Free Web NovelChapter 1076: Chapter 300: What Happened
Chapter 300: What Happened
Li Yan didn’t pick up the phone and continued driving. After a while, the phone was still ringing, showing no sign of stopping. He pulled over and answered the call.
"What’s wrong? Do I need to explain anything?"
It was a call from Huang Ying. Earlier, as she arrived at her doorstep, she did as he suggested and made a call to him to put his mind at ease. But unexpectedly, she called again shortly after he left.
Initially, Li Yan thought she was worried his phone hadn’t rung yet, so she called again to confirm. That’s why he didn’t answer, assuming she would hang up by herself. But as the phone kept ringing, it wasn’t part of their agreement. Perhaps she accidentally hit the redial button, or her mother was unhappy about her returning so late and wanted to ask him.
What surprised Li Yan was that as soon as he finished speaking, he heard Huang Ying’s anxious voice: "Have you left yet?"
"Not far, what’s up?"
"Can you come back for a bit? I need your help. I’ll come down immediately and explain in person!" Huang Ying said hastily.
From the phone, Li Yan could vaguely hear the sound of her quickly running to open the door and leave.
"No problem, I’ll come back right away. Don’t worry, stay calm," Li Yan said as he turned the car around.
When he returned, Huang Ying was already running out. When she saw him, she hurried over.
"What happened?" Li Yan got out of the car immediately. From her appearance, it was clear she had received some bad news as soon as she returned.
At this moment, Huang Ying was a stark contrast to her earlier spirited self, looking somewhat panicked and flustered. When she saw Li Yan, she seemed on the verge of tears.
"My brother... something happened to my brother!"
Li Yan could basically guess that the only ones who could make Huang Ying so tense were her mother and brother. He initially thought maybe a caregiver had left and something happened to her mother requiring a hospital visit. But upon hearing it was her brother in trouble, he was half relieved. If it were her mother, even a minor issue could become serious, while her brother was still young and unlikely to have major problems.
"Take your time and tell me what happened. I’m here, and there won’t be any problem!" Li Yan gripped her shoulders, trying to stabilize her emotions.
Though Huang Ying appeared frail and shy, she had long been strong and diligent in managing the household, especially after her mother fell ill, taking up family responsibilities as the eldest daughter. After sending her mother for treatment, she also replanned her learning and career. Overall, she wasn’t someone who lost her composure at the slightest problem. Her earlier panic was due to the suddenness of the issue and, after running all the way down and meeting Li Yan, she had calmed down considerably.
Before she could speak, Li Yan asked another question preemptively: "Is your mom okay?" Given the huge shock to Huang Ying, how could her mother be fine? If the shock was too intense and something happened, it would be one disaster after another.
Huang Ying took a breath, then quickly said: "I just got home, and the caregiver was still there taking care of my mom. Because... earlier, we got a phone call at home saying my brother offended them and wanted me to bring money to get him back."
She felt a bit guilty and regretful. "My mom originally called my phone, but because I... I had turned my phone off, so I only found out when I got back."
She had turned off her phone during the night to avoid any interruptions or ruining the mood while with Li Yan, and only turned it back on after returning home. She hadn’t expected no calls when the phone was on, but trouble as soon as it was off.
Upon hearing this, Li Yan felt much reassured and consoled her: "It’s just someone he angered, and they want money to release him; that’s not a big deal. Problems solvable with money aren’t big problems. Now, tell me, what address did they leave?"
Huang Ying felt much more at ease hearing his words. If it was just about money, they could consider it money spent to avoid disaster. In the past six months, whether it was money Li Yan gave her or her own income, apart from her and her brother’s daily expenses and educational costs, she had been saving every cent for critical moments.
She took out a note her mother had written down when taking the call.
"Even if we give them money, it’s too late to withdraw cash now. And they didn’t specify how much money... Never mind, I’ll just look for an ATM and withdraw as much as I can..."
Seeing Huang Ying, who was so worried, Li Yan felt somewhat skeptical. Why wouldn’t they mention how much money they wanted in a ransom call? If the people Huang Feng offended weren’t acquaintances and wanted to extort money, they would clearly state the amount; if acquaintances needed money face-to-face, they could easily find him and have Huang Feng gather the money himself, which would be more effective. But acquaintances of Huang Feng should know his family’s situation, and there wouldn’t be much money to extort.
