Gu Zheng: "No need, Grandpa. I've already spoken to the police station, and they're already looking for us."
Grandpa Xia's face changed when he heard this, and he could only sit on the sofa and sigh.
Xia Ran bent down and took off her shoes; the skin on her heels was already peeling from being rubbed raw.
Upon seeing this, Gu Zheng felt a pang of pain in his heart and immediately lifted Xia Ran's foot.
"Why didn't you say anything when your skin was peeling? I'll go find some medicine to apply for you."
Xia Ran immediately took her foot off, her tone icy cold.
"Don't touch me. You'd be better off going to find the children."
Gu Zheng paused for a moment, "We've already sent people to look for the child. If they can't find him, we're even less likely to find him. They're all professionals."
At this point, Gu Zheng frowned. Something was definitely wrong with this incident, partly because the surveillance system here was inadequate; his people had searched for so long without finding them.
Of course, this also confirms that the child was not lost but taken away by someone; otherwise, how could the child not be found?
Just as Gu Zheng finished speaking, Da Zhuang and He Xiu returned.
Seeing Xia Ran and Gu Zheng's expressions, Da Zhuang knew they definitely hadn't found them.
It was at this moment that Qin Hao called Gu Zheng.
After hearing this, Gu Zheng's expression relaxed a bit.
"Qin Hao said he has found traces of the child."
"What?" Xia Ran sat up straight instantly. "Where is the child? We need to get there right away."
"In the next town, we'll go there now," Gu Zheng said coldly. His guess was right; it was indeed human traffickers who had taken the person away.
Xia Ran: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Gu Zheng gave a soft "hmm," and said, "Qin Hao and the others have already sent people over there to follow us. We'll head over now."
As the group prepared to leave, Grandpa Xia surprisingly insisted on coming along.
Xia Ran: "Grandpa, stop joking around. Just wait at home. It's an hour's drive there, and it's late at night. Your body can't handle it. Just wait for me at home."
"No, I have to keep an eye on it." Grandpa Xia was also very stubborn.
Gu Zheng: "Grandpa, it's been confirmed that the child is alright, he's just been arrested. You should stay home and wait."
Grandpa Xia wanted to say something more, but in the end he nodded.
Forget it, he's not their child anymore anyway, why should he worry so much?
If it weren't for the uncertainty surrounding the child's condition, Grandpa Xia would never have allowed Gu Zheng to come in.
Chapter 218 Breaking the Promise
Da Zhuang and He Xiu went together as well. Gu Zheng felt a pang of indescribable sadness when he saw Xia Ran going out despite her scraped feet.
Xia Ran, who has no blood relation to the child, cares for him so much, but Gu En...
Gu Zheng quickly put those thoughts out of his head. Now was not the time to think about such things. He and Gu En had nothing to do with each other anymore. What he needed to do now was find the child first.
Gu Zheng and Xia Ran rode in a car with a driver and a bodyguard.
The car behind them was occupied by Dazhuang and Hexiu, and the interior was also the same standard configuration.
Grandpa Xia watched their car drive away and sighed inwardly.
I had already planned to keep Xia Ran away from Gu Zheng, but there's a child involved.
Although the child is not Xia Ran's biological child, Grandpa Xia knows Xia Ran well, and Xia Ran has long regarded the child as her own.
It was past eight o'clock when Xia Ran and the others left. The car drove towards the neighboring town in the dark. Xia Ran was distracted because she was worried about the child.
Gu Zheng noticed Xia Ran's emotions. "The child should be out of danger for now, so don't worry too much."
"It is understood that those people are likely human traffickers; they will not harm the children until they find a buyer."
Even after hearing Gu Zheng's explanation, Xia Ran didn't feel relieved at all. He thought of all the gossip he had heard before.
It's said that some human traffickers don't necessarily sell the child whole, but rather take organs...
Thinking of this, Xia Ran's face paled for a moment.
He closed his eyes, still not wanting to talk to Gu Zheng. Gu Zheng knew that Xia Ran was still angry, so he could only remain silent.
Meanwhile, Yu Chao didn't leave the studio until 8:20. He checked the time and drove straight to the bar where he had arranged to meet Xia Ran.
It takes about 20 minutes to get to Chengnan from here, and if there's traffic, it'll be almost 9 o'clock by the time we get there.
This is the first time Xia Ran has invited him to these bars, how could he be late?
Yu Chao was in a good mood and didn't even feel hungry because he hadn't eaten dinner.
Before leaving the bar, Yu Chao sent a message to Xia Ran, and was already planning where to take her for a late-night snack after they left the bar.
Just thinking about it made Yu Chao smile.
He arrived at the bar at 8:50 a.m. and was about to call Xia Ran when his phone rang.
The phone's contact name was "Looking for Lin," and this Lin was the same Dr. Lin who had treated Gu Chen before. He was Yu Chao's classmate and friend, and his full name was Lin Xian.
"Hey, what brings you here?" Yu Chao asked. "Didn't you say you didn't want to talk to me before?"
