Chapter 16 – Sheng Qiye Carried Su Rong Out

At the same time, Sheng Qiye and Leng Xiao rushed to the black market.

Liu Xu hurriedly ran toward them, panic written all over her face.
“You’re finally here. I’ve searched everywhere I could, but it’s like she vanished into thin air. What do we do?”

There were no surveillance cameras around the black market. Leng Xiao had arranged for people to check the nearby highway monitors, but none showed Su Rong leaving. All sorts of people came and went here—an unruly mix of good and bad. It was nearly impossible to pinpoint who might have taken Su Rong—or perhaps, she hadn’t left at all.

Leng Xiao dialed the number of the black market leader, Lai Biao. Lai Biao quickly came running.
“Although this place is called a black market, at most it’s just private transactions. No one has ever suddenly made a living person disappear. Assistant Leng, however you want to investigate, I’ll fully cooperate.”

Sheng Qiye said coldly,
“Start with the black market itself. Search every room. Don’t miss a single one.”

Lai Biao was straightforward.
“No problem, President Sheng. You can search the basement floors, level -2 and -1. If a door’s locked, just kick it down. If it won’t budge, I’ll get someone to open it. I’ll take full responsibility. To think someone dared snatch a person on my turf—I want to see who has the guts of a bear and the heart of a leopard!”

He called over several men to join the search.

Liu Xu followed closely behind Sheng Qiye. With him and Leng Xiao there, she wasn’t so afraid anymore. Otherwise, the dark, eerie atmosphere of the place was terrifying.

Inside a narrow, suffocating room, Su Rong struggled to breathe. The air was thick, stale, laced with dust and fine particles. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, she heard faint footsteps.

Her survival instinct flared. She pounded on the door with what strength she had left, her hoarse voice rasping,
“Help me… help me…”

The footsteps drew closer, accompanied by voices.

“I already checked these rooms—nothing here.”
“Then let’s look over there.”

Su Rong froze. That voice—it was Sheng Qiye’s?! Or was she hallucinating?

Even if it was a hallucination, she couldn’t afford to miss the chance. She slammed on the door with all her might.

But the footsteps grew fainter, and then disappeared.

Despair washed over her. Weakly, she slumped against the door. After a while, another noise—this time, loud thuds, as though someone was kicking the door. The wooden panel shook violently. Pain jolted through her body as the vibrations hit her, and she dragged herself aside.

The door burst open, and a beam of light cut into the dark room.

A man crouched beside her and gently asked,
“Are you alright?”

Su Rong slowly opened her eyes. Under the light, she saw his face clearly.
“President Sheng? I’m not… dreaming, am I?”

Sheng Qiye had been about to leave with the others, but something made him turn back, insisting they continue searching. This hidden room on the second basement floor had been concealed—difficult to find. He had followed the faint sound of knocking.

Knowing Su Rong’s claustrophobia, he feared she wouldn’t be able to endure much longer. Carefully, he helped her sit up.
“Can you walk?”

Su Rong leaned limply against him, her face pale.
“I can walk.”

Sheng Qiye frowned, put away his flashlight, and reached to lift her.

She suddenly remembered the raw stones on the floor.
“Wait… my jade stones.”

Sheng Qiye picked up the three rough stones, then carried her in his arms, striding toward the exit.

Nestled in his embrace, Su Rong’s head throbbed, but she could feel safety at last. As they passed the stone trading hall, she felt a piercing gaze on her.

Her heart skipped. Those eyes! She recognized them instantly—the same cruel, venomous eyes of the person who had locked her in that dark room. Even hidden behind a mask, she would never forget.

It was her!

Su Rong shifted, wanting to break free of Sheng Qiye’s hold and confront the woman, but her body was weak and powerless.

Sheng Qiye tightened his arms around her.
“Don’t move.”

By the time Su Rong looked again, the woman had vanished.

Sheng Qiye carried her out of the black market. Sunlight spilled over them, gilding their figures.

Breathing in fresh air like it was her first breath of life, Su Rong felt as though she had been reborn. The hours trapped inside had felt like a century, and the terror still lingered in her chest.

When her strength slowly returned, she blushed with embarrassment.
“President Sheng, you can put me down now. I can walk.”

He set her gently on her feet.
“You don’t look well. Have Liu Xu take you to the hospital for a check-up.”

Just then, Liu Xu and Leng Xiao rushed over.
“Thank goodness we found you! Su Rong, you nearly scared me to death!”

Only then did Su Rong realize Liu Xu had contacted Sheng Qiye. Tears welled in Liu Xu’s eyes; the past hours had been torment for her as well.
“Who on earth did this?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Su Rong replied, unwilling to trouble Sheng Qiye further, “but I’ll find her.”

Lai Biao assured them he had already ordered an investigation and would give Sheng Qiye a clear answer.

Liu Xu spotted the bag of rough stones on the ground and scolded,
“All this… for a few stones? You almost lost your life! Luckily President Sheng and Assistant Leng came in time.”

Su Rong bowed again, grateful.

Sheng Qiye said nothing more, motioned to Leng Xiao, and left.

Liu Xu helped Su Rong into the car.
“You’re pale. Let’s go to the hospital first.”

Leaning against the seat, Su Rong shook her head.
“No need. I’m fine. Let’s go to a jade shop—I need these stones cut open.”

Knowing her stubborn nature, Liu Xu agreed and brought her to a jade shop under the Liu family’s name, fully equipped with cutting machines. She called in an experienced master to help.

“Leave it to him,” Liu Xu said reassuringly.

Su Rong thought for a moment, then took out the two rough stones she had bid for later. After cutting, one turned out to be a horse-tooth type jade, the other porcelain-base jade—both worthless.

Liu Xu was crestfallen. After all the trouble, after alarming even Sheng Qiye and Leng Xiao, they ended up with junk? Still, she comforted Su Rong,
“It’s alright. Next time, I’ll stick to you like glue.”

Su Rong was disappointed too—she had high hopes for those two stones.
“There’s still one left. No rush. Master, please trouble you once more.”

The master placed the last raw stone—the one wrapped tightly in skin—onto the cutting machine, slicing along the surface.

Suddenly, Su Rong called out,
“Wait! Please cut from 7.2 centimeters at a 15-degree angle.”

As water washed over the fresh cut, the in-house gem appraiser gasped.
“Imperial Green, Dragon Stone variety! Look at the translucency, the fiber orientation… worth at least five million!”

Liu Xu exhaled in relief.
“Wonderful! I knew it—Rongrong’s eye rarely fails. A fifty-thousand stone yielding five million in jade—this is the perfect token. President Sheng will have no reason to refuse you now.”

Indeed, it was a treasure. But whether it was enough to catch Sheng Qiye’s attention remained uncertain.

Without delay, Su Rong placed the cut gem into a gift box.
“President Sheng and Assistant Leng saved me. I must thank them with a meal.”

Understanding her intent, Liu Xu called Leng Xiao.
“Assistant Leng, thank you for your help today. We’d like to invite you and President Sheng to dinner, to express our gratitude. Would that be convenient?”

Leng Xiao put the phone on speaker and glanced at Sheng Qiye.

Sheng Qiye frowned slightly. Were they latching onto him again? Leng Xiao was about to refuse when Sheng Qiye unexpectedly nodded.

Leng Xiao replied,
“Alright. Dinner it is. Same place—the Seine River revolving restaurant.”

Sheng Qiye was simply curious—what kind of jade could Su Rong possibly have unearthed from the black market?