BDB Chapter 43

It turned out she had been mistaken.

As her blurry vision cleared, she realized that the face was not the one she was trying to avoid, but rather the familiar one of Jiang Pei, who she had left far behind in City C.

Jiang Pei, standing at about 1.8 meters tall, was not much shorter than the male lead. Today, he was unusually dressed in a suit, which caused Jiang Rao to have a brief moment of confusion.

The man chasing Jiang Rao arrived at their location and, seeing a student standing there, his unease diminished significantly. “What’s going on? It’s simple! My wife ran off with all our valuables and a wild man. Now that I’ve finally found her, she’s used to running away and refuses to come back with me!”

He reached out to grab his so-called ‘wife’s’ shoulder, but his hand was caught by the student. “Your wife?”

The man frowned deeply, struggling to free his hand. When he saw that the girl he was reaching for had moved behind the student, he grew frantic. “Let go of me! If she’s not my wife, is she yours?”

At the mention of the term, Jiang Rao’s brow furrowed slightly.

Perhaps due to the lack of oxygen from running, she bizarrely recalled the male lead’s expression when he referred to himself as “I.”

When that person spoke, he never looked so frantic or ugly. Though he used coarse language and referred to himself in a vulgar way, his demeanor was always dignified, and those who sought something from him might genuinely view him as a goldmine.

As she thought about this, additional help arrived beside the man.

The elderly woman who had orchestrated the whole abduction scene and targeted Jiang Rao finally appeared. Seeing her ‘dear son’ with his hand caught by someone and her ‘dear daughter-in-law’ hiding behind a stranger, she began to scold, “Oh, so this is the wild man you’ve been seeing? Is this how you repay the child back home who cries for his mother every day? Do you think you’re doing right by Liangliang?”

The elderly woman knew she couldn’t overpower the young student, having seen her ‘son’ struggle without success. But she wasn’t afraid.

They had dealt with this kind of situation many times.

She had ways to handle such busybodies.

If she could attract some onlookers to morally condemn this meddlesome person, these busybodies would usually give up and not stick their necks out.

However, just as she finished speaking, a voice from the crowd of onlookers broke in, “Pfft, what nonsense are you spouting?”

The elderly woman’s face stiffened.

Jiang Rao’s face, hidden under her mask, also stiffened.

That voice…

Within seconds, the owner of the voice continued, “Jiang Rao, why don’t you explain when you got yourself a child calling you ‘mom’ and the child’s father who isn’t even a tenth as good-looking as me?”

As expected, it was indeed the male lead who had arrived.

Jiang Rao had only intended to find a passerby to intimidate the trafficker, but she hadn’t expected both the male lead and the second male lead to show up.

“Speak up! Have you forgotten me after just a week?”

As long as he didn’t turn to dust, Jiang Rao would never fail to recognize him.

She hesitated, her lips moving, but she didn’t address Li Jueyan. Instead, she spoke to the student blocking her way, Jiang Pei, “Big brother, let me use your phone.”

As soon as Jiang Pei agreed, a phone appeared swiftly in front of Jiang Rao.

“It’s my phone you’re using,” Li Jueyan said.

No matter whose phone it was, it wasn’t the time to act out.

Pressing the three buttons for 110, she said into the phone, “Hello, I’ve encountered a trafficking gang. The location here is…”

As she began to report her location, she saw the elderly woman standing opposite her quickly turn her head and run away, pushing through the crowd with her weathered hands towards the direction from which Jiang Rao had come.

With the elderly woman gone, the man whose wrist was being held by Jiang Pei became agitated.

He now realized that he had made a grave mistake.

With the police being alerted, if they investigated thoroughly, he would surely be implicated in trafficking, a crime that could lead to life imprisonment—or even the death penalty!

Thinking this, he forcefully used his knee to push against the young student’s stomach.

The sudden move caused the student to loosen his grip on his wrist slightly. Noticing that more and more people were gathering, effectively blocking the way out, he gritted his teeth and stretched out the arm that had just been freed, aiming to grab the girl behind the student as a hostage.

However, the result was that his stomach received a swift kick.

After the kick, his side was hit by a punch.

With punches and kicks combined, he soon felt a sharp, sweet pain in his throat and excruciating pain in the eye that had been struck.

Just as he thought he might meet his end here, the attacks finally stopped.

Feeling the hand gripping his arm trembling slightly, Li Jueyan had no choice but to stop.

Then he heard her speak with a somewhat trembling voice, “Li Jueyan, stop. It’s not worth killing someone over. It’s not worth sacrificing yourself for such a scum.”

The cool night wind dispersed some of the violence in Li Jueyan’s heart. Even though she was wearing a mask, he was certain her face beneath it was contorted with distress.

He suddenly smiled, “Jiang Rao, you care about me?”

Jiang Rao pressed her lips together, “I suppose.”

No matter how indifferent she was, she didn’t want to see anyone go to jail because of her.

She and the male lead were now on clear terms; she didn’t want any more entanglements with him over this incident.

Li Jueyan didn’t know what she was thinking. Hearing this, his smile widened, “Finally, some conscience. Since coming back from the army and inheriting the family business, I haven’t had to deal with anyone. For you, this is an exception.”

“Mm, thank you.”

“Thank me for what? Just go back and live a good life with me from now on.”

If not for the man in front of her wearing such an expensive and well-tailored suit, with all the high-end accessories, the onlookers would have thought this was a staged scene between two trafficking gangs.

Under the intense gaze of the crowd, Jiang Rao felt her ears growing hot.

She was really getting fed up with him.

If all the domineering CEOs were always like him, the cycle of popularity for old-fashioned novels would be shortened countless times!

At that moment, a group of men in matching black suits pushed through the crowd and blocked the onlookers. They all bowed and said in unison, “Young Master Li.”

Li Jueyan nodded, “Did you catch the trafficker who just ran away?”

One of them stepped forward and said, “She has been taken to the police station.”

The police arrived shortly afterward. After clarifying the situation, they needed Jiang Rao, Jiang Pei, and Li Jueyan—who had all dealt with the traffickers—to go to the police station to assist with the investigation.

Among the three, Jiang Rao was the most cooperative. She reported everything as it was.

The other two, however, were less straightforward.

When asked how Jiang Pei happened to be there, he replied, “It’s a telepathic connection between siblings. Don’t you understand?”

The police: “…” If the census data was correct, you two shouldn’t be siblings, right?

When asked how Li Jueyan happened to be there, he replied, “I’m the Li Group’s President.”

The police: “…” Alright, you’re the big boss, you have the final say!

Although these two were uncooperative, the question of how they happened to be there wasn’t crucial. Thus, after the investigation, they were released.

The three walked out of the police station in silence.

The location of the incident was not far from Jiang Rao’s rented apartment, so the police station handling the trafficking case was also close to her home.

As she walked home, her pace was not particularly fast, yet she left the two men who had come out of the police station with her far behind.

Thus, she could not hear the sharp exchange between them.

“You managed to extort over 2 million, and didn’t you promise that you’d never harass Jiang Rao again? What are you doing now? Is this how the descendants of capitalists disregard contractual obligations?”

“I regretted it. I took 2.18 million from her, and I plan to compensate her ten times that amount—21.8 million. If that’s not enough, I can round it up to 22 million; I have no objections.” Li Jueyan paused and then chuckled lightly. “So I’m just giving money to my little sweetheart baby. According to contract law, breach of contract requires compensation. I’m planning to compensate her, so doesn’t that show I’m honoring the contract?”

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