Chapter 36

Just as she sat down, Nanrong Wanqing’s complexion changed.

Ling Chen noticed the subtle change in her face and chuckled to himself. In this over thirty-degree weather, the temperature of the cement floor must be at least forty degrees; anyone who sits on it would scorch their buttocks, let alone someone as delicate as Nanrong Wanqing.

Nanrong Wanqing bit her lip, supporting herself with her hands on the ground, trying to keep as much distance between her body and the ground as possible. Then, she glanced at Ling Chen and said expressionlessly, "Bring me my wheelchair."

"The wheelchair is broken."

"Then..."

Ling Chen was speechless. This woman is so stubborn; a soft word wouldn’t kill her. Her small movements couldn’t escape his eyes; why insist on suffering for pride?

"Stop the nonsense. It’s an emergency, and if you blame me for taking advantage, I can’t help it." Having said that, he ignored Nanrong Wanqing’s fierce gaze and picked her up.

Holding her soft and fragrant body, Ling Chen felt a stir in his heart. He had been too busy rescuing her earlier to notice. It must be said, her figure and skin are truly exquisite—soft, smooth, and delicately fair. If only he could... no, what was he thinking?

At this moment, Nanrong Wanqing leaned against Ling Chen’s robust chest, her body tense and extremely uncomfortable, her hands uncertain where to rest. Except for her family, no other male had ever touched her before.

"Weren’t you captured? How come you are here?"

She tried to change the subject.

"I’ll talk about it later, let’s get you out of here first."

"No, Zhong Wei and the others are still there, we must rescue them."

"Your grandfather paid me to ensure your safety, he didn’t ask me to protect them."

"You..."

"Big Sister, Big Sister!"

Just then, Nanrong Hao ran over, panting. Seeing Ling Chen was there too, he was overjoyed.

"Brother Chen, it’s great that you’re here. Big Sister, are you alright?"

"With me here, what could happen to your big sister?"

"Brother Chen, what do we do now?"

As Ling Chen was about to speak, he saw a large group of gangsters, about sixty or seventy, rushing around the corner.

Nanrong Wanqing’s face turned cold, and she warned, "Hurry, they’re catching up again."

"Why run? Haozi, go and rescue Zhong Wei and the others. I’ll take your big sister home. We’ll meet at the company."

"Okay..."

"What do you mean ’okay’?" Nanrong Wanqing said in frustration. "Ling Chen, my brother doesn’t know anything, are you sending him to his death?"

"Who says he doesn’t know anything? How can you have so little faith in your brother as his big sister? Haozi, Zhong Wei is your responsibility, be careful."

"Got it. Big Sister, don’t worry, I won’t have any problems."

"Nanrong Hao..."

Ignoring his big sister’s shouts, Nanrong Hao quickly went to confront the gangsters coming from around the corner.

"Tang Bing, this way."

These gangsters were not strangers; they were the reinforcements sent by Jiang Hao.

"It’s Haozi."

Seeing Nanrong Hao approach, the head gangster, Tang Bing, immediately brightened up.

"Haozi, we finally found you."

"Haozi."

As Nanrong Wanqing saw the gangsters respectfully greeting Nanrong Hao, she was stunned. The eldest grandson of the Nanrong family—when did he fall to being a street thug?

"Brothers, follow me, let’s thrash them!"

Watching Nanrong Hao and the others leave, Ling Chen glanced at Nanrong Wanqing in his arms and, seeing her worried look, said, "Don’t worry, your brother isn’t as bad as you think."

He finished speaking and carried Nanrong Wanqing in his arms, striding forward quickly.

At this moment, due to the trouble caused by some gangsters, residents of the Old City, fearing involvement, had shut their doors, and the surrounding streets were nearly deserted, without even a taxi in sight.

Nanrong Wanqing noticed that Ling Chen didn’t head towards the parking spot and couldn’t help but remind him, "You’re going the wrong way. The car is parked over there."

"What’s the point of going there? I don’t have the car keys."

"Where are we going now?"

"There’s a subway station nearby, we..."

Before he could finish, Ling Chen suddenly felt a gust of wind carrying residual heat brush past his ear.

Bullet!

Years of experience allowed him to make an immediate judgment.

Without time to look back, he forcefully sprinted with his legs, rushing directly into an alley off the street.

The opponent had a gun; moving on the main street would make them too visible and give the assassin chances, so they had to find a way to escape through the alleys.

"What’s wrong?"

Nanrong Wanqing, held in Ling Chen’s arms, also felt something was amiss.

"It’s nothing."

Ling Chen gave her a reassuring smile with a calm expression.

For some reason, touched by Ling Chen’s confident smile, Nanrong Wanqing gradually calmed down.

Following the narrow alley, Ling Chen sprinted without any slack.

Although he lived in the Old City, he rarely came to this area and wasn’t very familiar with the terrain, especially these kinds of lanes; he also didn’t know where the next alley would lead.

Turning left and right in the alley, suddenly, Ling Chen stopped, his brows slightly lifting.

It was a dead end.

Immediately, he carried Nanrong Wanqing and turned back the way they came, looking for another way out.

But just as he was about to step around the corner, he heard a crisp sound, and a spark splashed on the wall next to him.

With a glance, he saw a man quickly approaching through the alley.

"We can’t get out."

He muttered to himself, immediately retreating back to the dead end with Nanrong Wanqing.

"Can we still escape?"

Nanrong Wanqing looked at him. Ling Chen had spotted the assassin, and she had too. Now that they were trapped here, and the opponent had a gun, it seemed impossible to survive.

"Don’t you trust me?"

"It’s hard to trust you."

Ling Chen smirked—this woman really lacked confidence in him.

Putting away his thoughts, he surveyed the surroundings and saw a pile of miscellaneous items in the corner, about as tall as a person.

He carried Nanrong Wanqing to that corner, gently placing her on the ground, then used the miscellaneous items to shield her body.

"What good will this do?"

"Why ask so many questions? Do you have a phone with you?"

"Yes."

"Give it to me."

Nanrong Wanqing didn’t know what he was planning, but still handed over the phone.

After entering a number, Ling Chen handed the phone back to her, saying, "When I tell you to fire, dial this number. Remember this well, my life is in your hands."

Nanrong Wanqing nodded her head; although she didn’t like the man in front of her, with their lives at stake, she wouldn’t mess around.

After settling Nanrong Wanqing, Ling Chen got ready and walked alone into the middle of the alley, calmly facing the corner.

Soon, a man wearing a duckbill cap and carrying a shoulder bag appeared in his sight.