It was getting late into the night, but the Shen Family was still in a rather lively state of chaos.

Mother Shen kept scolding Shen Youquan in a sharp voice as she continued to focus on asking him why he had only picked up Shen Yuling from the kindergarten.

Why did he only take Shen Yuling?

What was so precious about that girl that made it so her baby grandson had deserved to be left behind in the kindergarten?

Father Shen also repeatedly questioned him about the same thing.

In his eyes, it was not only the kidnappers who had committed this most heinous of crimes, but even the son who had left his grandson behind, was a culprit who had caused this entire mess.

The several servants and nannies could only hide in their rooms, not daring to come out of them.

Only Shen Youquan's bodyguard slash driver unrelentingly called the kidnappers via the phone again and again, and at the same time also analyzed the various possibilities and coping methods that his Boss could execute in this situation.

It was at this time that a delivery person from the shopping mall delivered the boxes of toys that the father and daughter pair had previously bought to the Shen house.

Seeing that these toys were only suitable for girls to play with, Mother Shen shouted madly, "Throw it away, throw all this rubbish out for me! As soon as we turn our gazes away, this damn girl starts clamouring to buy such things! She even bought so many things at once, all of them toys only she can play with.

"She was born selfish, and totally ignores her brother! If it wasn't for her bringing bad fortune onto our heads, would Rao Rao have been kidnapped?

I had said that the elder sister was greedy, taking away all the nutrition belonging to her younger brother even before they had been born.

"When growing up, isn't the fact that she grabbed everything from the younger brother true?! So, why didn't she do the same this time? She should have grabbed Rao Rao's spot and should have gotten kidnapped instead!"

Shen Youquan, who had kept silent the entire time he was being scolded by his parents, finally snapped.

He suddenly overturned the marble tea table, which weighed more than 100 catties, kicked away the broken cups and plates all over the ground, and then roared at the top of his voice, "Isn't it enough?!

"Have you all said enough? Whose blood is flowing in Ling Ling's body? Isn't it mine? Isn't it the Shen Family's blood?

Just because she is a girl, you all want her to suffer in Shen Yurao's place.

Do you deserve to be called her grandparents? No, I'm wrong. I should ask again. Do you even deserve to be called a human? Hah?!

Is that why you keep calling her a 'damn girl'?

A tiger, though cruel, will not devour its own cubs. You are not even as good as animals! She's my child, my own fucking child! You better remember that!"

Mother and Father Shen were both terribly frightened by this enraged version of their son. They had never seen him behave like this before.

It was as if someone had carved out and stolen the softest and tenderest piece of flesh from his heart with a knife, making him experience an unbearable pain.

Now, the two old people who had previously been yelling very loudly, did not dare to even breathe under the pressure being exerted by their son.

Zhong Huilu, who was hiding behind Mother Shen, frowned.

She felt that her husband was concealing something from her, but she didn't know what that was. Also, his behavior during the day had been very strange.

How could he have pushed his work aside just to go pick up the children for no reason, and then only take back Shen Yuling?

If such a matter had occurred on a normal day, she would have just thought that her husband was out of his mind.

He had grown up in such a strict patriarchal family, and it was obvious that after being influenced by it, he would attach much more importance to his son rather than to his daughter.

For such a man to only pick up his daughter alone and leave his son behind-

He must know something!

Thinking to this point, Zhong Huilu's heart tightened and her eyes started to flicker slightly.

She quickly fixed all of her attention on Shen Youquan's body, trying to guess at his mental state by observing his bodily movements.

But she soon had no time to care about these minute things, because Shen Youquan had picked up his mobile phone in preparation to call the police.

By this time, he was no longer worried. Instead he was filled with anger, and with nowhere to vent it, it only increased, to the point of feeling that his own body was burning from the overflowing wrath.

Had it not been for Fan Jialuo's warnings that repeatedly echoed in his mind, he might have already impulsively told his parents the truth.

"If Mr. Shen continues to remain this ignorant, you will soon lose your only child."

"Has Mr. Shen heard the story of the dove occupying the magpie's nest? Other birds will come and lay their eggs in your nest, and after these eggs hatch, those little birds will push your child off the high branches and let them fall to their death."

In just a few simple sentences, Fan Jialuo had predicted everything about his daughter's course in life-her past, her present and her future were all hidden in this seemingly insipid but actually terrifying story.

