Could it be… she really left with another man?
Is she really that indiscriminate? Accepting anyone who comes along?
Gu Tingye’s face darkened like an approaching storm.
Just as he was about to set off to find Fang Mian, another company president blocked his path.
“President Gu, I’ve chased you all the way from Long Country to Li Country. How are you considering our company’s proposal after reviewing it?”
Gu Tingye raised an eyebrow. “Not well. Your company’s core technical issues still haven’t shown any progress.”
“President Gu, look, we’ve been cooperating for years. If you could just give us two more months, I believe our technical department can overcome the difficulties and achieve a breakthrough.”
“Sorry. You can afford to wait, but Tianyu cannot.”
Gu Tingye asserted with an air of dominance, “This era is inherently ever-changing. Moreover, the essence of investment is purchasing future value, not throwing money away on charity. If your technical capabilities are truly limited, then I have no choice but to collaborate with other, more capable companies. Apologies, I have matters to attend to. Excuse me.”
That damn woman, where on earth did she go to fool around!
Fang Mian, regaining consciousness, found herself sitting in a completely unfamiliar car.
Her hands were tied, and a masked man sat beside her, watching her.
The two men driving in front were also masked and conversing.
Second Brother: “Boss, isn’t it just stripping her naked and filming a video? Do you really need to drive this far?”
The boss scolded him as if looking at an idiot: “That’s why I’m the boss. Because you guys have no brains. Hotels are expensive, wouldn’t that cost money again? And they’re full of surveillance cameras. Do you want to end up in jail?”
Second Brother suddenly understood: “Right, right, right. Boss thinks things through.”
“How much farther do we have to go? We’re not familiar with the roads in Li Country. This route feels more and more remote.”
The boss knocked him on the head: “Is your brain filled with pig shit? The more remote, the higher the safety factor.”
Second Brother, still unwilling to accept being the eternal second-in-command: “Then why not just strip her in the car? Why bother driving all the way to the outskirts? Gas costs money too, you know.”
Boss: “I’m fucking done with you. Which is more important, your life or gas money?”
Second Brother: “If life is so important, then why were you trying to save money on a hotel room earlier?”
Boss: “I say you’re an idiot and you still won’t admit it. Checking into a hotel requires ID registration. Whose ID should we use, yours or mine?”
Second Brother chuckled foolishly: “Right, right, right! No hotel. Boss is smart, boss is mighty.”
After cursing and insulting him a few more times, the boss turned and asked the back: “Third Brother, is the woman awake yet?”
Third Brother glanced at Fang Mian: “Not yet.”
Boss: “That’s odd. Lift her eyelid and check.”
Third Brother: “Okay.”
He lifted it.
Boss asked: “Is she awake?”
“Don’t know.”
The boss was practically ready to die from anger at these two fools: “Find a place to pull over up ahead.”
Fang Mian, who was pretending to be asleep, tensed up upon hearing this.
She immediately opened her eyes: “Xiao V, Xiao V.”
All three men in the car looked at her simultaneously.
There was no familiar “Here.”
It seemed her phone had been turned off by them.
The boss picked up her pearl handbag and shook it. “Looking for this?”
Fang Mian steadied herself and asked, “Why have you brought me here? What do you want? If it’s for money, we can talk.”
The three men exchanged glances.
The boss asked, “You’re rich?”
Fang Mian nodded. “My boyfriend is very rich. Name your price. As long as he sees I’m safe and sound, he’ll definitely pay the ransom.”
The boss looked her up and down. “Seems like you’ve got some connections. I need to make a call and tell Miss F to raise the price.”
Seeing that he wasn’t swayed by her words, Fang Mian couldn’t help but grow anxious.
But she knew that in times like these, she couldn’t lose her composure.
At least she understood they were after money, not her life.
The call connected.
The boss angrily questioned, “Miss F, didn’t you say she was a nobody? Why is she saying we can’t touch her?”
“Hahaha… You believe her?”
Fang Mian’s pupils trembled.
Wasn’t that Fang Lu’s voice?
So these thugs… were hired by her?
“You should know the rules of the trade. The higher the target’s status, the greater our risk. If she really has someone backing her, then this job… needs a higher price!”
“How much more?”
“One million.”
“One million? You’re really pushing it. Don’t worry, she’s powerless and worthless—her life isn’t worth a million. Just go ahead and do it.”
The boss narrowed his eyes, covered the phone, and asked Fang Mian, “How much can your boyfriend pay to get you back?”
Fang Mian replied, “Two million.”
That price was definitely higher than what Fang Lu was offering.
The boss said, “Five million, final offer. If you can pay that, I’ll let you go immediately.”
Fang Mian hesitated.
If it were before, Gu Ziqian would have paid without hesitation to save her.
But now they had broken up.
If she asked him for five million now, what if he used the opportunity to demand they get back together?
He had betrayed her so many times already; she really didn’t want to force a reconciliation and continue that toxic relationship.
Rather than asking Gu Ziqian for five million, it would be better to ask Gu Tingye.
At worst, she could go back and write an IOU, deducting it from her salary, and work for him like a slave for the rest of her life…
That should be enough to pay it off, right?
After making up her mind, Fang Mian said, “Alright, turn on the phone. I’ll call him.”
“Not so fast. We have rules in this line of work too.”
The boss picked up the phone and continued the call, his tone even more arrogant than before. “She says she’ll pay five million to buy her own freedom. What do you think, Miss F?”
“Impossible! Don’t be fooled by her sweet talk. Even if she sold her house, she couldn’t scrape together five million.”
Fang Lu was already fed up with these unreliable scoundrels.
She said firmly, “I’m warning you, you’d better hurry up. If I don’t receive the video in ten minutes, I’ll report you to the authorities. Then you won’t get a single cent, let alone five million.”
This bitch, daring to threaten him.
The boss was furious. “Third Brother, do it!”
Fang Mian’s face turned deathly pale with fear. “I have money! Just give me my phone, and I can have my boyfriend bring money right away!”
The third man, a rough brute, tore Fang Mian’s dress apart with a forceful tug.
A large expanse of snow-white skin was instantly exposed to the cold, merciless air.
The second man had already raised his phone, adjusting the lighting angle to begin filming.
No matter how much composure Fang Mian tried to muster, she could not conceal the extreme panic raging within her at that moment.