Chapter 662 - 660: Dead End

Su Li’s harsh tone involuntarily made Mrs. Tang recall the look on her face from years ago, back when she was abusing Tang Mo.

Even though she couldn’t see Su Li, Mrs. Tang couldn’t help but remember that time.

She had been afraid of Su Li back then, and it turned out her fear was justified. That heartless Su Li had sent her to prison just like that.

And that was how her life was ruined.

Her lifelong reputation was destroyed in an instant.

Before that, even though her husband had died, who in Xinghua Village didn’t envy her? She had an excellent, filial son and a clever grandson. Even after her first daughter-in-law passed away, her son had remarried.

She cared about her reputation more than anything. In all the surrounding villages, whether people knew her or not, they would give her a thumbs-up when she was mentioned, their words full of envy and praise.

But in the end, Su Li ruined everything.

Because of Su Li, the grandson she had raised for years turned out not to be her own blood. Her son was now divorced. Tangyuan was so bewitched by her that he refused to ever remarry.

And she herself had been imprisoned and suffered a stroke. Su Li had ruined it all!

’Why should I let Su Li go? It’s a mercy I haven’t killed her. On what grounds should I just let her walk away!’

’There’s no such thing as a free lunch!’

The fear in Mrs. Tang’s eyes receded like the tide as she dwelled on the past.

’I don’t need to be afraid. What does this have to do with me? As long as Su Li behaves, I’ll do what I’m supposed to do. If she doesn’t listen, then there’s nothing I can do about it.’

’Su Li can forget about scaring me. She can forget about using Tangyuan to threaten me!’

Mrs. Tang composed herself again, then snorted coldly.

"Su Li, don’t think I’m the same person I used to be, scared out of my wits by just a few words from you. I’m not afraid. Tangyuan is away on a business trip. How could this possibly involve him?"

"Let me tell you, you can’t scare me!"

’I can’t believe I didn’t manage to scare her,’ Su Li thought, closing her eyes with an inward sigh.

’From the looks of it, Mrs. Tang probably isn’t the mastermind. I don’t know what part she’s playing in this, but it’s clearly not the leading role.’

’Is Mrs. Tang my guard? Threatening me for stuff... ten thousand yuan and a car. Such greed... I’m speechless.’

’When someone is too greedy, too petty, with twisted values and a warped mindset, they’re bound to suffer.’

’And that’s exactly what Mrs. Tang is like now.’

’She always felt the factory belonged to the Tang Family, that it was rightfully theirs. With that kind of mindset, she must spend her days feeling bitter and cursing everyone. And now, seeing me in this state, she immediately swoops in to extort me and kick me while I’m down.’

Su Li let out a breath. "I can only tell you this: letting me go now, before things blow up, is your best option. If this gets bigger, don’t think you’ll escape either."

"We can talk after you escape!"

Mrs. Tang replied bluntly, "In this situation, you still think you can threaten me? You must be dreaming."

Mrs. Tang curled her lip. "Let you go? Why should I let you go for free? In your dreams. You won’t give me the money or the car, right? Fine, then I’m washing my hands of this. Just pretend I was never here!"

"It seems you’re not hungry enough, not thirsty enough, not cold enough yet, daring to negotiate with me. In that case, I’ll just wait. I’ll come back when you’re begging me!"

Mrs. Tang huffed and spat. "By then, you’ll be on your knees kowtowing and begging me!"

’And my price definitely won’t be what it is now!’

As Mrs. Tang thought this, her eyes lit up with an indescribably eerie glint.

’What a great idea,’ she thought. ’Let Su Li keep up her arrogant act. We’ll see how long she can last. Hmph!’

True to her word, Mrs. Tang was decisive. After speaking, she turned and left.

In the end, she didn’t free Su Li. She just left her there.

"Hey, hey..." Su Li called out twice, but finally fell silent.

She was anxious about Mrs. Tang leaving, but she couldn’t afford to compromise, not now.

’Knowing Mrs. Tang, it’s better to say nothing. If I show the slightest sign of compromise or start begging, she’ll just get smug and push her advantage.’

’As for her letting me go... I can’t even entertain that thought.’

’The only way to get Mrs. Tang to let someone go is to scare her. I just failed at that, so it’s a lost cause.’

’Even if Mrs. Tang isn’t the one who locked me in here, she’s the kind of person who would have loved to.’

’How could she possibly rescue me? She must be hoping I get locked in here and die.’

Su Li’s face turned ashen.

Struggling to push her wheelchair with one hand, Mrs. Tang moved away slowly, her face a dark mask of resentment.

’She couldn’t believe Su Li still dared to take that tone with her, even in this situation.’

But then... Mrs. Tang’s eyes darted to a bag sitting in a broken box by the side of the path, and an excited smile spread across her face.

She had put it there earlier. It had snowed quite a bit, but the bag was still visible.

’The bag held steamed buns and water. By now, they must be frozen into solid blocks of ice.’

’But now, Su Li wouldn’t even get a chance to eat a block of ice.’

’Originally, I was thinking of tossing her one if she was smart about it. But she just doesn’t know what’s good for her.’

’Well, she has no one to blame but herself!’

Mrs. Tang glanced at the hidden bag, then once again made her slow departure.

Su Li strained her ears, listening as the sounds of Mrs. Tang’s departure grew fainter and fainter, until there was only silence.

Mrs. Tang was really gone, and she hadn’t turned back.

And her surroundings fell back into complete silence.

Yes, silence.

It was a slight improvement over the terrifying silence of the previous night, but it was still far too quiet.

She went near the small window, standing on her tiptoes to listen carefully. She could hear some faint sounds in the distance—perhaps a car horn or other noises—but it was useless.

They were so far away.

Su Li paced a few laps, accepting that Mrs. Tang wasn’t coming back. Finally, she returned to the small window and began to call for help.

"Is anyone there? Help! I’ve been locked in here! Is anyone there?"

More than a dozen hours had passed since the previous night. Su Li hadn’t had a single drop of water. Between all her previous shouting and the war of words with Mrs. Tang, her voice was already hoarse.

Su Li was wearing thick clothes, but the weather was freezing. Combined with having walked all night to stay warm, her stamina was now completely depleted.

She shouted with all her might, but her voice was barely a croak.

And it was no use.

Su Li tried to throw things out of the window. It took her several hours and all her strength, but in the end, it was still useless.

Afternoon came, and Su Li finally lost all hope. She was certain no one would come here.

It was probably because of this that Mrs. Tang dared to be so arrogant, and that the people who kidnapped her were so confident in leaving her here alone.

’Do they really plan to leave me here to die?’

Su Li slumped weakly to the ground, whispering to herself.

She wanted to get out, more than ever before.

She didn’t even dare to think about how anxious and tormented Wu Sheng and Tang Mo would be when they found out she was missing.

Tang Mo had been through so much. He seemed normal now, but deep down, she knew his sense of security was much lower than that of an ordinary person.

His dependence on her was even more severe than he let on.

Just as she couldn’t live without Tang Mo, he couldn’t live without her. ’The despair I felt when he was kidnapped... he’s probably feeling that right now.’

The thought made Su Li’s heart ache.