If it weren't for Shen Youquan getting a DNA test done immediately because of a wisp of anger, the results of which fortunately woke him up and caused him to pick his daughter up early, wouldn't his daughter have been one of the kidnapped people?

According to his wife, when the kidnapper went to the kindergarten to pick up his son, that person had also repeatedly asked whether Shen Yuling was inside.

If so, she would have taken Shen Yuling with her as well. Then his daughter would also have to suffer being bound, intimidated and maybe even beaten...

Shen Youquan couldn't bear to think about it any more. His body broke out in a cold sweat, and he didn't dare to violate Fan Jialuo's last warning at all.

"...please bear in mind that today's conversation is something that only the three of us should know about. Don't tell anyone else, otherwise the situation will become extremely serious, so serious that even Mr. Shen, who usually has a good control of everything, will be unable to handle it."

How would the situation develop to reach a point where he wouldn't be able to handle it?

The slightest probability of how such a situation would occur started to emerge in Shen Youquan's mind, but he immediately stifled his galloping imagination, so that this thread of thought could no longer continue all the way to its ending.

He repeatedly wiped away the cold sweat that continuously formed on his forehead, and then in a trance, remembered something from a few days ago- someone on the Internet had been slandering Fan Jialuo to gain hype, and had said that he was not a psychic at all, but a trickster.

At that time, he had sneered at the news and had just shaken his head as he said, "People have no bottom line in the pursuit of hype."

But today, he became deeply aware that the so-called truth and actual facts could never be found in the hands of the public.

During the moments when you had been soberly ridiculing others, maybe fate had been gazing at the ignorant you, and had been getting ready to play with you wantonly.

In front of fate, all mortals are merely ants. How many people could actually break the curve and go against the rules laid down by fate?

How did they even exist?

Shen Youquan suddenly felt a chill run down his back when he thought of Fan Jialuo's ability to foresee the future with such divine accuracy.

It was not until this point that he realized just how stupid and arrogant he had been when he had met with him yesterday!

His throat had turned very dry, and his fingertips were trembling so much that he kept missing the button needed to unlock the screen of his mobile phone.

As soon as he input the numbers '11' on the phone's number keyboard, his wife hit him quite severely on his arm.

With a crash, the mobile phone that had been bought only a short while ago broke.

Zhong Huilu squeezed her husband's arm and said in terror, "You can't call the police! The kidnappers will kill Rao Rao!"

Shen Youquan pushed her away and replied sharply, "This is a kidnapping. Of course we need to ask the police for help."

He used to really love his wife and had been, till just recently, willing to lavish her with the greatest respect and care. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for him to have the reputation of having such a 'clean private life' with the many temptations that came as a part and parcel of his high position.

But now, this love had already been replaced by a blazing fire of hatred, one which had burned all their sweet memories into ashes. He felt sick just being in her presence, let alone being touched by her.

Zhong Huilu staggered and nearly fell, but she had no time to think about the cause for her husband's sudden apathy towards her.

She quickly took out her own mobile phone, opened Baidu, and then pointed at the news article that reported a shocking case, saying, "If calling the police was useful, I would have already reported it long ago!

"Don't you remember the kidnapping case that took place in the Lin province? The family called the police, but the kidnappers took the ransom and then still killed the child. They lost their money, and their child too.

A family was shattered in this manner. Even if the kidnappers are eventually arrested, can such losses ever be recovered?

Look at these official statistics. If reported to the police, the probability of the kidnappers killing the hostage is 80%, and if not reported to the police, then it's just 40%.

They just want money. We can't make them angry! Can't we just prepare the money and redeem the child quietly?

I really can't take any risks, that is the baby I gave birth to in October! He is already in poor health. If we offend the kidnappers, won't they take their anger out on the child?

Can Rao Rao make it through and come back home safely? I can't even bear to think about it now. My heart hurts!"

Crying in this way, Zhong Huilu fell on the sofa and fainted.

Father and Mother Shen, who originally thought that it would be fine to call the police, turned so anxious that their faces became white as a sheet and their eyes became red, with sharp pain striking at their hearts.

[Calling the police = killing Rao Rao.]

This equation was firmly planted into their heads by Zhong Huilu, and proceeded to occupy all their thoughts. One parent grabbed his son's left hand, and the other grabbed his right hand, so as to stop him from moving.

