The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 761 - 760: Pei Tang is Kidnapped

The BBQ continued until nine o’clock in the evening.

After seeing their little friends off, Pei Tang diligently helped Shen Mingzhu and Pei Ziheng clean up, with Lou Hua also lending a hand.

By the time they had thoroughly tidied up the lawn, it was already nine-thirty.

What remained was to deal with five large bags of trash.

Lou Hua helped carry away two bags, leaving three remaining.

Pei Ziheng, being considerate, picked up two of the bags, prepared to accompany Shen Mingzhu to dispose of them. But Shen Mingzhu asked her daughter to come with her instead.

The trash drop-off point was at the back door, roughly two hundred meters away. That evening, Pei Tang had eaten her fill at the BBQ, and walking there was a bit of exercise.

Although Pei Tang was too lazy to move, she obediently picked up a bag of trash from the ground and followed Shen Mingzhu out the door.

"Mom, can my brother and I come to London for a visit during the National Day holiday?"

Shen Mingzhu chuckled, "You haven’t even left yet, and you’re already thinking about the next time?"

The trash was somewhat heavy. Pei Tang bent over to catch her breath twice, then switched hands and continued to follow behind Shen Mingzhu.

"How about I don’t go back, and just stay in London to study? Mom, what do you think?"

"Not good."

"Why not? You can study in London, so why can’t I?"

Shen Mingzhu looked at her, "I’m returning in a few months, do you want to stay here all by yourself?"

Pei Tang shook her head vigorously, "Of course I will be with you. If you go back, I go back. If you’re here, I’m here too."

Saying this, she snuggled up to Shen Mingzhu, rubbing her head affectionately against Shen Mingzhu’s shoulder.

"Mom, don’t you want me to stay by your side? Don’t you love me anymore?"

"I do love you, but not that much."

"Humph, then I don’t love you that much anymore!"

After speaking, she hoisted the trash bag onto her shoulder and started running ahead.

"Guoguo, wait for Mommy."

Despite her defiant departure, hearing Shen Mingzhu’s call made Pei Tang stop and turn around, shouting back, "Can’t you walk faster?"

"I’m tired, Mommy can’t walk anymore."

Hearing this, Pei Tang put down her bag and ran back to her, offering her pale, delicate hand.

"Then let me carry one bag for you first, and I’ll come back for my own later."

The purest and most sincere love in the world is a child’s love for their mother.

"Guoguo, why are you so nice? Having such a considerate and warmhearted daughter makes me feel like the luckiest mom in the world."

With her pretty face scrunched, Pei Tang pouted, "Knowing I’m good, yet you still don’t cherish me!"

Shen Mingzhu lowered her head and kissed her daughter’s rosy cheek, "Mommy was lying just now, actually, Mommy loves you the most."

Pei Tang blinked her large eyes, "Then between me and brother, who do you love the most?"

"Mommy loves you, and also loves your brother just the same. You are my life, and I can’t be without either of you. Just like a family needs both a father and a mother, it wouldn’t work with one missing."

Pei Tang hugged her happily, her voice soft and sweet, "Mommy, our family of four must always stay together, forever happy and joyful."

"Okay."

After throwing away the trash, Shen Mingzhu took her daughter’s hand to head home.

However, just as they turned around, an imposing European man suddenly appeared in front of them.

Before she could react, he pulled out a handgun, the dark muzzle pointed straight at her daughter.

Shen Mingzhu’s mind worked faster than her body; she quickly covered her daughter’s eyes with one hand, while rapidly speaking to the man:

"I can give you all the money, please don’t hurt us."

After she finished speaking, the man continued to hold the gun, expressionless.

Shen Mingzhu thought he might not understand English, so she hastily took off all the jewelry she was wearing.

While picking fruit, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head, followed immediately by a loss of consciousness.

...

When Shen Mingzhu came to, it had already been ten minutes.

"Mama, you’re awake. Where’s Guoguo?"

Pei Ziheng was half-kneeling in front of her, his delicate face losing its usual indifference, now covered in anxiety and concern.

The pain at the back of her head rendered Shen Mingzhu incapable of thought; she could only blankly stare at the people surrounding her.

"What happened to me?"

Mrs. Henry explained, "Mrs. Pei, you fainted. I found you when I came to take out the trash. I’ve already called for an ambulance..."

Pei Ziheng cut Mrs. Henry off impatiently, "Mama, where’s Guoguo?"

Guoguo?

Her unfocused eyes suddenly tremored. Amid the stabbing pain in the back of her head, Shen Mingzhu recalled the events before she passed out.

She seized Pei Ziheng violently, "Where’s Guoguo? Has Guoguo come home?"

Pei Ziheng shook his head, "Guoguo was with you when you went out to throw out the trash and she hasn’t come back."

Had her daughter been taken by criminals?

Shen Mingzhu felt as if all the blood had been drained from her, nearly causing her to faint again.

"Mama, don’t panic. Take your time,"

Noticing Shen Mingzhu’s rapid breathing and her pale face, Pei Ziheng hurriedly patted her back to help her breathe.

She couldn’t panic. Her daughter was waiting for her to rescue her!

Shen Mingzhu bit the tip of her tongue hard, using the intense pain to force herself to stay calm.

"Call the police quickly. We ran into robbers while we were throwing out the trash. Guoguo must have been taken by them!"

Bright red blood flowed from the corner of Shen Mingzhu’s mouth, looking extra horrifying in the dim night.

"Mama, are you bleeding? Are you hurt?"

Pei Ziheng said, bending down to check her body for injuries.

Shen Mingzhu couldn’t bother to explain that she had bitten her tongue too hard; she pushed Pei Ziheng away, "Go call the police, Guoguo might still be nearby!"

Hearing this, Pei Ziheng immediately ran towards the phone booth across the street.

After reporting to the police, Pei Ziheng, the Zhuang Family, and other caring neighbors began to spread out and search for Pei Tang.

Due to the wound on the back of her head, Shen Mingzhu was unable to walk and had to wait at the spot for the police.

A few minutes later, the police arrived at the scene.

Whether it was due to a shortage of manpower or a lack of seriousness about the case, only two officers came.

One took statements for the record, and the other loitered around the garbage collection station under the guise of inspecting the scene.

The attitudes of the two London police officers made Shen Mingzhu both desperate and sober.

To find her daughter, she could only rely on herself!

Before the statement-taking was completed, she forced herself to run back home despite her splitting headache, dug out a contact book, and called teachers, classmates, friends in London—everyone she knew.

The more people who helped, the greater the chance her daughter could be found!

After making the final call, Shen Mingzhu stood up ready to go out and search for her daughter. Just as she reached the front door, the phone in the living room began to ring. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

She immediately ran back to answer it, tripping and falling in her rush.

"Hello, who is it?"

"Wife, it’s me. Why isn’t anyone answering the phone?"

Hearing her husband’s familiar voice, Shen Mingzhu’s tightly wound emotions suddenly collapsed, and tears streamed down her face.

"Wife, what’s wrong?"

"I’ve lost Guoguo. I shouldn’t have let her come with me. It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault..."

Regret and self-blame were like two sharp knives plunged deep into Shen Mingzhu’s heart, causing her unbearable pain.