Chapter 297: Chapter 297: Feeling Disgusted
“Ziang, what are you trying to do?”
Tang Sirou didn’t know when, but she was already standing behind the man, her gaze bearing a hint of coldness that was difficult to detect.
Hearing her words, the man calmly turned around.
Tang Sirou looked at his unfamiliar face, which did not seem like the Lou Ziang she remembered.
Before she was brought onto this cruise ship, she didn’t even know who had taken her here.
Until now, when she saw the man before her.
Though he wore a strange face and hadn’t admitted who he was, she still guessed it.
The man’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her, his eyes slightly raised: “It’s just like Ms. Sirou to recognize me despite all this.”
Lou Ziang didn’t plan to pretend in front of her anymore.
Tang Sirou had guessed it, but when she heard him admit it, she was still slightly taken aback.
“Why did you bring me here?” Tang Sirou asked, puzzled: “If you’re trying to use me to threaten Jiang Yan, then you’ve got the wrong person; I hold no position in his heart whatsoever.”
The man curved his thin lips, an evil smile appearing: “Who said I was using you to threaten him?”
“Then what else could it be?” Sirou asked.
She didn’t want to get involved in their feud now.
Lou Ziang stepped forward, moving closer to her.
“What’s wrong, when did you become so unconfident in yourself?” He chuckled lowly: “Or is it impossible that I want to keep you by my side?”
Tang Sirou frowned and then mockingly laughed: “You and I have no emotional connection at all.”
Lou Ziang said with a smile: “How do you know I don’t have feelings for you?”
Suddenly, he reached out, grabbed her wrist, and with a pull, drew her into his embrace.
Tang Sirou: “What are you trying to do?”
Lou Ziang circled one hand around her waist and held her cheek with the other, his fingertips lingering as they traced her face.
His deep eyes stared into hers, his voice was husky, yet carried a hint of tease: “Although we were together just for the sake of cooperation, I quite like your body, and I’ve not been able to forget it to this day.”
“I’ve been with so many women, but none excite me as much as you do.”
“…”
“Lou Ziang, are you a pervert?” Tang Sirou sneered coldly: “I can see whether you have feelings for me or not, I’m not stupid.”
“You say you like my body, right? Fine, then I might as well tell you that the man I’m with now isn’t just you!”
The man’s frame stiffened for a moment but quickly returned to normal.
He said indifferently: “It doesn’t matter. From now on, you will only have me.”
This scene was precisely witnessed by Xu Xinyi, who was standing not far away.
She stood there, fists clenched, her eyes filled with a cold and hostile glint.
But then, a helicopter appeared in the dark night sky.
It then slowly hovered above the cruise ship, its engine roaring as if to tear the sky apart.
Immediately after, the black-clothed bodyguards from inside the cabin ran out, assembling in front of Lou Ziang and Tang Sirou.
Just then, a commanding and resonant voice came from above.
“To everyone on the cruise ship, listen up, we are the Jiaolong Navy Team, we have orders from our superiors to inspect you, please cooperate!”
The lead black-clothed man looked back at the man behind him and asked: “Boss, what should we do?”
They had not anticipated that the other party would arrive so quickly.
Lou Ziang merely raised his eyes and looked coldly at the helicopter hovering above, with its military insignia on its body, yet there was no trace of fear in his eyes.
“Is everything ready?” Lou Ziang instead asked a question.
The black-clothed man: “We are ready.”
Lou Ziang said: “Then tell them they can have someone, but Jiang Yan must come personally!”
The black-clothed man responded: “Understood, boss.”
…
The request from their side was quickly received by Jiang Yan.
“It’s obviously a trap,” Gu Beiyan said: “If you’re going, I’ll go with you.”
After all, Jiang You was still on the cruise ship.
At this moment, Xing Siyang approached, interrupting their conversation.
“Hold on,” he eyed Jiang Yan and the others, “None of you can go.”
