Chapter Forty-Seven: Kidnapping

"Smash!"
The expensive cell phone shattered on the floor. Qingwu, who stood to the side, winced with distress and couldn’t help blurting out, "Madam, that Vertu phone is worth over eight hundred thousand. It was custom-made just for you."
But the elegant lady, now beside herself with rage, cared nothing for the phone’s price. After hurling it to the ground, she immediately set her sights on a white porcelain vase on the carved display shelf. Before Qingwu could react, the lady had already seized the vase and hurled it to the floor with a crash, shards scattering everywhere.
"That double-handled vase is worth more than a million as well," Qingwu murmured, her heart pounding in terror. She stood rooted to the spot, torn between stepping forward to intervene and hesitating, seeing that Madam was in the throes of fury.
The lady, clearly having lost all reason, stormed straight toward a blue-and-white plum vase. Qingwu, petrified, suddenly found courage from who knows where, strode forward, and, relying on her training, managed to wrest the vase from Madam’s hands.
"Qingwu!" the lady shouted, pointing at her in a fit of rage. "Who gave you such audacity?"
Clutching the blue-and-white vase tightly, Qingwu stammered, "Madam, this Yuan Dynasty piece was a fortieth birthday gift Master gave to Sir. Its value is beyond measure. If you really smash it, how will we ever explain to Master and Sir?"
The lady paused, brought to her senses by Qingwu’s words, yet unable to back down, she snapped, "Our daughter has been abducted! What’s a blue-and-white vase compared to her? However rare this vase may be, is it more precious than my only daughter?"
Qingwu stared in shock. "Madam, what did you say? Miss has been abducted?"
Recalling what Chen Feng had reported over the phone, the lady trembled with rage. "I trusted Ranran’s self-discipline far too much! At her age, she actually went with a boy to a hotel room! If word of this gets out, where will the Su family put its face?"
"Ah?!" Qingwu was so stunned she nearly dropped the priceless vase.
Without paying any heed to Qingwu’s shock, the lady snatched up the cordless phone from her desk and handed it to Qingwu. "Call Chen Feng! Now!"
Qingwu hurriedly set the blue-and-white vase gently on the floor, fished out her own mobile, dialed Chen Feng’s number, and passed the phone to Madam.
"Sister Wu," Chen Feng, standing outside the Senger Hotel, was sweating bullets. He had reported Miss’s situation truthfully, and Madam had hung up on him with a crash. How could he not be worried? If Madam decided to vent her fury on him, he would be in real trouble.
"I’m not Qingwu," the lady replied coldly. "Chen Feng, get in there right now. If Ranran—"
She paused, took a deep breath, then gritted her teeth, "If Ranran is in any state of undress, or is on that bed, you are to bring both of them to Beijing immediately!"
"Understood!" Chen Feng agreed without hesitation. Hanging up, he turned to head straight for room 3017. But after a few steps, he remembered how Zhang Wenhao had brawled in the detention center, and his courage faltered.

