Villain Is Bodyguard of Heroine’s Poisonous Stepmother

Chapter 123: The Conspiracy Against Ye Chen

Li Zhong, with a dark expression, hurried back from his company and slapped the table upon seeing the note left behind. He then stood up and slapped one of his bodyguards.

“You incompetents, just stood by as Li Ting was kidnapped?”

“Chairman, it wasn’t our fault, the other party moved too quickly. We didn’t even have time to react before they vanished.”

“Were these the same people who kidnapped my wife and son before?”

Li Zhong had no patience for their excuses. Rescuing Li Ting was now of paramount importance. He was significantly more distressed than when he learned of Gu Wanyu and Li Qiwen’s kidnapping.

“They arrogantly left an address. By following it, we can find Miss Li.”

“Do you think I don’t know?” Li Zhong shot a cold glance at the bodyguard who spoke up.

Even with the address in hand, Li Zhong was hesitant to send people blindly. What if the kidnappers really killed Li Ting? He couldn’t afford to gamble with her life.

“Ye Chen, only you can save Li Ting.”

Li Zhong’s gaze settled on Ye Chen. The note explicitly demanded that only Ye Chen should come, obviously targeting him, with his daughter Li Ting as an innocent victim. Although Li Zhong harbored anger toward Ye Chen, he still needed Ye Chen’s help to rescue his daughter, so he refrained from unleashing his fury on Ye Chen for now.

He thought it best to wait until Li Ting was safely rescued before expressing his anger toward Ye Chen.

“This is clearly targeting me,” Ye Chen said coldly.

Clearly, Ye Chen had no desire to walk into an obvious trap. Why would he willingly put himself in danger, knowing full well it was a conspiracy designed against him?

If the person kidnapped had been someone Ye Chen cared for, like Xiao Qingxue, he would still go despite being a trap. But with Li Ting being the victim, not only did Ye Chen lack the desire to save her, he actually preferred her dead. If her kidnappers were to kill her, he wouldn’t have to be repulsed by her any longer.

“Even if it’s a trap aimed at you, you must go. Are you ready to die alongside Li Ting if she is harmed?” Li Zhong took out a gun from beneath the table and placed it atop, effectively threatening Ye Chen.

Ye Chen remained stoic, a fleeting surge of killing intent arising within him, quickly dissipating. Killing Li Zhong would be easy, but the repercussions were severe, especially since he still needed Li Zhong’s support.

It seemed he had no choice but to walk into the trap.

“Give me a car and a gun.”

“Arrange that for him,” Li Zhong instructed his assistant.

“Remember, if my daughter is harmed, I will be the first to seek your life.”

He knew well that Ye Chen bore no affection for his daughter. Li Zhong even harbored concerns that Ye Chen might deliberately harm her. However, for Li Ting’s safety, he couldn’t afford to have someone shadow her closely.

“The surveillance must have captured the kidnappers. Pull up the footage, let’s have a look,” Li Zhong commanded the household bodyguard.

Quickly, the surveillance video was reviewed, but it provided no valuable leads. The kidnappers were clad in black, their faces obscured, wrapped tightly to avoid identification.

“Can their car be tracked?”

“They likely prepared in advance. I’m sure it’s untraceable.”

Li Zhong, with a stoic expression, lamented the ineffectiveness of his subordinates, who had proven useless during his wife and son’s previous kidnapping and remained so now.

“All hope is on Ye Chen now.”

At this moment, Ye Chen had already left the villa in his car. Li Zhong’s trust in Ye Chen was shaky at best.

Ye Chen’s formidable strength, especially after recent efforts to enhance his abilities, made Li Zhong acutely aware of Ye Chen’s terrifying power, almost inhuman.

But whether he would earnestly save Li Ting was an unknown factor, especially considering this was a plot specifically targeting Ye Chen. Those targeting him likely knew about his capabilities. If they dared to target him despite knowing his strength, they clearly wouldn’t be inferior to Ye Chen. Even if he didn’t trust Ye Chen, Li Zhong had no choice but to place all his hopes on him.

