blueteamnovel Chapter 17 Who is the Prey?
Chapter 17 Who is the Prey?
The night at Yanjing Third Hospital was filled with the lingering smell of Lysol in the wind.
Just as Chen Yan had draped his coat over Su Wan, who was fast asleep on the bench, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Su Wan was jolted awake. She answered the phone, and her face turned pale instantly.
"It's him, Qi Feng, he just called."
Su Wan clutched the payment slip, her knuckles turning white, and even her voice trembling.
"He didn't say it explicitly, but he told you to go to his office tomorrow and hand over anything you shouldn't have left behind. Otherwise, the college won't approve your trip to Cannes."
Chen Yan didn't reply, but simply gripped Su Wan's cold hand even tighter.
Su Wan's tears welled up immediately.
He also said that the nurses' station might receive a letter regarding a medical malpractice investigation.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yan released his grip and turned to leave.
"Little Inkstone".
"Go back to your dorm, lock the door, and don't worry about anything, even if the sky falls."
Chen Yan's voice came back from the end of the corridor, each word spoken with a firm tone.
Qi Feng, you not only want to ruin my movie, but you also want to harm the people around me.
well.
As Chen Yan walked out of the hospital, the cold wind blew into his neck, but he didn't feel the slightest chill; instead, the fire in his chest burned even brighter.
He pulled out his old Nokia phone and dialed the piper's number.
"Young Master Yan, I've got it."
The pipe kept the voice very low.
"That stuff isn't at the film processing plant. That old bastard Qi Feng is cunning; he had someone take that bloody negative away yesterday afternoon. The person who did it was a guy in the plant's logistics department called Baldy Li. He's a sleazy fellow and a gambler."
Where is he?
"On Gulou Back Street, there's a billiards hall called Black Eight. He just won some money and is playing dominoes with someone."
"Keep a close eye on him, don't let him destroy anything. I'll be there soon."
Chen Yan hung up the phone, flagged down a red Xiali car, and headed straight for Gulou.
The neon lights outside the car window receded, reflecting on his face in patches of light and shadow.
He took out the newly bought utility knife from his pocket, clicked it open, pushed the blade to its longest length, and then slowly retracted it.
The billiard hall on Gulou Back Street is hidden in a cluster of bungalows slated for demolition. Half of the neon sign at the entrance is broken, and its eerie green light shines on the snow, exuding a sense of desolation.
The man with the big pipe was squatting at the door, stamping his feet from the cold. When he saw Chen Yan arrive, he quickly threw away his cigarette butt.
"Young Master Yan, Li the Bald is at table number three. The blue and white striped woven bag next to his feet contains film."
He rubbed his hands together, holding a large tobacco pouch.
"This place is a den of thieves and scoundrels, should I call a couple of my brothers..."
"Need not."
Chen Yan pushed open the greasy glass door, and the smells of cheap tobacco, sweat, and mold all rushed out at once.
He spotted the bald man immediately.
Li the Bald was shouting and spitting as he spoke, clutching a few crumpled banknotes in his hand, completely ignoring the bag at his feet.
Chen Yan ignored him and went straight to the dusty public phone in the corner, inserted coins, and dialed.
The call connected, and Qi Feng's smug voice came from the other end.
Who is it?
"Director Qi, are you asleep?"
Chen Yan's voice is very steady.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, and Qi Feng immediately became alert.
"Chen Yan? What do you mean?"
"Li the Bald is with me, and his stuff is here too."
Chen Yan spoke slowly and deliberately.
"Back Street of Gulou, Black Eight Billiards Hall. What you want, bring all the originals you stole from the film archive and come exchange them. Remember, come alone, and don't try anything funny. Otherwise, tomorrow Principal Zhou Jianguo's desk will have more than just the footage of me beating someone up."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Qi Feng got anxious on the other end of the line.
"Whether I'm lying or not, you'll know once you come and see for yourself."
Chen Yan's tone held a hint of amusement.
"I have a few clips here showing you signing a secret agreement with Haiming Films. Should I play them for the guys at the billiards hall now?"
After saying that, Chen Yan hung up the phone.
He didn't have any damn footage at all; he was just gambling that someone like Qi Feng would leave traces when he did dirty work and that he must have something to hide.
Half an hour later, a taxi stopped at the entrance of the alley. Qi Feng, wearing a long black down jacket with the collar turned up high, peered inside cautiously.
Chen Yan sat in the darkest corner of the billiard hall, watching him slowly move in.
When Li the Bald saw Qi Feng, he thought the God of Wealth had arrived and went to greet him with a big smile.
"Director Qi, why did you come in person? Everything is in perfect condition."
"thing."
