bayedsolid Chapter 244 Cancellation
Chapter 244 Cancellation
The air conditioning here is making the back of my neck numb.
The tour guide tapped the camera app, indicating that he should start filming a clarification video now, his eyes carrying a threat: "It's not too late to film it now."
Suddenly, two burly men walked towards me, their voices rough: "Miss Gu, please."
I clenched my fists so tightly my knuckles turned white. The man in front of me took another step closer, and I could smell the heavy reek of cigarette smoke on him.
"Miss Gu, be sensible." His clothes still had greasy stains that hadn't been washed off, and he wore a disgusting smile. "Isn't it just releasing a clarification video? It's easy for you, isn't it?"
I took a step back, my throat tightening: "I won't release it. Your product does have a problem, and I can't deceive consumers."
"Ha," he sneered, "So you don't care about these things?"
He was about to attack me! My pupils contracted sharply. Thinking of their trusting eyes, I bit my lip tightly.
"You...you're breaking the law." My voice trembled, but I persisted, "Even if you threaten me, I will not compromise. Consumer safety is more important than anything else."
The burly man's smile vanished, and he grabbed my wrist: "You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences, huh?" The pain made me gasp, but I still stubbornly glared at him.
"If you dare touch me, I'll send you to jail." I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I stubbornly refused to let them fall.
The burly man's hand was still gripping my wrist tightly, and I could feel his strength increasing. Just then, the tour guide in front of me suddenly spoke up: "That's enough, stop."
The burly man paused, loosening his grip slightly. He turned to look at the tour guide, his face showing a mixture of confusion and displeasure: "But..."
“I said, stop.” The tour guide interrupted him. He walked over, his gaze lingered on my face for a moment, and then turned to the burly man. “She’s not buying it. There’s no point in forcing her.”
The burly man reluctantly let go, muttering something under his breath, but still stepped aside.
I rubbed my reddened wrist; my heart was still pounding, but I felt a slight sense of relief. The tour guide glanced at me, his expression complex, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just sighed, turned, and left the room.
I stood there, relieved. The tour guide walked to the door, turned back and winked at the burly man: "Keep an eye on her, don't let her run around." The burly man nodded, blocking the doorway like a wall, arms crossed, staring coldly at me.
The tour guide kept the burly man's phone on so I could hear the tourists' voices: "Everyone, I'm so sorry, today's itinerary may have to be canceled." His tone was regretful, but it made my heart sink.
"Why? Weren't we supposed to go to the ancient town today?" a tourist asked, dissatisfied.
“Yes, we’ve been waiting for so long!” another voice chimed in.
The tour guide sighed, his voice tinged with helplessness: "Sigh, I'm in a difficult position too. There's a Ms. Gu in our group, and she... sigh, she insists on handling some personal matters and refuses to cooperate with our arrangements. For everyone's safety, we have no choice but to cancel today's itinerary for the time being."
"What? Just because of her, none of us can go?" someone shouted angrily.
"That's so selfish!" another sharp voice rang out.
Standing upstairs, listening to the chorus of complaints below, I felt a sharp pain in my heart, as if being pricked by needles. I knew the tour guide was doing it on purpose; he wanted to force me to compromise, to make me have no choice but to give in.
I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug deep into my palms, but I couldn't feel any pain.
The burly man leaned against the door and sneered, "Did you hear that? Everyone's preventing you from going out to play because of this. You can handle it all by yourself, but can you handle everyone's criticism?"
I didn't answer. The complaints from the passengers downstairs grew louder and louder, and some even started calling my name: "Ms. Gu, can you not be so selfish? We came all this way, not to waste our time with you!"
My heart was pounding, and my mind was a complete mess.
I took a deep breath: "You can continue to threaten me, and you can make everyone hate me, but I will not release that video. This is my bottom line."
The burly man paused, seemingly surprised that I would persist. He frowned, about to say something, when the tour guide's voice suddenly came from downstairs: "Everyone, don't rush. If you all try to persuade Miss Gu together, maybe she will change her mind."
