Chapter 92 - 88: Possibly a Kidnapping

Gu Group. Gu Yanjing returned to the office after the afternoon meeting and immediately saw Chu Zhengran and Lin Huai Shu sitting on the sofa. He glanced at them indifferently, ignored them, and went straight to the desk. Feeling ignored, Lin Huai Shu clicked his tongue: "Old Chu, look at this attitude. We came here to talk business, and this is how he treats us. Let’s leave and not cooperate with him." With that, he stood up. Chu Zhengran, holding a teacup, glanced at him and said, "If you want to leave, go ahead. I won’t. Between attitude and money, I choose money." Lin Huai Shu: "... Do you really need the money?" "I do," Chu Zhengran said candidly, "Who doesn’t need the money from cooperating with Gu Group." Lin Huai Shu, standing by the sofa, pointed at him, then sat back down, crossing his legs, "Suddenly what you say makes a lot of sense." Chu Zhengran chuckled. Gu Yanjing opened a drawer, took out two contracts, and placed them on the desk, saying two words: "Contract." Lin Huai Shu got up to take the contract and returned to the sofa, handing one to Chu Zhengran. Both took a quick glance to confirm it was their contract, then took a pen from the desk and signed it. Seeing they didn’t even bother to check before signing, Gu Yanjing said lightly, "Next time, I’ll scam you both." The three of them grew up together and have never stopped collaborating since they each started their own careers. At first, they would all discuss which field to delve into together. Gradually, it became Gu Yanjing deciding on a field or project and calling them in. At that stage, the two would still help by providing input and strategies. Later on... they stopped getting involved at all. Gu Yanjing would tell them about a collaboration, and the two would meet him as needed. During the meetings, they’d chat about everything but the collaboration, then Gu Yanjing would draft the contract, and the two would sign without even looking. Just waiting to get paid. Chu Zhengran drank his tea in silence. The contracts were in duplicate, and Lin Huai Shu handed back the one for Gu Yanjing. Then he leaned against the desk, saying leisurely, "Let’s worry about next time, next time." Gu Yanjing said nothing. Lin Huai Shu, leaning against the desk, played with a pen for a while, then reached for a cookie on the desk. Just as his fingers touched the cookie jar, Gu Yanjing, handling emails, suddenly grabbed his wrist. Startled, Lin Huai Shu looked at him in horror. Gu Yanjing turned his head, gave him a glance, then released his hand and moved the cookie jar to the other side of the desk. Lin Huai Shu, his hand hanging in the air, was frozen, still staring at him wide-eyed. After a moment, he exclaimed, "Damn! Gu Yanjing! When did you become so possessive of food?" Gu Yanjing continued to work, ignoring him. Lin Huai Shu stood up straight, turned to face Gu Yanjing, and said, "Seriously, have our brotherly bonds fallen below the level of two cookies?" Gu Yanjing acted as if he couldn’t hear him. Seeing he was being ignored, Lin Huai Shu appealed for support: "Old Chu, you tell him. We’ve been through thick and thin..." "I’ve never been through thick and thin," Chu Zhengran interrupted him. "I’ve never been through fire and water," Gu Yanjing replied emotionlessly. Lin Huai Shu: "....I was giving an example." "That example sounds painful, pick another," Chu Zhengran said slowly. Lin Huai Shu obediently picked another: "Our brotherhood is as strong as gold. Can’t share even a cookie?" "No," Gu Yanjing said lightly. Lin Huai Shu was so frustrated he felt dizzy. He rubbed his forehead and stumbled over to Chu Zhengran, collapsing next to him, "Old Chu, call me an ambulance, will you? I’m dying from anger." Chu Zhengran pushed his head away, saying, "It was given by someone important, why should you share it." He said this while giving Gu Yanjing a deliberate glance. Gu Yanjing blocked him out. Lin Huai Shu stared at the cookie jar, suddenly realizing: "The little sister-in-law made it?!" Gu Yanjing didn’t respond, but from his demeanor, Chu Zhengran and Lin Huai Shu understood it meant yes. "Oh wow," Lin Huai Shu perked up, "The little sister-in-law is so virtuous and skilled. I was wondering. You don’t usually have snacks on your desk. Turns out they’re made by the little sister-in-law. Ah, the allure of love." Chu Zhengran chuckled. Lin Huai Shu continued: "Old Chu, seems like we have a place to freeload meals from now on." "Yes," Chu Zhengran replied. Gu Yanjing shot them a cold look. Just as Lin Huai Shu was about to say something else, Gu Yanjing’s phone rang, causing him to swallow his words. Gu Yanjing glanced at it; it was a police station number with an area code. He picked up the phone and answered it. As soon as he connected, he heard: "Hello, we’re from the Kyoto West City Police Station. Are you a relative or a friend of Qiao Yuxian?" Gu Yanjing’s expression suddenly turned cold: "Yes, what’s wrong?" Seeing his change in expression, Chu Zhengran and Lin Huai Shu both paid closer attention. The voice on the phone said, "We received a report that Qiao Yuxian was taken into a car near the Sixth Hospital overpass. According to a witness and surveillance footage, it looks like a kidnapping." Gu Yanjing abruptly stood up, grabbed his car keys from the drawer, and rushed out. Chu Zhengran and Lin Huai Shu, not knowing what happened, nevertheless followed his lead. The other party on the phone explained in detail: "Her phone was left on the scene and found by a witness, who brought it to the police station. We retrieved the surveillance from the hospital’s overpass and saw a girl being taken away. Since we couldn’t ascertain her identity at first, we got a technician to unlock her phone." "How long ago?" Gu Yanjing headed to Meng Yan’s office. Meng Yan was startled when he entered, immediately standing aside. "An hour ago. Through her phone number, we confirmed her identity," the police said. "We found only her in the household registry, so we contacted you because you were the first contact in her phone. Can you come over?" Qiao Yuxian’s phone contacts were a mix of names and gibberish. Only Gu Yanjing was listed first, with a row of little hearts following the name. The police department called this number first because of it. "I’m heading over right now," Gu Yanjing said. "Please don’t worry too much," the police advised, "We’re tracking the vehicle through further surveillance. If it truly is a kidnapping, keep an eye out for any calls on your end." "Alright." After hanging up, Gu Yanjing instructed Meng Yan, "The surveillance from an hour ago at the Sixth Hospital overpass." Meng Yan sat down at the computer and immediately retrieved the surveillance. The overpass had more than one camera. They checked based on the time, looking through two recordings before they found footage of Qiao Yuxian being pulled into a car on the third. Chu Zhengran and Lin Huai Shu felt a heaviness in their hearts; both instinctively glanced at Gu Yanjing. Meng Yan was also taken aback. Gu Yanjing’s eyes were icy, and his whole demeanor was chilling as he ordered, "Find out who owns that car and where it went." "Got it," Meng Yan said, opening the other computers around him. "And get in touch with Liu Zhou," Gu Yanjing added. Qiao Yuxian was skilled and wouldn’t be easily dragged away. If anything happened, Liu Zhou might know why. "Yes."