Chapter 244: Human Life is Worthless
"I've caused you a lot of trouble, my apologies..." Ding Fan said to Cheng Bufan beside him.
Cheng Bufan was as calm as ever, despite the tension just moments ago, still maintaining his composure as if such incidents were nothing to him.
"My friend, you are being too polite. You were troubled in my shop; as a matter of course, it should have been us protecting you. Now that you have dealt with them, there's no need for apologies," Cheng Bufan said with a serene smile.
Ding Fan also smiled slightly. The man before him was very mysterious, unfazed by the Ink Monkey and fearless in a fight. Moreover, having no cultivation, Ding Fan found himself quite interested in this man.
However, their meeting today was just a fleeting encounter. It was their first meeting, so it wasn't appropriate to delve too deeply. Besides, with Xue Gang and his group arriving, it was not good for Ding Fan to stay any longer.
"Thank you for your hospitality with the aromatic tea. I have other matters to attend to, and I'll come back another day to disturb you," Ding Fan said.
Cheng Bufan nodded. "Alright"
Just as Ding Fan and his group were about to leave, Cheng Bufan seemed to remember something. "Friend, there's nothing you would want in this vast Liuli Factory. If you are free in three days, come and see me at three in the afternoon."
Ding Fan's eyes lit up. "Alright, see you in three days."
Cheng Bufan had an elegant manner of speaking, and with that aura of natural pride emanating from him, Ding Fan felt that Cheng Bufan would not deceive him.
Thereupon, Ding Fan left with Mu Zi, Xue Gang, and two members of Group 3567 from Cheng Bufan's antique shop.
Watching Ding Fan's retreating figure, a hint of a smile flickered across Cheng Bufan's lips.
"See you in three days"...
...
"I thought you went out to help your friend? Why did you come back so quickly?" After leaving Cheng Bufan's antique shop, several people asked Mu Zi.
With a somewhat smug tilt of her head, Mu Zi responded, "You think I didn't know? Those people just wanted to send me away. I knew they were following us behind. If I hadn't gone outside, how could they have possibly come over so eagerly for you to handle them..."
Ding Fan smiled wryly. Put nicely, Mu Zi was a curious sprite; not so nicely, the girl really was a Little Witch.
The group walked along, and just then, a white limited edition Build Your Dream luxury sedan drove towards them.
Seeing this white limited edition Build Your Dream, Mu Zi's eyes suddenly brightened. There were only ten of these cars in the world, and she hadn't expected to see one in Yanjing.
Being a sports car enthusiast, Mu Zi couldn't take her eyes off the Build Your Dream.
"Wow, so beautiful... If someone would buy me this model of Build Your Dream, I'd marry them, no problem."
Ding Fan nearly choked on his own breath at Mu Zi's words, which completely defied logic. Marrying someone just to get a car?
The speed of the white car wasn't particularly fast, but just then, a sudden change occurred. A young girl about five or six years old suddenly dashed out from the side of the road.
This unforeseen incident caught the driver of the white Build Your Dream off guard, causing a moment of panic in the driver.
However, the car was already very close to the boy, and a terrible accident seemed inevitable.
"Xiao Chen..." At that moment, a woman ran desperately onto the street, clearly intent on saving the boy, but she was too far away...
Just as the white Build Your Dream was about to hit the boy, a figure suddenly appeared in front of the car.
Then, as if by magic, the boy who was about to be hit vanished into thin air.
And in the blink of an eye, the figure, along with the child, was already standing by the side of the road.
Even though the boy was now safe, the white Build Your Dream car seemed unable to recover from its panic and eventually crashed into a wall of a shop beside the road, finally coming to a complete stop.
"Thank you... thank you so much..."
The woman who had run like mad to chase the boy came over, hugged the boy in her arms, kissed his forehead, and said to the person who had saved the boy.
The person who had saved the boy was naturally Ding Fan.
A young life was about to slip away, and Ding Fan could save him with a single thought. The boy was innocent and pure, prompting Ding Fan to the desire to save him.
"It was just instinctive; don't worry about it," Ding Fan said, glancing at the child. "But in the future, you need to take good care of your child."
The woman nodded busily. "Yes, yes, I definitely will... Xiao Chen, you scared Mom to death."
While Ding Fan was advising the woman to take good care of the child, the car door of the white Build Your Dream opened, and a man in a fury stepped out.
"Were you the one who saved the person?" The man approached Ding Fan, speaking in a rather unfriendly tone.
