Chapter 926: Acting Pitiful
As the group of people followed her up the hill, Zhong Nuannuan located the underground room with her X-ray vision almost immediately.
It was a room that had less than 30 square meters of space. In the room, Nangong Xu and Nangong Ling stood in the middle of the room. Other than the little space facing the door, killers surrounded the whole room as their guns pointed at the two children.
Nangong Ling looked much worse than before. Zhong Nuannuan quickly scanned through Nangong Ling’s body with her X-ray vision. Eventually, she discovered that Nangong Ling had a severe case of congenital heart defect. Furthermore, after getting locked up in such a cold place where there was not even a fire to keep her warm, the little girl’s illness had already acted up.
Although her elder brother, Nangong Xu, had considerately draped his coat over her, Nangong Ling was still pale from the cold. There was a growing sheen of green and purple on her face.
This child was seriously ill. Zhong Nuannuan frowned and was ready to barge in.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Nangong Ling seemed to sense Zhong Nuannuan’s gaze. She suddenly looked up and met Zhong Nuannuan’s gaze.
Zhong Nuannuan paused. At this moment, she was convinced that Nangong Ling saw her.
Then, Zhong Nuannuan made a gesture toward the hill. Her fingers extended to form three, two, and one, and followed by a collapsing movement.
Nangong Ling actually responded with a slight nod.
Zhong Nuannuan suppressed her shock and excitement and quickly took out a pen and paper. She started scribbling on the paper.
She drew the distribution of the killers and the location of the children.
“When we go in later, just shoot at these people. Don’t worry about the hostages.”
“Yes!”
Selina, Aiden, Dan Qi, and the Young Masters of the Nangong family answered in unison.
This not only surprised Zhong Nuannuan, but also Selina and the two others.
How was it proper for the children’s biological father and uncles to agree to Nuannuan’s order?
Were they not afraid that something would happen to the children?
After Zhong Nuannuan finished speaking, she added, “The four of you can just watch from the side. You don’t have to do anything.”
The four Young Masters from the Nangong family, “…”
Was their Little Princess Nuannuan doubtful of their competence?
Seeing the pitiful expression reemerged on their faces, Zhong Nuannuan’s heart skipped a beat in spite of herself. She added, “The door is too small for all of you to fit through.”
With this explanation, the eyes of the four young masters of the Nangong family lit up again.
“Nuannuan, thanks for going through the trouble, then.” Nangong Jin thanked her.
Zhong Nuannuan, “…” She was suddenly at a loss of words.
Therefore, Nuannuan decided not to reply and turned around.
Much to her surprise, even though she had already turned her back to Nangong Jin, she could not help feeling his disappointed gaze burning into her back all because she ignored him.
Zhong Nuannuan’s dismay was real.
Putting her revenge against them aside, she must now speak to them properly and not ignore them now?
What happened to serving some face-smacking revenge to these young masters’ faces? How was she going to continue with her revenge?
“It’s no trouble. You guys stay here. If anyone escapes, kill on sight.”
Finally, Nuannuan yielded to his aggrieved gaze.
“Sure, it’s no problem.”
As expected, Nangong Jin retracted his sad gaze when he finally received a response from his precious little sister.
Zhong Nuannuan was puzzled. Could it be that Nangong Jin became a major general at such a young age by acting pitiful?
Young and promising generals should be as resolute as her Big Brother Chi Yang, should they not?
Zhong Nuannuan criticized the disappointment she had for Nangong Jin internally. However, she had conveniently forgotten all about her Big Brother Chi Yang’s acts of inciting her pity and selling her his cuteness—he begged her to apply ointment on his hands even for a tiny scald and asked for a kiss.
Chapter 927: Rescue
At the same time, it was fortunate that Nangong Jin could not hear Nuannuan’s thoughts. Otherwise, he would really like to claim that other than acting pitiful in front of his wife and sister, he would never act pitiful in front of everyone else. Not even his mother.
Zhong Nuannuan led Selina and the other two to the door. By then, Matchmaker was starting to get anxious.
“Heiwa’s been gone for so long. Why hasn’t he returned? There’s no sound of gunfire outside. Has the battle ended? Did we win, or did that crazy woman win?”
However, only silence answered her.