Unless he was willing to disregard the kidnappers’ threats and send someone else from the Li family.

***

“This is definitely targeting me, but who could it be?”

Ye Chen, driving, furrowed his brows. If he could refuse, he certainly wouldn’t agree to save Li Ting. He could clearly see through. Moreover, Ye Chen wished nothing more than for Li Ting to die. He was increasingly fed up with this woman, to the point of loathing her enough to wish her dead.

“Chen Luo is the most likely suspect, followed by the Luo family.”

Through his analysis, Ye Chen concluded that the mastermind behind this conspiracy was either Chen Luo or the Luo family. Beyond them, Ye Chen couldn’t identify any other enemies he might have.

Following the simple map, Ye Chen finally arrived at the lakeside to find Li Ting, who was tied up. Standing beside her was a familiar figure to Ye Chen, Luo Zixuan.

Eager to witness Ye Chen’s death, Luo Zixuan specially left the hospital for this purpose. He needed to see Ye Chen die with his own eyes.

“It’s you.”

Seeing Luo Zixuan, Ye Chen’s demeanor grew calmer.

Ye Chen’s greatest concern was the possibility of Chen Luo orchestrating this scheme. If Chen Luo was behind this, Ye Chen knew he’d need to tread carefully. As for Luo Zixuan, Ye Chen didn’t take him seriously at all.

“You really showed up,” Luo Zixuan sneered with hatred. Ye Chen was the reason his arm was now useless.

No prosthetic, no matter how advanced, could replace his original limb, and his hatred for Ye Chen had intensified to unimaginable levels, haunting even his dreams with visions of revenge.

“Let Li Ting go and then disappear,” Ye Chen said, a glint of frost in his gaze.

Repeatedly targeted, did they truly believe he was an easy target? It appeared the lesson from last time wasn’t sufficient. It might be time to ensure he stays in bed permanently.

“Hahaha, why don’t you first take a look at what’s behind you?” Luo Zixuan taunted, radiating confidence. He was well aware of Ye Chen’s formidable abilities, but he was no fool. Ah Da, Ah Er, and Ah San, each surpassing Ye Chen in strength, were brought along for this encounter, fully intending to kill Ye Chen.

Luo Zixuan wasn’t concerned about the repercussions of killing Ye Chen. He questioned whether the Li family would actually seek revenge for Ye Chen’s death if he were to be killed. Beyond his intention to kill Ye Chen, Luo Zixuan aspired to marry Li Ting.

Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed at the realization that Ah Da and his team indeed represented a significant threat. After suffering defeats in their past confrontations and despite his strength significantly enhancing through recent training, Ye Chen wasn’t confident in overcoming the trio’s combined effort.

“Is this your best play?” Ye Chen scoffed, then drew his handgun, aiming it at Luo Zixuan. “What if I choose to kill you first?”

“You actually brought a gun,” Luo Zixuan said, his complexion souring.

“Even if you have a gun, do you dare to shoot me?” Luo Zixuan boldly taunted Ye Chen.

Bang!

Unaffected by Luo Zixuan’s taunts, Ye Chen had a justification for his action this time. If he killed Luo Zixuan, it was because Luo Zixuan had kidnapped Li Ting first. Anticipating the Li family’s backing, Ye Chen felt emboldened to act.

The bullet struck Luo Zixuan squarely in the chest, causing him to stagger back, spit blood, and a hole appeared in his shirt.

Collapsing to the ground, Luo Zixuan, through his pain, yelled to Ah Da and the others, “Kill him, kill him for me.”

Wearing a bulletproof vest, the shot wouldn’t be fatal for Luo Zixuan. In hindsight, Ye Chen realized targeting the head would have been more effective. If he had shot Luo Zixuan in the head, Luo Zixuan would undoubtedly be dead.