Chapter 40: Rescuing Zhao Jiaying

Still reveling in the joy of receiving the money, Brother Qiang finally snapped out of it when he saw his subordinate get kicked into the air. He looked up and saw that only two people had arrived. One of them was just a kid, barely 1.6 meters tall.

They had five men. No matter how he calculated, they held the advantage. With no fear, he shouted at Shen Linghao and Shen Yi: “You brats dare to meddle in my business? I’ll deal with both of you today!”

Then he barked orders at his men: “Get them! Teach them a lesson!”

Shen Yi told Shen Linghao: “Young Master, go save her! Leave the rest to me!”

“Got it!”

As Brother Qiang and his men charged forward, Shen Linghao seized the opportunity and sprinted toward Zhao Jiaying.

When Zhao Jiaying saw that Shen Linghao had come to rescue her, she cried out: “Brother, save Yingbao! Yingbao is so scared! Wuwu…”

Seeing Zhao Jiaying in such a miserable and terrified state, Shen Linghao felt a slight pang of heartache. He comforted her, saying: “Yingbao, don’t be afraid. Brother will get you out right away!”

Who would have thought that the first time the great Shen Linghao spoke to Zhao Jiaying, it would be in a situation like this? The setting was hardly fitting for such a moment.

Shen Linghao didn’t use a shovel to clear the dirt, fearing it might hurt Zhao Jiaying. Instead, he dug with his bare hands.

The young master, who had never so much as lifted a finger for manual labor, was now using his bare hands to dig through the dirt—for the sake of his future little wife. If someone had told him this before, even he wouldn’t have believed it. But now, he was truly doing it. This could only mean one thing—little Zhao Jiaying had already captured the heart of the great Shen Linghao.

Fortunately, the dirt that had been shoveled onto her earlier wasn’t packed too tightly, so Shen Linghao didn’t have too much difficulty digging through it. Before long, he managed to free Zhao Jiaying’s hands. However, there was still too much dirt below, and he couldn’t pull her out just yet. He had to keep digging.

Meanwhile, Brother Qiang and his men, thinking they had the advantage in numbers, attempted to gang up on Shen Yi. But in just a few swift moves, Shen Yi took all five of them down. His speed was so fast that they couldn’t even see how he had struck.

Shen Yi was not just Shen Linghao’s bodyguard—he was also his driver and personal assistant, responsible for handling all of Shen Linghao’s affairs, big and small.

He had been by Shen Linghao’s side for five years and could be considered his brother, friend, and even confidant.

His real name wasn’t Shen Yi, but since Shen Linghao found it easier to call him that, he had given him the name. Shen Yi had willingly accepted it.

Brother Qiang and his men initially tried to get up and continue fighting, but just then, the wailing sound of police sirens rang through the air. Terrified, they scattered in all directions.

Shen Yi was about to give chase, but Shen Linghao stopped him.

“Shen Yi, don’t go after them! Come and help me get Yingbao out first!”

“Yes, Young Master!”

Shen Yi quickly rushed over to assist. With the two of them working together, they dug much faster, and soon, they managed to pull Zhao Jiaying out of the pit.

The moment she was freed, Zhao Jiaying threw herself into Shen Linghao’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Her small body trembled, still shaken from the ordeal.

Shen Linghao gently patted her back to comfort her. “Yingbao, don’t be scared. It’s over now. Brother is here.”

Shen Yi, seeing his normally cold and aloof young master being so gentle and caring, realized just how special this little girl was to him. He made a mental note—he had to report this to Madam once they got back!

Shen Linghao lifted Zhao Jiaying into his arms and carried her out of the small forest. Her little legs dangled behind him, kicking slightly, while her white stockings were completely covered in mud.

Meanwhile, Brother Qiang and his men fled in different directions. Brother Qiang and one of his subordinates ran deeper into the forest, while the other three foolishly ran toward the outskirts—right into the hands of the arriving police officers, who quickly apprehended them.

The officers rushed into the forest to capture Brother Qiang and his remaining accomplice, but they were a step too late. The two had managed to escape.

