Kidnapped (Seeking Votes)

The next morning, the bookstore welcomed a special guest.

Hong Fei said with a smile, "Ms. Mei, I'm very happy you could come. What would you like to drink? Coffee, juice, milk?"

"Milk, either hot or cold is fine, thank you."

May's tone and smile both conveyed a sense of distance. Clearly, she didn't quite trust Hong Fei. Of course, Hong Fei preferred to believe it was a warning.

She was warning the young man in front of her not to have any wild ideas.

Hong Fei certainly wasn't overthinking things. He genuinely believed that May was well-suited to manage the bookstore.

After serving the warm milk, Hong Fei sat down and said, "Ms. Mei, I was wondering if you've given it any thought?"

Hearing this, May didn't rush to respond. Instead, she asked, "Mr. Hong, may I know why you want me to run this bookstore?"

"Of course." Hong Fei explained with a smile, "Because you have experience running a shop, although not a bookstore, I think the principles are generally the same. And to be honest, I don't have much interest in running a bookstore. It's just that my parents left it to me, so I'm reluctant to close it directly. Also, because of Peter. We're friends, so of course, I'd consider someone I know first."

May knew that Peter liked Hong Fei very much, but Peter probably saw Hong Fei as more than just a friend.

After a moment of silence, May nodded and said, "I'm willing to accept the position. This way, I'll have more time to spend with Peter. Thank you."

Hong Fei immediately waved his hand happily, "Don't mention it. I should be thanking you for solving a big problem for me."

"Before I officially start, I'd like to know what ideas or expectations you, as the owner, have for the bookstore?"

Hong Fei shook his head. "No, none at all. Like I said, I'm not interested in running a bookstore, and I don't have any ideas. You can do whatever you want. I'll leave some funds for you to use, whether you want to maintain the status quo or make significant changes. Do you think a million is enough?"

May was immediately startled, but she quickly frowned and looked at Hong Fei warily. "A million is too much. I don't think a bookstore needs that much startup capital."

"Then how much do you think is appropriate?"

May turned her head to look at the bookstore and shook her head. "It's not clear yet. I can't give you a specific number."

"Alright, you can think about it slowly after you officially join. There's no need to rush." After thinking for a moment, Hong Fei added, "Oh right, the upstairs is all rooms. How about I just arrange a room for you and Peter? It's not smaller than where you live now. That way, it'll be more convenient for you to work, and it'll be convenient for Peter to read."

Without even thinking, May shook her head and refused. "No need, we're living very well now."

Hong Fei could tell that his enthusiasm might have made the other party a little wary, but he really didn't have hobbies like Cao Cao!

"Mr. Hong, I need at least a week. I still need to handle the handover at my current job. I'll be here on the first of next month."

"No problem."

May got up and left efficiently, and Hong Fei also let out a heavy breath.

May didn't seem too relaxed, but wasn't Master Hong the same?

Such a charming widow was indeed attractive, but Hong Fei had no designs on her.

At least not now.

He wanted to hire a clerk, and it just so happened that May wanted to change jobs. It was a perfect match. Hong Fei was naturally more at ease with a familiar character from the plot doing it.

After resolving this matter, Hong Fei directly closed the bookstore and went upstairs to knock on Frank's door.

Frank didn't have anything nice to say as soon as he opened the door: "What are you doing here?"

Hong Fei went straight into the room and sat down, saying, "Did you see the news?"

"I don't have that kind of time."

Hearing this, Hong Fei looked at the room full of guns, ammunition, and exercise equipment, and frowned. "Are you using my place as a warehouse?"

Frank: "Just say what you want to say."

"Alright, I'm here to tell you that Kingpin is back."

Frank immediately locked the door. "How do you know?"

"Of course, I saw it in the news. Didn't I tell you? In the public eye, he's a great philanthropist and spice merchant."

Frank sat down with a sullen face. "What do you want to do?"

Hong Fei's lips curled up, and he smiled maliciously.

A long time later, Hong Fei left Frank's room and returned to the bookstore. Frank also didn't stay long. A few minutes later, he changed his clothes and left from the back of the building.

However, Hong Fei didn't wait for the person he wanted to see until after eleven o'clock at night.

"Could it be that they don't want this land anymore?"

The person Hong Fei was waiting for was Hall from Fisk Industries, the young man without a law license but with a lawyer father.

But that didn't seem right either. Hall was young and vigorous, and his temper didn't seem that good. Even if Fisk Industries changed their mind and didn't want the land, Hall certainly wouldn't easily let go of the grudge between him and Hong Fei. After all, Master Hong had humiliated him in front of a group of thugs.

Now that Kingpin, who had gone out to handle important matters, was back, what were you still enduring? Why weren't you bringing people to smash the shop?

Patiently waiting for nearly another hour, as the clock struck midnight, Hong Fei sighed and got up to close the door.

Before going upstairs to sleep, Hong Fei specially opened his Shinigami Eye to look at the surging Dragon Qi in the room, and then he fell asleep comfortably.

Three in the morning.

Most of the city had entered darkness, which was also the time when the vast majority of people were sound asleep.

However, at this moment, Hong Fei was suddenly awakened by an unusual noise.

His door had been opened.

Soon, a series of footsteps followed, some light, some heavy, clearly more than one person.

Hong Fei flipped up lightly and turned on his phone to check the living room surveillance. In the night vision, three men were slowly pacing around the room. They didn't have firearms, but each of them was carrying a baseball bat. Crucially, Hong Fei recognized their faces; they had all accompanied Hall to the bookstore before.

After a moment's thought, Hong Fei turned off his phone and lay back down.

Before long, the bedroom door was pushed open, and the three men surrounded him.

Hong Fei seemed to wake up suddenly from a dream, his eyelids fluttering. The three men immediately swung their baseball bats.

Hong Fei frantically raised his hands to fight back, throwing out a flurry of wild punches, but he was beaten and screamed in pain.

Suddenly, his hands and feet were held down, and a towel with a pungent Qi smell was instantly clamped over his mouth and nose.

Hong Fei immediately held his breath, pretended to struggle for a while, then quickly reduced the range of his movements until he lost consciousness.

Afterward, one of them hoisted him over his shoulder and carried him downstairs, through the broken window of the bookstore and into the alley. After a few twists and turns, he was stuffed into a beat-up car.

In the back seat, Hong Fei kept his eyes closed, letting his body sway from side to side with the inertia.

In his mind, a clear driving trajectory gradually appeared on a complete map of New York.

About forty minutes later, the vehicle began to slow down and came to a stop.

The route on the map was complete. Hong Fei continued to be supported and moved inward.

Soon after, he was thrown onto a chair, his body tightly bound with ropes.