Chapter 787
Chapter 787
Over at Commoner Residence in Flower City, Nan Zhengde felt a little better after waking up from an afternoon nap, washing his face, and drinking a pot of hot tea.
At that moment, Chai Hua went up to him and informed the latter that the two little ones were on the phone. They wanted to speak to Nan Zhengde on a video call.
Upon hearing that the call was from his beloved great-grandchildren, Nan Zhengde quickly took the phone from Chai Hua.
Two small faces appeared on the screen. They looked almost identical. The only differences were that Erbao was slightly chubbier and Dabao looked more nonchalant.
“Great-Grandpa...” Erbao began in a tearful voice.
Nan Zhengde felt his heart break at the sight of that. “There, there. Tell me what happened. Did your daddy scold you? I'll deal with him later.”
“No, it's not that. Mommy's gone!” Erbao wailed.
“Gone? Where did she go? Take your time and tell me slowly.”
“Yesterday, Mommy said she was going out to help Ms. Lu take something, but she never returned after that. Mr. Qiao and Daddy were talking in the room and wouldn't let us listen. However, Dabao and I analyzed the situation, and we're afraid some bad guy took Mommy away again. Great-Grandpa, you've got to rescue her!”
After she said that, Dabao bobbed his head in agreement.
“How could something like this happen, and why wasn't I informed? Is Nan Chen trying to keep it from me? Get him to call me immediately!” Nan Zhengde responded.
“Daddy went out already. That's why we dared to call you. He said Mommy's busy filming and can't come home, but we think something's off. Could you help us to rescue Mommy?”
“Don't worry. I'll handle it. She'll be fine. Nothing will happen to her. By the way, where are you now?”
“We just arrived at the new house in Flower City. Daddy left after getting several people to watch over us. We're very worried about his safety and can't help feeling a little scared. We don't want Mommy and Daddy to go missing like before,” answered Erbao.
A pang shot through Nan Zhengde's heart. “You don't have to worry about a thing. I'll make sure everything is well taken care of. It'll be fine. I'll send someone now to bring you here so you can be with me.”
Half an hour later, an exhausted Nan Chen was summoned to Commoner Residence by Nan Zhengde.
The older man knew things were serious when he saw Nan Chen's tired and bloodshot eyes.
“Did you stay up all night?”
Nan Chen replied truthfully, “I had three hours of sleep. I'm fine.”
“If my darling great-grandchildren hadn't called me, were you planning to continue hiding it from me?” Nan Zhengde demanded furiously.
“I'm sorry, Grandpa. I thought I could handle it myself. I didn't expect the kids to—”
“You're not allowed to blame or admonish them. I don't want to hear a single peep,” Nan Zhengde growled.
“Don't worry. I won't.”
“If you dare to scold them, I'll never let it slide!”
At that moment, Feng Wan walked over. “Who wants to scold my dearest great-grandchildren?”
“I don't, Grandma. I'm serious.”
Nan Chen felt utterly helpless. Now that Dabao and Erbao had others backing them, he could not afford to cross them.
“What were the two of you talking about, then? What's the reason for reprimanding those darling children?” Feng Wan pressed, not about to be fooled so easily.
The two men were silent.
“Why don't you say anything? Are you trying to avoid my question with silence?” she asked, her expression darkening.
Nan Zhengde gestured to Nan Chen. “Tell her yourself.”
“Well, it's like this. Someone kidnapped Ning Ran, but she's fine. She even called me early yesterday morning,” Nan Chen explained.
As soon as Feng Wan heard that, she became racked with worry. “Again? Why are the both of you so careless and always end up getting kidnapped?”
“Why are you so impatient? Let him talk. It's difficult to avoid things like kidnappings. One can't possibly bring dozens of people with them every time they go out, nor can they stay at home all day without setting foot outside,” Nan Zhengde piped up in Nan Chen's defense.
“That's right, Grandma. We've been very cautious already, but this was an unexpected incident. It just so happened that we crossed paths with a kidnapper. The guy probably only had the sudden idea of doing so at the time. It was merely a coincidence. It'll be fine,” said Nan Chen.Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.
“Where's Ning Ran now? Does that person want money? No matter how much he demands, just give it to him. We can't let Dabao and Erbao lose their mother,” Feng Wan urged.
Looking conflicted, he replied, “The person didn't ask for money.”
“What does he want, then? Is he demanding we hand over our family's business just like how Ouyang Duo did?”
Nan Chen shook his head. “It's not that either.”
His response made Feng Wan even more distressed. “Well, what on earth is it? Just come right out and tell us. Stop beating around the bush, will you?”
“I haven't the faintest idea,” Nan Chen finally replied with another shake of his head.
“Huh? You've no idea why the kidnapper took Ning Ran away? Didn't he contact you?”
Nan Zhengde was generally calm and collected, but even he started to panic. “She's right. What is it that he wants? Tell us.”
“Grandpa, Grandma, I'll take care of it. Please believe in me. I'll surely rescue Ning Ran and bring her back,” Nan Chen replied without answering their questions directly.
“Is something holding you back from telling us the truth? You can't keep us in the dark. There's also no way you are allowed to do such a thing. I only need to ask a few of our household staff to learn everything,” Nan Zhengde bellowed.
Getting too agitated, he suddenly had a coughing fit.
Nan Chen hurried forward and patted his grandfather's back. “Calm down, Grandpa. Don't get so upset. Honestly, I can handle this matter.”
Raising her voice, Feng Wan insisted, “No. You have to let us know the kidnapper's demands. You think we're old and useless, is that it?”
Nan Chen was at a loss for what to do. Initially, he had not planned on telling his grandparents what had happened. However, now that things had gotten to that point, he felt he had no choice but to fill them in.
“That person's name is Ruan Anxi, and he's from M Nation. His identity is shrouded in mystery. There are many versions of his identity floating around, but I don't know which one is true. He wields much power in South East Aploth, monopolizing practically more than half of the shady dealings in the underworld. His nickname is 'Doctor,' and I heard he used to study medicine. Previously, his subordinates tried to kidnap Ning Ran in Livingsfill. However, they got the wrong person and carried off one of Ning Ran's friends. As it turned out, that friend had a powerful older brother who immediately pulled some strings to have all of Ruan Anxi's subordinates killed. They were thugs with blood on their hands, so they deserved to die. However, it angered Ruan Anxi. He sneaked into Livingsfill to look for Ning Ran's friend, and just by accident, he bumped into Ning Ran and took her away.”
Feng Wan and Nan Zhengde looked at each other. “I see. If this Ruan Anxi kidnapped Ning Ran, why could she still call you?”
“The call came from a service area. It seems Ruan Anxi isn't concerned about revealing his whereabouts. He knows that as long as he has Ning Ran, I'll be cautious and won't do anything rash,” Nan Chan replied.
“So, he contacted you already, hasn't he?”
“No. He had someone else get in touch with me.”
“What did he ask for? Did he ask for a lot of money? A hundred million?”
“No. He really didn't ask for money. He...” Nan Chen's voice trailed off as he hesitated.
Feng Wan and Nan Zhengde exchanged glances, thinking about how he was not acting his usual self. He always speaks plainly if he has something to say. But today, he appears hesitant and uneasy.