Chapter 426: Chapter 426: Twists and Turns
“Zhiyi!” Liao Yi spoke up to stop her, “Don’t agree to it, they’re clearly just picking a fight.”
Lin Zhiyi gave her a reassuring look.
Then she walked up to the group, “Since you’re asking for money, there must be a reason. Write a written statement now, explaining why you’re taking the money, how about that?”
“Okay.”
The Du Family parents, hearing they could get half a million, agreed without a second thought.
Before the shop assistants could hand them paper and pen, the two of them pulled out pens they carried and started writing on a scrap of paper.
The remaining five seemed to not expect things to go so smoothly, looking subconsciously at the three men who had accompanied them, beyond just feeling happy.
Lin Zhiyi also carefully observed the three men.
They were tall and stout, standing firmly, like professional bodyguards.
Could they have been hired by that woman in charge?
No.
If they could afford bodyguards, why carry a fake bag?
Lin Zhiyi had been with the Gong Family for so many years, she had seen thousands of brand-name bags.
Just among the Gong Family relatives, there were no duplicate bags.
The bag of this arrogant woman looked exactly like one Liu He used to have and often took to play mahjong.
It was obviously fake.
Lin Zhiyi turned her head to look at Gong Chen, wanting to confirm her suspicion.
Gong Chen nodded slightly.
It seemed those three men were the key.
“Alright.” The group handed over the written agreement and urged, “Time to pay up, right?”
“Okay, but I’ve arranged for a witness, they should be here soon.” Lin Zhiyi glanced at the clock on the wall.
The woman seemed a bit unsure, looking again at the three men.
The leading man frowned and gave the five women a signal.
“No way! You have to pay now, or don’t blame us for being rude!”
“Yes!”
Not only were the five women yelling, but the Du Family parents and a few intrusive relatives were also shouting.
As they spoke, the three men stepped forward.
Liao Yi wanted to step forward to help Lin Zhiyi, but she was stopped and pushed back by Lin Zhiyi.
When the man’s fist fell, Liao Yi screamed.
But instead of pain, there was a dull thud of a heavy object hitting the ground.
Everyone watched in horror as a black figure kicked the man aside, with a long, straight leg pressing on the man’s knee joint, the sound of breaking bones making the man howl in pain.
The other two men, sensing trouble, immediately stepped in to help, but they were no match for the masked man.
Soon, they were all beaten to the ground.
Gong Chen stood upright, his face covered with a mask, his dark eyes looking even more profound and cold.
The leading woman saw the situation and was about to run, but Lin Zhiyi and Liao Yi blocked her path from both sides.
“You don’t want the money?”
“What are you going to do? Be careful, I’ll call the police,” the woman threatened.
“No need for that trouble, I’ll call the police for you.”
As Lin Zhiyi finished speaking, three police officers entered from outside.
“A gentleman reported that there’s extortion happening here, what’s going on?” the police officer asked.
The woman was stunned, looking at Lin Zhiyi in panic.
“You, you really called the police? Aren’t you afraid of losing your store?”
“If I give you the money, will you let me go? Next time, try carrying a real bag if you want to settle accounts with someone.” Lin Zhiyi glanced at her bag.
She instinctively hid the bag behind her.
Lin Zhiyi handed six copies of the agreement to the police: “Evidence, they wrote it themselves.”
“Nonsense! You obviously sell fake goods!” The woman still struggled.
“Miss, although my store is small, it doesn’t mean I don’t understand the rules. There’s a video of the inspection conducted by me and the courier company for every item delivered. Comparing the necklace in your hand with the one in the video will reveal the truth. Considering the large amount you tried to extort from me, keep your story for the police.” Lin Zhiyi said coldly.
The woman panicked, “It’s just six thousand dollars, we don’t want it!”
Lin Zhiyi smirked, “Sorry, it’s thirty thousand dollars, you wrote the amount in the agreement yourselves, six thousand per person, five people make it thirty thousand.”
The five women turned pale at the news.
“No, no, it’s not like that. We were tricked, someone told us the necklace was fake, and that we should come here to ask Lin Zhiyi for money.”
“Who?” Lin Zhiyi asked.
“It was…”
The woman swallowed hard, just about to reveal something when Mrs. Du’s scream suddenly erupted from behind.
“Ah!”
Mrs. Du had been pushed down the steps by the three men earlier, suffering a head injury with blood all over.
Immediately, chaos erupted around, and those three men took advantage of the confusion to escape.
Eventually, Mrs. Du was taken away by ambulance, while Lin Zhiyi and the five women went to the police station.
The five women claimed the three men instructed them on how to extort money from Lin Zhiyi.
But when they tried calling again, the number had been disconnected.
Lin Zhiyi was merciless as well, punishing them as per the law even though the extortion attempt failed.
Exiting the police station, Gong Chen and Liao Yi were waiting for her.
Liao Yi expressed concern, “Who exactly were those three men, and why did they involve five people to extort you?”
“Perhaps they wanted to ruin my store’s reputation,” Lin Zhiyi said helplessly.
Gong Chen didn’t think so.
“If their target was just your store, then why didn’t they worry about their plan being disrupted when the Du Family’s parents stood out to cause trouble?”
Lin Zhiyi noticed the deeper meaning, “Third Young Master, are you saying those three men had another motive?”
“With their skills, they didn’t need to rely on Mrs. Du to leave,” Gong Chen reminded her.
Lin Zhiyi’s eyes widened, “They did it on purpose? But why?”
“Lin Zhiyi! You got me fired and almost killed my mom, I’ll fight you to the end!”
The speaker was none other than Du Qian.
Du Qian was holding a fruit knife, rushing straight at Lin Zhiyi.
Gong Chen stepped forward, twisted his arm, and made him let go of the fruit knife.
After the knife dropped on the ground, Lin Zhiyi quickly kicked it away.
Liao Yi was about to call the police, but Gong Chen shot her a look, and she covered her mouth herself.
Lin Zhiyi pulled Liao Yi away to avoid Du Qian retaliating, as their fighting abilities were limited, and they didn’t want to drag Gong Chen down.
“Lin Zhiyi! I won’t let you off!” Du Qian continued to shout.
Lin Zhiyi thought for a moment and said, “Du Qian, the one who harmed your mom is you. Instead of scheming behind people’s backs, you can’t even confront me directly and have to get your parents to make trouble.”
Du Qian gritted his teeth, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll spill about you and Third Young Master?”
Hearing this, Gong Chen increased the pressure and lifted him higher, then pulled down his mask.
“Say it, let me hear it first,” Gong Chen said.
“Th-Th-Third Young Master.”
It was only then Du Qian realized the modest man in front of him was actually Gong Chen.
Recalling how close he came to being beaten to death by Gong Chen, he couldn’t help but tremble.
Gong Chen apparently noticed his fear and didn’t want to waste words, “Have you contacted Wen Qing?”
Du Qian looked at him incredulously, how did he know?
“Threatened her?” Gong Chen continued to ask.
“…” Du Qian pursed his lips.
“If she wants to get away, what’s the quickest way? Have you bite someone else.”
Gong Chen said as he slipped a USB drive into Du Qian’s pocket, whispering, “The surveillance at the intersection shows those three men got into Wen Qing’s assistant’s car. Think for yourself now, should I call the police to invite you for a chat, or will you leave on your own?”
Du Qian gritted his teeth, “I’ll go on my own.”
Gong Chen released him.
Du Qian turned and ran off.
Lin Zhiyi said, “Third Young Master, did you just say Wen Qing is the one trying to harm me?”