Daily Intelligence: Forced to Save the Beautiful President at the Beginning

113: Chapter 113 Three Prey Who Thought Themselves CleverThe call connected quickly, and Butler Wang’s steady voice came through the receiver: ”President Zhang, are you looking for me?”

”Uncle Wang, please immediately add more manpower to follow Zhiwei!” Zhang Fan didn’t beat around the bush, the urgency in his tone almost spilling out through the receiver. ”The Pei family is being pressured too hard by debt collectors now. I’m worried they might harm Zhiwei, especially in those old alleys she has to pass through on her way to the hospital. You must keep a close watch!”

Butler Wang clearly hadn’t expected him to say this suddenly. He was silent for two seconds before speaking, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible surprise: ”President Zhang, you’ve noticed it too? Actually... I detained someone following the young lady three days ago. His name is Ni Yi, and he is Pei Yunxiao’s cousin. He confessed that Pei Yunxiao told him to stalk the young lady, and also said the Pei family owes nearly a million in gambling debts and relies entirely on him for support. I had intended not to disturb the young lady with this matter, so I didn’t say anything. I didn’t expect you to be worried about this too.”

Zhang Fan was stunned. He had no idea that Ni Yi had been caught; Butler Wang had handled it secretly.

But he didn’t dare ask more, fearing he would give himself away. He just followed the conversation: ”Since they’ve already resorted to stalking, they are even more likely to take desperate risks. Please send more people and ensure Zhiwei’s safety, especially when she comes to the hospital this afternoon.”

”Rest assured, I will dispatch thirty security guards right now, divided into three groups: one group to follow the young lady’s car, one group to guard the old alleys near the hospital, and one group to stand by downstairs at the young lady’s home.”

Butler Wang’s voice was exceptionally firm, ”Chairman Song specifically instructed before leaving that the young lady must not be wronged in the slightest again. I certainly won’t let anything go wrong.”

After hanging up, Zhang Fan finally let out a sigh of relief, his back already covered in a thin layer of cold sweat. Zhou Yurou handed him a tissue and said softly, ”It’s a good thing Uncle Wang was prepared early on and even detained Pei Yunxiao’s cousin. Now Zhiwei will definitely be safe.”

Zhang Fan took the tissue and wiped his hands without answering. He couldn’t say that he actually didn’t know about the Ni Yi incident, and he certainly couldn’t say that this ”worry” came from a system warning.

The system was like a secret hidden deep in his heart—it was his trump card, but also a sword hanging over his head. Once leaked, it would mean total catastrophe.

The atmosphere in the hospital room relaxed for the moment. Meanwhile, in a dilapidated rental apartment in the old district of Jiangcheng, the air was filled with the acrid smell of cheap cigarettes and the stench of spoiled instant noodles. Yellowed newspapers were plastered on the walls, and a few unwashed bowls were piled in the corner, with flies buzzing around them.

Pei Yunxiao sat on a creaking wooden chair, clutching half a bottle of expired beer in his hand, his eyes staring blankly at a crack in the floor.

After Ni Yi was caught, the Pei family’s source of income was completely cut off. For the past few days, the family of three had relied entirely on Ni Yi’s support for food and drink. Especially regarding the five-hundred-thousand gambling debt that Pei Mother Wang Cuihua owed, debt collectors had already come to cause trouble three times, smashing the house to pieces each time.

”Knock, knock, knock!” A rapid knocking on the door suddenly sounded, accompanied by a man’s hoarse roar: ”Wang Cuihua! Are you going to pay back the money you owe or not? If you don’t pay it back, we’ll sell your son to northern Myanmar and use his kidneys to pay off the debt!”

Wang Cuihua was trembling all over, hiding behind Pei Yunxiao, her voice full of tears: ”Don’t open the door! Whatever you do, don’t open the door! They’re just trying to scare us!”

Pei Father sat on the edge of the bed, his face pale, his lips chapped, and his fingers trembling uncontrollably—his drug addiction was acting up again.

He used to be a soldier before becoming Richest Man Song’s driver. But after becoming addicted to drugs, he had withered away into nothing but skin and bones, his eye sockets deeply sunken. Only the occasional flash of ruthlessness in his eyes hinted at the shadow of his former self.

”Scare us?” Pei Father sneered, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing together. ”That’s what they said when they broke my arm last time! Now that Ni Yi has been caught, no one is giving us money. If we don’t think of a way, the three of us are going to die!”

He stood up abruptly, staggered a few steps, and stared fixedly at Pei Yunxiao: ”Didn’t you say Song Zhiwei still loves you? Didn’t you say that as long as you ask, she will give you money? Go kidnap her now! The Song family has plenty of money. As long as we get five million, we can not only pay off the gambling debts, but also get your mother to stop gambling and let me buy enough supplies for half a year!”

”Kidnap?” Pei Yunxiao raised his head abruptly, his eyes full of panic. ”No! That’s illegal! Zhiwei loves me so much; as long as I admit my mistakes to her, she will definitely forgive me and will definitely give us money!”

”Forgive?” Wang Cuihua grabbed his arm from behind, her nails almost digging into his flesh. ”Are you stupid? Song Zhiwei has already kicked us out of the villa and cut off your card; she doesn’t love you anymore! Only by kidnapping her and using her as a hostage will Richest Man Song obediently give us the money!”

”But...” Pei Yunxiao was still hesitating; he was still clinging to his fantasies.

Song Zhiwei’s disgust for him must be because of his parents’ and those classmates’ instigation. As long as he apologized sincerely, or even knelt, she would definitely soften her heart.

After all, no matter what mistakes he had made in the past, Song Zhiwei had always forgiven him.

”There are no buts!” Pei Father stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face. ”If you don’t go, I’ll go myself! I can’t go on living anyway; even if I have to drag Song Zhiwei to her death with me, it’ll be worth it!”

A stinging, burning pain spread across his cheek; Pei Yunxiao was stunned by the blow.

Looking at his parents’ twisted faces and listening to the increasingly loud demands of the debt collectors outside the door, the fantasies in his mind shattered bit by bit.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, as if having made up his mind: ”Fine... I’ll go. But I’m only responsible for luring her into the alley; you two do the rest.”

In his mind, this was just an ”act”—as long as he got the money, he would apologize properly to Song Zhiwei and say he was forced by his parents. She was so kind, she surely wouldn’t really blame him, and she might not even tell Richest Man Song about the kidnapping.

Wang Cuihua didn’t know what her son was planning. She took a deep breath and stated her plan: ”We’ll go to the old alleys near the hospital; there are few people there, so it’ll be easy to succeed. When Song Zhiwei passes by, Yunxiao, you’re responsible for dragging her into the alley, stuffing her mouth with a cloth, and then taking her to the warehouse we rented earlier.”

Pei Father grinned, revealing his yellow-black teeth: ”I’ve already picked it out. The warehouse is in the suburbs, nobody goes there, so it’s perfect for hiding someone. Once we’ve kidnapped her, I’ll call Song Mingyuan and make him pay five million to ransom her—not a penny less!”

The three of them quickly finalized the plan: Pei Father was responsible for driving and backup, while Wang Cuihua and Pei Yunxiao were responsible for the action.

They didn’t even prepare proper tools, finding only a piece of hemp rope and a rag, thinking that as long as they could control Song Zhiwei, they would get the money.

The three members of the Pei family were like three pieces of prey who thought they were clever, unaware that Butler Wang had already laid out an inescapable net, waiting for these three ”actors” to obediently fall into place.