Chapter 53

Chapter 53 (New) Jiang Shixu's Pursuer Jiang Shixu chased after her, but was blocked by a man who appeared out of nowhere. The man collided head-on with Jiang Shixu, splashing red wine all over him. Jiang Shixu had no time to care about that, his expression tense as he tried to chase after her. But the man stood in his way, apologizing profusely: "I'm so sorry, Mr. Jiang, I didn't mean to. How about I take your clothes to the dry cleaner for you?" "It's fine." Jiang Shixu stepped to the side, trying to go around the man. But the man simultaneously stepped to the right as well, "Mr. Jiang, I truly apologize, please don't hold this against me." Jiang Shixu was furious and barked, "Get out of my way!" The man touched his nose and stepped aside. Jiang Shixu chased to the elevator entrance and saw the constantly changing numbers above. His heart sank to the bottom. The elevator had already reached the ninth floor. Even if he took the adjacent elevator right now, it would be too late. Suddenly, he whipped his head around to look in the direction he'd come from. There was no trace of that stranger anywhere. Jiang Shixu's expression turned sharp. That man had done it on purpose! At this moment. In an inconspicuous corner outside the manor's side gate, an unremarkable black Audi was parked. The man who had bumped into Jiang Shixu opened the driver's door and sat down, "Miss Xu, everything's been handled." Xu Jingxuan leaned back in the rear seat with her eyes closed, "Let's go." The man drove while glancing at Xu Jingxuan in the rearview mirror, "Aren't we waiting for Miss Chen?" Xu Jingxuan let out a scornful laugh, "If we wait for that stupid woman, none of us will be getting out of here today." Chu Tang exited the elevator and headed straight for the rooftop. Pushing open the iron door of the rooftop and stepping out, Chu Tang spotted Ruan Jiaojiao at once. Ruan Jiaojiao was tied to a chair, positioned right by the railing at the edge of the rooftop. Her mouth was sealed with tape, and her hands and feet were bound with rope. The masked person beside her still held a knife against Ruan Jiaojiao's neck. With her mouth taped shut, Ruan Jiaojiao couldn't cry out loud, only tears streaming down her face as she looked at her, looking utterly pitiful. Seeing her little sister like this broke Chu Tang's heart. She was just an innocent child. This morning, Jiaojiao was still being clingy with her. How could she be on the verge of death just a few hours later? Chu Tang steadied herself and said to the person, "Let my sister go. I'll do whatever you ask." "Come over here. Swap places with your sister." Without the voice changer, the masked person spoke in their natural voice. It was a woman. A stranger, at that. "Alright." Chu Tang didn't have time to be surprised and agreed without hesitation. She walked toward the person. Just as she was about two meters away— "Chu Tang! Don't go!" Behind her, Jiang Shixu, who had caught up, shouted. Chu Tang stopped in her tracks and turned to look. Jiang Shixu ran over in a few steps and yanked her into his arms, his voice trembling with fear, "Don't go over there. It's dangerous." Chen Jingsu watched the scene before her, tears flowing uncontrollably, her heart aching so much she could barely breathe. She smiled bitterly, her eyes filled with pain, "What enviable love." "Ah Xu, you don't care whether I live or die, yet you care so much about her." Chen Jingsu pulled off her hood. She cried and laughed, laughing almost maniacally, "Hahahaha, fine! Fine! Very well!" "Why! Why can she have his love?" A vicious glint burst from Chen Jingsu's eyes. She charged rapidly toward Ruan Chutang, the dagger in her hand thrusting out fiercely. They were only a few steps apart, and Chu Tang had her back to Chen Jingsu, completely unable to see her movements. Because the distance was so close and Chen Jingsu's movements were fast, Jiang Shixu, distracted by holding Ruan Chutang in his arms, would have to push Chu Tang away immediately and strike at Chen Jingsu to defend. But it was already too late. Even with his martial arts training, he couldn't push Chu Tang away and then strike within such an extremely short span of time. The moment the knife came thrusting in, Jiang Shixu's eyes flew wide open. All he could do was turn his body sideways with Chu Tang in his arms, taking the blade for her. The instant the knife sank in, Jiang Shixu let out a muffled grunt. "No!" Chen Jingsu's shrill scream pierced the sky. She stumbled back two steps, unable to believe what she was seeing. "Why—" Chen Jingsu roared, "Jiang Shixu! Why do you care about her so much? You'd even give up your life for her?" The thick smell of blood flooded her nostrils, and Ruan Chutang belatedly registered what had happened. She stepped back out of Jiang Shixu's embrace, her gaze dropping to see the knife embedded in his waist. In that instant, all the color drained from Chu Tang's face. "Shixu-ge!" she cried out in shock, tears bursting from her eyes. Just then, a group of people filed in through the rooftop door, quickly closing in on them. Well-trained bodyguards subdued Chen Jingsu. Chu Tang held Jiang Shixu, crying like a mess. "I'm sorry, Shixu-ge, I'm sorry…" Chu Tang sobbed between broken breaths, "It's all my fault… I shouldn't have come up here to find her on my own…" She had originally planned to pretend to go along with the masked woman's words, to go over and exchange herself for Ruan Jiaojiao, and once Ruan Jiaojiao was safe, she would find an opportunity to subdue her. She wasn't acting impulsively; she had her own plan. But she hadn't expected Jiang Shixu to arrive so quickly, and he wasn't willing to let her risk herself. She also hadn't expected Jiang Shixu to risk his life to block the knife for her! How could this happen? It was all her fault; she shouldn't have insisted on going her own way. Jiang Shixu had already said he was mobilizing all the bodyguards at the estate; she just needed to trust him and wait for him to arrange the rescue of Jiaojiao. She shouldn't have, of all things, run up to the rooftop herself. The bodyguard team was only a few minutes behind Jiang Shixu, yet it had resulted in such a situation. Chu Tang felt immense regret in her heart; she would rather have been the one stabbed. ... At the hospital. Jiang Shixu was in emergency treatment. A large crowd stood in the corridor outside the emergency room, each person burning with anxiety. Chu Tang had already cried all her tears dry, and now stood blank-eyed and dazed against the wall. Elder Mrs. Jiang and Lin Yueying had cried their eyes red. Ruan Jiaojiao was safe and sound; Yang Xuelian had taken her home first. With things having escalated to this point, the engagement ceremony was naturally cancelled. The atmosphere in the corridor was heavy and oppressive. "How could this happen? Who was that woman? Why did she kidnap Jiaojiao, and why did she make Chu Tang exchange with Jiaojiao?" Ruan Shaodong's expression was grim. "Is she an enemy of your Jiang family?" Jiang Yi looked bewildered. "No, I don't know her either." "I know." The speaker was Jiang Shixu's close friend, Zhou Zheng'an. "She's A Xu's admirer." Lin Yueying looked over in confusion. "Admirer?" "Yeah." Zhou Zheng'an replied, "I saw her face when the police brought her down just now. Her name is Chen Jingsu. She was a high school classmate of mine and A Xu's. She started pursuing A Xu back in high school, and it's been about ten years now." Chu Tang suddenly snapped back to reality and said blankly, "Shixu-gege's admirer? She... why would she do this?"