The tour guide stood at the top of the stairs, clapped his hands to signal everyone to be quiet. He had a troubled expression on his face, but his tone was earnest: "Everyone, I know you're all anxious, and I understand. How about this, let's go up together and try to persuade Miss Gu? After all, there's strength in numbers, and maybe she'll listen to our opinions."
The passengers nodded in agreement, and some were already eagerly heading upstairs: "That's right, we can't let her waste everyone's time!"
"Yeah, if we all try to persuade her together, she'll surely listen!"
I stood in the room, my heart pounding as I listened to the increasingly loud footsteps outside the door. The burly man remained blocking the entrance, a look of anticipation on his face. The moment the door was pushed open, I saw more than a dozen faces, some angry, some dissatisfied.
"Miss Gu, just post a video, don't make things difficult for everyone!" A middle-aged woman spoke first, her tone impatient.
“Yes, we came all this way not to waste time with you!” a young man chimed in.
"You're being too selfish!" another sharp voice rang out.
I stood there, feeling as if something was blocking my throat.
Their gazes pierced me like knives, making it almost impossible for me to breathe. But I forced myself to raise my head, my voice trembling slightly but firm: "I'm sorry to have disappointed everyone. But I can't release that video, because it's a lie."
"So what if it's a lie? What's it to you?" someone shouted indignantly.
"Maybe you just want to make money," a voice interrupted me.
I was speechless.
Seeing that everyone was agitated, the tour guide seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire: "Miss Gu, look, everyone's saying it. You'll stop at nothing to make money!"
"Exactly! They've abandoned all conscience for money!" A middle-aged man pointed at me, his face full of contempt.
"You're the kind of person who only cares about money, aren't you? You don't even care about other people's safety for money!" a young girl said angrily.
I suddenly looked up. "You're wrong! If I were really after money, I would have released that video long ago! The money they gave me would have been enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life! But I didn't, and I can call the police right now."
Seeing the tense atmosphere, the tour guide suddenly clapped his hands and forced a smile: "Everyone, since Ms. Gu insists, we can't force her. However, for everyone's privacy and safety, please hand over your phones to me for safekeeping for now."
"What do you mean? Why are you taking my phone?" someone asked, dissatisfied.
The tour guide smiled, his tone relaxed yet authoritative: "This is for everyone's good. After all, some things are bad for anyone if they get out, right?"
Then everyone handed in their phones and went downstairs.
At the same time, the aunt and uncle discussed with the tour guide about going to see me.
“I’ll talk to the tour guide; I can persuade her. She’ll definitely agree to let me in.”
The woman's voice carried a hint of determination.
"Then be careful, don't arouse their suspicion," the uncle advised.
After a while, footsteps came from outside the door, followed by the tour guide's voice: "Auntie, are you really good at persuading her?"
"Don't worry, I'm quite old, but I still know how to persuade people," the woman said with a smile.
The tour guide seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally agreed: "Okay, you can give it a try. But don't try anything funny, or it'll make things difficult for everyone."
The door clicked open, and the woman walked in. She closed the door and quickly walked to my side.
I was stunned for a moment, "Auntie, you..."
“Don’t worry,” I said, “someone will definitely come to rescue us.”
The middle-aged man frowned, clearly not believing it.
"How do you know?" he asked in a low voice. "Their phones have been confiscated, and we can't contact anyone outside."
"Many people watch my live streams," and "my phone has location tracking, so they'll definitely be able to find me here."
The woman's eyes lit up for a moment, but quickly dimmed again.
“But how did they know we were here?” she asked, “This place is so remote…”
"If I am out of contact for more than a certain period of time, the platform will automatically send an alarm."
The man's brows relaxed slightly, but his eyes still held worry.
"But the tour guide and the others..." He hesitated, then stopped.
“They wouldn’t dare do anything to us. I’ve already exposed them in my live stream. If they dare to touch us, things will only get worse.”
The woman loosened her grip, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
Outside the door, the tour guide asked, "So? Is she willing to listen to advice?"
The woman sighed: "That's about it."
The tour guide seemed quite satisfied: "Alright, thank you for your help, ma'am. Please head out now!"