Ultimately, rationality triumphed over her wealth-driven mind. Last night, in her sheer eagerness to escape, she had no time to overthink. Now that she had calmed down and reflected on it, right from their initial meeting, Yan Xiu had repeatedly indicated that this gang was not composed of simple kidnappers. Instead, they were single-mindedly determined to put him to death; their target was seemingly very explicit, while she was merely an incidental addition.
There was another point: even if the Goddess Guanyin herself were reincarnated, she wouldn’t necessarily offer up twenty million yuan for a stranger she had met less than half an hour ago. Yan Xiu was clearly no Goddess Guanyin. So, he did what he did because he felt his life was coming to an end and money was already useless, making it better used to save her life.
To sum up, not only was Yan Xiu fully aware that this group’s objective was to take his life, but he might have already guessed who the mastermind behind the scenes was.
Now that the Yan family wanted her to sign a non-disclosure agreement, did they simply want to prevent the kidnapping from being made public, fearing that exposure would affect the family business? Or were they afraid someone might use this as a starting point and accidentally discover clues that would be disadvantageous to the mastermind?
Gu Ting’s mind spun with countless thoughts, which finally crystallized into a single sentence: “Is this Yan Xiu’s idea?”
Lawyer Liu was surprised by her hesitation. After all, he knew very well that Gu Ting needed money, but he still answered patiently: “Young President Yan is currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.”
Gu Ting’s brow relaxed, and she tossed the document back to Lawyer Liu. “Tell Yan Xiu to talk to me in person.” After all, Yan Xiu was the actual victim, and he had done everything he could to save her. Having faced life and death together, doing this felt far too disloyal.
With that, she began drinking the broth of her instant noodles.
Lawyer Liu finally displayed his first vivid expression since entering the room—one of complete speechlessness: That is just a bowl of instant noodle broth. Can it really smell sweeter than five million yuan?
However, seeing that Gu Ting was solely focused on drinking her broth and had no intention of negotiating further, he thought it over and could only drop the matter, turning instead to chat about the case.
In a few sentences, Lawyer Liu made the current situation very clear. Ding Chong and his two henchmen had all been captured. Ding Chong’s left eyeball had ruptured with no possibility of recovery, and he was currently undergoing treatment for severe injuries at the hospital. His two henchmen’s injuries were not considered serious; the one stabbed by Gu Ting had suffered from excessive blood loss, but his internal organs were intact, and he would recover after a few days of treatment. Although Gu Ting had stabbed the man, he didn’t die, and she had acted out of legitimate self-defense, so it wasn’t a major issue for Lawyer Liu.
Gu Ting wasn’t surprised by this outcome at all. She had never intended to harvest his kidney; she just wanted to draw some blood so the kidnapper would lose his combat capability. It was just that Yan Xiu seemed genuinely addicted to being a good person, insisting on calling a lawyer to handle things for her.
Gu Ting sat for a bit longer until the police came over to take her statement. As the only person involved who was completely unharmed, her words finally gave the police a full understanding of the entire event’s scope, along with its causes and effects. Yet during the process of recording the statement, the officers repeatedly doubted their ears, their expressions incredibly hard to maintain. They had originally thought that Gu Ting and Yan Xiu escaping the kidnappers’ den must be a tragic, blood-pumping inspirational film. Who could have guessed that while the blood-pumping inspiration was there, the tragedy had fallen entirely upon the kidnappers.
Stabbed in the waist by an ancient funerary dagger, arms slashed by an ancient sword, head covered in bumps from being pelted by gold and silver treasures, nearly getting smashed into a eunuch… Although every step was logically consistent, it inexplicably made people feel like they were listening to a storybook.
Seeing the officers looking utterly speechless and glancing at one another, Gu Ting said, “I know this story sounds too fantastical, but don’t worry, this isn’t the first time. Ding Chong’s other two henchmen were caught the day before, and their experience was no less spectacular. You’ll get used to it after encountering it a few more times.”
The police actually did know about that matter. Mainly, the capture of those two named Er Dao and Da Wei had been too bizarre. The officers usually faced a lot of pressure, so when such a hilarious incident occurred, they vied to share it, making it known to everyone in no time.
