“The decision is in your hands…I’ll give you two hours to think it over.”
After speaking, President Fan laughed and hung up his phone. Because, simply threatening Tangning, was already a victory for him.
But, Tangning never did as expected. The more worrying a situation was, the better she was at hiding her thoughts and the calmer she remained. So, there was no way she’d accept President Fan’s suggestion. In fact, she was going to make him pay a hefty price.
After talking to President Fan, Tangning immediately called Mo Ting and told him about the current situation as well as President Fan’s pressures.
Mo Ting fell silent. After sitting quietly in his office for a moment, he asked in uncertainty, “You won’t be going, right?”
“Of course I will, but I will make careful preparations,” Tangning replied. “You will help me, right?”
“Ting, you understand how I am. I don’t like being threatened. If it wasn’t because I had no choice, I would not result to methods like this.”
As soon as Mo Ting heard this, the couple were on the same page.
“I understand. I’ll get back to you in two hours.”
Tangning knew they Mo Ting understood what she was thinking. So, the most important thing now was for Lu Che to find Lin Qian.
…
At that moment, the sun had just set. It took Lin Qian and the hostel owner’s daughter a bit of time, but they finally located a nearby farmhouse where they could stay the night.
However, the two brothers in the farmhouse were particularly friendly to the two women, “I wonder why two young women like yourselves would end up at a remote country village like this?”
“We are here to look for someone…”
“Are you here because of the plane crash as well?” the older brother asked. “You may not believe me, but, at the time of the crash, I was nearby with my sheep. Because the crash was so loud, my sheep all ran away and I had to chase them around for quite some time…”
“Anything else?”
“I also ran into a soldier. He was a tall and skinny man that was covered in injuries and he headed towards the bottom of the gorge. As I was scared, I did not reveal myself. Are you guys looking for him, perhaps?”
As soon as Lin Qian heard this, she immediately grabbed onto the man’s shirt and asked, “Is that really what you saw?”
“Yes, that’s what I saw. How could I lie about something like that?”
“So, he was alive?”
“Yes, and he could walk as well. But, there are a lot of wild animals at the bottom of the gorge, I’m not sure if he’ll be able to walk out of there alive,” the man said helplessly. “We have lived in the mountains all our lives and haven’t been exposed to the outside world. I couldn’t differentiate between good and bad, so I was too afraid to reveal myself in front of him…”
As soon as Lin Qian heard this, tears began to roll from her eyes. She was tempted to run straight into the gorge at that moment and look for Li Jin.
However, the hostel owner’s daughter continued to analyze the two brothers. Her instincts told her that something wasn’t right.
“Ningxiang…”
“Miss Lin, I know you are anxious, but it’s getting dark outside and it’s impossible for us to head into the gorge at this time. Besides, no one has ever gone to the center of the gorge and I’m not sure what is in there. No matter how much you want to go, you need to resist for at least tonight,” the hostel owner’s daughter warned in seriousness. “Don’t do anything reckless.”
After hearing this, Lin Qian nodded her head. If she was on her own, she would probably take the risk. But, she was here with someone else, so she had to take this woman’s safety into consideration as well.
“In that case, be good and get some sleep. You need to conserve some energy for tomorrow.”
Lin Qian did as told…
…
8pm.
President Fan’s two hours was up, but Tangning was still waiting for a response from Mo Ting. Finally, at the last minute, her phone rang.
“I’ve already done what you asked me to do.”
“His daughter and wife?”
“They are both with me,” Mo Ting replied.
The conversation between the couple was simple but to the point. To put it simply, Mo Ting fought back by inviting President Fan’s daughter and wife to one of Hai Rui’s hotels where they were currently enjoying a sumptuous dinner.
Afterwards, Tangning gave President Fan a phone call.
“Have you made a decision? Are you going or not?” President Fan asked.
Tangning glanced at the time and asked, “President Fan, I’m currently treating your wife and daughter to dinner, I hope you don’t mind.”
President Fan did not expect Tangning to get back at him with his own trick.
So, he was unprepared. He never thought that Tangning would dare to do something like this!
“I always thought that President Tang was a righteous person that would never result to such dirty methods.”
“I’ve always treated situations accordingly. I treat people like people and treat animals like animals. So, are you ready to tell me where Lin Qian is?” Tangning asked. “Since we’ve already declared this war, I don’t plan to hold back anymore. If worse comes to worst, let’s both take a gamble. I will treat your wife and daughter the same way that you treat Lin Qian…”
President Fan gritted his teeth. He couldn’t believe that the tables had turned.
“Tangning! You are going to die a horrible death…”
“Ever since I became involved with you, I did not expect a good ending. But, don’t try to compete with me in ruthlessness. You can’t beat me.”
Of course, President Fan would never back down, so he replied, “If you’re so great, then go ahead and keep them locked up. Let’s see how you explain yourself to the police.”
“I don’t need to explain anything. Even if I go to jail, I still have Mo Ting, I still have my two sons and I still have the Tang and Mo Families. I’m sure this number of people will be able to strip you of everything you’ve got and make your life a living hell.”
“Oh, by the way, I’m sure you know that Mo Ting doesn’t like to be provoked. I’ll give you one night to think things over. I want an answer by tomorrow.”
After speaking, Tangning hung up the phone. This time, she was in charge.
In reality, after Mo Ting brought President Fan’s wife and daughter to the hotel, he had already explained the entire situation to them. President Fan’s wife turned out to be a very understanding person. In order to prevent her husband from committing further crimes, she agreed to stay in the hotel. So, Mo Ting naturally treated the wife and daughter to good food and took good care of them. After all, he couldn’t tie them into the same category as President Fan.
In the end, both sides were filled with anxiety because neither of them wanted to back down.
Meanwhile, Lu Che continued on his search.
…
During this entire time, Lin Qian had no idea that Tangning and President Fan had declared war because of her.
She was currently dreaming about Li Jin in her sleep.
Li Jin looked taller than ever in her dreams.
“Qian Qian, don’t look for me…don’t.”
Lin Qian jumped awake. As she sat up, her eyes were covered in tears.
Luckily, it was already daytime, otherwise, she wouldn’t know how she’d get through the rest of the night.
Soon, her and Ningxiang packed their things to head out. Meanwhile, at this exact time, Tangning received a phone call from President Fan, “I won’t tell you where Lin Qian is. If you want to take my wife and daughter’s lives, then go ahead and take them.”