"What? You want more money? You’re going overboard! Thirty thousand each, for five people that’s a hundred and fifty thousand, isn’t that enough?"
Song Ze raised his voice, expressing his extreme dissatisfaction.
He gets twenty thousand as pocket money from his family monthly, and it’s the end of the month now. Most of this month’s money has been spent, but fortunately, May Day is the day after tomorrow, so he can ask his mom to send him next month’s living expenses and some varying holiday funds.
But now the other side is demanding an additional twenty thousand per person, making it fifty thousand each, totaling two hundred fifty thousand. It’s as if they planned it perfectly. If he agrees, next month he’ll have to scrape by.
"I tell you, no way! The injuries you all suffered were completely accidental, not caused by someone on our side. If you want compensation for medical bills, go find the guys who beat you, not me."
Song Ze was furious, wanting to hang up the phone right away and pretend it didn’t happen.
But he knew these people were troublesome, and they had nothing to lose. He feared if he pushed them too hard, they might really cause trouble.
After a long rant and negotiation on the phone, he finally compromised, adding another ten thousand per person, totaling two hundred thousand.
"Damn!" Song Ze angrily hung up the phone, then turned to his two male companions, looking forlorn, and said, "Next month I’m going to rely on you guys to support me."
"You’re really planning to give them two hundred thousand?" one male companion asked in surprise.
Song Ze could only nod helplessly and say, "No choice. Two of them have been to jail, and the other three are not easy to deal with. Plus, they just got checked out at the hospital, two of them need to be admitted for observation, of course, the medical costs will increase, so they want to hike the price."
Another male companion said indignantly, "They just raise the price as they please; that’s extortion! Let them call the police if they want."
Jin Xinyan also said, "Song Ze, you were rash in this matter. This group is clearly trying to milk you for as much money as possible. You can’t let them lead you by the nose, just giving whatever they ask for. I think it’s better to involve the police. Otherwise, it might never end." ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet
Song Ze shook his head, saying, "Reporting to the police is definitely a no-go. I hired these guys, and the ones who beat them are from that fitness club, which also involves Lesi Bar.
The boss of Lesi, you all know, has a mysterious background. Didn’t we see a group causing trouble at the bar get taken away by law enforcement in no time? These kinds of people are best left alone if possible.
Besides, the reason Lesi’s boss called people to beat them was out of goodwill, thinking we regulars were in trouble, and came to our rescue. If I get him involved, it wouldn’t be right, wouldn’t you agree?"
After hearing him, everyone was silent. Moreover, this money was coming from Song Ze personally, not them. If Song Ze insists on giving more money, what can they say?
"Alright. As long as you have an idea of what’s going on. But I still remind you, if they ask for more money again, don’t be foolish enough to agree. Anyway, we’ll be on our way now."
As Jin Xinyan said this, an empty taxi came by; she quickly waved it down, getting in with the other two women. Qi Qi sat in the back seat.
Song Ze and his two companions were all driving, but since they drank, they had to call for a driving service.
In the taxi, the three women sat side by side.
Once the car started, Lu Lu first said, "Xinyan, this time Song Fatty really went all out for you."
Du’er said disdainfully, "He’s got himself to blame. From the start, he had ill intentions, trying to break up Chen Feng and Xinyan. Did he think we couldn’t see through it? In the end, Chen Feng passed the test, yet he ends up having to pay out so much. He deserves it."
"Hey, hey, you’re being a bit much." Lu Lu expressed dissatisfaction, "He’s our friend after all. Whose side are you on?"
Du’er said seriously, "I’m just stating the facts."
"I remember you were quite active in the beginning, even snatching my role." Lu Lu teased.
"I didn’t know Chen Feng back then. Later, after knowing him, I thought he was pretty good. Honestly, we were a bit overboard, testing him by setting him up together, even hiring those guys to act it out. It felt like we were deliberately playing him."
Jin Xinyan defended herself, "I don’t admit to it. From the start, I opposed it, but since you all agreed, what could I do?"
Du’er smirked lightly and said, "I remember you agreed in the end, right? And during the trial, you cooperated well with the plot, seeing Chen Feng not stepping up, you deliberately endangered yourself, forcing him to stand up for you."
Jin Xinyan found herself unable to refute, looking a bit disgruntled. Her acting had been rather convincing at the time, thanks to her college club activities.
For a time, the cabin fell silent, even Lu Lu, who was usually chatty, stopped talking.
Meanwhile, back with Song Ze, his hired driver arrived, and the two got in the car. Song Ze leaned back in the seat, closed his eyes, and dozed off, exhausted from tonight’s mess.
Not sure how long had passed, the car suddenly braked sharply, jolting Song Ze awake. Still foggy, he asked towards the front, "Are we there yet?"
The driver turned back with urgency and said, "I’m sorry, Sir, my wife is in labor with stomach pains at home by herself, I need to rush back home to take her to the hospital. You’re only a few hundred meters from your destination, so maybe you can drive yourself. I’ll charge you a bit less."
Song Ze, hearing this, couldn’t say much against it, checked his phone, saw he wasn’t far from home, and kindly said, "Alright then. You just hurry back home. I wish your wife and child health and safety. I won’t short-change you."
"Thank you! Thank you! Sir, you’re really kind; my wife and kid will be grateful to you! I’ll be off then."
The driver said as he hurriedly got out of the car.
Seeing this, Song Ze vigorously rubbed his face, got down from the back seat, moved to the driver’s seat in front, revved himself up, and drove forward.
He’d drunk quite a bit tonight and felt a bit tipsy, but he considered his mind still clear enough, and that short nap of about ten minutes helped ease the inebriation.
After taking a turn and going another two or three hundred meters straight, a right turn would take him to his home in the villa complex.
Suddenly, the car made a loud bang and shook. Scared, Song Ze hurriedly hit the brakes.
He’d been rear-ended!
Song Ze sat stunned for a while before three men got out of the car behind, all male, and came over to knock on his car window.