Seeing her father's attitude, Gu Anrou knew there was no point in continuing. Once her father made up his mind, not even ten oxen could change it.
Realizing this, she didn't think it appropriate to stay any longer and left the company. Perhaps she would never know that all her father's principles were for her to take over a company without any stains in the future.
He was well aware that the Gu Corporation had initially amassed wealth through immoral means, such as tomb - robbing and other underhanded methods.
In the car, Gu Anrou took out her phone and dialed a number. She didn't beat around the bush. "I can't sell this batch of goods," she said, flipping her hair. "If there are any more problems with the Gu Corporation, how can I explain it to my father?"
The mysterious man wasn't surprised when Gu Anrou contacted him. He knew that a ruthless businessman like Gu's father would never sacrifice his fundamental interests to sell this batch of goods of unknown origin.
"I don't care what methods you use. You must sell this batch of goods. You're the eldest daughter of the Gu family. Surely you can sell such a small batch of goods," he flattered her, using the tactic of killing with praise.
There was a long silence on the other end. Sensing Gu Anrou's hesitation, the mysterious man threatened, "Miss Gu, don't be forgetful. Xu Qingqing has already done what you asked. It's just a matter of your word, and she can go to hell. If you don't sell this batch of goods for me, I'll expose you!"
"You!"
"Fine," she hung up the phone. She was so stupid. Why did she call him and ask for scolding and threats?
...
Lu Qi stayed in the store all afternoon. Strangely enough, he didn't see Xu Qingqing all afternoon, and she hadn't informed him of the situation. This wasn't like her.
"Brother Qi, did Sister Qingqing take an afternoon off?" A staff member, who rarely didn't see Xu Qingqing, couldn't help asking Lu Qi.
Xu Qingqing was known as a workaholic. Unless she had something to do outside, she would always be in the store.
"Hey, Chuanbai." The more Lu Qi thought about it, the more something seemed off. Just to be safe, he couldn't help but call Lu Chuanbai.
After Xu Qingqing left the store, he had called her, but unfortunately, there was no answer. At that time, he thought she was with Xu An'an and Xu Yiyi and didn't have time to check her messages, so he didn't think much of it.
"What's up?" Lu Chuanbai was busy working in his office. After following the team to the countryside to restore the murals last time, he had left a lot of work undone. Coupled with the resort matters, he had been extremely busy these days.
"Do you have any news about Qingqing? I've called her several times, but no one answered. It's so late now." Lu Qi looked at the already dark night outside.
At this moment, Lu Chuanbai's phone rang. It was Xu Yan.
After confirming with Lu Qi that there was no news of Xu Qingqing, he answered Xu Yan's call. "Is Qingqing with you?" Xu Yan asked.
Lu Chuanbai hadn't been in touch with Xu Qingqing for several days. He wanted to give each other some space and time to ease their relationship. Strangely enough, everyone was asking him if he had any news about Qingqing today.
"No. Is something wrong with Qingqing?"
Hearing Lu Chuanbai's words, Xu Yan said, "Qingqing is missing."
Just like that, Lu Chuanbai put down his work and rushed to the Xu family. Seeing Xu Yiyi and Xu An'an looking dejected, he comforted them first.
"Lu Qi also called me. What on earth is going on?" Lu Chuanbai asked in confusion. He couldn't understand how Xu Qingqing could just disappear out of the blue.
Xu Yan briefly explained the situation. Mrs. Xu was anxiously waiting for news of her daughter beside them, while Mr. Xu was comforting the two children.
Then, the two of them decided to go to Lu Qi's store to check the situation and look at the surveillance to find out where Xu Qingqing had gone.
Strangely enough, there was a security booth outside the store's garage, and security guards were on duty 24 hours a day in shifts. They checked the surveillance again and again but found no trace of Xu Qingqing. The car was still parked safely in the garage, and the person just disappeared out of thin air in the garage. This was really strange.
The security guard knew nothing. Xu Yan was speechless. How could someone on duty not know anything?
"Were there any suspicious vehicles that came in today? Starting from this morning," Lu Qi questioned the security guard, whose eyes were evasive.
Finally, after being questioned by several people in turn, the security guard said that around noon, he had gone to get a glass of water, and then his stomach inexplicably started to hurt. He had to go to the toilet many times a day, so he didn't know much about the comings and goings of vehicles for most of the day.
Later, a man claimed to be an employee of the store and said he was waiting for someone after work. The security guard then asked him to watch the duty room for a while. Who would have thought that the accident just happened during this period.
"Call the police and file a case. Then we'll search everywhere. Since the surveillance didn't reveal anything, we'll start by investigating the people around," Lu Qi said.
Lu Chuanbai interrupted, "Wait. Qingqing's car is still here, but she's gone. There might be another situation. She might have been kidnapped into a car!" After saying that, he carefully checked the surveillance and ordered the security guard to take out the roster of each vehicle's entry and exit.
The garage here wasn't for random parking. Only the employees working in Lu Qi's store could park there, so they had a parking manual.
After comparison, a white van had entered and exited. The time captured by the surveillance was around twelve noon, and Xu Qingqing had gone missing at around one o'clock in the afternoon. Once they locked in on it, they asked their assistant to check the license plate number. As a result, the license plate was fake, and they couldn't find the user or the registrant.
"This is a pre - meditated kidnapping," Lu Qi said.
"Ever since she returned to the country, Qingqing has been having frequent accidents, car crashes, kidnappings..." Xu Yan reflected. "Moreover, the mastermind behind each incident is your so - called good sister," Xu Yan looked at Lu Chuanbai.
At this moment, Xu Yan had an opinion about Lu Chuanbai. It was the appearance of the two brothers that had frequently put his sister, as well as his nephews and nieces, in dangerous situations.
As soon as Xu Yan said this, Lu Chuanbai called Gu Anrou. She answered the phone quickly. Lu Chuanbai said, "Did you do this to Qingqing?"
How could Gu Anrou admit that she did it? She pretended to be unaware and asked, "Ah? What's going on? Brother Chuanbai, is something wrong with Xu Qingqing?" The phone was on speaker. Everyone looked at each other. Hearing Gu Anrou's denial, they didn't know what to say for a moment.
"You'd better pray that nothing happens to her! Otherwise, your Gu Corporation might not be able to recover so easily!" Lu Chuanbai threatened.