CH 25

When Han Xiao heard the scream, the call was interrupted. When he tried to call Jiang Nian again, there was a warning that the phone had been turned off.

The old man immediately saw that Han Xiao’s face wasn’t right and knew something unexpected happened. But he was a man who had experienced strong wind and waves and calmly said, “The driver dropped her off. Her current location shouldn’t be too far from the mall where they went to play. You hurry up first!”

Although Han Xiao was anxious not knowing what happened to Jiang Nian, he was worried about Grandpa worrying and hurting his body.

“It should be okay. She probably fell in the rain or something; don’t worry too much. I’ll go check it out first.”

Grandfather Han nodded. His face was heavy and he hurriedly urged, “Hurry up! Go ahead! Bring her back safe- not a hair out of place!”

Han Xiao immediately strode out, anxiousness subconsciously speeding up his steps. As soon as he left the sight of the old man and no longer had to pretend, his face cooled down completely.

He couldn’t deny he was worried about Jiang Nian.

Such a weak girl running into a bad guy, the probability of her being hurt was too high.

He couldn’t even imagine Jiang Nian having an accident. After all, she was the little girl guarded by the Han family for two years. How could she be bullied casually? Clearly someone didn’t take he and the Han family seriously!

Han Xiao rushed all the way, and his mind had already gone through thousands of twists and turns.

The black car galloped on the road. Han Xiao called one of his classmates.

“Zheng Kun, help me find someone.”

Zheng Kun was a friend he met during college with relationships with both black and white1. The driver only knew Jiang Nian went to the Stars Plaza to watch a movie, he was unclear where she went afterwards.

When Han Xiao and Jiang Nian spoke just now, the background of the phone was terribly quiet; she was unlikely to be in a bustling place like the shopping mall. He speculated she’d left the mall but, considering how little time had passed since the end of the movie, she should still be close by.

No matter what happened, it was good to be prepared. If his contempt really resulted in anything happening to Jiang Nian, not to mention he couldn’t forgive himself, the old man would kill him.

During the four years of college, Zheng Kun also learned that Han Xiao was an outwardly eager but cold-hearted man. Add to that the fact that he’d been forced to marry Jiang Nian as his wife, he absolutely didn’t hold any responsibility for Jiang Nian. Suddenly calling so eagerly, voice dripping with worry, was rather out of the ordinary.

Did that little girl Jiang Nian finally warm the stinky stone man, Han Xiao?

At the same time, Grandfather Han also made a few phone calls to his former subordinates. Although he was old now, he’d had a lot of soldiers. By his age, his subordinates would only be in a higher position.

Soon, a lot of people stood guard at various points throughout the city. Even if Jiang Nian was really abducted, they couldn’t take her out of the imperial capital!

While Han Xiao was anxiously waiting, he finally received the news that Jiang Nian was found.

He blurted out, “How is she? Where is she now?”

“She was bullied by a few punks and got a little bit of an injury. Now she’s safe in police custody.”

“…Han Xiao, Han Xiao? Han Xia-!”

****

This evening was lively and confusing; informed people discussed the Han family using their relationships to find Jiang Nian. Unwitting passerby who were stopped merely commented on the number of roadblocks which set off more rounds of talk about what happened.

The black car stopped at a dim alley. The man’s black soles rapidly strode across the puddle-filled ground. The drizzle had not yet stopped, staining the black hair on his forehead with a few drops of water.

There were police cars parked in the alley and their flashing lights would flash on him, making his already cold face look as if it was encased in a layer of ice.

The assistant had already arrived and gotten a rundown of the whole story.

Of the three men who wanted to kidnap Jiang Nian, one was Xu Lao San, one was Guozi, and the other was Lao Fu. The three wanted to catch Jiang Nian, but one ended up with a broken root1, one broke a finger, and the other was still unconscious.

As for why Jiang Nian was so powerful, she said it was a combination of eating spinach since she was a child and her parents’ blessing from heaven! In fact, it was because the three people were originally addicts. Seeing that they were not so awake now, clearly they had gotten high to build up their courage to commit crimes and unexpectedly overdrawn their bodies. Instead of succeeding, they gave Jiang Nian the ability to save herself.

It could be considered a miracle.

Jiang Nian also said that the three people seemed to say something special.

“You did come out.”

–They had a partner.

After listening, Han Xiao began to investigate suspicious people around him.

The assistant said, “The news from Kunge said that the three people had a lot of debts so it should be for money.”

Thinking of this, Han Xiao couldn’t help but feel guilty, remembering the two seconds he hesitated to answer the phone. She asked him for help when she was most lonely and scared, but he didn’t appear to protect and comfort her immediately. Would it have been better if he answered the phone earlier? Would this have happened?

Han Xiao really regretted it at this moment. He couldn’t wait to kill those men.