“Frog, go out and take a look. You must return in five minutes. If you don’t, we’ll take it that you’re dead.”
“Yes.”
After responding to Matchmaker’s order, the man called Frog was about to leave.
However, Nangong Ling, who stood in the middle of the room with everyone pointing their guns at her, suddenly collapsed out of weakness.
“Lil Ling’er!”
Nangong Xu suddenly yelled and knelt down as well.
Meanwhile, Matchmaker and the others were still standing.
Just as they were about to squat down to check on Nangong Ling, the door collapsed with a bang.
Everyone was shocked. They raised their guns and prepared to shoot at the door.
However, in spite of their speed, their enemies were faster.
After a series of deafening gunshots, the room lapsed into silence.
When the four Nangong brothers saw that no one came running out, they guessed that the killers inside had probably been dealt with, so they immediately rushed to the door.
After all, the children locked up in the room were Nangong Jin’s son and daughter; the nephew and niece to the other three.
At that moment, everyone in the room was dead. Zhong Nuannuan and the rest had already rushed in.
When the four Nangong brothers rushed over, Zhong Nuannuan was already carrying Nangong Ling in her arms. Nangong Xu followed behind her.
Seeing how pale his daughter’s face was and how her eyes were closed, Nangong Jin felt like his heart was on the verge of stopping.
When he saw that Lil Ling’er was not injured or bleeding, Nangong Jin felt slightly relieved.
“Nuannuan, what happened to Lil Ling’er?”
Zhong Nuannuan carried Lil Ling’er out of the place and said to Nangong Jin, “Take off your coat and lay it on the ground.”
Without further ado, Nangong Jin immediately took off his coat without asking for the reason.
The remaining uncles hurriedly took off their coats and waited for Zhong Nuannuan’s instructions.
Zhong Nuannuan instructed, “Selina, start a fire.”
Zhong Nuannuan lay Nangong Ling on the coat on the ground. Then, she retrieved a coat from Nangong Ze and covered her with it before saying, “She has a congenital heart defect and shouldn’t do any strenuous exercise or stay in a cold place for too long. Send a plane immediately to pick her up.”
“After entering KYC Island, I have no way of contacting the outside world.”
“You can now.”
“Alright, I’ll call for a helicopter immediately.”
“Boss, there’s ice everywhere. The trees won’t catch fire easily. Do you still need that car?”
“No need.”
At this moment, Zhong Nuannuan had already asked the young masters of the Nangong family to block the wind around Nangong Ling with their coats. Then, she removed Nangong Ling’s clothes and started to treat her.
Suddenly, a series of explosions came from not far away, and that was not all. Even the off-road vehicle that they rode in earlier exploded. The vehicle was now engulfed in flames.
In the next moment, Aiden and Dan Qi were already throwing chunks of dried tree trunks into the flames.
Chapter 928: Auntie
The flames got bigger and bigger. Even though they were very far away, the air here gradually became warmer.
After witnessing this crude yet effective method, the Nangong brothers were speechless.
Seeing that Zhong Nuannuan stopped inserting needles into his daughter’s heart, Nangong Jin asked, “Nuannuan, how’s Ling’er doing?”
“This illness originated from her mother’s womb and it’s a severe one. Acupuncture alone won’t be able to cure her completely. For her to recover completely, we can only operate on her.”
“Then, can you soothe my little sister of her pain before her operation?” Nangong Xu, who had been unnaturally calm for a child, finally opened his mouth. He was completely unaffected by the gunfight and the explosion that Selina and the rest had created to quickly start a fire.
Zhong Nuannuan looked at Nangong Xu sternly. To be honest, even Zhong Nuannuan was surprised by Nangong Xu’s calm composure.
This child’s mental fortitude was not only superior to ordinary people—even trained killers could not be as calm as him.
Nangong Xu met Zhong Nuannuan’s gaze without fear. His obsidian-like eyes were beaming with anticipation.
There was a light blue tinge on Nangong Xu’s lips from the cold, but he ignored it completely. Zhong Nuannuan could not help but take off her coat and cover him in it. Then, she petted his head affectionately and said, “Don’t worry, before she fully recovers from the surgery, I’ll definitely think of a way to ease her pain.”
After Nangong Xu heard Zhong Nuannuan’s promise, he broke into a wide smile.
