Pei Nian moved her lips, looking at him with a complicated expression.

Just then, Huo Jingnan's phone rang. It was Fan Yawen calling, her voice urgent and tense, repeatedly urging him to go back immediately.

Huo Jingnan had no choice but to follow his mother's arrangements and return to the Huo family with Pei Nian.

In the large living room, Huo Junyu and Jiang Mianmian were also present. Everyone looked solemn and serious. As Pei Nian walked in, Fan Yawen looked up at her, as if she had something to say.

Jiang Mianmian and Pei Nian looked at each other and gave each other a firm smile.

Pei Nian was a little puzzled, but then she saw Ning Meng walk in from outside at a leisurely pace.

"Auntie, Brother Jingnan. I've found Qin Nuan's whereabouts, I know where she is!"

"What did you say?" Huo Jingnan was taken aback. "How did you get news about her?"

Ning Meng smiled and said, "Brother Jingnan, don't think that just because you're a special forces soldier, you're better informed than us. The Huo family isn't omnipotent; there are things they can't find out."

Fan Yawen coughed lightly, remaining calm and composed.

Huo Junyu and Jiang Mianmian exchanged glances, deciding to wait and see what would happen.

Huo Jingnan's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

A hint of smugness flashed across Ning Meng's eyes.

She had already planned it out on the way here. Ding Daming's words reminded her that stealing from anyone was the same as stealing from anyone else. As long as it was confirmed that Pei Nian, the daughter of a human trafficker, would continue to harm children, Pei Nian would completely lose everyone's trust.

She simply couldn't believe that Jiang Mianmian, a mother herself, would keep a human trafficker by her side.

She didn't believe that Huo Jingnan would still treat Pei Nian like a treasure after he found out all this!

So she decided to betray Ding Daming.

She was going to hand over Qin Nuan and then insist that Ding Daming and Ding Cheng had conspired with Pei Nian to kidnap Qin Nuan, and that the three of them were a family. In front of everyone, Pei Nian was speechless!

“Brother Jingnan,” Ning Meng turned to look at him and said, word by word, “Qin Nuan was taken away by Ding Cheng and Ding Daming together!”

"who?"

Not only Huo Jingnan, but Pei Nian also felt a buzzing in her ears, and her heart started beating faster.

She stared blankly at Ning Meng. The name Ding Daming was like a curse, making her hands and feet turn cold and her whole body go cold.

"What did you say!" Huo Jingnan raised his voice. "I know Ding Cheng. He's a student in that charity project. We brought him from the mountains! He has no grudge against the Qin family. In fact, the Qin family has been kind to him! Why would he kidnap Nuannuan? As for this Ding Daming, we don't know him!"

“Brother Jingnan!” Ning Meng emphasized, “Just because you don’t know Ding Daming doesn’t mean others don’t!”

“Miss Pei,” she looked at Pei Nian, whose face was pale, “you should recognize this person, right?”

Huo Jingnan, unable to bear it any longer, reached out and pulled Pei Nian behind him.

"Auntie, you have to believe me! I've done a lot of investigation into this matter!" Ning Meng ran to Fan Yawen's side. "That Ding Daming, he's Ding Cheng's father and Miss Pei's adoptive father!"

Huo Jingnan's eyes darkened, but he did not let go of Pei Nian's hand.

He felt Pei Nian's hands were icy cold and her body was trembling.

But he still chose to believe, believing that Pei Nian wouldn't lie to him.

"Xiao Meng," Fan Yawen asked in a deep voice, "what exactly happened?"

“Auntie, don’t you understand? Then I’ll tell you everything I found out!” Ning Meng’s lips curled up with a hint of smugness as she coldly glanced at Pei Nian. “Miss Pei’s biological mother, Pei Hong, is a human trafficker! Her mother fostered her in that Ding Daming’s house. Ha, I heard that even Ding Daming’s wife was trafficked by Pei Hong!”

"As the saying goes, dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a rat's son knows how to dig holes. I think... a human trafficker's daughter might also be involved in human trafficking, right?"

"So you really think Qin Nuan's disappearance has nothing to do with Miss Pei?"

"Ning Meng!" Jiang Mianmian stepped forward and angrily rebuked, "Don't make false accusations!"

"Miss Lu, you're really wronging me!" Ning Meng looked at her. "I investigated so much, all for your own good! You have a daughter, are you really that comfortable keeping Pei Nian by your side?"

"Enough!" Huo Jingnan roared.

Pei Nian trembled and looked at him in disbelief.

But I couldn't find any trace of disbelief on his face.

Huo Jingnan still shielded her behind him, his gaze fixed firmly on her.

They still regard her as a rare treasure in the world.

Pei Nian felt a lump in her throat and involuntarily gripped his hand tightly. The warmth of his palm gave her courage, and the comfort he provided made her no longer afraid of the dark.

Huo Jingnan smiled gently at her, but when he turned to look at Ning Meng again, his eyes became even more profound.

"Ning Meng," he said coldly, "I'm letting this go out of consideration for our family relationship. Don't push your luck!"

Huo Junyu also stepped forward, saying with a half-smile, "Yes, don't we know what kind of person Pei Nian is? Miss Ning, do you really think the Huo family are all fools?"

Ning Meng's heart tightened; Huo Junyu seemed to be implying something...

But those deep, complex eyes were hard for her to fathom.

Fan Yawen slowly stood up and tugged at her shawl. "Yes, Xiaomeng, you'd better say less of these baseless things in the future."

She walked over and stood directly in front of Huo Jingnan and Pei Nian, looking fiercely protective of them.

"Ahem..." Fan Yawen tidied her hair, her arrogant expression unchanged, "Although Niannian is not yet a member of our Huo family, but... one day she will be!"

"Auntie?" Ning Meng's eyes widened.

Fan Ya-wen raised her hand, signaling her not to get excited and not to speak.

"Xiao Meng, actually, Auntie has always liked you, but if you keep causing trouble and stirring up trouble, how can Auntie like you?"

"For the sake of our two families continuing our relationship, I advise you to put away your ulterior motives. Wouldn't it be better if we could all live in peace?"

A few words made Ning Meng's face turn green with anger.

Why did she do all this? It was all for Huo Jingnan!

Fan Ya-wen has doted on her so much since she was a child, but now she's siding with an outsider?

Ning Meng gritted her teeth and decided to go all the way, saying directly, "You've all misunderstood me. I'm telling the truth! I checked the hotel surveillance footage, and it was Ding Daming and Ding Cheng who took Qin Nuan away together!"

"You checked the surveillance footage?" Huo Junyu frowned. "After the incident, Shao Xiaofei checked the hotel's surveillance footage immediately, but the hotel replied that those areas were blind spots and they couldn't see anything."

"Miss Ning, I'd really like to know, how did you manage to find the blind spots in the surveillance footage? Why is it that even the Huo family couldn't find out, but you did it so easily?"

"Yes, Miss Ning, please explain this to us." Jiang Mianmian crossed her arms and echoed Huo Junyu, "Heh, otherwise we'd really look like fools!"