The man was about Ding Fan's age, at least 1.8 meters tall, with an air of superiority etched between his brows. Judging by his attire, this man was likely another scion of a wealthy family.
Ding Fan sighed deeply. The Liuli Factory was indeed a den for these wealthy and wasteful young masters. He had just seen off Lao Xi and Lu Dong, and here came another one immediately after.
"I saved him," Ding Fan said, nodding indifferently.
"Fuck! Who are you pretending to be a hero for? Who did you save?" The man said, then stretched out his palm and slapped it towards Ding Fan's ear.
Ding Fan frowned, as the other party was blatantly unreasonable and had resorted to hitting him right away.
Just as the man's hand was about to hit Ding Fan's face, Ding Fan swiftly grabbed his wrist.
"Ouch... Ouch... It hurts, you ****, let go!"
The man's wrist was gripped firmly by Ding Fan; it was as if it was clamped by a vice and immobilised, causing him great pain.
"Speak if you have something to say. If you hit me again, don't blame me for being unkind," Ding Fan said with a grimace, shaking the man's wrist aside, causing him to stumble back several steps before he could steady himself.
The man kept shaking his hands.
By then, Mu Zi and others had already gathered behind Ding Fan. Having been subdued by Ding Fan with a single move, the man was no longer as arrogant as before.
"Kid, do you know what car I drive? Build Your Dream, a limited edition, only ten in the entire world…"
"Everything should follow some courtesy. Your car almost hit that child. If I hadn't saved him, that child could have died..."
Ding Fan initially wanted to reason with him, but the man interrupted with a cold snort before he could finish.
"Kid, is it your business? If I ran someone over, I'd just pay them off. How much would that cost? One million? Two million? But look at my car now."
The man pointed at the white limited edition Build Your Dream parked nearby.
"The entire front of my car is damaged. There are no spare parts for this car in the country, and I'd have to buy them from abroad. Replacing everything costs about half the price of the car itself... Do you know that? That would be at least fifteen million! Do you understand?"
After hearing the man's words, Ding Fan's expression grew grave.
So he would rather pay a couple of million in compensation if a child died than have his car damaged. In the hearts of these debauched young masters, is a luxury car more precious than a human life?
"So, to avoid damage to your car, you're willing to trade it for this child's life?" Ding Fan's voice turned icy.
"Fuck, how can that child compare to my car? If he dies, I can afford to compensate. Ask that woman, I'll give her two million for her child's life. Would she trade?" the man said arrogantly, pointing to the woman behind Ding Fan.
At that moment, the boy's mother was holding him tightly. Whether driven by fear or something else, tears streamed down her face.
"Kid, I don't care if you're stealing or robbing now, I need fifteen million within a week, or else I'll make you regret it!"
At that moment, the man wore a warning look as he stared at Ding Fan.
Ding Fan snorted coldly. "What if I don't pay?"
The man's face darkened. "Kid, have you heard of the Ye Family of Yanjing?"
The Ye Family of Yanjing?
At this moment, Mu Zi, Xue Gang, and others behind Ding Fan all turned solemn.
The Four Great Families of Huaxia. The Ye family of Yanjing occupies a place among them and different from the other three families, members of the Ye Family actively participate in both the economy and the political scene. Additionally, every few years, the Ye Family sends its descendants to train in the Hidden Sects, and even now, people from the Ye Family are in many influential groups.
"Brother Fan, let me pay for your car... It's better not to provoke the Ye Family," Mu Zi stepped beside Ding Fan, tiptoed, and whispered in his ear.
Ding Fan snorted coldly.
He looked at the man across from him. "You nearly killed someone; I saved them, yet you demand compensation from me... This truly is a farce."
"Kid, let me tell you, if you're determined not to pay, then it's easy. I don't need the fifteen million, I'll take your life instead!"
The man tilted his chin up, wearing a dismissive look. "Life or money, it's up to you!"
"My life is right here, let's see if you can take it," Ding Fan was unwilling to argue further with the man. He turned to leave.
"Wait a moment…"
Just then, the door of the white Build Your Dream car opened. A voice as melodious as an angel's called out, followed by a breathtakingly beautiful woman who looked like a fairy descending from the heavens stepping out of the car.
Her hair flowed like silk, her eyes were bright and lively, her skin was fair and tender. When she appeared, it seemed as if the whole world quieted down because of her beauty.
"Yanjing's number one beauty? Ye Ningbing..." Mu Zi said gawking, unable to take his eyes off her.