Winter in KYC Island was below -15 degrees Celsius, but the sunlight was perfect.
The gentle rays of the sun shone on Nangong Xu’s smiling childish face. He looked as cherubic as a child that had crawled out of a painting.
Just as Zhong Nuannuan was busy melting from Nangong Xu’s smile—her eyes blinking from his bright eyes—he unexpectedly reached out his short arms and wrapped them around Nuannuan.
Other than Chi Yang, Zhong Nuannuan disliked hugs.
Yet, for some reason, Zhong Nuannuan liked Nangong Xu’s hug very, very much.
Just as Zhong Nuannuan was surprised by how much she liked this hug, Nangong Xu whispered into her ear, “Thank you, Auntie.”
Zhong Nuannuan froze. “…!!!”
Nangong Xu said it very softly. Selina and the other two could not hear him, but the four Young Masters of the Nangong family heard him clearly. Their bodies froze in place too.
Nangong Xu wriggled out of Zhong Nuannuan’s embrace and looked at his father and uncles. “The woman called Zhong Qianqian that you guys found previously isn’t my auntie at all. This unbelievably beautiful sister is my real auntie. Lil Ling’er and I will never acknowledge Zhong Qianqian as our aunt. You guys can either acknowledge my real auntie, or Lil Ling’er and I will stay at my auntie’s house and never return home.”
The Young Masters of the Nangong family had yet to react to how their Lil Sun knew that Nuannuan was the real little princess of the Nangong family. Before they could react, Lil Ling’er, who had her eyes shut the whole time, had her illness alleviated. She opened her big eyes that were like black grapes and called out in her tender voice—
“Auntie…”
Seeing that Zhong Nuannuan ignored her, Lil Ling’er started to get a little anxious. She reached out a chubby hand and tried to tug at Zhong Nuannuan.
Chapter 929: My Auntie
However, Nangong Ling’s hand was too short. In spite of the small gap, she still failed to reach Zhong Nuannuan’s hand. Therefore, she tried her best to shift toward Nuannnuan.
This time, it was Zhong Nuannuan who reached out to hold Nangong Ling’s chubby hand.
“Don’t move.”
Upon hearing Zhong Nuannuan’s words, Lil Ling’er instantly stopped moving.
Zhong Nuannuan thought that she might have frightened the little girl and added.
“Good girl!”
Zhong Nuannuan’s words made the four Nangong brothers smile.
“Daddy, this beautiful big sister who saved me is my Auntie! That Zhong Qianqian who came to our house that day will never be my Auntie! I like my Auntie. I won’t allow you to let Zhong Qianqian come and be my aunt.”
Nobody expected the first thing Lil Ling’er said to her father after opening her eyes to be the same as what Lil Sun said. However, it was very obvious that Lil Ling’er used a more domineering tone from getting spoilt by everyone in the family.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Nuannuan’s body stiffened again.
In this life, she reimagined the scenes of how the Nangong family would attempt to reunite with her. In those reveries, the reunion would only happen after she served Zhong Qianqian the best face-smacking experience she would ever have.
However, it also occurred to her before that no matter what kind of reunion it was, she would never join the Nangong family easily due to how badly they treated her in her previous life.
Much to her surprise, her identity was exposed by two kids about the age of four or five.
Even Zhong Nuannuan, who was rarely shy or embarrassed in front of Big Brother Chi Yang and Grandpa Chi, could not help but feel a little awkward.
She wanted to put on a cold demeanor but to no avail. However, asking her to accept being a part of the Nangong family…that was impossible at the moment.
The Nangong brothers had long realized that Little Princess Nuannuan did not like them. They also knew that this was not a matter that could be achieved with force. If they messed this up, things would not be as simple as being hammered to death by Old Master Nangong. Even they themselves would regret this to the point of death.
Therefore, the young masters of the Nangong family lowered their stance all the way to the dirt on the ground and said to Zhong Nuannuan, “Nuannuan, to tell the truth… Before we met you, we already knew that you’re the real little princess of the Nangong family.”
Zhong Nuannuan felt her heart wrench.
Although she was from a wealthy family and would not care about being a part of the Nangong family, hearing that the Nangong family knew her identity long ago and chose to pretend to not know her made her angry. When she recalled how they even supported Zhong Qianqian against her, Nuannuan felt her discomfort escalating into a burning hatred.
