Everybody present seemed to get the gist of the issue, and they booed. Naturally, with the way Ning Ziqiang had phrased his words, their displeasure was aimed toward Ning Ran.
“Who would have thought such a pretty woman would be an ungrateful wretch!”
“I guess what they say about not judging a book by its cover is true. The prettier the woman, the viler she is. How could she not help her father when he’s already been backed up against the wall like this?”
“I knew she wasn’t someone good the moment I saw her. I’ve seen her type plenty of times before.”
The gossiping onlookers had let their imaginations run wild, painting Ning Ran as someone so wicked and heartless that there was nothing too evil for her to do.
Ning Ran knew there was no point in publicly refuting Ning Ziqiang’s accusations. The crowd would not believe a single word out of her mouth no matter what she said anyway.
Her most pressing issue right now was to get Ning Ziqiang to come down from his perch. She could not allow him to continue his act.
Deep down inside, she doubted he would actually dare jump into the river.
He was a coward, through and through. If he had had the courage to commit suicide, he would not have been in such dire straits today.
But in the end, she could not take that chance. What if he really did leap off the bridge?
“Come down here, and we can talk about it. What you’re doing now serves no purpose other than turning you into the laughingstock of the city,” her voice was as gentle as she could make it.
“Promise to settle my debts, and I’ll climb down,” he insisted.
“Fine, I promise.”
“Then transfer five million into my account right now! Once I receive the notification that I’ve received the payment, I’ll come down.”
It was obvious that had been Ning Ziqiang’s plan all along.
“Where am I supposed to get such a large sum of money out of the blue? You have to give me some time to prepare at least!” Ning Ran shouted back furiously.
“Five million is nothing to you! All you need to do is call that rich boyfriend of yours and have him transfer the money!”
By this point, Ning Ran was at her wit’s end.
“Just give him the money! Since you’re rich enough, it’s about time to repay your parents!”
“Can’t you see how desperate your father is? Why won’t you give him the money? Have you no conscience?”
“And you call yourself his daughter? Have you no shame?”
The crowd was suddenly being the embodiment of justice as they verbally accused and attacked Ning Ran.
Ning Ran was so enraged that she could cry.
“Come down. I’ll transfer you the money, but I honestly don’t have that much on hand! Nobody would be willing to lend me that amount so abruptly either! You’ve already made a fuss once before; why are you acting like this again? If you don’t come down, I’m going to ignore you! Just jump down if you want to!”
She knew he would never jump. The only reason he was doing all this was to force her into giving him money.
Truthfully, five million was not an insignificant amount. Even if she were to borrow money from Nan Chen, she would still need some time for the relevant procedures to go through.
Normally, the so-called wealthy people were not people who had their money just lying around in their bank accounts. Most of the rich had their fortunes invested in properties or shares.
That was why there was no possible way she would be able to transfer him five million within a few minutes.
But Ning Ziqiang was stubborn. He refused to relent as he knew the longer he dragged this on, the larger the crowd would be.
The harsher their accusations against Ning Ran, the more advantageous it would be for him as the chances of him getting his money would increase accordingly.
Ouyang Qing had told him that Ning Ran had received tens of millions a few days ago, so she definitely had enough money right now.
Not only that, but Ouyang Qing had even added that Ning Ran was actually quite willing to help him. She was just unwilling to admit to it as she could not let go of her grudge yet.
As long as Ning Ziqiang pushed a little harder, he would be able to trick Ning Ran into helping him.
Anybody with brains would realize Ouyang Qing’s idea was a set-up, yet Ning Ziqiang believed her.
It was not that he was stupid. He was just so blinded by his current predicament that he had lost all rationality. Any idea that would enable him to get money was an excellent plan to him.
That was why he did not doubt Ouyang Qing for even a second.
She had even specifically selected this location for him.
He personally thought her idea was a wonderful plan. Not only would he be able to get the money to pay off his debts, whatever was left would be enough for him to live a comfortable life in the future too.
Thus, when Ning Ran told him to jump, he panicked.
He had never had the intention to actually go through with his threat. Now that she was basically forcing him to jump, how was he supposed to continue his act?
“Ran, please don’t…”
Since he could not fully commit to the act, he gave up on pretending.
Unfortunately, he had been in the same position for too long and his legs had gone numb.
He had originally intended on climbing down, but he lost his balance and tilted to the side. Scrambling to regain his footing, he failed and fell into the water below with a splash.
Screams rang out from the crowd.
“That woman killed her father!”
“Oh my god! Somebody’s dying!”
“This is all that woman’s fault! Don’t let her escape!”
The crowd was seething with agitation. Strangely enough, nobody seemed to care about the man who had just fallen into the river. All their attention was focused on Ning Ran.
In reality, the police had already been on standby in the river while Ning Ziqiang was busy threatening his daughter.
The moment he landed in the water, they were quick to haul him aboard their boat.
“That’s enough! Time to disperse! The man is fine, and nobody’s been hurt! Go away now!” Several policemen came over to shoo the crowd.
But the infuriated crowd ignored the police as they pelted curses and accusations at Ning Ran. They surrounded her, not letting her leave.
Despite the police’s best attempts, the crowd still refused to move aside.
At that moment, a black Jeep arrived on the scene, and Qiao Zhan climbed out of the vehicle.
He nodded at the policemen in greeting, clearly knowing each other.
Squeezing his way through the crowd, he protected Ning Ran as he escorted her out of there.
Since Qiao Zhan’s built was like a small mountain, none of the people present dared to get in his way. Even so, that did not stop them from chasing after Ning Ran and berating her loudly. With much difficulty, Ning Ran finally managed to get inside the car, and they sped out of there.
She curled up in the car seat, the tears she had been fighting to hold back finally escaping. Not a sound left her lips even as the liquid flowed down her face relentlessly.
She did not know why she was crying, only that she really wanted to. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop.
Qiao Zhan was quiet. He did not comfort her as he knew she was a strong woman who did not need such empty platitudes from him.
Ning Ran allowed herself to weep for a moment longer before she gradually calmed down. Only then did she ask, “How did you know I was there?”
“Sir Chen sent me here. Someone was live-streaming the event, so everybody on the internet knows what happened.”
“There was a live-stream?”
“Yeah. A small-time internet celebrity was broadcasting the incident. She said she was only passing by when she saw what was happening and decided to stream it on the internet. Obviously, that was not a coincidence. Somebody arranged for that to happen.”
Ning Ran was of the same opinion. Somebody had planned all this.
“Who’s after me this time?”
“No idea. The company has already started advertising your TV drama. You mustn’t be involved in any negative news now as that will affect the public response and the views.”
“I know. But what happened just now was too sudden. I have no idea why he decided to act out that little play of his. I wonder who put the idea in his head?”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this, don’t worry.”
Right then, Qiao Zhan’s phone rang. It was from the police station.
They informed him that Ning Ziqiang had been sent to the hospital to check him over for injuries. They also told him to send Ning Ran over to the police station as they needed to record her statement. After all, she was a witness and also the family member of the victim.
With that, Qiao Zhan agreed to cooperate with the police and headed toward the police station.
