Chapter 501

Chapter 501 The Son of Ninghai’s Richest Man

“Fifty million? And in US dollars? Why don’t you just rob a bank!” When Li Chen heard this, he wanted to grab a stool and beat this paparazzo to death!

Fifty million US dollars was equivalent to over 300 million in Chinese yuan!

Although Li Chen had a wealthy father and some savings of his own, having to cough up 300 million all at once was enough to make anyone’s heart ache!

“Where am I supposed to rob that kind of money from?” Su Rui smiled faintly and said, “If Mr. Li is unwilling to pay the fifty million, then I’ll have no choice but to upload this video to the internet!”

Upon hearing this, Tian Xixi, that useless teammate, changed her expression and hurriedly said, “No, absolutely not, you can’t post it online!”

Hearing Tian Xixi’s words, the smile on Su Rui’s face grew even wider: “It seems Miss Tian is in very urgent need of this video.”

Li Chen was nearly driven to fury by Tian Xixi! Woman, why did you have to show how desperately you wanted this video? The other party had zeroed in on exactly that — there was no way to negotiate even a single cent off the price! Fifty million yuan was already hard enough to swallow, let alone fifty million US dollars!

“You called me Mr. Li — does that mean you know who I am?” Li Chen asked probingly. If the other party already knew his identity, that would actually make things much easier to handle.

After all, with his father’s terrifying influence, there were very few matters that couldn’t be settled within Ninghai’s territory!

“Of course I know who you are.”

Su Rui said with a cold laugh, “Li Chen, owner of Chenhua Entertainment, son of Li Yongxing, currently the richest man in Ninghai. You keep such a high profile in the entertainment industry — how could I possibly not recognize you?”

“You know who I am, and you still dare to ask me for that much money? Do you believe I’ll have someone tie you up and throw you into the Ning River to feed the fish?”

“You should think about it this way — the fact that I know who you are and still dare to ask you for such a high price, what does that tell you?” Su Rui appeared to be smiling pleasantly, yet a cold glint silently flickered in his eyes.

The other party’s father was Ninghai’s newly crowned richest man, but to Su Rui, that was simply not a problem.

Whoever offended his friends, Su Rui would make them pay the price.

Sure enough, after hearing Su Rui’s words, Li Chen’s voice grew even lower: “Who exactly are you?”

“This is the third time you’ve asked me that question. Don’t you find it tiresome? I think you two should keep thinking it over — consider just how much this video is really worth.”

With that, Su Rui gave the phone in his hand another casual wave. The video inside had been paused, but the frozen frame still showed Tian Xixi sitting on top of Li Chen, her two peaks swaying as she bounced up and down!

If a video like this got out, it would truly cause an enormous uproar! Tian Xixi had once risen to fame through that kind of marketing stunt, but years later, something like this could only ruin her reputation!

“Can’t you make it a little cheaper?” Tian Xixi glanced at Li Chen. She had already made up her mind to buy the video with her own money. She didn’t have fifty million US dollars in cash, but if she sold all the real estate properties under her name, she could scrape together enough.

If this video got out, it would be a devastating blow to her.

If Wanwei Gang’s Wanyan Zhengyong knew what Tian Xixi was thinking, he’d probably be bitter for a long time. He ran such a large gang, and even coming up with fifty million yuan in cash had been a struggle for him back then — yet this Tian Xixi had merely uploaded a video of her own “battle at the gate” online, and in the years that followed had amassed such enormous wealth.

Li Chen shot another glare at his useless teammate beside him, then said, “Fifty million US dollars is no small sum for me either. I need to go back and arrange the funds.”

He was being quite clever, trying to buy himself time to mount a counterattack. Once he walked out of this hotel, wouldn’t he be free to do whatever he wanted?

By then, Li Chen was confident that the young man sitting across from him would be beaten to death.

Su Rui saw through his little trick with ease and said with a cold laugh, “As long as you haven’t handed over the money, don’t even think about leaving this hotel.”

“So you’re going to dig in?” Li Chen said with a scowl. He was, after all, the son of a wealthy man — wherever he went, people catered to him. When had he ever been threatened like this?

“My patience is very limited. Within ten minutes, if you can’t produce the money, not only will this video be posted online, but the fact that you hired gangsters to deliberately sabotage Tang Ni Landor’s concert will also become public knowledge! At that point, your Chenhua Entertainment will collapse immediately. No artist will ever dare to sign with you again, and no other company will dare to work with you!”

Su Rui’s smile was full of mockery, and it made Li Chen’s heart grow colder and colder!

Tian Xixi had clearly also realized that the most important part of this video wasn’t her own naked battle scene, but rather the conversation between her and Li Chen!

Maliciously sabotaging an international superstar’s concert just to boost one’s own fame and influence — that kind of character was rock bottom. From now on, anyone who saw this woman would think her heart was as vicious as a viper!

“You’re with Tang Ni Landor?” Li Chen took a few deep breaths and said coldly.

“I’m not with her, but I know that He Licheng is in a very bad way right now.” Su Rui dropped a name that sent a shock through Li Chen!

He Licheng! How did he know about He Licheng?

