Chapter 68: Mistaken Target

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Zhang Kewei said he wanted to vent his frustrations to Chen Feng, but in reality, he didn’t complain much, just grumbled a bit about his current miserable job.

Although he could make seven or eight thousand a month, it was too hard and tiring, often requiring overtime.

“My biggest dream right now is to earn the 600,000 down payment for a house before I turn thirty, and buy a second-hand apartment of about a hundred square meters here in Xiuzhou.”

Zhang Kewei said with a look of longing mixed with confidence.

Chen Feng smiled, “It seems you’re pretty confident, kid. I remember you’re a year younger than me, so you have more than a year until you’re thirty. How much have you saved up? Fifty thousand?”

“Hehe, let’s not talk about that. Hehe, drink up, drink up.”

Zhang Kewei smiled and raised his cup to Chen Feng.

This kid’s show-off attitude was very familiar to Chen Feng; he was like this back in university. He’d get cocky with any small achievement.

Chen Feng wasn’t annoyed by this; instead, he found it somewhat endearing.

They hadn’t seen each other for several years, and for him to say so much upon meeting meant he still trusted Chen Feng quite a bit.

They both took another sip of tea.

Chen Feng put down his cup and asked with a smile, “So you’re planning to settle down in Xiuzhou, huh? Not going back?”

Zhang Kewei shook his head, “What’s the point of going back? Although the housing prices and cost of living are low in our small county, the interpersonal relationships are too complicated, and there’s too much social etiquette. There’s no vitality. If a person stays there too long, they become lifeless, their fighting spirit wears away, and they completely turn into someone just waiting to die.”

Chen Feng said with a smile, “It seems you’re still that idealistic, striving young man!”

“Of course,” Zhang Kewei said with a serious face. “I’m only twenty-eight, still young. Besides, I don’t have a girlfriend or a wife yet, so I have to work even harder. Otherwise, I’ll really be single forever.”

“Very good!” Chen Feng gave him a thumbs-up. “Having goals and ambitions is really great. Much better than me.”

Chen Feng was a bit envious of the high-spirited Zhang Kewei. At least he had goals and a life plan. As for himself, he really had no life goals anymore. One, he had a terminal illness. Two, he was rich. His previous goal of buying a house had been achieved. As for getting married and having children, after the terminal illness and divorce, he had no thoughts on the matter.

Otherwise, if you found a woman now, got married, and had a child, and then you died, someone else would sleep with your wife, beat your child, and spend your money. Would you be willing?

So, it was better to come alone and go alone, to leave with style and without any attachments.

Zhang Kewei waved his hand at him and said with a smile, “Come on. You don’t need to flatter me. I’m not buying you dinner.”

“Sigh, you’re still so stingy and not generous,” Chen Feng complained playfully. “In university, if you had been just a little more generous, you wouldn’t have been single all that time. I remember there was a girl from your hometown who you had a chance with, but you two fell out because you were so petty about the taxi fare, right?”

Hearing this, Zhang Kewei couldn’t help but feel depressed. “Seriously, why bring that up? She’s from the same county as me, same year. I failed the civil service exam twice, but she passed on her first try. Now she’s already a deputy section chief, married a rich second-generation guy, and even has a kid. Damn, tell me, if I hadn’t been so clueless back then, I’d be her kid’s father now.”

After speaking, Zhang Kewei downed the tea in his cup in one go, looking dejected.

Chen Feng shook his head with a smile, “What’s the use of regretting it now? I remember you used to say she was ugly and you weren’t interested.”

“She’s not that good-looking, but her family is a big deal back home. I didn’t know back then. If I had known, I would have definitely won her over long ago.”

“What’s missed is missed. What’s the point of thinking so much about it? Now you should work hard to save money and try to buy a house and make the down payment after the New Year.”

“Right, you’re right. I should just focus on living my own life now. But this damn job is really getting me down. I have to run around outside every day, read people’s faces, get doors slammed in my face, and be looked down upon.”

Being in sales was indeed not easy, especially for someone like him with no connections or background, and the product he was selling wasn’t a unique business. He was bound to suffer all kinds of frustrations.

“Have you thought about changing jobs?”

Zhang Kewei shook his head with a somewhat bitter smile, “How could it be that easy? I’ve been with this company for over two years. At least I’ve managed to become a regional manager. I don’t have any special skills for other jobs. I can only try to earn some extra money on the side. I’m writing novels online now, and I get two or three thousand a month in royalties.”

