Chapter 160: This Hoover, That Hoover

'You mean Ranran asked you for help?"

The girl said in surprise, and she still hesitated, looking up and down at Zhou Ming a few times. Obviously, she didn't believe Zhou Ming's words, because in her mind, if Tang Ran chose to ask someone for help, then the person she asked for help should at least be someone powerful, even if they weren't an elder. Moreover, Tang Ran had also told her that the person was very powerful, but the Zhou Ming in front of her looked like just a young man under the age of thirty. What could he do?

With his experience, Zhou Ming of course understood what the girl was suspicious of, so he then said, 'My name is Zhou Ming. Ranran did ask for help from someone else, and you don't need to doubt that. Or maybe the police didn't believe it anyway. It's fine for you to tell me what happened. What do you think?'

After listening to Zhou Ming's words, the girl then ()()(novel)reacted and realised that it was very rude of him to be so suspicious. So she immediately apologised, 'I'm sorry, my name is Xiaoxue. In fact, I don't really suspect you.'

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'I believe that. Then let's find a place to talk about it.'

Xiao Xue nodded in agreement, and they then went to a teahouse at the corner of the street together. Zhou Ming asked for a private room. Once they were seated, Xiao Xue immediately said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I'm really sorry, but I really didn't mean to doubt you. I just feel that for such an important matter, she might have told her family first. I wonder what your relationship with her is?'

This question really stumped Zhou Ming, because it seemed that he and Tang Ran did not have a very deep relationship.

But this did not daunt Zhou Ming, and he immediately said, 'My relationship with her is a bit complicated, and it cannot be explained in a few words. But you can just trust that I am the person she trusts the most. Otherwise, she would not have thought of me first for help when she got into trouble, and I would not have found your address immediately after receiving her call for help.'

Xiao Xue was first taken aback by Zhou Ming's answer, but then her eyes lit up and she said, 'Yes! She didn't even notify her family before looking for you, so she must really trust you. And the fact that you were able to find my home based on a phone number proves that you're not just an ordinary person!'

Saying this, Xiao Xue pouted and said apologetically, 'I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you just now, but I now believe you 100%!'

Zhou Ming was a little helpless. It really is true that people of a similar nature gather together, and the girl who is best friends with Tang Ran is indeed a little silly. Did she not remember that she just said she didn't suspect anything?

However, Zhou Ming didn't care. He said, 'It doesn't really matter. But please forgive me for being blunt. Why are you so sure that Ran was kidnapped? Is it just because you woke up this morning and found that she wasn't in her room?'

'That's only one aspect. Although Ranran has been to San Francisco before, she is still unfamiliar with the place and couldn't have just wandered off on her own. At most, she would have just gone for a run nearby, but it seems that she went for a run last night and never came back.' Xiaoxue became very annoyed as she spoke, 'This is all my fault. I knew that she was unfamiliar with the place and I should have turned down my work to go running with her. Maybe this wouldn't have happened. It's all my fault!'

'Xiao Xue, this is not your fault, you don't need to blame yourself. You had your work to do, and you never thought that she would just go for a run and never come back, did you?' Zhou Ming comforted her.

But in the face of Zhou Ming's comfort, Xiao Xue shook her head desperately and said, 'No, that's not it. I clearly already guessed that something might have happened to her, and she had already asked you for help, didn't she? I should have been able to guess, or at least I should have stopped her from going out, because I have a gun at home, and according to San Francisco law, if someone dares to come in, we have the right to shoot him!"

Zhou Ming frowned seriously, not because he wanted to blame Xiaoxue after hearing what she said, after all, she also had her job to do, and it would be unreasonable to ask her to watch Tang Ran 24 hours a day. But what puzzled Zhou Ming was another point: how did they sense that something was about to go wrong? Tang Ran even sent a distress signal to him through Su Han because of this.

When he thought about this, Zhou Ming said to Xiaoxue, 'Wait a minute, Xiaoxue. I'm curious here. Do you guys know if someone is going to do something bad to Ranran?'

Xiaoxue nodded and said yes. This answer made Zhou Ming's brow furrow even more, but he restrained his emotions and just asked, 'What exactly happened? Can you tell me everything?'

'No problem.' Xiaoxue gathered her thoughts and said, 'Actually, this story starts last week. At that time, Ranran was very unhappy about the forced marriage at home, so she ran away from home to San Francisco. I wanted to take her for a walk, so we went to Fisherman's Wharf in the north. But I never imagined that it would be the worst decision I'd ever made in my life, and it also led to Ranran being kidnapped!'

'Fisherman's Wharf is a famous attraction in San Francisco, and there was nothing wrong with your decision. Did something happen?' Zhou Ming asked.

'We ran into a gang there,' Xiaoxue said.

This answer surprised Zhou Ming, but he didn't interrupt Xiaoxue's memories, just raising his hand to indicate that she should continue.

'That morning I took Ranran to Anchorage Square for some shopping, and we had Dungeness crab for lunch. But I didn't feel like she was in the mood, so in the afternoon I took her to Pier 39 to see the sea lions. I thought the silly sea lions might cheer her up a bit, but I never expected that on Pier 39 we would run into the gang.'

Recalling what happened that day, Xiaoxue felt very remorseful. She continued, 'That day, while we were watching the sea lions, someone came up to Tang Ran and started chatting with her, saying that he wanted her contact information. I didn't want to deal with this kind of person, but he kept pestering Tang Ran for it. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I scolded him, but he said that even if we didn't give it to him today, it didn't matter, he would definitely find us.'

