CHAPTER 175: CHAPTER 175: RELEASE THEM AND I’LL GO WITH YOU (5)_1

As the black-clad figure finished speaking, Shangguan Rou, Li Wanying, and Liu Ruoling were brought to the front. Meanwhile, Luo Tong and all the police officers, guns in hand, dared not make a move. With over a hundred hostages, including many high-ranking officials, they couldn’t afford to act.

"Youyou, leave quickly! I don’t need you to worry about me. I’m old anyway; if I die, I die. Youyou is still young; she’s our family’s Princess! How could we let our Princess fall into someone else’s hands?" Liu Ruoling looked at Shangguan You’s calm face and yelled loudly. She would rather be hurt herself than see Shangguan You injured, so using her to threaten Shangguan You was impossible.

"Shut up!" The black-clad figure viciously slapped Liu Ruoling across the face.

"Auntie!" Shangguan You shouted, stepping forward a few paces, tears welling in her eyes. These were her family members, who would rather die than see her hurt.

"Youyou, Auntie Li isn’t afraid of death either. You don’t have to worry about me; go find your daddy and the others." Li Wanying struggled to suppress her pleas for help, urging Shangguan You to flee for her life, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"Good, you’ve got spirit. But I want to see just how tough you really are," the black-clad figure sneered, tossing Li Wanying to the ground. Then he grabbed Shangguan Rou.

"AAH! Let go! Let go!" Shangguan Rou screamed in terror, seeing the gun muzzle at her forehead.

"I’ll count to three. If she doesn’t come over, I’ll kill her."

"Don’t, Sister! You have to save me, save me! I’m your sister! I don’t want to die, I really don’t!" Shangguan Rou wailed. She looked at Shangguan You’s unmoving face, then her gaze shifted to Li Wanying.

"Mommy, I’m your own daughter! Can you really just watch me die? Mommy! Mommy, please, beg Sister to trade places with me! Beg her to save me! Mommy, I don’t want to die!"

"Three..." the black-clad figure began to count at the same time.

Li Wanying looked at Shangguan Rou’s blood-soaked hands and her pitiful expression, her heart clenching in pain. This was her daughter. It was only because of this daughter that she had been able to marry into the Shangguan Family. If Rourou were gone, she would surely be driven out. But if Shangguan You were to take Shangguan Rou’s place today, Li Wanying would similarly have no standing in the Shangguan Family. However, Shangguan Rou was their daughter. As long as Rourou remained their daughter, she still had a chance. She couldn’t let Shangguan Rou die in front of her; she just couldn’t.

"Youyou, Auntie Li has raised you since you were little and has never asked anything of you. From childhood, you’ve always had the best of everything, and I’ve cherished you the most. In my heart, I’ve always treated you like my own daughter. I gave you all the love I had for Rourou. Now, I’m begging you, please, save Rourou! She’s my only daughter. I’m begging you!"

"Consider it a debt Auntie Li owes you for all the kindness I’ve shown you. Please save her!" Li Wanying wailed, her carefully constructed image as a caring stepmother completely shattering in that instant. From now on, no matter what she did or how she acted, she would forever be seen as a wicked stepmother.

"Two..."

"Youyou, I’m begging you! I’ll kowtow to you!" Li Wanying cried, sinking to her knees.

Shangguan You stepped aside, moving away. She dared not accept Li Wanying’s kowtow.

"Li Wanying, how cruel can you be? Your daughter is a human being, but isn’t Youyou one too? On what grounds should Youyou trade her life for yours and your daughter’s? On what grounds? You’re shameless! You vicious woman!" Liu Ruoling cursed loudly and kicked out towards Li Wanying.

At that moment, Liu Ruoling was consumed by regret. Why hadn’t she stayed with Shangguan Yu and the others? If she had, she wouldn’t have pushed Youyou into such danger.

Li Wanying, too, was filled with regret. Why had they come out to show off? If she had stayed with Shangguan Hao, she wouldn’t be in such a wretched state.

"Wait! Please don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! Youyou will save Rourou! Rourou is her younger sister! She won’t watch her die!" Li Wanying first knelt before the black-clad figure, then turned to plead with Shangguan You.

"Youyou, please save your sister! Consider it me cashing in on all the care I’ve given you—please, save Rourou!"

Shangguan You sneered coldly. She truly hadn’t expected Li Wanying to be this shameless. Why should she be the one to make the exchange? Why? The previous Shangguan You had already been destroyed by them; the current her was unwilling.

Yet, seeing Liu Ruoling furiously berating Li Wanying, she couldn’t bear the thought of Liu Ruoling getting hurt.

"Auntie Li, this will be the last time I call you that. Today, you are staking everything to save yourself and Rourou, demanding my life in exchange. If that is what you want, then from this moment on, I, Shangguan You, never want to see either of you again. Whether I live or die, I, Shangguan You, will have nothing more to do with you, Li Wanying, or Shangguan Rou."

Shangguan You’s voice was icy, carrying a sharp edge. Her words brought a sigh of relief to Li Wanying and Shangguan Rou, who both sagged to the ground. As long as they were alive, there was still a chance to make amends.

"Release them. I’ll go with you." Shangguan You’s voice rang out, cold and clear, causing everyone present to breathe a sigh of relief.

At the same time, the expressions of the Shangguan Family members in the private room turned even uglier. How could she trade her own life for those people? How could she do such a thing? They fumed internally. Li Wanying and Shangguan Rou were scourges, bringing disaster upon the Shangguan Family time and time again, and now they were endangering Youyou! Although others present also wished for Youyou to take their place, they were mindful of the Shangguan Family’s dignity and dared not voice it. But for Li Wanying and Shangguan Rou to make such a demand so openly—what was that if not utter shamelessness? Such individuals could no longer be tolerated in the Shangguan Family.

"HAHAHA! Shangguan You, if you’d agreed sooner, they wouldn’t have had to suffer so much!" the black-clad figure cackled, a vicious glint in his cold eyes.

"No, Youyou! What happens to us has nothing to do with you! You must leave, quickly! Luo Tong, don’t you dare let Youyou come over! Li Wanying, you’re shameless! You are unworthy of being a member of the Shangguan Family! Unworthy! The Li Family has no place in the Shangguan Family with people like you! You’re despicable, shameless!"