Chapter 42
Slowly, Ling Rong began walking towards the villain. Immediately, everyone's heart rose into their throat. Li Qing clenched his fists, ready to rescue him at the slightest hint of danger.
Truthfully, he couldn’t conceive that the young boy would willingly trade himself for the girl. Noticing the reactions of people around, it seemed that the boy was a minor celebrity. Suddenly, Li Qing seemed to understand why some girls were drawn towards celebrities. There were indeed people worth pursuing.
On reaching the man, Ling Rong stood unmovingly. She seemed unusually obedient, “Alright, I am over here now. You can let her go and take me as your hostage.”
Ling Rong appeared defenseless. Anyone looking at her at this moment wouldn't perceive her as having any ability to resist.
The man wasn't foolish. Ideally, he would have wanted to use them both as hostages. However, he only had two hands and controlling two individuals at once wasn't feasible. So, he had no choice but to let the girl go and quickly pulled Ling Rong in front to take him as his hostage.
The girl who had been a hostage was abruptly pushed away. She staggered for a few steps before managing to stabilize herself. She stood there in disbelief, as if she couldn't process that she had just been rescued. She stared blankly at Ling Rong, who was now under the control of the villain, her eyes still wide with lingering fear.
"What are you looking at? Get out of here now! Or do you want to be tied up again?" The man was short-tempered. After shooting a vicious glare at the girl, he crudely spat out his words.
The girl suddenly snapped out of her daze. However, fear made her body tremble, and her legs became too weak to move. Because she was scared, she sobbed quietly, her eyes red and pitiful.
At this moment, Ling Rong spoke again, her beautiful eyes gently looking at the girl, softly comforting her, "Good girl, you're safe now. Go to a safe place."
The girl was not ungrateful. She remembered that Ling Rong had taken her place to ensure her safety. So, she sobbed quietly, "But what about you?"
Ling Rong's neck was held by the man, with the knife dangerously close, just a centimeter away from his snow-white neck. His stunning face made people afraid that the knife might inadvertently slash across her face, ruining the most perfect work of art from the heavens.
Finally, the villain grew impatient, "What are you two whispering about? If you don't leave right now, I'll tie you both up and use you as hostages!"
"Go now, you'll be fine." Ling Rong reassured her again when the girl became frightened once more.
The girl reluctantly nodded her head with tears in her eyes and ran towards the police as fast as she could. As she reached Li Qing, someone immediately attended to her and prepared to escort her to the hospital to treat her wounds.
"Alright, kid. Call your people to bring me the ransom. If I don't receive five hundred thousand yuan, don't expect to walk out of here alive." Not satisfied with the five hundred thousand yuan from the police, the man's greed resurfaced. After all, having a million yuan would make his future life far more comfortable than the difficult days he had experienced in the past two years.
Ling Rong curled her lips, her deliberately lowered voice resembling Satan from hell, "If you want the money... you'd better dream about it in prison!"
Before the man could react, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his leg, almost losing his balance. This sensation made him loosen his grip on Ling Rong's arm, and without the threat of the blade, Ling Rong immediately hit him with a powerful elbow to his abdomen. The intense pain made him drop the knife he had been holding, doubling him over.
Before he could curse, the next roundhouse kick had already descended. Ling Rong focused all her strength in her right leg, delivering a heavy kick to the man's side, knocking him to the ground.
The pain in his leg, his abdomen and the unbearable stinging sensation on his face all contributed to black spots appearing in his vision. He felt so dizzy that he couldn't even manage to get up from the ground.
Game over.
Confirmed that the man lacked the strength to fight back, Ling Rong satisfyingly dusted her hands and called to Li Qing, "Hey, Officer, the job's done. It's your turn now."
The whole room fell silent. They stared at Ling Rong, the stunningly attractive young man at the center of the place, utterly astonished.
Even a difficult task for the police... was resolved by Ling Rong?!
And he made it look so easy!
Seeing that no one responded to her for a while, Ling Rong called out again, "Officer?"
Finally, Li Qing snapped out of his shock, quickly patting his companion and ordering, "What are you staring at? Go apprehend the criminal now!"
"Yes... yes," the teammate, completely bewildered, obeyed the captain's orders almost reflexively.
Li Qing walked over to Ling Rong and his view of him had drastically changed—from considering him a delicate pretty boy without any masculine energy to seeing him as a courageous and responsible idol, and now, to someone resembling a fierce knight.
With admiration and gratitude, Li Qing patted Ling Rong on the shoulder and said, "Well done, kid. You've got impressive moves. You must have trained, right?"
Ling Rong, who appeared demure when not in action, smiled modestly and replied, "I used to have some health issues, so I took up training to strengthen my body."
"Great, we really owe you one today. You're Ling Rong, right, a trainee from around here? I'll remember that. The department will definitely recognize your bravery."
"Thanks, Officer. You still have a lot of work to do here."
After exchanging pleasantries, Ling Rong started to walk away. That's when the fans finally came to their senses, greeting Ling Rong's return with enthusiastic screams.
But this time, they were not screams of fear.
"Holy cow! Rongrong was so cool just now! That roundhouse kick was epic! I never imagined Rongrong could fight like that. Absolutely amazing!"
"It's over for me, I'm not just jumping over the fence for him. I'll be forever stuck at the bottom of Ling Rong's pit. Ahhhh, I need an up-close photo of brother Rong!"
"I can't handle my excitement. He's kind, good-looking, and can fight. What kind of heavenly idol is this? I want a boyfriend just like that!"
Watching that person approach him, Gu Ningyan's heart, which had plummeted since earlier, seemed to revive. He didn't care if Ling Rong could fight or had any honors. He just wanted her to be fine, and always there before him.
