Normal people experience a blank period of three to five seconds in a crisis, but Zhou Zhou is different; at this moment, his brain is almost running at lightning speed.
Rope, baton, wooden stick—would a decent person carry these things? Obviously not. Who would carry these things? Robbers carry knives, but because they can't harm hostages, kidnappers carry sticks, hmm... kidnappers.
"I have no money, why would the kidnappers kidnap me?" Zhou Zhou was just about to relax when she suddenly remembered her husband, that young, promising, successful man with billions in assets, and the distance between them...
In almost three seconds, Zhou Zhou first analyzed the current situation and then considered the possibility of facing or outrunning two 1.9-meter-tall men.
"..." If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move either. Judging from the two men's reactions, they probably recognize the car but not the face. Zhou Zhou gritted his teeth and moved forward, bypassing the two big men and his beloved car, and walked straight to a pink sports car.
Suddenly he reached into his pocket.
"Huh? Where are my keys? I can't find my car keys!" Zhou Zhou said in an exaggerated and carefree manner, rummaging through his pockets and repeatedly touching the keys to his beloved BMW.
Out of the corner of his eye, Zhou Zhou noticed that the two burly men beside him were still watching him warily. He forced himself to continue acting, and finally stomped his foot and said angrily, "Damn it, I think I left it in the office."
Zhou Zhou, grumbling and cursing, put his hands in his pockets and turned to leave under the probing gazes of the two burly men.
'dudu'
The pink sports car behind us suddenly flashed its lights twice.
A voice came from afar, and it was a white-collar worker wearing a pink suit, with big wavy hair and high heels, walking towards them with a 'thump thump', talking non-stop on the phone, her voice so loud that it could be heard from this side.
'I'll be right there, I know. Driving without high heels, yes, yes, in that pink Pagani, the one my boyfriend gave me…'
The sound continued. Zhou Zhou thought his performance was flawless, but he never expected such a turn of events. On a whim, he silently looked at the two burly men, and the three of them met in mid-air.
Zhou Zhou's lips trembled slightly as he looked at the two of them and softly uttered a single word, "Damn."
Then he took off running.
[Author's Note: Zhou Zhou: Help me, help me, help me.]
Chapter 81
====================
The noisy footsteps echoed in the empty underground parking lot. Zhou Zhou had never run so fast since he transmigrated into the book. He took big strides, swung his arms, and ran for his life. But the two big men behind him were still chasing closely. Zhou Zhou didn't even dare to look back, let alone take out his phone to call for help. He ran against the wind, shouting as he ran, "Brothers, what grudge do you have against me? Why do you have to kidnap me? How much are you offering? I'll pay double!"
The most important thing now is to keep the other party calm. Zhou Zhou tried to negotiate with them using money, but unfortunately, it ended in failure. The two burly men rushed towards him menacingly, ignoring his money and all that.
Why is this parking lot so big?! Zhou Zhou's breathing became erratic, and his lungs were getting less and less air. His body hadn't been properly trained yet, and running more than half a lap around the parking lot was already his limit. Zhou Zhou was originally running towards the parking lot exit, but now he was about to give up with more than half the distance left. His pace gradually slowed down, and in this critical moment, Zhou Zhou simply took out his phone, intending to fight to the death.
We have to report this to the police today, no matter what.
A whooshing sound came from behind. The 110 number had already been dialed, but before Zhou Zhou could press the green communication button, a tingling sensation ran from his right shoulder blade all the way to his right fingertips.
With a 'thud,' the phone fell to the ground. The last straw had snapped. Zhou Zhou watched as the phone screen cracked into a spiderweb pattern and then went black. He could almost feel the burly man approaching.
"..." It's almost over.
"Quick! Come over here!" Just then, a shout came from beside him. Out of the corner of his eye, Zhou Zhou saw the pink Pagani speed up to his side, and the white-collar worker with long, wavy hair in a pink suit shouted at him from the driver's seat, "Handsome! Get in the car!"
In an instant, the kidnapper's fingers had already grabbed his khaki vest. Zhou Zhou made a quick escape almost without hesitation, and the kidnapper stared at the vest in his hand for a second.