Gu Ting had also only learned the details of the event from the police today. It turned out her residential community was the second stronghold prepared by Ding Chong, where Er Dao and Da Wei had been left to keep watch. But the two wouldn’t stay behaved. Seeing Gu Ting alone and beautiful, they grew lustful. Yet no matter how fierce or evil they were, they were ultimately sanctioned by Gu Ting’s bizarre financial luck, landing themselves straight into the station.
The origin of that two million yuan at Gu Ting’s place was finally explained as well. Er Dao and Da Wei had broken into her home that night first. To make things easier, they left the gunny sack at her place, intending to capture her, finish their business, and then come back for the money. Who could have known that in the end, not only did they fail to get their hands on her, but they were also caught and thrown into the station, naturally leaving the gunny sack inside Gu Ting’s home.
Gu Ting: “…” I am utterly stunned!
After clearing up the beginning and end of the event, the police ultimately applauded Gu Ting. Helping the people eliminate five major pests was a great merit!
Gu Ting clapped along mechanically, her heart feeling inexplicably tired. This was already today’s third messy account. Yesterday she had fallen asleep peacefully embracing two million yuan, but today that two million had ruthlessly deserted her.
It was a suffocating sadness.
After finishing her statement, Gu Ting rode in the police car back home together with the officers. The police needed to inspect the scene at her residence to gather criminal evidence against the kidnappers. Before the vehicle could start, an officer carrying a gunny sack rushed over at the last second.
From the moment that gunny sack appeared, Gu Ting’s eyes could no longer look away. When she was younger, she hadn’t understood the weight of a perfect substitute, but now she understood completely—this gunny sack looked exactly as if it were cast from the same mold as the one she had picked up at home containing two million.
Looking at her gaze, which was so tender toward the gunny sack that it could practically drip water, the officers were amused. “Miss Gu, don’t doubt it; this gunny sack is the very one you lost, the one packed with two million!”
The moment these words came out, all the officers in the car looked over, and even the officer in the driver’s seat couldn’t resist turning around. However, they weren’t looking with envy, but rather with scrutiny.
After a brief silence, the police began giving a lecture.
“Miss Gu, keeping this much cash in a rented apartment is not safe. It’s still more convenient and secure to deposit it in a bank.”
“Miss Gu, have you received any calls from unfamiliar numbers recently? You must remember: hang up on unfamiliar numbers promptly, never reply to suspicious texts, secure accounts are completely fictional, and think thrice before making large transfers…”
“…”
Gu Ting smiled. Being together with the police, this sense of security truly went from head to toe, penetrating deep into the soul!
Yet Gu Ting was still full of question marks. “Officer, are you saying this sack of money is mine?”
The officer who had boarded the car last couldn’t help but laugh. “This two million wasn’t part of Yan Xiu’s ransom; it was stolen and robbed by them during their flight. Just now we confirmed that the target of their theft and robbery was Li Xingzhou. It’s perfectly normal to be targeted when running away with such a large amount of cash. Didn’t you report to the police earlier that all your money had been swindled away by Li Xingzhou before he fled? So this money can be considered as returning to its original owner in a different way. Heh, if I hadn’t handled this matter personally, I wouldn’t believe it even if I were beaten to death!”
Gu Ting: “…” Don’t say you don’t believe it, I don’t even believe it myself. After all this time, this two million really is “mine”!
As for why the two million would appear in her rented apartment, it was probably because it was “homesick”?
Even the widely experienced officers couldn’t help but marvel, “A thousand gold pieces scattered, all come back again. Miss Gu, your luck is truly amazing!”
“This dramatic twist is fit to be filmed into a TV series. I just love watching good people get rewarded and bad people suffer a major defeat!”
Gu Ting, however, hurriedly pressed, “Then officer, where was Li Xingzhou ultimately robbed? If we follow the clues, does it mean we can find him?”
The officer replied, “We have already contacted the police over there. We will notify you immediately once there is news.”
Leaning against the back of her seat, Gu Ting felt an unprecedented sense of openness and relief in her heart. By now, whether Li Xingzhou could be caught had become secondary. What made her happiest at this moment was that with this two million, plus the 1.2 million in her bank card, her 2.72 million share from splitting the first-prize lottery ticket, and the 480,000 from the scratch-offs after tax, it totaled 6.4 million. This way, not only could she wipe out the five million yuan debt in one go, but she would also have 1.4 million left over.
