Chapter 218

Chapter 218

Xie Shiqing pressed her lips together, her expression so cold it was like a glacier.

“No way. I don’t think you care about her that much either.” Zhong Lin beckoned with her hand. A burly woman walked into the frame, grabbed Zhong Ning, and slammed a brutal punch straight into her stomach.

Zhong Ning suddenly doubled over, letting out a muffled groan. She was thrown back again and collapsed curled up on the ground.

“This is just an appetizer. If you don’t agree, I’ll break one of her fingers every hour,” Zhong Lin said in a vicious, indifferent tone, without the slightest trace of familial affection. “Or I can break her legs too. I’ll just tell the outside world she fell down the stairs, fell into paralysis, fell into a vegetative state.”

“Stop!” Xie Shiqing was horrified by what she saw. Her grip on the steering wheel wavered, and she almost crashed into the car beside her, startling the other driver into laying on the horn.

“She’s your own daughter! How can you dare treat her like this?”

Blood ties could not awaken any compassion in Zhong Lin. Her eyes and brows were filled with disgust. “I, Zhong Lin, don’t have a traitor daughter like that. Anyway, I’m still young. There are plenty of people lining up to give birth to children for me. I don’t need this one.”

“One hour. If I don’t see you start taking action, I’ll livestream it for you.”

She laughed softly a few times. “To be honest, I’m actually looking forward to you hesitating for a bit.”

With a snap, the video call ended.

Xie Shiqing glanced at the phone screen that had returned to the chat interface. Her fingertips gripping the steering wheel trembled slightly, and it felt as if a roaring lion had been locked inside her chest, violently slamming against an iron cage.

Her expression was calm to an unprecedented degree.

In her hands, she actually held some evidence of Zhong Lin’s illegal activities. This person’s greed for money and power was written all over her face. Since she could cover up a car accident, she could naturally do other things as well.

But Xie Shiqing had never reported it to the police. Her purpose was to torment Zhong Lin for a while longer, to make her repeatedly search for a way out, only to fail again and again.

That kind of blow was far more devastating than directly sending her to prison.

It was like a cat catching a mouse, not rushing to eat it, but insisting on playing with it first before biting down.

But Xie Shiqing had not expected that this person, driven into a corner, would actually use Zhong Ning to threaten her.

Xie Shiqing immediately chose to call the police.

However, she also had a faint premonition that the police might not be able to find much evidence right away.

An old fox like Zhong Lin would sweep her tail completely clean.

Police dogs could help with the search, but they also needed Zhong Ning’s personal belongings. Xie Shiqing went to Zhong Ning’s home and saw Michelle, fully dressed and about to head out.

“Zhong Ning was kidnapped by her mother,” Xie Shiqing said. “I need her personal belongings.”

Michelle’s gaze sharpened. “I knew something wasn’t right. She went out last night and never came back. She hasn’t replied to any messages either.”

However, because Zhong Ning had left together with Xie Shiqing, her first reaction had been that the two of them went out on a date. Fengcheng’s public security was so good that she had not thought in the direction of a disappearance.

“I’ll go get them right now.”

She ran into Zhong Ning’s bedroom and took two sets of pajamas from the suitcase.

Michelle was not responsible for packing suitcases. Zhong Ning liked to organize her own things, or have housekeeping help. As her assistant, Michelle did not handle household chores.

The nightgown that had been changed out of had not yet been washed, which made it just right to use.

“Is there anything else I can help with?” she asked.

Xie Shiqing said, “Come with me first.”

The police moved very quickly, but in order to avoid alerting the enemy, they all changed into plain clothes.

The first thing they investigated was the surveillance footage. The roadside cameras had been deliberately tampered with, so they couldn’t retrieve any video during that time frame. The only footage they managed to capture was of Xie Shiqing driving in—nothing showed her leaving.

At the police’s request, Xie Shiqing voluntarily dialed Zhong Ning’s number again, trying to buy time to help them triangulate the signal.

“I’m going to handle the procedures now. Where’s Zhong Ning? Let me see her.”

Zhong Lin’s face was full of mockery—that kind of smug expression of someone who fancied herself clever and looked down on others consumed with silly emotions. Sarcastic and predictable, she even clapped her hands a few times.

“As expected of the famous President Xie. Shiqing always handles things so decisively and efficiently, never dragging her feet.”

“I want to see Zhong Ning,” Xie Shiqing said coldly.

“She’s fine. Just missed a meal, that’s all,” Zhong Lin said in a chilly tone. “But love can fill the stomach. Seeing how much you love her, she must be so moved that she doesn’t need to eat anymore.”

The screen flipped. Zhong Ning was tied up, lying face-down on the bed, her hair covering her face.

A hand roughly grabbed her chin and forced her face to be revealed. There was a clear slap mark on her cheek, the skin swollen high, and the corner of her mouth was split.

“You hit her again?!” Xie Shiqing squeezed the words out between her teeth.

“As a mother, if a child talks back, what’s wrong with giving her a slap?” Zhong Lin said blandly. “It’s only natural.”

“If you lay another hand on her, I swear the Zhong Corporation that lands in your hands will be nothing but a hollow, broken shell,” Xie Shiqing said word by word. “Anyway, you only care about the Zhong Corporation. No matter what state it’s in, it’s still the same to you, isn’t it?”

“To you it’s important—but to me, it’s not worth even a single strand of Ning Ning’s hair.”

“Fine, fine.” Zhong Lin released her grip on Zhong Ning’s chin, her gaze cold like a snake’s. “I won’t touch her.”

“But you’d better move quickly. If you drag things out too long, I won’t be able to keep my promise either.”

The call was cut off.

There wasn’t enough time to pinpoint the exact location, but they managed to narrow it down to a general area—Kuanping District.

A team was dispatched to Kuanping District, bringing Zhong Ning’s pajamas with them.

Xie Shiqing pretended to prepare documents to stall Zhong Lin. Naturally, these were fake documents created with the help of the police, holding no legal validity.

As for how to lock down Zhong Ning’s precise location—that was a job for the professionals.

Though Xie Shiqing was deeply anxious, there was nothing she could do directly. This wasn’t her area of expertise.

Some officers on the road stole glances at her out of the corner of their eyes. The current wealthiest person in Fengcheng was dressed in pajamas and slippers, her hair messy and tousled—clearly she had just gotten out of bed.