"Thank you, girl." Zhou Zhou stepped into the convertible sports car without even opening the door, and as soon as she sat down, two burly men rushed over.
"Ah!" The two burly men squatted down, covered their faces, and roared. Zhou Zhou watched as the girl skillfully put down the pepper spray in her hand, his eyes burning with pain.
The office lady moved with effortless grace, the wind from her car ruffling her long, wavy hair as she casually asked the person next to her, "Are you alright?"
"It's nothing, thank you." The pepper spray had just gotten into his eyes, and Zhou Zhou couldn't open them. His right shoulder was also burning with pain. To make matters worse, his phone was smashed to pieces somewhere in the parking lot, and he couldn't reach Fu Hengzhi.
The incident that had just happened seemed to have no effect on the office lady. She casually asked, "Are you very rich? How could you be kidnapped?"
"What?" The wind carried away the other person's voice, and Zhou Zhou didn't hear the question clearly. The amount of irritating liquid that drifted into his eyes wasn't much, and the wind helped to soothe them somewhat. Blinking constantly also helped alleviate the discomfort caused by the pepper spray.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you."
"I said." The office lady was focused on the road ahead, but occasionally glanced at the man beside her. Despite his disheveled appearance, he was undeniably handsome, and her impression of him improved instantly. She smiled and, while waiting at a red light, asked, "Where are you going? See if I can give you a ride?"
"How could I possibly accept that?" Zhou Zhou shook his head. It was one thing for a grown man like him to be rescued by a woman, but to expect her to go all the way to his doom was simply unreasonable.
"It's okay." The light turned green, the car started, and the girl pointed north for him. "That's the destination. I'm heading north now..."
The white-collar woman glanced at his immobile right shoulder, raised an eyebrow, and continued, "There's a private hospital on the road heading north. I'll leave your injury there for you, since you don't look like someone who's short of money."
"Okay." Zhou Zhou smiled wryly. He didn't have his phone with him and didn't have any cash on him, but it was better than just leaving him on the side of the road. "Thank you for your help."
"It's nothing." The white-collar woman looked mature and elegant, but she acted with a bold and unrestrained spirit. She drove fast and soon arrived at the private hospital she had mentioned.
Zhou Zhou got out of the car, looked at the hospital and was stunned, "This place..."
"What's wrong?" Perhaps the sunlight was too bright, the office lady took advantage of the parking break to pull out a pair of sunglasses from the car's storage compartment and put them on. Hearing the other person speak, she looked to the side, "Is there a problem?"
"No, it's just that we're quite familiar with it." This is the third time he's come here, including this time. Zhou Zhou felt that he must have some kind of inexplicable connection with the hospital, otherwise how could he become a regular visitor and come three times in two months?
"It's good to be familiar with things, to become proficient in the business." The white-collar woman was quite outgoing, joking with a smile. After starting the sports car, the engine made a humming sound, indicating that she was about to leave.
"Could I leave you my contact information?" Zhou Zhou asked sincerely. "Thanks to you today."
The meaning was clear: she wanted to find time to thank herself. The white-collar girl was very decisive. She pulled out a ballpoint pen from the pocket where she had just taken out her sunglasses, but couldn't find any paper to write on for a long time.
"Write this." Zhou Zhou extended his left hand.
"Wow, you're quite fair-skinned," the office lady teased, writing a string of numbers on the back of his smooth hand. "It's both a phone number and WeChat. See you later."
As soon as he finished speaking, the pink Pagani sped away a distance. Zhou Zhou turned his face away, but still inhaled a few breaths of exhaust fumes.
When Fu Hengzhi received the call from the hospital, he was in the middle of his last summary meeting of the day. The department managers present dared not utter a sound, and the project manager wished he could bury his head under the table. The final contract had been looming over the president for days, but Fu Hengzhi refused to sign it because of the project partner's acceptance issues.