Seeing his face looked off, Su He asked: “What happened?”
Xing Siyang’s complexion was somewhat dark as he said gravely: “We just received information, the cruise ship may have dangerous materials aboard, but what kind exactly is still unknown.”
“We found the previous owner of this ship, and according to what he said, he saw with his own eyes someone moving materials like sulfur and saltpeter onto the ship.”
“So, it can’t be ruled out that he intends to destroy the cruise ship and everyone on it.”
Xing Siyang’s worries were not without reason.
But now, there was no other choice, as the person was in that man’s hands, and they had no choice but to listen to him.
Forty minutes later.
Jiang Yan, Su He, and Gu Beiyan boarded the cruise ship together.
The moment the three of them saw Tang Sirou there as well, some things became self-evident.
Lou Ziang looked at the three people, curved his lips into a smile, and said, “You’ve arrived quite quickly.”
Although he stood before them with an unfamiliar face, Su He still recognized him.
Plastic surgery can alter one’s appearance, but the bones remain the same.
This principle is similar to the art of disguise.
“Lou Ziang, cut the crap, just say it, what do you want to do!”
Su He went straight to the point, not wanting to waste words with him.
Lou Ziang was slightly taken aback by her directness.
Then he smiled and said, “I’ve changed my face, and big sister-in-law can still recognize me. It seems I do hold some place in your heart.”
“…”
“Lou Ziang, don’t flatter yourself! Hand over my son and Jiang You, maybe then I’ll consider sparing your life,” Su He said.
“Also, don’t forget, the two who raised you are still waiting for you in prison. After all, they truly cared for you, taking the fall for you until their last breath! Don’t you want to see them for one last time?”
Mentioning Lou Ruozhi and Lou Guohui, there was no reaction on Lou Ziang’s face.
He let out a cold laugh, “They’re over fifty, they’ve lived long enough, and they’ve seen what there is to see in this world. Starting fresh in a new environment isn’t such a bad idea, right? They’re provided with food and drink inside without spending a penny, quite suitable for them to retire.”
His words were truly cold-blooded!
But Su He and the others felt no pity for Lou Ruozhi and Lou Guohui — they were reaping what they had sown.
Gu Beiyan scoffed, “If your parents heard what you just said, they’d probably vomit blood in their cell. You really are their filial son.”
“But with their characters, it’s no surprise they raised a cold-blooded creature like you.”
Lou Ziang’s indifferent gaze swept over Gu Beiyan’s face and then landed on the silent Jiang Yan.
“I may be cold-blooded, but am I colder than my half-brother?” His lips curled with a smirk, he wickedly said, “He personally orchestrated his mother’s downfall, sending her to prison himself. That might just be unique in this world.”
Gu Beiyan: “What? Got a new face and changed your eyes and brain too?”
Otherwise, how could he be so blind?
“What your mother did to Ah Yan and his sister, letting her spend the rest of her life in jail is letting her off easy!”
“…”
Lou Ziang frowned slightly; in truth, he was quite envious of Jiang Yan.
He was surrounded by so many people who loved him, with so many protecting him, and he had so many good brothers and good friends.
But Lou Ziang had never met someone who truly cared for him.
Everyone who approached him had a purpose, or Lou Ruozhi made him approach others with a purpose, to benefit the Lou Family.
He had lived his twenty-something years of life amidst benefits and calculations.
“Heh,” he coldly laughed, “That was her doing, what’s it to me? I didn’t hold a knife to her throat to make her do it.”
“…”
Meanwhile, under the deep sea, a group of people in diving suits were swimming towards the cruise ship.
And at this moment, in the room, Jiang You and Su Baobao had intended to sleep, but they had heard the roaring of the helicopter propellers.
But this time, they couldn’t come out; there were guards at the door, not letting them out.
“Little aunt, dad and mom must have come.”
“Should we hide? If they can’t find us, they won’t be able to use us to threaten dad and mom.”
