Chapter Ninety

Wang Tianqi had not expected the strange tone in her own voice when she had just spoken to Rain Star and Moon. It had come entirely from some instinct deep inside her, to put it simply, she herself did not know why that kind of voice had come out. This made Rain Star and Moon mistakenly think that Wang Tianqi had feelings for him. If that were really the case, then Rain Star and Moon would have a miserable time from then on.

Wang Tianqi explained, “I’m not begging you, you forced me into this. Anyway, you already agreed to it. If you don’t show up, then I’ll just have to admit I was wrong about you. I’ll go find someone else to discuss this with, and I’ll call you when it’s time to act.” After saying that, Wang Tianqi closed the door for Rain Star and Moon, then heard her go downstairs. Through the window, Rain Star and Moon saw Wang Tianqi, and Wang Tianqi also saw Rain Star and Moon. She even gave him a knowing gesture before leaving.

Rain Star and Moon snorted with a laugh. “Who would understand you, Miss Wang? No, I should say, the neighbor’s nosy old Wang. But your performance is so fake I really can’t bear to watch, so I’ll help you. When the time comes, don’t suddenly change your face and disappoint everyone.”

He sat down at the computer, opened QQ, and sent someone a message: “She really did come looking for me. Do you think that after this she’ll call everyone over, besides you, to apologize to you? By then it’ll be hard for you to refuse, won’t it, Feifan? [thinking]”

Huang Feifan replied, “From the way you’re talking, did you fall for it? Wang Tianqi is really easy to fool. But honestly, I already forgave her long ago. Before forgiving her, I want to play with her a little. The thrill of manipulating someone in the palm of my hand is simply wonderful.”

Rain Star and Moon said, “My God, you’re way too sly. As for Xiao Jian’s side, you already saw how he successfully made Wang Tianqi look ridiculous. Even though Wang Tianqi saw that Xiao Jian was doing it on purpose, it was still satisfying to watch. She should have tasted the humiliation by now.”

Huang Feifan sent a mocking emoji. Before Wang Tianqi had gone to Huang Feifan, Xiao Jian had learned about Huang Feifan’s matter, and Zhang Yi had also told Rain Star and Moon. In order to help Huang Feifan vent his anger, the two of them had come up with a way to prank Wang Tianqi. Just now, Rain Star and Moon had only pretended to agree to Wang Tianqi’s request; in truth, it had all been within Huang Feifan’s plan. Xiao Jian had mocked Wang Tianqi without knowing Huang Feifan’s plan. That could not really be called part of the plan, but it had still helped Huang Feifan get some revenge.

Huang Feifan thought to himself that he would tell Xiao Jian about the plan later. Zhang Yi and Rain Star and Moon already knew, and now they were just waiting for the next move. It was being made to sound as though some great battle were about to begin.

Huang Feifan pulled Xiao Jian into the group chat he had created and told him all about the plan, which startled Xiao Jian again and again as he listened. The more he heard, the more ruthless the plan seemed, and yet somehow also the funnier. He could hardly wait to see Wang Tianqi drenched in humiliation. Huang Feifan’s judgment had been correct: her going to Rain Star and Moon for help was only part of the plan. After that, Wang Tianqi would probably discuss things with Rain Star and Moon, and she would most likely bring Lin Zimo and Chen Siyu along. Then it would be time for Rain Star and Moon’s improvised performance to deal with Wang Tianqi.

As for Xiao Jian and Huang Feifan, of course they still had preparations to make for this plan. There was no room for even the slightest mishap. So after the chat ended, Xiao Jian went to prepare according to Huang Feifan’s instructions, and Huang Feifan also readied himself for the next move.

Just as he was about to log off, he received a message. The sender was someone Rain Star and Moon did not know, but those few simple words carried an unmistakable sense of danger. It read: “I’ve been abducted by traffickers. Big brother, save me!”

Abducted by traffickers? When he saw the words “big brother,” he knew immediately that it was Sun Ying. No, that didn’t make sense. With the bodyguards from Sun Ying’s family around, there was no way she could be abducted. It looked like a prank, but worried, he called his mother, Yang Shuting, and asked her to check with Sun Ying’s father, Sun Yao, whether it was true.

After the call connected, Rain Star and Moon immediately asked, “Mom, ask Uncle Sun whether Sun Ying has really been abducted by traffickers. I just got a message saying she’s been taken.”

“Taken?” Yang Shuting sounded puzzled. “That can’t be right. If you’re saying Sun Ying was abducted by traffickers, then the Sun Ying your Uncle Sun is with must be fake, then?” Yang Shuting glanced over and saw Sun Yao tutoring Sun Ying with her schoolwork, while Sun Ying was also very happy, finally able to be close to her father.

