Chapter Twenty-Nine: Two Women—Who to Let Go?

The fishing boat rocked unsteadily. Outside, the day was bright. Lu Tian was jolted awake by the putrid, fishy stench of death. Bracing herself against the grimy inner wall of the cabin, she managed to sit up with great effort. Hidden deep within a secret pocket of her clothes was a 2G flip phone, difficult for anyone to discover during a search. Ever since she had been kidnapped by Lu Zhi, Lu Tian had grown wiser. Fei Jing was unreliable; the only thing she could depend on was saving herself.

Half an hour later, police officers arrived at the door to explain their purpose: "Mr. Fei, is it? We received a report from your wife stating she was kidnapped onto a fishing boat. We need your cooperation to help rescue her."

"What? Tiantian has been kidnapped?"

As if suddenly realizing something, he turned his sinister, phoenix-like eyes toward Lu Youyou. "Last night, you deliberately had the company staff lure me to the group headquarters and got me drunk..."

"Husband, I just missed you so much. You’ve been spending all your time with my sister these past few days. Am I not even allowed to be a little jealous without being suspected of having ulterior motives?" The young girl lowered her head, looking aggrieved. On her wrist, the jadeite bracelet from the night before was gone.

Fei Jing, agitated and restless, shoved her aside and rushed out to join the police. He spat out a harsh threat: "Lu Youyou, this had better have nothing to do with you. Otherwise, your life will be dragged into hell, where you will neither be able to live nor die!"

*Bang!* The front door slammed shut.

Lu Youyou gritted her teeth in anger, yet she was terrified. She immediately called Fei Jing’s mother. "Mom, Lu Tian is incredibly lucky. That Zhao fellow in Macau is useless; he actually let her hide a phone on her. Now she hasn't died, and Brother Fei has left with the police!"

"Daughter-in-law, don't panic. Mom has plenty of ways to finish off that jinx, Lu Tian. Listen to me..."

Just as Fei Jing reached the police station entrance, his mother rushed out of another car, crying and screaming, "Ah Jing, what do we do? Youyou is pregnant with your child and has been abducted! The kidnappers say if you don't go there yourself, they'll kill the hostage immediately!"

"If she's kidnapped, call the police. Don't bother me." At this moment, Fei Jing was single-mindedly focused on finding Lu Tian safe and sound.

Hearing this, his mother began to throw a tantrum. "Fei Jing, you unfilial wretch! Do you know that our Fei family has a genetic disease? Do you know how hard it is to have a son to carry on the line?"

The Fei family surname came from his mother’s side. It was only when she discovered she was carrying a son that she had agreed to bear the child of a rapist.

"Ah Jing, this pregnancy of Youyou's must not suffer any harm. She is the lucky star of our family. Think about it—aren't there plenty of other women who can be your wife? But if you don't even have a son, who will inherit this vast family business?"

His mother’s words were sharp and unrelenting. Fei Jing clenched his fists and said to the officer, "I'll be back in an hour. No, half an hour!" With that, his Rolls-Royce sped away.

One of the officers remarked, "Wait, Mr. Fei, your wife has terminal cancer and a broken arm. You're just leaving like that?" He didn't hear a word.

At three o'clock that afternoon, Lu Tian was rescued from international waters. Her heart had stopped several times; she had a ruptured liver and internal bleeding. Due to her cancer, her immune system was compromised, and her fever had spiked to 42 degrees Celsius and was still rising.

"Sir, you have a stab wound; you must have it treated immediately. You cannot run around like this," the ambulance medic said, blocking Li Yanchen with a desperate tone.

The officer in charge of the case walked over and bowed to him. "Mr. Li, correct? It’s fortunate you arrived in time. Otherwise, if Mrs. Fei had been taken into the territory of Northern Myanmar, her chances of survival would have been slim."

"She has a name."

"Huh?"

The man had a knife still plunged into his back, blood gushing out. He said, enunciating every word, "Her name is Lu Tian, not anyone's wife! And Fei Jing is not worthy of having her!"

"Oh no, the female patient has lost too much blood and needs an urgent transfusion!"

"I am O-negative, the universal donor." Li Yanchen sprinted toward her. The doctor saw the knife still stuck in his back and sternly refused, "No, you are injured yourself. Doing this will put your life in danger."

*Beep—beep—beep—* The rescue equipment in the vehicle emitted a sharp, low warning.

Driven by madness, he grabbed a scalpel, uncaring for his own life, and held it to the doctor's throat. "If she dies, you will all be buried with her. Start the transfusion now!"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Having returned from the gates of hell, Lu Tian finally survived. She wasn't sure if it was a dream or if it had actually happened. On the boat, when Zhao's men wanted to silence her, that "ulterior-motived," "premeditated" pilot had suddenly appeared and taken a knife for her. Covered in blood, he had held her, coaxed her, comforted her, and even joked, "Miss Lu, how much do you think my life is worth?"

*Buzz, buzz, buzz.* Lu Tian was woken by the continuous vibration of her phone. There were messages from Fei Jing.

—[Wife, I know you are safe, but the police station won't tell me which hospital you are in. It's been a week; where exactly are you?]

—[I miss you so much, Tiantian. You know I can't live without you. Don't scare me like this!]

Sweet, submissive words of apology. Looking at every unread message in the chat box, she felt nauseated to the point of wanting to vomit.

There were also messages from Lu Youyou, including several photos of her being "rescued" from an abandoned factory. The timestamp showed it was taken while Lu Tian was alone on the fishing boat, her fate uncertain.

—[Hee hee, what can you do? The bracelet is mine, the brother is mine, and the husband is still mine.]

—[Are you envious, jealous, and hateful? But there's nothing you can do. Lu Tian, I want to make you suffer so much that even breathing becomes a torture!]

—[Hahaha...]

The last message was from Lawyer Wang: [Great news, Miss Lu. Why aren't you replying to my messages? Two days ago, the Li family of Northern Europe suddenly took the initiative to contact me, saying they want to discuss a partnership with your new company.]

The Northern European Li family, being so proactive? Merchants never do anything without profit. A powerful business empire would never take an interest in a fledgling startup without a reason.

She called Lawyer Wang back. "Ask them why they want to discuss a partnership with a startup."

After ten minutes, Lawyer Wang provided the answer: "The other side said this was the wish of their family head. When I asked further, they wouldn't say anything else."

That mysterious head of the Li family? Someone she knew? Suddenly, Lu Tian thought of Li Yanchen.

"The pilot I asked you to background check last time—are you sure the information is accurate?"

"It was just a simple background check; Jiahe has never made a mistake, unless..." Lawyer Wang hesitated.

Lu Tian finished his sentence, "Unless the other party is the all-powerful head of the Li family, in which case creating a flawless fake identity would be the simplest thing in the world."

Hanging up, she had her caregiver put her in a wheelchair to visit Li Yanchen in the next room. Regardless of who he was, she had to find out! Otherwise, having a "hero" lurking in the shadows made Lu Tian very uneasy.

Just as she reached the door of the ward, she saw a sallow-complexioned woman holding a girl wearing a Pompompurin mask, acting hysterically.

"Are you really this heartless? Back when I graduated from high school, to put you through college and help you become a pilot, I couldn't even bear to eat instant noodles. Now that you've achieved success and fame, you want to cling to a rich woman and climb the social ladder, so you plan to abandon your wife and daughter and just walk away?"