After Divorcing the Scummy Alpha Movie Queen, I Became Extremely Popular - Chapter 44

You Can Only Choose One

I don’t know how much time had passed before Luo Jingyun groggily woke up, feeling a lingering pain at the back of her head where she had been struck. She observed her surroundings and realized she was likely in an abandoned warehouse; she had been dumped in one of the corners. There was only a single electric light in the entire warehouse, flickering intermittently, illuminating the center of the space. She tried to move her limbs, only to find her hands tied behind her back and her ankles bound with rope.

She must have been kidnapped. She hadn’t expected such a thing to happen just as the filming of the program was nearing its end.

Luo Jingyun recalled the events prior to losing consciousness. Before blacking out completely, she had heard the voices of two men. After reflecting for a long while, she realized that those two men were not among the staff members; who else could they be?

“Hiss—”

While she was thinking, Luo Jingyun heard a sharp intake of breath from another corner of the warehouse. She couldn’t see who was there, but remembering that she had seen Chen Shidong unconscious on the ground before she herself fainted, she asked in a low voice, “Chen Shidong, is that you?”

“Oh, my head hurts so much,” after a series of rustling sounds, Chen Shidong asked, “Jingyun, is that you calling me? Were you knocked unconscious too?”

Realizing that a familiar person was with her, Luo Jingyun felt much more at ease and replied, “Senior, it’s me! We’ve probably been kidnapped.”

“What? We’ve been kidnapped?” Chen Shidong began to recall, “I remember you went back to the room to get your phone, and I was waiting for you outside. Then my head throbbed with pain, and I fainted.”

Combining her own information, Luo Jingyun analyzed, “I was also knocked down. Before I fainted, I heard the voices of two men.”

“Two men? Are there any men in our crew?” Chen Shidong was equally clueless. “Forget it, let’s not worry about that for now. Let’s first think if there’s any way to escape.”

“My hands and feet are tied. What about you?”

“Me too,” Chen Shidong moved toward the center where the light was and said, “Jingyun, I have a small metal file in my pants pocket. If we can get it out, we can saw through our ropes, and then we’ll be saved!”

“That’s great,” Luo Jingyun’s feet were tied, so she had to shimmy toward the light by wiggling her hips. She looked at the rows of pockets on Chen Shidong’s cargo pants and asked, “Uh… which pocket is it in?”

“The one above my right knee. I guess I have too many pockets, and they were too lazy to search them. Move over here quickly and take the file out.”

“Wait a second,” Luo Jingyun continued to wriggle like a caterpillar, “Let me turn around.”

Approaching Chen Shidong, Luo Jingyun turned her back and used her tied hands to feel around. “Where is it?”

“A bit to the right, yes, further to the right.”

“Wait, wait, I’m trying. I felt it, let me pull it out. Okay, okay, I got it.” Because she couldn’t see, Luo Jingyun exerted a lot of effort before finally retrieving the object. She handed it to Chen Shidong. “You go first. I’m not very good at this and I’m afraid of wasting time.”

“Okay, I’ll come to save you once I’m done sawing.” After saying that, Chen Shidong took the file and began to saw. In the empty warehouse, under the flickering overhead light, only the sound of Chen Shidong sawing the rope could be heard.

Luo Jingyun felt awkward. She wanted to say something but was worried about affecting Chen Shidong’s progress, so she could only sit beside her in silent companionship.

Instead, it was Chen Shidong who took the initiative to strike up a conversation. “I really didn’t expect that even in this day and age, we would encounter a kidnapping. Jingyun, do you think this counts as us going through life and death together?”

“Haha, Sis, don’t say such unlucky things. We haven’t reached the point of ‘dying together’ yet.”

“You’re right. I’ll saw faster so we can run out of here. But tell me, who exactly kidnapped us? Let’s try to recall who we’ve offended and see if we can narrow down some targets.”

Luo Jingyun pondered for a moment and said, “I don’t think I’ve offended anyone. I guess someone might have found out about my identity and kidnapped me to demand ransom from my mothers. Sis, you might just be incidental.”

To comfort Luo Jingyun, Chen Shidong joked, “You shouldn’t say that. After all, I am a famous Movie Queen. It’s also possible that you were the one brought along because they wanted to kidnap me. But it’s also possible they just wanted to kidnap both of us; after all, two ransoms are better than one.”

“That is also a possibility.”

