"Are you from the Wen family?"
Fang Miaomiao chuckled, "Of course. If you don't believe me, you can check."
"Oh, right. I suppose your phones won't have signal here," Fang Miaomiao continued. "After all, if you look it up, you'll find out Shen Jiani was playing you all along, tricking you."
"Don't listen to her lies. If she were from the Wen family, why hasn't anyone come for her yet?" Shen Jiani's eyelids twitched, and she retorted repeatedly. "Also, don't forget, I paid. Five hundred thousand. The penalty for breach of contract is three times the liquidated damages."
"Boss, what do we do now?" the short man vaguely sensed something was wrong. "I have a feeling this little star isn't lying."
After all, it's impossible for someone who hasn't undergone extensive training to remain so rational when their life is threatened.
"One point five million, can you afford that?"
The short man: "..."
Fine, he couldn't afford it.
"I'll pay," Fang Miaomiao quickly said. "As long as you let me go and leave now, I'll pay back the 1.5 million for you. You can still leave before the Wen family finds out. What's not to like, right?"
"Bullshit. Fang Miaomiao, if you had that capability, your appearance fee per episode on variety shows is only 100,000. How can you pay 1.5 million?"
The three looked at Fang Miaomiao.
"I have the Wen family backing me," Fang Miaomiao said righteously. "Who told you I cared about that 100,000?"
"Damn, these celebrities really make money," the short man spat. "Just to be on a show, pretend to be crazy and act for 100,000."
Their kidnapping only got them 500,000, and the risk was so high.
The buck-toothed man pondered for a moment and was about to speak when he heard banging sounds from outside.
"Bitch, you dare to set us up!"
As soon as the words fell, the door to the third-floor service passage was forcefully kicked open from the outside.
"Boss."
The buck-toothed man's gaze sharpened, and he immediately grabbed Fang Miaomiao, who was trying to escape.
"Don't move."
"None of you move."
A large number of security guards suddenly appeared in the third-floor passage.
"Catch that woman for me."
Before Shen Jiani could react, she was apprehended. Even the recording device in her hand was snatched by the security guards.
"What are you doing? Believe it or not, I'll sue you," Shen Jiani threatened, her voice a mix of guilt and stubbornness. "I have a lot of fans. If you don't let me go, I'll have my fans cyberbully your hotel. You know how cruel cyberbullying can be."
"Xin Xianlai, stop making so much noise."
"Yes."
Xin Xianlai stepped forward and slapped Shen Jiani. "If you say another word, it won't just be one slap."
"Back off, all of you, back off! Otherwise, I'll stab this slut to death!" The buck-toothed man held Fang Miaomiao in front of him and pressed a fruit knife against her neck, slowly walking out of the room.
"Back off. This is one of your Wen family members. If we get scared and our hands tremble, we might not be able to hold the knife steady," said the second brother, who had been largely unnoticed, with a sinister tone.
As the three retreated into the corridor, holding Fang Miaomiao hostage, they discovered the entire corridor was filled with security personnel.
Damn it, this time, they were really in trouble because of that woman.
Amidst the crowd, even from his wheelchair, the masked man's gaze was dark, impossible to ignore.
Wen Zhiyan stared intently at the hostage Fang Miaomiao. Her beautiful gown was disheveled, her "heart of the world" was nowhere to be seen, and her fair face bore heavy slap marks. Her wrists were covered in blood.
His precious little fairy had been injured by these three men.
"You... you hurt her?"
It was a light question, yet the three felt as if death's scythe was at their throats, the feeling of impending doom palpable.
"Let us go, and we'll release the person in our hands," the buck-toothed man added. "Don't worry, she was feisty earlier. We didn't take any advantage of her. In fact, our third brother was injured by her when she threw something."
"That's right," the short man said indignantly. "It's already considered being kind that we only caused her minor physical harm."
"Third brother."
The short man grumbled but said nothing more.
Wen Zhiyan was silent for a moment. "Let her go. What are your demands?"
"Two million, and a car to take us away," the buck-toothed man had begun considering an escape route as soon as he heard Fang Miaomiao was from the Wen family.
"Alright."
"We want two million in cash," the second brother said. "Who knows if we can even withdraw it if you give us a card."
Even if they could withdraw it, who knew if they would call the police? They'd be caught the moment they went to collect the money.
"Alright."
Wen Zhiyan gave Xin Xianlai a look.
Xin Xianlai nodded slightly and prepared to leave.
"What are you doing?"
"Gathering cash," Xin Xianlai said with a polite smile. "Did you really think anyone carries two million in cash when they go out?"
"Call from here, use the speakerphone, we need to know the situation," the second brother said warily.
Xin Xianlai shrugged and complied.
"You Wen family members are truly unwavering."
Having gotten what he wanted, a satisfied expression appeared on the buck-toothed man's face.
Damn it, if he had known Shen Jiani was getting them to bully the Wen family, they should have studied harder and directly kidnapped her for ransom. Instead, they ended up in such a passive situation.
"Release her."
"Why the rush? Once the goods arrive, we'll naturally release her," the buck-toothed man said leisurely.
"She's injured."
"You two are quite affectionate," the buck-toothed man sneered. "She'd rather be beaten to death by me than let us three take any advantage to protect herself. Your eyes have been constantly on this woman, afraid I'd stab her."
Wen Zhiyan's brow furrowed. "She's injured and needs treatment. I can be your hostage."
"No," Fang Miaomiao was the first to refuse. "I'm fine."
"Miaomiao."
"I'm really fine," Fang Miaomiao shook her head. "I trust you. I'll be okay."
Even though he wore a mask, she could always find him at first glance, as if with him around, she didn't need to worry about anything. This seemed to confirm something for her.
And An'an was still in the room. When she discovered someone had entered, she was incredibly glad the little one had been drunk.
"Miaomiao," Wen Zhiyan looked at those clear, determined eyes, understanding what Miaomiao was worried about. His heart ached, but he could only grit his teeth and agree.
"Master Wen, the money has arrived."
"Bring it up quickly."
As the words fell, the security personnel immediately brought a suitcase.
"Open it," the second brother said, his breathing heavy, but he forced himself to remain calm.
The security guard glanced at Wen Zhiyan, then opened the suitcase.
The suitcase was filled with stacks of one-hundred-yuan bills.
This made the buck-toothed man and his two companions stare, their breathing quickening: "Two million."
"More than enough," Wen Zhiyan said calmly.
"Push it over."
The security guard closed the suitcase as instructed and pushed it over.
"We need to go down," the buck-toothed man's hand holding Fang Miaomiao's neck moved slightly.
The security guards gritted their teeth and stepped back.
"Master Wen."
"Have someone search the room. An'an is in the room."
Xin Xianlai was startled and quickly nodded.