"I can’t even take that punk one-on-one," Chen Feng muttered, biting his lip in frustration. If he barged in now, not only might he fail Madam’s orders, he might even get a thrashing, and then be blamed for incompetence. Wouldn’t that be the end of him?
He needed reinforcements.
Chen Feng gritted his teeth and said to Xiaosi, who was with him, "Go, call for backup. Tell Aluo to bring all those muscle-bound buddies from his club over, right now!"
"Brother Feng!" Xiaosi jumped, pleading, "The guys from Aluo’s Sanda club are all maniacs. Wang Sen is out of town, so he can’t come himself, but at your command, he immediately called the front desk to cooperate. It’s a bit slow, but it’s not like we’re going to smash up the place, right? You know I’m on good terms with him..."
Chen Feng, fuming, slapped Xiaosi on the head. "Who the hell said anything about smashing the place? Tell him to bring the guys over—I want to grab whoever’s in 3017!"
"Oh," Xiaosi finally relaxed, thinking as long as they didn’t wreck the club, he wouldn’t have to explain to his friends. But then he recalled: those musclemen from Aluo’s club could probably take down an elephant. Why bring so many guys for one room? Who on earth was inside?
Xiaosi hurried off to make the call. Just then, Chen Feng caught sight of two people emerging from the elevator. One was a refined, stunningly beautiful girl—the Su family's young miss. Beside her was that punk Zhang Wenhao!
"Damn!" Chen Feng quickly turned away, afraid Zhang Wenhao might recognize him. Clearly, Zhang Wenhao and Miss were leaving after finishing their business. With Xiaosi out calling for backup, Chen Feng was all alone in the lobby. If Zhang Wenhao recognized him and came over for a chat, should he play along and laugh it off, or heroically confront him and get beaten up?
He simply didn’t have the strength to play the hero.
Ashamed, Chen Feng turned his back, stealing glances as Zhang Wenhao and Su Ruoran walked to the front desk to check out and then left. He grew even more frustrated—Madam had ordered him to see if Miss was in disarray or in bed with Zhang Wenhao, but they emerged perfectly neat. How was he supposed to judge anything now?
Zhang Wenhao, oblivious to the familiar figure watching his back in distress, had just finished dinner with Su Ruoran. Concerned that she had a strict family and couldn’t be out too late, he decided to check out early and escort her home.
Tonight, Zhang Wenhao felt he had done his utmost to ensure everything went perfectly within his abilities. The meal had even earned him fifty points from the system.
It was already past nine. Outside, darkness had fallen; the hotel was in a newly developed high-tech district, rather remote from the city center. There were few pedestrians and no taxis in sight. He and Su Ruoran waited by the roadside for five or six minutes, but not a single cab appeared.
Just then, a golden minivan pulled up before them. The door slid open, and four men leapt out, heading straight for Zhang Wenhao and Su Ruoran.
At a glance, Zhang Wenhao could tell they were up to no good. They lunged for Su Ruoran—one drew a knife from his belt and kicked at Zhang Wenhao to knock him aside, while the others grabbed Su Ruoran’s arms, trying to drag her into the van.
"Kidnappers?" Zhang Wenhao’s heart raced. As the man’s kick neared his abdomen, he reacted instantly, swinging a right hook directly at the attacker’s rapidly approaching ankle, targeting the joint without hesitation.
The punch was swift and forceful. The ankle, a vulnerable spot—especially the hollow beneath the malleolus—couldn’t withstand such an impact. Not only did the man fail to land his kick, but the blow made it feel as if his ankle had snapped. The immense force was absorbed, and he stumbled to the ground.
Meanwhile, the other three were close to forcing Su Ruoran into the van. She struggled desperately, but there was little she could do against three strong men.
Zhang Wenhao rushed forward, stomping hard on the man who’d fallen, leaving him sprawled and motionless. Then, reaching the others, he delivered a powerful kick to the one on Su Ruoran’s right, seized her, and wrapped an arm around her neck, covering the back of her head so she could rest it on his shoulder, exposing her left-side attacker. Without hesitation, he drove a vicious straight punch into the man’s face.
"Bang!"
Blood spurted from the man’s nose, his grip on Su Ruoran’s shoulders slackening. Zhang Wenhao quickly pulled her behind him and, without concern for fighting fair or foul, kicked the man squarely in the groin.
The kick came down hard, and the man felt a pain in his crotch so sharp it seemed to shoot through his skull, as if his very manhood had been kicked off.
At that moment, the driver and passenger of the van, seeing things go awry, leapt out, machetes in hand. Zhang Wenhao dared not linger—he grabbed Su Ruoran and retreated swiftly. Beyond a landscaped path, the hotel entrance was four or five hundred meters away. If they could reach it, these thugs likely wouldn’t dare continue their pursuit.
Pulling the dazed and frightened Su Ruoran with him, Zhang Wenhao ran as fast as he could, with three pursuers close behind. But Su Ruoran, a girl terrified and exhausted, stumbled and fell, scraping her knee and wincing in pain.
"They’re after me! Run!"
Su Ruoran called out with all her strength, seeing two of the men wielding machetes. She couldn’t bear for Zhang Wenhao to be hurt because of her.
But he yanked her upright with a strong pull. Now, Zhang Wenhao had two choices: drag her and run for the last two or three hundred meters, or turn and fight the three assailants. But fleeing alone, leaving her behind, was never an option.

——

Another crisis approaches. The Captain is once again humbly begging for votes! We’re currently ranked fifth on the Newcomers’ List, ahead of sixth by over five thousand points, but trailing fourth by more than three thousand. Can everyone give me a push to climb higher? I’m counting on you all!