At this moment, looking at the few men handcuffed on the ground begging for mercy, he heard them claiming they didn’t bully Jiang Nian and that everything was a misunderstanding. If everything was a misunderstanding, then was Jiang Nian the one bullying them?

Han Xiao was even more angry and smiled coldly. In any case, he would not let these scum be better.

He narrowed down the coldness in his eyes and strode to Jiang Nian. Noticing Jiang Nian coming towards her, she was surprised and immediately said, “Han Xiaoge!”

Han Xiao felt sour, distressed, and guilty. He stroked the girl’s messy wet hair and said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here and I will never let anyone bully you again!”

Of course, Jiang Nian believed it. If Han Xiao used his strength to protect her, few could bully her. The three kidnappers could be dealt with by Han Xiao.

“Han Xiaoge, you’re so good!”

Han Xiao stared at Jiang Nian’s eyes full of trust and paused, saying, “Are there any injuries?”

Jiang Nian shook her head and pulled out a mobile phone with a broken screen.

“It’s okay, I was scared and fell, sprained my foot, and broke my phone…”

“The phone breaking is okay; I’ll buy a new one for you when we get home.”

He looked at Jiang Nian’s feet and pinched carefully.

“Does it hurt? Is it serious?”

“…Doesn’t hurt!”

Although it hurt to the point where she couldn’t even stand, she wasn’t afraid at all. After all, she was the female lead with the heroine aura! No matter what miracles happened, she would stand as tenaciously as a roly-poly toy2. But she couldn’t let it show- she didn’t want to lose her momentum after already losing the battle! Unfortunately, the mall didn’t have a pill for treatment, otherwise she must be standing powerfully now.

“…”

Han Xiao was speechless for a while but then worried that Jiang Nian was too sensible, so much more careful than he was.

Han Xiao coughed and looked away to conceal the discomfort in his eyes, spotting the car of their private lawyer pulling up. He didn’t want to let Jiang Nian remain here for a moment.

“I’m going to take care of things. I’ll be right back and then we’ll go to the hospital.”

Jiang Nian made a sound in confirmation and watched Han Xiao go away.

“Niannian, is that Han Xiao?”

Liang Yu, who had been hiding quietly, finally spoke up.

“I’ve only seen him in magazines. I didn’t expect that the real person is better than a photo and was so good to you. You are so happy.”

Why was Jiang Nian so ordinary but still able to marry such a brilliant man?

Just now, Liang Yu had been hesitant to run away. The moment she saw the police, she knew she had failed and wanted to run away. Who knew that the husband who had been secretly following stopped her and said, “Wouldn’t running away now just be admitting you are one of the people who kidnapped Jiang Nian? You go back now and pretend you don’t know anything. Even if those people confess they heard from us, we could say we mentioned it inadvertently and didn’t expect they would take it to heart. We weren’t involved in anything!”

Liang Yu felt this method was feasible but still worried.

“What if they try to bring us down with them? What’s more, the Han family will know that Jiang Nian’s news was revealed by us. Let me get closer to Jiang Nian, then we…”

“Stupid, you see Jiang Nian trusts you so much, don’t you know how to beg her more? Since the Han family loves her so much, as long as Jiang Nian believes you, what can the Han family do? The most important thing for you now is to catch Jiang Nian. This time it failed. Next time, we’ll find a way! These people are so stupid that even a woman who can’t kill a chicken could handle them!”

Ma Dawei looked indignant, his eyes scarlet.

Liang Yu hesitated for a long time before agreeing to his suggestion. Even though her feet weren’t really hurt, she limped to Jiang Nian, and then she kept shrinking behind with a look a fright. The three kidnappers naturally didn’t find Liang Yu on the scene.

In fact, Liang Yu and Ma Dawei just wanted to take the fisherman’s profit. They didn’t dare kidnap Jiang Nian directly but wanted to grab the ransom from the hands of those three idiots. Because it was dirty money and the three wouldn’t dare call the police, they had a double guarantee. They wouldn’t have to face the police or the Han family so they had nothing to worry about. Who would expect the three were so stupid that their perfect plan fell short!

Laing Yu was full of hatred but still had to pretend to be concerned about Jiang Nian, which made her even more dissatisfied with Jiang Nian.

“Niannian, I didn’t expect to encounter an accident this time. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have proposed this outing.”

Jiang Nian listened to her then asked, “Liang Yu, such a big thing, don’t you call your husband to pick you up?”

Liang Yu was shocked and smiled reluctantly.

“It doesn’t matter, I just have a small sprain, nothing major. Besides, he still has to work overtime. I can just talk to him after I go back.”

Jiang Nian smiled and looked at her and said, “Liang Yu, you are so considerate. Your husband is so blessed to marry you.”