Long Chengsheng, the driver slash bodyguard who was sitting on the sidelines and had constantly been calling the kidnappers till now, suddenly spoke up, "I think Mr. Shen should call the police. As long as we keep it a secret, the kidnappers won't know.

"We can give them the ransom being demanded while the police look for clues to save the child, which is double insurance for us. Right now, the kidnapper's side has shut down all communications with us, but should we just sit on our hands and wait for further instructions?"

"Who are you? What qualifications do you have to give your opinion on matters regarding our family? He's not your child, you don't know how much it hurts, do you?

You can't call the police. You just can't call the police. If you call the police, I'll become more anxious!"

Zhong Huilu jumped up in anger and scratched at Long Chengsheng's face, just like a lioness protecting her cubs.

Long Chengsheng dodged her sudden movement, and then kept silent after becoming embarrassed. He could only look at his boss with suggestive eyes and encourage him to make a decision quickly.

The old people and the woman in the family had long become flustered. Now, only his boss still possessed clarity of mind.

Shen Youquan closed his eyes and said dejectedly, "I won't call the police. You let me go. I'm going to try to gather the money."

Mother Shen cried, "The kidnappers are just asking for money. We will give them the money and the child will be returned. We must not take any risks!

"As long as Rao Rao can come back to us, we will give them all the money they need. We will sell the house and the cars! Mom still has millions in savings with her. Mom will give you all of it!"

"Mom, that's yours and Dad's retirement fund. Keep it. Our Shen Family hasn't fallen to that point yet."

Shen Youquan picked up the broken cell phone and then explained, "I'll call the finance department in the company and ask them to immediately prepare the money for me now." Then he went to the study located on the second floor.

Zhong Huilu simply released the nosy Long Chengsheng and nervously followed her husband to the second floor.

Shen Youquan quickly called Bai Mu and asked for Fan Jialuo's mobile phone number.

Right now, he was really regretting having left their meeting so rudely yesterday and in such a hurry that he had forgotten to ask for the other person's contact information. If he hadn't gotten advice from him, he would surely have been even more worried about the present situation.

Bai Mu recognized the anxiety in his voice and sent him the number without asking any questions.

A clear voice, sounding quite like sweet spring water gushing out from the ground, instantly made Shen Youquan's inner anxiety disappear. "Mr. Shen, is your little magpie safe?"

This 'little magpie' no doubt referred to his daughter.

Remembering his daughter's brightly smiling face because she was too happy from earlier today, and recalling her repeated exclamations of "Dad, I like you the most!", Shen Youquan's apprehension and restlessness were eased quite a bit.

"Very good, she is very good." As he spoke these words, he went to his daughter's room and looked inside through the slight open crack of the door.

After being comforted by the nanny, his daughter had fallen asleep. A chubby little foot stuck out from the quilt, the small curve of the instep looked very lovely.

Shen Youquan's eyes turned hot, his nose became sour, and his throat tightened in dryness.

Had it not been for Fan Jialuo's warning, then right now, his daughter might have been tied up in a dark, dirty and remote place, as she endured the threats and beatings being rained down on her by a group of thugs.

He did not even want to imagine such a scene.

"Mr. Fan, Shen Yurao has been kidnapped. What should I do?"

In the same way that his wife didn't care about her own daughter's life or death, Shen Youquan was now unwilling to spend 50 million yuan to save a child who had no blood relations with him.

He had not started collecting payment from his wife for what she had done to him yet, but he couldn't bear to watch Shen Yurao suffer either. He must save him, but at a minimal loss to the Shen Family.

He was simply a newly-risen business tycoon, not a descendant of an aristocratic family. He did not have much of a background. It would really hurt his financial constitution to take out 50 million yuan in one go.

Truthfully, he had tried his best to suppress the evil side of his human nature and was constantly urging himself to stay on the right path ever since he had uncovered the facts of this matter.

Otherwise, if he had given in to his baser desires, he would have stopped caring about Shen Yurao's life or death long ago, let alone that woman, Zhong Huilu, who kept jumping up and down in front of him.

For a moment, he had been so angry that he had almost told the kidnapper to 'Kill the hostage. I don't care. Anyway, Shen Yurao is not my child!'

Fortunately, he hadn't said anything and had not done anything yet.

Else, he would have regretted it for the rest of his life.

...