Chapter 25: The True and False Heiresses 25

Gu Mingxu received the news immediately. His face was gloomy, and a cold sneer curled his lips. It must have been Huai Ying. It had to be! He knew she had no good intentions. Yet, he had clearly assigned people to guard Bai Jinwei and had repeatedly warned her to be careful. How could she still have been schemed against by Huai Ying?

He clenched his fists, his eyes revealing a ruthlessness that did not belong to a boy. This time, he would absolutely not give Huai Ying a chance to harm Bai Jinwei. He utilized his network of connections to track Bai Jinwei’s whereabouts. Simultaneously, he rushed to the Mu residence and confronted Mu Jinnian. He grabbed the collar of the bewildered Mu Jinnian and demanded sharply, "Where is Huai Ying? Where is she? Make her come out right now!"

Mu Jinnian looked displeased and shook off his hand. "What are you doing?"

"I asked you where Huai Ying is! I’m telling you, if anything happens to Weiwei, I will never let that vicious woman off."

Mu Jinnian felt it was all inexplicable, and his expression was equally grim. "Huai Ying is not someone you can bully at will. Show some respect, or the Mu family won't let you off, either."

"Do you really think you can represent the Mu family?" Gu Mingxu scoffed. He regretted saying it as soon as the words left his mouth, but the thought of Bai Jinwei reignited the fire in his chest. He glared at Mu Jinnian. "Huai Ying conspired with outsiders to kidnap Weiwei; are you aware of this?"

"That’s impossible," Mu Jinnian shook his head without a second thought.

Seeing the look of disdain on Gu Mingxu's face, as if he were looking at a fool, Gu Mingxu continued, "You don't really think she’s some innocent and pure character, do you? I’m telling you, she is a vicious and stupid woman. She kidnapped Weiwei just to see who is more important in everyone's hearts—her or Weiwei. But the people she is collaborating with are not kind-hearted; they are enemies of the Bai family, and they won't spare her either to achieve their goals."

He gritted his teeth, suppressing the panic in his heart. Bai Jinwei would be fine; she had to be.

Mu Jinnian forced himself to calm down and dialed a number. "Help me track someone's location." Knowing Gu Mingxu was acting irrational out of concern for Bai Jinwei, he didn't argue further. Instead, he said, "There must be a misunderstanding. Huai Ying isn't that kind of person. Let's wait until we find them before we say anything else."

Gu Mingxu snorted coldly, "I hope so."

The two waited in anxious agony for half an hour before they finally located Huai Ying and Bai Jinwei. At the same time, the kidnappers called the Bai family elders. Mother Bai was crying in distress: "Who on earth would target two high school students? This is madness! Quick, quick, isn't it just two hundred million? Let's go raise the money."

In contrast, Father Bai was much calmer. He sneered, "These kidnappers never intended to release the hostages in exchange for ransom. Even if the Bai family has the liquid assets, how can we raise two hundred million in cash within two hours? There isn't enough time to withdraw it from the bank. Besides, even if we gathered that much cash, they wouldn't be able to carry it away."

He narrowed his eyes, revealing a cold glint. He pulled Mother Bai into his arms and comforted her softly, "Don't worry. Both of our daughters are smart; they will definitely be fine."

They called Mu Jinnian and Gu Mingxu to inform them. When they learned the two were together, they were stunned. In front of the parents, Gu Mingxu did not mention that Huai Ying was responsible.

"The most important thing now is to find a way to raise the cash to save them. Do you have any good ideas?" Father Bai looked worried, appearing much older than his years.

"I have already raised it; the cash will be here soon," Gu Mingxu said, immediately drawing everyone's attention. Before they could speak further, the Gu family's bodyguards entered. "Young Master, the money has arrived."

They walked out of the villa, and a truck slowly pulled up in front of them. When the doors were opened, a truckload of cash appeared before their eyes. Although they were wealthy, money was usually just numbers on a bank statement to them; it was rare to see such a spectacular scene.

"Did they say how to exchange for the hostages?" Gu Mingxu asked calmly. It was a good thing he had prepared in advance. This time, Bai Jinwei should not be harmed.

"The kidnappers said the people are at Nanshan. They want the four of us to drive the truck there, no police allowed, no bodyguards allowed. If anything makes them unhappy, they will kill the hostages," Father Bai said, before adding his own conjecture, "They are likely not after the money. We must plan accordingly."

Gu Mingxu glanced at Mu Jinnian and sneered, "She certainly isn't after the money."

This remark made Father Bai alert. "Do you know something? Who exactly is targeting my daughter?"

Gu Mingxu hesitated. He didn't want to name Huai Ying. For one, he was afraid of frightening the parents, and for another, he feared they wouldn't believe him. After all, Huai Ying was currently loved by everyone. Just as he was wondering how to explain, Mu Jinnian intervened to smooth things over. "Let's just go save them first. There isn't much time left. We can discuss everything else once we meet the kidnappers."

Father Bai agreed and got into the car as quickly as possible.

"Before the facts are clear, please don't cast baseless accusations on others' integrity," Mu Jinnian warned.

"Whether it's an accusation or not, we'll know when we get there," Gu Mingxu retorted with a cold, mocking laugh. "I really didn't expect Young Master Mu to be played in the palm of a venomous girl's hand. Tsk tsk, the Elder Master Mu still intended to hand the Mu corporation over to you—he really has poor judgment."

Mu Jinnian remained unperturbed. "The Gu family, on the other hand, has a sharp eye, knowing that mud cannot be stuck to a wall, and instead focused their attention on their daughter-in-law."

Gu Mingxu was left speechless, glaring at Mu Jinnian with defiance. "So what? Weiwei is marrying me; what's mine is hers. My Weiwei is so wonderful, these things should belong to her, unlike some people, hmph..." The thought of the hardships and grievances Bai Jinwei might be enduring made his heart ache as if it were being torn apart, and his words couldn't help but turn acerbic.

On the other side, Bai Jinwei finally regained consciousness. Her hands and feet were tied, and her mouth was stuffed tightly with cloth. She tried to push it out with her tongue but failed, the pain in her lips making her gasp. However, she didn't care about that; her gaze was fixed on Huai Ying, who was nearby.

Huai Ying's condition was much better than hers; her mouth was not gagged, and her bindings were clearly loose. A brief moment of confusion flashed through Bai Jinwei's mind. Summoning all her strength, she spat out the gag. "Huai Ying, don't be afraid. I have a signal device; my family will come to rescue us soon. We will be fine."

Huai Ying only curled her lips into a smile. "Why would I be afraid?"