'So what happened? Did you just leave Fisherman's Wharf?' Zhou Ming asked.

Xiao Xue nodded and replied, 'Yes, that day the atmosphere that had been created by the sea lions was ruined by that disgusting man. Later, I took Ranran back, but who knew that that night when Ranran and I were running nearby, we ran into that man again. He said he was looking for Ranran.'

'He was looking for Ranran? Here in this whole Chinatown?' Zhou Ming asked in surprise.

'I think he must be from one of the gangs in Chinatown. He saw that we were Chinese too, so he kept looking for Ranran here. Isn't that what he wanted?' Xiaoxue said, 'Ranran and I went back in fear that day, but Ranran ran into him again the next day. I don't know what he said to Ranran, so Ranran paged you for help when she got back.'

'Things have already come to this, that man must have evil intentions towards Ranran. I should never have let Ranran go running alone. I'm so wrong, it's all my fault. I think Ranran must have already been bullied! But if she really has been bullied, then I'm the biggest bad guy and the one who has wronged her most!' Xiaoxue said, crying sadly.

After hearing the whole story, Zhou Ming felt confused. Although it sounded like this was a story about them running into a gang member, the gang member fancied Tang Ran, and then looking for her every day until he finally kidnapped her, but when he thought about it, it didn't seem like that. In short, Zhou Ming's head was a mess. It seemed like something flashed through his mind, but he just couldn't grasp the point.

In the end, Zhou Ming had no choice but to comfort her, saying, 'Xue, don't be sad. Maybe things aren't as bad as you think.'

After Xue stopped crying, Zhou Ming continued, 'Do you remember any other clues? Like a name or something?'

'A name?' Xue frowned and thought for a moment before suddenly saying, 'I remember, his name is Hoover!'

However, after saying the name, Xiaoxue seemed to suddenly remember something and tentatively asked, 'But what can knowing the name do? Do you also know the local gangs, Mr. Zhou Ming?'

To this question, Zhou Ming replied with a wry smile, 'This is my first time in San Francisco, so I definitely don't know the local gangs, but I do know a Chinese guy named Hoover. It's just that that guy doesn't seem to be in any gangs, but is in the financial system.'

Xiao Xue was very discouraged by the first half of Zhou Ming's answer, but the second half made her overjoyed: 'So you do know someone? That's great, then why don't you give it a try, Mr. Zhou Ming? Maybe it's that Hoover guy? You know, nowadays gangs all engage in loan sharking, so maybe they consider themselves part of the financial system?'

Xiao Xue's words really made Ming a bit cry with laughter. He thought that the Chinese Bank of Tang was also a Chinese bank with great influence in the United States, and that Mr. Hoover was also the branch manager of the Brighton branch of the Chinese Bank of Tang. However, in Xiao Xue's mouth, it became a loan shark gang. I believe that if Hoover himself knew about this, he would probably want to die by banging his head.

But on the other hand, Xiaoxue is right in one way: no matter if it is this Hoover or not, it is always a good idea to ask first. And it seems that the headquarters of the Chinese Bank is in San Francisco, and as the branch manager, he might have some connections here. It is always a good idea to ask.

Thinking about this, Zhou Ming said to Xiaoxue, 'You are right, maybe it is really like you said. I know about this matter and I will deal with it right away. You can go back first. If there is anything else, you can call me. Here is my mobile phone number.'

Zhou Ming wrote down his mobile phone number and gave it to Xiaoxue. Xiaoxue looked at it in surprise and asked, 'So you have a mobile phone? If you have a mobile phone, why don't you just call Hoover, the person you know? He still has Ranran! Don't let Ranran get bullied!'

Zhou Ming was originally going to wait until Xiaoxue had left before calling, but now that Xiaoxue had said that, it would be a bit inappropriate for Zhou Ming to send her away, so Zhou Ming had to take out his mobile phone on the spot and dial Hoover's number.

'Hello, Mr. Hoover, this is Ming Zhou. I'm in San Francisco now. I remember you said last time that you were back at headquarters for a debriefing, right? So I thought of you and gave you a call. Are you back in Brighton now?' Ming Zhou asked.

Hoover was a little surprised to receive a call from Zhou Ming: 'Really? So you've arrived in San Francisco. That's great. I'm still in San Francisco, but I've been a little busy lately. I don't know how long you'll be here for. When I'm done with all this, I'll definitely buy you a drink. You probably don't know it, but the bars at Fisherman's Wharf are really great!'

Zhou Ming laughed and said yes, while Xiaoxue was anxious because Zhou Ming hadn't mentioned anything about Tang Ran over the phone. So she gently tugged Zhou Ming's sleeve.

Zhou Ming gave her a reassuring sign and then asked, 'President Hu, since you're also in San Francisco, it's easier to talk. I'm not here for nothing either. I'm in a bit of trouble and I was hoping you could help.'

'If you can call, it must be a very troublesome matter. Just tell me what it is, as long as it's not too difficult, I can solve it for you,' Hoover said readily.

'It's like this, I have a friend named Tang Ran, she seems to have gotten into a little trouble..."

Zhou Ming said tentatively, but before he could finish speaking, Hoover asked in surprise, "Tang Ran? Zhou Ming, do you also know Tang Ran?"