Chapter 171: Negotiation Before Action

If she were in a taxi or a friend’s or a reception staff’s car, Qiao Huanxuan might close her eyes and rest. But traveling with Li Yan, the time they spent together was already limited, so every moment counted, and besides, they had just left the airport not long ago, and she was chatting with Li Yan all along.

At this moment, although Li Yan hadn’t spoken or expressed it explicitly, Qiao Huanxuan noticed something was off. She looked ahead, to the side, and then glanced behind. Unable to hold back, she said, "Something seems off. These taxis don’t seem friendly."

"You noticed it too? Not bad!" Li Yan praised with a smile.

Qiao Huanxuan shot him a look, "Be serious. What’s going on with these people? Do they have a grudge against you? Or perhaps against the person who lent you the car?"

If it were Huang Ying, who was more a gentle girl, Li Yan wouldn’t want her to worry and might not disclose anything. But Qiao Huanxuan was a very independent mature woman, and seeing she had noticed, Li Yan didn’t hide it, explaining simply, "On the surface, it should be the taxi driver from the airport earlier. But deeper motives, I’m not sure yet."

Qiao Huanxuan frowned slightly, her previous impression was that the security at the S City International Airport was quite decent. That driver earlier was overly proactive in getting passengers, and Li Yan worried that her attitude wasn’t great when he rushed over, but these were minor issues. At most, a slight friction that should be let go, how could it lead to multiple taxis blocking us?

"Don’t worry! If they have intentions against me, I’ll let them have a satisfying end. If they dare have intentions against you, I’ll beat them until their teeth are scattered all over the ground," Li Yan joked.

Seeing his nonchalant demeanor, Qiao Huanxuan sighed helplessly, "It was because of your attitude earlier that conflict arose. Now, there are at least six of them, right? And you’re still boasting! We should adopt negotiation before action, a mix of soft and hard tactics."

Li Yan, hearing her idea, asked with interest, "What negotiation before action, mixed tactics?"

"First, talk reason with them properly, apologize if necessary. If they refuse, then call the police." Qiao Huanxuan’s approach was the one typically chosen by ordinary people, the most common method. If an apology can settle the matter, no one wants to escalate it, but if not, in the face of the strong opposing the weak, one should call the police.

Li Yan, listening, found it amusing, "Huanxuan, that’s too idealistic. How does that saying go? ’If apologies were useful, why would we need the police?’"

Qiao Huanxuan remained calm, "Not excluding those violent ones, but one can’t escape entirely, remember the taxi company and license plate number, the police can still drag them out."

"True, if it’s the airport person and they gathered people in such a short time, that’s impressive, but they likely didn’t have time to cover their license plates," Li Yan agreed thoughtfully, then asked, "But what if they immediately start a beating, making it impossible to even keep your eyes open?"

Qiao Huanxuan wasn’t flustered by him, pointing at the taxi in front, "I’ve memorized their license plates now, I don’t need every one, just catching one will lead us to the rest. I can also prepare a message to the police, and if I don’t get out, when I see things going wrong, I’ll send a message to report!"

Seeing she was quite adept at protecting herself, Li Yan felt more reassured; at least when he wasn’t by her side, Qiao Huanxuan was alert and composed.

He noticed the encircling taxis were closing in, their speed adjusted, and figured even if he didn’t stop, they would force him to. He slowed down, continued driving for a bit before stopping.

The six taxis seemed satisfied with his response, all stopping successively, boxing in his car so it couldn’t drive away.

"I’ll get out first, lock the door, and don’t open the windows!"

Li Yan prepared to get out when he stopped the car, so he wouldn’t be too passive.

"Be careful..." Mature and rational, Qiao Huanxuan knew getting out wouldn’t help, staying inside could still message and call for help, so she didn’t insist on facing danger like some girls might.

Li Yan just got out, closed the door. The six taxis had already sent out people one after another, then surrounded him.

Li Yan tapped on the car door with his fingers, gesturing for Qiao Huanxuan to lock the door from inside. Then he walked to the front of the taxi behind.

Six people closed in from different directions, one was pulling at the car door, shouting for Qiao Huanxuan inside to get out, while the other five surrounded Li Yan.

The driver who stepped out from the back taxi was the one who had the earlier friction.

"Damn! You’re the one who messed with our guys, huh? You’re tough, aren’t you?" A driver reached out and shoved Li Yan.

The previous driver said coldly, "I was merely proactive in pulling customers, your wife didn’t say anything, you accused me of robbery, even hurt my neck, how do you account for that?"

After the two spoke in succession, apart from the one claiming his neck was hurt, the other four drew tools from their bodies—hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers. These items, unlike machetes or steel pipes, wouldn’t be classified as aggressive weapons, but were tools for car repairs, excellent for concealment and readily accessible. When used in a fight, excluding the shorter attack range, they were quite effective and impactful for ordinary people.

Seeing this, Li Yan found it amusing, originally thinking there was a deeper motive or someone behind the scenes, it turned out to be just a minor friction, and they wanted to seize the opportunity for a little extortion.

"How about compensating you with some medical fees?" Li Yan lightly said.

