Li Jiahao laughed. “As expected of Mr. Huo, truly clever!”
Huo Boyan asked anxiously, “What exactly do you want? Is Lin Yao in your hands right now?!”
Seeing how frantic he was, Li Jiahao felt pleased that he hadn’t captured the wrong person—Huo Boyan really did care about her!
Then wouldn’t it be easy for him to get money from Huo Boyan?!
“Mr. Huo, don’t you already know what I want?”
Li Jiahao threw the question back at him.
Huo Boyan said uncertainly, “You want the shares of your family’s company back?”
Li Jiahao burst into laughter. “Mr. Huo, do you take me for a fool? The company is bankrupt—what use would I have for it?!”
“I want money!”
“How much do you want?”
“I want one million U.S. dollars! You’re so wealthy, Mr. Huo—I believe you won’t refuse, will you?!”
“One million dollars is fine, but how do I give it to you?!”
Huo Boyan agreed without a second thought.
Truly the richest man.
Li Jiahao hadn’t expected him to agree so readily and hadn’t yet thought through how to get the money.
Currently, most of his accounts were frozen, and the only way to obtain the money was in cash.
“I want cash!”
Huo Boyan fell silent for a moment. “Cash… I need some time for that.”
Li Jiahao, of course, knew it was impossible to produce that much cash immediately. “I’ll give you two days. If you still can’t come up with the money after two days, don’t blame me for being unkind to her!”
After saying this, Li Jiahao hung up the phone and turned it off, ignoring Huo Boyan’s subsequent calls.
Li Jiahao helped Lin Yao sit up.
He turned on the light, still holding the knife, and crouched down to look at her. With a smile, he said, “What a pity—such a beautiful woman. If you weren’t Huo Boyan’s woman, I wouldn’t treat you like this.”
“Blame him if you must.”
“You probably heard just now—if he can’t come up with the money, don’t blame me either!”
Lin Yao had indeed heard, but Li Jiahao had made an outrageous demand, asking for one million U.S. dollars in cash right off the bat.
She believed Huo Boyan could come up with that much money, but would he really come to rescue someone unrelated to him with such a large sum?
Even if Huo Boyan did bring the money, would the man in front of her really let her go?
Lin Yao had seen many cases in newspapers and on TV where kidnappers took the money but didn’t release the victim.
She had to find a way to escape.
Lin Yao: “Mmm… mmm… mmm…”
Li Jiahao had always been fond of beautiful women, and since Huo Boyan had already agreed to bring money to ransom her, seeing how eager Lin Yao was to speak, he removed the cloth from her mouth.
Lin Yao: “Huff! Huff!”
She could finally breathe deeply again.
Li Jiahao raised the knife in front of her, threatening, “What do you want to say?”
Lin Yao looked at the gleaming blade, nervously swallowed, and instinctively leaned back, afraid he might accidentally hurt her.
“I’m hungry. I want to eat.”
As if aware of Lin Yao’s current predicament, her stomach cooperatively rumbled.
Li Jiahao: “…”
The situation was somewhat awkward.
He chuckled and said, “Beautiful lady, I don’t have any delicacies here—only the cheapest instant noodles.”
In truth, Lin Yao wasn’t hungry, but this was the only excuse she could think of to get him to leave.
“Instant noodles are fine. As long as I can eat.”
“You’re not picky.” Li Jiahao said before opening the door and leaving, presumably to get her instant noodles.
When he opened the door, Lin Yao saw weeds outside, tall enough to reach her height.
This must be an abandoned warehouse, and it was definitely very far from the city center.
Lin Yao looked around and noticed a knife on the sofa, likely left behind when he was on the phone earlier.
But now she had to get the knife before the man returned, and after getting it, she had to return to her original position, otherwise he would surely notice.
Lin Yao struggled to stand up, shifting her weight to her feet as she hopped step by step toward the sofa.
Got it!
Sweat beaded on her forehead from the tension, but she couldn’t afford to worry about that now.
She had to return to her original spot before he came back.
Perhaps fate was on her side—by the time Lin Yao hopped back to her original position, the man still hadn’t returned.
She held the knife in her hand and, unable to see, began grinding it bit by bit.
“Creak!”
The man came in with the instant noodles.
Lin Yao froze, not daring to move another inch. Even though her back was turned to him, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t notice a missing knife.
The man crouched down, holding the noodles, and scooped a spoonful to her mouth.
He’d rather feed her than untie her.
But she didn’t dare say anything now and obediently ate the noodles.
After feeding Lin Yao, Li Jiahao didn’t waste words and opened the door to leave.
Lin Yao breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, he hadn’t noticed.
But the next moment, she heard the sound of the door being locked from the outside—he had locked it!
With the door locked, even if she managed to untie the ropes, she couldn’t escape.
The next day, as soon as dawn broke.
Li Jiahao opened the door and came in with food.
Lin Yao was still tied to the chair, and judging by his expression, he hadn’t noticed the missing knife.
The man silently fed Lin Yao, and she ate without saying a word.
After feeding her, Li Jiahao walked to the sofa, picked up his phone, and turned it on.
As soon as it powered on, a call came through immediately.
“Hello, the money has been secured. Where are you now?”
Huo Boyan’s voice sounded weary.
To get a million dollars in just one night—it really was Huo Boyan.
Li Jiahao excitedly sat up, his hand trembling as he held the phone. “Bring the money to the outskirts tonight at nine.”
“Where exactly in the outskirts?”
Huo Boyan pressed.
But Li Jiahao had no intention of giving him the exact address. “Call me when you reach the outskirts tonight. And come alone!”
Alone?
Too dangerous!
Zhu Yuhang panicked upon hearing this and quickly shook his head at Huo Boyan, urging him not to agree. But Huo Boyan agreed immediately.
“I’ll come alone, but I need to confirm she’s safe!”
All Huo Boyan cared about now was Lin Yao’s condition.
“Don’t worry, I’m treating her well—good food and drink. I guarantee she won’t lose a finger.”
Li Jiahao assured him.
Huo Boyan: “Let me talk to her. Only then will I know if you’re telling the truth.”
Li Jiahao brought the phone to Lin Yao and ordered, “Tell him you’re fine!”
“Hello, is that Boyan?” Lin Yao asked.
Huo Boyan’s heart tightened at the sound of Lin Yao’s voice, and he hurriedly asked, “It’s me, are you alright? Did he do anything to you?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry.”
Huo Boyan was about to say more when he heard another person’s voice on the phone.
“Did you hear that? Are you reassured now?”
“Remember, you must come alone tonight!”
“If I find out you brought anyone or called the police… don’t blame me.”