Upon hearing that Zhong Yangyang had been kidnapped, Zhong Yong was about to rush out to confront the perpetrators, but Zhong Qiqiang managed to restrain him. As soon as Zhong Qiqiang received the news, he reported it to the police and then spent a large sum of money hiring detectives to help. At the moment, they were still waiting for updates.
“Our Zhong Family has always been kind to others…” Liang Qiu’s eyes were red from crying, her heart filled with worry for her daughter’s safety. Before she could finish her sentence, she felt as if a lump of cotton were stuck in her throat, unable to utter another word.
“What about Kong Xiyan!” Zhong Yong, who was being held back by Zhong Qiqiang, suddenly stood up as if remembering something. “She threatened my sister yesterday! It must be her!”
“What nonsense are you talking? Stop causing trouble!” Zhong Qiqiang’s mind was already in turmoil, and hearing Zhong Yong’s words made his taiyang acupoint throb with pain.
No matter how lacking Kong Xiyan might be, she was still his biological daughter. He couldn’t believe that Kong Xiyan would actually do such a thing.
Zhong Yong quickly called the butler to ask about Kong Xiyan’s whereabouts.
He learned that Kong Xiyan had left not long after Zhong Yangyang went out in the morning, and her current location was unknown.
The Zhong couple fell silent.
Could it really be…
“I told you so! That jinx has ill intentions!” Zhong Yong stomped angrily, his leaky mouth blurting out an unclear sentence: “If my sister loses even a single hair, I’ll skin her alive!”
Just then, the police called to inform the Zhong couple that Zhong Yangyang had been found.
The Zhong couple breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming that Zhong Yangyang was unharmed. As they were about to hang up, Zhong Yong’s eyes lit up, and he immediately snatched the phone to ask, “What about Kong Xiyan?”
“Kong Xiyan? She’s here too. They were found together.”
Hearing this, Zhong Yong immediately raised his chin, wearing a triumphant expression that seemed to say, “See! I wasn’t wrong!” The Zhong couple’s faces immediately darkened, their expressions turning exceptionally grim.
Could it be that their biological daughter had really done such a despicable thing?
If so, Kong Xiyan absolutely could not be allowed to stay!
At the police station, Kong Xiyan and the others cooperated in giving their statements and then obediently waited for someone from the Zhong Family to pick them up. Meanwhile, the students at the orphanage had also finished giving their statements regarding Zhong Yangyang’s incident and were preparing to leave.
“I’m starving…” someone complained. “It’s all because of that Zhong Yangyang, always so flashy! Getting targeted and making us go hungry too!”
“We still don’t know what happened to her, so maybe you shouldn’t say things like that…” someone whispered in reminder.
“What’s wrong with what I said? It’s the truth! We’ve been working all morning and now we’re stuck at the police station! We haven’t eaten a bite! We’re not criminals! She’s the student representative—all she had to do was take a few photos. We’re the ones who spent the whole morning playing with those brats! Exhausted and hungry!”
Hearing this, everyone fell silent. Perhaps because of their hunger, they began to harbor resentment toward Zhong Yangyang.
Gradually, others also started voicing their dissatisfaction: “Everyone else rides the bus, but she gets a luxury car. Everyone wears the school uniform, but she wears a green dress… So flashy, as if she’s afraid no one knows she’s the daughter of the richest man… Who else would they kidnap but her?”
Resentment seemed to spread like a contagion, infecting everyone with negativity. The words they spoke grew increasingly sharp and bitter.
“Forget it.” Zhong Yangyang’s best friend Gao Qianqian rubbed her tear-reddened eyes. “Let’s just consider this as Yangyang being in the wrong this time. I’ll apologize on her behalf and treat everyone to a meal. Please forgive her just this once!”
Hearing Gao Qianqian say this, the students who had been complaining finally fell silent, though they still curled their lips disdainfully. Nearby, some couldn’t help but praise Gao Qianqian for being beautiful, kind-hearted, and generous.
Gao Qianqian merely offered a faint smile and led everyone out of the police station’s main entrance.
At the corner, Zhong Yangyang, who had come to fetch water because she was thirsty, tightened her grip on the cup in her hand, lowered her head, and her gaze flickered uneasily.
Just then, someone poked her forehead with a finger. Zhong Yangyang abruptly looked up and met Kong Xiyan’s face.
Not wanting her most embarrassing moment to be witnessed, Zhong Yangyang panicked, and her young lady temper flared up. “What are you doing here!”
“You’ve been fetching water for ages. I thought you’d been kidnapped again,” Kong Xiyan said casually, taking the crumpled cup from Zhong Yangyang’s hand and downing the water in one gulp.
“That was my water!”
Kong Xiyan took a new, intact paper cup, filled it with water, and handed it to Zhong Yangyang. “Even now?”
“Who’s even with you!” Zhong Yangyang curled her lips, unceremoniously took the cup from Kong Xiyan’s hand, and took a sip. The dryness in her throat eased slightly, but the bitterness in her heart remained unchanged.
