chu Tang's heart ached for her sister, and she felt terrible too. She offered a few words of comfort to Yang Xuelian, but they were of no use. "Auntie, get some rest. Don't worry or grieve too much—don't harm your own health. I'll come see you again tomorrow." With that, Chu Tang turned and left. After leaving the hospital, she made another trip to the police station. It was the same as before—Ruan Jiaojiao's kidnapping case involved too many parties, including cross-border crime, making the arrest extremely difficult. The police were doing their utmost in the pursuit and would notify her immediately if there was any progress. Chu Tang walked out of the police station in disappointment, wandering the streets in a daze. Suddenly, an image from last night's nightmare flashed into her mind. Ruan Jiaojiao tied to a chair, Fu Yuanzhou pouring gasoline over her. That was exactly the kind of thing a madman like Fu Yuanzhou would do. Thinking about Ruan Jiaojiao's current situation, Chu Tang instinctively shuddered, her face turning pale as she dared not think further. Just then, a woman by the roadside suddenly rushed up and pointed at her, cursing loudly. "Shameless! How desperate are you to steal someone else's boyfriend? Didn't your parents teach you to have any morals?" "With a face like a seductive vixen, you're nothing but a cheap slut who likes to seduce men!" Chu Tang was instantly furious, her gaze cutting like a blade as she swept it over. "Another brainless fan of Chen Wan? Whatever she says, you just believe it. I'm curious how someone with a pig brain like yours has managed to survive this long." Hearing Ruan Chutang curse at her like that, the woman grew even more agitated and shouted, "Bitch! A bastard born without a mother to raise you—fuck your mother!" "Smack—" Before she could finish her words, Ruan Chutang swung her palm and slapped her hard across the face. The woman was stunned. She never expected that this frail-looking woman before her, who seemed too weak to even truss a chicken, would dare to strike her—someone who weighed a hundred and sixty pounds and looked strong and sturdy. Ruan Chutang's eyes were bloodshot, flames of rage blazing within them, radiating murderous intent. "Say one more word about my mother, and I'll destroy you!" Her gaze was too terrifying. The woman who had been cursing moments ago instantly cowered. In Ruan Chutang's eyes, she clearly saw fury and killing intent. She had a feeling that if she uttered another curse involving her mother, this woman before her would definitely kill her... The brainless fan of Chen Wan trembled in fear all over, not daring to risk her life. The brainless fan turned to run but was suddenly blocked by two men in black. Ruan Chutang's gaze was sharp as a knife, her face dark and grim, as if the very air around her was steeped in chill. One of the bodyguards kicked the brainless fan's knee, and the woman dropped to the ground with a "thud." "Apologize." Ruan Chutang's pitch-black eyes gleamed with a piercing light.