The material standards and construction period are all clearly written in black and white. If the acceptance fails to meet the standards, Fu can demand liquidated damages from the other company according to the contract. However, the other company has also cooperated with Fu before. The retired director of the other company also knows Fu Hongjiang. Unfortunately, they are all juniors who have taken over. The newly appointed CEO of the other company is not happy and cuts corners at the source in order to maximize profits. Now the final contract is stuck and Fu cannot get the money. Without the money, the construction period cannot be completed. Every minute and second of the project operation costs money. If Fu keeps delaying, the other company will have to keep investing money in the project.
Ultimately, this incident is also related to the project manager's negligence in supervision. The manager had prepared all the later plans and ideas, but before he could even speak, the president heard the secretary's report, frowned, and waved his hand to suspend the meeting.
"Zhou Zhou!"
In just two months, Fu Hengzhi had come to this ward countless times. When he heard his secretary's account, his heart pounded with anxiety, but he only felt at ease when he saw the other person sitting on the edge of the bed, blinking at him.
[Author's note: Doctor's diagnosis: right shoulder bruising and swelling, recommended rest, and take him to the ward.]
Zhou Zhou chatted with the nurse: He encountered kidnappers, was hit with a stick, and had bruises on his right shoulder that he couldn't move.
The nurse called to say: I was beaten up and can't move, so I'm being admitted to a ward.
Secretary He relayed: Madam has been beaten and admitted to the ICU.
Fu Hengzhi: !!!
Chapter 82 I'm Not Asleep
===============================
"Fu Hengzhi?" Zhou Zhou blinked as she looked at the person who barged in, mentally estimating the driving distance from the company to the hospital, and asked in confusion, "So fast, are you just around here?"
"I was at the company when I received a call from the hospital and drove here."
"Don't drive so fast. It's not a big deal for me." Zhou Zhou frowned and disapproved. "There are countless roads, but safety is the most important. Reckless driving will bring tears to your loved ones' eyes, you know that?"
"I was too anxious." Fu Hengzhi said, walking to the bedside and carefully examining the doctor's diagnosis. Only after confirming that it was just a superficial injury and not a bone injury did his heart finally calm down. He sat down next to Zhou Zhou on the edge of the bed. He wanted to hug him, but noticing the bandage still wrapped around Zhou Zhou's right shoulder and smelling of medicine, he gave up and moved to the accompanying chair next to him. He gently held Zhou Zhou's hand, which was resting on his knee, and asked softly, "What happened?"
“Hmm… someone wants to kidnap me.” Zhou Zhou roughly described what she saw after arriving at the underground parking lot, and saw that Fu Hengzhi’s expression became more and more serious.
"Did you offend someone in your business?" Zhou Zhou didn't think those people were coming directly at him. Apart from attending parties and meeting people, he basically stayed at home all day. His social circle was so small that it could be bound with a rope. Where would he have offended someone who would dare to get involved in organized crime and kidnapping?
"It must be a problem with that contract I have recently." Fu Hengzhi reached out to touch the other person's right shoulder to check the situation, but Zhou Zhou stopped him.
"Don't touch it, the pain is kicking in now." The bandage caused a burning stinging sensation when the medicine touched the skin, but it was bearable. Zhou Zhou grimaced a few times in front of the doctor, but now that he was sitting still, the pain had subsided somewhat.
"It was my fault."
It's highly likely that this was Hongyun's doing. Fu Hengzhi had met with Hongyun's CEO before, and he disliked the other party's thuggish behavior. This cooperation was originally based on the interests of both companies, but he never expected that the other party would play these tricks on him in the project.
It had only been a few days since the incident, and the other party kept trying to meet him, but he didn't respond. He actually resorted to such despicable and illegal means.
With Zhou Zhou's permission, the doctor had cut off the fabric on the right shoulder of Zhou Zhou's shirt to make it easier to apply medicine. Fu Hengzhi carefully blew on that piece of fabric, looking like a child who had done something wrong. Zhou Zhou couldn't help but smile wryly at his cautiousness.
"No need to be so deliberate, I can recover from this minor injury in a few days."
"Do we need to complete the hospital admission procedures?" For maximum convenience, Fu Hengzhi didn't mind coming to the hospital to stay with the other person for a few more days.
“Okay.” Zhou Zhou nodded.
