Ye Xin thought for a moment. “Three hundred tons is no small amount. When will this shipment of coal arrive in City A? I’ll ask my relative.”
After exchanging contact information, Ye Xin rode her electric scooter home.
She wanted to take her son back to their hometown and bring her parents to the city. Only then would she feel at ease.
However, when she arrived home, she couldn’t find her son.
She hurriedly knocked on Su Jing’s door.
Still half-asleep, Su Jing opened the door and asked, “What’s wrong so early in the morning?”
Ye Xin’s heart sank.
Xuanxuan wasn’t at Su Jing’s place.
Something had happened!
He knew they were supposed to return to their hometown after breakfast to pick up his maternal grandparents. He would never wander off on his own!
Just then, Ye Xin’s phone rang. An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen.
Ye Xin hurriedly answered.
Gu Nan’s voice came from the other end.
“Ye Xin, listen carefully!”
“Your son is in my hands now. If you want your son back, return all the money in your bank accounts to me! Otherwise, you’ll never see your son again!”
Su Jing was instantly stunned.
“Gu… Gu Nan kidnapped his own son? What is going on?”
Ye Xin had no time to explain. She rushed back into her apartment and slammed the door shut.
“Gu Nan! What the hell are you trying to do? That’s your own son!”
Gu Nan laughed crazily.
“So what if he’s my son? You can’t blame me for this. If you want someone to blame, blame his mother for being so heartless and refusing to leave us any way out!”
“Ye Xin, give me all the money, and I’ll return our son to you immediately! Otherwise, you’ll never see him again!”
“Hey! Get away from me! Where did this mad dog come from?”
Ye Xin forced herself to calm down.
“Gu Nan, don’t hurt him. I’ll give all the bank cards back to you right now. Where are you?”
From the other end came the sounds of barking dogs, angry curses, and a child crying and calling out.
Then the call was abruptly disconnected.
Ye Xin immediately ran outside.
If her guess was correct, Gu Nan was at her old home!
He must have taken the risk after seeing that the house had been stripped down to a bare shell.
Su Jing frantically pounded on Ye Xin’s door.
“Xin Xin! Are you okay? Shouldn’t we call the police?”
Ye Xin’s expression was grim.
“Not yet. His father kidnapped him. I’m going there now.”
Su Jing hurried after her.
“Xin Xin, don’t panic. I’ll go with you.”
Ye Xin suddenly stopped.
“You don’t need to come with me. I can handle this. But the weather has been extremely abnormal lately. Stock up on some supplies at home and try not to go outside.”
Without waiting for Su Jing’s confused reaction, Ye Xin strode away.
She started her Wrangler, and the vehicle shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
She stopped at the entrance of the old residential compound and rushed toward her former home like a madwoman.
The place was still a complete mess.
There was nothing there.
Not only was her son nowhere to be found, but Gu Nan was gone as well.
Ye Xin removed Gu Nan’s number from her blacklist and immediately called him.
No answer.
She called the unfamiliar number from earlier.
Still no answer.
With no other choice, Ye Xin called Liu Ying.
Liu Ying’s voice came through, slurred with anger.
“You bitch! Not only did you force me to sell my house, you also made Gu Nan’s house unlivable!”
“Where is Gu Nan?”
“How should I know where he is? Neither of you is any good! I never want to see either of you again!”
It seemed that Gu Nan and Liu Ying had fallen out.
Ye Xin paced around anxiously.
Where could Gu Nan have taken her son?
Just then, her phone rang.
It was Su Jing.
Su Jing’s voice was extremely shrill.
“Xin Xin, come back! Hurry! Your son is back!”
“What? Xuanxuan is back? Jingjing, don’t panic. What happened?”
Su Jing’s voice remained high-pitched and frantic.
“Just come back! You’ll understand when you get here! I—I don’t know how to explain it.”
Ye Xin froze.
Had Xuanxuan accidentally revealed something?
Otherwise, why would Su Jing sound so shocked?
Ye Xin rushed downstairs, got into her car, and sped toward Jinxiu Garden.
When she arrived, she immediately saw a crowd gathered at the entrance.
Xuanxuan was covered in blood, tightly hugging a huge dog.
