The CEO's Substitute Ex-Wife
Chapter 232: Looming Threat

Chapter 232: Looming Threat

"Did Shuwen offend someone?" Cheng Anya asked. Matters in the underworld and business world were unpredictable; there were always grudges. But ordinary people wouldn’t dare to cross the Tang family. Not to mention Longmen, even the Tang family’s legitimate influence meant few dared to offend them.

Tang Shuwen thought for a moment. Recently, there had been several bloody disputes within Longmen, and... he frowned. Ye Feimo looked up and met his gaze. The biggest dispute was over territory between Longmen and Liehuo Sect.

After Ye Feimo took care of Brother Xiong, Tang Shuwen set his sights on Liehuo Sect’s smuggling routes. Brother Xiong and Brother Qiang had spent a lot of effort arranging them, and the routes to the Middle East had taken several years to set up, clearly with hired professionals, very meticulous. It was because he coveted this route that Tang Shuwen challenged the entire Liehuo Sect, destroying their core strength.

Brother Xiong and Brother Qiang had a group of capable and shrewd subordinates who tried to reclaim their territory. They secretly had many conflicts with Longmen. Around Christmas, they even robbed a Longmen armored car.

Tang Shuwen had intended to deal with them quickly, eliminating the root cause, but with the wedding approaching, he was too busy to split his attention. He had planned to deal with them slowly after a while.

Unexpectedly, it became a disaster.

As soon as Tang Shuwen told Ye Feimo, Ye Ningyuan also had a direction. Just as he was about to investigate, Xiao Hei called, telling them that a suspicious van had been found on Huning Highway and requested support.

Ye Feimo immediately summoned all Longmen personnel to Huning Highway.

Tang Si got up and went out. Ye Feimo, Su Ran, and Lin Diyun followed him out.

Tang Shuwen also followed them. Chen Xueru fearfully grabbed his hand. Tang Shuwen turned back, kissed her lips, "Don’t worry, I will definitely bring our son back."

"Tianyu, Kelan, you two go with them," Ye Ningyuan said lightly.

...

"Why didn’t you call the police?" Chen Xueru asked worriedly. Wouldn’t calling the police be faster in such a situation?

Tang Mandong put her arm around her shoulder. "Sister-in-law, don’t worry, our people are more effective than the police."

Ye Ningyuan let out a surprised sound, zooming in on the surveillance footage. Tang Mandong leaned in to look. "Isn’t that Zhao Yuning?"

On the surveillance screen, Zhao Yuning’s car was parked in front of the park. She was beautifully dressed, looking at the park entrance with tearful eyes, as if she wanted to go in but lacked the courage.

At times, she was resentful, at times indignant, at times heartbroken.

She paced outside the park entrance, her expression anxious and uneasy.

"Is there anything wrong?" Cheng Anya asked. Ye Ningyuan looked at several surveillance footages, only frowning. Xu Nuo then adjusted the nearby footage to view, and there was a small blank section in the middle.

Only Zhao Yuning was seen hesitating and lingering at the entrance, wanting very much to attend the wedding, yet feeling indignant, unable to make up her mind. One hour of the video in the middle was destroyed, and the last seen footage was Zhao Yuning driving away in panic.

There was an hour’s gap in between, but Ye Ningyuan did not find anything amiss, because the video was destroyed and could not be restored. What happened in between, no one knew.

The security work for today’s wedding was all handled internally by Longmen, fearing any mishap. "Eyes of the sky" were installed everywhere, but there were also blind spots in some places. The perpetrators seemed very familiar with the site layout, apparently skilled individuals.

The phone rang. Young Master Ye Third answered. Ye Ningyuan put on his headphones. It was a call from the kidnappers. Their demand was simple: Tang Shuwen’s life. They specifically named Tang Shuwen to go to XX Port. If he didn’t go, he would kill Wen Lan and the child. Xiao Nian’s cries came through the phone, and Chen Xueru’s heart shattered upon hearing them.

The call was hung up quickly, but it didn’t prevent Ye Ningyuan from tracking their address. They were indeed on Huning Highway. Young Master Ye Third immediately called Tang Shuwen, telling him to go to the port as agreed, and the rest were to follow Tang Si’s arrangements.

"Dad, they only want me to go alone. You go back first, otherwise..."

"Shut up!" Tang Si’s fierce gaze swept over him, his kingly aura as strong as ever. "My woman doesn’t need my son to save her."

Su Ran and Lin Diyun shook their heads at Tang Shuwen. Tang Shuwen closed his eyes, secretly vowing in his heart that he would definitely rescue his mother, and he would ensure Xiao Nian remained unharmed.

The atmosphere tightened.

Everyone’s heart was in their throat, fearing any mishap.

Tang Mandong looked at Zhao Yuning. "Brother Ningyuan, is there something wrong with this woman? Maybe she’s behind this."

Ye Ningyuan chuckled and said, "The Zhao family and Liehuo Sect shouldn’t have any connection. However, it is indeed a bit strange. She might have seen something. She looked sad when she arrived and very panicked when she left, but that doesn’t mean it’s related to her."

Chen Xueru held her head, a splitting headache racking her. Her Xiao Nian, Tang Shuwen, and her loving Tang Si and Wen Lan were not by her side. Both their lives were uncertain, and she was extremely worried, fiercely holding back her tears.

Nothing would happen.

Everyone was waiting for news. Time passed minute by minute, and Chen Xueru’s heart slowly grew cold, becoming even more anxious. Could the kidnappers kill them? She dared not think deeply. Cheng Anya advised her to rest, but Chen Xueru shook her head, insisting on waiting.

Cheng Anya couldn’t help but feel fortunate. She had experienced countless dangers in her youth, the most thrilling being her escape from the island with Young Master Ye Third. At that time, their lives were truly uncertain; sometimes she even thought she was surely going to die.

Later, after Louis died, she and Hailan and Feimo were also kidnapped, but they escaped with a scare. Besides that one time, she had never been in life-threatening danger again. However, Feimo had been kidnapped four times, and each time she was terrified, deeply afraid that something would happen to him, especially after Hailan died and he was kidnapped again. For three days and two nights, she dared not close her eyes, fearing that she would open them to news of his death.

She could fully understand Chen Xueru’s current feelings.

Tang Mandong, being a daughter of the Tang family, had a stronger psychological resilience than others. Only Chen Xueru was suffering the most, for Xiao Nian was her life.

Xiao Hei hadn’t sent back any news yet when Young Master Ye Third and the others saw news of an explosion at XX Port on TV. Flames shot into the sky. Chen Xueru covered her mouth, her eyes wide with terror. Tang Mandong’s heart also clenched.

Ye Ningyuan frowned. According to the tracker, their car was still at the port. The police were about to arrive. If they didn’t leave soon, they would leave evidence. He had tampered with the surveillance on the highway, so it wasn’t a big problem. As long as they weren’t caught on the spot, it was fine.

Ye Feimo called back. Everything was settled, however...

Tang Shuwen had taken the gunshot wound meant for Xiao Nian and had been sent to the hospital. Upon hearing this, Chen Xueru’s legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the sofa.

At the hospital, Tang Shuwen was sent into the emergency room. Longmen had already sealed off the news.

The Tang family did not want the media to know about the incidents at today’s wedding. With such a major event, the police station naturally couldn’t be kept in the dark, but with Tang Si handling things, there wouldn’t be any major issues.

Xiao Nian, however, was stunned with fear.