A Chan – CH 134

Chapter 134: A Smooth Sailing Life (3)

Liu Ying suddenly stood up, trying to push Zhang Jingchan: “You’re talking nonsense!”

But Cheng Chuan grabbed her arm, coldly asking, “Is what he said true? So, Old Zhang and I are just working for you and your lover? Damn it.”

Zhang Fengming’s expression also changed, his face turning fierce. He was about to slap her when Zhang Jingchan stopped him, saying, “No matter what, she’s my sister. As long as she spits out the money, we’ll split it equally. Tie her up first, and gag her so she doesn’t run away or call for help.”

Liu Ying, restrained by Cheng Chuan, struggled desperately, shouting, “Are you crazy! He’s lying to you! He’s not Xu Yi, he’s Zhang Jingchan! He’s Zhang Jingchan!”

Zhang Jingchan stared at her in astonishment. Cheng Chuan paused, frowning: “What nonsense are you spouting?” Zhang Fengming had already found a rope, tied her hands and feet, stuffed a towel into her mouth, and thrown her on the ground. Liu Ying was paralyzed, her eyes blazing with fury, her face ashen with rage.

Zhang Fengming asked, “What do we do now?”

Zhang Jingchan said, “I’ll try to persuade her alone.”

Cheng Chuan and Zhang Fengming had no doubts. After all, if “Xu Yi” wanted to embezzle the money, there was no need to expose it in front of them. “Xu Yi” clearly needed their help to outmaneuver his sister.

The two left the gymnasium and went to the cave to be with their men. Only Zhang Jingchan and Liu Ying remained.

Liu Ying sat on the ground, staring coldly at him. Zhang Jingchan took a spare phone from her. Liu Ying struggled desperately, but to no avail. Zhang Jingchan scrolled through the most frequently contacted numbers, checked the messages, and identified the number as Xu Yi’s. He took a picture of Liu Ying and then called.

—

Xu Yi finished showering, changed into a suit and shirt, fastened his tie in front of the mirror, and put on his watch. Stepping out of the bedroom, he saw that the person outside was gone and simply smiled.

His phone rang; it was Liu Ying calling. Xu Yi immediately answered, “Hello.”

A familiar male voice came through: “Mr. Xu, it’s me.”

Xu Yi’s gaze sharpened. He sat down, lowered his head, and smiled, “Ah Chan, quite capable.”

Zhang Jingchan coldly replied, “Not as capable as you! Your sister is still alive, but my parents’ fate is unknown! Did you see the photos?”

Xu Yi swiped up on his phone and saw a photo of Liu Ying bound. From the background, Zhang Jingchan had even located their hiding place.

The rural primary school was attended by rural and left-behind children, usually completely unnoticed. Xu Yi had been sponsoring the school for years, and the principal considered him a great benefactor. Located near the river dock, it had always been a backup location for Xu Yi. This time, Xu Yi gave the principal a sum of money, only requiring the principal to pretend not to know they were secretly hiding in the hills behind the school. When the police came to question them, the principal used the pitiful children as cover, and the police didn’t dare to bother them too much. Liu Ying and the others hid in a cave in the back mountain, escaping several searches.

“How did you find that place?” Xu Yi asked casually, as if chatting with a friend.

“Mr. Xu underestimates me,” Zhang Jingchan said, his calm tone unable to conceal his hatred. “Didn’t you want to replace me? Come here alone, without anyone else. If you don’t arrive within an hour, I’ll kill Liu Ying in front of everyone, then call the police. Guess how much Zhang Fengming and Cheng Chuan will implicate you? If they see you kill your sister with your own hands, do you think it’ll be life imprisonment or immediate execution? I bet it’ll be the latter.”

“Don’t joke around, Jingchan. Can you kill someone? Can you even bring yourself to do it?” Xu Yi said on the phone as he walked to the bedroom, opened a hidden compartment in the bedside table, took out a pistol, and tightly holstered it under his suit jacket.

Zhang Jingchan: “Since you dare to be Zhang Jingchan, I dare to be Xu Yi.”

