Chapter 37: At the End of One's Rope
Friends demanding debts, employees questioning, the company facing the danger of bankruptcy, and Wang Wei's relentless pressure...
Shen Caidie found herself at her wits' end.
"It seems I can't escape this time." Shen Caidie sighed softly, "The ancients said, 'It's hard to guard against a thief within one's own household!' This saying is too true. If I had been just a little more vigilant towards Ye Xiaohong, I wouldn't have ended up in this situation."
What a mistake it was!
"Now, I can only resort to a desperate measure." Shen Caidie took a deep breath and another deep breath, and after completely calming down her emotions, she picked up her phone and began to dial: "President Chen, it's me... I want to apply for a loan, you see... Can't you make an exception... Alright, sorry for bothering you."
"Hello, President Li? It's Shen Caidie... I want to apply for a loan..."
"Director Song, it's Shen Caidie..."
Shen Caidie quickly made five or six phone calls to bank leaders, trying to use her company as collateral to borrow some money. But without exception, all were refused because these bank leaders had already received news that Shen Caidie was about to go bankrupt, so there was no way they would give her a loan at that point.
"When the company was operating normally, you were all courteous to me, eager for me to borrow more money. Now that the company has hit a rough patch, you all turn your backs on me, a bunch of fair-weather friends!" Shen Caidie cursed through gritted teeth.
A bank loan was her last hope, and now that had failed too; Shen Caidie was utterly out of ideas.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."
Just as Shen Caidie was frantic, her phone suddenly rang. She looked at it and saw it was Gao Fei calling. Confused, she pressed the answer button: "Mr. Gao?"
"General Shen, I just saw a news report on TV about you, saying that you lost a lot of money in business and that your company is about to go bankrupt. Is that true?" Gao Fei asked.
Shen Caidie nodded bitterly, "Yes, my company is indeed about to go bankrupt." Since Gao Fei already knew, there was no need for her to continue hiding it.
"What exactly happened? How could this..."
"I was set up."
"Set up? By whom?"
"Wang Wei and Ye Xiaohong..." Shen Caidie briefly recounted what had happened, "I realize now how foolish I've been, indescribably foolish. You warned me a few days ago to be cautious of Ye Xiaohong, and I didn't believe it..."
"General Shen, what's done is done, regretting it now is useless," Gao Fei said solemnly, "Better to think about how to solve the current predicament."
Shen Caidie chuckled wryly, "I've thought of everything I could, but nothing works. I can't escape this calamity."
"Let me think of a solution for you," Gao Fei said.
"You?" Shen Caidie was taken aback, "You want to help me?"
"You are my friend, and now that you're in trouble, how can I just stand by?" Gao Fei smiled, "Don't worry, I will take care of this for you."
"You plan to..." Before Shen Caidie could finish her sentence, she realized Gao Fei had already hung up. She stood there, dazed, her feelings complex. She hadn't expected Gao Fei to offer help; strictly speaking, they weren't very close, at best casual friends. By any ordinary reasoning, Gao Fei wouldn't be expected to help, but now...
It could only be said that Gao Fei was a man of righteousness, someone worth befriending.
"Gao Fei... I hope you can help me solve this problem." As of now, Gao Fei had become Shen Caidie's only hope.
...
Elsewhere.
After finishing the call with Shen Caidie, Gao Fei sprang into action.
He had a preliminary plan in mind; if executed smoothly, it should be able to solve Shen Caidie's problem.
Gao Fei was a compassionate person; he couldn't bear to watch Shen Caidie being schemed against and ending up bankrupt, so he decided to step forward and lend her a hand! Likewise, he was a person who despised evil, and seeing Wang Wei and Ye Xiaohong being so despicable and shameless infuriated him. He planned to take this opportunity to give them a good lesson.
In the dead of night.
Clad in black, Gao Fei sneaked into the villa where Wang Wei lived. After knocking out four bodyguards, Gao Fei strode confidently into Wang Wei's bedroom.
Wang Wei was fast asleep in bed, utterly unaware that danger had descended upon him.
Gao Fei walked over and slapped Wang Wei's face.
"Uh..." Wang Wei slowly opened his eyes, "Who's slapping my face... uh... who are you..." When he saw a strange man standing by the window, Wang Wei was startled, quickly sat up, then yelled at the top of his lungs, "Guards, come quick... "
"There's no use calling," Gao Fei smirked, "Your four bodyguards have all been knocked out by me; they probably won't wake up until tomorrow morning."
"You... who on earth are you!" Hearing that his bodyguards had been knocked out, Wang Wei's complexion turned ugly.
"I'm here to collect a debt," Gao Fei said with a smile.
"Collect what debt? I don't even know you!"
"You set up a trap and scammed Shen Caidie out of 150 million, am I right?"