Qi Feng's throat tightened, and his eyes kept drifting towards the woven bag.
Just then, Chen Yan stood up from the shadows and slowly walked over.
"Professor Qi, it's so late and you're still doing academic research yourself. You're really working hard."
The sound wasn't loud, but it soaked Qi Feng from head to toe.
He turned around abruptly, saw Chen Yan, and froze.
"Chen Yan, you tricked me."
I'm not bluffing you.
Chen Yan walked to the table and gestured to the woven bag.
"I just want you to see with your own eyes what kind of treasure you went through all that trouble to get your hands on."
Qi Feng, his hands trembling, snatched the woven bag, tore open the zipper, and pulled out a film canister.
Using the dim light on the billiard table, he tore out a piece of film.
Covered in scratches and mold, it was a completely unusable, expired film.
He pulled out another roll, but it was still a waste of film.
Volumes three and four were all scraps.
"impossible."
Qi Feng slumped into the chair, his face turning completely pale.
"Baldy Li, you dare to play me?"
"I didn't, Director Qi."
Li the Bald was also dumbfounded.
"I clearly took those boxes with blood on them from the warehouse."
Chen Yan clapped his hands lightly.
A man with a large pipe sauntered in through the back door, carrying an identical blue and white striped woven bag, which he casually tossed onto the table.
"The real thing is here."
Chen Yan picked up a utility knife and gently scratched the seal on the film canister.
"Teacher Qi, when you went to the editing room this afternoon, you were so busy looking for those marked blood samples that you didn't notice that I mixed the real negatives into a bunch of seemingly unrelated footage next to them?"
It turns out that from the moment Qi Feng hinted at Su Wan over the phone, Chen Yan had already returned to the editing room and set up this scheme.
He deliberately made several boxes of defective films conspicuous to lure in an amateur like Qi Feng.
"What do you want?"
Qi Feng's voice was already hoarse.
"I don't want anything to happen."
Chen Yan put away his knife, took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, opened it, handed one to Qi Feng, and even lit it for him himself.
A flicker of firelight danced between Qi Feng's trembling fingers.
"Teacher Qi, has Lu Haiming already prepared the report with his real name?"
Qi Feng took a deep drag of his cigarette, as if he had grasped at a straw.
"He bought an entire page in Wen Wei Po, just waiting for the school affairs meeting tomorrow to confirm your violent tendencies."
"very good."
Chen Yan leaned closer to him, his breath hitting Qi Feng's face, his tone icy.
"Now, your task is to be my inside man. Call Lu Haiming and tell him that the plan is going well and you've got the stuff. Tell him to make a big scene at the school affairs meeting tomorrow, preferably making all the school leaders lose face."
"You're crazy."
Qi Feng's eyes widened.
"You're pushing yourself into a fire pit."
"You won't know if it's a pit of fire until you jump in."
Chen Yan straightened up and looked down at him.
"You have no choice. Either I hand these real tapes over to the school now, and you steal from the academy and go to jail for life. Or you do as I say. Afterwards, I will personally destroy these things."
At three o'clock in the morning, Chen Yan returned to his dormitory.
Wu Lei and Deng Chuan were guarding a pot of cold oden. When he returned, Wu Lei jumped up immediately.
"Director! Sister Lin's phone is ringing off the hook! She said Lu Haiming is determined to kill you this time, and you absolutely mustn't go to school tomorrow; you need to lay low for a while!"
"hide."
Chen Yan picked up a string of fish balls, stuffed them into his mouth, and chewed them expressionlessly.
"It's good that the manuscript can't be withdrawn. Deng Chuan, bring the original script supervisor's report tomorrow. Wu Lei, contact that thug at the convenience store, give him some money, and tell him to wait for me at the entrance of the administration building at 2 PM tomorrow."
Why would you want to see him?
"Make him thank me publicly for saving his life."
Chen Yan forced a tired smile.
The next afternoon, at the Beijing Film Academy administration building.
Lin Shufen, dressed in a black trench coat, stood blocking the doorway to the conference room, her brows furrowed tightly.
"Lu Haiming came in person, bringing the so-called whistleblower letter. Chen Yan, tell me honestly, how confident are you really?"
Chen Yan looked at her and suddenly asked an unrelated question.
"Sister Lin, have you ever eaten the steamed buns in this cafeteria?"
"What?"
"The skin is thick, the filling is small, and you can't see any meat even after biting for a long time."
Chen Yan's face was expressionless, but his voice carried a hint of ruthlessness.
"Today, we're not only going to eat meat, but we also need to dismantle the steamer basket for the buns."
After saying that, he ignored the astonishment behind him and pushed open the heavy door of the conference room.