Chapter 209: Ransom
Ye Zhiyun remained alone for a long time after that. She considered calling the police but ultimately decided against it. After all, she was afraid they would kill the hostage.
The reckless Miss Ye of the past, who feared neither heaven nor earth, might not have cared about such things. But the person who had been kidnapped was Yu Linna—her greatest weakness.
There was no way she could just ignore it. If she did, she would regret it for the rest of her life. From the moment she had pulled that girl back from the edge of the train tracks, she had made up her mind: she would ensure this girl would never suffer again.
Ye Zhiyun wrestled with her thoughts for a long time before finally letting out a sigh. Half an hour had passed since she had parted ways with the man. She finally made her decision. Calling the police was out of the question, but she couldn’t let Yu Linna’s life remain under constant threat. Besides, it was likely the kidnappers had someone watching her in secret. Rashly calling for backup wasn’t realistic. So what on earth was she supposed to do?
How could she solve this?
After thinking it over and over, she couldn’t come up with a better solution than paying the ransom.
…
Meanwhile, Yu Linna sat alone in a corner. The voices of the kidnappers drifted in from outside. She stayed there quietly, waiting for time to pass. It was a feeling she hadn’t had in a long time.
In the past, this was what it felt like to be alone. She wasn’t sure when it had started, but people had begun to enter her life, and she had grown accustomed to their presence. Now that she was alone again, she found herself so unaccustomed to it.
“Hey, kid. Miss Ye has delivered herself to our door. Looks like you’ll be able to leave soon.”
The man who had been called “Big Brother” walked into the confinement room where Yu Linna was being held and said this.
Ye Zhiyun?
She came…?
Why would she come? She didn’t have to. Why…?
Ye Zhiyun was brought inside. She had been blindfolded, her hands and feet bound, and her phone confiscated. When she could see again, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar place—a derelict factory she had never known existed, despite having lived in Shanghai for many years.
“Miss Ye, you’ve arrived. You truly are a woman of loyalty and honor. I admire you.”
The man called “Big Brother,” whose name was Sun Tianci, was a kidnapper on the surface, but he actually held a respectable job in his daily life. This time, he had set his sights on the Ye family’s daughter. No matter how you looked at it, the Ye family was fabulously wealthy, with more money than they could count. If they couldn’t kidnap President Ye, couldn’t they kidnap his daughter?
“Where is she?” Ye Zhiyun said, her voice clipped.
“Before that, I’d like to know, you didn’t call anyone else, did you? I had people watching you.”
“I didn’t. You can rest assured.”
“Good. I didn’t think Miss Ye was the type to act without considering the consequences. Our demand is simple. We want to see your father.”
“I understand. Let her go first.”
Even in this dire situation, Ye Zhiyun remained calm and rational. She knew these were not good people. Losing her composure first would mean losing everything. If she wanted any chance of turning the tables, she first had to keep her enemies from becoming agitated. It was the most effective strategy.
She was Miss Ye, the daughter of the Ye family. It would be far too shameful to start screaming and shouting now.
“You’re quite calm, Miss Ye. You’re just like your father. Don’t worry, the girl is with me. I’ll send her off right now.”
Sun Tianci smiled, then gestured for one of his men to bring Yu Linna out of the confinement room. The moment Ye Zhiyun saw Yu Linna with her hands and feet bound, her expression changed instantly, and she grew agitated.
“Nana…”
“Zhiyun.”
Yu Linna looked at her with worry.
Seeing her, Yu Linna’s fear subsided. Her only concern was for Ye Zhiyun’s safety. It was obvious these people were after Ye Zhiyun; this was a premeditated and organized operation. Ye Zhiyun was in grave danger this time.
“…I’ve already agreed to your terms. Now, let her go. I’ll be your hostage. The person you want to hold for ransom is me, not her,” Ye Zhiyun said, forcing herself to stay calm, her tone chillingly composed.
To remain so rational at a time like this, in a situation like this, was already remarkable for a girl her age. Sun Tianci, at least, found himself admiring Miss Ye. He had only heard that she was bold and resourceful, and he had assumed it was just talk. Now it seemed the rumors were not entirely baseless.
“Of course. I will do what I promised.”
Sun Tianci called over the man in the black coat, whispered a few words to him, and then pushed Yu Linna forward.
The man in black nodded, pulled a gun from his waist, and glanced at Yu Linna.
Her face went deathly pale in an instant.
“Wait! You promised me you’d let her go! How can you go back on your word!” Ye Zhiyun cried out, her own face turning white. She struggled desperately, trying to lunge at the gunman. At that moment, she could no longer think about anything else.