Yu Chao was still a little confused. When he said he wanted to come back here to develop his career, Lin Xian was quite opposed to it.
However, Lin Xian's objections were useless, and he returned without hesitation. But after returning, Lin Xian's attitude towards him became increasingly strange.
Not only did she stop contacting him like before, she also ignored him completely, not even a phone call or a text message. So when she suddenly called today, he was quite curious.
Hearing that Yu Chao was clearly in a good mood, Lin Xian subconsciously asked a question.
"Work is going well? Business is booming too? Why are you so happy?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Chao couldn't help but chuckle softly and said,
"You know me best. I am in a good mood, but not because of business or work. Of course, work is also very good. What makes me even happier is that Xiaoran got divorced."
"Cough... Of course, I'm not the kind of person who holds grudges. I was sad for him when he got divorced, but on the other hand, I was also quite happy, at least I had a chance, right?"
Yu Chao's words were somewhat incoherent, but Lin Xian on the other side understood them, and it was precisely because he understood that he remained silent.
Lin Xian: "You're so happy that he... got divorced?"
“Of course.” Yu Chao didn’t notice Lin Xian’s unusual behavior at all. “Well, I was prepared that I wouldn’t have a chance, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better and I had another opportunity.”
Yu Chao couldn't help but smile.
"Okay, I'm not talking to you anymore. I made an appointment with Xia Ran, and it's time now. I'll talk to you when I'm free. Bye."
Yu Chao hung up the phone before Lin Xian could answer, and then called Xia Ran, not knowing where she was now.
On the other side, Lin Xian, in his room, looked at the phone that had been hung up and suddenly chuckled self-deprecatingly.
Yu Chao said he had kept Xia Ran in his heart for so many years, but how could Yu Chao know how long she had kept him in her heart?
So, is it because God couldn't stand it anymore and insisted that he let go?
Forget it, Xia Ran is already divorced, so Yu Chao should have a chance. He should contact Yu Chao less.
Yu Chao frowned as he looked at the unanswered screen on his phone. Why wasn't Xia Ran answering the phone?
It's one thing if one doesn't answer, but why don't they answer either of them? And they're not replying to messages either. Could something have happened?
After thinking about this, Yu Chao called Grandpa Xia again. Fortunately, he had saved Grandpa Xia's phone number before.
Grandpa Xia's phone was answered quickly.
"Hey Grandpa, this is Yu Chao, Xiao Ran's classmate, do you remember me?"
Grandpa Xia: "I remember, it's you. What's up? Is there something you need to talk to Xiaoran about?"
Yu Chao: "Yes, I wanted to ask if Xiao Ran has gone out yet? Because I made plans with him to go out today, we agreed to meet at nine o'clock, but I called him just now and he didn't answer, I'm worried something might have happened to him."
Upon hearing Yu Chao's words, Grandpa Xia paused for a moment, glanced at the phone Xia Ran had left on the sofa, and then replied.
"I'm so sorry, he went out on some business and left his phone at home. It didn't ring just now, so it must be off. You don't need to wait for him. He can't make it to our appointment today. I'll have him call you when he gets back, okay?"
"He went out?" Yu Chao was taken aback. "I... okay, then thank you, Grandpa."
After hanging up the phone with Grandpa Xia, Yu Chao couldn't help but sigh, but afterwards he couldn't stop worrying.
Could something have happened to Xia Ran? Otherwise, why hasn't she given any explanation?
Yu Chao was looking at his phone when suddenly a missing person notice popped up at the top of the screen.
Yu Chao subconsciously clicked on it, and after reading it, he seemed to understand why Xia Ran was busy.
Chapter 219 The Mastermind
Yu Chao felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. At first, he naively believed that Xia Ran had truly let go.
But now he realized that perhaps Xia Ran had never let go, she just hadn't shown it.
Now, whenever Gu Zheng, or even the child, gets into trouble, Xia Ran will not hesitate to help.
Yu Chao sighed, glanced at the bar in front of him, gave a wry smile, got into his car, and left.
He had already decided where to have a late-night snack, but now that he sees this, it's all for nothing.
An hour later, Xia Ran and the others arrived at the next town. Qin Hao and his group were already waiting there in their car, and they quickly ran over when they saw them coming.
Xia Ran had already opened her eyes when the car stopped. When Qin Hao came over, she didn't wait for Qin Hao to speak and asked directly.
"Where is the child? Where is he now? Is he alright?"
Qin Hao: "There is no immediate danger to his life. I had people observe them. Although they tied Xiao Chen up, they did not harm him."
"And this doesn't seem like a kidnapping. If it were a kidnapping, they should have called us, but our family hasn't received any information from them yet."
Qin Hao explained the current situation in just a few words, and Xia Ran and the others were also a little confused after listening.
"Don't think about that now, getting the children out is the most important thing." Xia Ran got out of the car. "Where are they now?"
Qin Hao: "It's in a warehouse not far ahead, about a ten-minute walk away. We didn't dare get too close with our car because we were afraid of being spotted."
"But there are already professionals hiding there, reporting the situation at any time. There are only four of them."