Chen Shidong continued the topic. “Jingyun, don’t worry. Once Yuqi finds out I’ve disappeared, she will definitely call the police immediately. Even if I can’t saw through the rope, we’ll be able to get out soon.”

“Yes, that would be wonderful.”

Chen Shidong continued, “I believe once Tan Jizhu finds out you’ve disappeared, she will also call the police immediately. So we won’t have any problems.”

Luo Jingyun didn’t speak, not knowing what to say. If they really wanted ransom from her mothers, even if they rushed as fast as possible, it would still take at least a day.

The two of them chatted back and forth. Luo Jingyun, not knowing what else to say, asked about the progress. “How is the sawing going?”

“This hemp rope is quite thick, and since my wrists are tied, it’s hard to apply force. I’ve probably sawed through a quarter of it.”

Luo Jingyun also knew that this task was not easy and comforted her, “It’s okay, it’s okay, take your time. I feel like once it’s sawed enough, we can just tear it apart.”

“Mm, I’ll work harder.”

At that moment, the sound of footsteps came from the distance. The warehouse door was suddenly kicked open, and a man walked in furiously.

Chen Shidong whispered a reminder, “Jingyun, let’s act normal so this person doesn’t notice anything.”

Luo Jingyun was somewhat nervous. She shrank back, pressing herself tightly against the wall.

“The two of you are awake?” The man held a wooden club in his hand, pointing it at them. “Do you recognize me?”

The man stood against the light. Luo Jingyun tried hard to discern his features and realized this ugly man looked somewhat familiar. She desperately searched her memory and finally remembered who he was.

“Are you Tan Jizhu’s father, Li Deng?”

“That’s right, it’s me.” Li Deng poked Luo Jingyun’s collarbone with the wooden club. “Stinky brat, in terms of seniority, I could be considered your father, yet you dare call me by my full name. How ill-mannered.”

Enduring the pain, Luo Jingyun questioned, “Weren’t you sent to prison for kidnapping and extortion? Your sentence isn’t finished yet; how did you escape?”

“I broke out of prison, of course! While I was suffering in prison, Tan Jizhu and her mother were living happily outside!” Li Deng applied more force. “And you! You also had a hand in sending me in back then. Did you think I would let you off so easily? This could have been settled with money, but you insisted on making things complicated. Don’t blame me for being heartless now.”

The more Li Deng spoke, the angrier he became. He raised the wooden club in his hand, making a move to hit Luo Jingyun.

Chen Shidong wanted to protect Luo Jingyun, but unfortunately, the rope was not yet fully undone. She could only use her own body to block Luo Jingyun, shouting, “Stop!”

“Oh, I almost forgot about you. You’re the one the internet says is Tan Jizhu’s cheating partner, right?”

“I am just her friend,” Chen Shidong said calmly. “You kidnapped us for nothing more than money. Just wait until the money arrives; why is there a need to use violence?”

“I’ll use violence whenever I want. Do you think you’re in any position to bargain with me now?”

“Fine, don’t hit them.” At this moment, another man walked in. Luo Jingyun recognized this man as Sun Hua, the one who had kidnapped and extorted with Li Deng before. He was also the father of Sun Kexin, who had been kicked out of the production after her dark history was investigated by Jingyun.

“The two of you escaped together?”

Memory flashed back again. Luo Jingyun remembered that when she had accompanied Peng Yi to the small shop to buy things, the television program was reporting on two fugitives from a kidnapping and extortion case. Thinking about it now, it was referring to Li Deng and Sun Hua.

Chen Shidong had helped Tan Jizhu’s mother find a house before and was familiar with the situation. From the fragments of conversation between the others, she roughly understood the current state of affairs.

Li Deng glanced at Sun Hua and lowered the wooden club. Sun Hua had once been successful and did not like using physical threats like Li Deng did. Furthermore, being able to escape from prison was largely thanks to him. It was also Sun Hua who learned through various sources that Tan Jizhu and Luo Jingyun were filming a variety show in this remote Tongxi Village and came up with the plan to kidnap them. If they could make another fortune, they could flee abroad.

Li Deng asked, “Have you contacted her two mothers?”

Sun Hua replied, “I’ve contacted them. I’ve already had them transfer the money to my overseas account.”

“That’s great. Those two mothers are so rich; they must have transferred a lot. Then do we still need to wait for Tan Jizhu to come? Should we just run now?”