The phone hung up.

Xu Yi stepped out of his room. His two men downstairs, watching television, immediately stood up and looked up at the sound of footsteps, awaiting orders. Li Weiyi’s door remained tightly shut.

The mountain night was silent except for the sound of the wind, the chill penetrating to the bone. Xu Yi stood there alone for a while, then slowly walked to Li Weiyi’s door.

Zhang Jingchan held Liu Ying hostage, and Ding Chenmo might even be providing reinforcements from the outside. Zhang Jingchan couldn’t control so many people alone. Zhang Fengming and Cheng Chuan, those two idiots, had probably been fooled, and even the four men on the outside hadn’t realized what was happening.

Xu Yi thought that once the two men were facing off, these people might not be reliable. Then he might be at a disadvantage.

Zhang Jingchan’s move was brilliant. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Unless he also had hostages.

Xu Yi knocked on the door, but no one answered. He took out his key and tried to open the locked door, but it wouldn’t budge. He said, “Xiao Yi, this is pointless.”

Li Weiyi’s icy voice came through: “What do you want?”

Xu Yi called two men over, who quickly pushed the door open and moved the cabinet aside. He waved his hand, signaling his men to stay outside, and closed the door.

Li Weiyi sat in the chair, looking out the window, as if she saw nothing.

Xu Yi sat down on the edge of the bed, arms draped over his legs, straightened his shirt cuffs that were slightly disheveled from opening the door, and adjusted his tie. He said, “Xiao Yi, I’m going somewhere. I’m giving you one last choice:

If you do it with me now, I won’t take you. You stay here and get a good night’s sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, it’ll all be over.”

Li Weiyi’s neck was ramrod straight, and she laughed with utter sarcasm: “Dream on.”

Xu Yi took off his suit jacket and threw it on the ground, then pulled her down beneath him. Li Weiyi tried to struggle, but how could she possibly be a match for a muscular man over six feet tall? He pinned her hands above her head, forcing her to look up, body against body, leg against leg. His eyes, unusually red, were filled with ruthlessness: “Fine, if you don’t want to, say you love me; say you love Xu Yi, Li Weiyi. You clearly loved me!”

Li Weiyi didn’t know where the strength came from, but she broke free from his grasp with one hand and slapped him hard across the face. She screamed hysterically, “Xu Yi! Why did you do this? Why? You were so good, so outstanding; everyone liked you, everyone admired you! Why did you choose this path? Why did you do these things? Even if it was slower, if you had taken the right path, you could have had everything you wanted—success, money, status—what couldn’t you have? But why did you become like this? Look at yourself now! Do you know… I’m so disappointed in you, Ah Chan is so disappointed in you, Zhang Moyun, Ding Chenmo… everyone is disappointed in you! Because you could have… you could have…”

Tears streamed down her face. “You could have been a good person, a very, very good person. The kind of person a nobody like me can never reach, a dragon among men, with a bright future, achieving great things, and a smooth life.”

Xu Yi remained motionless, staring at her, his eyes finally filling with tears as well. He suddenly released her, stood up, turned his back to her, straightened his suit and tie, quickly grabbed a tissue from the bedside table, and wiped away his tears.

Li Weiyi sat up silently.

He called his men in and bound her hands and feet with rope, forcing her to move only in tiny steps. He had already gone downstairs. Once his men had led her out of the house, he was already in the driver’s seat of the car.

Li Weiyi was pushed into the passenger seat by his men. Xu Yi’s face was expressionless, as if he hadn’t been the one who had just shed tears. He fastened her seatbelt and drove down the mountain.

Li Weiyi asked, “Where are we going?”

Xu Yi looked ahead and replied, “To settle things with Zhang Jingchan. Liu Ying is in his hands. I’ll exchange you for her; I won’t let you get hurt.”

After driving for a while, he said, “Tonight, one of us, Zhang Jingchan or I, will die. If I survive, I won’t look for you again after tomorrow. From now on, you can live freely. I wish you peace and a smooth life.”