Chapter 180
Chapter 180 - Not Stupid Enough Yet!
“Wang Zongyi, just how foolish can you be to think you can lay a hand on me?” Zhang Xiaolong turned, his gaze icy as he faced the masked man. “Do you aspire to be the Wang family's dead weight?”
“You… You knew it was me all along?” The masked man, sprawled on the ground, winced through his pain as he spoke.
“Not at all,” Zhang Xiaolong admitted, genuinely surprised that Wang Zongyi had made his move in Qingyang so hastily. “Moreover, I'm aware that you weren't acting alone in Yaru's kidnapping. With your level of intelligence, you couldn't have managed it by yourself.”
Repeatedly insulted and called stupid, Wang Zongyi was seething with rage, yet powerless. All he could do was glare at Zhang Xiaolong, his eyes blazing with fury.
“Spit it out. Who put you up to this?” Zhang Xiaolong assisted Yaru to a chair in the room before continuing his interrogation.
“It's just that I can't stand you…” Wang Zongyi retorted defiantly, “You've cost me everything at the Wang family. Isn't it only fair that I make you pay a little in return? Now that I'm at your mercy, I have nothing left to say. Do what you will!”
“I had assumed you were merely an unwitting pawn in someone else's game,” Zhang Xiaolong shook his head in disappointment, “but it's clear now that I was mistaken. You're truly foolish. Given that, I have no choice but to call the police. Get ready to spend the next few years behind bars.”
He reached for his phone, about to make the call.
Wang Zongyi, forgetting his injured state, attempted to intervene, only to aggravate his wound, causing more blood to spill. Ignoring the pain, he bellowed, “Damn, are you seriously going to call the cops? Think of my grandfather's honor…”
“It's precisely out of respect for your grandfather and Wang Zongming that I haven't already taken you straight to the police,” Zhang Xiaolong's expression was stern and unyielding, “But if you're insistent on shouldering the entire blame, then I'm left with no other option. Don't think for a moment that I'll show leniency to anyone who dares harm Yaru. Rest assured, I'm certain that the elder Mr. Wang won't lift a finger to help you once he learns of your actions.”
“I… I…” Wang Zongyi was suddenly flustered, realizing for the first time that he had truly lost everything.
“You had a chance to go back to the Wang family, but you've squandered it yourself!” Zhang Xiaolong delivered another heavy blow.
“Please, I'm begging you, let me go. I only intended to target you; I never planned to harm your woman. It was all his idea, that bastard led me on…” Wang Zongyi's words tumbled out in a jumble.
“Who? Name them and provide evidence against them. It might lessen your sentence,” Zhang Xiaolong stated icily.
Without hesitation, Wang Zongyi blurted out, “It was Xu Shaoning. He's the one behind it all…” He then realized something, his face draining of color, “I get it now. He knew you would eventually find this place, so he had me interrogate Chen Yaru alone. He planned to make me the fall guy. Zhang Xiaolong, please, I'm telling the truth.”
“It has to be Xu Shaoning. I recognized his voice on the phone earlier. Even though his voice was disguised, his intonation was unmistakable,” Chen Yaru added, her face contorted with distress.
Zhang Xiaolong soothed the upset Yaru and addressed Wang Zongyi once more, “Your words alone won't do. No one will believe Xu Shaoning would kidnap Yaru without hard evidence. If he's been plotting against you, he wouldn't have left any trace during your communications. Ultimately, you'll be the one to face the consequences.”
“No, no, I have evidence,” Wang Zongyi insisted desperately, “I can prove he's the mastermind, but you have to agree to let me go… First, call an ambulance for me…”
“Oh?” Zhang Xiaolong was taken aback. It appeared Young Master Yi wasn't beyond redemption; he had kept an ace up his sleeve.
Despite being duped by Xu Shaoning, there was now a chance to apprehend the true villain.
With this in mind, Zhang Xiaolong channeled a wisp of divine power and lightly tapped Wang Zongyi's body, staunching the blood flow and largely healing the wounds.
He didn't treat Wang Zongyi's injuries out of the goodness of his heart. Instead, he covertly used his power to make a subtle change within Wang Zongyi's body. From that point on, Young Master Yi would be incapable of harming any woman.
Zhang Xiaolong, despite his kind nature, was dealing with a man who had kidnapped his partner and attempted to assault her. Had it not been for his divine abilities, or if he had arrived even slightly later, the outcome could have been horrific.
Naturally, Zhang Xiaolong felt compelled to teach such a person a lesson; it was a necessary consequence for his actions.
When Zhang Xiaolong touched his body a few times, Wang Zongyi's painful wound immediately became numb and stopped bleeding. This left Wang Zongyi even more terrified, realizing just how foolish he had been to confront Zhang Xiaolong.
At the time, when Zhang Xiaolong called him foolish, Wang Zongyi was slightly resentful. But now, he saw the truth in those words: he had been utterly foolish.
After the incident, the police were called, and Wang Zongyi was swiftly arrested, while Chen Yaru was tenderly lifted into the car by Zhang Xiaolong.
Chen Yaru wept in her partner's embrace for a while before she began to recover from the ordeal.
“Hubby, I thought I'd never see you again!” she had thought to herself. If she had been violated by that man, she would have rather died than face Zhang Xiaolong again.
“Don't be foolish. Never allow yourself to think that way,” Zhang Xiaolong held her close, “Rest assured, I am your super husband, and I won't let anyone harm you.”
“Okay,” Chen Yaru murmured, her fears slowly dissolving in his gentle embrace, like ice melting in the sun. Then, she tensed up again, “Oh no, our secret…”
“What's wrong?” Zhang Xiaolong asked, puzzled.
“It's the Four-phenomena Divine Orchid,” Chen Yaru's tears began to fall once more, “I'm so sorry, Hubby. I was so scared, I blurted out the secret about the Four-phenomena Divine Orchid in Elegant Dragon Drinks. I've destroyed your business!”
The secret was undoubtedly out, and Xu Shaoning was in the know. Once the Xu family began mass production, they would swiftly dominate the market. In comparison, the current Soaring Dragon was no match for the Xu family's Strong Dragon.
“You're such a silly girl,” Zhang Xiaolong said tenderly as he wiped away her tears. “Our business won't be destroyed that easily. But even if it were, as long as you're with me, nothing else matters. Do you understand?”
“Mm-hmm…” In that moment, no other words of affection could have been more stirring, yet they moved Chen Yaru to the brink of tears once again.
As he watched the tears continue to fall from her eyes, Zhang Xiaolong resorted to a bold approach, kissing away the tear stains on her face. His hands moved soothingly over her restless body, and before long, she was lost in the mastery of his touch.
Chen Yaru was filled with an intense longing, as if cherishing something all the more for having nearly lost it.
But just as they were about to cast caution to the wind and dive into the matter at hand, an ill-timed call from Chen Zhaomin came through.
This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com