Liang Yu grinned a few times, and lowered his eyes to hide the jealously from the bottom of her eyes. She was about to say something but then saw a confusing scene in from of her. Xu Laosan fell down! His mouth opened in a scream but he couldn’t make a sound as he shrank on the ground clutching his stomach.

The police soon came up to pull Han Xiao away. Han Xiao sneered and fixed his slightly messy neckline. His tongue pushed against the back of his teeth and he was full of condescending arrogance and ruthlessness.

“You dare to touch the woman of Han Wushao? You don’t know how to live or die!”

Liang Yu only felt that her heart was throbbing uncontrollably. This kind of Han Xiao was more attractive than the charm of his money.

But why was he Jiang Nian’s man? Jiang Nian didn’t deserve him.

Jiang Nian looked up at Liang Yu and then looked at Han Xiao, not far away.

How wise was this Liang Yu really?

—

After Han Xiao broke away from the police holding him and handed things over to the lawyer and assistant before striding to Jiang Nian.

The tall man lifted her from the small bench almost effortlessly, his voice more gentle than ever before.

“Let’s go home.”

Jiang Nian leaned on his shoulder and said, “Okay.”

Liang Yu’s eyes opened. When Han Xiao held Jiang Nian and started to walk away, she took two steps on her fake twisted legs and said loudly, “Niannian, give me a call when you get home so I can feel at ease, ah.”

Han Xiao’s footsteps stopped, allowing Jiang Nian time to turn back to Liang Yu and give a goodbye.

Liang Yu then smiled peacefully, saying, “Be careful on the road.”

She watched as Han Xiao walked away holding Jiang Nian. He’d treated her as an invisible person from beginning to end, as if he didn’t see her at all. Why didn’t he care about her? Not to mention, he left without even sending her home! She clenched her fists with resentment.

Han Xiao put Jiang Nian into the car and looked back to whisper in the assistant’s ear, “Keep an eye on her.”

The assistant nodded in understanding.

“Rest assured, Mr. Han.”

Han Xiao didn’t take Jiang Nian home immediately. Instead, they stopped by the hospital to check her injury first.

She removed her shoe, reveling her red and swollen ankle. The doctor examined it carefully and told her to rest as much as possible without walking around. Fortunately, she didn’t injure the bones. In addition to the ankle, there were bruise marks on her arms and shoulder where she was grabbed by the men. The scars looked especially on her fair and delicate skin.

Han Xiao removed the towel from Jiang Nian’s shoulders. Sure enough, even her original clean white top was wet by rain, stained with dirt and stains, and crumpled on her body. Even her pants were no exception. The whole person looked very embarrassed.

Despite knowing Jiang Nian was not harmed in any way, he was still so angry that his face turned blue.

The doctor and the Han family were also acquaintances. When he saw Han Xiao so angry his face was frosting, he realized Han Xiao didn’t ignore Jiang Nian nearly as much as the outside world rumored. However, this girl Jiang Nian seemed so loveable. Now that she’d suffered so much, he couldn’t help but feel distressed.

“These won’t be a problem, just go back and rest more.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

The doctor called Han Xiao aside when they were going to leave, telling him that, although Jiang Nian only suffered skin trauma physically, her emotional harm might be much more significant.

Han Xiao nodded.

“I will pay attention.”

On the way back, Jiang Nian used Han Xiao’s mobile phone to call Grandfather Han and tell him not to worry. But how could he not worry? He was so worried he couldn’t even eat, just pacing in front of the door. Even hearing her voice wasn’t enough to relieve him.

Jiang Nian also knew he must still be scared, saying, “Grandpa, I didn’t get toe at dinner so I’m really hungry now. I want to eat Aunt Wang’s steamed fish!”

“Ok, Grandpa will go tell the kitchen now!”

After a bit more casual chatting, the old man finally determined Jiang Nian was safe and put his heart down. Jiang Nian returned the phone to Han Xiao.

She leaned against the window silently.

Han Xiao glanced at her, only to find the little girl wrapped in a towel leaning on the window very distressing. Thinking about his actions before, how could a big man like him act so immaturely with a little girl?

In his distress, he heard Jiang Nian’s quiet sigh.

Han Xiao shivered when he heard it, and wanted to persuade her to be happy but didn’t know what to say. After all, he really didn’t know how to make women happy.

…Or else just give her two little houses?

He still couldn’t help asking, “Jiang Nian, what are you thinking?”

Jiang Nian shook her head and didn’t want to speak. She looked out the window, thinking sadly. She should be standing like a queen and worshiped by everyone. Who knew she’d end up shrinking on a small seat pitifully, only able to accept the love and pity of everyone = =.

It’s probably destined for her to hide her strength and name.

1. Legal and illegal dealings.