Chapter 171: I'm...Being Blackmailed

"Long…"

"My grandfather is calling me…Tangning, I will go take care of him," Long Jie no longer dared to act cool in front of Tangning; she knew how observant she was.

Tangning tightened her grip on her phone and nodded as she replied, "Have a good rest."

Long Jie hung up as she collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.

It seemed dealing with Lan Xi didn't even take this much energy.

Long Jie had considered telling Tangning everything straight away. But apart from dragging her into this mess, she couldn't think what benefit could come from it.

All along, Tangning had already suffered too much. If she was to tell Tangning about this incident, then Tangning and Lan Xi definitely wouldn't let the matter go.

She would think of a way to save her grandfather. But, Lan Xi shouldn't dream of hurting Tangning!

Especially not via using her!

…

Tangning dropped her arms to her sides as she stood in deep thought beside the window. She didn't know if she was thinking too much into it, but she felt Long Jie's mood was a little different than usual.

Behind her, Mo Ting approached with a jacket. After placing the jacket on her shoulder he pulled her into his embrace.

Tangning leaned against his comforting chest as she looked up at Mo Ting, "Ting…can we get Lu Che to check on Long Jie? I feel like something's wrong."

In reality, Lu Che didn't have a lot of free time, but Mo Ting simply lowered his head and placed a kiss on Tangning's forehead. If his wife had a request, he would definitely satisfy it. So, he immediately pulled out his phone and gave Lu Che a call; setting a special mission for someone that was already off the clock.

…

Lu Che didn't dare to delay. Even though he had already finished work, he still drove directly over to Long Jie's home.

Although barging into a woman's home after dark wasn't very proper, in order to reassure Tangning, Lu Che walked up the stairs and rang Long Jie's doorbell.

Long Jie didn't expect a guest. She quickly wiped her tears and asked who was outside.

Lu Che gave his reason for coming. At this time, Long Jie felt her heart warm up but she still did not open the door, "You can head back, I'm fine, I've already gone to sleep."

Lu Che nodded and did not continue to intrude. But, Mo Ting was adamant that he had to see her, so Lu Che stood guard outside Long Jie's front door all night. It was not until the next morning when Long Jie went to leave the house as usual that she discovered Lu Che standing outside; she was shocked.

"It's cold outside, how come you haven't returned home?"

Lu Che rubbed his hands together and smiled, "I slept in the car and only just came up."

Seeing Lu Che's nose had turned red from the cold, Long Jie quickly let him into the house, "At least warm up a bit."

Lu Che entered Long Jie's home, his voice was full of doubt, "Didn't you say your grandfather was visiting? Where is he?"

Long Jie was dumbfounded for a moment before responding calmly, "At the hotel…"

"Are you facing some kind of difficulty?" Lu Che looked around; this was where Tangning used to live. It was big enough to fit an entire family, how could Long Jie have asked her grandfather to stay in a hotel?

Plus, Long Jie's eyes were swollen to the size of walnuts. This was obviously the result of crying all night.

"No…"

"Even if you don't say it, I can get the president to investigate it…"

"No need," Long Jie tugged on Lu Che and let go quickly as she took a couple steps back, "You don't need to alarm too many people over this matter."

"Then, tell me about it," Lu Che sat down on the living room sofa.

In reality, Long Jie could not be blamed for not being able to keep secrets. According to her personality, even if the sky was to fall down, she would simply scream a few times; there was no way she'd look as gloomy as she did now. So, especially with her fake smile, it was hard not suspect something was wrong.

"I'm…being blackmailed."

"What?" Lu Che gasped.

Long Jie lowered her head before telling Lu Che the entire story. But, from beginning to end she stressed one thing, "Don't tell Tangning, don't affect her decision to go on Feng Cai. We can't let Lan Xi get what she wants, or else, she will think she can satisfy her motives by doing things like this."

"In the future, she will become even worse!"

"But you can't just endure like an idiot…"

"Lan Xi wants to plot against Tangning. If I don't pretend to compromise with her, she will think of other ways. Rather than that, I might as well beat her at her own game."

"But, what are you going to do? And what about your grandfather?" Lu Che loosened his tie; he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

There were plenty of people like Lan Xi in this world. And of course, there were also people like Long Jie that would rather suffer themselves.

How silly!

Lu Che was slightly upset.

"When the time is right…I will call the police!"

"I will send someone to investigate where they are keeping your grandfather and try to ensure his safety. If I get the chance, I will definitely get him out of there!" Lu Che promised.

From her own perspective, Long Jie felt her consideration for Tangning was the right thing to do.

If she was to tell Tangning, it would amplify the situation and would possibly lead to Lan Xi using even more extreme measures.

However, if she was to do as Lan Xi said, she would have to suffer too much…

So, enduring for now and calling the police later was the best option she could think of. But, Lu Che was afraid Lan Xi would reap her revenge on Long Jie's grandfather.

"Even if you don't plan on telling madam, you should at least seek help from trustworthy people; two brains are better than one. Don't you trust our president? If you tell him, things will be a lot easier…"

With Lu Che's concern, Long Jie felt a lot better. But, she still decided to keep it as a small issue, "I know Big Boss' capability, but I don't want to gamble with my grandfather. I'm afraid if we blow up the situation, it would be harder to control. If we accidentally hurt my grandfather, what would we do? Let me handle Lan Xi."

"If that's the case, then…hurry and get some rest. You mustn't have slept well last night, I'll be right here outside your door," Lu Che's voice was gentle.

"On the night that Tangning is to appear on Feng Cai, Lan Xi wants me to go be an assistant for Li Danni. As you are aware, Tangning and Li Danni don't get along well with each other. Lan Xi wants Tangning to see me suffer and give up on her interview."

"For you, madam will definitely give up on the interview…" Lu Che also believed that was the type of person Tangning was; she always protected her own people, even if it was just a simple assistant…

She would never allow others to bully them!

"So we definitely can't let Lan Xi succeed. I will continue with my act. Meanwhile, I hope you can steer Tangning in the right direction. The best thing you can do is…on the day of the interview, tell her not to bring her phone. Lan Xi did not say I have to definitely trick Tangning to come over!"

She wanted to play a game of Tai Chi[1] with Lan Xi.

After speaking to Lu Che, Long Jie turned around and returned to her room. As she lay on her bed, she thought of the man sitting outside; she felt a lot more at peace.

Like this, Lu Che ended up staying in Long Jie's home all morning.

Apart from calling Mo Ting and Tangning to make preparations for the show, he also contacted familiar reporters to look for Long Jie's grandfather.

Long Jie mentioned that she last saw her grandfather at Lan Xi's home, but according to Lan Xi's personality, she would definitely transfer her hostage…and not leave any evidence behind.

On the surface, Cheng Tian appeared peaceful. But…

…underneath it all, trouble was brewing.

Tangning definitely wouldn't have imagined, the crisis Long Jie was currently trying to overcome…

…would end up making a calm person like herself, explode in anger.

Lan Xi had stepped well over her bottom line this time…

[1] Play around her words and avoid falling into her trap.