Chapter 25 - 25 Can’t Help It, Too Charming!
His son was getting on in years and had yet to marry, so Wang Ru’an thought about finding a wife for his son.
Finding a wife for a dead person is known as a "ghost marriage."
But this was something he couldn’t do by himself. However, he knew someone who had done such things, and that person was Wang Jin, the general manager of Tianhai Company who had invited Li Xiaoyao to dinner that day.
On the surface, Wang Jin was the general manager of Tianhai Company, but in secret, he was the head of a human trafficking organization.
Such organizations usually kidnap people from nearby villages or national highways, those walking alone or with mental issues. After the buyer selects a "ghost marriage" candidate, they would bring the person to the prearranged location and kill them on the spot with poison.
This organization never uses knives because that would damage the corpse, discouraging buyers from paying.
It’s a very lucrative and perverse industry.
Normally, the gang would only traffic kidnapped individuals, but Wang Ru’an approached them, specifically requesting Zhuo Yi by name.
The true purpose of that day when Wang Jin invited Li Xiaoyao to dinner was to get Li Xiaoyao to introduce Zhuo Yi to him, but they didn’t expect Li Xiaoyao to outright refuse and even got into a conflict with them.
However, no matter, Wang Jin had another trick up his sleeve, and that was Liu Ming.
Liu Ming was a "hunter" trained by Wang Jin. A so-called hunter would meet young girls in bars or over the internet, invite them out for meals, drinks, and fun, then take them to a hotel. Once he got to know them better, Liu Ming would follow Wang Jin’s instructions and bring the girls to the subway station, giving them a large doll.
At the same time, Wang Jin had arranged for several other people to drive a van to the subway station and kidnap the girls holding dolls.
That was the entire process.
"What exactly do you want to do?" a frightened Zhuo Yi asked.
Wang Ru’an put down the photograph, smiled at the girl, and said, "My son likes you, so I plan on having you marry my son."
Zhuo Yi was dumbstruck after hearing this. What kind of reason was that?
It was her first time encountering such a forced marriage scenario.
But before she had time to think further, with a loud "bang," the door to the villa was smashed open.
A dozen figures appeared outside the villa’s door, startling Wang Ru’an, who was on the couch. He stood up from the couch and saw clearly the people outside.
Li Xiaoyao immediately saw Zhuo Yi lying on the couch, and Zhuo Yi also saw him, with tears streaming down her face in an instant.
Zhu Xiaoyue drew her gun on the spot, aimed at Wang Ru’an, and shouted, "Wang Ru’an, raise your hands and kneel on the ground, or I’ll shoot."
Wang Ru’an didn’t understand why the police had come for him, but with a gun pointed at him, he was terrified and promptly knelt down.
Li Xiaoyao waved his hand, "Tie up this fatso."
The security guards filed in and promptly tied Wang Ru’an up tightly, while Li Xiaoyao went over and gently untied the ropes from Zhuo Yi’s hands and feet.
"Wuu wuu~" Zhuo Yi burst into tears; she was a woman of strong character, but coming face to face with a kidnapping scenario that normally only happened in movies, she was completely frightened.
Zhuo Yi thought she was doomed this time, but in the last moment, Li Xiaoyao appeared, and she felt that he was like the Prince Charming from her childhood dreams.
"It’s okay now, it’s all right," Li Xiaoyao patted Zhuo Yi’s hair, comforting her.
Wang Ru’an was arrested, and Liu Ming, who arrived later, was also captured by the police and taken back to the station. Based on the clues provided by Wang Ru’an and Liu Ming, they managed to arrest Wang Jin and several others from Tianhai Company as well.
Outside the police station, after giving their testimonies, Li Xiaoyao and others were preparing to leave when Zhu Xiaoyue suddenly came over.
"Li Xiaoyao, thank you for everything this time," Zhu Xiaoyue said with heartfelt gratitude.
Li Xiaoyao subconsciously looked at her chest, and said, "Just saying ’thank you’ lacks sincerity. How about something more substantial?"
Zhu Xiaoyue raised an eyebrow and replied, "Li Xiaoyao, don’t think that just because you got lucky and helped solve the case, you can take undue advantage."
Li Xiaoyao said, "I was just asking if there is a reward for acts of bravery. Is that going too far?"
"Oh, so you’re just after the reward money?" Zhu Xiaoyue felt somewhat embarrassed. She had thought Li Xiaoyao was trying to take advantage of her.
Li Xiaoyao rolled his eyes: "No kidding. Which do you think is more tempting, your ’thank you’ or some cash reward?"
Grinding her teeth, Zhu Xiaoyue wished she could bite Li Xiaoyao. This jerk was actually comparing himself to a reward? Did she rank lower than Renminbi in his heart?
Zhu Xiaoyue took a deep breath and told herself not to get angry with this kind of person.
"There is indeed a reward offered by the city bureau for this series of kidnappings, and since you helped crack the case, naturally you’re entitled to the money. Rest assured, once we get through this busy period, the reward will be distributed to you," she explained.
Li Xiaoyao’s eyes suddenly sparkled: "There really is a reward? How much, how much?"
Seeing Li Xiaoyao’s greed, Zhu Xiaoyue felt even more annoyed. Was this jerk really so money-obsessed?
Zhu Xiaoyue replied irritably, "Two hundred thousand."
Hearing this figure, Li Xiaoyao immediately felt disappointed and said, "Only two hundred thousand? You police sure are stingy."
"Fine, talk to me about the reward once it’s ready. You have my number. Remember to call me. I’m leaving now, no need to see me off," Li Xiaoyao said, waving his hand as he walked off with Zhuo Yi and the security guards.
Zhu Xiaoyue, staring at Li Xiaoyao’s retreating figure, muttered resentfully, "This bastard, don’t let me catch you slipping."
"Xiaoyue, what’s wrong? You seem really upset," a voice chimed in. It was Dong Haoran, who had been bitten by a dog a few days earlier.
Following Zhu Xiaoyue’s gaze, Dong Haoran recognized the back of one of the men—just as the man was getting into a taxi and showed his face. It was Li Xiaoyao.
Dong Haoran couldn’t hate Li Xiaoyao enough, although it was his pills that attracted the dog’s bite, he transferred his anger to Li Xiaoyao.
There are people in this world who, when they encounter setbacks, invariably displace their frustrations onto someone else.
Dong Haoran was unquestionably one of those people.
…
Zhuo Yi had been kidnapped in the morning, but by the afternoon, Li Xiaoyao had rescued her. Even though it was only a few hours, Li Xiaoyao knew that if he had been a few hours later, Zhuo Yi might have been killed and buried as a sacrifice.
"Thank you, Brother Li," Zhuo Yi said quietly, expressing her gratitude. Just now, at the police station, she fully realized how serious the events of the day had been. One could say that the man by her side gave her a second chance at life.
"No worries. Saving a beauty in distress is my duty. If it really bothers you that much, you could always marry me," Li Xiaoyao teased her.
Zhuo Yi’s face turned red as she retorted, "I certainly don’t want that."
Li Xiaoyao just smiled and said nothing more. Meanwhile, Zhuo Yi periodically stole glances at Li Xiaoyao, thinking he looked more handsome and manly than other men.
Zhuo Yi startled herself with her thoughts and inwardly asked: Zhuo Yi, could it be that you’ve fallen for Li Xiaoyao?
If Li Xiaoyao knew Zhuo Yi’s thoughts at that moment, he would surely shamelessly respond: Can’t help it. I’m just too charming.
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