Yan Xia's eyes flashed.
She sized Jiang Nian up and down from head to toe. Finally, she said, "Why are you here with Shangguan?"
Judging from the direction, she had just come out of the only room. Although she shouldn't let her imagination run wild—after all, there was a certain age gap between the two of them—Jiang Nian was wearing pajamas.
"Oh," Shangguan Yao explained. "She watched surveillance videos with me all last night to try to find out the whereabouts of the car that kidnapped your driver and get some clues through the license plate number. But the car was camouflaged, and we couldn't find any clues. It was too late, so she stayed here."
He saw what Yan Xia was thinking at a glance.
"Ms. Cheng, I heard your conversation just now. You've really misunderstood the boss. He has to deal with the pressure from his superiors on one hand and your safety on the other. In fact, yesterday, if anything had gone wrong on your side, someone would have appeared immediately to rescue you," Jiang Nian couldn't help explaining for him, perhaps because she thought Shangguan Yao was always rather inarticulate when it came to explanations.
"I've heard from others more than once what he used to be like. I think it's good that he's changed. Compared to the former boss who was flippant and idle, I like the current him better. If he weren't like this now, I wouldn't submit to him."
Jiang Nian spoke from the bottom of her heart.
Yan Xia could only smile helplessly. Maybe it was because people couldn't truly empathize with something they hadn't experienced themselves. Maybe after a few years, Jiang Nian would understand how she felt now.
However, Shangguan Yao was still a person who loved excitement at heart. Now that he was alone, it was good to have Jiang Nian by his side. With her around, at least he would have a companion.
But she wouldn't say these words to Shangguan Yao now.
"Ensure the safety of the two of them. I know Lu Qianzhou has committed many crimes. But now no one has the ability to sanction him. Only when we catch him red - handed can the law punish him," Yan Xia said seriously.
Shangguan Yao poured himself a glass of water. "I know."
He was actually quite lucky now. If Lu Qianzhou hadn't been so stubborn and chosen Yan Xia back then, thus rejecting Jiang Yue. If he had chosen Jiang Yue, the current situation would be very different. His career should have been at its peak, and with the two powerful families joining hands, no one would have dared to covet them easily.
And it would be even more difficult for the police to convict Lu Qianzhou.
Most of the crimes they had evidence of Lu Qianzhou committing were those he had to commit because others had used Yan Xia or there were other connections.
Love and desire could really cloud one's mind. Even an excellent person like Lu Qianzhou couldn't avoid it. Shangguan Yao had taken advantage of this point to control him.
After sitting at Shangguan Yao's place for a while, Yan Xia received a message from Long Tao, which was probably an invitation to meet. There would be an operation soon, and he wanted to meet to tell her the location and date of the operation.
When the message came, Shangguan Yao happened to be beside her, so she didn't even need to report to him.
Yan Xia let Jiang Nian take her phone and read the message. She said, "Last time when I went to meet Long Tao alone, Lu Qianzhou also followed. This time Lu Qianzhou should also be there. After all, it's a major operation, and he definitely won't be absent."
Shangguan Yao nodded in agreement. "If nothing goes wrong, when Long Tao makes his move this time, we'll cooperate with you from inside and outside to capture Long Tao and Lu Qianzhou at once. Once we catch them red - handed, your mission will be completed."
As for the deeper - hidden mastermind behind the scenes, it had nothing to do with Yan Xia, and it wasn't her concern.
Yan Xia sighed softly. "I remember that when the mastermind behind the scenes invited me to meet Jiang Yue, he mentioned a video. He said that once that video was made public, my father would be disgraced, and it would also cause a great stir in the whole mobile phone industry. It is said that the video is related to Lu Qianzhou's mother."
She had been wondering all along what kind of video it was that those people were so eager for.
If capturing Lu Qianzhou and Long Tao still couldn't help her uncover the truth she had been pursuing, maybe she still wouldn't give up.
"Do you still want to court death?" Shangguan Yao's voice came into her ears.
Maybe because he knew her so well, he could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her.
"If it's really what I think, I'll continue," Yan Xia's answer was no surprise.
In her words, since she was alone now and had nothing to worry about, she naturally didn't need to be afraid of any danger.
But she had a premonition that the truth was getting closer and closer to her.
As if he already knew something, Shangguan Yao smiled mysteriously. "Although I'm not sure yet, I hope you won't be too devastated when you know the truth."
This sentence sounded familiar. Yan Xia thought hard for a long time before she remembered that a long, long time ago, Lu Qianzhou had also said something like this to her. At that time, it was because of Fang Jiangyi. He had reminded her that many things were not as simple as they seemed on the surface.
Now she finally understood this truth.
...
Yan Xia went to meet Long Tao at the time he had set. This time he had set the meeting place at a port near the sea in the capital.
The port in this sea area had been privatized and leased to an enterprise in the capital several years ago.
It was an enterprise on the surface, but who actually used it was unknown to outsiders.
She stepped into the room, a private hotel near the port. The window was wide open, and the curtains fluttered rustlingly. The sea breeze blew in, carrying the smell of sea salt. Standing by the window, one could see the port not far away and the vast blue sea in the distance. It was a real sea - view room.
"Ms. Cheng is really punctual. You always come to the appointment on time," Long Tao was sitting on the sofa by the window.
On the table on his right - hand side were a cup of tea and some scattered gun parts. He was holding a delicate handkerchief and carefully wiping the gun parts, breathing on them from time to time to lubricate them.
Every time they met, he could put some psychological pressure on Yan Xia in different ways. She didn't know if Long Tao treated every collaborator like this, or if it was just because he didn't trust her, or if he was just picking on the weak.
Yan Xia said with a smile, "I've been closely watched recently. I circled around the area several times. I was afraid of being followed and bringing unnecessary trouble to Mr. Long."
She wasn't polite either. She sat directly on the sofa on the other side, facing Long Tao.
Her eyes swept across the room full of capable henchmen and landed on the assembled pistol in Long Tao's hand. These outlaws had been engaged in such a dangerous industry for a long time, and it was not new for them to illegally possess guns through some special channels.
But they wouldn't show their guns easily. Showing their guns openly today meant that there would be a major move.
Long Tao seemed to kindly remind her, "It's good for Ms. Cheng to be so vigilant, but you should also know that things always have their priorities. Don't let unnecessary things affect our great cause."