Chapter 10: A Mutual Kidnapping Case

In City H, a skyscraper nearly 150 meters tall still stood out among the numerous high-rises. Compared to the surrounding buildings of less than 20 stories, this massive structure, covering over 100,000 square meters, was like a giant reinforced concrete beast.
Inside one of the rooms in this colossal building, some confidential conversations were taking place.
“What? You mean he bought four more pieces of jade and spent over 400,000?” Pearl stared at Qinglang, who looked stiff, with disbelief on her face.
“Yes. I asked about the prices of those four pieces of jade and even spent some money to get photos of them taken before.” Qinglang handed her a few photos.
“Did you find anything useful? Why did he buy so much jade?” Pearl took the photos but glanced at them briefly, unable to see anything significant.
“I did. Two shops said he seemed to browse around once and then bought them right away without much haggling, not even asking for packaging. Another shop owner said he lingered in the store for a long time but didn’t bring a bank card and left because he didn’t have enough money. Later, he rushed to buy them. None of those shop owners knew what he planned to do with the jade.”
“Where else did he go before his second visit to the antique market?” Pearl frowned.
“He went to an ATM once, but didn’t withdraw any money.” Qinglang felt relieved inwardly—good thing Xiao Liuzi had observed carefully.
“Where did he get so much money from?” Pearl narrowed her eyes. “400,000 is no small amount for an ordinary office worker. Yet he easily spent it on several stones of unknown value. And before going, he checked his bank account at the ATM. That means he didn’t know how much money he had in his account before, or maybe the card was given to him by someone else… That Liu Hai is just a coward who fled easily. Judging from his appearance, it’s unlikely he would leave a large sum of money for someone unrelated like Ye Feng. The only plausible candidate is Long Tian…”
“Have you investigated him thoroughly?” Pearl suddenly asked.

“Yes, Ye Feng. He’s twenty years old this year and an orphan. He grew up in an orphanage, with his tuition covered by donations. The money he earned from part-time jobs was just enough to keep himself fed. After entering university, he was accidentally discovered by Liu Hai, who gave him 1,000 yuan per week as a fixed salary, which helped cover his tuition and living expenses. There’s nothing special about him; he just has excellent academic performance and often goes to the library to read. He met Long Tian half a year ago at the Emperor Bar. Since then, Long Tian has almost gone there every week to support him, and the two of them have a very good relationship—never having had any arguments.” Qing Lang recounted all the information he had gathered.

“Could it really be that Long Tian is into that? But as far as I know, he has quite a few women…” Pearl shook her head in confusion.

“Keep an eye on him for another two days. If you really don’t find anything unusual, then bring that kid here as a bargaining chip. In the next couple of days, I’ll also ask someone to examine these photos of the jade to see if they can figure out anything.” Pearl pushed aside a few clear photos of the jade with her fingers, then looked up at Qing Lang.

“Understood!” Qing Lang nodded and slowly left the room.

Taking the elevator to the underground parking lot, he got into the car and let out a deep sigh, followed by a cold snort. “Hmph, women are just women—overly cautious in everything they do. Just bring that kid here, threaten him a little, and he’ll confess everything, right?”

As he was complaining in the car, the phone suddenly rang.

Qing Lang picked up the phone. “Xiao Liu, what’s the matter? Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on that kid? Are you slacking off again, damn it?”

“No… Boss, you told me to keep an eye on him, but as soon as he got back to school, he went straight to his dorm room, closed the door, and pulled down the curtains. I can’t see anything!” A young man’s voice came through the phone. “Boss, does he have anything valuable on him? If so, we don’t need to keep watching him. Just find an opportunity to put a hood on him and take him back. Once we have the stuff, we can just throw him somewhere along the road with a hood on…”

Qing Lang slowly closed his eyes. Although the voice on the phone was still ringing, he was still thinking about the feasibility of that plan. In fact, they had done many such robberies before, never failing once and never leaving any clues for the police.