“Whoa! You didn’t say, I almost forgot you were a web novelist. I remember you were writing novels back in school. But then it seemed you stopped.”

Zhang Kewei smiled with a hint of embarrassment, “Back then, every book I wrote was a flop. Plus, I had classes, so I couldn’t even get the full attendance bonus. What was the point of writing? It was only after graduation, when I had more free time, that I started writing again. I’ve written a few books intermittently over the past few years, changed a few pen names and websites. They’re still flops, but at least I can often get the full attendance bonus.”

“Which website are you writing on now, and what’s your pen name?” Chen Feng asked.

“Qidian Chinese Website, pen name Zhang Anping. Do you still read novels? If you do, give me some votes.”

“I do. When I’m bored now, I just read novels and scroll through videos. Zhang Anping, right? I’ll vote and give you a reward then.”

“Thanks for that.”

Zhang Kewei wasn’t reserved at all. Chen Feng found this very comfortable.

It was truly rare for two old classmates who hadn’t seen each other for years to be able to chat so congenially and naturally.

They chatted for a while longer before Zhang Kewei received a call from a client and had to leave in a hurry.

When Chen Feng went downstairs to pay later, he was told the bill had already been settled. Although the total was only 36 yuan, Zhang Kewei’s gesture still made Chen Feng feel very comfortable.

He walked out and strolled slowly towards his car. After walking a short distance, Chen Feng faintly felt someone following him. His heart tightened slightly.

He didn’t turn around, but immediately quickened his pace. Sure enough, the person following him also quickened their pace.

Chen Feng suddenly stopped, pretending to bend down and tie his shoelace. Then, he saw two people following him. They vaguely resembled the two who had tried to corner him last time.

It seemed they were here to corner him again this time. However, this street was quite busy with people coming and going, and there were guardrails along the road, making it difficult to park. It wouldn’t be convenient for them to kidnap him. So, they could only follow for now and not make a move immediately.

With this understanding, Chen Feng wasn’t too panicked.

These two should be the men sent by Zhang Jingwen. The purpose was definitely for the photos he took last time.

Chen Feng felt a bit helpless about this.

Zhang Jingwen was already a big star now, and her background was very powerful. If she really wanted to deal with him, he didn’t have any particularly effective countermeasures at the moment. Those few photos might not even be useful at a critical moment.

It seemed his options now were either to call the police or to escape before they caught him.

Calling the police might not be effective, because they hadn’t made a move on him yet. He couldn’t prove they were going to kidnap him. And the whole process of reporting to the police would be a bit troublesome.

So, it was better to take the opportunity to run away like last time.

With this in mind, Chen Feng pretended to have finished tying his shoelace, stood up again, and continued walking forward.

The two men behind him clearly quickened their pace, and the distance between them grew smaller and smaller.

Chen Feng could feel it. Just as he was about to start running, he saw three men walking quickly towards him with a menacing air.

The leader had a buzz cut, was 1.8 meters tall, with a stocky build and a fierce face. It was already November, yet he was only wearing a jacket and a T-shirt, his neck exposed, with a large gold chain hanging on it.

The two following him on either side were a short, fat man with a bald head, and a man with a strong build and well-developed chest muscles, who clearly worked out.

Seeing the three of them staring at him, Chen Feng secretly thought, This is bad.

They were flanking him from the front and back. Five people to catch him, was it really necessary?

Chen Feng couldn’t help but stop. Just as he was thinking about whether to jump over the roadside guardrail and risk crossing the road, he saw the big gold chain in front suddenly speed up. When he was a few steps away, he pointed at him and asked loudly, “Are you Chen Feng?”

Chen Feng quickly shook his head, “No.”

The big gold chain was stunned. He quickly took out his phone from his pocket in confusion, opened it and glanced at it, then looked at Chen Feng again, and suddenly flew into a rage, “Damn! You’re clearly Chen Feng.”

At this moment, the two trackers behind him stopped and did not continue to approach Chen Feng.

Chen Feng suddenly realized a possibility. He calmly shook his head at the big gold chain and said, “I’m really not called Chen Feng. If you don’t believe me, ask my two friends here.”

After speaking, Chen Feng pointed at the two followers behind him—a bald middle-aged man in his thirties and a sturdy young man in his early twenties.

With that, Chen Feng turned and walked towards the two clearly bewildered men.

To their utter astonishment, Chen Feng even deliberately put his arms around their shoulders.