“But we can’t get out right now.”
“…”
Then, Jiang You looked towards the small balcony behind her.
“How about we climb over to the room next door?”
The rooms here were connected, separated only by a partition.
Adults wouldn’t have a problem, but the issue was with the little guy’s small body; if he fell, it would be over.
So right after she spoke, she vetoed the idea, “Forget it, let’s think of something else.”
But Su Baobao said, “We could.”
After that, Su Baobao whispered something in her ear.
Jiang You thought for a few seconds, and it seemed the idea might work.
Afterward, Jiang You locked the room door, then went to the bathroom and took two ties from inside a bathrobe.
After coming out, she turned off the lights in the room.
Two people, one after the other, walked out onto the balcony and then drew the curtains closed.
“Little girl, be careful.” The little one murmured in admonition.
Jiang You climbed over the railing, holding on to it with one hand while her other hand clutched a strand of a bath towel, which was tied to Su Baobao at the other end.
Then, she stretched her other hand to grab the rail of the next balcony.
Thankfully, her arms were long enough to reach it.
So, she easily made it across.
After steadying herself, she tied the end of the bath towel she was holding to this side’s railing.
Only after she was sure the knot was secure did she look towards Su Baobao and whispered, “Baby, come on over. You climb out first and little auntie will catch you, don’t worry.”
Although the little one was small, she was quite agile.
Jiang You extended her upper body out over the railing, reaching both hands towards the little one.
At this moment, she was completely focused, not daring to even blink.
Su Baobao easily climbed over the railing and, just like her, held onto the railing in front of her with one hand, while reaching out with the other small hand towards Jiang You.
The moment Jiang You saw the little hand extended, she immediately grabbed it.
It was only when she managed to hold the child that she truly relaxed.
She took a long sigh of relief.
“Little auntie, we should hurry and climb over a few more rooms.”
“What? More climbing?”
Jiang You thought that climbing over just one room would suffice.
Su Baobao said, “Yeah, this one’s too close. The bodyguards are right at the door; it’s not easy to get out.”
He raised his hand and pointed ahead, saying, “We’ll climb over to the fifth room. That place is a blind spot for the cameras, conveniently hidden by a corner.”
Jiang You glanced back and resignedly said, “Alright, let’s climb.”
“…”
On the deck.
Su He: “Lou Ziang, tell me, what do I need to do to make you release them?”
Lou Ziang looked at her, his lips curved into a sinister smile: “Do you mean to tell me you’ll agree to whatever I ask for?”
Lou Ziang disdained playing games.
He disdained them because he knew the three people in front of him were no pushovers.
Hence, he naturally wouldn’t dig a hole for himself.
“You say it!”
Su He neither agreed nor declined.
Lou Ziang’s wicked eyes sized her up and made a disgustingly vile suggestion, “Sister-in-law has such a good figure, how about you play with me? If I’m pleased, maybe I’ll release them.”
His sleazy and mocking words were met by Jiang Yan’s gaze, sharp as knife blades.
Just as the man was about to speak, Su He stopped him.
Su He grasped his hand, squeezing the palm to signal him not to get angry.
Such filthy words didn’t anger Su He; she simply felt disgusted.
She looked at Lou Ziang, her red lips curving into a sly smile, with a tone that was three parts mocking and seven parts cold.
“Are you sure you want to play with me? I’m afraid you can’t handle my fury.”
Lou Ziang: “How will you know if you don’t try?”
Su He tugged at the corner of her mouth, “Too bad, I also quite wanted to agree with you. But you see, I have a serious case of germophobia!”
The implication was clear: You are too filthy!
“…”
“You think I’m dirty?” Lou Ziang retorted, “In this world, which man doesn’t cheat? Isn’t that normal?”
His words left everyone present speechless!
His values were utterly twisted!
Even Tang Sirou, standing next to him, unconsciously furrowed her brows.
