Successful Abduction

Zhang Xuan waited until Audrey Hepburn had finished practicing before quietly leaving Arnhem Music Academy. He secretly followed Audrey Hepburn all the way home, to a not particularly spacious old wooden house in the suburbs. A woman dressed as a servant was washing clothes in front of the door, with several wooden tubs beside her, all filled with laundry.

The woman's face was aged, yet she vaguely bore some of Audrey's resemblance. She was probably Audrey's mother.

Audrey Hepburn broke into a run, dashing to the old woman's side like a little deer. Gathering her skirt, she obediently crouched beside her and said softly, "Mom, I'll help you!"

The old woman was indeed Audrey's mother. She reached out to stop Audrey, her face full of fond reproach. "You don't need to help here, Audrey. Go practice your dancing."

Audrey's expression dimmed slightly, but a sweet smile soon appeared on her face. She stood and walked into the open space before her mother. "Mom, I'll dance for you!" With that, Audrey rose onto her toes and danced gracefully around her mother like a white swan.

The old woman straightened up and watched her daughter with narrowed eyes. A gratified smile appeared on her weathered face, made especially old by excessive labor. "Audrey, you dance beautifully, just like a swan."

Zhang Xuan, who had been hiding nearby, suddenly brightened. An idea abruptly came to him. He had thought of a good way to take Audrey away from this troubled land of Europe.

"This plan can really work!" The more Zhang Xuan thought about it, the more excited he became. He immediately stepped out from the shadows and walked toward the still-dancing Audrey Hepburn, an eager expression on his thin face, like an explorer who had discovered an unmatched treasure.

As Zhang Xuan drew closer, both the old woman and Audrey Hepburn noticed him. Fear inevitably appeared on their faces. A strange man had suddenly appeared in a sparsely populated suburb, and in wartime at that. Anyone would be wary.

"Dance, keep dancing! Why did you stop?" The moment he saw Audrey stop, he cried out almost hysterically, his face filled with urgency. "How can such a beautiful dance stop? Dance, keep dancing!"

Zhang Xuan's frantic behavior frightened Audrey Hepburn. Like a startled deer, the little girl immediately hid behind her mother, peeking at the suddenly appearing Zhang Xuan. A trace of tension showed in her bright, star-like eyes.

Audrey's mother truly deserved to be a descendant of royalty and nobility. Even reduced to such circumstances, none of her noble bearing had faded. She patted the daughter clutching her arm tightly, murmured a quiet reassurance, then stepped forward and gave a slight bow. Neither servile nor overbearing, she asked, "Sir, may I ask who you are?"

Zhang Xuan acted as though he had only just noticed the old woman. Startled, he lifted his fur cap and returned a proper gentleman's bow. "Greetings, Madam. Please forgive my abrupt intrusion."

"May I ask whether this beautiful Angel is your daughter?" Zhang Xuan stared unblinkingly at Audrey Hepburn behind the old woman. His gaze was direct yet pure, as though he were admiring an incomparable work of art. He was so excited that his words came out in a jumble. "Her beauty does not belong here. She belongs to the whole world!"

The old woman was stunned by Zhang Xuan's words. It took her a long while to recover before she asked again, "May I ask who you are?" There was more wariness in her tone, as though she had taken Zhang Xuan for a madman.

"My apologies, Madam. I forgot to introduce myself." Zhang Xuan smiled awkwardly and hurriedly introduced himself. "I am Alex Zhang. You may call me Alex, or Xuan. I am a Hollywood director, stranded in Europe because of an accident. I happened to see your daughter dance, and I want to take her to Hollywood to make films, so her beauty can shine before the entire world!"

Hollywood, director, films—upon hearing those words, Audrey, who had loved movies since childhood, could not help stepping out from behind the old woman. Her small face was filled with excitement.

"You're a director?" The old woman was doubtful. Zhang Xuan looked barely past twenty, tall and thin. His face was handsome enough, but he did not look like a director at all. He looked more like a star.

At first, Zhang Xuan had intended to say he was a screenwriter. But then he remembered that screenwriters clearly held less status than directors, so he changed his claim on the spot. Yet that change had put him in an impossible situation. After all, he had given Victor Ghost, so claiming to be a screenwriter would have been believable. But a director...

But Zhang Xuan could not reveal the truth now, no matter what. He nodded with a serious expression. "I am preparing my second film, and your daughter will be its leading actress!" In order to trick Audrey Hepburn into going to the United States, Zhang Xuan could only keep pretending. He was even thinking that, at worst, he could have Victor put his name in the credits of Ghost when he returned. Then it would not count as deceiving them.

Audrey Hepburn was thrilled and practically wanted to leap out and follow Zhang Xuan to make movies immediately. But her mother firmly held her back. She was an adult; she would not hand her daughter over just because of a few words from a stranger.

"I'm sorry, but my daughter has no interest in movies!" The old woman completely shielded Audrey Hepburn behind her and refused with a stern expression.

Watching Audrey Hepburn behind the old woman continuously hopping and struggling to get out, Zhang Xuan secretly laughed. "Madam, do you not believe me?"

The old woman said nothing, simply staring steadily at Zhang Xuan.

"Madam, with the country in such chaos, I have no way to prove my identity." Zhang Xuan deliberately fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Come with me to the United Kingdom. Once we get there, I'll take you to meet someone. When you see her, you'll believe me."

"Meet whom? Churchill?" Hearing Zhang Xuan's words, the old woman had already labeled him a swindler in her heart. Her voice was full of sarcasm.

Zhang Xuan was choked by her response and could only smile bitterly. "Of course not. I want to take you to meet Vivien Leigh. With her vouching for me, there should be no question about my identity, right?"

"Vivien Leigh? Gone with the Wind!" The old woman did not cover Audrey's mouth. Upon hearing Zhang Xuan's words, Audrey Hepburn could not help crying out, her excitement plain to see.

Zhang Xuan had been watching Audrey's mother the entire time. Seeing that her expression seemed to have softened, he nodded and smiled slightly. "Yes, her. She starred in my first work. I believe it will be in theaters before long!"

Pressing his advantage, Zhang Xuan added another spark to Audrey's mother's heart, completely burning away her doubts. "This is ten thousand dollars, as payment for your daughter appearing in my film!"

There was a saying in China: money could do anything. So when Zhang Xuan had left the United States, he had deliberately taken some money from Howard, intending to use it to pave the way in special circumstances. He had not expected his first expenditure to be on Audrey Hepburn.

Looking at the neatly bundled stack of dollars in her hands, the old woman completely lost her composure. There was more anxiety in the way she looked at Zhang Xuan. "Mr. Alex, you truly haven't deceived us?"

"Madam, please believe me. Every word I said is true!" Though he gave that assurance aloud, Zhang Xuan was secretly thinking, Even if it isn't true now, it will be once you get to the United States.

"Madam, let's leave this awful place full of ** as soon as possible!" Seeing that Audrey's mother had already lost her composure, Zhang Xuan could not help adding fuel to the fire once more. "Those ** are all war maniacs. It isn't safe here. We should go to the United Kingdom first!"

Those words struck the old woman's heart. Not long ago, her siblings and relatives had been brutally killed by the **. Thinking of her daughter's life being under constant threat, the old woman finally sighed. Clutching Audrey Hepburn's hands tightly behind her, she raised her head to look at Zhang Xuan and said slowly, "Everything will be as Mr. Alex says."