After simulating it in his mind several times, he slowly opened his eyes. “Xiao Liu, use the same old method—find an opportunity to bring him back. Don’t let him see your face. He has some connection with Brother Long; if he sees you, he’ll cause you trouble.”
“Got it, boss. I’ll go call a few guys right away!” Xiao Liu’s proud voice came through the phone, as if pleased with his wise suggestion.
…
After returning to the dormitory, Ye Feng spent a few minutes getting familiar with his strength and speed before pulling back the white printed curtains in front of the window and opening it.
“Huh, this strange feeling… It seems like I’m being watched…” A strange sensation from not far away made him look in that direction. It was a thin young man with a somewhat pale complexion. Upon meeting his gaze, the man awkwardly turned his head to the side.
“I really am being watched…” Ye Feng shook his head with a wry smile. “This guy must be that woman’s subordinate.”
“Should I give him a lesson or pretend not to know?” Ye Feng hesitated. On one hand, he wanted to test his current skills, but on the other, he was worried that acting might disrupt the balance of power between Brother Long and that woman.
“I haven’t heard any news of Brother Long fighting her yet. Both sides are probably waiting to see what happens. Their forces seem evenly matched, so neither can overpower the other for now, which explains this stalemate. So far, those people have only been watching me without attacking—maybe for that reason too.” Based on the series of events, Ye Feng guessed what consequences his intervention might bring. “Once a fuse is lit, the conflict between them will spiral out of control. That’s when it will come down to who’s stronger. If that’s the case, I’d better not be that fuse.”
“Hmm. If Brother Long is in the open and I stay hidden, it should at least give us an element of surprise. When the real fight starts and tension rises again, my presence should tip the scales in Brother Long’s favor. For now, I need to stay low-key and make the enemy forget my existence…” Ye Feng made his final decision: to stay hidden and observe.
Pretending not to notice anything unusual, he turned his gaze away, closed the window, and sat back down on the bed.

He took out his phone from his pocket to check the time—it was still before 5 p.m. Asking his roommates to eat together at this time, they would definitely refuse. But Ye Feng felt a growing hunger in his stomach. “Forget it. It will be at least 6:30 before they eat. I’d better eat by myself first.”

Although the food in the school cafeteria wasn’t hard to swallow, Ye Feng didn’t plan to eat there this time.

“I wonder if that feeling is reliable. I’ll find a quieter place to eat today to see if that kid follows me…” Ye Feng was bold and skilled. With enough ability to protect himself now, he didn’t have to worry about his safety. As long as the other person didn’t have a gun, they couldn’t pose any threat to him. What he wanted to know most was whether the person earlier had just happened to see him or was actually spying on him.

…

“Hey, Big Fool, it’s Liu Zi. Where are you guys now?” The thin young man dialed a phone call.

“Oh, the boss said there’s a kid at XX University with a very wealthy family and told me to keep an eye on him. He just said we can take action today. Come over now! Bring two or three strong guys—that kid isn’t short.” Just as he was about to hang up, he suddenly saw Ye Feng coming out of the dormitory building. “Big Fool, hurry up! That kid came out of the dorm. He’s been inside all afternoon. If we don’t seize this chance, who knows when he’ll come out next!”

After hanging up, Liu Zi glanced at Ye Feng and thought to himself, “I didn’t notice earlier, but this kid is actually quite handsome.”

Feigning indifference, he turned his head to the other side and lit a cigarette.

If he had been 70% sure earlier that the other person was spying on him, now he was 90% sure. Because the dormitory building where the guy pretending to wait stood was a newly built one, its interior was still unfinished, and no students had moved in yet. Moreover, the guy kept pretending to wait, occasionally looking up at the building, which left Ye Feng speechless.

Leaving the school, Ye Feng headed toward a small path. Since few people used that path, it would be perfect to see if the guy was following him. There was also a quiet porridge shop not far at the end of the path, and Ye Feng wanted to eat something light.

Although Ye Feng didn’t look back along the way, the faint sounds coming from behind told him that the other person was following him.

Ye Feng curled the corners of his mouth into a cold smile. “As expected!”
Upon entering the porridge shop, Ye Feng ordered a basket of steamed buns and a bowl of preserved egg and lean meat porridge, then began eating leisurely.
“How did it take you so long? He’s almost done. If we were any later, who knows when we’d get another chance like this!” From a corner of the alley, Xiao Liu glared fiercely at the tall man leading the way.
“Isn’t the timing just right?” The tall man poked his head out and glanced in the direction of the porridge shop.
“Alright, get ready. Your car should be here already. Put on the hoods later so he can’t see your faces.” Xiao Liu was the first to put on a black hood, leaving only his eyes visible.
After eating his fill, Ye Feng paid the bill and planned to head back the same way.
As he approached the first corner, he narrowed his eyes slightly. He could clearly sense some danger waiting for him there. Yet he didn’t stop. He guessed that the person spying on him couldn’t hold back any longer and was about to attack.
As soon as he reached the corner, Ye Feng was blocked by two burly men wearing hoods. He pretended to be shocked. One of them grabbed his hands and stuffed a cloth in his mouth, while another put a bag over his head.
“What do these guys want? Is it a kidnapping?” Ye Feng pretended to struggle for a while before feeling himself lifted up. In less than a minute, he was thrown into a car.
“Hehe, it seems you came to me on your own without me having to take action. Well, I’ll play along for now. I hope I can see the mastermind behind this!” Ye Feng lay in the car, laughing secretly.