Chapter 36 — The Infuriating License Plate

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"But our snipers are already in position. There's a ninety percent chance they can drop the robber where he stands," Qiu Lingshan pressed.

"Ninety percent, you said so yourself. And the other ten? What if Miss Gu gets hurt? Then neither you nor I will be able to wriggle out of it." The chief dressed her down. "I told you not to act rashly. Give the robbers what they want first, and we'll think of something after."

"Understood." Qiu Lingshan was thoroughly dejected. She had wanted to let her men take a risk, to bring the snipers into play and put the thugs down. But now she did not dare issue any such reckless order. With the chief refusing to back her, what was she supposed to do?

The police's helplessness only made the bald man smug. Quickly he herded his men into the black Hyundai van parked at the curb, started the engine, and roared away.

Since the thugs held two hostages, Qiu Lingshan dared not act rashly either, and could only watch as they climbed into the black Hyundai and sped off.

"Miss..." Uncle Qing stared at the receding shape of the van, sick with anxiety. He had called Mr. Gu a moment ago, but the line had refused to connect the whole time. Now that the robbers had taken Gu Mengyao hostage, he was well and truly panicking.

"Mr. Li, the police will take care of this matter. Please set your mind at ease." That said, Qiu Lingshan pulled out her radio. "All squads, attention. All squads, attention. The robbers' vehicle is a black Hyundai van, plate Song A74110. It has just left the bank. If you sight it, prepare to shadow it."

"74110?" After issuing the order, Qiu Lingshan muttered the plate number over again. These robbers truly did not take her seriously at all — to stick a number like 74110 on their car. At the thought she pulled out her radio again, keyed in a call number, and said, "Traffic division? This is Qiu Lingshan, criminal investigation. Run a plate for me: Song A74110... Yes. What? A Buick sedan? Not a Hyundai van?... You're certain? All right, then. Nothing more."

Damn these cloned plates — and flaunting such an outrageous number on top of it. This was plainly a jab at her, a naked provocation. In that moment Qiu Lingshan was furious enough to burst. And in the end the robbers' plate had come true after all: 74110, which, spoken aloud, ran together into "anger the police hotline to death."

The moment he was inside the van, the bald man ordered his men to lash Gu Mengyao's and Wei Zhao's hands together. Then he eyed Wei Zhao with a certain satisfaction. "You — what business was this of yours? What were you barging in for? The one we wanted was Miss Chu. But you had to put on airs and play the hero. So don't blame us for dragging you along."

At the bald man's words, Wei Zhao's heart gave a jolt. These men knew Gu Mengyao — something neither of them had bargained for. They had assumed the hostages were picked at random, and that the bald man had fastened on Gu Mengyao merely because she was pretty and he wanted some cheap advantage. Never had they imagined that these men had planned it all along, that they had come for Gu Mengyao.

"You... you know me?" Gu Mengyao was startled as well. She had not expected these thugs to know who she was. Astonished, she could not keep herself from asking.

"Know you? How could I not? The daughter of the Gu Group's chairman." The bald man was savoring the pleasure of looking down on her. "If I didn't know you, why would I bother seizing you?"

"What... what do you want with me?" Gu Mengyao was already sensing that something was wrong. These men seemed to have planned this from the very start, to have been aiming at her all along.

"Want with you? Heh — you tell me." The bald man split his great mouth wide, baring a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Go on. What do you think there is about you worth my taking?"

"I..." Gu Mengyao was alarmed. Surely the man was not mad? Having seized her, did he mean to violate her? The more she thought, the likelier it seemed: she was so pretty, so alluring, her eyes so big, her skin so fair, her breasts so firm — any man would be stirred.

No... Gu Mengyao wanted to weep. If she were defiled by an ugly brute like this, she truly would not want to live. If the choice were hers, she would sooner give herself to Wei Zhao than to him.

Why Wei Zhao? Wei Zhao was the only man she could think of just now. That nuisance Zhong Yongliang she loathed past all bearing, and of the men near her to choose from, apart from Uncle Qing, it seemed only Wei Zhao remained.

Thinking it over, she really was a failure — her circle was far too narrow. She did not even know any other men.

How could she be so unlucky? Gu Mengyao lamented her bitter fate even as she cast about desperately for a way out.

Watching the color come and go in Gu Mengyao's face, the bald man guessed that she had gotten the wrong idea, and said with scorn, "Hell, if I want pretty girls, I have my pick. A tender little morsel like you is nothing to me. I took you because someone paid."

At those words Gu Mengyao let out a breath of relief. So he had no designs of that kind on her. That was good.

"Chief, if you don't fancy her, I do. How about letting me have a bit of fun with her?" The one called Ma Liu at once put on a lewd look and made to lay hands on Gu Mengyao.

"Ma Liu, you keep your hands to yourself and settle down. This girl is not to be touched. Orders from above — she's to be delivered whole." The bald man glared at Ma Liu and rebuked him.

"Oh, what a waste, ah." Ma Liu seemed badly afraid of the bald man; at one sharp word from him, he sat back down obediently and did not dare stir again. "So tender and fresh — if I could have just one go at her, my life wouldn't have been lived in vain."

"Cut the fucking useless talk. When this is over, we'll give you the money and you can go find yourself a few schoolgirls and play with them however you like." The bald man waved his hand in irritation, thoroughly disgusted by Ma Liu's lechery.

Gu Mengyao let out a breath of relief. Thank goodness these men were not after her body; otherwise her innocence would have been utterly ruined. What galled her, though, was that the bald man had actually tied her small hands together with the big hands of that bastard Wei Zhao, letting him take advantage of her for nothing.

Yet at the thought of Wei Zhao's hands, a warmth somehow rose in Gu Mengyao's heart. Remembering how he had pressed her down with those hands just now, she was filled with a feeling she could not put into words.

What was the matter with her? Could a tiny flicker of gratitude alone have changed her impression of him? Hmph, no — it could not be that easy. And yet, if it had been anyone else, would they have stepped forward for her sake in that moment? What exactly was Wei Zhao thinking? Gu Mengyao found she could no longer quite fathom his mind...

"Shit, you stupid girl, at a time like this you're still grinning like an idiot." Seeing Gu Mengyao blush one moment and smirk to herself the next, the bald man was instantly displeased. This was an insult to him! He was a kidnapper, and this little wench was actually laughing right in front of him — wasn't that looking down on him?

Gu Mengyao gave a startled "Ah" before she came back to herself. Without realizing it, she had let her mind wander off...