CHAPTER 256: FAMILIAR PLACE, NEW REALITY

Tang Shuwen smiled, raising an eyebrow. His favorite city was still A City. He was a nostalgic person and had grown accustomed to A City, developing a deeper affection for it. Besides A City, his next favorite was Rome. His feelings for Paris were rather neutral; he neither disliked nor particularly liked it.

"Do you still like it now?"

"Of course, I like it very much. I could stay here alone all day without getting bored; it feels very comfortable," Chen Xueru said with a smile, holding Tang Shuwen’s hand. Having her husband with her on a honeymoon here was once a dream of hers. Back then, her dreams were filled with Gu Rui, but now it was Tang Shuwen, and the feeling was still wonderful. She thought dreams would always remain dreams, never coming true, but she never imagined he would fulfill hers.

She was very grateful to him.

By the fountain, Tang Shuwen suddenly embraced her, gently kissing her lips. By the fountains of the Palace of Versailles gardens, people came and went, as a young couple embraced and kissed, finally holding each other tightly.

"Xueru, although I forced you to marry me, Tang Shuwen promises you will never regret it for your entire life." Tang Shuwen pledged deeply, never before so clearly realizing that he could not live without the woman in his arms.

Not for the child, not for anything else, but simply because she was Chen Xueru.

He would give her a lifetime of happiness, never failing her.

Chen Xueru pecked his cheek, then shyly lowered her head. Tang Shuwen ran his fingers through her long hair, then suddenly took her hand and walked forward. "Let’s ask a painter to draw a sketch for us."

"That sounds nice."

Hand in hand, they casually found a beautiful female artist. The artist had a head of voluminous long hair, a beautiful appearance, and deep features. Tang Shuwen communicated with her in fluent French, asking her to draw for them. Learning that they were a honeymooning couple, the female artist became even more enthusiastic, chatting with the young couple as she drew. Tang Shuwen embraced Chen Xueru, leaving behind their happiest smiles in this place.

Chen Xueru was very satisfied with the drawing, happier than receiving the jewelry and clothes Tang Shuwen bought. Tang Shuwen also knew her preferences well; his wife was actually very easy to please.

They then visited the Louvre and Notre Dame. In the evening, they could take a boat tour to admire the scenery along both banks of the Seine River, which flows through Paris, including the Louvre, the Grand and Petit Palais, the Orsay Museum, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower—all within view.

Life was passing like a dream.

Late at night, back at the castle, Chen Xueru put down the sketch and went to the bathroom for a bath. Tang Shuwen had intended to join her for a romantic bath, but he unexpectedly received a call from Xiao Liu. "Young Master, Zhao Yuning left A City for F City yesterday. It seems she sensed we were going to make a move on her and deliberately avoided us."

Tang Shuwen’s brow furrowed. He walked to the study, his voice suddenly cold. "How did you manage this? After so many days, you still haven’t settled the matter. Find her for me. You must find her. The older the child gets, the greater the danger. Aborting it could endanger the mother’s life, and I don’t want anything to happen to her. You need to handle this cleanly and swiftly."

"Young Master, with Gu Rui’s help, it’s easy for Zhao Yuning to avoid us. If she keeps moving from place to place, it will be inconvenient for us to find her. I’m afraid it will delay the timing," Xiao Liu said. If she went into hiding in a remote mountain village, it would be much harder to find her. No matter how powerful Longmen was, or how dense its intelligence network, finding a woman in a place with no signal wouldn’t be easy.

Tang Shuwen’s face was ashen. "Xiao Liu, use all of Longmen’s forces in A City to find her. She’s pregnant and not in good health; she can’t keep hiding continuously. I refuse to believe that Longmen can’t find a person within a month. While I’m away, if anything happens, ask Young Master Ye Second and Su Ran. Remember, I will not allow this child to come into the world."

"Yes!" Xiao Liu fully understood his meaning.

Zhao Yuning had known him for a long time; it seemed she truly understood him. After their conversation that night, she must have sensed danger and left A City before he could act. She was a very intelligent woman after all.

But she had also forgotten that he was the head of Longmen. As long as a person was on Earth, he would find them.

He had just hung up the phone, his mind still reeling from the matter of Zhao Yuning, when he suddenly heard movement at the door. Tang Shuwen frowned and instantly pulled open the door, only to see Chen Xueru standing at the doorway, staring blankly at him.

Tang Shuwen felt a sudden chill, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

She had only just entered the bathroom when she realized she had forgotten something. She came out and, not seeing Tang Shuwen, came looking for him. She never expected to hear such a conversation at the door. For a moment, Chen Xueru’s mind was in turmoil.

Pregnant, not in good health... Was he talking about Zhao Yuning?

Zhao Yuning was pregnant with his child?

He wanted Xiao Liu to secretly arrange for Zhao Yuning to lose the child.

Was that what he meant?

For some reason, Chen Xueru was furious. For a moment, she didn’t think too much, only that a child was a mother’s lifeline. If it were gone, a mother would surely be in unbearable pain. Xiao Nian had also been critically ill, and she understood that feeling well.

Zhao Yuning certainly wasn’t kind-hearted, but no matter how unkind she was, her child was innocent.

Her health was already poor; if the child were gone, could she survive?

That was...

Tang Shuwen’s child.

Could he be so heartless towards his own child?

Since their marriage, he had been meticulously caring and gentle as jade towards her. She had almost forgotten his sinister self before marriage, almost forgotten that he had once been cruel enough to want to kill her, and forgotten that he was fundamentally a cold and ruthless person.

It was just that she rarely saw that side of him in their daily lives.

Now, the gentle-as-jade Tang Shuwen seemed to be split open by the cruel truth, shattered bloody before her, a truly unbearable sight. If someone could be so cruel as to harm their own child, what kind of person was he?

She was confused; all sorts of thoughts raced through her mind.

She didn’t blame Tang Shuwen’s ruthlessness and cruelty, but she began to resent her own abruptness and inappropriateness. It was her appearance that had ruined another woman’s happiness. For these two weeks, she had been so happy that she had forgotten everything, forgotten Zhao Yuning’s resentment.

But now, with a child in the picture, Chen Xueru clearly felt that while she was enjoying happiness, Zhao Yuning was suffering. Her happiness was built upon another woman’s misfortune.

"Xueru, you..." Tang Shuwen looked at her in a panic. Chen Xueru was extremely nervous, her heart churning with countless waves... Her heart ached too much to express in words.

"I came to find you for a bath, I, I, I’ll go back to my room first..." Chen Xueru subconsciously tried to avoid the situation. She regretted it; she shouldn’t have come looking for him, shouldn’t have heard this truth.

Tang Shuwen suddenly swept her into his arms. She initially resisted, struggling to escape, but he carried her back to the room, forcefully slammed the door shut, and held her tightly. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Xueru..."