1.4 million! Her lifelong dream—to have a small house belonging to herself—could finally be realized! As for that apartment scored for free from the livestream draw, she would review the situation once it was in her hands and make plans then.
Paying off her debts and buying a small house—realizing two major events in life simultaneously was a grand, double-bliss occurrence. How many times could one encounter this in a lifetime? Who wouldn’t be thrilled and happy?
Because she was in a great mood, when Gu Ting returned to her rented apartment and faced the window with shattered glass, the shards covering the floor, and the forced-open door lock… her mood wasn’t affected in the slightest. Compared to two million yuan, this little bit of compensation was just a drizzle.
Thinking this way, Gu Ting finally understood on reflection what it meant for money to be able to solve the vast majority of worries in life. If this situation had been placed a year ago, she would have been so angry that she wouldn’t have been able to eat for a week just to save money to fill this hole.
While the police were collecting evidence, Gu Ting found her long-separated phone on the ground. Thanks to the model of the phone being too old, even the kidnappers disdained it, not even bothering to steal it away.
Gu Ting turned on the phone, the battery already low enough to hit the red line. When she saw the bright red 50+ missed calls and the Green Messenger 99+ unread messages, everything was explained.
She browsed through casually. Luo Yuan had 99+ unread messages, and the main work group had countless notifications @-ing her. Gu Ting directly threw a photo of herself together with the silhouettes of the police into the work group, appending the message: An incident occurred at home, the police are handling it at my place.
Just one message was sufficient, without offering further explanations.
Just as Gu Ting was about to turn off her phone, she discovered a friend request. Clicking it open, she saw the verification message: Yan Xiu.
Gu Ting clicked to accept the friend request. Just as she was about to charge her phone, the other party sent a video invitation in the next second. After accepting, Yan Xiu’s slightly pale face appeared on the phone, though his pair of beautiful eyes was bright and full of spirit.
Yan Xiu said with a light chuckle, “Gu Ting, how about you and I cooperate to swindle twenty million out of the Yan family to spend? Any interest?”
Before the sound of his voice could fade, three pairs of eyes shot over like lasers, seemingly wanting to scan Gu Ting up and down, inside and out.
Gu Ting: “Hahahahaha… This is Yan Xiu. I estimate the anesthesia hasn’t worn off yet, hehehehe…”
While laughing, Gu Ting turned the phone screen toward the police. This time, the police saw clearly, and Yan Xiu saw clearly too.
Yan Xiu remained entirely calm, saying with a straight face using that mesmerizing visage of his, “Officers, I was not given anesthesia. I am being serious.”
Gu Ting: “&%#*￥&……&”
The police: “…” He looks like his brain is a bit dysfunctional.
They paid no further attention to the duo’s conversation, and Gu Ting and Yan Xiu tactfully performed a round of speaking at cross-purposes. Seeing that it was about enough, Gu Ting hung up the phone.
A while later, the police completed their evidence collection and left the rented apartment, and Gu Ting immediately called Yan Xiu back.
“Is there anyone around you?”
Yan Xiu, lying on the hospital bed, shook his head and smiled. “No one.”
“What did you mean by the twenty million just now? Aren’t you a member of the Yan family?”
Yan Xiu silently raised the phone higher from the direction of his chin and replied, “That agreement Lawyer Liu showed you—you can sign it, but I suggest you raise the amount to twenty million. Once the money hits the account, you and I split it half-and-half. This way, you can not only clear your debt but also gain a sum of savings. What do you think?”
Gu Ting couldn’t help but voice her query: “Could it be that owing money is a very glorious thing these days? How does the entire world know I’m in debt?” How did Yan Xiu know there would be a surplus after paying off the ten million yuan debt? Even the non-disclosure agreement prepared by Lawyer Liu had been set at five million from the very beginning; she didn’t believe this was just a coincidence.
Her tone shifted: “Your last name is also Yan, why would you do this? Actually, if you want me to keep my mouth shut, just tell me, and I won’t take a single cent!”
She was, after all, a person who valued loyalty very highly!