Sun Hua smiled. “No rush. This play is only half-finished; how could it end so blandly? I’ve already contacted Tan Jizhu and their production crew. They are close and should be here soon.”

Luo Jingyun frowned; clearly, this Sun Hua was much harder to deal with than Li Deng.

The two men remained in the warehouse, which meant Chen Shidong could not continue sawing the rope.

Li Deng asked, “Will that plan of yours succeed?”

Sun Hua looked at him with a hint of disdain. “Do you understand what ‘poisoning the heart’ means? Physical injuries are certainly painful, but a wound to the heart is the most painful of all.”

“I don’t understand those twists and turns. I just think, those two girls have already divorced, will it really work?”

Luo Jingyun keenly sensed that the two of them were talking about her and Tan Jizhu, but she didn’t know what the so-called “poisoning the heart” actually meant.

Sun Hua had an expression as if looking at a piece of rotten wood. “We’ve been observing the village for so long, and you don’t use your brain at all.”

Being told this, Li Deng’s face suddenly became distorted with rage, but he restrained himself.

Suddenly, Sun Hua’s phone screen lit up. He wore a smile as if his scheme had succeeded. “Oh! Finally here. Then our big show is about to begin.” He said to Li Deng, “Go, go to the door and pick up your daughter.”

Li Deng’s face was full of reluctance, but for the sake of the money, he went out to meet Tan Jizhu.

Soon, Li Deng led Tan Jizhu into the warehouse. Seeing the people under the light, she hurriedly called out, “Jingyun, Senior, are the two of you okay?”

“Enough, enough. First, give us what we want.”

Tan Jizhu unzipped the heavy travel bag in her hand, revealing the contents inside.

A few hours ago, when Tan Jizhu arrived at the vocational school hotel, she learned that Luo Jingyun’s phone had been left at the lodging and that she had taken the previous bus back. She had no choice but to wait at the hotel. In the end, everyone else returned, but Tan Jizhu still didn’t see Luo Jingyun. She found Liu Yuqi and asked what the situation was.

“Sister Yuqi, Jingyun still hasn’t returned. Is there another bus coming?”

Liu Yuqi was full of anxiety. “This was the last bus; there are no more. Jingyun didn’t come back either? I’ve been trying to call Shidong for a long time but couldn’t get through. I heard from the staff members who came back later that they saw Shidong and Jingyun going back to the lodging together to get the phone. Everyone had equipment to protect, and in the chaos, no one noticed that neither of them got on the bus.”

“Both of them didn’t come back?” Just as Tan Jizhu was wondering, she received a call from Li Deng and learned the news that Chen Shidong and Luo Jingyun had been kidnapped.

Tan Jizhu knew that Li Deng only wanted money. She and Liu Yuqi quickly thought of a strategy. This place was remote, and the police wouldn’t arrive in time. Fortunately, money could be withdrawn in the county, and they quickly withdrew the amount that satisfied Li Deng’s request. Li Deng said over the phone that only Tan Jizhu was allowed to come to the warehouse for the transaction; if there were police or anyone else, he would kill the hostages immediately.

Before she left, Liu Yuqi pulled her with tears in her eyes. “Jizhu, I have already contacted the police; you don’t need to worry about the aftermath. I know that in your heart, Jingyun is the more important one, but I beg of you, don’t let Shidong suffer any harm. I beg you!”

Tan Jizhu nodded. “Sister Yuqi, I understand.”

After unzipping the bag, Tan Jizhu threw the travel bag directly into the center. “This is the money you wanted, non-consecutive serial numbers. When will you release the people?”

“No rush, let us check first.” Sun Hua gave a look, signaling Li Deng to act. “See if it’s real and if there’s a tracker in the bag.”

Li Deng checked thoroughly, confirmed that every bill was real, and didn’t see any special devices. He reported to Sun Hua, “No problem.”

“Since there’s no problem, then release them!”

“Releasing them is no problem, but I never said I would release both.”

“What do you mean?” Hearing this, Tan Jizhu’s face darkened. she silently observed the surrounding environment, thinking about the next step.

Sun Hua pulled something from his lower back. The sound of a gun being cocked made everyone else freeze.

Li Deng was somewhat afraid. “You… where did you get a gun?”

Sun Hua ignored him and fired a shot toward the ceiling, proving to everyone that it was a real gun.

“Tan Jizhu, out of the two of them, you can only choose one person to take away. The one left behind will have to die. Who do you choose?”