Chapter 88: Kidnapped

Xiao Ran and Guan Xin, who followed him like a shadow, were talking with Lin Guiyun in a café. Lin Guiyun smiled cheerfully, “Aran, it would be too boring if you came to Taiwan without having some fun. Want me to be your guide?”
“I wouldn’t dare, Brother Yun. You’re so busy; I wouldn’t want to hold you back!” Xiao Ran chuckled. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to have fun—it was that he hoped to spend more time with Lin Qingxia. Of course, he couldn’t let anyone know his true thoughts. Otherwise, he feared he’d be torn to pieces by the people of Taipei.
Lin Guiyun shook his head and laughed lightly, “What’s there to be busy with? I’ve already assigned others to handle everything. Besides, I invited you guys here, so I should make sure you have a great time. Otherwise, you won’t come next time, and what would I do then?”
Of course, Lin Guiyun was joking. Usually, premieres require the creative team and actors to be present—how could Xiao Ran and the others possibly miss it? After hesitating for a moment and thinking of Lin Qingxia, he felt an urge to buy her something, so he nodded in agreement. “But really, there’s no need to trouble Brother Yun. This isn’t my first time in Taipei; I know the streets here well!”
“How about this? I’ll send one of my subordinates with you as a gesture of goodwill!” Lin Guiyun didn’t refuse this time but offered a good suggestion: “After the premiere tonight, let’s go to a nightclub to have some fun!”
He waved his hand, and a quick-witted young man immediately ran over. He said to the young man, “Xiao Xia, go out with Brother Ran and help him out with things. Got it? And call him Brother Ran!”
“Yes, Brother Yun, I understand!” The young man nodded at Lin Guiyun and then respectfully nodded at Xiao Ran. “Brother Ran, where do you want to go?”
“Just walk around somewhere. It’s not a big deal.” Xiao Ran said goodbye to Lin Guiyun, then left with Guan Xin. After thinking for a moment, he asked Xiao Xia and decided to go to Dongmen to buy some gifts. Once there, they got out of the car and started strolling around.
Not far along, they heard a extremely harsh screech of brakes. Two strong men immediately jumped out of a car and dragged Xiao Ran back into it. The incident happened so fast that Xiao Xia didn’t even have time to react.
Guan Xin, however, was highly alert and reacted quickly. But just as he was about to act, he thought of something and stopped, asking Xiao Xia, “Xiao Xia, right? Give me the car keys. Go inform Brother Yun!”
After getting the keys, he quickly found the car. Guan Xin took out a palm-sized device from somewhere and focused intently on the small light dot on the screen, then drove after them. The reason he hadn’t acted immediately was that he suddenly realized that defense wasn’t his usual fighting style. Instead of constantly worrying about Xiao Ran getting into trouble, it would be better to take care of them all at once. So, he didn’t want to alert them prematurely.
“What! Xiao Ran has been kidnapped? That bastard dared to touch someone I invited?” Upon hearing Xiao Xia’s words, Lin Guiyun slammed his fist on the table, his face filled with anger. “Immediately contact Chief Zhang of the Zhulianbang and ask him to help me get them out. Tell him the license plate number!”

After giving the instructions, Lin Guiyun felt somewhat relieved. Yet he still couldn’t figure out who had kidnapped Xiao Ran—whether it was someone with a grudge against Xiao Ran or against him. He was deeply confused.
No, he had to tell Lin Qingxia. With her help, things would surely be much easier. With that thought, Lin Guiyun rushed to the hotel. Coincidentally, Fa Ge, Liu Hua, Lin Qingxia, and Wu Zhenyu were all in the café drinking coffee. Realizing the urgency of the situation, he didn’t care about formality anymore. After looking around and seeing no one nearby, he anxiously said, “A Ran has been kidnapped!”
Everyone there, except Zhang Min, was shocked and stood up. Lin Qingxia’s face turned pale instantly as she demanded sharply, “Who did this? When did it happen?”
Lin Guiyun shook his head. “I don’t know who they are. He was kidnapped less than half an hour ago. I’ve already sent people to look for him, but I’m not sure if they’ll find him! If they dared to act at this time, they must have planned it carefully. I don’t think this will be easy to resolve.”
Lin Qingxia’s eyes widened in concern. With her intelligence, she naturally understood that Lin Guiyun was asking for her help. Needless to say, if something happened to Xiao Ran, she would do everything in her power to save him.
However, Lin Qingxia didn’t realize she was no longer in Taiwan to build her career, and whether the people in Taipei would still respect her. After finding out that the current police chief in Taipei was still the same person, she called him and said that her godbrother Xiao Ran had just been kidnapped and asked him to help search for him.
Upon hearing that it was Lin Qingxia’s godbrother who had been kidnapped, the chief immediately became anxious. He had long known that Lin Qingxia was no ordinary person. With so many gangs in Taiwan, not a single one had ever dared to force her to act in movies—proof of that.
Lin Qingxia was not only the dream lover of all men in Taiwan but also a superstar whom the whole island took pride in. Here, it seemed that just one cry from her could attract hundreds of thousands of followers.
The chief certainly understood how serious the situation was. Wiping his sweat, he ordered his subordinates to immediately investigate this strange kidnapping case. It was strange because he thought it was impossible for anyone in Taiwan to dare touch Lin Qingxia, yet someone had been bold enough to do so.
Suddenly, the chief remembered that he didn’t recall Lin Qingxia mentioning any godbrother named Xiao Ran before. Then he remembered—wasn’t Xiao Ran the guy who had caused a mass protest by Hong Kong artists some time ago?
The chief wasn’t stupid. He quickly recalled Xiao Ran’s identity: the owner of a film company and Hong Kong’s top screenwriter. He also had close ties with Guǐ Wáng Dōng, the leader of Lianying Society, and Xiang Qiang, one of the leaders of Xinyi’an. Thinking of this, he sweated even more.
Besides that, he remembered another thing. It was Xiao Ran who had caused the Hong Kong police to crush Lianshengying. What was even more terrifying was that Guǐ Wáng Dōng, the mastermind behind Lianshengying, hadn’t even taken action against Xiao Ran—proving just how extraordinary he was.

