ABSTIWTVMST Chapter 142

Jing Yicheng had always been a man of his word. Hearing his promise, Xu Chenghao felt reassured. He took one look at the little yellow duck flowerpot, barely managing to suppress his emotions.

Quickly immersing himself in work, he completed all his tasks in record time before leaving Xu Group with Jing Yicheng to head home.

The two spent a sweet and cozy evening together, having dinner before washing up and resting for the night. Once the person in his arms was completely asleep, Jing Yicheng slowly opened his eyes and carefully slipped away.

By now, night had fully fallen. The soft glow of a small nightlight provided just enough illumination for Jing Yicheng to see his footing as he quietly left the bedroom. He didn’t go outside but instead held his phone—set to vibrate—as he stepped onto the balcony, waiting silently for news while the cool night breeze brushed against him.

Tonight, the stars were dim, and thick black clouds blanketed the sky, swallowing all traces of moonlight and deepening the already dark night. Only the ever-bustling, sleepless city remained vibrant, its neon lights flickering ceaselessly in the distance.

—”Waaah—”

A baby’s sudden wail pierced the darkness.

For a brief moment, the room remained eerily silent before a beam of light flickered on. A man holding a flashlight frowned impatiently at the crying child, his brows furrowed. “What the hell is going on in the middle of the night?”

“Who knows?” someone muttered. Then, with complete disregard for the others, he switched on the overhead light. The abrupt brightness made everyone squint in discomfort as a chorus of complaints erupted.

“The hell, man? Give a warning before turning on the damn light!”

“You turned the lights on in the middle of the night—aren’t you afraid of getting caught?”

The man who had switched the light on sneered. “With how loud you’re yelling, we’d get caught even if I didn’t turn it on.”

“And whose fault is that? You’re the one who turned the damn thing on first!”

“I turned it on to check on the kid! If something happens, where the hell are we gonna get our money?” The man scoffed, his tone full of disdain. “Besides, we’re not hiding out in some remote countryside. This is the city—plenty of places stay lit all night. What’s there to be scared of? You lot had the guts to kidnap someone but are now acting all jumpy?”

“You—”

“Enough!”

A voice full of irritation cut through the argument, silencing the group.

Everyone instinctively turned their heads to look.

On the sofa, a man slowly opened his eyes. The sudden exposure to light caused a brief flicker of silver in his gaze before it settled into an icy calm, completely devoid of emotion. His chilling demeanor instantly quieted the room.

“If you want to solve the problem, then shut up and soothe the baby. What the hell are you arguing for?”

The men exchanged uncertain glances, their rough and unkempt faces filled with hesitation. None of them had ever dealt with a baby before, and none were willing to step forward.

After a long pause, someone finally suggested, “Why not wake the woman up? We can’t just let the kid keep crying like this.”

The man on the sofa gave a faint “Mhm” before closing his eyes again.

Taking this as permission, the man who had spoken up stepped forward, nudging An Rouyu’s leg with his foot. “Wake up! Hey, wake up!”

The woman lying on the ground trembled slightly before her eyelashes fluttered open. Her gaze was dazed as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings.

Where was she?

What was going on?

—”Waaah—Waaah—”

The baby’s cries continued.

An Rouyu squeezed her eyes shut for a brief moment before suddenly jolting upright. Her eyes snapped toward the source of the sound, her fingers trembling uncontrollably. “The… the baby…”

Was it her child?

Her gaze locked onto the infant, ignoring everything else around her. She lunged forward desperately, scooping up the crying baby as tears streamed down her face. “My baby… my child… mine…”

Ever since she had been discharged from the nursing home and moved into the Ruan family estate, they had never allowed her to hold her child. No matter how much she begged, all she was ever granted was a distant glimpse. She had resented the Ruan family for keeping her child away from her, yet she had been powerless to fight back.

Sometimes, she had thought that even watching from afar was enough.

But she had never expected fate to grant her another chance—to let her hold her baby at last.

Overcome with emotion, she wept tears of joy while gently rocking the infant. Soon, the baby fell back into slumber, its tiny lips pursed into an adorable pout.

An Rouyu couldn’t contain the tender smile that spread across her face.

“Alright, that’s enough,” the man who had suggested waking her up spoke again, sounding smug as he turned to his companions. “See? Told you that was a good idea.”

His voice pulled An Rouyu out of her emotional haze. For the first time, she sensed that something was off.

Her body ached and her neck was faintly sore. She slowly lifted her head, the movement making an audible crack in her stiff joints—

And then she saw it.

The gun.

Its cold, metallic barrel gleamed under the artificial light, already loaded and aimed straight at her.

She gasped sharply, instinctively tightening her grip around the baby as she backed up against the wall. “You… you…”

“Shh. Don’t scream.” The man holding the gun spoke with a calmness that sent chills down her spine. “We don’t want to hurt you, so I suggest you behave.”

An Rouyu bit down on her lip hard, trying to suppress her rising panic.

But how could she ignore the presence of these burly men?

They reeked of blood, their faces hardened by years of violence. Some were idly sharpening knives, others twirling guns between their fingers, yet all of them were staring at her.

Waiting.

Like predators watching their prey.

She knew that if she made a single wrong move, they would all strike at once.

No—she had to stay calm.

Her baby was still here.

She had to protect her child!

Her arms trembled as she held the baby closer, pressing herself against the wall as if that alone could keep her safe. After a long moment, she forced herself to speak, her voice quivering. “Who… who are you?”

