Take Me Away, My Love - Chapter 38 - Threat

Chen Zhen was completely unprepared. Just as she turned around, a dart was already heading towards her back. If she hadn’t dodged swiftly at the critical moment, that dart might have pierced into her heart by now.

Even so, Chen Zhen had been hit in her left shoulder.

Wearing nothing but a bikini, Cheng Mo quickly approached. Her delicate hands clamped around Chen Zhen’s neck, her eyes burning with intensity as she stared closely at Chen Zhen.

With a commanding presence, she spoke, “Chen Zhen, what are you that you dare speak to me like this? Don’t forget, in my hands, you are always just an ant, and I can crush you whenever I want.”

As she spoke, the force in her hands gradually increased, causing Chen Zhen’s face to redden as she struggled for breath.

Chen Zhen tried to pry open the grip, but it was impossible.

Cheng Mo’s physical strength was the best among them. Even Li Minchun had to admit defeat in front of her, not to mention Chen Zhen herself.

Chen Zhen felt her breathing becoming more and more difficult, as if all her struggling was in vain.

Slowly opening her eyes, all she saw were Cheng Mo’s eyes, almost bursting with fury.

“Enough, if you keep squeezing, she’ll be dead,” Cheng Duo said as he leisurely put on his clothes. They still needed Chen Zhen’s help, so she couldn’t die just yet.

“Yeah, we still need you, so you can’t die yet, got it? Sweetheart.”

As she spoke, Cheng Mo finally lessened the grip.

With a smile, she nodded and released Chen Zhen. Chen Zhen sat there, coughing continuously.

The red on her shoulder continued to flow down.

Cheng Mo’s face was cold as she said, “You should know, not only can I spare your life, but I can also take it away, along with your son’s, when I’m in a bad mood.”

This single sentence was enough to make Chen Zhen tremble with fear.

She shouted at Cheng Mo and Cheng Duo with agitation, “You can’t do this. Cheng Duo, you know that the child is the only descendant of the Shangguan Family. Now…”

“You’re not my dad, so stop meddling. What do I care about the descendants of the Shangguan Family? I wasn’t born to continue a bloodline.” Cheng Duo was very averse to the whole idea of lineage.

Previously, Jian Gangchen pressured him to have children, and now that Jian Gangchen was finally out of the picture, Chen Zhen, the chatterbox, had appeared. It was unbearable.

“Fine, if you won’t think about me, at least think about your own son. After all, he is your biological son.”

Whenever she thought of Cheng Duo’s indifferent attitude towards the child, Chen Zhen felt a chill throughout her body.

Since she became pregnant, Cheng Duo had been more affectionate towards his subordinates than the baby. The look of disgust was clearly written on his face, and he never cared about the little one’s well-being.

“My son? I didn’t ask you to have him. I told you to abort it, but you wouldn’t listen. Now the child is born and is a weirdo, and you blame me.”

Whenever Cheng Duo heard people tell him to take responsibility, it gave him a headache.

He thought, how much better it was to be carefree and independent; why should he be tied down by these people and forced to live by their standards?

“Alright, stop wasting time with this woman. Let’s focus on our business. How is that matter progressing…”

Ignoring Chen Zhen’s complaints, the two began discussing their plans again.

Next, they aimed to infiltrate Ling Kong.

Domestically, Ling Kong was indeed a powerful criminal organization. With Ling Kong’s support, they would surely rise to prominence once more.

Unfortunately, they were unaware that the chief of Ling Kong was none other than the detestable Jian Yiqing…

Chen Zhen went out to clean the room with a look of helplessness. By the time she finished tidying up, those two troublemakers had already left.

Looking at the room, which was now a total mess, Chen Zhen’s tears began to fall once more.

Ah, is this all self-inflicted?

If she had listened to Li Minchun back then, perhaps things wouldn’t have turned out like this.

Now, it’s too late to say anything because the die has been cast, hasn’t it?

However, Chen Zhen and her companions were unaware that the moment Cheng Mo and Cheng Duo stepped out of the community, a pair of eyes had already locked onto them.

As Xian Cheng had predicted, Cheng Mo and Cheng Duo had indeed returned. What saddened Li Minchun even more was that Chen Zhen had kept this a secret from her. Had she forgotten the lessons from the past?

Li Minchun was tempted to confront Chen Zhen, but ultimately decided to follow Cheng Mo instead.

Since they were quite familiar with each other, Li Minchun didn’t dare to follow too closely and relied on her instincts to track them.

Perhaps because Cheng Mo didn’t expect anyone to be trailing her, she lowered her guard and casually entered a real estate company with Cheng Duo.

When Li Minchun saw the real estate company, she couldn’t help but smile.

It looked like the saying “there is a destiny” held true. Cheng Duo and Cheng Mo had walked right into her territory.

She promptly took out her phone and called Ma Yunfei. “Hello, Ma Yunfei?”

“It’s the leader. What’s the matter?” Ma Yunfei, on the other end, was surprised to receive a call from Li Minchun. After the previous incident, they’d had no interactions. Her reaching out now-could it be a hint at something?

“Is there a man and a woman who just walked into our sales hall? What are they trying to do?”

Although Ma Yunfei didn’t know exactly what Li Minchun was getting at, he respectfully and truthfully answered, “They want to join Ling Kong. Their terms seem quite promising.”

Upon hearing this, a smile spread across Li Minchun’s face. Interesting, having Cheng Mo and Cheng Duo work under her might indeed be a very good thing.

This outcome was even better than any she had previously imagined.

“Alright, keep them there, but don’t reveal any information about me. Handle the specifics yourself, understand?”

