Chapter 621 - 620: Combined Swords (Part 5)

Song Shengfu himself couldn’t immediately answer why he’d kidnapped these elementary school students. He had never intended to kidnap them; it was all a coincidence.

Just as Song Shengfu was about to answer, he froze, his expression hardening.

"What trick are you trying to pull? Are you trying to stall for time? I’m telling you, it’s useless! It’s all useless!"

His tone was incredibly harsh.

"I’m not trying to pull any tricks. I’m just curious, so I’m asking. Do you have a grudge against them? Or is this because of Xiao Hong?"

Su Li’s heart hammered in her chest, threatening to stop at any moment, but she clenched her fists and spoke again.

Wu Sheng watched Su Li’s back, saw her tightly clenched fists, and a fleeting look of gentle admiration crossed his eyes.

He stepped forward silently, stood beside Su Li, and took her hand.

Su Li glanced over at Wu Sheng, managed a faint smile, and let out a breath. Her expression grew much calmer.

She was nervous because she was doing something she had never done before—something completely outside her expertise.

To stop Song Shengfu from hurting anyone else, she was negotiating with him.

Yes, a negotiation.

A professional negotiator should have been here by now, but since they were delayed, she was being thrown in the deep end.

She didn’t know much about psychology or negotiation. However, she’d seen enough TV shows and movies in her past life to know this situation couldn’t continue as it was. It was obvious she couldn’t rely on Police Zhang for this, so her only option was to try and talk to the man until the real negotiator arrived.

In this era, the concept of a "negotiator" didn’t really exist, nor was there any systematic training for it. At most, there were a few police officers who were particularly good at de-escalation.

But such officers were rare, and Police Zhang clearly lacked experience in this kind of negotiation.

Su Li had no confidence, but only she and Wu Sheng knew it. To any observer, she looked perfectly composed.

Her voice was so even and steady that it had a calming effect on people—a unique ability of hers, in a way.

In any case, Song Shengfu was listening. He hadn’t expected Su Li to ask that question.

His train of thought was derailed, and his mind cleared considerably.

"What kind of grudge would I have with a bunch of little brats? Of course it’s not because of them," he replied, clearly displeased.

"So, you brought them here by accident?" Su Li asked softly. Her tone didn’t sound like an interrogation at all; it was more like they were just chatting.

Nearby, the editor-in-chief, Li Anna, and their group listened in, completely baffled.

"What is Su Li doing? Why is she chatting with the criminal? What’s she playing at instead of trying to save them?"

Li Anna muttered under her breath.

Captain Zhang looked confused, yet there was also a glimmer of understanding on his face.

"Exactly! Why is she chatting with the criminal? She should be figuring out a way to save the kids, telling him to let them go."

Another colleague, watching Su Li and Wu Sheng’s backs, also couldn’t help but grumble.

The editor-in-chief’s eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to tell them to be quiet, someone else spoke up first.

"Su Li is negotiating. If you don’t understand, then shut up and don’t say another word."

It was Ling Zhen. Standing with two cameramen, neither too far forward nor too far back, she had been straining to hear Su Li’s conversation when the muttering behind her reached her ears.

She immediately spun around and snapped.

Without another word to them, she waved for the cameramen to follow her forward.

Leaving Li Anna and her companions with ugly expressions on their faces.

"How can she be so arrogant? Just because she’s from Huaguo TV Station? She made one successful program and now she acts like this? She’s nothing compared to our Anna."

"Exactly! I wonder if she and Su Li are good friends or something."

As the group continued to mutter, the editor-in-chief’s expression grew darker and darker until he finally couldn’t take it anymore and cut them off.

"That’s enough."

He gave them a heavy look. "This is not the place for your petty squabbles. If you make another sound, you can go back."

’Of all the times to be caught up in petty bickering.’

Li Anna and her group shut their mouths, their faces sour. They shot a resentful glare toward Su Li up ahead.

Su Li was completely unaware of the dispute behind her. They were too far away for her to notice their muttering, and she was entirely focused on the task at hand.

After hearing Song Shengfu’s reply, she paused for a few seconds before speaking again.

"So all of this was an accident? You didn’t intentionally kidnap these children. If that’s the case, Song Shengfu, I wouldn’t hurt anyone if I were you. If you come out now, you can still start your life over."

"Otherwise, throwing away your own life for their sake... it’s just not worth it."

Song Shengfu listened to Su Li’s voice. Even though he knew she was just trying to talk him down, he couldn’t help but listen.

He wanted to hear more clearly, but the little monster in his arms wouldn’t stop crying and screaming, babbling incoherently.

"Shut up! If you scream or cry again, I’ll cripple you!" he threatened, agitated.

Su Li’s heart clenched.

Although Alice’s cries and pleas for help might have been faint due to her weakness, Su Li could still hear them. She had been trying to tune them out, but she hadn’t expected Song Shengfu to lose his patience first.

"That child is a foreigner. She doesn’t speak our language and can’t understand you. Your threats are meaningless to her," Su Li said, keeping her voice as gentle as possible.

"So annoying," Song Shengfu said bitterly. "Shut up! I said shut up!"

He roared, and whatever threat he made, Alice’s voice was choked back.

Su Li let out a sigh of relief, closed her eyes for a moment, and then continued.

"You like Xiao Hong, don’t you?"

It was a risky topic, but her intuition told her she had to bring it up.

After Su Li spoke, Song Shengfu fell silent. A long moment passed without a word.

Wu Sheng felt Su Li’s palm grow sweaty and whispered in her ear, "It’s okay. You’re doing great."

Wu Sheng had experience with this sort of thing; he could have handled the negotiation himself. But Song Shengfu’s case was unique. Song Shengfu was extremely wary, and Wu Sheng, being a man, would only make him more defensive. That’s why he hadn’t spoken up.

Instead, Su Li had stepped up and taken on the role of negotiator.

After a suffocating silence, Song Shengfu finally spoke. "You talk too much."

He said it viciously. Guarded, he neither admitted to liking Xiao Hong nor denied it.

But Su Li had her answer. Song Shengfu really had done this because of the teacher, Xiao Hong. Combined with what he’d said earlier, it seemed the elementary school students had just been accidentally caught up in it.

Since Song Shengfu didn’t want to talk about Xiao Hong, Su Li changed the subject. "Are the children all right? Are they being noisy?"

That question hit a nerve with Song Shengfu. "Very noisy. But I have my ways of controlling them."

"You said before that if we don’t bother you and Xiao Hong, you’ll let them go. Does that offer still stand?" Su Li asked.

A flash of admiration crossed Wu Sheng’s eyes. After hearing a bird call, he patted her shoulder, gave her a meaningful look, and began to creep silently toward the door.

"Of course it stands!" Song Shengfu answered quickly this time. "And you? You’ll agree to that?" His tone was sarcastic.

"It’s not out of the question. But you have to promise us you won’t hurt these innocent children again. Are they all okay right now?" Su Li probed.

"None of them are dead, except for the one I threw out earlier." Song Shengfu had calmed down some, and a flicker of hope appeared in his eyes.