Gu Ruochu cowered in a van with five burly men who stared at her expressionlessly. Cheng Xi leaned on her arms and did not make a sound. They had not yet recovered from the shock of being kidnapped from the abandoned factory.
After she had regained her consciousness, Gu Ruochu had begun scheming against her captors. She had quietly rubbed the rope binding her hands on a rock, and after the binds loosened, she waited for one of the kidnappers to leave the room before pouncing on the remaining thug and knocking him out with a rock.
However, just as Gu Ruochu thought that she was free, a group of burly men had stormed into the abandoned factory. After they killed off her original kidnappers, one of the men took out his phone and studied Gu Ruochu's face carefully. After he ascertained that she was the target, he grabbed her and Cheng Xi and led them to the van.
"Aunt, are you all right?" Cheng Xi shook Gu Ruochu's hand a few times and looked at her worriedly.
"I'm fine."
The van was eerily quiet. Gu Ruochu could not stand the suspense any longer, and she finally asked, "Who are you, and where are you taking us?"
"Mrs. Huo, we're just following the orders from our superiors to send you home," One burly man dressed in a black suit replied coldly.
Gu Ruochu's heart was at ease when she heard that the men were sending her home. Although she had her suspicions about them, all she wanted to do was to go back to the hospital and find out whether Huo Nanchen had recovered from his coma.
"..."
After Gu Ruochu and Cheng Xi had gone missing, Zhang Yuan had felt a sense of unease in her heart.
"Zongxuan, nothing happened to Ruochu, right? Did she reveal Tangxi's whereabouts?"
Ning Zongxuan remained silent. He was still recovering from the news that another party had kidnapped Gu Ruochu. He had wanted to take advantage of the situation and get rid of Gu Ruochu, but his plans were now in jeopardy. If Gu Ruochu were to return, his secret would be exposed.
If Ning Tang found out what he had done, he would kill him!
Ning Zongxuan broke into a cold sweat.
"Nothing happened. It was just an act." Ning Zongxuan comforted his mother in a fluster. "Don't worry. As soon as she tells us where Tangxi is, my men will immediately send Ruochu back to the Huo family. I guarantee that Ruochu will be unharmed."
Zhang Yuan was slightly relieved. However, when she saw Ning Tangxi's figure walk into the living room, Zhang Yuan's heart almost jumped out of her rib cage.
Even Ning Zongxuan could not believe it. He had not expected Ning Tangxi to show up to the Ning family's villa unannounced. The only reason that his mother had allowed him to kidnap Gu Ruochu was because of Ning Tangxi's disappearance.
But now, Ning Tangxi had returned on her own.
"Tangxi?"
"Mommy!" Ning Tangxi rushed to Zhang Yuan's side and hugged her. "Mommy, I thought I would never see you again!"
Zhang Yuan hugged Ning Tangxi and cried bitterly before asking, "Where have you been for the past month? I was worried about you!"
Ning Tangxi's eyes flickered, and she decided to lie to her mother. "I was kidnapped by a group of strangers at the hospital. They locked me up for a month before they finally released me. Mommy, I almost couldn't come back."
Ning Tangxi had disappeared on purpose because she knew that Zhang Yuan would suspect Gu Ruochu. She had deliberately tried to sow discord between Gu Ruochu and her biological mother.
After she found out that Gu Ruochu had gone missing, Ning Tangxi had been very pleased with herself.
She thought that her plan had succeeded and decided to return to the Ning family.
Ning Tangxi knew that Gu Ruochu would never acknowledge her parents again after her kidnapping.
"It's good that you're back." Zhang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. Only then did she remember that Gu Ruochu was also missing. "Zongxuan, Tangxi is back now. Why don't you ask your men to release Ruochu?"
"Mother, it's too late." Ning Zongxuan had just received the news about the burly men who had stormed the abandoned factory. They had lit oil candles and set the entire factory on fire.
Nobody knew whether Gu Ruochu had survived the incident.