Su He didn’t even bother to respond to his words, simply rolling her eyes.
At this moment, Gu Beiyan chimed in with a smile, “So eager to play? Why don’t I keep you company, how about that?”
When it came to being revolting, he was not outdone.
“Guaranteed to thrill you to the skies.”
“…”
Lou Ziang frowned, indeed feeling disgusted!
——
“Phew!”
“Finally got over it.”
Jiang You took a long breath of relief, exhausted to death.
Her physical strength was nearly depleted.
It wasn’t just a physical strain but also mentally taxing.
She feared being discovered and falling into the deep sea.
Because she truly was a landlubber, it wouldn’t matter if she was alone, but the problem was she was with a future flower of the nation.
Just as the aunt and nephew were about to get up and walk into the room, they heard a strange noise coming from the sea behind them.
They both looked back in unison, but on the pitch-black surface of the water, they couldn’t see anything.
“Did I just hear someone talking just now?” Jiang You muttered.
Su Baobao blinked, “I thought I heard it too.”
“Forget it, let’s not worry about it, let’s hurry up and hide,” Jiang You said, taking his little hand and turning to leave for the room.
“Clang!” A sound.
The two of them were startled and turned around to see an agile figure climbing over the railing in a black diving suit, then jumping in.
Another person followed suit.
The aunt and nephew stood frozen, dumbstruck.
Who were these people?
Because it was dark without any light, Jiang You couldn’t see who the people were.
“Xiao You? Xixi?”
Xing Siyang, staring at the two figures, one tall and one small, was also stunned.
Could this be such a coincidence?
Hearing the familiar voice, Jiang You’s eyes light up immediately, “Siyang, it’s… it’s us.”
She ran over happily and hugged the person tightly.
“Woo, I’m so relieved, I’ve finally seen my family.”
Xing Siyang was taken aback for a moment and then gently patted her back, “It’s okay, don’t worry, I’ll arrange for someone to take you away soon.”
“Your brother and your sister-in-law, as well as Mr. Gu, are all up on the deck.”
“Beiyan is here too?”
“With you here, how could he not come?”
Xing Siyang knew that the two were together already, and he was quite happy about it. The girl had found a good man.
“Uncle Siyang.” Su Baobao came over and called out.
Xing Siyang looked at him and responded.
“Captain Xing, if they are staying in this room, there must be someone guarding outside for sure.”
Another man spoke up.
“No, no, no, we are not staying in this room,” Jiang You explained: “We are staying in the first room at the front; we climbed over from the balcony to this side.”
The two grown men: “…”
Xing Siyang: “Well, since we’ve met, that makes things easier; we won’t have to waste time searching.”
“Lin Pu, notify the others, we’ve found them; tell them to find the contraband and secure it.”
The man replied, “Roger that!”
“Siyang, how did you guys get here?” Jiang You asked curiously, surprised they hadn’t been detected.
Xing Siyang replied, “We swam over.”
Jiang You: “…”
“But isn’t it very dangerous beneath the sea?” she asked.
“Don’t worry, we are fine, they are all professionally trained,” Xing Siyang said.
Then he added, “Now, we need to find the lifeboats on this cruise ship; I’ll have someone take you away first.”
At that moment, Su Baobao spoke up, “Uncle Siyang, there’s only one lifeboat left. I happened to hear them talking; they kept one and destroyed the rest.”
Xing Siyang frowned; it seemed the opposition really wanted to go down together.
“Yes, yes, yes, I heard it with Baobao that day,” Jiang You hurriedly said: “We know where that yacht is located, and we also know which places are not covered by CCTV.”
This was all thanks to their wandering around for the past two days and overhearing by chance.
Xing Siyang looked at the two with some surprise; how did they know all this so clearly?
They didn’t seem like they had been kidnapped.
But none of that was important now, the important thing was to get them to safety first.
“Alright, let’s go then.”