So, of course, he wouldn't take Lan Mengfan away at this moment. After all, he had to constantly consider whether someone would find him again and threaten him.
"Mengfan sees you as her mother now and depends on you a great deal. She definitely won't listen to me. If I force her to leave you, it won't be the best choice for either her or me, either publicly or privately."
Yan Xia let out a sigh of relief and asked him, "Do you mean you're willing to let Mengfan stay with me? What do you plan to do?"
Lan Mengfan had gotten used to staying with her. It was definitely not feasible to let her leave with Lan Yuzhou in a short period. Even if Yan Xia cooperated with the police in the future and it was no longer suitable for Lan Mengfan to stay with her, by the time she left, she should have gotten familiar with Lan Yuzhou again, so it wouldn't be too abrupt.
"I want to repay Miss Cheng. At this stage, I also need to take care of Mengfan. If Miss Cheng doesn't mind, I'd like to stay by Miss Cheng's side and do anything for her. I'd go through fire and water without hesitation."
His answer was within Yan Xia's expectation, so she wasn't surprised.
"Then for now, please take good care of Mengfan, pick her up and drop her off at school, and ensure her safety."
Lan Yuzhou was well aware that Yan Xia was providing an opportunity for him to get along with Lan Mengfan. His heart was surging with emotions, and his gratitude was beyond words. All he could do was keep saying,
"Thank you, Miss Cheng."
Since Third Master Lu had handed over several underground casinos to her to manage, Shangguan Yao had also told her the information about Lu Qianzhou's so - called partner.
Long Tao was a native of the capital city. His family used to have a very rich background and was even involved in the underworld, constantly straddling the line between the legal and illegal worlds. However, after they lost their influence, Long Tao, a rising star, emerged. Although he was engaged in some illegal gray - area industries, he was very smart and knew how to cover up his illegal activities.
He had the cruelty of his father in his bones, with meticulous methods. But he was very low - key, rarely showing up in public, let alone accepting any interviews. Now, with the support of Lu Qianzhou's power, he was even more in his element.
Yan Xia went to several underground casinos with the people arranged by Shangguan Yao to check the situation. Since Shangguan Yao's current identity was special, it was inconvenient for him to go in person.
The casinos were indeed as chaotic as expected, and there were even drug - related people. The casino managers introduced the specific situation inside the casinos to Yan Xia, and the police officers cooperating with Yan Xia couldn't take any action. They could only turn a blind eye.
Yan Xia had already started to contact Long Tao through some possible channels, indicating her intention to cooperate and hoping to meet him in person to discuss the cooperation details.
However, all the messages sent through these channels had disappeared without a trace, and she didn't get any response at all.
Sure enough, Long Tao was a very vigilant person.
If these messages reached his ears, he might be interested for a while and check her background and identity, or he might not even take a look, let alone know who she was.
"The gifts we sent were all returned. Long Tao doesn't seem very interested and is still very vigilant. I'm afraid this kind of overture won't have much effect." Yan Xia sat in her office, dealing with official business while talking to Shangguan Yao on the phone.
Since getting the earpiece from Shangguan Yao, they could communicate directly without even using the phone.
Shangguan Yao said with a smile, "If it were that easy to get in touch with him, I wouldn't have been so troubled."
Undoubtedly, this guy was a very tough nut to crack.
"Actually, I also thought it wasn't very appropriate before. Now it seems that I don't have any reason to get to know him." Yan Xia suddenly stopped what she was doing and suggested to Shangguan Yao. "You arrange for the police to report several casinos under Third Master Lu's name and take down all the suppliers at once. Then when I approach him, I'll have a reason."
Shangguan Yao was stunned for a moment and thought this method was feasible, but he still asked, "Aren't you afraid that Third Master Lu will suspect you if you're so ruthless?"
Yan Xia said, "Whether he suspects me or not, I've made up my mind. So I can only stop the loss in time and find new suppliers for him."
Shangguan Yao nodded approvingly.
"Okay, then get ready. I'll arrange someone to do it right away."
Yan Xia agreed, and then said, "Try to get me Long Tao's schedule. Since he doesn't appreciate my kindness, I can only take the initiative and go to him."
Shangguan Yao was very efficient. Almost the next day, he sent people to the casinos and took down all the current suppliers.
Yan Xia knew that this news would definitely reach Third Master Lu's ears, and he might even call to question her. She had already prepared her explanation, but unexpectedly, she never received a call from Third Master Lu.
Maybe he didn't care about such small profits, or maybe he was just biding his time, giving Yan Xia a chance.
Based on the information provided by Shangguan Yao, Yan Xia found out that Long Tao would appear at a certain entertainment club tonight. She immediately got ready, dressed herself up properly, and went to the club.
To avoid making her appearance too conspicuous, Yan Xia even asked Fang Jiangyi to invite some colleagues from Shengshi Company. They specifically booked a private room and waited for Long Tao's arrival.
As soon as everyone entered the private room, they started having a great time. They ordered a lot of food packages, and both beer and red wine were served. It was very lively.
Yan Xia only pretended to stay in the private room for a while at the beginning. In the middle, estimating that Long Tao should have arrived, she slipped out of the private room and found her way near the private room where Long Tao was.
But when she got there, she realized that she hadn't thought about how to get in at all. Moreover, she had no idea who was inside. It was really reckless not to prepare in advance.
Yan Xia paced back and forth outside the private room, hesitating for a long time. Suddenly, the door of the private room opened, and a slightly chubby man walked out while answering the phone. Yan Xia recognized this man as Long Tao at a glance, after all, she had seen his photo provided by Shangguan Yao.
Unexpectedly, he came out alone to answer the phone. Yan Xia hesitated for only a moment, then lifted her leg and followed him.
Approaching him to strike up a conversation at this time and having a private talk with him should increase the chance of success.
But after carefully following Long Tao around a corner, she found that he was actually there to pick someone up. Long Tao was meeting Lu Qianzhou!
Yan Xia was shocked and immediately dodged and hid in the corner.
What was going on? The information provided by Shangguan Yao didn't mention that Lu Qianzhou would also come.
At this stage, she couldn't let Lu Qianzhou discover her intention. Otherwise, once he intervened, all her efforts these days would be in vain.
Yan Xia was a bit annoyed. She peeked furtively again. After confirming that it was Lu Qianzhou and Long Tao talking there, she could only slink back to the private room where Fang Jiangyi was.
She didn't tell Fang Jiangyi the purpose of coming here tonight. After all, the fewer people who knew about this kind of thing, the better.
Yan Xia saw Fang Jiangyi at the door. Seeing her come back, he asked her, "Where did you go?"
Yan Xia said, "I went to the restroom."
Her answer was actually full of holes. There was a restroom inside the private room, so why did she have to go outside?
Fang Jiangyi didn't expose her lie. As long as she came back safely, that was enough.