However, before her temper flared, it was extinguished by Nangong Jin’s words.
“Grandpa was the first to discover your identity. That day, Grandpa hung out at Elder Chi’s house…”
Nangong Jin did not dare hold back any information at all. He explained everything that happened that day, including the fact that all the girls in the Nangong family possessed X-ray vision. He even told Nuannuan about the day Zhong Qianqian and Gu Mingzhe came to see him.
“Ever since the news of my aunt’s death came seventeen years ago, we lost her completely. We never thought that she’d left behind a daughter before she died. If we knew, we would’ve tried our best to find you, even if it meant giving up everything we had. We would never give you up.
“We don’t understand how Zhong Qianqian has the same DNA and blood as you. Sixth Brother says that it’s probably because Zhong Qianqian went through a blood exchange transfusion with you that gave her DNA similar to the Nangong family. However, from that video, we learned that…”
Chapter 930: Do You Resent Us?
“You were abducted by human traffickers when you were three years old. You only returned home when you were 17 years old. In that duration, Zhong Qianqian didn’t undergo any surgery.
“Thus, Grandpa told us to investigate this matter thoroughly. We must find out the situation between you, Zhong Qianqian, Auntie, and the Zhong family before we can invite you home. You’re the only little princess of our Nangong family. As the people closest to you in this world, we definitely can’t sit back and watch as you suffer in Zhong Qianqian’s hands”
So, that was what was happening.
After finally knowing the truth, Zhong Nuannuan was slightly touched.
All this time, she had always been the one who had been wronged and had to seek justice for herself. However, after everything that happened, she found Big Brother Chi Yang, Grandpa Chi, and Second Uncle… Now, she had a family who had already started to seek justice for her silently even before they admitted her into the family.
At that moment, Zhong Nuannuan could not pinpoint what exactly was this emotion that she was feeling.
If she had to describe it, it made her feel a little bloated and a little sour amidst her slightly sentimental feeling.
“Ah…?” Lil Ling’er was depressed. She said softly, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? You made me and Big Brother angry and ran away from home for this? We even got kidnapped after that.”
Nangong Jin glared at his son angrily.
“Your sister has always been impulsive, yet you followed her lead? Look at how tortured your sister is just because you brought her out this time.”
Nangong Xu was not angry at all after being scolded by his father. After all, he admitted that he was being too impulsive.
However, Lil Ling’er refused to accept that.
“Daddy, don’t scold Lil Sun. I’m the one who came up with the idea. Lil Sun wanted to wait and see. He said that we could leave if all of you really brought Zhong Qianqian back, but I couldn’t stand it. That’s why I said that even if Lil Sun didn’t leave, I’d leave myself. That’s why Lil Sun followed me. After all, I’m his elder sister. He’ll always follow me willingly.”
Under normal circumstances, Lil Sun would have yelled back at Lil Ling’er because not only did she call him Lil Sun, she even shamelessly called herself the elder sister. He remembered clearly how she had always called him Big Brother since they were captured until today.
This girl definitely knew how to dispose of others after using them!
However, when Nangong Xu saw how pitiful Nangong Ling looked right now, he swallowed the scolding that was about to escape his mouth.
Forget it, he would just bully her after she had recovered.
After being interrupted by the two children, the atmosphere was no longer as awkward. As a cunning little fox who was up and rising in the business world, Nangong Yun immediately struck while the iron was hot. “Nuannuan, we don’t know what you’ve experienced in that household. It’s all our fault for not finding you early and protecting you properly.
“Originally, the plan was to let Grandpa seek justice for you, approach you, and explain everything to you personally after we figure out the truth. Then, after obtaining your approval, we’ll bring you home together. However, after Grandpa found out that the two little kiddos were kidnapped, he had another stroke and went into a critical condition instead. We don’t know how’s Grandpa doing right now, and these two little ones have now exposed us…
“Since things have come to this, Nuannuan, can you forgive us on account of the fact that we’ve never intended to lose your mother? Although you haven’t experienced love from your family in the past 17 years, I promise that as long as you’re willing to go home, from today onward, we’ll transfer this love to you twice as much. This way, you can experience the warmth that family brings you, okay?”
So… These fools thought that she resented the Nangong family losing her mother?