Meanwhile, Sun Qiang returned to his residence, the scene of his encounter with Qiu Mang kept replaying in his mind.

He was somewhat shocked. Qiu Dao and Xiao Jie had clearly gone to Guangcheng to seek refuge with Qiu Mang, and they had spoken on the phone last night to confirm that they were safe. So how could Qiu Mang be here?

He picked up the phone to call Qiu Dao and tell her the news, but yesterday, the company, fearing a leak, had been monitoring everyone's phones.

He held his phone in his hand, gently rubbing it for a while, before finally dialing Qiu Dao's number.

Hearing the "beep...beep...beep..." sound from the phone, he nervously pursed his lips, worried that Qiu Dao might say something she shouldn't on the phone.

The call was answered quickly.

"Dad..." came Xiao Jie's childish voice from the phone.

Sun Qiang was taken aback and asked, "Where's Mom?"

"Mom is washing fruit in the kitchen. Do you want to give her your phone?" Xiao Jie asked.

Sun Qiang thought for a moment and said, "No need, Dad will talk to you for a bit first. You can give the phone to Mom later, okay?"

"Okay! So what does Daddy want to say to Xiao Jie?" Xiao Jie asked, tilting his head.

Sun Qiang took a deep breath. "Xiao Jie, do you still remember the Rubik's Cube at home? Actually, your aunt can play it too. She's very good at it. Every time, she solves the red side first!"

"Really? My aunt is that amazing? I was with her yesterday! If I had known, I should have asked her to buy one and teach me!" Xiao Jie exclaimed with curiosity.

Sun Qiang's tone softened, and he said gently, "Alright, Xiao Jie, Dad has other things to do. Let's hang up now! If Mom asks you who called later, just tell her."

Just after hanging up the phone, Qiu Dao came out of the kitchen with cherries. "Xiao Jie, what are you doing with Mom's phone?"

Xiao Jie quickly told his mother about his conversation with his father.

Qiu Dao tightened his grip on the fruit plate, his face turning pale, and pressed for an answer, "What did you say! Did your father say which side your aunt would put together first?"

"Red!" Xiao Jie shouted excitedly, "Auntie will put together the red one first!"

With a clatter, the fruit plate in Qiu Dao's hand fell to the ground, and the red cherries rolled around on the floor.

After Sun Qiang was kidnapped, he made an agreement with Qiu Dao that if anything happened in the future and they didn't want others to know, they would use a code to notify each other.

The different colors of the Rubik's Cube represent different information, with red being the most dangerous code.

"Sister Qiu, what's wrong?"

Hearing the noise, Aunt Zhou hurried over. Seeing the cherries scattered on the ground, she frowned and said, "Oh dear, Sister Qiu, I'll take care of this from now on! You're a guest, please sit down and rest!"

"Where is Qiu Mang?" Qiu Dao asked, grabbing Aunt Zhou's hand, his voice trembling slightly.

Aunt Zhou was startled by Qiu Dao's strength and asked nervously, "Wh...what's wrong? Why would you ask that?"

"Tell me quickly, where is my sister?" Qiu Dao raised his voice.

Aunt Zhou patted Qiu Dao's arm. "Sister Qiu, don't be nervous. Didn't I tell you last night? Miss Qiu and Mr. Lu are dating. So, sometimes she goes out with Mr. Lu and doesn't come back at night. Last night, she was probably with Mr. Lu again."

But Qiu Dao wouldn't listen. With trembling hands, she dialed Qiu Mang's number again and again, but all she heard was a cold busy tone.

The international conference lasted for a full three hours. When Lu Yanting dragged his tired body back to the president's office, he raised his hand and rubbed his tense brows.

"Mr. Lu, this document needs your signature and seal." The secretary walked in at the opportune moment, carrying the document.

"Just leave it there." His voice betrayed his weariness.

The secretary gently placed the document aside and quietly withdrew.

Lu Yanting picked up the pen, quickly signed his name, and opened the drawer to get the company seal when a splash of red caught his eye.

His movements suddenly froze, and he slowly picked up the exquisite red velvet box, as if he were holding a thousand-pound weight in his palm.

He slowly opened the box; there used to be a pair of JL couple rings inside, but now only one remains.

He picked up the ring. The ring didn't have any complicated design; it was just a plain silver band adorned with countless small diamonds, with a large teardrop-shaped diamond in the center.

He picked up the ring and slipped it onto his finger, gently stroking the diamond with his fingers as memories flooded back.

This is the prize I won in the kissing contest at the amusement park last time. I wonder if Qiu Mang is still wearing it now.

He hadn't seen her for several days. Ever since he said it was over, she had obediently kept her promise and hadn't called him once. She was so obedient; logically, he should have been happy.

However, ever since she disappeared from his world, he felt as if a piece of his heart had been ripped out, causing him sleepless nights.

He picked up his phone and put it down again, ultimately suppressing the urge to call her.

Yes, he was afraid. He was afraid to hear her voice, afraid to expose his true feelings, and afraid that he would lose control and imprison her by his side again.

Just then, his phone rang.

He looked closely and realized it was Lü Chen!

Lu Yanting was somewhat surprised. He swiped to answer the call and smiled, "Lu Chen!"

"Yan Ting! You're really not being fair! It's been so long since we finished picking tangerines over the New Year, and you haven't even called me. What? You think the project I arranged for you wasn't good enough? Or you think the girl who took us to pick tangerines wasn't pretty enough?" Lu Chen's teasing voice came from the phone.

"The company has been quite busy lately..."

"Stop! Everyone's busy, so don't give me that!" Lu Chen immediately interrupted him.

Lu Yanting took a deep breath. "You didn't call me today just to scold me, did you?"

Lu Chen was taken aback, then remembered the important matter, "Oh, of course not, that's what I was going to say, I just forgot for a moment!"

"If you forget so easily, it probably isn't a big deal. Let's not talk about it! Bye!"

"Hey...no, no, no! This is really serious," Lu Chen said anxiously, "Weren't you investigating the murderer who kidnapped you back then?"

Lu Yanting immediately sat up straight, his expression grave. "You have a lead?"

Lu Chen dropped his nonchalant demeanor. "We haven't found the mastermind behind it all, but this time, in our Chang City, I saw that man with the scar on his hand. I think he looks somewhat like the thug you described back then. I have a photo, do you want to see it?"

"Send it to me!"

Lu Chen clicked a few times on the computer and quickly sent the man's photo.

Lu Yanting narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the blurry image on the computer screen. Although it was just a profile, he still recognized that it was the person who had kidnapped him back then.