Chapter 194: Chapter 192: Zhou Rui’s Threat

Su Tang took a deep breath and shouted into the empty hall.

Her voice echoed in the corridor, but she received no reply.

Just then, a faint THUD came from the second floor, like something had fallen to the ground.

Lu Xiao immediately tightened his grip on the iron pipe and gestured for Su Tang to be quiet.

The two of them slowed their pace, cautiously making their way toward the sound on the second floor.

The stair railing was covered in rust spots, leaving reddish-brown stains on their hands at the slightest touch.

With every step, the floorboards groaned with a CREAK, as if they might collapse at any moment.

Just as they reached the corner on the second floor, a faint sliver of light suddenly shone from the crack under a hospital room door.

Su Tang’s heart seized. She sprinted toward that room on pure instinct, with Lu Xiao right behind her.

The door was ajar. Su Tang gently pushed it open, and the beam of her flashlight instantly cut through the room’s interior.

There, on the hospital bed in the center of the room, lay a small blue baby outfit.

It was the outfit Cheng’an had been wearing this morning.

There was still a small milk stain on it. Su Tang recognized it instantly.

"Cheng’an! Cheng’an!"

She rushed over and snatched up the outfit, looking around frantically, but she couldn’t see her child anywhere.

"Doctor Su, don’t be in such a hurry."

Suddenly, a chilling voice emerged from the shadows of the room.

Zhou Rui slowly stepped out, toying with a sharp fruit knife in his hand.

The tip of the blade glinted coldly in the flashlight’s beam.

He wore an eerie smile, his eyes filled with madness.

"We finally got to meet again at our old spot. How could I let you find the child so quickly?"

"Zhou Rui, what the hell do you want?"

Lu Xiao pulled Su Tang behind him, his icy gaze fixed on Zhou Rui.

"Come after me. Don’t hurt the child!"

"Come after you?"

Zhou Rui scoffed, pointing the tip of the knife at Lu Xiao.

"Lu Xiao, you ruined everything for me. Now, I’m going to make you taste what it’s like to lose what you hold most precious!"

"I never targeted you, Zhou Rui. It’s always been you targeting us."

Just as Lu Xiao finished speaking, Zhou Rui pulled a book from his coat.

Seeing the familiar cover, Su Tang’s breath caught in her throat.

’How could he have this book?’

Zhou Rui’s gaze fell on Su Tang, his tone complex.

"Su Tang, I actually never wanted to hurt you. As long as you leave Lu Xiao, I’ll give Cheng’an back to you."

"Zhou Rui, what are you doing?"

Hearing Su Tang’s words, Zhou Rui chuckled. "Su Tang, you’re not from this world. But because of you, so many variables have appeared. Either you leave, or your son dies. Pick one."

He pointed to a small, closed door on the far side of the room.

"Cheng’an is in there. But he’s sleeping very soundly right now. If you don’t agree to my terms, I can’t guarantee he’ll ever wake up."

Su Tang’s heart leaped into her throat. She clutched the baby outfit tightly in her hand.

She knew Zhou Rui had lost his mind and was capable of anything.

Lu Xiao stealthily took a signaling device from his pocket and pressed the signal he had prearranged with his comrades waiting in ambush outside.

He pressed the power button three times in a row.

He kept his eyes on Zhou Rui and began speaking slowly to stall for time.

"Zhou Rui, calm down. You’ve already broken the law by kidnapping a child. It’s not too late to turn back. If you let Cheng’an go, I can help you plead for a lighter sentence."

"Plead for me?"

Zhou Rui acted as if he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world.

"I don’t need your phony kindness. I’m at the end of my rope, with nowhere left to run. But I can at least take someone down with me before I die."

As he spoke, he suddenly rushed toward the closed door.

"I’ll give you three minutes to think it over. If I don’t see Su Tang come over here in three minutes, you can get ready to collect Cheng’an’s body."

Su Tang watched Zhou Rui’s back, and tears finally began to fall.

She knew Zhou Rui was a man of his word, but she couldn’t abandon Lu Xiao either.

Just as she was sinking into despair, Lu Xiao whispered in her ear.

"Don’t panic. My men are here and are surrounding the place right now. I’ll draw his attention, and you use that chance to save Cheng’an."

Su Tang looked at Lu Xiao. He winked at her, then suddenly lunged toward Zhou Rui.

"Zhou Rui, if you’ve got the guts, come after me!"

Zhou Rui hadn’t expected Lu Xiao’s sudden attack and hastily turned to block him with the fruit knife.

The two of them were instantly locked in a struggle, sending tables and chairs in the room crashing over.

Su Tang seized the opportunity and rushed to the small door, pulling it open with all her might.

The door wasn’t locked. Behind it was a cramped storage closet filled with discarded medicine boxes.

Su Tang shone her flashlight around and quickly spotted Cheng’an’s tiny form behind one of the boxes.

He was lying on a tattered blanket, his eyes closed and his breathing even. He seemed to be merely asleep.

"Cheng’an!"

Su Tang carefully picked up her son and gently patted his cheek.

"Cheng’an, wake up. Mommy’s here."

Cheng’an slowly opened his eyes. After seeing Su Tang, he looked stunned for a moment, then his lip quivered pitifully as he reached out his little arms to hug her neck.

"Mama..."

Hearing her son’s soft voice, Su Tang’s tears flowed even harder. She held him tight, as if trying to merge him into her very bones.

"Mama’s here. Don’t be scared, Cheng’an. Mama came to save you."

Just then, a loud BANG echoed from outside, followed by Zhou Rui’s scream of pain.

Su Tang walked out of the storage closet with Cheng’an in her arms and saw that Lu Xiao had already pinned Zhou Rui to the floor.

The fruit knife had fallen to the side. Zhou Rui’s arm was twisted behind his back by Lu Xiao, his face a mask of pain and resentment.

The comrades who had been lying in wait also rushed in, quickly subduing Zhou Rui and putting him in handcuffs.

Lu Xiao strode over to Su Tang, reached out to feel Cheng’an’s forehead, and only after confirming he was unharmed did he let out a sigh of relief. He pulled mother and son into a tight embrace.

"It’s okay now. Everything’s okay. Let’s go home."

Su Tang leaned against Lu Xiao’s chest, feeling his warmth and the strong beat of his heart. The anxiety that had gripped her all night finally subsided.

But as Zhou Rui was being led away, Su Tang handed the child to Lu Xiao and stood up to walk over to him.

"Zhou Rui, are you also..."

"I’m not. I found this book by chance. You’re just like it says in the book."

Zhou Rui smiled as he looked at Su Tang. "If it weren’t for you, I should have been the biggest winner."

The book said that Lu Xiao died on a mission because of him.

He would have gotten his revenge and become the most famous businessman in Xiangjiang.

It was a pity that this ending had been destroyed by Su Tang’s arrival.

Whether it was Su Xinyao or him, they were both utterly, completely without a future.

As Zhou Rui was being escorted away, he looked up at the sky. Before anyone could react, he snatched a gun from one of the men beside him.

A gunshot rang out, and he fell to the ground.

Su Tang covered her mouth as she watched the scene unfold.

In that instant, she suddenly felt that even if Zhou Rui had done nothing, he could have survived. It was he who no longer wanted to go on living this kind of life any longer.