Chapter 72 Abducted (2/2)

”He won't do anything to hurt Qingqing.” Ying Qingcang said in a tone of annoyance. Despite feeling the strong urge to drag Chen Ming out and beat the guy to death, Ying Qingcang knew that this could not be Chen Ming's doing. Chen Ming was in love with Xin Qing. Sure, Chen Ming would try to come directly between him and Xin Qing, but he would never resort to anything that would taint Xin Qing's reputation.

”This person must know me, but we aren't close. Otherwise, it'd be impossible for him or her not to know whose child Ah Sha is.” No one else other than Young Master Shen and Zhang Mi knew about Ah Sha's adoption. It was a way to protect the child. The less people who knew the truth, the better it would be for the child. Otherwise, it would be very likely with Ah Sa's past to be exposed when she grew up.

Ying Qingcang nodded in agreement. ”So this person is trying to use the child to stir things up between us.”

”This person is also familiar with Chen Ming. Wouldn't have known that Chen Ming's married otherwise.” Xin Qing added.

All of a sudden, Ying Qingcang and Xin Qing looked at each other.

”Lu Manman!” They spoke in unison.

Young Master Shen's phone rang as if on cue. He picked up the phone and listened for a while. Brows raised, he hung up the phone. ”You guys were dead on. It's Chen Ming's wife, Lu Manman.”

Meanwhile, Chen Ming was staring at Lu Manman with a dark look on his face.

”Why'd you do it?”

Lu Manman stared back at him. ”Why do you think I did it?”

”This is between you and me. Why drag Xin Qing into this? You even slandered her.” Chen Ming wanted to slap the woman. She had followed him and had secretly taken pictures of him.

Lu Manman chuckled darkly. ”Chen Ming, you were the one who'd agreed to marry me in the first place. If you're already in love in another person, why'd you agree to this marriage?”

Lu Manman touched the diamond ring on her finger. ”If you had rejected me from the start, I wouldn't be caught up in this mess. I wouldn't have fallen in love with you, and I wouldn't have tried so hard to keep this farce of a marriage alive!”

On the night of their marriage, drunken Chen Ming had called out Xin Qing's name while holding Lu Manman in his arms. After Lu Manman had pushed him onto the bed, his mind cleared and he went into the guest room alone.

Lu Manman was still a virgin after three months of their marriage. That kind of insult had filled Lu Manman's heart with resentment, which grew stronger day after day. What right did Xin Qing have to be happy while Lu Manman was suffering in her own marriage?

”I'm sorry. I haven't been a good husband to you. Look, we can get a divorce. I'll leave the house and money to you.” Chen Ming rubbed his forehead. ”If you agree, we can start preparing the papers tomorrow.”

Lu Manman swept the vase on the table to the ground. A loud crash sounded followed by her piercing scream. ”Divorce? Do you even know what it means for both our families to be united by marriage? Do you know that my dad has recommended your father to Central? Do you know how much damage both our families would suffer if we get a divorce?”

Lu Manman looked at him coldly. ”Chen Ming, you're not a man at all.” The door slammed behind her as she left.

Chen Ming stared at the mess on the floor with a pained expression. His phone rang.

”Hi, Xin Qing.”

”Yes. Yes, she's the one who did it.”

”I'm sorry. This is my fault. I'll take full responsibility for the matter. If Ying Qingcang wants to settle scores, tell him that I'm the one he should come for.”

...

Xin Qing hung up and relayed Chen Ming's words to Ying Qingcang. Young Master Shen clicked his tongue. ”He's been treating his wife okay, hasn't he? Why would his wife do something like this?”

”Hah!” Ying Qingcang snorted. ”Lu family's influence lies mostly in Central. Chen family is the one reaping all the benefits from the entire marriage. If he doesn't at least try to protect Lu Manman, what's he going to say to both families?”

Young Master Shen shrugged. ”So, now what? I've dealt with the press. Nobody would dare publish anything after this. But how do we restore Xiao Qingqing's reputation.” Young Master Shen paused, looking at Xin Qing. ”And Chen Ming, should we go after him?”

Xin Qing stared at Ying Qingcang, saying nothing. Ying Qingcang sighed, ”Fine, I understand. We won't pursue this.”

”Thank you!” Xin Qing threw herself at him. She hugged him on her own volition. She knew that Ying Qingcang's personality would never allow him to turn a blind eye to something like this. But for her sake, he had endured. Even though Xin Qing felt disgusted at Lu Manman for instigating this whole mess, she could not bring herself to retaliate against Chen Ming. The only option was to let the whole thing go.

”Now, about your reputation. Don't worry. Your name will be cleared in no time.” Ying Qingcang gave Young Master Shen a look and wiggled his eyebrows. From Ying Qingcang's smile, it was clear that he already had a plan.

Despite the circulating rumors, Xin Qing went to class as usual. When people stared at her and started whispering, she would just ignore them as if she had not noticed them at all. ”Humans are like this,” she thought. ”It'll be fine again after a while.”

Xin Qing and Zhang Mi had made time to bring Le Le to another matchmaking event for pets. This time, Le Le fell in love with a chihuahua. It was love at first sight.

The chihuahua turned out to be a male, which was a funny thing. The owner had been entertaining thoughts of abandoning it due to its peculiar habits. So Xin Qing decided to bring it home. After all, it could help keep Le Le company.

The two women got off the elevator, each carrying a dog in their arms. That was when Xin Qing heard Zhang Mi's scream. ”Xin Qing! Look out!” Then she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head. Everything went black.

Ah Che was waiting at the entrance when Le Le came running at him, barking as if it had gone mad. ”Oh, no. Something bad has happened!” He thought.

When Xin Qing came to, she found that her hands were tied behind her. Her legs, from top to bottom, were bound with rope too.

She felt a sharp, piercing pain at the back of her skull as she twisted her head to examine her surroundings. ”This place looks like some kind of textile dye factory,” she thought. Dirty fabrics, whose colors were beyond recognition, strewed the entire place.

Obviously, she had been abducted. Xin Qing closed her eyes. When she felt that her eyes had accustomed to the lighting, she reopened them and tried moving her hands. The bounds were too tight.

As for the people responsible for her abduction, Xin Qing had a few guesses of her own. She just did not see the point for them to take things this far. While she was caught up in her thoughts, the clicking of high heels sounded from outside the door. A woman opened the door and walked in.