They didn’t mention the specific amount, only told his sister to bring money, and notified them at night. Could there be another purpose behind this?
With this in mind, Li Yan stopped Huang Ying, who was about to find an ATM.
"Let me handle it! Give me the address, and you wait at home. I’ll bring your brother back!"
"Can I... go with you?" With her only brother in trouble and time wasted, she had no heart to wait at home. Even relying on Li Yan, she wanted to go herself.
Li Yan shook his head: "You should understand, whether it’s spending money or dealing with it, I’m more suitable to go. And..." He needed a different point to keep her at home.
"What about your mom? Don’t forget, before you returned, your mom had already been worried for a long time, and she’s not in good health now. If something happens, even with the caregiver still there, the extent of their responsibility isn’t like that of a family member. Now that your brother is in trouble, if you leave again, your mom will just have more worry, worry, and worry! With you at home, besides taking care of her, you can at least console her and share her worries."
"I..." Huang Ying hesitated for a moment, then nodded, still thinking his arrangement was best.
"Now go back upstairs, don’t let your mom worry, and don’t worry me. I’ll handle it!" Li Yan squeezed her hand, then got back into the car.
Huang Ying nodded at him, then resolutely turned and went back home.
...
Looking at the address, it was in a certain town on the outskirts of the city. The exact place Li Yan wasn’t sure of, so he had to go there first.
It was already midnight. The street traffic was sparse, allowing Li Yan to drive more freely and get to the place faster.
Half an hour later, Li Yan reached the town, inquired around, and found the place.
It seemed like a private rental built by a local person, only a few floors high, with no surveillance and no one managing it. The first floor seemed to be used for shop fronts, the shutters now closed.
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Li Yan didn’t have the phone number or cell number for this place, and went straight up to knock on the door. During relatively cold weather, at such a late hour, it was quiet all around, making the knocking sound very clear.
After reaching nearby, he had parked the car and walked over. Apart from seeing a small store where people were still playing mahjong, he didn’t see anyone else.
After knocking, half a minute passed before someone came to open the small door from inside. A man eyed him cautiously and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you looking for?"
"Is Huang Feng here? I’m here from his family with money," Li Yan lowered his voice.
The man suspiciously surveyed him from head to toe, and after some time, coldly said, "Give me the money! Wait here!" as if he were checking to see where money might be hidden on him.
Li Yan stepped back two steps, patted his pocket, and gestured around. "You didn’t say how much money to bring. What I have now should definitely cover usual offenses. We also don’t want to make a big deal, no police involved. But I must see the person before handing over money. Otherwise, if you take the money and close the door, and he’s not here, even if the police came, I’d have no evidence."
The man watched him for a while longer, then peeked around. Seeing there was indeed nobody else but still feeling suspicious.
After a short standoff, the man took out a phone and dialed a number, speaking quietly, "Not his sister... a guy... he’s alone, should we let him in?"
Li Yan could only hear his side of the conversation, not what was being said on the phone, though he could pretty much guess. And though their conversation was brief, he still picked up on another nuance!
Not his sister!
This had already revealed a message: they knew Huang Feng had an older sister and expected his sister to bring the ransom money!
This indicated they must know Huang Feng personally and were aware of his family situation. Therefore, the night’s purpose might not have been just for money—they wanted Huang Feng’s sister to show up!
Li Yan’s thoughts raced. Judging by this man, he wasn’t likely a classmate of Huang Feng’s age, probably someone he met in society. But why would they want Huang Ying here? Huang Feng probably wouldn’t sell out his sister, and Huang Ying had no impression or clue; perhaps these weren’t people she had met. Could it be...
He recalled two matters: once when a client representative got interested in Huang Ying through Ye Jiahong, using business incentives to gain her favor; and another when Hai Fu’s gambler brother owed gambling debts and wouldn’t be let go until payment was made.
Could this be an underground gambling den, where Huang Feng, attempting to win money for his family or sister, ended up losing, got enticed into borrowing from loan sharks, and now unable to repay, they were demanding his sister come to settle the debt?
(A few more Chapters will be out later.) (To be continued, to know more, please log on to www.qidian.com, more Chapters are available, support the author and legitimate reading!)