Perhaps the pain of nearly losing her was so intense that Gu Ningyan didn't wait for her to reach him. Taking the initiative, he walked over to her, grabbed the collar of Ling Rong's top, and yanked her towards him.
Huh? What's going on? The fans around them were clueless. Ling Rong had returned safely, but Gu Ningyan showed no signs of relief. Instead, he appeared angry, as if he intended to reprimand Ling Rong.
Surprised by his unexpected actions, Ling Rong was momentarily bewildered. But she quickly understood that Gu Ningyan was criticizing her recklessness and blaming himself.
As expected, the next moment, he reproached her in a voice hoarse from anxiety, almost on the brink of tears, "Why did you act so impulsively? Did you ever think about how I'd feel?"
"Did you ever consider how terrible it feels to helplessly watch someone you care about in danger; and if something were to happen to you, what am I supposed to do in the future?"
These were the genuine, helpless thoughts that Gu Ningyan had during those moments. But he could only scream them in his heart, unable to utter these carefully hidden sentiments.
"I'm sorry, Ningyan. I only took a risk because I was sure of myself. You have to believe me. I would never gamble with my life." Ling Rong held his hand, which was gripping her collar, asserting through her warmth and strength, that she was here, alive and well right in front of him.
The warmth from the person he loved coursed through his hand to his heart, bringing Gu Ningyan's nearly frozen heart back to life. He gently let go of Ling Rong's collar, fearing he'd knock him over although he hadn't used much strength at all.
The very next second, the handsome man suddenly held Ling Rong tightly in his arms, as if he wanted to assimilate him into his own flesh and blood, and leave no gap between them.
A man usually wouldn't shed tears easily, but at this moment, Ling Rong felt a dampness on his shoulder. Realizing what it was, she couldn't help but feel surprised and a bit guilty.
She had been reckless this time. Although she knew she could safely pull through, Gu Ningyan didn't. Or rather, no matter how sure Ling Rong was under that situation, no one would believe her.
With both her hands wrapped around the man's back, she held him just as tightly. As she patted his back to comfort him, she whispered in his ear, "It won't happen again, Ningyan. I'm sorry for worrying you."
At this point, the fans finally understood. Gu Ningyan wasn't bullying Ling Rong; he was just incredibly worried about him, leading to his emotional outpour.
The fans of the "RongYan" couple couldn't help but squeal with excitement. It was like their idols were doling out sweet moments right before their eyes! Such divine friendship!
Naturally, they wouldn't interpret this in any other manner. Although they loved pairing up characters and finding sweet moments, they still distinguished fantasy from reality. This was simply perceived as a sincere friendship between the two, not elevating it to romantic love between them.
"Alright, everyone is watching. This doesn't reflect on us well. Let's get back to training quickly. If the show's director finds out we were involved in this incident, I'm afraid we're going to get lectured," Ling Rong released her hold, indicating the man who still held her to let go.
"Oh," Gu Ningyan replied. The feeling of having his loved one in his arms was so wonderful that he didn't want to let go. However, he was aware that they were in public. Revealing true feelings is one thing, but lingering over time could be hard to explain.
As he let him go, Gu Ningyan noticed a narrow cut on Ling Rong's neck, though it wasn't very pronounced, a faint trace of blood could be seen.
"You're hurt! Does it hurt? We should take a day off and rush to the hospital!" Even though it was a minor wound, in Gu Ningyan's eyes, it seemed significantly larger. He was the kind of person who wouldn't go to the hospital even during a high fever until he lost consciousness. Yet, at this moment, he insisted on taking Ling Rong to the hospital.
"Huh? Do I have a wound?" Ling Rong reached for her neck and felt a slight sting at one point, then she realized she was injured.
If it wasn't for Gu Ningyan's discovery and the pain she only felt when she applied force, Ling Rong wouldn't have noticed a wound on her neck.
"It must have been a scratch from a knife just now. It’s okay, it's just a small wound. I'll just patch it up when we get back. No need for a hospital," Ling Rong said nonchalantly.
Her minor injury was nothing compared to that of the girl who was previously taken as a hostage. Going to the hospital would probably make it look like a joke to the doctors!
"But what if..." Gu Ningyan couldn't finish his sentence because Ling Rong interrupted decisively, "But what? Such a tiny wound doesn't require a hospital visit! Let's go back!"
With that, Ling Rong took Gu Ningyan’s hand and started walking back to the production site. Before leaving, she didn't forget to say goodbye to all the fan girls who were gradually urged to leave: "Everyone, considering today's incident, you shouldn't stay here any longer! Go back and rest well, please be mindful of safety in the future!"
It was fortunate that Ling Rong had the strange impulse to come here today. Otherwise, it would have been tough to resolve the situation as smoothly as it had been.
Not only would it be uncertain if they could save the hostage safely, the police department might've suffered a big loss, and had to spend even more time recapturing the criminals.
"I get it! Rongrong, quickly go treat your wound so it doesn't get infected! Make sure to rest plenty!"
The fans voiced their heartfelt words one after another. Even after Ling Rong and Gu Ningyan totally disappeared from sight, they couldn’t bring themselves to leave for a long time.
After this incident, Ling Rong's fans were even more convinced they had chosen the right person to follow. Their sense of pride bubbled up and those who initially weren't her fans were also convinced to become her fans. They fell into a trap called Ling Rong and they couldn't get out.
On the other side, the police had already controlled the criminals and brought them back to the station. For a moment, the outside of the factory returned to calm as if nothing had happened earlier.
As the fans also began to gradually leave with their equipment and there were fewer people outside the factory, no one noticed a man, wearing a baseball cap that covered most of his face, step out from behind a secluded tree. He juggled a heavy camera in his hands looking immensely satisfied.
"Hehe, this time it'll indeed be a major news story," he chuckled to himself.
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