Though Li Minchun’s words on the phone were cryptic and left room for speculation, Ma Yunfei obediently went about his task.

He had already experienced Li Minchun’s formidable tactics and had no desire for any unforeseen incidents.

With things more or less handled, Li Minchun headed to Chen Zhen’s home.

She arrived just as Chen Zhen was stepping out.

Running into Li Minchun here was no coincidence, Chen Zhen realized. Her eyes widened in astonishment as she exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”

“I think we need to have a talk.”

Oh no, if Li Minchun was speaking to her in this tone, it could only mean she was already aware of what’s going on with Cheng Mo and Cheng Duo. Chen Zhen felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment.

“I’ll be waiting for you at the International Restaurant.”

With that, Li Minchun turned and walked away, not waiting for Chen Zhen’s agreement.

Knowing she’d been discovered, Chen Zhen had no choice but to head to the International Restaurant after picking up her child from the kindergarten.

It was the first time Li Minchun interacted with Chen Zhen’s child. The boy seemed quieter than other children, perhaps even a bit cold.

From start to finish, he didn’t utter a word. His face remained clouded, as if something was perpetually weighing on his mind.

“Is your son always this quiet?” Li Minchun asked, thinking of her own rambunctious little one.

Yet, as soon as she voiced the question, she regretted it. The boy’s cold eyes turned to her, and the look in them was almost enough to stop her in her tracks.

It was a look of hostility, enough to send a chill down her spine.

“Gently now, eat your food. Auntie meant no harm,” Chen Zhen quickly soothed her son, finally shifting his hostile gaze back to his meal.

Throughout their time there, the little boy remained silent, yet his demeanor was more unnerving than words could ever be.

Chen Zhen looked at her son helplessly and said to Li Minchun, “I really didn’t want my son to become like this. Shortly after he was born, Cheng Duo and Cheng Mo sent him to a specialized training institution to strengthen his training from an early age. You know how kids turn out after being in a place like that, sigh…”

As she spoke, tears welled up in Chen Zhen’s eyes. Every time others looked at her son as if he were some kind of monster, it felt like a knife was piercing her heart.

In that moment, Li Minchun quickly realized Cheng Duo and Cheng Mo’s intentions.

They selfishly wanted to mold the young boy into a killing machine-obedient, yet formidable.

Having grown up in a specialized training institution herself, Li Minchun knew that its horrors were intolerable even for an adult, let alone a child.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that she and the others were already six or seven when they entered the institution, she believed they might have ended up as psychologically warped as the young Jian Ru.

“You knew what kind of place that was, so why didn’t you stop it?”

Li Minchun felt anger rising within her. Others might disregard their child’s well-being, but how could a mother, a child’s own biological parent, be so neglectful?

“I couldn’t… Even now, I feel like my fate isn’t in my own hands. You don’t understand; Cheng Duo and Cheng Mo threatened me, saying that if I didn’t comply, they would harm my baby. He’s so young; I can’t take that risk.”

As she spoke, tears streamed down Chen Zhen’s cheeks.

“Forget it. Just take good care of yourself,” Li Minchun sighed.

Knowing Chen Zhen’s personality deeply, Li Minchun realized there was little else she could say.

It seemed that for Chen Zhen to truly start her own life, Cheng Duo and Cheng Mo would need to be taken out of the picture.

As long as those two existed, they would remain a perpetual threat.

After leaving Chen Zhen, Li Minchun went with the bodyguards to pick up Jian Qingtian from school.

Since the last time when Li Minchun alerted Jian Yiqing, security here had been tightened. It was clear that his son was indeed the apple of his eye.

“What are you doing here?” Jian Qingtian’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Li Minchun. Seeing the same few faces every day, it was a rare treat to encounter someone different.

“I’m here to pick you up from school,” Li Minchun replied with a smile.

But Jian Qingtian huffed dismissively, “Yeah right, I bet you’re just using this as an excuse to get close to my dad.”

“What?” Li Minchun was stunned, her mouth forming an ‘O’ and staying that way for quite a while.

As he climbed into the car, Jian Qingtian continued, “Don’t pretend. I know exactly what women like you are after. You just see my dad is rich and handsome, and you want to chase after him.”

“Jian Qingtian, don’t think that just because you’re my leader’s son, I won’t discipline you. Kids should learn to speak politely to adults.”

Li Minchun finally took on her motherly role, attempting to teach this rebellious brat a lesson.

If she were around, she certainly wouldn’t have let him become like this. Jian Yiqing was always busy with his affairs, leaving little time to care for the child. As a result, Jian Qingtian had developed a bit of a spoiled attitude.

“You’re not my mom, what right do you have to boss me around?”

That one sentence left Li Minchun speechless. This little brat was really too infuriating.

“Let’s see if I have the right to discipline you…”

Ignoring the bodyguards’ attempts to stop her, Li Minchun reached out, dragged the unruly child out of the car, and gave him a few firm spanks on the rear.

“You dare hit me? I’ll tell my dad! I’ll tell my dad!”

Li Minchun set him down, scolding, “I’m your elder, so of course I have the right to discipline you. Go ahead and tell your dad-I would do it again in a heartbeat. And if I catch you acting like this again, don’t blame me for spanking you once more!”

Afterwards, she got back in the car, raised her eyebrows, and glared at Jian Qingtian. “Get in the car!”

Faced with this, the normally spoiled Jian Qingtian suddenly became surprisingly obedient. He didn’t dare to move and climbed back into the car, as quiet as a little kitten.

Everyone around was dumbfounded. Who would dare treat the chief’s son like this? How would they explain this later?