Chapter 162: The Past of Long Xiaotian

Lin Wanting looked at Qin Feng, then at Bai Ruoxi. A flash of doubt crossed her eyes, but she quickly returned to normal and greeted them with a smile.

"Ruoxi, since you're here, stay for dinner. I'll cook a few more dishes."

"No need, I came here to—" Bai Ruoxi started to say, but was interrupted by Qin Feng.

"Whatever it is, it can wait until after dinner."

With that, Qin Feng pulled Bai Ruoxi toward the dining table without giving her a choice.

Bai Ruoxi struggled slightly, but eventually gave up and followed, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.

At the dining table, the atmosphere was somewhat gloomy.

Lin Wanting tried to start a conversation a few times, but Qin Feng intentionally or unintentionally steered the topic away each time.

Finally, the meal ended in awkward silence.

"Spit it out. What on earth is going on?"

Qin Feng asked while clearing the bowls and chopsticks, without raising his head.

Bai Ruoxi took a deep breath, as if struggling to suppress some emotion, and slowly spoke, "Long Xiaotian... something happened to him."

"Brother Long?"

Qin Feng's movements paused. He looked up, his brows furrowed tightly.

"What happened to him?"

Bai Ruoxi tightly clenched the document bag in her hand, as if trying her utmost to restrain her feelings. Her tone was low and solemn, "He was kidnapped abroad."

"What?!"

Qin Feng and Lin Wanting exclaimed in unison.

"When did this happen? How could this be?" Lin Wanting asked anxiously.

Bai Ruoxi shook her head, a trace of helplessness in her voice, "I don't know the specific details either. I only received the news this morning."

"How could this happen? What does the Long family say? Haven't they sent anyone to rescue him?"

Qin Feng asked eagerly, Long Xiaotian's stern and imposing face flashing through his mind.

Bai Ruoxi's expression grew even dimmer. She took a deep breath and slowly said, "The Long family... I'm afraid we can't count on them."

"What do you mean?" Qin Feng and Lin Wanting asked simultaneously.

Bai Ruoxi hesitated for a moment, then finally told the whole story from the beginning.

It turned out that Long Xiaotian was not a true direct descendant of the Long family; he was merely the illegitimate son of the head of the Long family born out of wedlock.

Back then, Long Xiaotian's mother brought him, a young child, to seek recognition from the clan, but was ruthlessly turned away by the Long family.

Left with no other options, Long Xiaotian's mother overworked herself and eventually passed away.

From then on, Long Xiaotian swore to make something of himself and carve out his own world through sheer effort.

Starting from scratch, he founded Longteng Group, which became a dark horse in the business world within just a few years, even overshadowing the Long family in terms of influence.

Instead of looking at him in a new light, the Long family grew even more wary of his existence, suppressing and ostracizing him at every turn.

"In a fit of anger, Long Xiaotian completely broke ties with the Long family and has been entirely on his own all these years."

Bai Ruoxi sighed, her eyes filled with regret and sympathy.

"Those ungrateful bastards!"

Hearing this, Lin Wanting slammed her hand on the table in anger.

"Brother Long is such an outstanding person, yet they treat him like this. It's utterly conscience-less!"

Qin Feng said nothing, only clenching his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white from excessive force.

Though he hadn't known Long Xiaotian for long, he deeply admired the man's character.

"What should we do now? Is there any news from the kidnappers?"

Qin Feng suppressed the anger in his heart and asked in a deep voice.

Bai Ruoxi shook her head with a solemn expression, "The kidnappers haven't contacted us yet. We don't know what their motive is either."

"Damn it!"

Qin Feng couldn't help cursing softly as a sense of powerlessness washed over him.

"Afeng, don't worry. We'll figure something out."

Lin Wanting walked over to Qin Feng, gently took his hand, and comforted him softly.

Qin Feng turned his hand to hold hers, and the warmth of her palm helped him gradually calm down.

"Ruoxi, how did you find out about this? Brother Long shouldn't have many acquaintances abroad, right?" Qin Feng asked.

"Ah-Biao told me," Bai Ruoxi replied.

"Ah-Biao?" Both Qin Feng and Lin Wanting looked puzzled.

"He's the driver who used to follow Long Xiaotian around,"

Bai Ruoxi explained, "Ah-Biao said that Long Xiaotian went abroad this time to negotiate a very important cooperative project, but suddenly lost contact. Worried that something had happened to him, Ah-Biao secretly contacted me and asked me to come to you for help."

"This old boy is quite loyal."

The corners of Qin Feng's mouth curled up slightly as Ah-Biao's honest and sturdy dark-skinned face appeared in his mind.

"There's no time to lose. I must set off for abroad immediately."

As Qin Feng spoke, his gaze gradually grew sharp, and a powerful aura emanated from him.

Lin Wanting anxiously grabbed his hand and said softly, "Afeng, you must be careful and stay safe."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Qin Feng gently patted the back of Lin Wanting's hand to reassure her.

He turned to look at Bai Ruoxi and asked in a deep voice, "Ruoxi, do you have any clues about the kidnappers? What kind of background do they have?"

Bai Ruoxi shook her head, her expression solemn, "We haven't found any valuable clues yet. The kidnappers are extremely cunning and left no traces. However, I've already sent people to investigate, and I believe we'll have news soon."

"Alright, that's good."

Qin Feng nodded, turned to look out the window, and a flash of cold light crossed his eyes.

"How dare they touch my brother! I'll make them pay a heavy price!"

Just in case, Qin Feng dialed Yang Tianchen's number. As soon as Yang Tianchen on the other end heard that Long Xiaotian had been kidnapped, he instantly exploded.

"What the hell! Which bastard dares to kidnap my brother! Afeng, wait right there, I'm bringing people over!"

Yang Tianchen's voice was loud and clear; even through the phone, one could feel his soaring rage.

Qin Feng briefly explained the situation and asked Yang Tianchen to use the Yang family's influence to help search for Long Xiaotian's whereabouts. After all, an extra person meant an extra bit of strength.

Yang Tianchen agreed readily, patting his chest as he guaranteed, "Don't worry, Afeng, leave this to me! I'm going to mobilize all my connections to find him. I want to see who is so blind as to touch my brother!"

After hanging up the phone, Qin Feng's heart settled down a little.

With the Yang family stepping in, he believed finding Long Xiaotian was only a matter of time.

Before leaving, Qin Feng entrusted the affairs of Yushi Pavilion to Zhang Hu and specifically instructed him to protect Lin Wanting well.

"Huzi, I'm leaving Yushi Pavilion in your hands. You've got to work hard during this period, protect Wanting well, and call me if anything comes up."

Qin Feng patted Zhang Hu on the shoulder with a solemn tone.

"Brother Feng, don't you worry! My life was saved by you. Forget about protecting my sister-in-law, even if you asked for my life, I wouldn't blink an eye!"

Zhang Hu patted his chest in assurance, his tone resolute.

Qin Feng nodded with relief. He knew Zhang Hu was a trustworthy person, and leaving Yushi Pavilion in his care gave him peace of mind.

Bidding farewell to Lin Wanting and Zhang Hu, Qin Feng boarded a plane heading abroad.