He and that Jinshan underworld boss had always communicated through a single, direct channel! Could it be that He Licheng had sold him out?

That was impossible!

Su Rui looked at him like he was an idiot: “Why don’t you use your brain? If He Licheng hadn’t told me where you were, how could I have possibly found my way here?”

Hearing this, Li Chen wanted to flip the table and smash every chair in the room!

He had been far too careless. Otherwise, how could he have exposed himself at such a critical moment!

It was obvious that with He Licheng’s testimony, everything about him was now completely within the other party’s grasp!

If the news got out, what awaited him was total ruin.

There was only one way to keep the secret — make Su Rui shut up for good!

Dead men never reveal secrets!

Having spent so long in the entertainment industry, Li Chen had never once thought about killing anyone, yet in what was almost a single instant, he made up his mind that Su Rui had to die!

It was a simple truth — when a person is pushed far enough into a corner, they will do things no one would ever expect.

Su Rui’s eyes narrowed. He could easily tell that Li Chen had developed murderous intentions toward him.

“You want to kill me?”

Having his thoughts laid bare by Su Rui in a single sentence, Li Chen was momentarily taken aback, then said, “No, how could that be? This is a society governed by law. Everything has to be done by the book.”

At that, Li Chen added one more line: “Of course, extortion is also against the law.”

“This isn’t extortion — it’s simply a fair transaction. One willing to strike, one willing to take the hit. Isn’t that right?”

Looking at the two people across from him wrapped in bath towels, Su Rui frowned. “My patience is very limited. I said ten minutes just now, and nearly half of that has already passed. Have you two made up your minds or not?”

Tian Xixi looked to Li Chen for help. She genuinely wanted to buy the video back, but she didn’t have that much cash on hand, while the latter just stared at Su Rui without saying a word.

“Alright, there’s no need to keep agonizing over this. Since you clearly have no sincerity about making a deal, I suppose I should take some slightly retaliatory action.”

For some reason, the moment Li Chen heard the word “retaliatory,” a faint wave of panic rose in his chest.

Su Rui crossed his legs casually and said, “Starting now, you two will stay in this room. For five days, you are not allowed to leave. If you do, I’ll break your legs.”

Five days. Not allowed to leave.

Hearing those words, both Li Chen and Tian Xixi’s expressions changed at once!

The day after tomorrow was Tian Xixi’s first concert. Chenhua Entertainment had put in enormous effort promoting and building hype for it, all in hopes of making a big splash right out of the gate. If Tian Xixi disappeared for four or five days at this point, by the time she resurfaced, it would all be over. Every bit of effort would have been wasted!

By then, it wouldn’t just be a financial loss — Tian Xixi might never recover from it!

“You never actually intended to take the money, did you?” Li Chen stared at Su Rui. When he had pulled that dirty trick on Tang Ni Landor, he never imagined he’d end up in this position himself. The other party had never been interested in extortion at all — the plan from the very beginning was to directly sabotage their concert!

“No — if you could give me fifty million US dollars, I’d naturally be overjoyed.” Su Rui said with a calm smile.

Thinking about the consequences this incident might bring, Tian Xixi’s face had gone completely pale.

Li Chen’s expression shifted between green and white, flickering between gloom and uncertainty!

“Can we sit down and talk this through properly? There should be room for negotiation here.” After taking a few deep breaths, Li Chen’s tone finally softened a little. He had to lower his guard now. If they couldn’t reach an agreement, it would be a devastating blow to Chenhua Entertainment!

“I gave you a chance, but you didn’t cherish it. If you had paid fifty million US dollars to buy the video just now, none of what comes next would be happening.”

Su Rui looked at Li Chen with an expression full of mockery: “Some opportunities need to be seized yourself. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.”

“I need to use the bathroom.” Li Chen’s eyes shifted as he spoke.

“No.” Su Rui gave a cold smile. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re scheming.”

As he said this, he pulled two phones out of his pocket — they were none other than Li Chen’s and Tian Xixi’s!

At the sight of this, both of their expressions changed at once!

Were they really going to be held here under house arrest for five days? These were five days that could change the rest of their lives!

Su Rui looked at the two phones in his hand and said, “Diamond-encrusted limited editions, no less. At least a few hundred thousand each, right? Now that’s what I call loaded.”

He had originally thought about tossing the two phones aside, but on second thought he turned them off and put them in his pocket. Together these two devices were worth over a million — throwing them away would just be wasteful.

Su Rui clapped his hands, stood up, and said, “Well then, you two enjoy your five days of quality time together in here. I wish you both a pleasant stay.”

With that, Su Rui took one long, deep look at Li Chen and turned to leave. From start to finish, he hadn’t spared Tian Xixi — still wrapped in her bath towel — so much as a second glance.

Sensing the warning in Su Rui’s gaze, Li Chen shuddered!

After Su Rui left, a man who appeared slight and lean in build walked in, his eyes sharp as blades, fixed unwaveringly on Li Chen and Tian Xixi.

Tian Xixi slumped onto a stool, too defeated to care that her bath towel had slipped away, her alluring figure now fully exposed. She buried her face in both hands and began to sob softly.

Some things — from the very moment you decide to do them — require the awareness that there will be a price to pay.