"Are you sent by Shen Caidie?" Wang Wei's eyes suddenly bulged with fury: "That stinking woman, she actually dares to send someone…ouch!" Wang Wei couldn't finish his sentence before a slap landed on his face, searing half of his cheek with pain.
Gao Fei sneered, "If you dare swear again, I'll smash your mouth and break your teeth."
"You…"
"Smack!" Gao Fei slapped Wang Wei again: "Still dare to glare at me!"
"I…"
"Smack!" Another resounding slap.
"What exactly do you want." Wang Wei was close to tears: "Let's talk, can you stop hitting me?" After taking several slaps, Wang Wei was thoroughly frightened.
"Wang Wei, you are scum! Complete and utter scum!" Gao Fei cursed, pointing at Wang Wei's nose: "You living is just a waste of food! Relying on your wealth and power, you act recklessly, bullying the weak, I really want to crush you to death with one palm."
Wang Wei's face twitched violently, and being cursed at to his face by Gao Fei, of course, incensed him internally, but he didn't dare to show it, only bearing it. In his whole life, he had never suffered such humiliation.
"Wang Wei, tell me yourself, are you or are you not scum?" Gao Fei asked.
"I…" Wang Wei hesitated for a second, then received a slap to the face, the pain making him spasm: "Stop hitting, stop hitting… I am scum, I am scum…" Despite Wang Wei's usual bluster, he was actually a coward, easily cowed with a bit of intimidation.
Gao Fei pulled over a chair and sat down, then crossed his legs: "So tell me, how should we resolve this matter?"
"I… well, how much did Shen Caidie pay you? I'll give you double... no, triple!" Wang Wei tried to sway Gao Fei with money.
"Bang!"
Gao Fei kicked Wang Wei off the bed: "Still thinking of bribing me with money? You must be sick of living! Listen up, Shen Caidie hasn't given me a dime, I'm helping her voluntarily." Saying that, Gao Fei stood up, walked over, grabbed Wang Wei's hair, and yanked gently backward, eliciting a loud cry of pain from Wang Wei.
"Don't pull, don't pull… Ow, it hurts…" Wang Wei pleaded non-stop: "I beg you, stop tormenting me… please…"
"Return the money to Shen Caidie," Gao Fei said coldly.
"I'll return it, I'll return the money…" Wang Wei quickly nodded.
"Transfer it now." Gao Fei took Wang Wei's phone: "Listen, if you dare play any tricks, I'll break your legs."
Wang Wei, shivering, picked up the phone, and transferred 150 million to Shen Caidie as fast as he could: "The money has been sent, 150 million, not a cent less."
"Smart boy," Gao Fei nodded, satisfied.
"I've already returned the money to Shen Caidie, can you let me go now?" Wang Wei asked cautiously.
"No, the issue isn't settled yet, how can I let you go?" Gao Fei grinned, showing a set of pearly white teeth.
"Not settled yet?" Wang Wei was stunned: "What else is there…"
"Buzz buzz buzz…"
A string of urgent cell phone ringtone suddenly rang. Gao Fei took out his phone from his pocket, glanced at the caller ID, then pressed the answer button: "Hello?"
"Just now my… account suddenly increased by 150 million… Does this have something to do with you?" Shen Caidie's anxious voice came from the phone; just moments ago, she received a message. When she opened it, she was stunned. The message was from the bank's server, someone had transferred 150 million to her.
Shen Caidie calmed down and realized this must be related to Gao Fei, so she took out her phone and called him. She wouldn't feel at ease without getting to the bottom of this.
"The money was transferred to you by Wang Wei," Gao Fei stated.
"Wang Wei? Why would he transfer money to me? What exactly is going on?"
"It's quite complicated, can't be explained in just a few words, let's do this: I'll hang up now, and explain everything to you in detail tomorrow morning." After a few words of explanation, Gao Fei ended the call; he was busy dealing with Wang Wei and didn't have time to explain to Shen Caidie.
While Gao Fei was on the phone, Wang Wei sat quietly on the ground, not saying a word.
Gao Fei released Wang Wei's hair and then sat back down on the chair: "These past years, you must have done quite a few bad things, haven't you?"
"No, I never did anything bad." Wang Wei shook his head frantically like a rattle.
"Really?" Gao Fei glared, raised his hand, and slapped Wang Wei, seeming quite addicted to slapping people.
"Really no..." Wang Wei's eyes reddened, nearly tearing up, the pain was too much, and he felt his face splitting.
"Smack!"
A second slap: "Dare to say 'no' again!"
"No... " Wang Wei cried.
Author's note: I recommend the new book "The Rise of a True Man," an exciting tale of a poor boy's struggle to rise to the top. Please give it your support! Thank you, everyone!