That’s exactly what they wanted. Seeing Li Yan so compliant, he probably got frightened by the people and tools. "Is it that easy? You need to accompany my buddies to the hospital for a series of checks, stay for observation and treatment. During this period, you need to compensate for mental distress, lost wages, and the lost wages for us coming to find you!"

Their goal was to extort some money, but exactly how much, in such a short time, wasn’t discussed; there wasn’t any set amount. Now seeing Li Yan being so agreeable, they asked for more. Without mentioning numbers, they made a bunch of seemingly reasonable formal requests. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

So, they banked on the idea that someone like Li Yan would choose to lose some money to avoid further trouble, and directly pay off the dispute rather than fussing over hospital visits.

Li Yan nodded, "That’s all fine, but..."

"But what?" They exhaled in relief at how smoothly things were going. If the counterpart refused to pay, beating someone up wouldn’t benefit them either and might lead to an investigation.

"But could you first bring over that barking dog?" Li Yan pointed to the driver behind him who was still knocking on his car door, yelling at Qiao Huanxuan inside.

The person cursing was labeled a barking dog by Li Yan, and other drivers didn’t look pleased with that, though they were also slightly annoyed. Initially, they planned to use the woman as leverage if things didn’t go well, but now it’s going smoothly, yet he’s still banging, scaring people, and if it causes the man to back out from paying, wouldn’t that be a wasted trip?

They were just two meters apart, from car front to back; Li Yan’s comment was clearly heard by the driver. Without anyone else needing to call him, he dashed over, raising his fist to hit Li Yan!

"Damn it! Who’re you calling a dog? I’m gonna kill you!"

However, they were just a temporary alliance, not a well-organized group nor truly loyal brothers. Seeing things progressing well, naturally, they didn’t want it ruined; when he rushed over, two people held him to keep him calm.

"Just say it, how much are you willing to pay? It’s late, we don’t want to waste your time, nor delay taking him to the hospital for a check-up! Be straightforward if you’re a man!"

"How much do you want?" Li Yan asked with a smile.

Seeing Li Yan unafraid and actually smiling, they felt unsure. Maybe he doesn’t care about small money? Being able to buy a Lexus, he likely isn’t someone with average income...

Because they hadn’t discussed it beforehand, this wasn’t a convenient time to openly negotiate, so they stared at each other. After a short pause, one of them cleared his throat and said to Li Yan, "Without the hospital receipts, we can’t give you the exact amount needed, but we won’t extort you. Let me discuss with him his injuries..."

With that, he pulled the ’injured’ driver a few meters back, speaking in low tones. The other four kept an eye on Li Yan, preventing him from running away.

Having acted himself, Li Yan naturally understood the force used. He wouldn’t harm ordinary people heavily. Watching their performance, he found it amusing. This group likely hadn’t thought of extorting a large amount, just wanted to vent some frustrations and make a small sum. Taxi drivers near the airport faced competition not only from licensed red and green taxis but also from unlicensed blue-plated private cars. Their average daily income was around 500-600 yuan, and those gathered quickly were ones nearby without passengers. For the driver, it was venting; for others, if they could quickly extort an amount equivalent to a long-distance fare, they’d be satisfied.

However, everyone has insatiable greed; seeing Li Yan so cooperative, they decided to ask for a bit more.

Soon, the two returned. "Seeing you’re so generous, we won’t make things hard for you. Hospital examination fee, hospitalization fee, treatment fee, medication cost, all together make it 5000; nutrition fee, mental distress compensation, and lost wages for a possible week off work, collectively 4000; and for not being proactive enough, making us chase you far, delaying our customer pickups, plus fuel costs, throw in a little consideration? Total it together for 10,000! We won’t beat you, waste your time, or report you."

Their private settlement terms brought satisfied expressions from others. A sum of 10,000 divided among six equals over a thousand each, at least equivalent to two days’ income, without labor, without fuel consumption. Even the one who wanted to hit Li Yan calmed down somewhat.

Inside the car, Qiao Huanxuan was listening to the commotion behind. Seeing Li Yan indeed negotiate calmly as she suggested, she felt much relieved and ignored the door-knocker. Initially, she thought Li Yan just pinched the driver’s neck lightly; maybe if he’s fragile and caught a sprain, a few hundred yuan compensation might settle it. But hearing them demand 10,000 compensation, that was extortion, demanding ransom!

Li Yan likely didn’t carry that much cash, even if he did, he wouldn’t let them extort such a large sum, possibly representing several months’ salary.

"Ten thousand, huh..." Li Yan seemingly hesitated.

Without suspicion, even wealthy people aren’t eager to part with 10,000 when being extorted. Amid mutual gladness and winks, Li Yan spoke again.

"I’ve decided!"

"If you’ve decided, then..." they said.

"Since compensation’s necessary, I’ve decided to beat you up first!"

Li Yan said something they found laughable, accompanied by lightning-fast moves. Just as drivers believed Li Yan was courting death, fists already landed on their faces. Gathered together as they were, Li Yan displayed his close combat skills effectively.

Without training and unarmed, ordinary people wouldn’t match a top-notch professional assassin. Even six people were knocked down in seconds! Their hammers, wrenches had no chance of being used.

"Since I really beat you, take this to buy medicated oil!"

Li Yan tossed a 20 yuan note, got in his car, and left.

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