Just as Shen Linghao carried Zhao Jiaying out of the forest, Ou Zichen and his team arrived. Seeing Shen Linghao, Ou Zichen was visibly surprised.

“Linghao, what are you doing here?”

“Uncle Ou, why are you here too?”

Shen Linghao quickly reacted.

“You are Zhao Jiaying’s Daddy?”

“That’s right, I’m her Daddy. Were you the one who saved Yingbao?”

Shen Linghao nodded and said: “Fortunately, we arrived in time, otherwise…”

Ou Zichen saw Zhao Jiaying lying in Shen Linghao’s arms and called out to her: “Yingbao, Daddy is here!”

Upon hearing Ou Zichen’s voice, Zhao Jiaying turned her head to look at him, stretched out her hands toward him, and called out in a frightened voice: “Daddy!”

Ou Zichen immediately took her into his arms. Her body was trembling violently.

“Yingbao, what’s wrong? Why are you shaking like this?”

Shen Linghao said: “Uncle Ou, Yingbao was probably scared. She was almost buried alive just now!”

Buried alive?

When Ou Zichen heard these words, his expression darkened. A murderous aura radiated from his entire body. He wished he could tear those people into pieces. How dare they do this to his daughter?

But now was not the time to dwell on that. The most urgent thing was to comfort Zhao Jiaying, or else her young heart would suffer another trauma.

He gently patted her back and spoke softly: “Yingbao, don’t be afraid. Daddy is here. No one will ever dare to hurt you again.”

“And Second Uncle is here too! Second Uncle will protect Yingbao from now on as well!”

Speaking of this, Ou Zilong felt a deep sense of guilt. If he had arrived at the school on time to pick up Zhao Jiaying, she wouldn’t have suffered like this.

These people were truly despicable. They actually dared to lay hands on such a young child. They had absolutely no humanity.

Zhao Jiaying leaned against Ou Zichen’s chest and felt much less frightened than before. Suddenly, she remembered something.

“Daddy, the security grandpa got hurt. He was injured by the bad uncles while protecting Yingbao!”

“Don’t worry, Yingbao. Second Uncle has already called an ambulance to take him to the hospital. He will be fine.”

At this moment, Director Ma Liangyou from the Public Security Bureau walked over.

“Major General Ou, I have already interrogated the three criminals we captured. They said they took money to target the young Miss of the Ou family.”

Ma Liangyou did not know Zhao Jiaying’s name. Since she was Ou Zichen’s daughter, she was naturally the young Miss of the Ou family.

“Did they reveal who was behind this?”

The thought that someone wanted Yingbao dead filled Ou Zichen with a deep, murderous rage. He wished he could tear that person apart.

“No, these three criminals were only hired by a man named Brother Qiang. They don’t know who the mastermind is. Only Brother Qiang had direct contact with the employer, so he is the only one who knows who is behind this!”

“Director Ma, I don’t care what method you use. You must capture this Brother Qiang! I need to know who is behind this! Who is it that wants my daughter dead?”

Ou Zichen asked himself—throughout his life, he had never done anything against his conscience. He had no idea who bore such deep hatred toward him that they wanted his four-year-old daughter dead.

He had to find this person. Otherwise, Zhao Jiaying would remain in danger. He absolutely could not allow her to be put in harm’s way again!

“Rest assured, Major General Ou. We will do everything in our power to capture this Brother Qiang and bring him to justice.”

“Brother, I can help too. I can ask some friends in the underground world to assist in finding this Brother Qiang.”

Over the years, Ou Zilong had not just been idling around. He had made some connections in the criminal underworld, and now was the perfect time to make use of them.

“Zilong, I don’t want you to be involved with those people!”

“Don’t worry, Brother. I’m just giving them some money to help with the search. Nothing will happen. We all want to catch this Brother Qiang as soon as possible so we can find out who is behind him. Otherwise, it will always be a hidden threat to Yingbao’s safety!”

“Fine. But after this, you are not to contact them again!”

“Alright, I promise you.”