Kong Xiyan, meanwhile, glanced toward the retreating backs of the students, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Soon, the Zhong couple arrived at the police station with their younger son in tow. As soon as the younger Zhong saw Kong Xiyan, he charged at her with fists raised, only to be swiftly subdued by a small grappling move from Kong Xiyan, who pinned him against the police station wall.
“How dare you lay a hand on my sister! You jerk! Don’t you know who I am? Let go!” Zhong Yong shouted at the top of his lungs, struggling fruitlessly.
“Xiao Yong! You’ve got it all wrong!” Zhong Yangyang quickly stepped forward to explain how Kong Xiyan had saved her, omitting the embarrassing details about the spanking and the melon-eating incident.
With the police station chief also testifying that Kong Xiyan had indeed participated in the rescue, the Zhong couple finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They had always believed that their biological daughter, no matter how lacking, would never stoop to criminal behavior!
“However…” The chief’s tone shifted, and he awkwardly explained to the Zhong couple how Kong Xiyan had commandeered a melon farmer’s vehicle on the street. “She’s a good kid at heart. The melon farmer, knowing she did it to save someone, is willing to settle the matter. It’s just… she still needs proper guidance. Commandering a vehicle on the street… isn’t exactly a good thing. Let’s focus on guiding her properly for now. This time, a simple verbal warning will suffice.”
The Zhong couple were stunned. They turned to look at Kong Xiyan, who still wore an expression of utter nonchalance, their feelings exceptionally complicated. After completing the necessary procedures, they took both Zhong Yangyang and Kong Xiyan back to the Zhong Family home.
Back at the Zhong Family residence, the couple fussed over Kong Xiyan and Zhong Yangyang, showering them with concern and warmth.
Zhong Yong, standing to the side, felt neglected.
“Today, we owe it all to Xiyan!”
“If I had been there, I would never have given those people a chance to kidnap my sister!” Zhong Yong retorted, chin held high and full of defiance.
“Xiyan, you must be exhausted. What would you like to eat?”
“I’m exhausted too! I was so worried at noon that I didn’t even eat. I want braised pork ribs!” Seeing that no one was paying him any attention, Zhong Yong raised his voice even louder. “I want braised pork ribs!”
“Is Xiyan hurt? If you feel unwell anywhere, make sure to speak up right away!”
“Ah~” Zhong Yong’s eyes darted as he covered his mouth, “My tooth hurts! How did it suddenly start hurting? It hurts so much!”
“You sisters should go upstairs and rest first, take a bath and change your clothes.”
“Enough!” Zhong Yong couldn’t stand being ignored any longer. He rushed in front of Kong Xiyan, pointing at her face and angrily shouting, “I’ve seen through you long ago! All of this was orchestrated by you, wasn’t it? You can fool others, but not me! You suddenly showed up just to compete with us for the inheritance, right?”
As soon as Zhong Yong finished speaking, the back of his head was struck hard. Zhong Qiqiang’s face darkened, “I’m still alive! What inheritance are you fighting over?”
“Dad… uh… I didn’t mean…” Zhong Yong realized his slip of the tongue and was about to explain when he was interrupted again.
“Get back to your room!” Liang Qiu’s face also fell. This Zhong Yong had truly been spoiled rotten by them!
Zhong Yong stared in disbelief at his parents, who were being so harsh with him, then turned and glared at Kong Xiyan, who hadn’t said a word, “Are you satisfied now?” After shouting this, tears welled up in Zhong Yong’s eyes, and he stormed upstairs without looking back.
“?” Kong Xiyan blinked, not understanding what she was supposed to be satisfied about.
“Xiao Yong!” Zhong Yangyang, worried about Zhong Yong, also ran upstairs after him.
The atmosphere in the Zhong Family once again became awkward.
Meanwhile, a large group of people arrived at the police station.
The man at the front wore a dark suit, stood about 185 cm tall, and his resolute face was etched with an air of intimidation, “We are from the Su Family of Nancheng. We heard that a young master from our Su Family was invited here for tea, so we brought the entire legal department of the Su Family to pay a visit.”
Upon hearing the other party introduce themselves, the police chief gasped.
This… how did the Su Family get involved?
Fortunately, the situation was quickly explained.
Upon learning that the Third Young Master had been brought in for questioning after taking a bite of melon, the man with the intimidating expression looked slightly amused but managed to maintain his professionalism and not laugh out loud.
After all, he was a professional.
The Third Young Master’s expression was grim. Before leaving the police station, he asked, “What about her?”
“Are you referring to the two from the Zhong Family?” The police chief forced a dry laugh, “They were taken back by the Zhong couple earlier. You…”
“The Zhong Family?” The Third Young Master raised an eyebrow, ignoring the chief further, and walked out without looking back.
First, she used him and then rejected him, stringing him along before dragging him into trouble, causing him to lose face as soon as he arrived in Nancheng, and then left without even saying goodbye?!
Fine! Very well!
The Third Young Master’s mind flashed with Kong Xiyan’s calm and detached face, as if she cared nothing for worldly matters, yet was strikingly beautiful.
“I’ll remember you!”