“Just let Sun Ying take the phone first. I want to make sure,” Rain Star and Moon said. He asked Yang Shuting to hand the phone to Sun Ying so he could confirm it for himself. If Sun Ying was safe, then the message from before was a fake. Threatening him with someone dear to him was not a very nice thing to do.

Soon, Sun Ying’s voice came from the other end. “Big brother, you finally called me! Do you know how much I’ve missed you these past few days?” Her syrupy voice made Rain Star and Moon break out in goosebumps.

“It’s only been two days, and you already miss me that much?” Rain Star and Moon laughed. “So are you with your dad right now?”

“That’s right. Dad is right beside me helping with my homework,” Sun Ying said with a smile. Rain Star and Moon could faintly hear Sun Yao’s voice from the other end, and he was sure Sun Ying was safe.

“Then I won’t disturb you while you do your homework. As long as you get a perfect score on your exam, I’ll take you out to play, all right?” For a first-grade child, a perfect score was like a figure from the heavens. A perfect score meant getting whatever you wanted; most parents used that line to placate their children.

For Sun Ying, who was in sixth grade, hearing such words was hardly anything special. But if she could see him, everything would be easy to talk about. Sun Ying happily agreed to Rain Star and Moon’s request and even promised that she would study hard and see him again as soon as possible.

Rain Star and Moon knew Sun Ying was about to move on to the next stage of schooling and that her revision work was very stressful. He hoped this conversation could give her some confidence as she prepared for the entrance exams ahead. By then, Rain Star and Moon would already be in the second year of junior high, and Sun Ying would also be stepping into junior high life.

After the call ended, Rain Star and Moon saw ten new messages. Picking up where the earlier one left off, the sender demanded that he quickly prepare one million yuan in cash to ransom the hostage, or else they would kill her. Rain Star and Moon knew Sun Ying had not been abducted, but this person was clearly engaged in kidnapping. If it were really a kidnapping, they should have used a phone call, not QQ chat.

Rain Star and Moon decided to have some fun with this novice kidnapper. He sent back: “All right, all right. May I ask whether you take transit card payment or Alipay? Can I send you my one yuan first?”

After a while, the kidnapper replied, “Are you insane? I’m a kidnapper. Can you be serious for once? Don’t you care about your friend’s life?”

“All right, all right, I’ll be serious,” Rain Star and Moon typed with a laugh. “So you don’t want my one yuan after all?”

The kidnapper seemed to be getting anxious, no longer speaking as casually as before. “I want one million yuan, do you not understand? Is there a hole in your brain? Do you want me to call a psychiatrist for you?”

Rain Star and Moon replied at once, “Sure, sure. Just happened that I don’t have money for medical treatment lately, so help me reimburse this money. I didn’t expect you to be such a good person. I’ll treat you to wedding wine later.”

There was no wedding wine, of course.

“I f***” The kidnapper began cursing. The content was automatically censored, and Rain Star and Moon laughed even louder. He had driven the other man into a corner. A kidnapper was still a kidnapper, just not a very bright one. If he had already been exposed, he would never still be chatting with Rain Star and Moon like this. Instead, he was getting more and more worked up.

Rain Star and Moon thought to himself: For the sake of protecting peace in society, I have decided to bring you to justice, so there will be one less threat in the world.

But based on these chat messages alone, the police did not have enough evidence to confirm that the other party was indeed a kidnapper. Yet if this were allowed to continue, who knew how many people might be deceived. Rain Star and Moon fell into thought.

While he was worrying, he thought of one person. Yes, that was Wu Guanzhong. He had heard from Lin Ling that Wu Guanzhong had recently been working for the police station, using his skills as a hacker to infiltrate the accounts of criminal suspects and identify their specific locations. If he asked for Wu Guanzhong’s help, things would become much easier. But without Wu Guanzhong’s phone number, Rain Star and Moon had no choice but to call Lin Ling, hoping she would understand.

“Hello, Hugo. What do you need from me?” Hearing that Lin Ling’s tone was still pleasant, Rain Star and Moon said, “Um, I’m not looking for your senior sister. I’m looking for your future husband, Brother Wu Guanzhong. I have something to say to him.”

“No way!” Lin Ling answered crisply, refusing his request without hesitation. Then she added, “You can’t find him at this time. He’s taking a nap right now. Call back in a few hours. That’s it.” Lin Ling hung up the phone.