“Hm?”

A lazy murmur came from the man on the sofa.

As An Rouyu looked over, she happened to meet his gaze just as he reopened his eyes.

His pupils were a pale, chilling gray—like lifeless, stagnant water. He regarded her with an impassive stare before speaking in a detached tone.

“Miss An, you really do have a short memory. It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already forgotten us?”

An Rouyu’s eyes widened in horror.

Her fingers instinctively clenched the fabric of the baby’s swaddle as she stammered, “Y-you… I don’t know you. I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

The man remained expressionless. “Do you really think we wouldn’t figure out it was you just because you stayed anonymous? You still haven’t paid the rest of the fee for the arson job.”

An Rouyu wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved or terrified.

She quickly responded, “I was going to pay! If you let me and my child go, I’ll give you the money right away!”

The moment she finished speaking, the room was filled with mocking laughter.

The man chuckled softly. “But Miss An, I thought you didn’t know us?”

Her face turned deathly pale.

“You… but we had a deal! I paid you to teach Xu Chenghao a lesson—why did you kidnap me and my child?”

The man smirked.

“Because, Miss An, what you can offer is far too little.”

An Rouyu froze.

“What… what do you mean?”

“It means,” the man said lightly, “that you’ve been kidnapped.”

He leaned back, his voice amused. “After all, with the Ruan family’s wealth, we can get a much bigger payout with you and the baby in our hands.”

At that moment, An Rouyu felt as if she had been plunged into an icy abyss.

She never could have imagined that she would capsize in a gutter. Although she had managed to teach Xu Chenghao a lesson, she had ended up dragging both herself and her child down with her. Worse still, all of this was of her own making. Foolishly seeking cooperation with a tiger, she had stupidly placed trust in the wrong people, unaware that they had long since set their sights on the Ruan family’s wealth through her.

She was on the verge of collapse. Facing the dark muzzle of a gun, she had no way out. Slumping to the ground, she could only hold her child tightly and cry silently, desperately wishing that time could turn back—if she had another chance, she would never have provoked these people.

Regret surged over her like the rising tide, drowning her bit by bit, making it impossible to breathe. Her entire body froze in place, her mind filled with only one thought—she had implicated her child. She had put her child in danger. Because of her stupidity, her child had been kidnapped… This was all her fault… all her fault!!

Tap, tap, tap—

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

Everyone inside immediately gripped their weapons. One of them even took a few steps forward, yanking up An Rouyu, pressing a gun against her head, and dragging her to the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Old Five.” The voice coming through the door was somewhat muffled, but a trace of joy was still audible. “We’ve got the money. I promised them we’d leave the child at the square. Before coming, I checked—they’re all lying in ambush there.”

The people inside still didn’t lower their guard, using An Rouyu as a shield as they cautiously opened the door—

Outside, there really was only a sneaky-looking burly man. The tense atmosphere in the room eased slightly, and just as they were about to close the door with only a crack left, the door was suddenly blocked from the outside and then violently kicked open.

At the same time, red laser light shone through the window, locking onto the man holding An Rouyu hostage. Without hesitation, gunfire erupted.

The shootout came without warning.

The intruders engaged in close-quarters combat, while the red laser dots outside followed like shadows, tracking their targets with precision.

An Rouyu could only crouch at the doorway, holding her child and screaming, not daring to move.

The room plunged into complete chaos, yet the man who had been sitting on the sofa suddenly curled his lips into a smirk. His figure flickered like a ghost, avoiding every attack as he rolled over the balcony railing and leaped off.

Bang!

A muffled impact. The man landed on the ground unscathed.

As he looked up, his light gray pupils quickly darkened into a silver-gray hue. He exchanged a glance with the person inside the car, then immediately turned and disappeared into the streets—his speed so fast it was as if he had vanished into thin air.

Inside the car, the assistant held his phone, taking a long time to recover from his shock.

He looked up at the tenth-floor height, then back at the now-empty street. He had yet to process what had just happened before his shock quickly turned into confusion—as if he had forgotten what he had just seen. He continued holding the phone, waiting.

Above, shattered glass kept falling, a sign that the remnants of resistance still lingered. The fight continued for another half hour before the building finally fell into silence.

The assistant sat inside the car, waiting.

Finally, Zhang Yun came out…

—Huh?

The assistant suddenly sat up straight.

Zhang Yun had an unconscious Ruan Chenxuan slung over his shoulder. He placed him into the pre-arranged ambulance, his clothes stained red, before turning around and heading back upstairs.

A moment later, An Rouyu and her child, also unconscious, were carried down.

The ambulance doors closed. The sirens blared, and it sped away. Clearly, someone was seriously injured.

The assistant was slightly surprised—he hadn’t expected the rescue to be this intense.

He dialed a number, lowering his voice: “Boss.”

“Mm.”

“Zhang Yun’s rescue operation was very successful, but Ruan Chenxuan’s entire family has been hospitalized.”

“……”

The assistant waited for a response.

Hearing nothing from the other end, he couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, are you listening?”

Jing Yicheng immediately suppressed the upward curve of his lips and replied calmly, “Make sure to press charges against the criminals. Also, by tomorrow, I want full reports on their injuries and the interrogation results.”

“Understood.”

Jing Yicheng: “Especially Ruan Chenxuan’s condition.”

The assistant: “…Understood.”

 

 

T/N: I hope An Rouyu has finally learnt her lesson… I can’t believe the villain rescued the world’s protagonists lol. This is some insane plot twist…