“We promised to send her on her way. And that’s what we’re doing now. We’re just not sending her away from here. We’re sending her to the afterlife.”
He smiled, a demonic grin.
Ye Zhiyun nearly broke down, but she clung to her last shred of reason and shouted at the man who was about to act.
“Stop! Killing this girl brings you no benefit! Lock us up together. I’ll call my father. You can demand ransom or whatever you want then. Just don’t kill her.”
“But there’s no use in keeping this girl. She’s not you. She has no value. We only kept her to lure you here.”
“…”
These bastards!
Ye Zhiyun wanted to tear them to pieces.
But she also knew that even if she had known it was a trap, she would have jumped in without hesitation. Leaving Yu Linna to her fate was absolutely impossible. She knew, deep down, that Yu Linna was her weakness.
Think of another way. There has to be another way. Hurry.
“Mr. Sun,” she said, speaking again. “She’s innocent. Killing her won’t help you, it’ll just waste your time. I promise you, as long as you let her go, I will cooperate fully. Even after you get the ransom and release me, I guarantee I won’t call the police. I’ll act as if this never happened.”
“Oh? And how can you be sure I’ll believe you? Besides, do you believe me?” Sun Tianci chuckled.
It was true. Neither of them trusted the other. Ye Zhiyun couldn’t be sure if they would go back on their word after getting the money, kill her, and run off to live a life of leisure. After all, such things had happened far too many times in this world.
But Ye Zhiyun knew they were after money. That meant she still had value to them, and they wouldn’t let her lose that value so easily.
This was her only bargaining chip.
“I trust that you won’t turn your back on money.”
“Oh, is that so? Are you saying this little girl also has value that would make me want to keep her alive?”
“Yes. It might not be as much, but my friend is worth several million, with the potential for that to increase in the future. She has value as a ransom target, too.”
It was the only way Ye Zhiyun could think of to save her in this situation.
Rather than let Yu Linna be disposed of so easily, it was better to reveal her value and save her life. After all, no one would turn their back on money.
“Where would a little girl like her get that kind of money? Are you trying to fool me?”
“Don’t be fooled by her appearance. She’s actually a contracted author with Wenqing. Her pen name is Shion. Behind her is Wenqing. The ransom that organization can provide shouldn’t be any less than mine, right?”
“Is that true?”
“I, Ye Zhiyun, never make baseless claims. You can check for yourself. Her value is no less than mine.”
Sun Tianci hesitated for a moment, then told the man to lower his gun. He had a subordinate take out a phone and search for the name Ye Zhiyun had just given, but there were no photos of the author herself. He had Yu Linna identify her own works. Fortunately, even under these circumstances, Yu Linna had a sliver of composure left, and identifying her own books wasn’t difficult. She also opened her QQ on her confiscated phone and showed them her contact information for her Wenqing editor, as well as the Wenqing professional author group chat.
Sun Tianci took her phone and was finally convinced of her identity.
“Hahaha, what incredible luck! I thought I was fortunate just to get you, Miss Ye. I never thought I’d get to kidnap a professional author in my lifetime. This is a first. Your value is no less than hers. I’m sure that if I were to finish you off, that ‘qing’ group of yours would go crazy.”
Although he wasn’t familiar with the world of professional authors and didn’t know Shion’s status within it, her QQ chat suggested she was at least mid-to-high level. So, how much ransom could he demand from Wenqing? This was a surefire deal with no downside.
Miss Ye was truly a lucky star.
For the time being, Sun Tianci abandoned the idea of killing her. He had Ye Zhiyun’s hands and feet bound, threw both girls into the same confinement room, and prepared to call her family to demand a ransom.
“Nana, I’m sorry. It was the only way I could think of to save you.”
“You did it to save me. How could I possibly blame you?”
Locked in the same room, the lonely Yu Linna now had company. At least she wasn’t so afraid anymore.
Being with her, Yu Linna was reminded of her days with Nangong Ying. The memory of Nangong Ying’s betrayal was carved deep in her heart. Today, Ye Zhiyun had dared to walk into the lion’s den for her, all alone. That courage alone was admirable.
This time, Ye Zhiyun wouldn’t become another Nangong Ying… right?
The two of them stayed together in the same space. Even without speaking, they were no longer alone. Ye Zhiyun thought to herself that they would definitely make it out of this alive. They had to.
…
At the same time, in Guangnan City, the Wenqing editorial department received a mysterious phone call. At first, no one paid it any mind, dismissing it as a prank. The call came a few more times, and they still treated it as a joke. Until, on Shion-Sensei’s QQ account, Chen Xi received a photo.
The moment the photo finished loading, a sharp shatter echoed through the editorial department as a glass cup hit the floor, spilling coffee everywhere…