Fu Hengzhi looked at the other man's disheveled appearance with heartache, reached out and rubbed his reddened eyes, and asked carefully, "Why didn't you stay at home? What were you doing there?" The kidnappers might have been following Zhou Zhou since he left the residence. If he had just stayed at home, they wouldn't have had the opportunity to take advantage of him.
"For work purposes, the website I'm signed with is under Shengyuan's name." At this point, Zhou Zhou suddenly remembered something, "I still have my phone in the parking lot, it's probably broken now."
"I'll get you a new one." Fu Hengzhi paused, then continued the previous topic, asking uncertainly, "So, will you be working at that company from now on?"
“No need under normal circumstances.” Zhou Zhou noticed the other person’s expression relax, then his face fell. “What, you don’t want me to go out to work?”
“I’m not unhappy about it. I’m glad you have your own career.” Fu Hengzhi coaxed him, “I just wanted to see you as soon as I got home… You have no idea how scared I was when I received the news that you were hospitalized.”
As soon as he finished speaking, President Fu's tone softened noticeably, and he rubbed the other person's left wrist with the pad of his right hand. "I'm mainly worried about you... What's this?"
Zhou Zhou followed the other person's gaze and saw a string of numbers written on the back of his left hand. It was left by the girl who rescued him. Because it was written with an oil-based ballpoint pen, it was very durable, and the numbers were still clear. Afraid that they would fade over time, Zhou Zhou quickly asked Fu Hengzhi to get him a pen and paper to write them down.
President Fu's brows furrowed so deeply he could have twisted a rope. He kept repeating the string of numbers in his mind, and no matter how he read it, it sounded like a phone number.
"What is this?" Fu Hengzhi sat firmly in place, ignoring Zhou Zhou's urging. He grabbed Zhou Zhou's wrist and gestured with displeasure at the string of phone numbers.
"The contact information for my savior." Zhou Zhou tried to pull his wrist away, but the other person held on tightly and refused to let go, his expression suggesting that he needed an explanation.
Zhou Zhou was amused by the other person's childish behavior. He kicked the other person's shin with his toe and laughed, "What are you doing? You're squeezing too tight, it hurts."
Upon realizing he had hurt his wife, Fu Hengzhi quickly loosened his grip, looking at the red mark on her fair skin with annoyance. His tone remained sullen as he muttered, "Why did you write your contact information on the back of someone's hand when you were saving them? Didn't you know they were married?"
In President Fu's mind, respectable people exchange business cards when exchanging contact information. Who would write their number on someone else's hand for no reason? There must be an ulterior motive.
Zhou Zhou saw through the other person's thoughts, but didn't pull his left hand away, letting the other person hold it, and said, "I handed my hand over so that the girl could write it down. Neither of us had any paper at the time. Was there anything wrong with doing that?"
"Probably not." Fu Hengzhi said, secretly rubbing his thumb against the number on the back of the other person's hand. Not only did he not manage to rub it off, but he also got a slap on the arm from his wife.
"What are you smearing on?" Zhou Zhou looked at the smeared writing on his left hand and rolled her eyes at him. "Are you going to help me memorize it or not? If not, I'll memorize it and remember it so well that you won't be able to erase it even if you want to."
Upon hearing this, President Fu immediately perked up, "Write it down, write it down right away."
There were sticky notes and a pen in the bedside drawer. Fu Hengzhi glanced at the number, wrote it down on a sticky note, and put it in the drawer. Then he took a towel, wet it, and wiped Zhou Zhou's hands clean.
After wiping him, she helped him lie down on the bed, lightly touched his lips, and coaxed, "Then you can rest here for the next few days, I'll stay with you."
With support on her back, Zhou Zhou's tense nerves instantly relaxed. Her head sank into the pillow, and the only scent that lingered briefly at her nose was Fu Hengzhi's unique fragrance, along with the warm, sun-dried aroma of the pillowcase. Her eyelids grew heavy, and Zhou Zhou quickly lost consciousness.
In his hazy sleep, Zhou Zhou often heard someone whispering something in his ear. The voice was very soft, and after a while, he was able to remember what it said.