Rumors in the world are indeed seven parts false and three parts true. The story about Xiao Ran, as it was passed around, turned out to be something he could never have imagined as the person involved. Anyway, the director’s obese body gradually grew hot with anxiety; he thought that if this famous person encountered trouble, he himself might be torn to pieces.

Unseen by most, Taipei once again found itself in a situation similar to that in Hong Kong some time ago, under various strange circumstances. Both the police and the underworld were targeting people at the same time, and anyone who paid attention could tell that things had become much tense that afternoon.

As soon as Xiao Ran was tied into the car, his eyes were covered. Initially not understanding what was happening, he quickly realized it was exactly what he often saw in movies—kidnapping!

Facing such a dramatic situation for the first time, Xiao Ran’s heart pounded violently as he tried to guess what the kidnappers wanted—revenge or money? He wasn’t sure. If it was revenge, then Wang Minggui and Wang Yang must be involved. As for money, it wasn’t entirely impossible either.

After pondering for a while, his rapidly beating heart gradually calmed down. About ten minutes later, the car stopped, and Xiao Ran was pushed out. When the black cloth covering his head was removed, his eyes were dazzled as he adjusted to his surroundings.

After taking in his surroundings and realizing it was likely a warehouse, he immediately saw four burly men with “distinctive personalities” surrounding him. Of course, Xiao Ran had no idea these four “celebrities” could be anything good.

However, this wasn’t the first time Xiao Ran had faced such a situation. Last time, he had been chased and attacked by seven or eight thugs at the police station. Though in danger now, he remained unafraid. This was the advantage of having high status and experience—allowing him to stay calm in many situations, especially after going through so much.

In fact, Xiao Ran even felt like playing a game of psychological pressure, trying to put some strain on those men. So from the moment he arrived, he didn’t say a word, merely wearing a faint smile as if he didn’t take those guys seriously at all.

As his gaze shifted between the four men’s faces, Xiao Ran suddenly thought of something and was shocked. If these four weren’t afraid of him seeing their faces, did that mean they planned to… silence him?

“If they already consider you dead, what psychological pressure is there?” Xiao Ran thought with a bitter smile. Soon, he thought of something comforting—the day Guan Xin received the letter, he gave Xiao Ran a small device to carry with him after reading it.

Although Guan Xin hadn’t explained what it was, Xiao Ran had been proud at the time because he gradually figured out Guan Xin’s true identity. Though he couldn’t feel it in his hands, he knew the small device, about the size of a woman’s thumbnail, hadn’t been lost, which brought him some peace of mind. He just hoped it would do its job.

The four men staring at Xiao Ran were surprised to see that despite being tied up, he kept smiling and staring back at them, as if he had planned everything himself with no sign of fear. This made them uneasy.

One of them might have slightly weaker mental strength. Under Xiao Ran’s arrogant gaze, he finally couldn’t hold back his anger, pushed Xiao Ran hard enough to knock him to the ground, and cursed, “Bastard! If you keep looking at me, I’ll dig out your eyes! Anyway, you’ll be dead soon!”
The first sentence was spoken with great confidence, but the last one revealed a hint of fear. With his hands and feet tied to the chair, Xiao Ran couldn’t move. Being pushed like that, his forehead hit the ground, clearly proving the existence of gravity. It also proved which was stronger—his head or the ground.
Blood slowly flowed from his forehead, gradually covering his right eye, giving him a grotesque appearance. Enduring the pain, Xiao Ran smiled faintly at the man, a smile so dazzling that it made the man’s hair stand on end. He rushed forward, ready to attack, but managed to control his anger.
Xiao Ran now resembled a stubborn young man, casting a smileful gaze at the giant man, which sent chills down the spines of the other three. They had killed before, but they had never seen anyone smile so brightly even in the face of death.
“God’s Hand is truly not an ordinary person. No wonder Wang Yang lost to you!”
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