The dog was also covered in blood.
Ye Xin froze.
“Xiaolang?”
The dog let out a whimper.
When Xuanxuan saw Ye Xin, he released his arms from around the dog’s neck. His lips trembled, and he was about to burst into tears.
“Mommy! Sob… You’re finally back!”
Ye Xin dispersed the crowd, then led her son and the dog toward their apartment.
Behind her, she could still hear the residents whispering and pointing.
“Large dogs aren’t allowed in the residential complex. What if a dog that big bites a child?”
“Exactly. Even if it doesn’t bite anyone, it could still frighten the children!”
Ye Xin ignored them and continued straight home.
“Jingjing, this dog is called Xiaolang. Xuanxuan and I often feed him. You should go home for now. Don’t worry. I can handle everything.”
Su Jing left, looking back every few steps.
Ye Xin grabbed her son by the arm and repeatedly checked him over. Only after making absolutely sure that he wasn’t injured did she finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Xuanxuan, what exactly happened today?”
According to Xuanxuan’s account, after breakfast, he had been playing by the balcony window when he suddenly saw Xiaolang walking down the street.
Forgetting his mother’s warning, he immediately rushed downstairs, but Xiaolang had already disappeared.
He had no choice but to search the streets, calling Xiaolang’s name as he went.
Unexpectedly, Xiaolang never showed up.
Instead, Gu Nan appeared!
When Gu Nan saw Xuanxuan, he tried to coax him into going with him.
Unfortunately, Xuanxuan had been reborn from the previous apocalypse. He knew exactly what kind of person his father was!
When Xuanxuan refused to cooperate, Gu Nan simply picked him up and carried him away.
Just as Gu Nan was putting Xuanxuan into his car, Xiaolang appeared!
As if it knew that Xuanxuan was in danger, it chased after Gu Nan’s car all the way, even trying several times to block the vehicle and force it to stop.
Gu Nan had no choice but to pull over. He took out his phone and called Ye Xin.
That was when Xiaolang suddenly pounced on him and sank its teeth into Gu Nan’s arm!
That was the scream Ye Xin had heard over the phone.
With Xiaolang’s help, Gu Nan was finally taken down!
Xuanxuan then brought Xiaolang back toward Jinxiu Garden.
Xuanxuan, covered in blood and accompanied by the huge dog, immediately attracted everyone’s attention—including Su Jing.
After hearing the whole story, Ye Xin hugged her son tightly.
“Good boy. Go take a bath first.”
Ye Xin turned on the television. While bathing her son, she listened to the news.
One particular report caught her attention:
“Attention, residents. Typhoon ‘Meihua’ has suddenly intensified and is expected to make landfall in City B within the next two to three days. Our city will also be affected by strong winds. Please stay away from outdoor billboards and other dangerous structures…”
It really had come early!
Ye Xin had no time to think.
She immediately picked up her phone.
“We’ll take the 300 tons of coal. It’ll arrive early the day after tomorrow? Good!”
“The explosion-proof glass is ready? Deliver it to this location…”
“The security door is ready? Deliver it to this location… Yes! Good. I’ll be there in half an hour.”
She hurriedly finished bathing Xuanxuan and changed him into clean clothes.
Then she tossed several meaty bones to Xiaolang and gently rubbed the dog’s head.
“Xiaolang, stay here and behave. Xuanxuan and I have to go back to my hometown. I don’t know when we’ll be back. There’s food here, so you have enough to eat. Don’t be naughty, and don’t run off. Understand?”
Ye Xin took out more food and piled it into a stainless-steel bowl, enough to last Xiaolang for two days.
As if it understood every word she said, Xiaolang barked.
“Woof! Woof!”
Just then, the salesperson from the 4S dealership called again.
He had managed to obtain three tons each of diesel and gasoline, and they could be delivered that afternoon.
Ye Xin gave him the warehouse address and told him to deliver everything there himself. She would pay after she received the goods.
She grabbed Xuanxuan’s hand and hurried out.
The explosion-proof glass and security door were about to arrive. Once she collected those two items, they had to leave immediately and head back to their hometown.
Otherwise, they might really be too late.