Chapter 166

Chapter 166: Xu Jingxuan Captured (1) Lin Man also saw Ruan Chutang, surprise flashing in the woman's eyes. "Isn't this Lawyer Ruan? What a coincidence." Ruan Chutang smiled and said, "I was taking a walk in the park just now when I heard a child crying, so I went over to check. What a coincidence—so you're Tian Tian's mother." "Did Lawyer Ruan bring my Tian Tian here?" Lin Man's eyes were filled with gratitude. "Thank you so much." Chu Tang smiled and said, "You're welcome, it was no trouble at all." "Tian Tian, say thank you to Sister Chutang." Lin Man said to her daughter Gu Tian with a smile. Gu Tian looked at Ruan Chutang with her clear, bright, big eyes and said crisply, "Thank you, Sister Chutang." "Tian Tian is such a good girl." Chu Tang bent down and patted Gu Tian's head, her eyes curving into a smile. Lin Man held Gu Tian's hand and said, "Lawyer Ruan, I'm so grateful to you today. How about I treat you to dinner tonight?" "No need." A faint smile hung on Chu Tang's lips. "What's wrong, Lawyer Ruan? Are you busy tonight?" Lin Man was very enthusiastic. "Tomorrow works too. When would be a good time for you?" Chu Tang waved her hand and said, "Really, there's no need." Lin Man kept insisting, and it was hard to refuse such warm hospitality. After declining several times, Chu Tang really couldn't bear to refuse again, so she said, "Well... alright then. I have something to do tonight, so how about next Saturday evening?" "Great." Lin Man said with a beaming smile. "Then it's settled." ... Country A. Xu Jingxuan walked along the road, feeling like someone was following her. She turned back several times, and no one looked particularly suspicious, yet she couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary either. Xu Jingxuan's heart was racing with fear, and her palms were sweating cold. Three nights ago. She had met Gu Zechuan at the suburban villa. Not long after Gu Zechuan left, the bodyguard discovered a listening device hidden under the leaves of a potted plant in the villa's living room. Knowing that her identity had been exposed, Xu Jingxuan immediately contacted Fu Yuanzhou and fled to Country A overnight. After fleeing the country, she naturally cut ties with the Jiang family. Now that she was at odds with them, she could no longer seek their protection, nor could she keep the bodyguards they had previously assigned to her. Fortunately, there had been a foolish personal bodyguard by her side who had feelings for her. She had long seen through his intentions, and on the day she fled, she brought that bodyguard along. "A Peng, I feel like someone is following us." Xu Jingxuan said quietly to the bodyguard beside her. "Miss, don't be afraid. No matter what happens, I will protect you with my life." A Peng was tall and burly—one meter eighty-five in height, with a body of solid muscle. Before leaving the country, Xu Jingxuan had felt very safe with him by her side. But things were different now. She had fled to Country A, Jiang Shixu had people searching for her, and Fu Yuanzhou was so busy dealing with his own mess that he had no time to look after her. "A Peng, even you might not be able to protect me if the Jiang family sends people." Xu Jingxuan got into the car, her heart filled with unease. She urged the bodyguard driving in the front seat, "Hurry and drive back to the villa. We shouldn't go out for a while. The Jiang family might have already tracked down my whereabouts." The white sedan had barely driven a short distance before it was rammed to a stop by a black pickup truck. A Peng drew his gun. "Miss, get down!" The moment he finished speaking, gunshots rang out. Xu Jingxuan was so frightened her legs went weak. She lay crouched in the car, trembling all over. Was she going to die here today? The sound of gunfire rose and fell in succession. Several holes were shot through the car windows, and the smell of blood filled the air. Xu Jingxuan shouted in terror, "A Peng, are you hurt?" "Miss, there are too many of them. We might not make it out today." A Peng said with difficulty, clutching the wound on his arm. Xu Jingxuan's face turned pale in an instant. "Is it the Jiang family? Are they trying to kill me?" As she spoke, someone had already stepped forward and violently smashed through the front windshield. "Miss, I'll hold them off—run!" A Peng shouted, charging out to fight the group. Another round of gunfire rang out. Xu Jingxuan opened the car door, kicked off her high heels, and began sprinting desperately. The men Jiang Shixu had sent this time were all mercenaries who had been stationed abroad for years, each one highly skilled. Although A Peng was a well-trained bodyguard with excellent combat skills, he stood no chance against this group. A Peng was quickly subdued. He had been shot twice—once in the thigh and once in the left arm—with blood pooling on the ground. The leader said, "Take him to get patched up. Don't kill him." Before long, a blonde mercenary from Country A walked over, dragging Xu Jingxuan along. "We've got her." Xu Jingxuan kicked her legs wildly, struggling fiercely and cursing, "Let me go! You bastards, let me go!" "Slap—" The leader delivered a ruthless slap without hesitation. Xu Jingxuan's lip immediately split, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and a large red mark spread across her cheek. "Shut up! Make another sound and I'll rip out your tongue!" The leader's voice was low, but his presence was imposing, and his words carried a brutal menace. Xu Jingxuan was stunned by the slap and terrified by his words. She obediently shut her mouth and dared not struggle any longer. They hadn't killed her, which meant Jiang Shixu wasn't ready to have her killed just yet—their task was probably just to capture her. They bound Xu Jingxuan, sealed her mouth with tape, then stuffed her into a black canvas bag and roughly tossed her onto a pickup truck. The truck jolted along the road. After what felt like an eternity, it finally came to a stop. She felt herself being lifted again, carried for a stretch, and then thrown down violently once more. The floor was sheet metal. The moment she hit the ground, Xu Jingxuan felt like every bone in her body was about to shatter. With a heavy thud, she landed on her backside, the pain driving cold sweat out of her. Her mouth was taped shut, so she couldn't speak. The terror gripping her heart made her tremble uncontrollably. Footsteps approached. The sound of a zipper being pulled came from above her head. The bag was yanked open. Xu Jingxuan's hair was a mess, her eyes wild with fear, and muffled whimpers escaped her throat—she looked utterly terrified. "The boss told me to let you out—didn't want you suffocating in there and making it hard for me to explain to the big man when we get back." The man grinned with a roguish leer, his gaze crawling over Xu Jingxuan with lust. "Not bad looking, I'll give you that. Too bad I can't touch you yet, or I'd fuck you senseless!" Xu Jingxuan's face went pale, her whole body shaking with fear. After the man left, Xu Jingxuan listened to the sound of waves and caught a glimpse of seawater through the small ventilation window. Only then did she realize she was on a ship. The vessel pitched and rolled, making her dizzy and nauseous. She'd never been on a boat like this before—seasickness hit her hard, and she vomited everywhere. No one came to clean it up. The stench of vomit lingered in the sealed space, and soon she herself reeked of it. A-Xu, do you really hate me this much? You had me brought back and dumped on a ship like this. Do you truly have no feelings left for me at all? Xu Jingxuan curled up in the corner, arms wrapped around her knees. The more she thought, the more miserable she felt, and tears began to fall unbidden. At night, the door was opened, and something was tossed in. "Cover up with that—don't freeze to death!" After the man threw the item in, the door was shut again.