Traveling to the Zhou Residence Zhou FengMian and Zhou Suyin were in the car. Zhou Suyin"s eyes were slowly closing, she felt very tired from the overwhelming amount of emotional and physical stress.
As she slowly drifted to sleep a worrying thought entered her mind: "I don"t want to see Lee HuiQing upset like that ever again. Did auntie have something to do with what happened today? She told me to lead everyone into the forest..."
Zhou FengMian"s saw that Zhou Suyin had drifted to sleep. She waited a few more minutes before putting her earphones in and making a call to a number she had stored in her phone but never used before. She tapped on TS.
Zhou FengMian: "h.e.l.lo."
Melodious male voice: "h.e.l.lo. Housekeeping, how may we help to keep your house in order?"
Zhou FengMian felt a little nervous but tried to mask it: "I heard that your team can accomplish things that no one else can?"
Male voice: "Why yes. That is the business we are in, making the impossible possible."
Zhou FengMian: "I need 2 things taken care of."
Melodious male voice: "My, my. It"s our first meeting and you already have two requests. Well, miss Zhou, I"ll need your national ID details to do a quick background check to make sure this is a legitimate transaction. I"m sure you understand, there are so many criminals out there."
Zhou FengMian gripped her steering wheel tightly: "How do you know my name?"
Male voice: "Tut Tut Miss Zhou. How naughty of you. Are you asking us to divulge trade secrets? You should recall a moment ago about the business I am in."
Zhou FengMian muttered absentmindedly: "Making the impossible..."
Male voice laughed: "Possible."
Zhou FengMian took a steadying breath and sent a stored picture of her ID to TS.
Male voice: "Well isn"t that a pretty picture."
Zhou FengMian said in a strained tone: "Thank you."
Male voice: "Since you are polite and obedient and this is your first transaction with us and you"re going for double; we"ll give you a discount of 20%."
Zhou FengMian was about to relay her "requests" when the man spoke again.
Male voice spoke in a serious tone with none of the humor he had earlier: "Once you state the jobs we will expect the payment in full within 24 hours. You have 3 hours to cancel the transaction but you will still have to pay 80% of the amount quoted. After the 3 hours, we will carry out the tasks and we still expect full payment. So would you still like to go ahead with our services?"
Zhou FengMian: "Yes."
The male voice became jovial once more: "I do so love it when people use our services. So what can we do for the pretty Miss Zhou?"
Zhou FengMian: "Firstly, I would like you to get rid of Tung ChiMan and his men tonight."
Male voice: "Miss Zhou you"ve disappointed me a little. You went to the Vietnamese. How could you betray your countrymen by using the services of an outsider? First request accepted. 1.5 million dollars before the discount. The second request?"
Zhou FengMian: "Take care of Li Xiuying. I want her left alive but wis.h.i.+ng she were dead."
Male voice: "Hmmmm. That name sounds rather familiar. We will say the status of this request is left pending. 300000 off your total bill."
Zhou FengMian: "She"s only a two-bit worthless doctor. I thought you said that you could..."
Male Voice chuckled: "Miss Zhou you are a housecat masquerading as a tigress, I suggest you tone down that att.i.tude before it gets you hurt."
Zhou FengMian immediately collected herself: "I apologize for my att.i.tude."
Male voice: "There now. That"s better."
Zhou FengMian: "I can pay 2 million if you can take care of Tung and his men within the next 2 hours."
Male voice: "oooooooh express service. We can accomplish it within 90 minutes. That will be 2 million with the discount."
Zhou FengMian knew this was just a power play because she had suggested a price. She had been around enough ruthless businessmen to know they like control. She said graciously: "Thank you."
Male voice: "Our pleasure. I will contact you when we have cleaned up. With regards to the other request, I will not be able to make the decision for a month or so. One of my colleagues is away hunting."
Zhou FengMian felt s.h.i.+vers up her spine when she heard the word "hunting" these people probably hunt anything living whether animals or humans. She asked politely: "Please let me know the verdict when you can."
Male Voice: "Bye-bye miss pretty kitty. Oh and remember, only the dead tell no tales."