“Damn! Ask your friends? Do you think I’m an idiot? Get them!”

The big gold chain was decisive. No nonsense, he went straight to action. He led the charge towards the three of them.

Chen Feng had anticipated this. Seeing the big gold chain rushing over, he immediately gave the two men he was holding a hard push towards him, then turned and ran, shouting as he ran, “You guys wait, I’ll go get help right away.”

The two bewildered trackers finally came to their senses. The bald middle-aged man shouted, “A misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! We’re not his friends, we’re just passing by.”

“Yeah, we’re just passing by. We don’t know him.”

“Damn it! Are you all taking me for a fool? Not friends, why didn’t you say so before? You only say it after he runs away?”

The big gold chain’s combat power was astonishing, and he was ruthless. With a punch and a kick, he cleanly knocked the two men to the ground.

While they were trying to explain, he gave them another good beating.

The sturdy young man’s anger meter shot to full. He immediately pulled a dagger from his waist and stabbed it into the big gold chain’s calf.

The big gold chain let out a miserable scream. Blood poured from his calf, and he fell to the ground.

Seeing this, the sturdy young man and the bald middle-aged man were terrified. They quickly got up and fled in a panic. The sturdy young man, in his panic, chose the wrong path. He had just jumped over the guardrail when he was hit squarely by a passing car and sent flying. When he landed, he was already more than ten meters away.

The two underlings who were originally going to chase Chen Feng could only hurry back at this sight. They supported the big gold chain on both sides and retreated in a hurry.

…

Chen Feng ran for several hundred meters in one breath. He only stopped when he felt no one was chasing him.

After catching his breath, he immediately took out his phone, found Wang Yue’e’s number, and dialed it.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

“What do you want?” Wang Yue’e clearly had his number saved, so her tone was unfriendly from the start.

“What do you think?” Chen Feng was furious at this point. He admitted he was at fault for what happened last time, but he had sworn not to leak those photos. Yet, the other party was still so deranged as to have people follow him and even try to kidnap him.

Wang Yue’e said in a serious tone, “Chen Feng, I don’t understand what you mean. If you’re trying to blackmail us, I think you’ve got the wrong person. We will not accept any blackmail from you.”

Hearing this, Chen Feng’s anger flared up. He cursed, “Are you playing dumb? Fine, I’ll release Zhang Jingwen’s bed photos right now.”

“Wait! Wait!” Wang Yue’e quickly stopped him, softening her tone and asking, “What on earth happened? I really don’t know why you’re so angry.”

“Fine. I was just being followed, and almost got kidnapped. Don’t tell me those people weren’t sent by you.”

“This… I really don’t know anything about it. Wait a moment, I’ll ask Jingwen. If she did it, I… I’ll definitely have her apologize to you. But I don’t think she did it. Can you give me some time to find out?”

Chen Feng frowned slightly at her words but still said, “Fine. I’ll give you one chance. Ten minutes. If you don’t give me an explanation in ten minutes, I’ll give you one.”

With that, Chen Feng hung up and sat down on the edge of a flower bed by the road.

About five minutes later, Wang Yue’e called back.

“I’m so sorry! I’m sorry! I apologize on Jingwen’s behalf. She did send people to find you, but she said she just wanted to have you beaten up to vent her anger. Because you caused her to fall at the airport last time, embarrassing her in front of the whole world, to the point where she’s felt too ashamed to face anyone these past two days. So, she paid someone to beat you up. There was no tracking or kidnapping like you said.”

Hearing her explanation, Chen Feng was puzzled. He had originally thought the bald middle-aged man and the sturdy young man were sent by them, but according to what she said, it was the big gold chain and his two men who were hired by Zhang Jingwen.

Then who sent the bald middle-aged man and his partner?

“Chen Feng, I’m really sorry! How about this? We’ll compensate you with 100,000 yuan for the shock.”

“Hmph! One hundred thousand, that’s a lot!” Chen Feng said with contempt. “How about I hire someone to beat her up, and then compensate her with 200,000 for the shock, huh?”

“Mr. Chen, you’re a man, you should be a little more considerate of her. Although last time was a coincidence, you, as a man, took advantage of the situation and even took photos of her. No matter how you look at it, you’re in the wrong. So, it’s normal for her to hold a grudge. And at the airport last time, you caused her to fall, and now it’s been reported by media all over the world. It made her feel very humiliated.”

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