Zhou FengMian was scared and also angered by the treatment she had endured. She thought to herself "So what if you"re The soulless?! I"ll find a way to get rid of you too!"
She pulled over on the hard shoulder and waited for 30 minutes in order to calm down. She then continued on her journey and called Tung ChiMan 45 minutes later.
Tung ChiMan: "h.e.l.lo?"
Zhou FengMian"s voice was full of mockery: "The plan I wanted wasn"t the one that was implemented. Didn"t you confidently tell me "I"ll do my job. you do whatever you want." But now here we are, you didn"t do your job and I didn"t get what I want. "
Tung ChiMan: "We improvised. Since it wasn"t exactly as ordered we will take 75% of what we initially agreed upon."
Zhou FengMian laughed: "No I don"t think so. I don"t like people who don"t deliver on what they promise."
Tung ChiMan began laughing: "Zhou FengMian have you forgotten who you"re dealing with?"
Zhou FengMian: "I"m getting really tired of people trying to put me in my place. I"ll make an allowance for you just this once since you are dying."
Tung ChiMan: "Have you gone mad? I"m not dying, but soon you..."
Zhou FengMian cut in: "Not yet anyway."
Tung ChiMan: "Zhou FengMian wait until my hand is around that throat of yours. First I"m going to destroy that little body your so proud of and then I"m going to..."
Zhou FengMian heard gunshots and shouting through the phone she could make out people screaming run and also eery laughter before the line cut off.
Zhou FengMian smiled as she continued driving. She may act vapid and incompetent but she was ruthless to her core. She was meticulous in her planning and always willing to play the long game when required whether that was in love or business. Qin Song was what she wanted and she was going to get him no matter the cost to the others around her.
...
Unity Hospital
All the children had been examined and were fine. Jun Wen and Lee HuiQing had a few sc.r.a.pes and bruises but nothing some antiseptic and bandage couldn"t handle.
Li Xiuying was taken to get a CT head, to see if there was any damage to her skull or brain.
As everyone waited in the private waiting area Madame Qin looked at Little 4th who was sitting like a lifeless zombie. She didn"t realize that the attachment he had to Li Xiuying was to this extent. They had only known each other for a short period of time, this could become an unhealthy attachment.
Qin Xian Jun sat next to his mother and continued to update his brothers about the details at the hospital.
The Jun family arrived at the hospital. Both of Jun Wen"s parents looked surprisingly composed for people who had heard their son was almost kidnapped.
Madame Qin and Qin Xian Jun stood up.
Jun Nüying caught the eye of her son and gestured for him to come to her side.
Jun Duyi coldly said to his wife: "Take him to the car and wait for me."
Jun Nüying lowered her head and held Jun Wen"s hand: "Elder Sister Chuyou I"ll be leaving with Wen."
Madame Qin nodded her head. She knew that Jun Wen"s parents had a tumultuous relations.h.i.+p. He liked to rule her with an iron fist and was a cold and absent father. Many even said he had another family outside with his childhood sweetheart.
Jun Duyi watched his legal wife depart quickly and quietly.
Jun Duyi: "Sister Chuyou. Please forgive me for what I"m about to say. We trust your family with the safety of Wen. However by trusting an outsider, this fiasco today could have cost us millions. Not too mention the humiliation I would have faced because I was not being able to reign and control my family well. How well do you know this Li Xiuying? From what I"ve investigated she"s cut ties with her only biological relatives and repeatedly returned their kindness with disrespect. She is money hungry and charges in excess of 100K for 5 minutes for routine procedures. She has no respect for authority, shows no loyalty to those in her field as is evident in the interview she did on the news. She engages in the power hara.s.sment by bullying her juniors and theater staff and she works fewer hours than any other doctor I have met; even the retired doctors work more hours. For the sake of our friends.h.i.+p please keep outsiders away from my son." He gave a slight bow of his head to madame Qin and briskly turned and walked away.
Qin Xian Jun glanced at his stepmother and was surprised that instead of the incredulous expression he expected she looked deep in thought.